Family Worship December 6, 2009
Bel Aire Baptist Church
Series: God’s Gift Of… [#3]
A PERFECT PLAN
Ruth 3:1-18
Introduction:
Do you ever get tired of waiting on God to do something? You know, sometimes it just seems like God needs a little “prodding” or a little help from us. In fact if we have good intentions, it is o.k. to jump in and help God, right? Of course we know the answer to that question is no. God has a plan for each one of us; the problem is He doesn’t work on our schedule.
Jeremiah 29:11-14 (NIV)
“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."
God had been taking care of Naomi and her family for a long time, just as He takes care of us and our families. God has a plan to prosper us and give us hope and a future, not to hurt us- Do you believe that?
Ruth 3:1-18 (MSG)
“One day her mother-in-law Naomi said to Ruth, "My dear daughter, isn’t it about time I arranged a good home for you so you can have a happy life? And isn’t Boaz our close relative, the one with whose young women you’ve been working? Maybe it’s time to make our move. Tonight is the night of Boaz’s barley harvest at the threshing floor. "Take a bath. Put on some perfume. Get all dressed up and go to the threshing floor. But don’t let him know you’re there until the party is well under way and he’s had plenty of food and drink. When you see him slipping off to sleep, watch where he lies down and then go there. Lie at his feet to let him know that you are available to him for marriage. Then wait and see what he says. He’ll tell you what to do." Ruth said, "If you say so, I’ll do it, just as you’ve told me." She went down to the threshing floor and put her mother-in-law’s plan into action. Boaz had a good time, eating and drinking his fill--he felt great. Then he went off to get some sleep, lying down at the end of a stack of barley. Ruth quietly followed; she lay down to signal her availability for marriage. In the middle of the night the man was suddenly startled and sat up. Surprise! This woman asleep at his feet! He said, "And who are you?" She said, "I am Ruth, your maiden; take me under your protecting wing. You’re my close relative, you know, in the circle of covenant redeemers--you do have the right to marry me." He said, "GOD bless you, my dear daughter! What a splendid expression of love! And when you could have had your pick of any of the young men around. And now, my dear daughter, don’t you worry about a thing; I’ll do all you could want or ask. Everybody in town knows what a courageous woman you are--a real prize! You’re right, I am a close relative to you, but there is one even closer than I am. So stay the rest of the night. In the morning, if he wants to exercise his customary rights and responsibilities as the closest covenant redeemer, he’ll have his chance; but if he isn’t interested, as GOD lives, I’ll do it. Now go back to sleep until morning." Ruth slept at his feet until dawn, but she got up while it was still dark and wouldn’t be recognized. Then Boaz said to himself, "No one must know that Ruth came to the threshing floor." So Boaz said, "Bring the shawl you’re wearing and spread it out." She spread it out and he poured it full of barley, six measures, and put it on her shoulders. Then she went back to town. When she came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, "And how did things go, my dear daughter?" Ruth told her everything that the man had done for her, adding, "And he gave me all this barley besides--six quarts! He told me, "You can’t go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law!’" Naomi said, "Sit back and relax, my dear daughter, until we find out how things turn out; that man isn’t going to fool around. Mark my words, he’s going to get everything wrapped up today."
So what do you do with God’s plan for you?
You can take God’s perfect plan for you and…
1. Try to help Him.
Why would you try to help God?
We try to help God…
> Because He’s not moving quick enough. Naomi was trying to “speed” God up and often we do the same. We sure do mess up God’s plan with infusing our plan. God’s timing is perfect, right?
We try to help God…
> Because we are “short-sighted”. We can’t see the “big picture” like God does. We start panicking and just start doing things. We need to learn to trust God in that which we don’t know and be patient.
We try to help God…
> Because we are selfish. We become so concerned about ourselves and our family that we don’t even consider how we affect others. Naomi’s plan could have really caused problems for Boaz. What if someone would have seen this girl leaving the threshing floor? Yes, Boaz’s reputation would have been ruined; but worse than that, Ruth could have been accused of prostitution and put to death. God’s plan for us to prosper is also the same plan for His other children also. We must not forget that our decisions affect others.
You can take God’s perfect plan for you and…
2. Trust Him.
When you trust God…
> You will wait for Him. Boaz was getting older, He could have already found himself a wife; or he could have said, “I’m too old for this”; but instead He agreed to go take care of this matter. Boaz could have also said, “Since I’m getting older, let’s go ahead and do this right now; but he didn’t, he followed the plan and gave the closest relative the opportunity to redeem Ruth.
When you trust God…
> You will walk with Him. God will lead you in what to do. Boaz was caught in a bad position. He woke up to this beautiful woman at his feet willing to do whatever he wanted her to do. He was a respected leader and he could have done whatever he wanted to and got away with it; but instead he protected Ruth.
When you trust God…
> You will love others. God lead Boaz to make decisions that protected Ruth and provided for her. That’s what love does.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a (MSG)
“Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, Doesn’t have a swelled head, Doesn’t force itself on others, Isn’t always "me first," Doesn’t fly off the handle, Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, Doesn’t revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end. Love never dies.”
Conclusion:
We show God that we love Him by obeying His commands and loving others- Do you trust Him? Do you believe Him? If so, don’t forget that God has a great plan for you and you need to wait on Him.
