In this our final lesson in the series “Standing on the Promises”, we want simply to understand why we can trust every exceedingly, precious promise that God made. We must realize that God Makes Promises in (2) two Ways His Promises Are – Unconditional and Conditional – In other words God Said If! Blessings “IF” you Obey Deut. 28:1 “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And Curses “IF” you Disobey, Deut. 28:15 “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:”
You see from this that we may misunderstand and become disappointed in God simply because we think He’s failed to keep His word. When all along the problem is our understanding, not His faithfulness. So, we must understand that many of the exceedingly great and precious promises of the Almighty God, are conditioned upon our obedience or disobedience.

As we come to the end of our series on the book of Ruth, the main question we should ask is, “What is the lesson of this book? If I could take it down to a central theme what would it be?” In this book we’ve seen hardship, death, commitment, love and the joy of marriage and a son born. But after all the ups and downs of life what we really should see is, the best is yet to come.

Paul used the Adjective, Verb and Noun all in one sentence: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). Description of God, how God modified the saved in Christ, and the blessing in Christ are tangible. This message will only point to six of the many blessing.

This study is centered around Peter’s Description of the Promises, “by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the [a]corruption that is in the world through lust” ( 2 Peter 1:4 ). Notice that Peter not only describes the promises as being “great”, but “exceedingly great”, Peter tells us they are “precious” and that God has given them to us. Indeed God is the great Giver and His greatest gift was that of His Son, “For God so loved the world that He gave…” (John 3:16), thus we should all be saying, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

I find it highly significant what and how James and Paul by inspiration penned these words. “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (James 2:23). Like Abraham, when members of the Lord’s body say, I BELIEVE GOD. Which is different than, “I believe in God”. We’re saying more than I believe there is a God. We’re saying more than I believe there is a Savior. We’re saying—I am willing to submit—mind—body—soul—life to the will of God (Luke 10:27). We’re saying—I believe the word of God—I accept it as the mirror of my soul (James 1:25). We’re saying—I believe the word of God—alone is the standard—source of all truth (John 17:17). We’re saying I will use His word—to complete me and thoroughly equip me (2 Tim. 3:17).

The book of Ruth is a parallel to life, reflecting good choices, bad choices, tragedy, triumph, and yes even love and relationships. Three Points of our lesson: Dedication to God, Dedication to Family and Two Choices.

Psalm 37:39-40 “But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble. 40 And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, Because they trust in Him.” Perhaps we sometimes overlook it, but it is there that we can find powerful help and special providence in time of need. I am interested in affirming that He has promised His help to His people who are serving Him. One of the great messages of the Scriptures is that God helps and delivers those who trust in Him “And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him” (Psa. 37:40).

In the first chapter of Ruth the writer paints a clear picture for us of three women walking down a road that heads out of the country of Moab, and toward the city of Bethlehem Judah. Imagine with me this scene as Naomi stops—turns—and addresses her following daughters-in-law. She said, “Go, return each to her mother’s house. The Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband. So she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept” (Ruth 1:8-9 ). Such an emotional scene as Naomi reveals two choices, stay, or go. Follow me to a possible life of hard labor, to a land and people you do not know, to live under the law of Jehovah or turn back to your people and your gods, an easier road. What would you have done?