Discovering Your Destiny Series
Seven Sermons from the Book of Ruth
(Inspired from Perry Stone’s Book, Lay It On Me)
July 27, 2014 Chester FBC, Chester, IL Dr. Mike Fogerson, Speaker
Introduction:
A Timing & personal connections play an important role in your personal destiny (Being in the right place and with the right people).
1 This was definitely the case with Naomi & Ruth.
a After their world fell apart in Moab (loss of their husbands), Naomi in her mourning forgot all about an important kingdom connection . . . this connection would prove to be the source of her miracle.
b The connections name was Boaz, a near relative to her departed husband, Elimelech.
aa Naomi & Ruth set their eyes toward Bethlehem because they were hungry.
bb They show up in Bethlehem, looking for bread, just as the wheat is being harvested, wheat used to make bread.
cc And they just happen to be related to somebody who owns a wheat field.
2 God’s timing is always perfect & He sends the right people into our lives at the right time.
a There is someone out there that God has just for you, the key to your heart.
b Someone has a word to give that brings you peace, affirmation, confirmation . . . feed your soul.
B Ruth is about start the next part of her journey to blessing (Her first step was to leave Moab, moved to cleaving Naomi. . .)
1 She about to step into favor by grace.
a Naomi & Ruth returned to city of Bethlehem in the time of the barely harvest (Ruth 1.22.) (She’s at the right place at the right time.)
Ruth 1:22 (NASB) 22 So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
b There in Bethlehem, Ruth discovered a progression in the blessings of God
2 Know this, the movement/progression of our blessings are dependent on our last act of obedience . . . God will only give more after we have followed previous instructions.
a Cleave to Naomi, Leave Moab, Go to Bethlehem, Go the Gleaning Field . . . each step depended on her being obedient in previous steps.
b Today, we’re going to see how the progression/movement of blessing flows so we can move into our destiny.
c Pray
I The Principle of Increase
A Mark 4 explains the principle of increase from 30-fold to 100-fold.
Mark 4:28-29 (NASB) 28 "The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. 29 "But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."
1 It shows us that if the seed is planted in good ground, weather conditions are right . . . the seed will begin a three stage process:
a First, the blade
aa Secondly, the head (the ear or stalk)
bb Thirdly, the full grain, the corn or mature fruit.
b Each stage in this process represents a different level of blessing.
aa Mark 4:8 (NASB) 8 "Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."
bb Blade (30-fold); Head (60-fold); Mature Fruit (100-fold).
2 Once the seed matures, becomes ripe, it can be picked.
a At that point it can be eaten or used to as seed for the future harvest.
aa One ear of corn can make a side dish at one meal, eaten.
bb Or, stored away to make dozens of more stalks, in turn, produce hundreds of more ears.
b We see the principle of increase in Ruth’s story.
aa We see her in the beginning in the corner of the field after the field had already been picked. . .as a blade. (Ruth 2.2-3)
Ruth 2:2-3 (NASB) 2 And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one in whose sight I may find favor." And she said to her, "Go, my daughter." 3 So she departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.
bb Her “handfuls of purpose” (2.16) was her stalk, the growing/sowing . . . process.
Ruth 2:16 (KJV) 16 And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.
cc But when Boaz “laid it on her” (3.15), she had matured into the fruit/blessing.
Ruth 3:15 (NASB) 15 Again he said, "Give me the cloak that is on you and hold it." So she held it, and he measured six measures of barley and laid it on her. Then she went into the city.
B Each of has seed that we either eat or replenish by continual planting process.
1 In the church, you can tell who eats their seed because they never tithe/give to the ministry of the church they attend. . . they never plant seed into their future.
a They eat, hear the message, enjoy the niceties of the table . . . but keep their seed for themselves.
b They have salvation, but they forfeit blessing because they refuse to sow back into field.
2 Maybe you’re happy with a 30-fold blessing . . . but if God has more you, don’t you want it? (Let go the seed and plant it in the field.)
TS: Your spiritual journey begins at the cross, but it does not end at the cross.
II Moving from the seed to mature fruit.
A In Seminary, there is an office for minister placement. (Connect preachers who are looking for a church with churches who are looking for a Pastor.)
1 One of the questions asked by that office to each student is “What kind of church are you looking for?”
a Many would answer a large church, healthy church, growing church. (One of my friends put said, “Red brick.”)
aa Many “professionally” trained Pastors would not give a second look at a small church in a small town.
bb Want the big ones with lots of people, money, growth potential.
b Men & women, students get a “call” to ministry during a revival, conference, crusade and years later they’re still holding to the call but not serving because the door hasn’t opened for them to minister in their “call.”
aa When I was 13 I was called to be a preacher & immediately I thought “pulpit!!!” (Big church, lots of people, multi-staff, recognition.)
bb My pastor, Reverend Larry Shelton, didn’t put me the pulpit (probably only preached 2 times at home church during my teenage years.) He assigned me to the nursing home in Odin to preach every Sunday . . . and did for four years. . . every Sunday morning. (4 to 12 people showed up and most of them were oblivious to their surrounding little on me.)
cc Pastor Shelton knew something that I didn’t . . . If wasn’t willing to be obedient in going to a nursing home, preaching for the old folks . . . there was not much to my call if I wasn’t willing to go to the corners of the field.
2 The trouble with many people who have a call is they want to eat the fruit before they plant the seed.
a They want to walk into a corn field and starting picking in shucking corn . . . yet they won’t take the time to plow up the stones, stumps, and hindrances that will prevent their seed from growing.
b Matt. 25.21-23, God’s favor comes to those who are obedient in little things.
Matthew 25:21-23 (NASB) 21 "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' 22 "Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, 'Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.' 23 "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'
aa Once we learn to walk through the small doors, God will open up larger ones for us.
bb If your not faithful with being a good church member, forget about being ever taking a major leadership role. . . work in the corners for a while.
B When we think of Ruth we think of Boaz’s wife, David’s grandma, a matriarch of faith, first link in Israel’s royal chain . . . but, she started in the corner of the field.
1 She didn’t start out by asking for leadership; she asked for grace (2.2) and favor (2.13).
Ruth 2:2 (NASB) 2 And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one in whose sight I may find favor." And she said to her, "Go, my daughter."
Ruth 2:13 (NASB) 13 Then she said, "I have found favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants."
a Favor opens the door but grace keeps the door open.
b If you’ve got a call to minister, serve . . .stop waiting for a big opportunity, big break, open door . . . grow where your planted.
2 Your call is a one-time event, but it is developed/matures over the course of your whole life.
III The Law of Gleaning.
A God established through Moses a law called the law of gleaning.
Leviticus 19:9-10 (NASB) 9 'Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 ~'Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the LORD your God.
1 When a man harvested his field he was to allow the four corners to remain standing so the poor, the widows and strangers could come and glean in that field.
a The poor, widows, strangers didn’t have seed/land/showed up after planting season.
b When Ruth went out to get the wheat, she was opting to engage the law of gleaning (Ruth 2.3, NASB).
Ruth 2:3 (NASB) 3 So she departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.
aa She was hired to glean in the fields & she worked hard (Ruth 2.7) Worked all day and didn’t take a break!
Ruth 2:7 (NASB) 7 "And she said, 'Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.' Thus she came and has remained from the morning until now; she has been sitting in the house for a little while."
bb I’m sure Ruth’s beauty caught the attention of Boaz, but I don’t think he overlooked her work ethic either.
cc She was on time, hard laborer, took pride in her work, selfless in her labor. (She took the portion of grain she would collect for herself back home to Naomi.)
2 Ruth 2:9 (NASB) 9 "Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have commanded the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the water jars and drink from what the servants draw."
a Ruth got the attention of he master of the house, Boaz, because she worked hard at even the smallest of tasks.
b When will we learn that God rewards those who work faithfully with pure motives?
Hebrews 11:5 (NASB) 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.
B If we are to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, we could all be laboring in a field that is challenging, but fulfilling. . . and that is law of the progression of blessing.
1 Taught allegorically in Ruth and explained in Mark 4.3-8.
Mark 4:3-8 (NASB) 3 "Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 "Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. 6 "And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7 "Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8 "Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."
a I’ve stood in Galilee where Jesus preached this message in this open field about a man sowing seeds of wheat.
aa Jesus spoke of the seed falling on stones (The Galilee region is covered with large, black basalt stones that were in the fields where farmers would try to plant crops.)
bb Jesus mentioned birds who would swoop down and devour the seeds before they had a chance to take root and grow (If the seeds not protected, the birds will swoop down and steal it.)
cc He talked about the heat of the Galilee region (drought, dry) that would beat down upon the seed and kill it before it grew.
b Everything He spoke about could be seen before the eyes of the people.
aa Jesus then said the seed was the Word, and when the Word takes root it would always produce.
bb Produce in varying degrees (30, 60, 100 fold)
2 The level of blessing is not measured solely by the amount of seed planted.
a If Brother Ray planted 10 bags of seed in our parking lot, how much is it going to produce? If he planted 2 bags of seed on his farm how much is it going to produce?
aa The amount of seed doesn’t mean squat if the condition of the soil is bad.
bb The same with our hearts!
b You can attend service after service, sing song after song, sermon after sermon, . . . but if your heart is not receiving the Word you will not ever know what it’s like to experience the fulness of blessing that God has for you.
c Most of you are at the right place, church . . . to get your blessing, live your destiny.
C Let me give you 7 nuggets to help you advance into increase.
(Put these nuggets progressively as I come to each one while leaving the nugget preceding the next one on the screen, please.)
1 Learn everything you can about call/job/ministry assigned to you. (God, and the people over you will notice!)
2 Offer to do above and beyond what you are expected to do.
3 Try to solve problems that make it easier on those over you. (Solve problems instead of creating them.)
4 Discover when and where the next level/promotion is coming from, and position yourself with the wisdom & knowledge needed to experience that increase.
5 Determine that if you are “called” to a place or a ministry, you will stay with that church, ministry or business, even in the toughest times.
(If you run away during tough times, you will run from problems for the rest of your life AND leaving too soon could take you out of your field of blessing.)
6 Face any misunderstanding in love, before it gets out of hand.
(We have not been given a ministry of confrontation, but one of reconciliation. We’re not called to straighten things out but to heal and to reconcile situations.)
7 Never speak of another worker, Christian behind his/her back.
(Never say anything about someone that you would be embarrassed by if they knew you said it. Be careful what you say and to whom you say it. REMEMBER, you never have to apologize for what you never said.)
Notice to Sermon Central Users:
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
