I want to turn your attention to the first chapter of the book of Ruth. We know that the woman who gives this book its name is obviously the main character of the book, and the point of the story that we have reached is really the pivotal point, a turning point. It's really critical to the entire biblical narrative. Ruth and her sister-in-law Orpah had accompanied Naomi to the outskirts of the town as she made her way back home to Bethlehem. They actually stood at the crossroads where each of them had to make a definite choice, a definite decision, whether to go back to the old life in Moab with its pagan idols or to press on with Naomi, their mother-in-law, to a strange but promising land. And it is to that place that souls are brought at one time or another when they hear the message of the Gospel, where the claims of God and of Christ are made upon the life. I think in this incident we have a two-fold picture. We have a portrayal of one who ignores the opportunity to enter the house of bread and find satisfaction there, and that of another who actually grasps it for dear life. The first one, like Orpah, cannot leave the fascinations and the attractions of the world. Self is the center of his life. He does count the cost, but he chooses his idols against the blessed Son of God. The other one, like Ruth, with full purpose of heart and in simple faith, chooses the path of the unseen and the unknown, and in so doing, places herself under the wings of the Lord God of Israel in quiet confidence and trust. This great moment of decision for God revolutionized Ruth's entire future. On the other hand, we hear no more of Orpah, who came so near, it seems, to the kingdom and then went back. But Ruth's story has been told down through the ages, how she married Boaz and thus was brought into the seed royal line of the Messiah. Last time we looked carefully at the decisions that are recorded here in this chapter, but we spent most of the message examining the sad account of Orpah and what we called her backward choice. Like many when it comes to the Gospel, when tested, she drew back. When the case was put to Orpah plainly and she was called upon to count the cost, She showed that she belonged to the world and not to God because she was unwilling to renounce the world and its attractions to enter the kingdom of God. Orpah had a mind that was full of the things of the land of Moab. Bethlehem Judah just didn't appeal to her at all. And there are many like Orpah who make this backward choice They seem to resolve to go God's way, but they turn back. They're easily put off. They might even shed tears as she did, but there's no real repentance. In short, she kissed goodbye to the kingdom of God. But then we come to this portion where there's a blessed choice. where Ruth was given grace to make a definite decision to forsake Moab and to go to Bethlehem, Judah. While Orpah made a fleshly decision, Ruth made the right choice. And we might ask the question, why that was? Was it because Ruth was better than Orpah? That she had more common sense than Orpah? That outwardly she was superior to Orpah? Absolutely not. Both of them were very affectionate. Both of them wept over the thought of leaving their mother-in-law. Both of them were kind to Naomi and their late husbands and the family. There was no difference between Orpah and Ruth outwardly. The difference was this, God's mercy and grace that was extended sovereignly to Ruth. That's what made the difference. And that's what makes the difference where every believer in Christ is concerned. We come to verse 16 and verse 17 of Ruth chapter 1. And it's our purpose to examine further this blessed choice of Ruth. Obviously, both of these women, Orpah and Ruth, are instructive examples because they are representative of people in every age. They serve as a reminder of that theme that runs all the way through Scripture. And that is the theme of the sovereignty of God in salvation. How often do you read, both Old Testament and New, of contrasting characters and of the division that is seen among men. It's not a natural division. It's a supernatural division. The Bible talks about men and women as being divided into two categories. Saved and lost. Believers and unbelievers. Repentant and unrepentant. Godly and wicked. The elect and the reprobate. And we see it in the very first human family. There you have Cain. and Abel, many believe they were twins. But one was godly, the other was not. We see it in Abraham's family, Esau and Jacob. One was godly, one was not. We see it also at Calvary's cross where there were two thieves. One man was saved, on his deathbed. The other was not. He died as he lived. And there are other cases that I could reference in the Scripture. And in each and every case, it is grace alone that makes the difference. And so it is with Ruth and Orpah. There's nothing else that can be said other than God, in His sovereign purpose, saved Ruth. Orpah was not saved. That's a doctrine that people often gnash their teeth at. They don't like it. There are preachers who don't like it. And consequently, they don't preach it. But whether they like it or not, whether they preach it or not, it's biblical. It's what the Bible teaches. And we find that Orpah, like her counterparts in all of human history, she kissed the kingdom of God goodbye, though she had the same privileges and the same opportunity that Ruth had. But Ruth made a blessed choice. And she uttered these words, of verses 16 and 17, that one writer said, are words that no poetry has outrivaled, and no pathos has exceeded, and which have come down through the centuries with a music that will not let them be forgotten. Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee, for whither thou goest I will go, and where thou lodgest I will lodge, Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me." Ruth made a blessed choice. The commentator Morrow said, in an utterance that is hard to match for quiet dignity and force. Though expressed in words of the utmost simplicity, Ruth declares her complete abandonment of her former life and home surroundings, with all the inducements and possible advantages it had to offer, and her irrevocable committal of herself to all the unknown and unimaginable consequences of uniting her destiny to that of Naomi. A blessed choice indeed, since it was made as the result of a deep work of God in her heart. The Apostle Paul in the New Testament speaks of a repentance not to be repented of. And that's what Ruth had. That's what she possessed. There was going to be no turning back for her. In her eloquent statement, there is the dedication to be recognized. You see here from the words of verse 18, that Naomi saw that she, Ruth, was steadfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her. In other words, her mind was made up totally. There was going to be no turning back. Ruth spoke here without faltering and without reservation. The choice that she made was to mean a revolutionizing of her entire life. And she knew that. But there was going to be no turning back. Ruth was utterly determined. And basically what she said to her mother-in-law Naomi was this, don't try to persuade me to leave you and return to Moab. Don't try to do it. Entreat me not to leave thee or to return from following after thee. Don't try to dissuade me from this course. You know it's a blessing to see God work in such a way. that a person who was a worldling, who loved the world and the things of the world says, I can't go back. I've decided to follow Jesus. No turning back. No turning back. There was a man spoken of in the book of Judges. You can turn back there just a few pages to Judges chapter 11. His name was Jephthah. And he said in Judges 11, verse 35, at the end of that verse, For I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back. I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back. Ruth, in a sense, really said the same thing. There was going to be no turning back. These are the words of a changed person. One who is utterly decided and convinced, I'm not going back to the old life. Ruth, in effect, is an Old Testament illustration of a New Testament text. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 17. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. That's Ruth. Old things. The things of Moab, the things of the old life, the things that she grew up with, the things that she was used to, all things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. There is a transformation that has been wrought. A great change has taken place. A great change in her thinking, in her attitude, and in her heart. And it led to a massive change in her life. And she never went back. You know, that's biblical conversion. That's what happens when people are saved by the grace of God. I'm not going back. Frankly, there was nothing for her to go back to in the land of Moab. And so it is for the true Christian. When Jephthah said, I've opened my mouth unto the Lord and I cannot go back, he might well have said, what is there to go back to? When Ruth said, entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee, she might well have said, what is there for me to return to? What is there for me to go back to? Do you know, men and women, somebody who is truly saved is spoiled for this world? That's the truth. You see, there are things that you used to love before you were saved. Things that you lived for. Things that you could say, that's what your life revolved around. That's exactly what you were getting up each day to do. But now it's different. You've been changed. You've been saved by the grace of God. That's the old life. This is the new life. There's nothing for you to go back to. Why would you want to go back to that? I think of the prodigal son. When he began to realise that he needed to get back to the father's house, where was he? He was in the pig pen. He was in a pigsty. I don't know if you've ever been around hogs, but they don't smell very good. That's the truth. It's not a pleasant place to be when you're out there where the pigs are. The prodigal son was in the pigsty. And he goes to the Father's house. Think of it. Why would he want to go back? There's nothing to go back to. That's how it is for the believer and the world. There is nothing to return to. Remember the words of Christ to Peter? These words were spoken in John chapter 6 in the aftermath of a departure. I'm always very encouraged when I think of preachers who lose people from their ministries, because the greatest preacher of them all lost people from his ministry. The Lord Jesus Christ, in John 6, we read in verse 65, And He said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto Me except that were given unto him of My Father. In modern parlance, He was preaching Calvinism. He was telling people, you can't come to the Lord unless you're drawn by the Spirit of God. And what happened? Well, just like what happens today. People didn't like it. They don't like that sort of preaching. Men would rather that you talk about man's free will and about his choice and all of that. But that's not what Christ talked about. The Lord said, no man can come unto Me. There's a matter of inability. No man can. except it were given unto him of my Father." He's referring back, you see, to verse 44. No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day. He says it again in verse 65. And what happened in verse 66? From that time, many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him. They just couldn't stomach all that sound doctrine. Away they went. Professors, but not possessors. But notice verse 67, Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. Think of that. Lord, to whom shall we go? There's nowhere for us to go. There's nothing to go back to. That's the true believer. Oh, there are some professors who make some kind of a promise or a commitment to follow the Lord, but they become offended by the slightest thing, often by the implications of biblical doctrine, and they turn back. But Peter answered well. There's nowhere else to go. Tell me this morning, are you dedicated to the Lord and committed to following Him? Having come to Christ and professed His name, could you really go back and live without Christ? Could you really go back to those times when you never read your Bible, you never prayed, you never came to the house of God, you had no interest in the things of the Lord? Can you go back to that? Because if you can, you're not saved. Mark it down. You're not saved if you can go back to that kind of life. Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. There's nowhere for me to go." That's Ruth, dedicated to following after Naomi and Naomi's God. You see, for Ruth, everything had changed. All things had become new. There's nothing for her that was going to be the same ever again. When I was a young boy, we used to go to a friend's house. And it seemed like every time we were there, I was five, six, seven years of age, he always had this old gramophone with a record on there. It was an LP. It was a 78. Now, a lot of you don't even know what that is. But don't worry about it. Some of us do know what that is. And I can see the ones who know what it is smiling. A gramophone with a 78 LP. You know those things, if you drop them on the ground, they shattered into a million pieces. Well, this guy used to play records all the time. He was absolutely obsessed with Jim Reeves. Remember Jim Reeves? Beautiful dulcet tones. Country music is not a good thing, generally speaking. But Jim Reeves had a beautiful voice. I can just, in my mind's eye, be sitting in that house and listening to that song that used to come on every so often. I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold. I'd rather have Him than riches untold. I'd rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today. I'd rather have Jesus than men's applause. I'd rather be faithful to His dear cause. The chorus went something like this, than to be the king of a vast domain. I'd rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today. Is that you? Is that how you feel? Those things that changed for Ruth are the very same things that change for all true converts. Let's think about those things for a time this morning. In the case of Ruth, she was now on a new pathway. A path that led away from Moab and all that was within it. A path that led to a new life in Judah. You see, the ungodly person, he's one who walks in his own way. Proverbs 14, 12 says, There's a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. The Lord Jesus talked about the way that most men go. It's a broad road that leadeth to destruction. We read of that in Matthew chapter 7. These are very remarkable words even in the context of the story of Ruth. In Matthew chapter 7, verse 13, Jesus said this, Enter ye in at the straight gate, For wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. Because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." What's he talking about when he's talking about the straight gate? He's talking about a very narrow, restrictive entrance to life eternal. I don't know if you've ever had the opportunity to enter a stadium, a ballpark, through a turnstile. I remember going to a soccer game in my home city, in a very old stadium, and all the entrances were exactly the same. And when you go in through there and you buy your ticket, or if you had a ticket in advance, you went through this turnstile, the kind of thing you find sometimes in train stations. The fact of the matter is only one person could go through that turnstile at a time. The people went in there in their thousands, but each and every one of them that was in that ballpark went in as an individual, one by one, through the turnstile. That's just like it is for life eternal. Samuel Rutherford, using a different illustration, he said, the sheep enter the straight gate one at a time. And it made me think of a time when I watched a shepherd in Scotland dipping the sheep. Every year they'll dip them for flies and various diseases that they can get. They shear them and then they put them through a dip. And when they're going through there, they go through there one at a time. One sheep at a time goes through that process and they don't like it. But it's something that they have to do. It's a very narrow entrance. In they go and they come out the other end, all covered and drenched in this dip which will help them and be a benefit to them. That's like salvation. Let me tell you, salvation is an individual matter. It's an individual matter. People don't get saved by families. They don't get saved in groups. I'm not a Christian because my parents were saved or that my siblings were saved. I had to come to Jesus as I was, weary, worn and sad. I found in Him a resting place and He has made me glad. Each and every one in this meeting, if you're to go to heaven, you'll go there because of an individual encounter that you had with Jesus Christ. You'll not go there because you were baptized. You'll not go there because you were brought up in a Christian home. You'll go there if you have come personally, individually to Jesus Christ. Now you listen to me. You will not be saved because of somebody else's salvation. You won't. You must, like the sheep, enter the straight gate all by yourself. I recognized that very early in my life. I was taught it since I was knee high to a grasshopper. If you don't get saved personally, individually, you will not go to heaven. You need to be saved. You need to be individually dealt with by the Lord. And if you are, then you'll start walking on a new pathway. We sang of that earlier in this service. I must needs go home by the way of the cross. There's no other way but this. I shall never get sight of the gates of light if the way of the cross I miss. Then I bid farewell to the way of the world, to walk in it never more." That's Ruth. Ruth entered upon a new pathway. Something else that was new for Ruth. She came to a new place. Whither thou liest, she said, or whither thou goest, I will go. And where thou lodgest, I will lodge. Do you see that? Whither thou goest, I will go. Where thou lodgest, I will lodge. Where you go to, Naomi, and where you live, that's where I'm going. to a new place. Not Moab, Bethlehem Judah. Ruth committed herself to Naomi and to the place where she would be. And that's the way it is for God's people. You know God's people ought to love the church. They ought to love the church. The church is the house of God, the pillar and ground of the truth. Now I know the Church of Rome takes this to the nth degree. and makes the church, the actual institution, into the actual means of salvation, which it is not. But nonetheless, just because the Church of Rome overemphasizes the position of the church, doesn't mean that the church is not important. Because it is important. It is important. Sometimes I'll get calls from people, usually sermon audio listeners, complaining, sad about the fact that they can't find a good church near to where they live. And I'm sure that's true. I'm sure it's getting more difficult in some places to find a good place to worship. And if that's the case, and if it's everything else being equal, possible for you to do it, then you should be able to think about uprooting and moving to some place where there is a decent church. And if there is not that possibility, then you might want to think about having another work started where you live or near to where you live, if you can get other like-minded believers together for that purpose. And I'm not talking about starting a house church, but sometimes, frankly, churches do start in houses. The only thing is, when you look at the scripture, they don't stay there. They don't remain there. The idea that you can be your own master, do whatever you like, have a house, church, there's no authority, no accountability, just a bunch of people get together because they like the sound of their own voice, it's not scriptural. It's not scriptural. But the Lord has a church. There is a place where we should meet. And we're going to find the Lord in the company of His own people. One man said, it is in the company of the sheep that we will find this shepherd. And that's no surprise. We should want to be where God's people are. Too many in the day in which we live are frequenting places where the Lord is not to be found. Their chief companionship is not with the Lord's people. But my Bible teaches me When Ruth said, Whither thou goest, I will go. Where thou lodgest, I will lodge. Thy people shall be my people. That's how God's people are. The Apostle Paul said in Hebrews 10, 25, Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is. Ruth found a new place. And Ruth found a new people. It really goes along with the place, doesn't it? Thy people, says verse 16. Thy people shall be my people. Now I know God's people are not perfect, because I'm one of them. And I'm not perfect. And neither are you. There's no perfect church either. So the idea that you've got this checklist of a hundred things and there's a church that meets 96 of those, but those other four, well, don't think I could go there. I mean, if it's a matter of those four are, they don't preach the Gospel, they don't believe the Bible, well, that would be a reason not to belong to it. But the idea that some sort of minutia or some small point is going to keep you away from the fellowship of God's people, I think is a big mistake that many make. But nevertheless, it's an important point here. Thy people shall be my people. Do you love the people of God for all of their warts? for all of their faults and failings. You should love the Lord's people if you love the Lord. And the Bible teaches that. There's something wrong if you don't. Over in 1 John, it says a lot about love. A lot about love. Especially the love of the brethren. 1 John 3, verse 14, We know that we have passed from death unto life. Here's how you know you're saved. Because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. We know, he says, that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. We love God's people. We love their company. We love to be with them. We love their fellowship. Again, as you go on to chapter 5 of that book, 1 John 5 and verse 1, it says there, Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and every one that loveth Him that begat, loveth Him also that is begotten of Him. So we love the begetter, the Lord, and we love the begotten, God's people. That's why you can meet a Christian from the other side of the world and you've never met them before. But when you find out that you have one thing in common, Christ is the glue that sticks you together, there's fellowship. It's a blessing. You love those people and you love to be with them. There's something wrong if you don't. Do we rejoice in the fellowship? of the Lord's people. Can we say with Ruth, thy people shall be my people? Whenever the early church was persecuted, when those men of God were being badly treated, the Bible says in Acts chapter 4, And verse 21, so when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them because of the people. For all men glorified God for that which was done. Verse 23 says, and being let go, they went to their own company. That's where they gravitated to. That's who they wanted to be with. They went to their own company. What's the company that you gravitate to? Who are the people that you're attracted to most? Do you rejoice in the fellowship of the Lord's people? In Acts chapter 2 and verse 42, we read of those converts, about 3,000 of them, and they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship. Notice the order there. For far too many, it's the other way around. It's fellowship, never mind the doctrine. But not here. It's the doctrine and then the fellowship. Because there's no true fellowship where there's not an agreement on doctrine. So there they are. They're saved. They continued steadfastly in the teaching of the apostles and in their fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayers. They believed in the prayer meeting. They believed in corporate prayer. Again, chapter 9 of the book of Acts, and verse 26. The Bible is talking here about the newly converted Saul of Tarsus, later to become the Apostle Paul. What did he do when he got saved? It says in verse 26 of Acts 9, And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples Of course, they were all afraid of him and believed not that he was a disciple. You can imagine somebody who was a former member of ISIS, he comes to your church and says he wants to join. You'd be like, wait a minute. I don't know about this character. Not sure if he's really a Christian or not. That's how they thought about Saul. But eventually, They were okay with it because Barnabas took them and brought them to the apostles. Verse 27 tells us he gave them the testimony of how he was saved. And so he was able to join himself. But here's the word that's used in verse 26. He has saved. That means he attempted to join himself to the disciples. The word for joining there has to do with gluing himself to them. or adhering to the disciples. That's what God's people do. They want to be in the fellowship of others of like precious faith. Ruth found a new life, a new pathway, a new place, a new people, but furthermore, she had a new possession. And I say this quite deliberately, she had a new possession, because she said, not only will thy people be my people, but verse 16 very significantly closes out with, and thy God, my God. That's it. The God that you worship, Naomi, He's going to be my God. That's who I'm going to worship. Thy God will be my God." In other words, He'll belong to me and I'll belong to Him. And that's what had happened here. The Lord brought her to that place where she belonged to the Lord. And the Lord belonged to her. And what a great mutual feeling there is there. I am His and He is mine. My Beloved is mine and I am His. Thomas could say, My Lord and My God. Now remember this. Ruth had been an idolater. She was from Moab. But from Naomi and her family, she had found out about the God of Israel. I don't know how they spoke to her. I don't know what she observed in them. But obviously, she had come to be acquainted with the Lord God of Israel. And she trusted in Him. People who get saved are just like Ruth. They leave idolatry behind. That's what they do. Away with the Billy Graham notion that you could send people back to the Church of Rome and they're going to be good Christians. The Bible tells me about the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 and verse 9. He turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for His Son from heaven. That's what happened. They turned to God from idols. They didn't retain their idols. They didn't keep their idols. They turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. Now, I know that not all idols are made of wood and stone. There are plenty of idols that we need to leave behind from the old life. But there are people who literally worship idols. A friend of mine back in the UK, his dear mother belonged to the Greek Orthodox Church. He would not be content until he won his mother to Christ, praying for her, witnessing to her, giving her gospel literature, recordings and all the rest of it. And I remember the time when she came to Christ, the first thing that she did as a faithful Greek Orthodox worshipper was to gather up all those icons. They're like 3D images, pictures, but they're three-dimensional. She gathered them all up and put them in a box and took them back to the priest in the city of Glasgow. She said, I don't need these anymore. He was shocked. She had borrowed them from the church because they're so precious, they're so expensive. You couldn't own them. But he allowed her to have them for her own little prayer shrine and her own house. But when she came to Christ, she got rid of the idols. And by the way, that priest subsequently left the Greek Orthodox Church. I don't know where he went or what happened to him. But it wasn't too long after her conversion, he quit. Hallelujah. You turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God. Now, if you notice this carefully, the words of Ruth, at the end of verse 17, after saying, Thy God shall be my God, she said, The Lord do so to me and more also, if aught but death part thee and me. The Lord, Jehovah, is the word there. Oh, she had left idolatry and she had come to see that the Lord was God. All faiths, friends, all faiths are not equally valid. We're living in a day when people think, well, there's one God, but people just call Him by different names. You know, the Jews call him this, and the Muslims call him Allah, and some other religion, they call him something else. But it's the same God, isn't it, at the end of the day? No, it's not. No, no, it's not the same God. How do you know? Because the Bible says it. In the book of Isaiah, you read this time and time again, that God is not the same as every other God. He's not just one of several valid deities. He is the only living and true God. Isaiah 43 from verse 10. Yea, my witnesses saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he. Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord, and beside me there is no Saviour." There is no other God but the living and true God, the Jehovah God of Israel. Isaiah 44 then, and verse 6, Thus saith the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of Hosts, I am the first and I am the last, and beside me there is no God." There is no other God but He. Isaiah 45, 21. He says, There is no God else beside me, a just God and a Saviour. There is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is none else. There's no one else but the Lord. You see, that's very extreme, isn't it? That's very narrow. It is very narrow. It's a straight gate, and it's a narrow way that leadeth to life. There's only one true and living God, and Ruth found out who it was. She came into a new possession. And thank God she had a new prospect. Leaving Moab for good, Ruth was to go on until death parted her and Naomi. That day would come. She knew it would come. She was living in the light of that day, knowing that one day she would die. But she said this in verse 17, Were thou diest, will I die. So Naomi, you're going to die and I'm going to die. And there will I be buried, not cremated. There will I be buried. The Lord do so to me and more also, if aught but death part thee and me. I'm going to go on until death do us part." Leaving Moab for good. She was living with a new prospect ahead of her. See, dedication to the Lord and His people continues. It's a lifelong commitment to serving Christ, never looking back. The Lord Jesus said that those that look back are not fit for the kingdom of God. Luke chapter 9 and verse 62, No man, having put his hand to the plough and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. That's Orpah. But that's not Ruth. She didn't go back. She stayed the course. She went on. And so the Bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 10 that the Lord Jesus died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Thank God that death is not the end. And Ruth knew that as well. She would be forever with the Lord, though she might be parted from Naomi. Can you speak as Ruth did? Martin Luther said true religion is a matter of personal pronouns. My Lord and my God. Can you say that today? Is this the case with you? Do you enjoy the same prospect that Ruth enjoyed? Can you say today of God's people, they're my people. The God that they worship is my God. And I'm going to go on. I'm not going to go back. Don't tell me to return. Don't tell me to go back. There's nothing for me to go back to. I'm going to keep going on in the blood-sprinkled way. May the Lord help us to do that for His honour and for His glory. Amen.