The Village Church
The Trail That Lags Behind: Hurdles Open the Eyes of My Heart - Audio
in Birmingham last week the church there was really nice to us so but it's good to be back without church family here in Huntsville so thank you for letting us get a way to do that for them down in Birmingham you have your bible please open it to Ruth chapter three Ruth chapter three as you know the olympics is going on right now and I'm sure meaning you have tuned in to watch your events and my favorite event doing the olympics is track and field that's that's always my favorite events to watch and to me one of my one of the most favorite events in the track and field is the hurdles I love to see the runners jump over those hurdles and if you're familiar with the event you know the runners start signing the blocks and they take off and they have the jump over hurdles that are spaced out throughout the track so they gotta so the first to get past the hurdles get the finish line wins and so I love track and field in the olympics particularly the hurdles and life for many of us often feels like we're running in the 400 meter hurdle that has no finish line in sight there's no finish line where where all of us are running a race that that has hurdles spaced throughout you clear one hurdle then soon another hurdle approaches it just they just keep coming hurdle after hurdle and many of you know what I'm talking about amen your face to face with a hurdle at this very moment and you're struggling to know what to do with it I'm faced with one and I'm sure I'm gonna know what to do with it and I have questions you have questions when it comes to the hurdles we face in life where am I to turn who am I to turn to how am I going to clear this hurdle those were the same questions that we was faced with also you see she too came face to face with a hurdle that needed to be clear she came face to face with this hurdle during her late night conversation with Boaz and most of you probably remember the sermon I last preached she went to see Boaz and they had a conversation right right okay I know you forgot they had a conversation and what did she what happened in that conversation she asked Boaz to marry her will you take me as your wife and what did he tell her my daughter do not fear I will do for you all that you asked he was going to spread his wings over her and I'm sure when he said that she was excited she had she was filled with hope and joy she did everything they on me said the plan and it seemed like everything had worked out checkmate we got him I got my man but was it was it checkmate no not yet a hurdle was revealed a hurdle that interfered with her plans and so what with me chapped Ruth chapter three beginning in verse handy small print vowels I don't know why I do this to myself all right chapter three verse 12 this is Boaz speaking to Ruth now it is true that I am a redeemer yet there is a redeemer nearer than I remain tonight and in the morning if he wouldn't redeem you good let him do it but if he's not willing to redeem you then after lower lives I will redeem you lie down to morning so she laid his feet on to morning but I rose before anyone could recognize each other and he said to her let it not let he said let it not be known that the woman came through the threshing floor and he said bring the garment you're wearing and hold it out so she held it out and he measured out six measures of barley and put it in on her so she went into the city and when she came to her mother law she said how did you fair my daughter and she told her all that the man had done for her saying these six measures of barley he gave to me and he said you must not go back into him to your mother-in-law she replied wait my daughter in the morning wait my daughter until you learn how the matter turns out for the man would not rest but we settle the matter this day pray with me lord as we come to your truth these are your words they're not the words of man though you use man to write them for they are the very words of our god your scripture and so what is said today is from it from you to your people and so we need your spirit to preach to my heart when you're a spirit to preach to the hearts of everyone here as i pray each time you know where we're all you know what we're dealing with you know the places where we are this morning you know what we're trying to hide from the neighbors sitting next to us in the chairs but we can't hide it from you you know you know the very things we don't want other people to know about it and that is what i need the spirit to speak to this morning in my own heart in the hearts of everyone this here and pray for this in christmas amen a hurdle interfered with Naomi's plans interrupted her moment of excitement and joy this hurdle held down a spot on her life and the hurdle is revealed right here in Boaz's own words there's a redeemer closer than i i want to marry you let there's something that's in the way he wanted to spread his wings over her to cover her he wanted to give her the rest that would come through marriage protection security stability provision but he could not so there was a redeemer closer than him and for Ruth those words were a hurdle a hurdle that stood in a way of what she asked Boaz to do and how do you think she felt well yeah spirit all the spirits lost up if that was you how would you feel ladies you don't think she was at least a little bit disappointed look at what she did the plan what they what they named Naomi tell her go put your best dress on take a bath and go down to that thrashing floor and uncover man's feet and lay down beside those feet and tell you what to do she fought the plan she did what she said but did it guarantee that she was gonna get him no and how would you feel i did all that i took all that risk i came up empty handed so you can see that at least some of her hope and excitement was draining she did all she could do but it did not generate the hope she thought it would come she thought she would leave that marriage at least guarantee that he would do it it only revealed another hurdle that had to be cleared you see you could do all the right things all the right things you can implement the plans and advice you receive from godly council and things still don't turn out the way you hope and you're like well why do it that's the world we live in now we need godly council we didn't take personal responsibility but neither of those things will protect you from facing hurdle then a plan you can follow that's going to protect you from facing a hurdle in life there is no hurdle free life but many of us live on the illusion on the illusion that certain people have found the secret to have no hurdles in their life and we envy them for it and we covet them for it if only i had what they had then i have no habit my life would be where it needs to be but here's a reality check for all of us you see it doesn't matter what track you're racing on then hurdle spaced out on that track if you trade out one track for another you just trade out different kinds of hurdles you know if you realize that they're all hurdles on every track of life they're there so you trade out one for another set the grass is not greener it's just that's a lot but we always think it is it just appears to be there are going to be times in your life there are going to be times in your life when you say look at all the work i've done i put in applications passed out i went to interviews i made phone calls i went to counseling i got my child the help that he or she needed i did the best i could to parent my kids i started hard for that test i served my spouse i'm doing all i know to do and look what has happened every time i tried to do the right thing i keep coming face to face with hurdles past Alex how i take two steps forward three steps backwards that's how i feel what hurdle is in your face right now what do you face to face with and more importantly how are you going to clear that hurdle how are you going to get over it you know if life if life was a person if life could stand right here and talk to each of you this morning you know where it would say to you did you really think the race was going to be easy did you really think it was going to be that easy did you really think you can just put a crucial soul button in this coastal life there are no crucial soul buttons in life there is no coasting in life i promise without expectations you see hurdles are not a jack and a boss that just pop up out of nowhere oh no you were coming they're landmarks people they're landmarks expect them to come just like you expect to come to a stop time when you get up to this up here in Virginia Boulevard expect at some point you're going to face a hurdle in your life and there's nothing you can do that's going to change that for some of you to hurt you face to face with this morning it's dead because of the season that you made you know yes i'm in your business some for some of you the hurdle you face with is dead because of the season that you made and how you're going to clear how you're going to get over it's going to take more than just you working on it's going to take more than you're scheming it's going to take more than you just just working smarter remember the crawl out right a few weeks ago human initiative human responsibility it means nothing without divine action and blessing we constantly need the lord to be at work in our life on our behalf before us and behind us beside us we need his help to get through the hurdles of life that's what Ruth needed in this situation because she was face to face with something that was outside of her control she couldn't fix it she couldn't and some of you are doing the thing that you can't fix either you need jesus to help you face the hurdle that you're faced with verse 13 go as so Naomi remains tonight and in the morning if he would not redeem you if he would redeem you give let him do it but if he is not willing to redeem you then that's the lord lives i will redeem you lie down until morning boa has tried to comfort Ruth and assure her with these words he was going to face the hurdle with it he could have just said well i'm second on the list so you need to go talk to this other guy no he was going to face it with that more importantly he was going to face the redeemer for her she wasn't even going to have to do it he was she was even going to go face to face with him she was not alone you see for boa has it became a hurdle for him too he wanted to marry Ruth you know that right he wanted to be with it and how was he going to deal with this hurdle how was he going to go around how was he going to deal with it where they're going to pretend that it wasn't there go ahead and get married not talk to the other redeemer boa is going to deal with it the right way head on face to face from these words we know he was going to do it the right way he was going to do it without compromising his own integrity his own character Ruth might not like that but she respected him all the cost of it he was going to face it the right way he was going to do what was right toward the other redeemer who was closer than him even though it might cost him the hands of Naomi and Madge he was going to still risk it and do what was right can we when it comes to the hurdles and our life he told her if he's not willing to redeem you then that's the lower will I will redeem you lie down to mourning so she lay back down at his feet he probably eased some of the uncertainty and anxiety because he was going to fight for her but for the reality is this there was a huge possibility that that Naomi was not going to be able to be redeemed by him and you talk about feeling powerless with no control over your life this is this is it right here really not she's redeemed by Boas it all depends upon a man she had never met and she knew nothing about it so she's just left in limbo I guess what's going to happen to me tomorrow when he meets with this man you think she slept well that night with you ladies no there's no over spirits like she's still a human she's still a person so no I'm sure she was restless I'm sure she wonder what was going to happen it takes that she rose early in the morning for anyone caress recognize each other and probably not in the best of spirits and she prepared to make her way back to her morning law but before she departed Boas gave us some food before she departed and to protect her character his character he told the workers you not let anyone know know that the woman came here that's important why because it could jeopardize things without a redeemer but he also wanted to protect her character and his so she returned home with some food but not what it guaranteed that Boas was going to redeem her Naomi asked her how did you find my daughter she wanted no the outcome she told her all that Boas has done for her but based on Naomi's response I wanted if if Ruth herself didn't feel a little empty handed I want me because she says Boas said I must not return to my mother-in-law empty handed but she wasn't empty handed because she didn't go there for food she went there to get a man she came back empty handed Naomi said wait why would she say wait because she's restless what's going to happen what's going to happen one christen says the abundance of grain that Boas gave to Naomi to Ruth was not just a generous financial contribution for her physical needs it was a symbolic expression of Ruth the greatest need was for a child you know when the Bob was sometimes six means incomplete seven means completion and I'm thinking in this situation she was incomplete her need was not completely mad yet because she still needed to be coverage still needed that the rest that came from marriage and now it's uncertain whether or not she would get the man she wanted so Naomi says wait my daughter until you learn how the matter turns out for the man will not rest for the man will not rest but we said it a matter this thing you got to understand that in this story Boas is an expression of Lord's kindness and so she has to trust that the Lord was somehow was going to work through Boas in this situation and his will was going to be done and you know what he did in verse in chapter four Boas he met with the Redeemer had a meeting with him gave the Redeemer the chance to redeem the land and the Redeemer told him he couldn't because he didn't want to impair his own inheritance because if he had a child with Naomi with Ruth it would interfere with his own kids inheritance so he told Boas take the right inheritance for yourself the hurdle was cleared and he faced it without compromise during the right things even though it may have caused him her hand in marriage how do you face the hurdles in your life will you compromise your character to do it will you do it the right way and hey it's easy to say you'll do it the right way when you're not face to face with one I know that I'm not naive he's always easy to say what you will do when you're not dealing with something because you know it sounds spiritual to say yeah I'm gonna do the right thing and then when you're in the battle I guarantee you're gonna have a second thought if you don't believe that you just unanswer make your own sin some of you know that no I seek the five there they do a lot of traffic work and on our way to Birmingham last week traffic was backed up I told yk I said you know what we're gonna go through the cater because we're gonna avoid all that traffic we're gonna do an alternate route that's a good approach with traffic not a good approach with hurdles because you know what there are no alternate routes there are none you can't put a GPS and find an alternate route there are none when it comes to hurdles in life you can't avoid them you can't hide from them you have to face them head on but you got to know at the same time you don't face them alone most of us think we are alone and you're not you're not alone the continued presence in working the Lord's a major theme in the book of Ruth and a major theme in your life as well the Lord was working out his purposes for Naomi Ruth through Boaz and when Christian show up in your life you think that's by accident do you there's the Lord working on your behalf you said where is Jesus he's standing right in front of you through his church do you have eyes to see it it's the question do you have eyes to see it the hardest thing for us to do is the way on the Lord to give us clear direction on how to face the hurdles that we deal with now there's going to be times when you compromise yes you say you don't in your life I can't you line yes there's going to be times when you're compromising character and integrity to get over hurdle I mean that's just I'm just keeping it real but what happens when you do what happens when you do his mercies under every moment that's what you remember there's repentance and forgiveness he is mindful that you are but death how often we forget that that's why Jesus went to the cross because sometimes we compromise our own character and character to get over hurdles in our life I told the church staff one time that the Lord is that work in my life even when I'm sleeping at night he's working even when I'm restless at night he is working because he does not sleep he's not ready they never gets restless he never grows weary he never takes a break he never goes on vacation and your hurdles are not a burden to him he knows what you deal with Jesus dealt with hurdles but he faced him the biggest one was to cross and he did it to you how will he not also work through whatever you're going through at this very moment he got to how faith to believe that he will see you through through his spirit you have to pray that the Father will help you to wait for the Lord to move and as Naomi told Ruth wait child of God he would not rest into the matter in your life itself you got to hold on to that he will not rest and for the matter it settled in your life Psalm 121 that Doug just read I looked at my eyes to the hills where does my help come from my help comes from the Lord who made heaven in her he will not let your foot be moved he will keep you from not he will help but he will he who keeps you are not slumber the whole he who keeps Israel we need a slumber in our sleep the Lord is your keeper the Lord is a shade on your right hand the shade on your right hand the sun will not strike you by day you know the moon by night beautiful but do you believe it the Lord will keep you from all evil he will keep your life do you believe it the Lord will keep you from going you're going out and you're coming in from this time forth and forever more if you're struggling with hurdles when you get home you need to pray and cry through these words because they are promises to you that whatever you're going through he is going to keep your life and see you pray to me thank you Jesus that where does my help come from my sovereign God my dad my Abba father Lord that's what my help comes from but the herder I don't face with I know that I'm not in it alone that you are there with me they're going to help me get over and clear and that's true for all of us let's hear that know you that we're not alone we're not orphans and so I pray father as we go back out and engage the world and pick up our race track again tomorrow and work and family that we will go out with a full assurance that our father is over us holding us in the palm of his hands and we are kept people and he's going to see us through it's going to see us through and pray for this in Jesus' name amen