The Village Church
The Trail That Lags Behind: Favor & Kindness - Audio
I don't know how long it would be, I don't know what the future holds for me but this I know if Jesus leads me I would get home someday. Beings of heaven Father, I cannot wait to that day Lord when we cross over from this life to the next, when we see Jesus face to face our faith shall finally be made sight in His presence. No more suffering, no more death, no more addictions, no more issues, no more disappointments, no more grief, no more burdens, but just pleasure every more, forever peace in Your presence. Oh Father, until that day Lord I pray that You'll give us a taste Father, a taste, breadcrumbs of what is going to be one day. You know our needs, you know what we're dealing with, our families, our health, our jobs, our neighborhoods, our communities, our schools, our country, the world is in need of a God who is good, a God who is personal, a God who enjoys to forgive, a God who reigns down grace without limits. We need that this morning, we need You Father to speak Your truth into our life, into the places where we truly live, into those dark corners of our soul. We need Your words to come there. We need a lot of truth to shine there. Now you were doing this with what we can't do in ourselves, and that is to lead us closer to Your heart, to a greater understanding of who You are, that though this life is filled with great suffering and disappointments, that our God would never forsake us, our God would never leave us hanging, our God would never abandon us, our God would forever be by our side, comforting us, sustaining us, God in us, leading us home to glory, our God, Jesus is His name, in Your name I pray, amen. If you have your Bible, please open it to Ruth Chapter 2. For we all have a trail lagging behind our life. All of us, it doesn't matter who you are, it doesn't matter how you grew up, you have a trail following you, it followed you here this morning, in fact it could be the reason why you're here this morning, because some of us are held prisoner by something that holds down a trail in our life, something that we haven't gotten over yet, and you know exactly what I'm talking about. Now if Naomi was here, that is Naomi in the Bible, if she was sitting right here, she would have said, "Hey, man pastor, you know why?" Because she was honest and upfront about what she went through. Where did she tell the women on her arrival to Bethlehem, "Don't call me Naomi, don't call me lovely, don't call me pleasant, call me Mara, call me bitter, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me." We have seen that Naomi was angry, she was bitter, she was in grief because of her loss, she lost her husband, her two sons, she was a widow, she was childless, she had problems in all the material or financial resources, she said to herself, "I went away for it, and the Lord has brought me back in, empty, nothing, no gas in the car, stuck on the side of the road empty." But what's that entirely true, was she really that empty? I don't think so, because the Lord did intervene into her grief and pain, you see the trail of her life and the trail of your life, it's just not filled with life experiences, but also with the Lord's intervention into those experiences. He intervenes in everything you go through, and you've got to understand that as people die, that he is in the midst of everything you go through in this life. And that was the case for Naomi. First, she heard that the Lord had visited his people with food, and gave them food in Bethlehem, that's an intervention. She had the loyalty and devotion of her daughter-in-law, especially Ruth, that's the Lord's moving. The fact that they returned to Bethlehem at the beginning of the harvest season, you think that was by accident? That's divine intervention. And this morning we're going to see the Lord intervene once again, we're going to see some other things that held down spots on the trail of her life, and that was kindness and favor. And if you have the word, look at Ruth chapter 2, beginning in verse 1. "Now Naomi had a relative of hers, a worthy man of the clan of eliminate, and whose name was Boaz. And Ruth, the Moabite, said to Naomi, 'Let me go to the filling gleam among the ears of grain after him, and whose sight I shall find favor.' And she said to her, 'Go, my daughter,' so she said out and went to gleam in the fields after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of a mallelic. And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and he said to the reapers, 'The Lord be with you, and they answer, 'The Lord bless you.' Then Boaz said to the young man who was in charge of the reapers, 'Whose young woman is this?' And the servant who was in charge of the reaper says, 'She is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab.' He said, 'Please let me gleam and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.' So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, that set up for a short rest. Then Boaz said to Ruth, 'Now listen, my daughter, do not glean in another's field, or leave this one, but keep close to my young women, that your eyes be on the field that you are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged a young man not to touch you, and when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn, then she fell on her face, bound to the ground, and said to him, 'Why have I found favour in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?' But Boaz answered her, 'All that you have done for your mother-in-law since she sent the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother in your native land to come to people that you did not know before.' So Lord, we pay you for what you have done, a full reward be given to you by the Lord, that God of Israel, under whose wings you have taken refuge. Then she said, 'I have found favour in your eyes, my Lord, but you have comforted me, and spoke kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.' This is God's Word. Lord, as we come to your truth, as you come to your scriptures, as we come to your holy word, my prayers to the Holy Spirit, Lord, will take what is preached, and apply to all of our hearts, and crush them up pray, amen. When Naomi tried to depart from her daughter-in-law, she gave them a motherly blessing, and I told about this last week, she prayed over them, 'May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.' You see, upon her arrival into Bethlehem, they needed the Lord to answer this prayer. They needed the Lord to answer this prayer to extend kindness. Both Naomi and Ruth, they were in need of kindness and favour. They were in need of someone to extend to them mercy and compassion when they got to Bethlehem. Verse 2, Ruth asks Naomi if she can go gleaned behind anyone who will be kind enough to let her do it. What do you think it means to glean? It means to pick up grain that was left over by the harvesters. It's picking up what's the leftovers. You see, in Israel, Gleanan was done by a particular group of people. He was put in place by Yahweh as a generous provision for them. Deuteronomy 24 says, 'When you weep your harves in your field, and forget a sheaf in the field, you should not go back and pick it up. You should be for the show-joner, the fatherless, and the widow that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand.'" That's the word that the Lord gave to any landowner that when they go out, they're supposed to leave a portion of their crop for the needy to collect. This provision was given to the needy because they lacked the means to provide for themselves. Ruth and Naomi are not part of that group. They're part of that needy group. The widow's probably poor, and so when they arrived in Bethlehem, they were in need. They need someone to show them kindness and favor. Ruth says to Naomi, 'Let me go to the field and glean behind anyone who'll be kind enough to show me favor.' Notice that Gleaning was not beneath her. She wasn't afraid of manual labor. She's going to work in the field, and she's going to get a nail dirty. She wasn't afraid of it. She needs to find work in order to do what, in order to provide for them, because they didn't have husbands anymore. So one of them had to go to work. They needed food, they needed income, and so Naomi says, 'Go, my daughter.' So she sits out into a strange land to work among the people that she did not know. Was it uncomfortable? I'm sure it was, but it was also responsible for her to do that. Now her going out to look for a place to glean, they're not guaranteed that she would find it. They did not guarantee that someone would be kind to her. She still needs the Lord to move. She still needs the Lord to intervene. She still needs the Lord to move someone, someone, anyone to extend kindness to her. The Lord moves. In verse 3 it says, 'She happened to come to a part of the field that belongs to Boaz.' Now is that by chance, fate, accident, no, that's divine intervention. She happens to come to this field. Now she didn't notice the significance of that, but as one Christian says, 'What to roof was sheer coincidence in an unplanned set of circumstances, we understand to be part of the outworking of God's gracious camp.' He shows her kindness and favor by bringing her to this particular field. You see, he is moving, and she is moving too. She wouldn't have came to the field if she didn't leave the house. He is moving, and she is moving, happening at the same time. She sets out to find work, but the Lord guides her footsteps right to Boaz's field. And when she arrives there, she just didn't jump in and start working, she's needed permission to proceed. She asked the foreman, 'Please let me glean and gather after the reapers.' But the foreman doesn't give her an answer, and I assume it's because he's not the owner of the field. The owner has to give her permission to glean, so she had to wait patiently for the owner to show up. All she could do was hope that when the owner shows up that he will let me work, he will show me kindness, he will take notice of me. Again, it shows she needed the Lord to move. A pastor I know was doing marriage counseling with a couple who lived in the community where his church was. See, the marriage was hanging on by a thread, there were some great issues in this marriage. The couple needed the Lord to intervene, and so the pastor decided, 'You know what, I'll meet with you guys. We work on these issues. We help you guys get on a healthy path.' But soon, the pastor realized the husband was not doing all he could do to save the marriage, and his lack of effort was driving his wife insane. Not much progress was made. You see, all of us are in the position of need with something, needing kindness and favor, needing the Lord to intervene, your struggling marriage, for example, is in need of kindness and favor. There's a certain relationship that you have with a certain person that's in need of kindness and favor. There's something in your past that is in need of kindness and favor. Your health is in need of kindness and favor. Your struggling livelihood is in need of kindness and favor. Your unemployment or your underemployment is in need of kindness and favor. What about this, your addictions, whether it's substance abuse or things you watch on TV or the internet or in need of kindness and favor? Each of us are needy in some form of fashion, but not all of us step out in faith when it comes to our needs. Well what do you mean by that, Alex? It means to step out on faith means praying for the Lord to grant you kindness and favor and by taking personal responsibility for the needs in your life. The married couple at the past of council mourns the Lord to bless the marriage, but not most spouses will commit to fixing the marriage. Which means the marriage ain't going to get fixed if both spouses don't take personal responsibility. Many times when believers say that they want the Lord to grant them favor and kindness for some need, this is what they really mean. I want the Lord to do this such a way that it would not inconvenience me or discomfort me. That's what you mean. I want to intervene, Lord, but you know what, make it easy. Don't make it inconvenient and don't show it don't make it discomfort to me. Make it easy for me. Save my marriage, but do according to my schedule, I don't want to go to a counselor, I don't want to sacrifice for my spouse, do it and it's doing some other way. Lord, free me from my addiction, but I don't want to be uncomfortable. You know, I don't want to cut the internet off or get rid of the cable. I don't want to go to that treatment group. Do it some other way, Lord. Lord, I need a job to pick my bills and to provide for my family, but you know what, I don't want to go for the burgers. Give me another job, Lord. Do you think it was uncomfortable and convenient for Ruth and Naomi? Coming back to Bethlehem broke. No husbands, no prospects for husbands, no prospects for jobs, no. They were now poor widows who needed provision for themselves. Instead of wallowing and self-pity and entitlement and pride, Ruth took responsibility and she set out to find work. And I believe she stepped out on faith expending the Lord to provide. And he did by guiding her steps right to Boaz's field, right to his field. And who was Boaz? He's a relative of Naomi, from the clan of her husband. You think all that stuff is accident? No, he was a worthy man, he was even a wealthy man. He was a man of integrity, influence, and means he was a man of faith. And now he was going to be an instrument of God's favor and kindness toward Ruth and Boaz, toward Ruth and Naomi. One Christian says, "God's substance and provision for his world are also an aspect of his grace and his gracious provision often comes to us through the generosity of others." You've got to understand that. His gracious provisions for you often come to the gracious generosity of other people. And Boaz was getting ready to be that for these two women. As the story moved forward, he finally enters the scene. He comes to the field, he finally arrives. And when he comes, he and the Reapers greet with another, with phrases that highlight God's presence and his blessings, the Lord be with you, the Lord bless you. In other words, the Lord's kindness and favor be with you. As Boaz surveyed his crops and harvesters, he takes notice of a certain young lady standing to the side, patiently waiting. So he inquires about her to his foreman, "Whose young woman is this?" Then from a reply, "She is a young man about woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab." The foreman also tells her she's been, she asked to gleam after the Reapers, and she's been waiting here since early morning, and then Boaz finally engages her. Personally, without destroying her dignity, he said, "This is my daughter, do not gleam in another field. I'll leave this one, but keep close to my young woman, let your eyes be on the fear that you're weeping and go after them." He extends kindness and favor to her, and she needed it. She needed that kindness and favor. The Lord provided for her through Boaz's generosity. She is going to be able to gleam in his field for the whole harvest season, let your eyes be on my field, and his kindness and favor to her also meant protection and well-being for her. She was amazed, she couldn't even believe that he just did that. "Why have I found favor in your eyes that you should take notice of me or for it? Your Israelite, I'm for my Moabite, for you, you extend favor to me." He answers her question, but indirectly, he says, "All that you have done for Naomi has been told to me." So he knew about her reputation, but now he's sent her face to face. He reminds her of the kindness that she showed to her mother-in-law and in the roots that she left behind. He never told her directly why he was just in the favor to her, but I believe his prayer points us to the reason why. "Y'all way will pay you for what you have done. Y'all way will pay you for what you have done for your mother-in-law. You receive a full reward from Y'all way, and on whose wings you have come to take refuge. His prayer deflects to focus from Boaz as the source of kindness and favor, and it points it rightly on Y'all way. Y'all way, the covenant God will take care of you. He is the one that is providing for you. He is the one that is extending favor to you. He prays for the Lord to show her more kindness, to even replace what she lost to restore her. He expects the Lord to do this for her, because no root is now a worship or a y'all way. This covenant under take refuge on the wings of y'all way is her covenant in faith to y'all way. Remember what she said to her mother-in-law, "Your God should be my God, that was conversion." And now, Boaz is saying, "Because you are a child of God, you're going to be taken care of. Take refuge in the wings of y'all way. You are in good hands." And what's her response? Gratitude. Gratitude. Gratitude. What did she say? "I have found favor in your eyes, my Lord. If you have comforted me and spoke counting to your servant, though I am not one of your servants." One Christian says, "A living faith is seen sometimes in giving and sometimes in willingness to gratefully receive." Can you willingly and gratefully receive the kindness and favor of others? Do you welcome it? Sometimes a struggling marriage needs the willingness and need to willingly and gratefully receive the kindness and favor of a good councilor. But that's the reality. Because if Rocky and I are getting in trouble, I'm not going to let my pride permit people doing everything I need to do to fix it. And hey listen, there is no shame in admitting you're in trouble with something. The Lord can use that council to help you in the same applies when it comes to addiction. The point is that you can't self detox your substance abuse. You need some time to go to a treatment facility and allow the Lord to use that. And if you have sexual addiction and any other kind of destructive addiction, you can't self heal yourself. You need to be part of a group. The Lord can use those things. Remember, He's generosity to us. Use it comes to the generosity of other people. And we need the humility to let that happen. He can use those things in your life. And there are others who have been trying to cope with past hurts and betrayals and abuses alone when you don't have to. So why don't trust people, Pastor Alex, pray the Spirit to give your heart to trust. Because the Lord Jesus is going to use other people to get you on the path of healing. Because Jesus, they can come down. I said this last week. He is not going to come down. Sit right there and be your counselor. Well, Jesus, this is what happened a long time ago, what he will use is a brother or sister in your life if you allow them in, if you let them in. There's a gospel song that says, "Order my steps in your word, the Lord. Leave me, guide me every day. Send your anointing, Father, I pray. Order my steps in your word, please, order my steps in your word." As you take responsibility for your knees and your struggles, also know the Lord will order the steps of your marriage. He would be the one to order the steps of your recovery. He will order the steps of your parenting. He will order the steps of your healing. Just as he alone ordered the steps of salvation through Christ alone, you see this table right here that I love this table. You know why I love this table? Because it's a reminder of the greatest expression of the Father's kindness and favor toward us. It reminds us of how he sacrificed his only son for our sin. He's like, "How do I know what the Father cares about me? How do I know that the Father cares about my brokenness, my issues, my marriage, issues with my family, with my addictions?" That's how you know. Romans 5.8 says, "God shows his love for us. And while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. While you were sinful, he died." He didn't say, "Well, I'm going to get their lives together." Then I'm going to go to the cross. He went to the cross because you ain't ever going to get your lives together. The table is for those who have personally received Christ as their Lord and Savior. And if you have received him as your Lord and Savior, then you are welcome to partake of this table because it's for you, a reminder of what Jesus did for you on Calvary. Now there is a warning attached to this meal that his believers used to examine ourselves so we don't come to the table in an unworthy manner. That means if you have an issue with someone, you need to resolve the issue before you come to the table. It also means if you're not a believer, then we ask you to observe what takes place here. So before we do the words of institution, let's have a time of confession of sin because Christ came to die for our sins, so let us have a time of silent confession. The Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread and when he had given things he broke it and gave it to his disciples and said, "Take, eat, this is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same manner he also took the cup, having given things he gave it to his disciples saying, "This cup is the new covenant, my blood which is shed for the remission of sins. Drink from it. All of you. Let it call, budge and God forgot your name."