The Transformed Life 2 Peter 1:3-4

 The power of the gospel transforms lives. For the gospel is the power of God for salvation. When we trust in Christ our lives will change. Join Dr. Patrick Mead has he expounds on the power and promises to live the transformed life.

The Value of Salvation: 2 Peter 1:1-2

 

Reset: Part 5-Haggai 2:10-23

 Join Dr. Patrick Mead as he shares biblical life lessons from the book of Haggai.

Reset: Part 4 Haggai 2:4-9

Don't give up when you are discouraged. Join Dr. Patrick Mead as he shares biblical truth for perseverance.

Reset: Part 3

 No one is immune to discouragement, especially the child of God. The diabolical tool of discouragement is Satan’s favorite. Dr. Patrick Mead deals with the burden of crippling comparisons that cause discourage men in this first of two messages.

Reset: Part 1

 

Walking in the Dark: Isaiah 50:10-11

In the Summer of 2007, God introduced me to a term I was unfamiliar with. Looking back, it was something I prayed for but didn’t fully grasp what I was praying. The prayer, “Lord, do whatever it takes to make me more like you.” The answer, “The dark night of the soul.” The answer came not from a class or a book, but through personal experience.  

If you have ever gone through a season of spiritual dryness and darkness when God seemed silent and far away no matter how hard you tried to reconnect, then you have experienced a “dark night” experience.  This experience can be long and hard, especially for the many Christians who don’t understand it or how to handle it. 

Since the summer of 2007, I have experienced more occasions of this dark season, the most recent being within the last five years. And each season seemed darker than the season before. I would love to tell you that each season is easier to handle and understand than the previous, but that’s not the case at all.  We find the reason in God’s purpose for the experience. 

The Lord uses the dark night of the soul experience to grow us and conform us into the image of his Son.  It makes us more aware of his grace and mercy, while also revealing sinful patterns and beliefs that hinder our growth.  As painful as the experience can be, it is one of the prominent ways God grows us in holiness and wholeness.  

The dark night experience for God’s people is inevitable.  You find it in the scriptures. Read the prayers in the book of Psalms and you will find King David struggling with this season. The first verse of Psalm thirteen reads, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” Read the biographies and testimonies of Christians throughout history and you will find the same inevitable experiences.   

The dark night is also unexpected. And because it is unexpected, many of God’s people don’t understand it or know exactly how to handle it.  So, what do we do when the Lord knocks the props out from under us and caused the lights to go out?  The prophet Isaiah gives great truths for walking through the dark.    

In the fiftieth chapter of Isaiah, we find two verses, nine and ten, talking about the inevitable and unexpected experience of walking through the darkness, “Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God. Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who equip yourselves with burning torches! Walk by the light of your fire, and by the torches that you have kindled! This you have from my hand: you shall lie down in torment.”  

The Hebrew construct of verse ten suggests that the person who fears God and obeys his voice is the one who continues to trust in and rely on the Lord, even though he is walking through a time of darkness.  In fact, the verse implies that we know the person following God more, not by how they walk in the light, but in the darkness. What do we know about the person following God in darkness First, we know that they keep walking when the lights go out.  

Keep walking when the lights go out and you can’t see.

One Sunday morning early, during my first pastorate, I received a knock at the door of the parsonage, waking me up from my sleep. It was a church member letting me know that the neighbor’s son across the street passed away in an automobile accident.  He was driving down an unlit country road, and his lights went out. Instead of stopping, he tried to navigate the road, causing him to miss a curve and rolling his truck.  In a situation like this, it is wise to stop and pullover. It is the right thing to do.  

However, what is true of the physical realm is not for the spiritual. You should, you must stop going in the physical ring, but it is a terrible mistake to stop walking in the spiritual realm.  

Think about it. When darkness comes upon us and there is no light, you're not sure where you are going, you're not even sure where you are.  You can’t see the obstacles in front of you.  You have no spiritual feeling, and you can’t see what God is doing. This is not the time to stop.  You must keep walking with the Lord through the darkness.   

The man or woman that fears the Lord and obeys the Lord doesn’t stop walking with the Lord because there is no light.  They keep on walking.  They keep on obeying.  They keep on seeking.  They keep on praying.  They keep on giving.  They keep on witnessing. They keep on keeping on even though it’s dark.  

One of my dear friends, who also served on staff in my last pastorate, is a licensed pilot. One day we were talking about the training he went through to secure his license.  It intrigued me when he told me about learning to fly by the instruments, something that every pilot must learn before they receive their license.  When a pilot flies into darkness, such as a dark cloud, he will lose his points of reference. It becomes very dangerous to trust in one’s physical perception. Even though it might feel like he is flying straight, he could descend to the ground, not knowing it. He must learn to read and trust the instruments, and not his thoughts or feelings.  

In the same manner, the Christian must learn to follow the instruments of God’s word when walking through the darkness. We see this truth in verse ten, “Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of his servant?” The servant that Isaiah is referring to is the servant in the previous verses, four through nine.  The servant of the previous verses is Jesus. We keep walking even though it’s dark because we are looking to the instruments of God’s word and it becomes the lamp unto our feet, and light for our path.  Second, people who follow God in the darkness know that they should not make their own light to dispel the darkness.

Don’t make your own light to dispel the darkness. 

This second point is the most important point you need to grasp today because it is a temptation that occurs when we discover ourselves in the dark.  When the lights go out at my house, the first thing I do is look for the light. I light candles and look for flashlights.  However, when the lights go out in our walk with God, the last thing we want to do is to make our own light.  Isaiah says in verse eleven, “Behold, all you who kindle a fire, and who equip yourselves with burning torches! Walk by the light of your fire, and by the torches that you have kindled! This you have from my hand: you shall lie down in torment.” The Living Bible says, “But see here, you who live in your own light, and warm yourselves from your own fires and not from God’s; you will live among sorrows.”  

The Lord is telling us we make an enormous mistake when we try to make our own light.  Why? It’s a mistake because we are trying to manufacture our own light to fulfill the purpose of God in our life.  We do not want to make our own light.  

First, when we make our own light we don’t realize that God has allowed the darkness in our lives.  Darkness does not dispel light. It is light that dispels darkness. If it is dark in our experience it on account that God has allowed that darkness into our lives.  If you are walking with the Lord and darkness comes upon your walk, it’s because the Lord has removed the light.  

When God made the first day in the book of Genesis, he made day and night. The night is as much from God as in the day. What I find fascinating that there are some things you can’t see unless it’s dark, things like the moon and stars. Likewise, in the spiritual realm, there are things you can’t see unless the lights go out.   

Second, when we make our own light to replace God’s it only makes things worse.  The Living Bible says making our own light will cause you to, “live among sorrows.”  I could pull out a lengthy list of sorrows in my life that resulted from me making my light to replace God’s. But I believe it would have a greater impact if we turned to the myriad of examples in the scriptures. 

Three chapters into the book of Genesis and you will find Adam and Eve making their own light because they wanted to “be like God.”  All of humanity has been living in the sorrows of that mistake.  

Abraham received the promise of a child from God, one that he gladly believed in.  However, when the darkness of waiting on God to fulfill the promise was more than he and Sarah could bear, they lit their own light and the result was Ishmael. Again, a sorrow we still experience to this very day.   

Moses tried to light his own light when he killed the Egyptian soldier, causing him to flee for his life, and setting the deliverance of God back forty years.  And there are many more examples, but I believe this proves the point. Don’t make your own light to dispel the darkness.  It will only lead to sorrow.  Third, the person walking in the dark with God trust and relies on Jesus in the dark.

Trust and rely on Jesus in the dark.  

In verse ten it says, “trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.”  When we trust and rely on the Lord in the darkness, we are following the Lord’s example. Notice verse six in this same chapter, “I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.”  This is a prophecy that was fulfilled at the crucifixion of Jesus. This is the darkest moment of Christ’s life. What did Jesus do? He trusted God to help him and contend for him. He didn’t take things into his own hands but entrusted himself to the Father.    

Jesus is the author and perfector of our faith. He has gone before us and conquered the dark night of the soul.  Therefore, we should trust and rely on him when it’s dark and we can’t see. 

The Hebrew word translated “rely on” can also translate “stay.” It means to lean for support. The person who relies on is God leans on him for support.  The root of that word is found in Psalm twenty-three, verse four, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” They translate the root word, “comfort.” The rod and staff hold me up. They encourage me. They support me. When we are in the darkness, we need a rod and staff to support us, and that rod and staff is Jesus.   

Some things you can only see in the darkness. When you are in the darkness, you need someone to support you as you walk, and that someone is Jesus.  One person has said, “you don’t know how much you need Jesus until Jesus is all you have.” Interestingly, we can see Jesus more in the dark than we can when we are in the light.  

Every spring, when we are working in the yard and flowerbeds, my wife reminds me of a mistake I made a few years ago. I try to forget about it, but she always reminds me I killed one of her favorite flowers, the moonflower.  The moonflower got its name because the beautiful white or purple tubular flower blooms at night and remains open until the morning light touches the flower.  The beauty of the moonflower is dependant upon the darkness of night.  

Much of the fruit of our spiritual life is dependant upon the darkness of night. Therefore, it is important to keep walking with God when the lights go out and you can’t see what God is doing.  Don’t give in to the temptation of making your own light because you will only regret it. Trust and rely on Jesus. He is the light and support that will keep you going in the right direction.   The darkness of obedience has so much more light than the shining light of leaning on your own understanding.  

In the dark, you’ll find Jesus. When you do, as the old song says, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.” 

What Can I Do Now?

Active Faith: What Can I Do Now?

Ruth 3

Go ahead and take your Bibles and turn to Ruth, chapter 3, as we continue this series out of the book of Ruth called Everyday God, God's activity in everyday life. A week ago Friday, I had the wonderful privilege of playing golf. Coach Marvel called me and asked me to go. The last time I played was probably over a month ago, early October, because of weather and meetings in my own life. I couldn't make any other opportunities he called.

To be honest with you, the last time I played in October, I really didn't do as well as I thought. What I'm learning with golf is my expectations and my abilities are far apart. In other words, my expectations of my golf game and my abilities seem to be going the opposite direction. So I thought maybe, just maybe the time off would just improve my game. It's a head game, and maybe I'm just overthinking. I thought, "Well, maybe the time would help me." He called me up a week ago Friday, and I said, "Sure."

So I was somewhat excited to go play. Of course, you know what I did. "Dear Heavenly Father, can I have a good golf game today? Amen." I don't stop praying when I play. I learned something that day because I wish I could say yes, with the time off and the prayer, I did great. It was quite the opposite. It was almost as if I had never played golf before. Thank God I was praying because I was ready to give up. "Lord, help me."

Finally, probably toward the last three holes, I actually started hitting the ball. It was great. It was like my first time to play, and I learned a great truth that day that really helped me with this sermon and put it into context. If I want God to answer my prayers, I need to practice. I need to play more, but I really need to get out and practice. So what God taught me there was a valuable lesson between the sovereignty of God and human responsibility.

I've heard somebody say… I think it's a good illustration of how it works when it comes to discovering the will of God for your life because that's exactly what we're doing here in the book of Ruth. We're watching how God, through her daily choices, is leading and guiding her steps. This is a great theological truth: God does not steer parked cars. You have to move. You have to be active in your faith.

As you are doing what you can do now, being faithful in the things you can control, God will guide you in the things you can't control. I can pray all day long about my golf game, but at some point… My wife is helping me out. She gave me for Father's Day these little Wiffle ball golf balls. Have y'all seen those? Yeah, I think I'm going to take them out of the package after that last game and actually use them. "No, I don't need those. I have God. I'm praying. It's going to be okay."

As we study the book of Ruth, we're really learning how Ruth is not sitting around, is she? She is moving forward. She is doing basically what she can do now. She is being faithful in the things she can control. As she is being faithful in the things she can control, guess what is happening? God is guiding her in the things she can't control.

So when we come to chapter three, it's really a continuation of God unfolding the plan for her life. It's a continuation of how God is guiding her steps each way. As she makes choices, as she is being faithful in the things she can control, God is guiding her steps. She is a wonderful, wonderful picture of active faith. True saving faith is active. True saving faith changes your life and is evidenced in your life by the things you do.

So as we come to chapter 3, we continue to watch Ruth and her life, her being faithful and active in her faith. We're watching God do what she can't control, guide her steps. We're not only going to see her active faith in this chapter, but we're going to learn from both the faiths of Naomi and Boaz.

So what we're going to do in this third chapter is I've chosen to kind of expand on one of the points from last week. One of the points (and probably the most important point) that we learn from Ruth is (I've said it over and over already) you have to be faithful in the small things. To put it another way, you must be faithful in the things you can control. As you're being faithful in the things you can control, God will guide you in the things you can't control. We see that. So what I want to do is expand upon that.

I tried to give you examples in both of the last two messages about discovering the will of God. I tried to give you real examples. I want to expand upon that because you still might have left here going, "What can I do?" I'm going to give you some general truths from this passage. You will find everything you need to know as it comes to discovering the will of God is found right there in the Book you have in your lap, the Bible. So what can I do now? What can I actively be doing now as I trust God to guide me in the areas I cannot control?

1. Naomi teaches us that you have to obedient and follow God's Word. Let's pick up the story in verse 1, chapter 3. It says, "Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, 'My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?'" In other words, "I need to help you find a home, to find a husband." That's what she is saying. "I want you to have a future." In reality, not only does she want to find a future for Ruth, but she will also be finding a future for herself. Naomi is already scheming something here. She says in verse 2:

"'Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.'"

Now the activities of these verses are foreign to us in our Western culture. We look at it, and we think, "Well, here's what is happening. Naomi is arranging a marriage here. That's what it looks like. She is the matchmaker." If you look at further background, what you're going to notice is Naomi is actually taking her cues and initiatives from the very Word of God. Go back to verse 20 of chapter 2, because after Ruth came back to her mother-in-law, she gave her the report that she was in Boaz's field.

Here's how Naomi responded in verse 20: "And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, 'May he [talking about Boaz] be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness…'" She is talking about the Lord here, not Boaz. The Hebrew word is checed. We translate that sometimes steadfast love. "…has not forsaken the living or the dead!' Naomi also said to her, 'The man is also a close relative of ours, one of our [ga'als] redeemers.'"

So what she is doing is she says, "This is one of our kinsman redeemers." So she is beginning to see the hand of God here. What she is referring to when she says, "He is our ga'al. He is our redeemer," is she is referring to two basic cultural practices that are found in the written law of God. In other words, she is very familiar with the Word of God, and she is taking initiatives based upon God's Word. There are two biblical laws she is aware of here that she is appealing to, that she is allowing to guide her steps: the one that is called the kinsman redeemer and the levirate marriage.

So take your Bibles. Turn over to Leviticus, chapter 25. I want you to see the part of the law she is referring to. She is not just being a matchmaker here. She is not just arranging a marriage here. She is living her life according to the Word of God. She is being obedient to the Word of God. Leviticus, chapter 25, verse 25 is talking about the land here. In both instances, the marriage and the kinsman redeemer… One deals with the land; the other one deals with the family name. Both of them are tied together. In verse 25, here's what the law of God says:

"If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold. If a man has no one to redeem it and then himself becomes prosperous and finds sufficient means to redeem it, let him calculate the years since he sold it and pay back the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and then return to his property. But if he does not have sufficient means to recover it, then what he sold shall remain in the hand of the buyer until the year of jubilee. In the jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his property."

So God had a design that this piece of property would stay in the family. Maybe there wasn't anybody to redeem it. Eventually at the year of jubilee, it all went back to the original owners. So what we see here is that the redeemer, the ga'al, had an opportunity and a responsibility to redeem the land to keep it into the family. So she is referring to that. When she says, "He is one of our redeemers. He is one of our ga'als," she is referring to Leviticus, chapter 25.

She also has in mind here Deuteronomy, chapter 25. So turn over to the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy, chapter 25… Here we have the levirate marriage. Verse 5 of chapter 25 in Deuteronomy is the same passage you may remember in the Gospels when the Sadducees came up to Jesus and were talking about the resurrection. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection. So they were talking about this specific law, and they were trying to trap Jesus.

They said, "At the resurrection…" They gave a scenario. "…if this woman had a husband and he died and his brother married her and he died, so he had like seven brothers, whose wife would she be in heaven, in the resurrection?" Of course, they didn't believe in the resurrection. Jesus said, "We're not going to be married in the resurrection. We're going to be like angels." They were referring to this specific law. Verse 5:

"If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband's brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.

And if the man does not wish to take his brother's wife, then his brother's wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, 'My husband's brother refuses to perpetuate his brother's name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband's brother to me.' Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him, and if he persists, saying, 'I do not wish to take her,' then his brother's wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face.

And she shall answer and say, 'So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother's house.' And the name of his house shall be called in Israel, 'The house of him who had his sandal pulled off." So he had a responsibility. Not an obligation, but obviously a responsibility. If you don't fulfill that responsibility, you can experience great shame within Israel.

What I want to show you is when we look at Naomi planning out here, she is taking her initiative, she is taking her cues, she is acting upon the Word of God. So she is putting her faith into action by devising a plan. The plan is inside the will of God. The plan is revealed in the Word of God. That's what you need to see here: a woman who understands the Word of God and is moving forward with an active faith. The way you move forward with an active faith is you be obedient to follow God's Word.

So what we have in the first four verses is we find Naomi. When she hears that Ruth is there in the field of Boaz, she is not going to sit by and be passive because faith is not passive. True faith is active. She didn't sit around going, "Whatever shall be, shall be," and call that faith. She knew she needed to be obedient and follow the Word of God.

We as the people of God need to be very careful that we don't let apathy or laziness become a false piety. We sit around and just say, "We're waiting for God." Now we have to wait for God, but in the midst of waiting for God, we need to be obedient and follow his Word. That's what she is doing. So we need to take action. We need to take our initiatives from the Word of God.

What can we do now? Well, as I said a couple of weeks ago, most of what you need to know about God's plan for your life is found right there in the revealed will of God, the Word of God. Be obedient to the Word of God. That's what Naomi is doing. So Naomi teaches us that an act of faith is obedient and follows the Word of God.

2. Ruth teaches us that an act of faith is courageous and trusts God's promises. We'll take up the story in verse 5, chapter 3. After the plan was given to Ruth, it says in verse 5… Here's Ruth's response. I love it because here we see a woman who is humbly submitting not only to Naomi, her mother-in-law, but ultimately she is submitting herself to the Word of God.

Verse 5 says, "And she [Ruth] replied, 'All that you say I will do.'" What a great response. Then she responds in verse 6. "So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down.

At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet. He said, 'Who are you?' And she answered, 'I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings…'" Some translations say, "Spread the corner of your garment…" "'…over your servant, for you are a redeemer.'"

So we see this humble submission on the part of Ruth. She is submitting to what Naomi commanded, but ultimately she is submitting to the Word of God. This plan was dangerous for her to follow. It was going to take courage on her part to really move forward. She was going to have to be courageous. It was dangerous for two reasons at least.

First, it was dangerous because she was putting her safety on the line. Here is this young, widowed girl, and she is going down to the threshing floor. They've finished the harvest. They've finished threshing. They're celebrating. They're eating. They're all in good spirits. So she is putting herself in an environment that is most likely hostile to a young, beautiful girl. She put her safety on the line. She was willing to do that, and she was willing to go forth.

Secondly, it was dangerous not only because of her physical safety, but it was also dangerous before her own character, because you know how people are. That's why Scripture says, "Be careful for even the appearance of evil." Perception becomes reality for people, doesn't it? You need to be very, very careful.

She could have said, "I'm not going to go because people will question my motives. People will question my character." She didn't allow that to stop her. She knew God knew her heart, and yes, she was putting herself in danger physically. She was putting herself in danger spiritually. People would question her motives and even question her character, but she did not allow that to stop her.

We see a beautiful picture of a courageous faith. The reason she was able to move forward, the reason she was able to go into the danger zone, so to speak, is because you have this young woman who is trusting the promises of God. So she is courageous. She is going into the danger. She is a model of an active faith.

I want you to see what happens because in verse 9, we have a marriage proposal. Some might say, "Man, she is being forward," but she is following the Word of God. This was the custom of their day. In verse 9, actually he says, "'Who are you?' And she answered, 'I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.'" Right there. "Spread your wings…" Some of your translations say, "Spread the corner of your garment…"

That's the very same word Boaz uses when he is talking to Ruth in verse 12 of chapter 2. Notice what he says to her. He says, "The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings [the same word] you have come to take refuge!" "…under whose garment, the corner of the garment, you have placed your life. You have come to the Lord, and you have found refuge in him. God is your protector." That's what he is saying. The very same word is used here.

She is saying to Boaz, "Boaz, you are God's heart. God is using you to provide for me. God is my refuge, and you are the agent of grace God is using to bless my life, to protect my life. So we see a young woman here who says, "Listen. I understand the reason I can be courageous, the reason I can move forward is because I know I've taken refuge in God. He will protect me. He will take care of me."

Ruth trusted. She trusted the Lord to be her strength. She trusted the Lord to be her rock. She trusted God to be her strong tower, to be her safety. So she was moving forward. She didn't know what the future held. She didn't know what was before her. She knew it could be dangerous. She knew it could physically cause danger to her life. It could ruin her reputation. She knew when she started from Moab and she made the God of Israel her God, he was her refuge and her protection.

In our adventure in faith, there are going to be times when you have to move forward, and all you have are the promises of God. Of course, that's all you need, but that's all you have. I know it's true in my own life. Too many of us will not move forward because God does not show us what is going to happen in the future. Some of us are paralyzed. God is all about faith. If you want to please God, you have to please him with faith.

There are going to be times where you're not going to know what the future holds. Most of your life… God is not always going to give you a preview. Most of the time (if not all the time) he is just going to say, "Step out in faith, and you'll see what happens. You trust me with the things you can't control. You be courageous. Move forward. Just because you can't see how things are going to work out…"

I've had situations in my life where God did kind of give me an inclination to how things were going to work out, and they weren't going to work out well. They didn't work out well. Guess what? God said, "Boom! I still want you to go." Just because it's not going to work out doesn't mean it's not the will of God. Sometimes God allows us to go through suffering. All you have and all you need are the promises of God. So you commit your way to the Lord, and you act in faith.

On our prayer list, there is a couple we've been praying for, Brandon and Breanne Doyle. It's Darlene Lagrone's grandson and Brother Jim's nephew. Brandon and Breanne met in seminary at Gordon Conwell. They knew they were going to the mission field. So they made plans to go overseas and to work with Arabs, but God closed that door because of health.

Then they got reassigned to the North American Mission Board, and they were going to a refugee camp in New York City. So that was their plan, and it still is their plan. It's interesting because I got to hear just the many obstacles this young couple faced over the last year, trying to get to the place where God wanted them to serve.

They got their assignment, and so they started preparing. "We're going to move to New York City. We're going to live in this refugee camp." They were going to take their daughter, Abigail, there. In the midst of preparation, the unexpected happened, and they got pregnant again. Some of you have been praying for them on the prayer list.

About after six weeks, Breanne was sent home for total bed rest for five weeks. Then she went to the hospital and was in bed rest for another four weeks. Unbelievable. Their baby girl, of course, was premature. She was due November 11, born by C-section August 22, weighing two pounds, eight ounces. Now remember they still have this plan. "We're going to New York City. We're going to be moving."

All of this is happening in their life. The baby remained in the hospital 12 weeks. Then after that, she was followed up by three weeks of outpatient treatment, going in, I think, three days a week. Then last Sunday, at First Baptist Little Rock, they did the baby dedication. Her name is Ruth. They call her Ruthie. Isn't that great?

I think, "What a great story." This couple really demonstrates what it means to be courageous. All of these obstacles they were facing and had been facing and still are facing are unbelievable. Many people would have said, "No way. I'm not going." On December 6, Brandon and his dad left. They went off to New York City, driving all the furniture up so they can set up the apartment.

Now I think sometime this weekend, they're flying back to Little Rock. Then Brandon and Breanne and Ruth are going to drive up there because Ruth can't fly. Abigail is staying back with the grandparents. Then eventually the grandparents are coming up with Abigail, and they're all going to be, Lord willing, in New York City for Christmas. Why would they do that? To top it all off, they're going to one of the most dangerous areas in New York City. Why? Because they're trusting God's promises. They are courageous. That's what it means.

There are times when God gives you a word, and if God gives you a word, you go forward. You just trust that God is going to take care of you. There is an element of courageous, there is an element of where we need to have courage and know, "If God gave me a word and God gave me a promise, I need to keep moving." We need to be like Ruth. When Ruth heard the command and the plan, she said, "I'll do whatever you say." We need to be like the young Virgin Mary who when Gabriel came to her and gave her the plan, she said, "Let it be according to your word."

So many times we're like Gideon. Gideon gets a direct word from God, and a direct word from God wasn't enough. He said, "God, let me put out the fleece because I don't believe you." He puts out the fleece.

"How is that?"

"I still don't believe you. I'll put it out again."

"How's that?"

"I still don't believe you."

Even when he was moving forward, God knew how fickle this man was in his faith. He had to hear how the enemy had a dream. Gideon is not a picture of a strong faith. Gideon is a picture of a weak faith, a man who had no courage and a man who did not trust God. God still used him, amen?

Don't be like Zacharias when Gabriel shows up to him in the temple and says, "Listen. You're going to have a son, and he is going to prepare the way for the Lord." Do you know what he said? "Can you give me a sign?" "Sure. You're not going to say a word for a whole year." Elizabeth, his wife, was so happy. "Praise God."

All right, what can we do now? Here's the thing. We need to be courageous. We learn from Ruth you need to expect great things from God, and you need to attempt great things for him.

3. Boaz teaches us to be gracious and reflect the character of God. He is a picture of Christ. He is a foreshadow, a type of Christ in the Old Testament. All you see in his behavior are Christ-like attributes. So he says in verse 10, "And he said, 'May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.'"

He is recognizing, "You are a godly woman. Here's this young, single woman, and you could have been chasing young men. You could have been chasing all kinds of guys, but you haven't. You have been faithful to the Lord. Your character is evident. You are worthy." He recognizes the very hand of God.

So what he does is he knows he has a responsibility according to the Word of God. Again, you have Naomi doing what she is supposed to do according to the Word of God. You have Ruth doing what she is supposed to do according to the Word of God. You have Boaz doing what he is supposed to do according to the Word of God.

In verse 11, it says, "'And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I.'" In other words, he knew he had an obligation to the Scriptures. He did not want to compromise the Word of God, because Boaz knew that once you compromise the Word of God, it will not turn out well for you.

His whole life is governed by the law of God. His whole life is governed by the Word of God. He understood, "Yes, I am the redeemer, but I also know there is one who is closer to me." So what happens is the next morning, Boaz sends off Ruth. He sends her off with a large amount of barley again.

Here's what I want to point out. We're going to reflect upon a little bit more as we get closer to Christmas on Boaz, but Boaz is a picture of Christ. What you see is a man reflecting the very nature and character of our God, our Christ. You see a man who is gracious. You see a man who is generous. You see a man who is unselfish. You see a man who is always looking out for the interest of others. That's Jesus, right?

You say, "Well, what do I need to do now?" You need to be gracious and reflect the character of God. When you follow the Word of God, you express the character of God in your attitude and your actions. When you follow the Word of God, you express because the very character of God is found in here. You express the character of God in your acts and your attitudes. So you need to be obedient. You need to be courageous. You need to be gracious.

4. Naomi and Ruth teach us that you need to be patient. Wait for God's timing. So Ruth goes back. We'll pick up the story in verse 16. She goes back. She is talking to her mother-in-law. It says, "And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, 'How did you fare, my daughter?' Then she told her all that the man had done for her, saying, 'These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, "You must not go back empty-handed…"'"

I find it very interesting because if you remember, when Naomi went back to Bethlehem, she said, "Don't call me pleasant. Don't call me Naomi. Call me Mara, bitter because I left here full, but now I'm empty." Guess what? She is being filled up again. I want to say again that brokenness is the pathway to blessings. She is being blessed. She is being filled up. You don't want to come back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.

"She replied…" This is important because this is the whole point I want to make. "'Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.'" Trusting God to guide you in the things you can't control means you will have to learn patience, and you will have to learn waiting on God's timing. One moment of patience can keep you from disaster, and one moment of impatience can ruin your life.

God's guidance can be slow, and then…boom…it can be so quick that you can't stay up with it. That's how it works. You keep pressing along. You keep being obedient. You keep being gracious. You keep being courageous and moving forth with an active faith. You wait, and you wait for God's hand, and you wait for God's timing. Then as you're waiting and you're being patient and being obedient and being faithful, what happens? Well, you just so happen to end up in the field of Boaz.

One of these days, I'm convinced I'm going to get up here and tell you I'm good at my golf game. Somebody is laughing back here. My wife is telling everybody, "Hey, he's not that good," and she's right. I'm not. I pay the guys I play with. "Don't really tell them. Don't tell them how bad I am, please?" I know through a lot of prayer and doing my part…

Do you want to know God's plan for your life? It takes a lot of prayer, but it takes you doing your part. You be obedient, you be courageous, you be gracious, you be patient, and you move forward with an active faith. You don't have to know all the details. You trust God with what you can't control. You expect great things from God, and you attempt great things for him. That's true of you as an individual, and that ought to be true of us as a church, believing God has a great plan for us as a church.

If you're here this morning, God's greatest plan for any individual, for any life is that you be saved from your sins. God desires to have a relationship with you. Life begins with God. It ends with God. If you're here this morning and you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, if you've never trusted in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, I'm here to tell you you're not saved until you do. You need Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

The Bible says we're all sinners. We need a Savior, and Jesus is the Savior. He is the only way to heaven. That's why people are so offended this time of the year that we would actually put Christ in Christmas, because he is the only way. Some of you here today need to trust Christ for the very first time. God is leading some of you to this place to be your church home. You come forward. You be a part of this family. God wants you here today. If you need prayer today, we want to pray with you.

Father, we thank you for this time. As we have this time of invitation, we just pray that people would respond in faith. In Jesus' name, amen.

Discovering the Will of God – Part 2: Sermons from the Book of Ruth

Dr. Patrick Mead

Series: Everyday God

Discovering the Will of God – Part 2
Ruth 2

Turn to Ruth, chapter 2. We're picking up where we left off last week in discovering the will of God for your life. Many years ago there was a farmer who really wanted to be a preacher. He wanted to be a traveling evangelist. He was just waiting for God to call him to do it, but he wanted to do it. One day after working the farm, he was lying down on the grass on his back looking up into the blue sky and watching the clouds go by, and he saw two clouds in the shape of two different letters, P and C.

For a moment he thought, "Well, there's my sign. God wants me to go and preach Christ." So he sold his farm, went out, and became a traveling evangelist. The only problem is that he couldn't preach and people weren't responding. One day he preached a horrible sermon. His neighbor came up to him after the service and said, "Are you sure those two letters didn't mean 'plant corn'?"

This is one of the areas we struggle with as believers: when it comes to discerning God's plan for our individual lives. We struggle with it. We become frustrated with it sometimes, even confused. As the story relates, and even in my own life, there are times where we become spooky. That's what we're focusing on, and we were talking about discovering the will of God.

Remember, there are different aspects. I taught these last week. I won't go into them too deeply, but we need to understand the different aspects of the will of God. First of all, there's the preceptive will of God. The preceptive will of God is what you find in the Bible. The revealed will of God; the precepts and commands you find in the Word of God. That's what we have here, and what we have to do as believers is obey them. Most of what God wants you to do in your life is found right here. The preceptive will of God.

Then there is the providential will of God, the circumstances that happen in our lives that are beyond our control. Some of them are good, some of them are bad, and some of them are very ugly, but they are a part of the providential will of God. As believers, when we encounter these circumstances, we need to make sure we respond to them in such a way that's in accordance with the preceptive will of God, that we make sure we obey the commandments of God.

Then, of course, there is the third aspect. That's what we're focusing on, and that is God's plan for individuals. This is where we struggle, because it's not clear. God doesn't just give us a clear picture in the Scriptures about what he wants us to do or what he wants us to be in the future, whether we go to this college or marry this person or take this job. It's not clear. This is why we get spooky, trying to figure out God's plan for our individual lives.

We learned two things last week. Really, you can take the book of Ruth at different angles. I like to call it the "gospel of Ruth," because the gospel is in the book of Ruth. The good news is in the book of Ruth. But we're observing it from the standpoint of how God is unfolding his plan for Ruth's life, and I believe Ruth gives us some steps we need to take when it comes to this third aspect of God's will. How do we discover God's plan for our lives?

1. It begins with a proper view of God. What we see with Ruth is a young lady who was willing to leave Moab, willing to leave her people, willing to leave her gods, and cling to the God of Israel, believing and trusting that God would provide for her. She trusted God with all of her heart. She didn't lean on her own understanding like her sister Orpah. Orpah did, and Orpah left. She went back to the greener pastures, so to speak.

She trusted God, acknowledged him. So now God is directing her paths. All this comes because she had a proper view of God. She understood God is a covenant-keeping God. He is always faithful to his covenant, which means he is always faithful to his covenant people. She could trust him without any reservation.

I think sometimes we struggle with trusting God, and we come to a point in our relationship and say, "God, I'll trust you up to this point." That only happens when you don't have a proper view of God. To get to a point where you can trust God without any reservation, you need to understand who he is, that he is a faithful and powerful God. You have to have a proper view of God.

2. You have to be faithful in what you can control. We focus primarily on verse 2. Notice what verse 2 says. "And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, 'Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.'" I love this, because here's this Moabite woman who realizes she doesn't have any control over the future.

By the way, God doesn't tell us the future. God didn't say, "Oh, Ruth, if you will come to Israel and let me become your God and Israel become your people, here's what's going to happen. You're going to get there. You're going to meet a man named Boaz and you're going to marry him. You're going to have children." He did not do that. And guess what? He doesn't do that for you either.

All she knew is that she had to wake up that day. She had a mother-in-law to take care of, and she knew there was a welfare program in Israel. The welfare program was really simple. If you were a landowner, God commanded you to not harvest all your land but leave a portion for those in need, for the widows, for the foreigners, and for the orphans. She knew that, and she knew that for that very day she needed to get up and go and work and glean.

The things she could control are really simple. The things we can control are our character and our conduct. Again, it really comes down to the preceptive will of God. These are the things you can control. I know as a husband God has called me to love my wife as Christ loved the church. That's not an option. That is God's plan for my life.

I'm a father, and it's God's plan for my life that I raise my children in the ways of the Lord, that I make sure what they're learning from me… This isn't an option. What they have to learn from my wife and me… This is God's plan for my life. I have to teach them to seek God's kingdom and his righteousness first. I need to make sure they understand that church and Christ Jesus is first place in everything we do. That's God's plan. That's God's plan for you if you're a parent.

We have to be faithful in what we can control. Put it another way, we have to be faithful in those small things. The great question is…What are you doing now? You're so focused on the future, "God, what am I going to do? Where do you want me to work? What do you want me to do?" and he says, "No, what are you doing now? Are you faithful in the small things? Are you faithful in the things you can control?"

What are the things you can control? Well, do you have a consistent walk with the Lord? Are you walking consistently with the Lord daily? God is concerned that you learn how to walk by faith, that you walk with him on a daily basis. He wants you to walk by faith. He's not going to tell you your plans all at once. He'll unfold it. But as you walk with him consistently…

Let me just say this. I do believe many believers who fell in this area, and this is where a lot of people fell, in this area of doing what they're supposed to do now… They forfeit God's best for them. Why? Because they're not faithful to what they need to be doing now. They're not obeying the preceptive will of God. I've seen believers get into marriages they should have never gotten into had they stuck with the Word of God.

What are you doing now? Are you serving God? God has given you a gift. Are you serving him right now where you can in your church? Are you a part of a local church? All of these are very important. Here's the thing. God gives opportunity as we are faithful in the small things, as we're faithful in the things we can control.

3. Be faithful in what you can control so that God will guide you in the things you can't control. You be faithful in the things you can control and trust God to guide you in the things you can't control. We see in verse 2 she gets up. She knows what she needs to do for that day. Then in verse 3 she moves forward. She's going to be faithful in what God has told her to do.

I love verse 3, because verse 3 shows you as she steps out in faith, not knowing the future… Oh, let me tell you, her future was bright. She stepped out in faith. God begins to orchestrate her steps, and we see her trusting in the providence of God. Verse 3: "So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers…"

Now this next statement is a very, very important statement in verse 3 for really understanding what God is doing in the book of Ruth. Listen to what happens. She ends up in the field after the reapers. "…and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz…" Last week we met Boaz in verse 1. He's the new character on the scene, and we're told in verse 1 that this Boaz is a man of God. He is worthy, which means he's wealthy. He has money.

It also speaks of his character, that this Boaz is a man of God. He is a man of faith. He is really God's agent of grace. He is God's heart. God's heart is being revealed through the hands of Boaz. Boaz, in essence, is a reflection of the very character of God. So what happens? She's faithful in the small things, the things she can control, and as she's being faithful in the small things, that phrase says she just happened to show up in the field of Boaz.

This statement is where I got the title for this series, Everyday God. God's activity in everyday life. That we as a church and we as believers would begin to see the providence and sovereignty of God. By the way, you want to be here next week if you can, because I'm going to talk about the providence of God and human choices, how it all works together. Chapter 3 shows us how to do that.

Here's how you would translate this statement from the Hebrew literally: "And her chance chanced upon the allotted portion of the field of Boaz." If we were to paraphrase that for something we could understand today, we would say, "By the stroke of luck, she just happened to be in the field of Boaz."

Now is the writer telling us this happened by chance? Is the writer really trying to tell us this is all about luck? No. In fact, what he's using here is what is called irony. He's trying to point out, "Don't think for a moment that this is chance. Don't think for a moment that this is luck." One scholar said he uses this irony here to scream, "Look! See the hand of God at work here."

God is at work here, and he is moving and guiding her life. As she's trusting in God and putting all her faith in God and trusting him with all of her heart, with all of her soul, with all of her mind, and she's acknowledging him in all of her ways, guess what happens? God makes her path smooth. He is leading and guiding her steps. This is not some miracle that's happening; this is God's activity in our lives every day.

Every one of us has stories of how we see the hand of God daily, don't we? It's not always in miracles. Sometimes the hand of God is for people he brings into your life, maybe for a day, maybe for a season. I heard a story the other day on the radio of a lady who had a flat tire. She was a nurse. A man pulled over and helped her change the tire.

He left, got back on the road. He went just a few miles down the road and he had a heart attack. He pulls over. He's having a heart attack, and guess what? The lady he just changed the tire for, she's driving up and recognizes his car. She's a nurse and saves his life. Was that by luck or chance? No. We would call that the providence of God.

That's what you have to do. When you are faithful in the small things, you have to trust God, and he will bring about his providential will. One of my favorite verses is Proverbs 16:9. "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." That's what's happening here. In fact, that's really the undergirding of the book of Ruth: God's hand and activity in our everyday lives as we trust in him.

You see, you have to be faithful in the things you can control so God can guide you in the things you can't control. Ruth didn't have a clue who Boaz was. In fact, Naomi didn't know about him, or was reminded about him, only after Ruth came back from being in the field of Boaz. We see the providence of God, God guiding her and leading her.

We also see the provision of God as well. Of course, we see in verse 4 that this Boaz is a man of faith. He is a man of God. Look at verse 4. "And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, 'The Lord be with you!'" Here's his statement. A man of faith. "God bless you." "Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, 'Whose young woman is this?'"

Chance? Luck? No. It's the hand of God at work, the faithfulness of God at work when he sees a young Moabite woman who is faithful to do what she can do now and faithful to what she can control. As she is faithful and trusting God, God is providing for her. He's providing just the very basic needs.

Look at verse 8. "Then Boaz said to Ruth, 'Now, listen, my daughter…'" Here we see protection. "…do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn."

In other words, "I'm going to provide for you, but not only am I going to provide for you, I'm going to protect you." Remember, she is a Moabite. She is a foreigner, but she is a Moabite foreigner. We see the precious hand of God controlling and guiding her in the areas she can't control. We see his providence. We see his provision. Then, of course, we see his protection.

All of this came because God's handiwork was taking place with what we would consider behind the scenes. As she was faithful in the things she could control, God guided her in the things she couldn't. That's how God works. If you've been walking with God long enough, you see his hand. Even as new believers… When you come to Christ, I believe God specifically… When you become a new believer, he really opens up your eyes to his handiwork.

I can't tell you as a young believer the people of God he put in my life immediately. One such man who has already gone to be with the Lord… He died at 47. He would have celebrated his fiftieth birthday this year. Marty Ketcham. He put him in my life for a season for about three to five years of intense discipleship. This is the man who influenced me to go into the ministry.

This is also the man that you will see with me, that he had a passion and a love for this time of the year. He loved Christmas. I watched that man hold his baby boy one day and just start weeping over the thought that Jesus Christ was a baby. That's why I love this time of the year, because God put this man in my life and he influenced me.

You can do the same. Last night I was at one of the two Christmas parties I went to, but I got to hear an individual talk about God's providence. "I didn't set out to do these things. I was just faithful in the small things. And you know what? God just gave me these opportunities." That's how it works. Things just unfolded. God didn't give this individual his whole plan.

I can look in my life, and there are so many instances of the providence of God and God guiding me in areas I could not control. The one that comes to my mind probably most of all, where I can say, "Yes, I saw the hand of God on several occasions…" If you in the last two years have been in a night service, if I've told this story, you're going to hear it again. I think I did share it in the night service.

My first church was a country church, and there was a whole neat thing of how God got me out in Athens, Texas. I ended up in Garland, Texas. That was somewhat of my hometown. God allowed me to go and pastor a church called Lyons Road Baptist Church right off I-30 by Lake Ray Hubbard. We moved there. It was nice being close to family and everything.

Now I do remember this. One of the deacons from my church I left said… I told him I was going to my hometown, and he said, "Oh, you know, a prophet is not welcome in his hometown." Little did I know that that was prophetic, because in my second church I experienced a church split. Now let me just say I didn't get into ministry saying, "I can't wait to split my first church." That wasn't the case.

My wife and I early on in our ministry… We realized how naïve we were and still are sometimes. We thought to ourselves, "We will never split a church. We will never let that happen." That was our plan, but it wasn't God's. Within four months of getting to my second church… I followed the man who planted the church. His family was there. In fact, his son-in-law was my music minister. There were just all kinds of problems from the get-go.

I really thought it was me at first. I went home after four months and told my wife, "I think the church is going to split." This was her response: "I think you need to see a counselor." I thought she was right. I thought, "Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm not seeing these things." I really thought it was me. But three months later, God opened my wife's eyes to what was going on. She came to me and said, "You're right. The church is going to split."

We had decided, "We're not going to split a church," so we started looking for another church, somewhat difficult when you've only pastored for about three and a half years in the first place. It was a small country church. Then you get to your second church and you're sending out résumés and you haven't even been there a year. They're not touching me with a ten-foot pole. I got a few phone calls.

In fact, I got a phone call from First Baptist Stuttgart. The first question was, "Man, you haven't been there a year. Why are you leaving?" "Well, the church is going to split." "We've already been through one. We don't want to mess with you." I had another church call me from Arizona. The question was, "Do you have a problem with people working at the casinos?" I was like, "I don't know."

God wasn't doing anything. I had every intention to get out, every intention to go before it blew up, but you know what? After 14 months there, the church blew up. It split. And let me tell you, when it split, it split. This side stayed; this side left. It split on a Sunday morning. The night before, I had a feeling something was going to happen that day, because we were having a business meeting that night. I really thought it was going to happen then, but it didn't.

That Saturday night… There have only been a few times where God said, "I want you to change the message," so I changed the message. The reason I changed the message is that I was going to preach on unity. It probably wouldn't have gone over really well. When you realize what happened after the service… What happened is I did an invitation. A whole group of people came and prayed on the altar.

They went back and sat down, and I said, "God bless you. Have a great Sunday. See you tonight." A gentleman stood up from this side and said, "Hold it, hold it, hold it! This is the darkest day in the life of Lyons Road Baptist Church." He got up behind the pulpit and started reading resignations. Nine people, staff members, resigned.

Now I know what they thought. The church is going to rise up and say, "Get rid of the pastor." It didn't happen. One of my deacons, who was for me, got up and basically said, "You know what? We have all tied his hands. We told him he had to work with this staff." When he said that, one of the son-in-laws (two of the son-in-laws of the former pastor were there) stood up and started yelling at him, and he started yelling at me.

My wife was sitting next to me and he was yelling at her. I said, "You need to get out of here." She said, "I'm not leaving." I said, "You need to get out of here, because if you don't, I'm going to end up hitting him, and that won't be good for my case. You need to go." I'm serious. If somebody is attacking your wife, you want to protect her.

So that happened. For four months after that, my family went through some of the most painful times in our lives. I mean it was painful. I wouldn't wish anybody to go through it. I look back and it was one of the best times in my spiritual life. But here's what happened. Two weeks after that, I started praying, "God…" That's one of those days where you're like, "Do I need to be in ministry? Do I really want to do this?" I spent two weeks praying, "God, do I stay?"

He gave me the affirmation that "You need to stay in the ministry." When that happened, when I had that affirmation, here's what we did. My wife and I copied 200 résumés and sent them out all the way to Alaska. That's a lot of résumés, isn't it? Yeah, you can count the money. We sent them out. "God, we believe you called us to ministry. Wherever you want us to go." Guess what? You'd think out of 200 you'd get several phone calls. I didn't get any phone calls. None.

July 14, 2002, Sunday morning, God told me… Actually during the week he said, "I want you to preach the sermon you were supposed to preach the day the church split. First Peter, chapter 5. I want you to preach it." I got up and told the church, "This was the passage of Scripture I was going to preach that Sunday but God told me not to. So today I'm going to preach it."

I preached it, about how leadership and laity need to submit to one another and get along. I shared my heart. I went home that Sunday. That very day… I told Christy at lunch, "You know what? We're not getting any phone calls. God is not opening up any doors. I'm just going to go tell the church next Sunday that I'm their pastor. We're going to stick it out." It wasn't looking really good. At some point they weren't going to be able to pay the pastor.

I just said, "I'm going to be faithful. I'm going to do what God has told me to do right here. I'm going to get up and tell them I'm their pastor." Well, on that very same day in that service were two people, a husband and a wife from Purcell, Oklahoma. He was on the search committee from First Baptist Purcell, one of the 200 churches that received my résumé. They happened to be in town in Garland that particular weekend because the husband's mother was in a nursing home.

So they're there on Saturday night going, "Well, where do we want to go to church?" His wife remembered, "Don't you have a résumé from somebody in Garland?" Yeah. So they looked up the name, found the name, found my church. I remember them so vividly, because when this side is empty and the visitors are sitting on that side…"Hey, there are two visitors." I had to start telling them, "Guys, y'all can get over there. Spread out."

I remember them being there, and I remember them walking out. I was like, "Man, I didn't get their names. I didn't get anything. They didn't fill out anything." I hate that. So if you're here today, would you fill out something? That was the same day I went home and told my wife, "I'm going to be their pastor."

Well, that Monday, July 15, the chairman of this committee called. He called my wife first, and then she called and said, "Hey, you need to be expecting a call." Here's what the phone call said. "Somebody from our committee was in that church service yesterday, and as soon as he got out of the church, he called us and said, 'I found the man.'"

"Really? Why? Why does he say I'm the man?"

"Because of the message you preached."

Chance? No. I remember going through the interview process, the easiest interview process I've ever been through. I was so waiting for them… "Go ahead, ask me about the church split. Go ahead." They never asked. I said, "Hey guys, do you know our church split?"

"Oh yeah, we know your church split. Do you know ours split?"

"No. Have you heard anything bad about our church?"

"No."

"Have you gotten any phone calls?"

"No."

It was, again, God guiding us in those areas we could not control. I tried to control it. What I found very interesting is that the moment I said, "I'm going to be faithful in what I can control," God opened up the door. See, we have to be faithful in the things we can control so God can guide us in the things we can't control.

4. When you are faithful in the things you can't control, you experience the favor of God on your life and in your life. I want to show you something. Watch this. This is so awesome. Remember in verse 2 she said, "I'm going to go out into the fields so that I might find favor"? You go to verse 10, and notice what happens. "Why have I found favor in your eyes…?" Look at verse 13: "I have found favor in your eyes…" "I'm looking for favor. Now that I found it, why have I found favor? I have found favor."

Here's the key thing to understand. Why was she experiencing the favor of God? Verse 10 says, "Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, 'Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?'" "I can't believe that you are just blessing me this way. You're giving me provision. You're giving me protection. Why are you doing this?"

Verse 11: "But Boaz answered her, 'All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before.'" "You've been faithful. I've heard about it. Most of all, the Lord has seen it." He said, "The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord…"

"Everything you see happening," says Boaz, "is from the hand of God, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge. You have trusted in God. You placed your faith in God, and you've been faithful in the things you could control. You have been faithful in the small things, and as you walked faithfully with God, God has seen your faithfulness and God has honored your faithfulness, and now the favor of God is upon you.

It's all God. It's God who just happened to have you show up in the field of Boaz. It's God who has provided this food." Not only has he provided her basic needs, but he has blessed her. There are abundant blessings. Really quickly, verses 14-18. It's all about God abundantly blessing her. She was satisfied. Not only was she satisfied with her basic needs, but she had leftovers.

When she goes home to Naomi, Naomi had her needs met. Not only was she satisfied with her basic needs, but she had leftovers. See, that's what happens. When you're faithful, God begins to shower his favor upon you, and that's what we see happening. Most importantly, we see eternal blessings. Look at verse 19:

"And her mother-in-law said to her, 'Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.' So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, 'The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz.' And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, 'May he be blessed by the Lord…'"

Some of your translations make it sound like Boaz is the one who's kind, but it's the Lord whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead. The Hebrew word there is checed. It's referring not only to the Lord's kindness but his steadfast love. It's God's faithfulness, God's steadfast love for his people, that has brought this all about. All of this is by the hand of God.

More importantly, she says, "This man Boaz? He's a redeemer. He's a ga'al." We'll learn more about that. In the grand of scheme of things, as we're seeing God's plans for Ruth… By the way, Boaz is a part of God's plan for Ruth. But in the bigger grand scheme of things, Boaz and Ruth are participants in God's plan of redemption, because Boaz becomes a type of our Kinsman Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

I want you to listen to this statement: Faithfulness is the key that opens the doors of opportunity. You want to discover God's will for your life? Have a proper view of God that enables you to trust him with all of your heart. Be faithful in the things you can control and watch God guide you in the things you can't control. As you walk faithfully, you will experience the favor of God upon your life.

Do you know what I've found in my life? God always does more than what I could ever think or imagine. Always. To know the will of God is the greatest challenge; to do the will of God is the greatest achievement. If you're here today, know that the book of Ruth has a grander scheme, and that is the scheme of God's plan of redemption.

I know it's God's will for you to be saved. God desires for you to be saved from your sin. Each one of us has fallen short of the glory of God, and we need a savior. That Savior is Jesus Christ. It is God's will for you to repent of your sins and to place your faith in Jesus Christ. That's where God's plan begins on the individual level. It begins with you saying, "Yes, I will trust Christ."

Are you here this morning? Do you need to trust Christ? Maybe you're here this morning and you just see the providence of God leading you to become a part of our church family. You know Jesus Christ and you know you need to serve him. God's hand is leading you here today. In a moment we're going to have a time of invitation. That's a time that you can respond to what God has spoken to you. Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for this truth about knowing your will and your plan for our lives. It really comes down to just being faithful, because faithfulness is the key that opens the doors of opportunity. God, remind us of that as your children. For that person who's here today, that man, that woman, that child who doesn't know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, God, you led them here today.

Sure, they made a choice, but they're here because you have a plan. You wanted them to hear the good news today. I pray that they will step forward and say yes to Jesus today. For that person who knows God has called them to be a part of our church family, let them move forward and say, "Yes, we want to be a part of First Southern." Have your way, God. Have your way. In Jesus' name, amen.