COME BACK HOME / VUELVE A CASA

(Ruth 1:19-22).

Proposition: God wants you to come back to fellowship with Him.

Key words: Restoration, repentance, fellowship.

Interrogative: Why

Transition Sentence: Let me give you three reasons why I encourage you to return to the Lord

Introduction: No one could really say why he ran away. Or perhaps he didnt, but was kicked out of his
home by his father for something foolish that he said or did. Either way, Paco found himself
wandering the streets of Madrid, Spain, with hopes of entering into a profession that would most likely
get him killed bullfighting. Those who train under a mentor have a good chance of surviving this
profession, but Pacos memory of his mistakes and guilt over what happened blindly drove him to this
one way street to suicide. But that was the last thing his father wanted, which is why he tried
something desperate which he desperately hoped would work. There was little to no chance that he
would be able to find Paco by wandering the streets of Madrid, so instead he put an advertisement in
the local newspaper El Liberal. The advertisement read, "Paco, meet me at the Hotel Montana at
noon on Tuesday. All is forgiven! Love, Papa." Paco is such a common name in Spain that when the
father went to the Hotel Montana the next day at noon there were 800 young men named Paco
waiting for their fathers and waiting for the forgiveness they never thought was possible!
Maybe you are like Paco, you have may or may not have strayed from your earthly father, but you
have from the heavenly. Come back to Him. He loves you, all is forgive He says thru Christ. Return to
enjoy Him and make Him known.

Context: We saw last time that Ruth, a follower of false gods, part of a cursed people, puts her trust in the true
and living God. She decided to follow Him! And nothing would change Ruths mind, not a life of suffering, not
a life of loneliness, not a life of pain, not a life of hunger and poverty, what about you? Have you decided to
follow Jesus? Have you placed your trust in Him. But Naomis story was different, she was a follower of the
true God, she was part of a blessed people. She knew the Lord, but had strayed from Him. Had left him. And
God was calling her to return to Him. Listen, maybe you know the Lord, but are far from Him, you have
backslid, in your heart, in your life, would you return to Him. Would you come back home.

WHY AM I URGING YOU TO COME BACK TO THE LORD? WHY BEG YOU TO COME BACK
HOME?

I. BECAUSE WE CAN ALL STRAY FROM THE LORD (v. 1-6).

EXPLANATION: In chapter one we have a very sad story. It is about a man whose name Elimelech. They lived
in Bethlehem, In a time of famine, in a time of scarcity, in a time where God was dealing with him and all the
rest of Israel, he decided, instead of trusting in the Lord, instead of examing his life and relationship with God,
instead of depending on the Lord for his daily bread, he decided to take matters into his own hands and go
against Gods word, go against Gods plan and he went down to Moab. Now there have been some differences
between bible commentators if Elimelech was really in rebellion when he left Bethlehem. I take the position
that whether he really thought about it or not that yes he was wrong.

A. . Bethlehem was the house of bread----A famine there was a clear indicator that God was disciplining his
people. DT 28: And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of
the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that
the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:2 And all these blessings shall come
on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.3 Blessed shalt thou
be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit
of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.5 Blessed
shall be thy basket and thy store.6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be
when thou goest out. 12 The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto
thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations,
and thou shalt not borrow///////////But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of
the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this
day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:16 Cursed shalt thou be in the city,
and cursed shalt thou be in the field.17 Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.18 Cursed shall be the fruit
of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 19 Cursed shalt
thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out. V. 23-24And thy heaven
that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron. 24 The LORD shall make
the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be
destroyedThese were the promises and curses that Elimelech was under, this was the convenant he was
under. And the lack of rain was no mere coincidence, or another day without rain in the house of bread.
It was Gods discipline on him and on all the other Israelites.

B. The bible gives us his name: Elimelech: , means God is my King, yet this very same man in a time of
difficulty left the land where God was King and went to a pagan, evil, dark land.
C. There were others who didnt leave the house of bread. They stayed, and as in the case of Boaz, were
blessed!!! This was foolishness on the part of Elimelech, it will just be for a while, Its about my family,
It wasnt so much about leaving the house of bread, but the one who is the Bread of life!!! But
Elimelech was not the only one who reacted this way in a time of trouble or temptation. Abraham did
the very same thing when he went down to Egypt (Gen 12), Isaac, it seems was going to do the very
same thing (Gen 26, the Lord appears to him in a time of famine, and says, do not go down to Egypt.
ILLUSTRATION---****I was heart broken to hear of a good friend of mine abandon his whole family for
another woman. What a great testimony of Gods working in his life. He was a very serious student and
preacher. Always exhorting us to follow the Lord, to be on guard because the days are evil.

APPLICATION-----the sad truth is that the very same thing can happen to us. Be on your guard!!
Heb 2:-- Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at
any time we should let them slip.

1 Cor 10:12--- Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. //// As que, el que
piensa estar firme, mire que no caiga. We are prone to worry, we are prone to want to trust in ourselves.
We are given to doubt, we are given to want to things our way. We are prone to quickly put the things of
God to the side and take things into our own hands.
 HEBREOS 10:23-25--- Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful
that promised;)24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:25 Not forsaking
the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so
much the more, as ye see the day approaching

We leave the things, the people, the place that Christ has designed to be our help!!! Dont stop reading the
Bible. Dont stop coming to church. Dont stop serving. Dont stop praying. You have heard these things over
and over again but neglecting them will lead you to disaster. Look unto Jesus. He is your King. He is the Bread
of life. He is the only one. He is the only one that can fill you, nourish you, sustain you!
Transition: Why do I urge you to return back to the Lord? Because in second place

II. BECAUSE THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES TO SIN (v. 19-21).

EXPLANTTION:

1. is this Naomi? What happen. Dont even ask. What happen. We thought you all had become rich.
Where is your husband, where are your children. She was pleasant, charming, someone you liked to be
around. Beautiful, and now old, tired, bitter. She doesnt blame her husband. She could have. Elimelech
was evidently quite wealthy, since he is referred to as an Ephrathite. That name indicates he was from an
ancient, noble line. Some believe his wealth was the very thing, or one of the things, that prompted the
move-his fear of losing what he had, as well as his influence and name. He lost it all. DONT LEAVE
THE LORD, HE IS WANTING YOU TO TRUST IN HIM.
2. She says I went out full. But now I come back empty. Sadly we realize that we had the greatest
blessings when we lose them. It reminds me of the prodigal son (Luke 15).

ILLUSTRATION: William Randolph Hearst, the great publisher,read about a painting and became greatly
interested in it. Desperately desiring to own this painting, he sent his people all overto try to locate this painting
but they couldnt find it anywhere. A year later, out of the blue, one of his employees came to him and told him
that the painting had at last been found. Hearst, excited about the discovery, asked where it had been all this
time. His employee said, It was in your basement. Youve owned it all the time.

APPLICATION Are you looking for happiness, fulfillment, joy and satisfaction and purpose? Christ is the
only one that can provide that! You already have him. Better than Moses, than the old convenant, than the
angels, than the temple, you have Jesus!
Transition: I urge you to return home to the Lord because it is very possible that you have strayed, because there
horrible consequences you will experience if not already, but lastly

III. BECAUSE GOD WANTS TO RESTORE YOU (V. 22).

EXPLANATION: What I love about the book of Ruth is that there a only few verses on judgment, but three
whole chapters on restoration. That shows that God is a God of restoration, of forgiveness, of opportunity!
ILLUSTRATION: I must be honest, the day of my salvation I was convinced that within a matter of days I
would be dead, in heaven but dead. I knew that I was saved but was convinced that because of having lived
such a sinful life that God would take me home. But, I was wrong, God not only saved me but had a plan for
me, a wonderful wife, a Ruth like wife, and a blessed call.
APPLICATION: Do you believe that God cannot restore you? You believe wrong for He is a God of
restoration.

CONCLUSION: Perhaps you are like Paco. You carry a burden of guilt and shame over things you
wish you had never said or wish you had never done, and now you wander the strange streets of
emotional homelessness thinking that destructive behavior is the answer to the weight that
encumbers your soul. Your search for relief doesnt come in the form of bullfighting, but in many ways
it is just as perilous. Drugs, alcohol, cutting, and sinful sexual behavior are all killing machines that
would love to impale your soul and end your life.
But it doesnt need to be that way. You may feel like your Heavenly Father no longer loves and
accepts you. Your guilt may have you convinced that there is no going back to your Daddys
embrace, but that is a lie. The truth is that Jesus paid for every sin you committed or ever will commit.
He paid with His blood and His life, then He put, not an advertisement, but a promise in the Bible:
Come back home, the word come is found over 600 times in the Bible. And many times it is God
using the word. He says come if youre thirsty, and I will give you drink, come if youre tired, and Ill
give you rest, come if youre sins are red like crimson and I will make them whiter than snow. Would
you come to the Lord today!