Sermon: I Will Go
Ruth 1:16
We have often sang a familiar invitation hymn.
entitled
"Wherever He Leads I’ll Go"
We sang it as part of the worship this morning.
I wonder how much truth there really is in that statement. Would we follow Jesus anywhere and everywhere that he would lead us.
If you go into work tomorrow and the boss sort of waves you on and says follow me, the boss either leads you through the office or through the factory through a field or your place of business....
I would say your going to follow.
I heard about a preacher who was praying early one morning knelt down at the foot of his bed.
As he prayed... head bowed.... and eyes closed his wife walked of the kitchen and down the hall and happened to peer in the bedroom unbeknownst to her husband and she heard him praying this prayer.
He prayed
"Father, I just want to be so perfectly in your will. I’ll do anything you ask of me Lord, I will go anywhere you would lead to go be it even in to the heart of some deep thick jungle or a barren faraway country."
At this point the wife could not keep her presence a secret any longer she knelt down beside him placed her hand on his back and said and Lord if to one of these places you lead him...please Lord be certain you give him a buddy, a pal, some good friend that will go with him.
Now that wife wasn’t necessarily convinced. Sometimes I wonder how well convinced we are about following God.
As we look at this phrase "I will go" in the scripture tonight we can learn many things about these 3 simple words I will Go.
To say...I WILL GO....
I. It is a DECISION of FAITH
It is a believer’s faith that often enables him or her to say I will go.
Turn to your neighbor on your right or your left and say "I will go"
Ruth 1:16
But Ruth said, «Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go,(...I WILL WHAT?) I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.
Here is a woman named Naomi ....she had two sons who took two Moabite women for wives.
Those two women were Ruth and Orpah (Not Oprah)
The two sons died... Naomi’s husband had died... and now all that was left was Naomi and her two daughter in laws Orpah and Ruth.
These daughter in laws were originally Moabites and Moabite belief was not of Jehovah God but the belief of Pagan gods.
Yet it seems that the relationship that brought them all together impacted the life of Ruth in a spectacular way.
When Naomi told Orpah and Ruth they were free to depart again to their own land and own lives.
Orpah did so but Ruth the Scripture says clung to Naomi.
Her faith is evident in her decision to stay with Naomi as she stresses in
V 16 .....Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.
Ruth realized not only had she grown to love and respect Naomi but she had fallen in love... with Jehovah God.
Ruth knew that back in Moab the land where she had come from ....Jehovah God was renounced... and she would be rebuked for this belief in the one TRUE GOD.
So we see .....that to say I WILL GO ......involves our faith.
How far will you go with Jesus?
Well that depends on what?
IT DEPENDS ON YOUR FAITH
Sure you say "I will go ." But how far will you go in faith following Jesus.
II. What about the I WILL GO of a victor
Who are victors?
They are the ones who find victory.
We took to the book of Judges and a period of decline in the spiritual temperature of Israel Judges 4:9
We talk of putting on the full armor of God unto victory
We sing victory in Jesus
We sing onward Christian Soldiers Marching as to war
The little ones sing a song it says I’m in the Lord’s Army
I may never march in the Infantry
Ride in the Calvary
Shoot the Artillery
I may never fly over the enemy but I’m in the Lords Army
So we have a lot to say about being victorious as Christians BUT WE WILL NOT BE VICTORIOUS IF WE CANNOT SAY I WILL GO.
HOW .....are we going to win any battles if we stay ducked down in the bomb shelter... with the hatch battened down and NEVER EVER go to the front lines.???
The only way will Be real VICTORS in CHRIST is when we say
I WILL GO
JUDGES 4:9
God uses a women leader to lead God’s people in a time of decline and spiritual demoralization.
(By the way PRAISE GOD for our women we would be in horrible shape in our ministry efforts if it were not for the women).
This woman leader is a Judge by the name of Deborah but she calls on Barak to take part in the victory for God’s people.
1 THEN *the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, after Ehud died.
2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of *Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; and the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in *Harosheth-hagoyim.
3 The sons of Israel cried to the LORD; for he had nine hundred *iron chariots, and he oppressed the sons of Israel severely for twenty years.
4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time.
5 She used to sit under the *palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel came up to her for judgment.
6 Now she sent and summoned *Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali, and said to him, Behold, the LORD, the God of Israel, has commanded, "Go and march to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men from the sons of Naphtali and from the sons of Zebulun.
7 "I will draw out to you Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his many troops to the river Kishon, and *I will give him into your hand.’»
Get on the bus...
8 Then Barak said to her, «If you will go with me, then (What?) I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.»
9 She said, «I will go with you; nevertheless, the honor shall not be yours on the journey that you are about to take,
*for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hands of a woman.» Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.
10 Barak called *Zebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh, and ten thousand men went up *with him; Deborah also went up with him.
Now what we need to see is right there in v9 THAT GOD GIVES VICTORY TO THOSE WHO SAY
I WILL GO
III.What about an account where the
words- I WILL GO is in a negative light?
Look with me at THE I WILL GO OF SELF SUFFICIENCY
Judges 16 The sad story of Samson.
God had made him special. Samson was under the Nazarite vow and God had gifted him with great strength but Samson did not follow after righteousness and drifted farther and farther out of the will of God.
The Nazarite vow consisted that a man not do three things anyone know what they were
I. Not let a razor come upon the head
II. Not touch a dead body
(No.... it wasn’t just eat fish on Friday)
III. Not drink wine
Samson tried God!
You ever have a child or grandchild "try you."
Our youngest daughter Emily did this less than a month ago. She was sent to her room ad told not to come out of it. SO she opened the door and sort of just hangs of the frame of the door ....
Then she takes a toe and sticks it over the door way ...then a leg....then half her body but making sure to have some part of her still in the room.
She was "trying" her mom and dad.
Samson "tried God"
First of all - He had touched a dead lion.
Then he had drank wine at a feast
But then the last straw I suppose was when he gave his secret away to Delilah and she had a Philistine Soldier come in and cut his hair.
Then we see God’s blessing of strength was gone from Samson.
Judges 16: 18-20
18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all that was in his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, «Come up once more, for he has told me all that is in his heart.» Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands.
19 She made him sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his hair. Then she began to afflict him, and his strength left him.
20 She said, «The Philistines are upon you, Samson!» And he awoke from his sleep and said, (he said those 3 words) I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.» But he did not know that *the LORD had departed from him.
In verse 20 Samson seems to speaking like a self sufficient macho man ...oh this is no problem for me....the mighty mass of muscle Samson.
Very arrogantly very inappropriately Samson was not relying on God but on Samson and so God humbled Samson.
When we become so bold and proud that we feel self sufficient then we had be careful of the humbling of God that is bound to come.
1 Cor 10:12 says
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.
Consider with me from God’s Word ...
IV.THE I WILL GO OF FELLOWSHIP.
We announce a fellowship and generally everyone is glad to come....but some people are a sourpuss they just cant have any fun.
There the kind of people that if you wrote fun on a piece of paper and taped it to their forehead they would fold their arms and say I refuse to have a good time....
Well that’s the I WILL NOT GO of fellowship but MANY OF US MOST OF US know the blessing of saying I WILL GO in fellowship.
2KINGS 6: 1-3
Let me see your hand tonight if you believe there is a blessing in togetherness?
If this where not so I wouldn’t we just worship at home?
THERE IS A BLESSING OF TOGETHERNESS
We have fellowships ...things like celebrating the Birthday of the church with a meal and celebration.....Fun gatherings like the Youth luncheon and dessert auction a few weeks ago and now we are planning an Acteens fellowship fundraiser coming up.
All of those type events equal FUN but what if you came and ate lunch in the fellowship hall all by yourself.....
What if you baked a bunch of goodies and came to the fellowship hall and shared them with just yourself. .....WHERE IS THE FUN IN THAT?
Here is what is TRUE.....We find real joy in the
I WILL GO of fellowship
I always like to save the best for last.
V.THE I WILL GO of REPENTANCE
LK 15: 18
The "I will go" of Repentance
no matter how far you stray away in sin.... or how bad of a stench your life becomes .....God’s love for you stand solid ..... it doesnt change ....His love for you never changes and the opportunity for you to say I WILL GO back to my Father is always there..
To repent and say Lord I am sorry for where i HAVE BEEN AND FOR WHAT I HAVE DONE but Lord thank you for loving me ad I am coming home to you.
Perhaps tonight what you need to say to the Lord is very simple and short.
Perhaps you need to say to Jesus tonight
I will go
I will go and enjoy the life you have given me Lord
I will go and live for you and tell others of your love
I will go and seek to sin no more
