More | Week 6 · Rewind

Pastor Bill Bush · May 15, 2018 · 70 min watch · 3 min read

More | Week 6

Big Idea

The secret to a life of more is to make it less about yourself — seek God's kingdom first and trust Him with everything.

Drawing from the book of Ecclesiastes and the story of Ruth, this sermon argues that the deep human longing for 'more' can only be satisfied when we stop making life about ourselves and instead seek God's kingdom first. Solomon's hard-won conclusion — fear God and obey His commands — is illustrated through Ruth and Boaz, who both chose paths that looked like less but yielded far more than they could have imagined. True joy, meaning, and significance come not from accumulating more for ourselves, but from living in right relationship with God and in sacrificial love for others.

Key points

1
1Solomon's conclusion after chasing wealth, pleasure, and achievement is that the only path to real meaning is fearing God and following His commands.
2
2The secret to a life of more is to make it less about yourself — seeking God's kingdom first is the only way to find true fulfillment.
3
3Ruth chose the path that looked like less — leaving her homeland, gleaning in fields, committing to Naomi — because she put her faith in God and others above herself.
4
4Boaz mirrored Ruth's selflessness, extending extraordinary kindness to a foreign widow and ultimately agreeing to be the family redeemer at personal cost to himself.
5
5The unnamed relative who refused the role of kinsman redeemer because it would cost him too much stands as a warning: choosing self-protection over kingdom obedience means missing out on something far greater.
6
6Ruth and Boaz's son Obed — whose name means 'servant' — became the grandfather of David and an ancestor of Jesus, showing that when we choose kingdom first we become part of a story far bigger than ourselves.
7
7Jesus is the ultimate kinsman redeemer, the servant of all servants, who came not to be served but to serve — and communion is the reset button that reminds us of His love and gives us courage to trust Him.

Application

The pastor challenges every person in the room to honestly ask: where have I made life about me? Where am I clinging to the wide, safe-looking road of self-interest instead of trusting God with my money, time, marriage, job, or kids? The invitation is to shift from running after more for yourself to seeking God's kingdom first — even when that road looks like less. Ruth and Boaz model what it looks like: take the costly, others-focused step in faith and watch God work in ways you never expected. Practically, this means asking the Holy Spirit to reveal one area of your life where you need to let go and trust God, then taking that step — not to earn His love, but because He has already proved it on the cross.

Take it into your week

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Scripture in this message

From the transcript
“In chapter 12 of Ecclesiastes, he starts off saying this, don't let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old”
From the transcript
“And then he ends the book with how do you do that? He basically says in verse 13, that's the whole story. Here is now my final conclusion. Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone's duty”
From the transcript
“But it's it's it's Matthew six thirty three. And in Matthew six thirty three, it it says this. Seek the kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need”
From the transcript
“That's where we pick up the story in verse 14 of chapter one. It says, and again they wept together because they're saying goodbye. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye. But Ruth clung tightly to Naomi”
From the transcript
“So Boaz went over in chapter two verse eight, and said to Ruth, listen my daughter, stay right here with us when you gather grain. Don't go to any other field”
From the transcript
“and and and so he says, yes. But he says, there's another relative that's higher up on the list. He's a closer one. He has the choice, the first rights. And and so he goes, I'll go take care of it. And in chapter four, you actually see God all over this”
From the transcript
“If you look down in verse 17, it says, the neighbor women said, now at last Naomi has a son in it. Meaning she has an heir, her grandson. And they named him Obed”
From the transcript
“And if you look into Matthew chapter one, starting from Abraham, which was before them, read the genealogy. And that genealogy in Matthew chapter one runs right through Ruth and Boaz, right through Obed, through David, through Solomon”

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7-day devotional

A personal reading plan from this message — scripture, reflection, and prayer for each day.

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Solomon had everything the world says should make a person happy — wealth beyond measure, achievements that would outlast him, pleasures of every kind. And at the end of it all, he sat down and wrote one of the most honest books in all of Scripture. Ecclesiastes isn't a pessimist's complaint; it's a wise man's hard-won testimony. He chased more, and more, and more — and found that the finish line kept moving. Sound familiar? There's something quietly exhausting about the way life can feel like a treadmill. You get the promotion, the house, the relationship, the milestone — and within weeks, the hunger is back. Solomon didn't write Ecclesiastes to depress us. He wrote it to spare us the long way around. His conclusion, reached after a lifetime of accumulating and striving, is remarkably simple: fear God and keep His commandments. Not as a list of rules to follow, but as an orientation of the whole life — a decision to live with God at the center rather than yourself. That reorientation isn't a one-time event. It starts early, it starts honestly, and it starts with admitting that the 'more' you've been chasing might not be the more you actually need.

For reflection

Where in your life right now does the hunger for 'more' feel the loudest — and what would it mean to bring that specific longing to God instead of chasing it on your own terms?

Pray

Pray for the honesty to name where you have been chasing more for yourself, and for a willing heart to let God reorient that longing.

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Small-group discussion guide

For leading a group conversation about this message.

Open

This message asks a question most of us feel but rarely name: why does 'more' never feel like enough? Take a moment and think about a time when getting something you really wanted still left you wanting something else.

Discussion questions

1
Solomon spent his life chasing wealth, achievement, and pleasure — and landed on a conclusion that sounds almost too simple: fear God and obey His commands. What do you think he means by that, and why do you think it took him so long to get there?
2
In Matthew 6:33, Jesus says to seek God's kingdom first and everything else will follow. What do you think it actually looks like — practically, day to day — to seek a kingdom that isn't your own first?
3
Ruth walks away from her homeland, her people, and any obvious future to follow Naomi and Naomi's God. What does her choice in Ruth 1:14–18 tell us about what she believed — and what she was willing to risk?
4
The unnamed relative in Ruth 4 walks away from the role of kinsman redeemer because it would cost him too much. The sermon held him up as a warning. What do you think people tend to miss when they choose the safer, self-protective road?
5
Obed — whose name means 'servant' — turns out to be the grandfather of David and an ancestor of Jesus. Neither Ruth nor Boaz could have seen that coming. What does that suggest about the stories we find ourselves inside when we choose others over ourselves?
6
The sermon pointed to the Holy Spirit revealing one area of life where we need to let go and trust God — not to earn His love, but because He has already proved it. How might a community like this one help people actually take that step?

Pray together

Courage to seek God's kingdom first — in the places where that road looks like less

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

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Week 6 · 6 messages

Where these passages are preached

Ecclesiastes 12 Matthew 6 Ruth 1 Ruth 2

Explore related topics

Contentment Over Consumerism Redemption Seeking God's Kingdom First Selflessness Trust and Obedience

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