<TITLE>09. Par 55-66</TITLE>L-55 And any time that a believer, gets off of his God-given grounds... Many times in politics, this election coming up and so forth, a good man can be a good man, and he'll wander off of those grounds. Like a certain minister I know run to be mayor of the city. And when he did--got off of his ministerial grounds, and Satan overtook him.
If any Christian gets off of those grounds. "Well, I'll just go down tonight, set with the boys in the pool room awhile; I'll do no harm. I'll just take one little drink." You're off your grounds. Come back. You're only setting your course for trouble.
"Oh, all the rest of the girls smoke; I'll just try one." You're off your grounds. Don't do that. Stay in the homelands. "Oh, well, everybody over here, they call me old fogy; they call me old fashion." Stay there anyhow. That's your place. Stay in Christ.

L-58 Naomi, because of the famine, wandered out from the lands and went into Moab, finding bread. She didn't have to do that, because the rest of them stayed in Judaea, Bethlehem. "Bethlehem" means the Bethel, "house of God, house of praises." And they stayed there.
And she wandered away with her husband. And her two sons married Moabite girls. But if God has ordained something to be done, it'll happen anyhow. That's the reason I certainly believe in predestination, God's foreknowledge of things.
Then we find over there death struck the family, and they started back. Kill... The boy got--died... Both boys died and the father died. And Ruth started back, Orpah, and Naomi.

L-61 Now, I want to liken this morning, Naomi, the elder lady, to the orthodox church, the Jewish orthodox church, Ruth, the Moabite, a Gentile, being the Christian church, the new church.
And I want to approach it from four different phases: Ruth... I got it wrote here. Ruth Deciding (making her decision), Ruth Serving, Ruth Resting, Ruth Rewarded. As we come back: Ruth, making the decision; Ruth, after she made her decision, then Ruth is serving; then Ruth is resting; then Ruth as rewarded.

L-63 Now, on the road back there come a time, as her being a type of the church, or of the Christian... As each individual represents the entire Christian nation. Did you know that? You, in your behavior, in the way you act, and what you do, you represent the entire Body of Christ. You say, "But I'm just a lay member." That doesn't matter. When you take on that name of Christian, you represent Christ and His church. You should live like that. You should live like gentlemen, like ladies. Don't never do things of the world, because the whole eyes of heaven and earth is cast on you to represent that one thing. No matter how weak you are, how little you are, hold your head right, 'cause you are a Christian.

L-64 Now, Ruth was a pagan, served idols, and so was Orpah. And they was on their road coming back with the mother-in-law, because she heard that down in Bethlehem, Judaea, that God had lifted the plague, and the people was having bread. She'd been up there about ten years, so Edersheim says, about ten years: the historian.
And coming back, sad, and her husband dead, her children dead, with her two daughter-in-laws... Then she turned, must, and looked upon them, and said, "Why would you go with me? Now, you can't do nothing but have trouble." Said, "I'm sorry that the hand of God has stretched out against me."

L-66 How many times has Israel thought that? Not knowing that it was all God's program. How the weeping wall's just outside of Jerusalem, still there. The old stones of the temple, they picked them up and made a wall. And they are rubbed slick from tears and crying of Jewish hands crying and begging Jehovah: "Jehovah..." They don't realize that their hour is close at hand now. Weeping walls, these stones once housed in the Ark of the Covenant. King David looked upon these stones. "O Jehovah, where art Thou?" See, not knowing that soon her King will return, her Redeemer... They had to be cast out for a little season.


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