Naomi
Introduction
- A great book
- Consider Naomi this morning and Orpah and Ruth this evening
- Speaking to 'saints' (believers) in the morning and sinners (unbelievers) in the evening
- A backslidden Christian
- Not fallen away
- We are called to press on and make our calling and election clear
- Here we see someone who has 'taken their eye off the ball'
- Not steeped in sin but perhaps the warmness of the gospel has dimmed to a coolness
- Overview
- Naomi
- How the Lord dealt with her
- The Result
Naomi (v1-5)
- The book is based in the time of the Judges
- "They did what was right in their own eyes"
- There was a famine
- Often a sign of something spiritual
- Broadly speaking if they honoured God it went well with them, if they dishonoured God they were cursed
- The people should have repented and returned to God - but they didn't
- Infact, Naomi and family went to Moab
- A pagan people - conceived in a grossly immoral way
- No doubt they justified it to themselves
- Do we apply this same logic to ourselves?
- Have we done something prayerlessly and carelessy?
- Our hearts and deceitful and it is very easy to justify things
- Are we prayerful and careful?
- They thought they would just go for a while (v1,2) but ended up staying 10 years (v4)
- Do we do this? - Example
- Tragically her husband and son die
- The sons married pagan wives - directly disobeying God's law
- Do we pass 'red lines' as their is a gradual cooling and backsliding?
How the Lord dealt with her
- Naomi realises the Lord had disciplined them
- She accepts the chastening of the Lord
- The Lord deals graciously with her
- Are we right with the Lord?
- Are we living our life as we should be?
- Are there consequences this apparent in our life?
- God in His judgment could let us go
- But God in His mercy is correcting and chastening us
- God puts us in our place
- Naomi recognises this - though she does not like it
- In a sense she is humiliated but God restores her
- Do we know what it is to repent as a Christian?
- Not once saved always saved - so we can then 'coast' and wait for heaven
- The Christian race is a hard race
- We needed to be washed afresh - not for justification but our sanctification
The Result
- There is a bitter taste but ultimately it is the only way
- It is a hard thing
- Can we give a word of testimony of what the Lord has done it our lives?
- Do we really believe that God's way is the best way?
- It is wonderful when we trust in God and going His way!
- Even if the midst of trials, difficulties and hardships - we can have that joy unspeakable
- Do we trust God with our lives?
- Not testing, but trusting
- Testing is sinful, trusting is our duty
- Illustration of cleaning and other examples
- The more we trust God, the more we realise there is more to trust Him with
- The blessings are not physical but spiritual
- Deeper fellowship with God
- To know King Jesus
- Is Jesus your best friend?
- Naomi goes from being bitter to having her daughter Ruth being blessed
Closing remarks and challenge