Unlocking Your Life’s Destiny Series
Seven Sermons from the Book of Ruth Kissers and Cleavers
(Inspired from Perry Stone’s Book, Lay It On Me)
July 13, 2014 Chester FBC, Chester, IL Dr. Mike Fogerson, Speaker
Introduction:
Two Weeks ago we began the series “Discovering Your Life’s Destiny.”
1 This is a series in the OT book of Ruth.
a Review of story.
b We learned...
aa Don’t blame God for everything that goes wrong in your life.
bb We must leave our past failures, mistakes, (Moab) behind if we want to reach our destiny.
2 This morning we’re going to learn what it takes to move from Moab to Bethlehem.
a We’ll get closer to our destiny with this message.
b Pray.
I Kissers & Cleavers.
Ruth 1:14 (NASB) 14 And they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
A Notice the different actions of the sisters to Naomi: Orpah kissed & Ruth clung.
1 There is a big difference to the sisters reaction.
a Ruth 1:15 (NASB) 15 Then she said, "Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; return after your sister-in-law."
aa Maybe she’ll think of me occasionally, laugh from time to time when she remembers the good times we had as a family.
bb Ruth 1:10 (NASB) 10 And they said to her, "No, but we will surely return with you to your people."
Orpah said she’d go to Bethlehem, but apparently her words were empty, without weight.
b Ruth 1:16 (NASB) 16 But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.
Ruth clung to Naomi like white on rice.
aa No matter where you go... I’ll follow you.
bb Her words were true, full of sincere determination.
2 I’m sure both girls loved Naomi. (family, shared laughter & life together, heart break, loss)
a Orpah would continue to love Naomi... but from a distance: Ruth however was all in.
b Orpah was a woman of great words, Ruth was a woman of great works.
B I believer there are basically two groups of people: kissers & cleavers. (Daters & Romancers)
1 Some will serve with you, tell you how much they appreciate your ministry, follow you... but they do so from a distance.
a Others will cleave onto you because they have a burden for the work, ministry, kingdom.
aa Serve under the authority of the Pastor & spiritual leaders God has placed over them.
bb Roll up their sleeves, get in the trenches, take bullets, exchange fire, have your back, because of their love for God.
2 Daters (men) often go on dates, I’ll pick you up around 5 or 6, so they can get a little kiss from a woman, maybe hold hands & share some popcorn.
a Dating, in the context I’m using the term, is an act of the flesh.
b Romancers take the lady out to a nice resturant, buy her flowers, open doors, hold her hand, drive five hours to spend 45 minutes in their presence.
aa Not to steal a kiss, or hold their hand. (Flesh)
bb Romance is a thing of the heart.
3 At church, I believe there are people who “date” God & there are people who are “romancing” God.
a Daters show up on their own convience to let the Lord know they made their appearance in His house.
aa They blow kisses to the Lord for an hour or so to let Him know, “I do love you... I may not be back for a few weeks - you may not see me again for awhile... but hey, I’ll be thinking of you often.”
bb Next time I need a “blessing call,” you’re the first one I’ll call.
cc If your into God for what you can get out of Him you’re just dating Him.
b When you’re romancing the “lover of your soul” you’re into God because you love to feel His presence.
aa When your with Him there is an intimate song pouring from your Spirit in praise to Him.
bb You run to your room & open His love letter & read & re-read them.
cc A song comes on the radio that reminds you of Him & praise is birthed in your heart.
dd If He never gave me another blessing, I still just want to feel His presence. (Take everything else, but don’t take His presence!)
C (IL) Faithful. IL from Wednesday night.
a When Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye, she kissed her destiny goodbye too.
b When Ruth clung to Naomi’s side, she said,
Ruth 1:16 (NASB) 16 But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.
II How much do you want God’s will/direction for your life? (Your destiny is just that.)
A Are you tilling to stay awake all night praying for it? Leave your familiar surroundings/people to minister outside your comfort zone? Willing to leave Moab & go into the new territory of Bethlehem?
1 How determined are you to do the will of God?
a Remember it’s not always easy, comfortable, being in His will.
b It will often be difficult & lonely.
2 How be we begin? Where do we start to fulfill our destiny? - We all have to begin somewhere.
a Mark 4:14-20 (NASB) 14 "The sower sows the word. 15 "These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. 16 "In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; 17 and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 "And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, 19 but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 "And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."
This describes this process of what we do, how we grow after we’ve received the Word.
aa Some bring forth 30-fold, 60-fold, & some 100-fold.
bb We all begin at the lowest level & progress into the fulness of God’s will, blessing & purpose.
b Your level of blessing will be determined by your desire to pursue spiritual truth. (Are you going to be a kisser or a cleaver? Dater or a romancer?)
B Many times when it comes to knowing, doing, living, God’s will one of the first moves is simply to start doing something.
1 Many times you’ll know it’s Hid will only after you’ve gotten out of park.
a In the OT, Abraham was a guy living in UR, God told him to leave his father, job, familiar surroundings, & just go.
Hebrews 11:8 (NASB) 8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.
aa God would tell him when to pack up his tent, take it down & move again.
bb Abraham had no idea what the final destination would be, future held, moved/stopped at the Word of God.
b There are times when God gives great detail, however there are more times when He just gives a “go that way, I’ll tell you where to stop.”
aa For many of us this is where we get disconnected from God’s will/our destiny - We want to know our destination before we start the journey.
bb God says, “No, you start going & I’ll start showing.”
cc We stop when He stops, go when He says go. (The hazard in stopping when we should be going, & going when we should be stopped.)
2 When Naomi had left Bethlehem 10 years before she was a respected lady. (Elimeleehs wife, owned a house, land, happy.) When she came back she was a shell of her former self.
a Broken, bankrupt, & bitter.
Ruth 1:20 (NASB) 20 She said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
b Most people stayed in Bethlehem & endured the famine - rode the storm out.
aa Likewise, people will leave a church when things get rough. (Many times its not because the Lord’s leading them to go - They leave because their feelings were hurt, offended, don’t like strife.)
bb Frequently, after time passes, they return... carrying the same wounds/hurts that have never fully healed.
cc Having returned, they have lost their former identity in the house of God, they return broken & in despair.
c Go only when God says go!!
C Just as there is a danger of going when you should stop, there is a delight in the Lord that happen when you go when he says so.
1 Ruth was a beautiful, dark complected, dark haired Moabite, who had no idea that when she left Moab that God already planned for her to meet a handsome Bethelemite to marry & start a royal family.
a If she would have stayed in Moab with Orpah she would have missed her place in Israel’s history- God’s blessing.
2 When you leave Moab... your past behind, when you cross the Jordan to join the place God is leading you to, you will discover the key to your future.
a To discover your purpose... you must be at the right place at the right time.
b The only way to be at the right place is by being sensitive to the leading of God’s spirit - that sensitivity only comes to romancers/cleavers... daters/kissers never get close enough to Him to know His heart.
Conclusion
A Which are you today? Dater/Romancer? Kisser/Cleaver?
1 Are you at the right place, right time?
a Do you find yourself desiring God to give you the destination before you start the journey?
b If you want to move forward in your destiny, you’re going to have to do something on faith.
2 Your destiny is given to you by God, but it’s in your hands.
B (IL) Hermit / Baby bird.
Once there was an old hermit who lived on the side of a mountain. There were three little boys who were always trying to outsmart the old hermit. One of the little boys said, "I’ll put a marble in my hand and we will go to the old man and ask him what it is I have in my hand. So the three boys went to visit the old man and the little boy said, "Old man, what have I in my hand?"
The old hermit answered, "A marble". The three boys left and came back with another similar scenario and to the boy’s astonishment the old man in his wisdom was able to answer the question. The next day the boys were pondering the situation trying to come up with something so ingenious that the old man would never guess the answer. Then one of the boy’s said, "I know, I’ll put this baby bird in my hand and I’ll ask the old man if the bird is alive or dead and if he says the bird is alive, I will crush it in my hand and outsmart the old man." So with smiles on their faces they went back to the old hermit’s house and the little boy said, "Old man, what have I in my hand?"
The old man answered, "A baby bird." Then the boy said, "Is this bird alive or dead?" The old man looked at the little boy and said, "It is as you wish my son, it is as you wish". The fate of that little bird rested in the hands of that little boy just as the destiny of our souls rest in our own hands. God does not determine where we will spend eternity, that choice is made by us. To accept Christ as Savior or to reject Him is totally up to us.
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My name is Mike Fogerson, and I pastor a Southern Baptist Church in Chester, Illinois. I have been a long-time user of Sermon Central and truly appreciate its content and contributors. Some of the best sermons I’ve ever preached have been reworked material from this website. As you use the material from my sermon bank, understand that it is work that has been done from not just myself, but from hundreds of other pastors as well. If you see part of your message, or a bunch of your message with my name on it and this upsets you, please email me and I will quickly respond and cite you as the main source. My intent is not to claim someone’s work as my own. I am disclaiming up front that I use the resources from Sermon Central and appreciate the tool. I simply want all those who use my work to know that some of these messages were inspired by the Holy Spirit working through other pastors. Because I do use the messages of other pastors I waive all claims of originality or origin of creativity for the messages posted under my messages. I pray God blesses your preaching ministry for the glory of His Kingdom.
Respectfully,
Mike Fogerson
