Meanwhile Boaz Went

Why don't you grab your Bible and open up to the book of Ruth?

We're in chapter 4. We're going to be closing off

our series through Ruth this morning.

There's a real privilege for me to do that this morning.

But I was looking at, I was looking at Ruth thinking like,

OK, where do we land this? You know, how do we resolve the

meta narrative of of everything that's happened all these

hundreds of years ago? And so our page to the very last

word that says David. And I thought, well, that's a

that would be a good idea. You know, essentially this

builds up to King David coming from their lineage.

And then I read a little bit more and I thought, well, maybe

I should look at the the kinsman Redeemer.

It's so rich and so pertinent for you and I, But then there's

also Boaz and there's Naomi and then there's the namesake Ruth.

You know, maybe we preached on Ruth.

And so I was poring over Chapter 4 and I actually looked at the

first 3 words and I couldn't go any further.

So we're going to look at these very first 3 words of Chapter 4,

where I genuinely believe that this is Ground Zero for the

entire redemptive story. It's buried in these three

beautiful words. Meanwhile, Boaz went, So we're

going to look at it this morning.

So we'll be home shortly. Meanwhile, Boaz went.

Now, if you don't know the story of Ruth, just a very quick

overview. Essentially, there was a famine

in Bethlehem and one family, led by a guy by the name of

Elimelech, took his wife Naomi and his two kids into Moab,

which is like the darkest, most debauched place kind of where

Ferdie came from, if you want to extrapolate that.

And one thing led to another, and both the sons passed away

after having gotten married to MOA, but ladies as well as the

father. And so Naomi, the mom, and one

of the daughters in law, Ruth, come back to Bethlehem.

And we see God weave this met narrative of redemption through

Boaz, through Naomi, through the people in Bethlehem, the

community that they were a part of.

And now we get to the point where it's about to transpire.

This redemption is about to take place.

And we come to these 3 words and minds ground 0 for redemption.

Meanwhile Boaz went So I just want to look at these 3 words.

Meanwhile Boaz went So starting with meanwhile.

I don't know if you know this, but the Bible wasn't written in

English. I know some of you think it was

written in Afrikaans, but that's not true either.

The Old Testament Hebrew New Testament Creek Johan still

thinks that it was, but the the Old Testament is written in

largely Hebrew, a little bit of Aramaic, but they say of the the

biblical Hebrew language. This is ancient Hebrew.

They're referred to it as a word poor language.

Hebrew is a word poor language. What they mean by that is I

don't know if you know this, but if you have to take your, your

Old Testament, This essentially took them 8000 unique Hebrew

words to write the Old Testament, but they had to use

400,000 English words because essentially as much as it's a

word, poor language, very few words.

Each one they refer to as being like a, a suitcase stuffed full

with clothing. You know when, when you go on

holiday and your wife does the packing, it's, it's a suitcase

like that. You know where there's socks and

blouse is still pouring out. Each word is rich in meaning and

texture. And so with that in mind, I went

to look at these 3 words and and I opened up my Hebrew lexicon

because we didn't do Hebrew at Bible college and I went through

and I was caught of God because here's what I discovered about

the word. Meanwhile, it's not in the

Bible. Now that really messed with me.

I'm like Samuel, what were you thinking?

You know, now my 3 point sermon has only got 2 points because

one of these words are not actually there.

But a rabbit hole has never put me off before.

So I went digging and what I found literally turned my week

upside down because I started by asking OK, what is it NRV?

Do you just sort of add words? You know, whenever you feel it's

convenience? You know, are we, are we allowed

to add words to scripture? What's going on here?

How dare you put in meanwhile when it just says in the Hebrew

Boaz went why meanwhile? And this is what I discovered.

Essentially what the the the translators say.

The reason why they put meanwhile in there in the NRV is

because this transition in the story between chapter 3 and

chapter 4 is so significant. It is so Ground Zero for the big

story of Ruth. It is so breathtaking in its

significance and mind blowing in this wonder, the sheer weight

and wonder of this essentially in this little space here where

they slipped in. Meanwhile, what's happening is

when Boaz goes, he is reshaping the entire future of his family.

He is reshaping the entire future of his tribe and the

nation of Israel, as well as the salvation story woven into

Scripture. It is so weighty, the space here

that they couldn't leave it there because they know you and

I, we're just going to read, OK? Boaz went.

It's almost like they wanted to plant a flag and say something

is happening here. And so they chose a word that

comes from the category that you and I have covered a few times

in the book of Ruth. The category of It just so

happened. That's the category of

meanwhile. So you read in in for this one.

Meanwhile, Boaz went up to the town gates and sat down there

just as the guardian Redeemer. There's another It just so

happened he was at the gate and this other Redeemer arrived.

And so they take from this and they put it right up front and

center to double barrel. What is going on here?

It's like 1 little shot is not good enough.

They want you to see that God is moving.

Something is happening. God is up to something in this

tiny little space between Ruth, who doesn't have a future, and

Boaz, who went in the meanwhile, God is on the move, they

actually say. Meanwhile suggests multiple

threads of action moving forward simultaneously, simultaneously,

like a tapestry in the hands of a mighty God.

So they put my the meanwhile in there because meanwhile suggests

multiple threads of action moving forward simultaneously,

like a tapestry in the hands of a mighty God.

And you and I are so infatuated with the myth that we fail to

see the meanwhile. We're so intimidated by the

mountain that we don't even notice the meanwhile God is on

the move. And so they plant this flag

there. They make this statement

meanwhile. Do you know the God of meanwhile

in your meanwhile? Not only is it from the category

of it just so happened, but this word meanwhile also comes from

the category of Pele, that which requires God as its explanation.

See the, the the translators are looking at this and they sing

what happens next, and they say it requires God as its

explanation. It is such a weighty moment that

you can't see for the trees because we're captivated by the

mess that we're in, the issues we're facing, this business

that's imploding, the wife who wants to leave.

And so instead they put this meanwhile in there, which is a

word of promise, purpose, potential, power.

Meanwhile, Boaz Wentz, see, we are so earthy, we we're consumed

by our mess and our moment that we completely miss the meanwhile

of God. You know, meanwhile, he's

bringing beauty from ashes. Meanwhile, he's turning bones

into an army. Meanwhile, he's taking your

trials and forging testimonies. Meanwhile he's taking your

prayers and he's actually preparing the answer.

One of you know this. Meanwhile, that's God who

interjects himself into the midst of what you're going

through or if all you can see is the meltdown that you're facing.

And so it says. Meanwhile, Boas went, we serve a

meanwhile God. But one translation says, and

now this is above my pay grade. I've got AB for English in my

trick, but I'm like and you go with and I'd understand if it

said and he cut his toenails, but and I mean and is like 2

tone cocky. Sorry guys, it just has to be

said. You know, it's like and there's

no personality, there's no colour.

It's a it's a drab word and you want to say and the God who

created heaven and earth and see the reason why some translate

and is because it's a word that joins.

It joins chapter 3 with chapter 4 and Boaz went.

But the problem is when you choose the word and to explain

what's going on and joins, but it doesn't transform.

See, when God walks into your meanwhile, he transforms from

top to bottom. It doesn't matter how dusty and

dreary and drab your situation. Meanwhile God steps in.

I know you're thinking like, gosh, he's been labouring one

word that's not even in the Bible for like 10 minutes.

What is wrong with this guy? How much coffee has he had now?

I'm not labouring a word that's not there.

I'm labouring a God who is there, A God who's there even

though you don't see him. Meanwhile, meanwhile, there's a

word owned by our Heavenly Father.

Meanwhile, 2 years ago we had Noel for the very first time and

there was a dad who set up on those race seatings over there

that Ferdie designed. But 10-15 minutes into our first

Noel, this was two years ago, 10-15 minutes in, he had to

leave because he got a message from his wife.

Our daughter has been diagnosed with kidney failure.

It's urgent. Police come, she's been admitted

to ICU, and so he left. Now you've got to know in that

moment, you know, just like in the movies where everything is

and you're just staring blankly because you cannot even begin to

comprehend the potential loss of a child.

Meanwhile, someone we don't yet know who is arranging a parking

lot prayer meeting at the hospital where over 100 people

join, including people who came for visiting hours, saw these

people praying and said, look, what's going on, You know, we're

praying for someone. The kidney failure, that's

serious. And they joined in.

Meanwhile, a group of ladies in Canada, I mean, that's the other

side of the planet, gathered together week after week, day

after day to pray. Strangers down in Durban did the

same here, and Pretoria friends old and new, pouring prayers

into those heavenly bowls. And this Thursday night, two

years later, another Noel and the same father sat in the same

spot at this time with his daughter, completely and utterly

healed. Because we serve a God who moves

in your meanwhile he moves in your.

Meanwhile he multiplies and mends and takes a hold of your

situation even though you don't see her.

Had the privilege. A few years ago a friend of mine

lost his wife to to cancer. It was very sudden and he was so

gutted by it. They're they're still relatively

newlyweds as much as they'd had children, but he faced his world

falling apart. Business was haemorrhaging.

He didn't know how to look after young kids.

Meanwhile, this young lady, abandoned, destitute, she'd

given herself up to prostitution.

But the church that he was in heard about her and that she was

would do anything to get out of this situation.

And so they rescued and redeemed her.

And I had the privilege of watching through the curtain and

seeing him get down on his knees all those many months later as

God was redeeming both of them and making both of them whole

because you must see a moment or a mountain and a mess.

But God moves in the meanwhile, beautiful Joseph.

Joseph was asleep, maybe dreaming, lying on a cold prison

floor. Pharaoh has also asleep.

The interpreter of dreams. There's just a few chambers away

and here's Pharaoh dreaming in his probably silky pajamas.

Meanwhile, God is on the move and redeems both of them.

Abraham is walking up the side of Mount Moriah, dragging the

Son of Promise that he has been asked to sacrifice.

He doesn't know where to categorize this Heavenly Father

that would ask that of him. Meanwhile, God has made sure a

silly little sheepy is wandering his way up there so this ram can

get caught in the thicket. Ruth has lost everything.

You know, I was thinking about it.

She's moved away from family, moved away from home.

Her husband has died. She's among the poorest of the

poor, gleaning in the fields. But the harvesting is over.

She's got nothing to plant because she's had to eat

everything. And she's got a mother-in-law

who's getting on in years. She has no claim to anything.

Meanwhile, Boaz went no World War Two.

There was these concentration camps in one of the forests in

Germany. They were kind of close but not

up against each other. But two Scottish men, they were

both medics in the war and they were taken hostage and they're

put into these separate concentration camps.

And, and it just happened that these guards and the people in

charge of these concentration camps heard that they were

previously medics. So they thought this is a great

idea. We don't even have to go among

the riffraff. You can look after your own.

And so these two hatched a bit of a plan.

They said, listen, you know, we need to sort of compare notes

because I see a disease here. I'm not quite sure how to treat

it or, you know, we just need some cloth and bandage for this.

And so they gave them permission every day just to stand at there

was a, an adjoining fence. They were allowed to stand there

and talk, but they were Scottish.

And so they were able to speak Gaelic.

And the guards didn't understand.

And meanwhile they were busy communicating what's going on in

the barracks, what's going on in the barracks and what's

happening in the wall because one of the guys hadn't actually

fabricated A makeshift radio. And then one day they get to the

fence and one guy says in Gaelic, and I don't know Gaelic,

otherwise I'd say what it what he said.

But they tell me, he said, listen, the Germans have

surrendered. The war is over.

And this is what he said. He said going back to the

barracks, telling these the rest of the prisoners, he said we

were still in prison, but we were already free because while

we were here in this concentration camp.

Meanwhile the Germans had surrendered.

Took him four days before the gods found out.

And he said meanwhile the prison became a party.

We didn't complain about the flu food.

We all seem to suddenly be having good night's sleep.

We didn't hate the gods. We actually felt sorry for them

because of meanwhile. See, when you understand that

God is a God of your meanwhile, it shows.

So if you are still rattled and spinning out and borderline

depression, and if you are chewing everyone's heads off and

you sucker analyzing everything and you're just spewing anger

and bitterness and vitriol, it means you do not understand.

Meanwhile God is working on your behalf.

So good to see you. Do you know this God?

Does it show that you know this God?

Because it will if you do. Meanwhile Boaz wins.

I'm glad it didn't say meanwhile the universe smiled on her or

meanwhile her stars aligned. So grateful.

I'm Sagittarius and it says meanwhile Boaz.

The Bible puts flesh to the meanwhile.

Meanwhile, Boaz now I don't know if you've ever had a high

commendation from your mother-in-law, but Boaz got one

of the best from his future mother-in-law.

Take a look. If you if you page back to the

last verse in Ruth chapter 318 says then Naomi, this is his

future mother-in-law said to Ruth, wait my daughter until you

find out what happens for the man will not rest until the

matter is settled. Today I want to show you what a

commendation it's it's AI think there's something prophetic a

discernment in Naomi that is godly.

So she says wait my daughter wait see what Ruth needed to

know what you needed to know when there's a meanwhile

transpiring what falls to us the part we play the part she plays

is simply to wait. One of my favorite verses that

have come out of our wrestle this year is Isaiah 64.

Four. This is since the foundation of

the world. No eye has seen, no ear has

heard of a God like you who works for those who wait.

I mean, take a look there. It says, wait, my daughter, wait

because we're looking at. Meanwhile, Boaz went, didn't

say. Meanwhile Ruth went, you know,

it wasn't like she scooched that skirt up a little higher.

So OK, meanwhile Ruth went. I'm going to make a plan, boys,

it says. Meanwhile, Boaz wins her

responsibility. Your responsibility, my

responsibility in the midst of the mess is to wait on the God

who works for those who rest me is to wait my daughter until you

find out what happens. Take a look at this.

For the man will not rest. The man will not rest.

You know, for me, rest is, is like a comfort term, but this is

actually a biblical term. It comes from in two Chronicles

20. We see God being referred to as

giving a king rest on every side.

It didn't mean that the king rested on his right side and

then rested on his left. It means that God went to war

for that king and gave him rest on every side.

And that's the word that she uses.

He will not rest. God will go to war for you if

you let him in your Meanwhile, your Heavenly Father is better

than Boaz. If Naomi can say Ruth, you can

trust this man, this fallen earthy man.

How much more your Heavenly Father that you can trust him to

go to war over your heart that's lost its desire for your spouse

that he will go to war for you against your your boss who's

tearing you to shreds and cynical and filled with

contempt. He will go to war for you on

your behalf for your children who are being bullied at school.

You'll go to war for you on your behalf if you're overwhelmed at

the end of 2025, if you'll wait for the God who goes to war and

then the last one and this this struck me for the man will not

rest until the matter is settled.

Today I was talking Hebrew Greek.

In the Hebrew, settled is kala. In the Greek, it's a word you

might be familiar with, Tetalesta.

Have you heard tetalesta before? You'll hear it next Easter.

It's the word Jesus used on the cross, having paid for your

sins, having been beaten for your past, taking all that,

being nailed to a cross, being bludgeoned to death on your

behalf. The last thing he said is

tetalist. I it is finished, I believe.

Probably what? Maybe even that word alone.

The book of Ruth is in the Bible because it is such a picture of

the heart of God for you, God who is better than Boaz, He'll

work your redemption through until he can say over you it is

finished. You know in the Hebrew there

isn't a word in the ancient Hebrew, there isn't a word for

for tragedy or tragic because to the Hebrew mind, when you serve

that God, if there's still tragedy around, if, if there's

still a mountain, if it's still a mess just means he's not

finished. He's still busy in your

meanwhile, he's still multiplying, he's still

mobilizing help. He's still making away, he's

still molding your future. He's still manifesting his

goodness. He's still moving mountains,

he's still ministering, he's still mastering the impossible

until he can say over you and over your situation, it is

finished. Meanwhile, Boaz went, and he is

better than Boaz. Now we're going to turn a little

corner here. Sharp left with went.

Meanwhile, Bowers went. I want to turn things here from

from God's role in our redemption to your role in one

another's redemption. So we, we, we.

You won't like this part, but the Bible says, you know, I love

the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and love your

neighbor as yourself. This is the fullness of God's

desire for you and I as his sons and daughters.

We love the first bit, that's why we have 7 1/2 thousand

people watching online each week.

We love to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind and

soul. Our neighbor is Dennis is my

neighbor. He's OK with Hilton.

I didn't know but here's a question.

What if you are the Boers God wants to use in someone else's?

Meanwhile? So I heard a pastor get up,

announce about a building project.

You know, we heard about Ferdie. This pastor got up and, you

know, they showed the plans and how much it's going to cost and

where they're going to start and all of this.

And he says we've got good news and bad news.

The good news is we have all the money for the projects.

And the church just erupted. Look, oh, this is amazing.

Let's get going. He said.

The bad news is it's still in your wallet.

Essentially what he is saying is what if God wants to use you to

be the Boaz in someone else's meanwhile?

So I was chatting with my wife this week and she was telling me

about someone who's struggling and being the man of compassion

that I am and a true blue gold standard pastor, I just

explained to her, why is this not my, my problem here?

Don't make yourself my stuff. You know, I don't know.

I don't know if you're like me at all, but I can still remember

when I was studying at school and at varsity.

Yeah, I could remember where certain things were in my book,

you know, like I can still remember to this day.

Geography, you know, the the map of the world is top left in the

book. And then I'd color the oceans in

blue and that's where we had the ocean names.

And and then the agricultural section was sort of down and to

the right. I don't know if you like that,

but I'm like that. Yeah, I know.

It's, I know it was somewhere on that side of the Bible in the

book of Ruth, You know? So my wife is busy telling me

about the situation. I'm busy waxing eloquent about

how I have washed my hands clean of this and it's not my

responsibility. And then I see this picture and

it was not that I'd worked through the week before.

And it says the following. It says we can wash our hands

like pilots or we can wash their feet like Jesus.

Brilliant. Yeah.

That's that's unfair, you know, thanks for that.

So I just wanted to share my opinion because what if God

wants to use you to be a Boaz in someone else's?

Meanwhile, do you know that every single meanwhile

redemption has happened through a Boaz?

It's the way God has chosen to work.

I don't know why he wants to invite us in, but of course, you

know, part of the conversation was like, yeah, but you, I mean,

it's the consequences of their decisions.

You know, actually, if they were better Christians and if they

just bothered to come to church, I think we could really solve

this problem just by getting into the presence of God, which

is essentially saying, you know, they're a little bit too Moabite

for my taste. And then God did it again.

This time, he said being a Boaz is not just loving Jesus, but

loving Judas. Yeah, sorry.

Anyway, therapy three times this week, you see, because I think

I'm. I'm millennial and Gen.

Z at heart, you know that they say of us, we take more selfies

in one day than there are portraits of Napoleon.

And he actually did something. Because we are so I am so self

obsessed. I will dance, I will walk 500

miles to come face to face with the God who works in my

meanwhile, in my meanwhile. But in Roberts, No, sorry, he's

got issues. Meanwhile Boaz went.

If Boaz did not went, there would be no redemption for

Naomi, there'd be no redemption for Ruth, there would be no

Obed, Jesse, David. Meanwhile, Boaz went.

And it's so simple. It's just you noticing that

single mom as she wrestles her kids into the car after church

today and he's spotting those very worn tires and thinking,

sure, that's not wise driving home with children and those

worn tires. That's not Boaz.

Boaz changes those tires and pays for them anonymously.

It's when you hear a night and this is true story.

I was in a life group and we heard a lady who'd been without

work for so long, she'd run out of money.

And so she was eating one meal every second day, but she was

sharing her testimony how God had given her work.

And so we were like, that's wonderful, Hallelujah, God is so

good. And we didn't factor in the fact

that she's only going to be paid in a month's time.

And the end result was that she ate one meal every second day

until she finally got paid up because the life group did

nothing. We washed our hands like Pilot

rather than washing her feet like Jesus.

You know what it means. Meanwhile, Boaz went means being

the first to apologize, means agreeing to marriage counseling,

means picking up the phone and forgiving.

Writing off someone's debt had challenged me to the core.

I had coffee with a friend this week and just in passing, he

said, You know what? Yeah.

They were talking about one of the domestics and they're,

they're worried that something that had transpired in their

move recently. And he just said, and he wasn't

trying to make a point. He just said, you know, normally

what I do on a Saturday morning is when the gardener arrives, I

make 2 cups of tea and I take some rusks and we just sit on

the deck and I have tea with him and Rusk and I catch up.

I'm going to look. And then he mentions, yeah,

that's why we know that he doesn't have these documents and

has dad passed away and how he needed to pay medical bills.

I'm thinking like, I don't even know if my garden is married

because I'm so selfish. Don't ask me to be Boaz, but oh

Lord Jesus, be better than Boaz to me.

I'm going to land with two stories.

I mentioned a while back a friend of mine was having an end

of year function and he had one of the stuff.

He noticed his stuff in the in the corner there that she was

having a really bad evening. And so he went across and asked

like what's going on? And she said I came with my

boyfriend, my boyfriend boyfriend went home with someone

else. He's like, Oh my God, gosh, just

dump his, dump his Boaz. And she said, I can't, we live

together, we share the the bills, rent.

I can't afford the extra 4000 Rand to move out.

So she said, I've got a Christmas present for you.

You've just gotten a 4000 Rand race.

And he sent one of the managers home to help her pack up and

move out and start again. And, you know, next weekend

she's getting married now to a man who pursued her to love,

love her and made a life together with her.

And I'm saying to my mate, because he's been invited as a

guest of on, I'm like, I think you should go.

I think you should go. He goes Boas.

Meanwhile, Boas went, I'm going to end with David, but not King

David, David NASA. I don't know if you know David

NASA. David NASA is considered one of

the most influential men in the the student space at the moment.

They say of Charlie Cook that the reason why he had such

traction across the US in that student space was because of the

ground that David NASA prepared, the groundwork that he's been

doing over the last few years. The crazy thing about David is

that he's from Iran and as a young boy there was an Iranian

revolution and apparently there were mass murders.

And he gives the accounts of how this religious regime took over.

And they were, yeah, they were murderous.

And he gives an account. He says he was actually a

school. And these people barge into the

assembly and they've got a list of names.

And they're calling out these names.

And they, the boys come forward and they put guns to their heads

and threatened to kill them just as a statement because he was,

these were leaders in the community.

And so one thing lead led to another and they managed to fake

hot issues with his mom and they said to the doctor, they said,

listen, we will give you a cause a home.

All the money in our bank. He has a cards and the the pin

to get into our bank accounts. If you can tell the authorities

that she needs to be treated outside of the country so that

she was airlifted and the family with him left homework and

everything at home looking as if they were coming back and they

got out of there. Long story short, they end up in

the US. Now you can imagine as a Muslim

Iranian awkward guy, he just didn't fit and he was bullied

every single day at school until the very last day they're going

to varsity. Everyone's moving away and he's

sort of stuck there smoking zol with like the only other guy

around because everyone is leaving their small little town.

And this guy, while they're enjoying some Durban poison,

invites him to church. He says still to this day, he

doesn't know what that guy was thinking.

Invite him to church. But now David hates any kind of

religion because it was religious zealots, that one,

that put a gun to his head that caused him to lose their

everything. And so he does, you know,

doesn't want to sort of spoil the party.

He just says, no, my dad won't let me go.

You know, he's Muslim at church. And it's a thing.

The guy's like, go ask your dad. So like, OK, fine.

So they go upstairs. The dad's already in bed.

And now he needs to make sure that this guy hears the dad

won't allow it. And just, you know, we can close

this amicably. So he says in English, Dad, I've

been invited to church tomorrow, can I go?

And his dad's sort of half asleep.

I think it was like 1:00 AM in the morning.

He's like this church. And so he says the name some

Baptist Church. He says yes, you go, you go, but

only that church. It's like, Dad, you're blind,

this for me, I don't want to go to church.

So you go, you go. He doesn't understand what is

going on. Goes to church, gets radically

saved. His sister gets saved, his mom

gets saved. And two years later his father

gets completely saved. And when his dad gets saved,

he's finally allowed to move back into the house because he

was kicked out because the family is Muslim and it will be

shame on them. So he moves back into the house.

His dad. Why did you tell me I must go to

church? When you hate Christians and you

refuse to, you know, not be a Muslim, like, how did that

transfer? He says there's a Bohus.

His dad was running a restaurant, and it was

hemorrhaging that couldn't make ends meet.

They couldn't afford to pay waiters.

And there was a group they were having a Noel like we had that

came to church, came to the restaurants after their choir

practice. And they noticed that this

restaurant was really struggling.

And so the guy leading the production rolled up his sleeves

and waited for the rest of the night, helped wash dishes,

stayed there until they're locked up.

Then the following night, he went to practice and said, hey,

guys, listen, can you can you just take this and fill out when

you were going to do a shift at this restaurant?

So we're just so you know, we're not taking any tips and we're

not being paid for it until these guys are on their feet.

And they came from the same church.

So David, NASA was asking, can I go?

Because Boaz went. You know, it sometimes can be as

little as rolling up your sleeves and waitering or not

chewing the waitress's head off on a Sunday after you've just

come from church and she knows you've just come from church and

now you're ripping her to shreds but instead encouraging her,

loving on her, looking after her, and then giving her a huge

tip, Boaz went. And because of that one man,

unnamed David, NASA has seen hundreds of thousands of

students come to know Jesus, hundreds of thousands.

See, Boaz didn't know David was in the mix.

He just went and my charge to you and I really think Ruth's

charge to you and I is to get to know the God who ministers in

our meanwhile, who mobilizes help and makes a way in our

meanwhile. But they're not to keep it for

ourselves to be Boaz, for someone else in there meanwhile,

to live with eyes and hands and hearts wide open for this

community and for this city. So I want to close the book of

Ruth just by praying for us and praying for those two things.

And we trust that God would just ignite our hearts.

Father, we just want to thank you.

Thank you for what you do in our meanwhile.

I know it's highly likely there are many here that actually

haven't even begun to recognize your fingerprints because the

mountain is so big, the valley is so dark.

And I pray, Lord God, that you would resurrect ours in this

community to come face to face with the God who moves in our

meanwhile. Now we'd be like Ruth, that we'd

be like Isaiah says that we would wait on you, the God who

works for those who wait. But I pray Heavenly Father too,

that we won't be those who run wholeheartedly of the most

amazing, loving, compassionate and kind God and keep you to

ourselves, but Lord, that we would begin to recognize the

need in the city, the need in our home, the need in our

department, the need in this community, Lord Jesus, where we

can be the Boers in someone else's.

Meanwhile, I'll ask Holy Spirit that you take this word as one

Thessalonian says that you'd you'd minister to us in power

and deep conviction so we can be the hands and feet of the one

that we serve in Jesus name, Amen.