The Village Church
The Trail that lags behind: Human Initiative - Audio
Need forgiveness this morning, then go to the cross. Do you need a reminder that the Father loves you? Then go to the cross. Do you need a reminder that the Father is for you, that He likes you? Then go to the cross. Do you need a reminder that you're accepted by the Father, that you're seeing us pay for through Christ and go to the cross. And we're going to do that. We're going to have a time of silent confession where you can go to the cross, be honest with your dad about your sin. So let us go now. [MUSIC] Hey, man, well, I'm glad to see you guys this morning. When we started the village church back in 2008, we had 13 families. And we met right here in our sanctuary in the Bible study. And one of those families that was with us in the beginning was Karen and Phil Owen and that little girl, Katrina. And they are moving to Kentucky in a few weeks. And I got to say, I hate to see them go. But we're going to pray for them today as one of our family members are moving on. The guys calling them to a different place. And so as a body, as their family members, we're going to pray over them. And so I would like to call the Owen family forward. And when they come forward, I ask anyone who wants to come up to this era where we're going to lay our hands on them and pray over them. [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] And how join me as we pray for our brothers and sisters. Father God, I thank you so much. And thank you, Phil and Karen. Thank you for their humble service to our church and all the ways they helped us out every Sunday morning and all the encouragement they have brought to each of us in that ministry here. And as you call them on to a different calling, we pray your blessing is over them. We send them off with our prayers over them and knowing that you are going to take care of them. And we thank you for that daughter, Katrina, that you be with her, provide for her Lord. And I pray you lead them to a good church, a good church family. And they are going to be missed by us greatly. And but we know that you are a good God and they are in good hands with our father. And so I pray for everything that needs to work out, the logistics and the housing and all that stuff will work itself out. And I pray for that marriage and continue to keep it strong, continue to pray for that health, continue to keep them healthy. And again, Father, we send them off with your blessing and pray that you are blessed and sustainable in Jesus' name. If you have your Bible, please open it to the book of Ruth chapter 3. Last week, we saw a turning point in the life of Naomi. We saw hope arise within her soul for the first time since she came to Bethlehem. She said, "The Lord hasn't quite walked out on us after all. He still loves us in bad times as well as good. Naomi took the news from Ruth as a sign that Yahweh had not forsaken her or abandoned her. The news that the Lord led her to Boaz's field, the news that she found favor in the eyes of Boaz. Naomi saw that the Lord got it, Ruth stepped here, the Lord's kindness, His kindness sparked an array of hope within her, and it was hope of possible redemption for her and for Ruth through Boaz. And this kindness that the Lord extended to her gave her confidence to now take initiative. Give her confidence to now step out and move. This human initiative that we're going to see her take in chapter 3, held down on spot on the trail of her life. So here's God's word, "Then Naomi, her mother-in-law said to her, 'My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, but it may be well with you.' It's not Boaz's our relative with whose women you were with. See he is winnowing barley tonight at the trashing floor, wash therefore in the north yourself and put on your dress and go down to the trashing floor. Do not make yourself known to man until he has finished eating and drinking, but when he lies down, observe the place where he lies, then go and uncover his feet and lay down and he will tell you what to do and she replied, 'All that you say, I will do.' So she went down to the trashing floor and did as her mother-in-law had commanded her and when Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was married, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain, then she came softly, uncurred his feet, and lie down. At midnight the man was startled and turned over and behold, a woman led his feet and he said, 'Who are you?' She answered, 'I am Ruth, your servant, spray your wings over your servant, for you are redeemer.' And he said, 'May you be blessed by the Lord my daughter, for you have made this last kindness great in the first, and that you have not gone after young men, whether rich or poor, and now my daughter do not fear, I will do for you all that you ask, for my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman, pray with me.' Lord as we come to your scriptures, as we come to your holy truth, we ask that your Spirit, your Holy Spirit will take what is preached and apply it to my heart and to the hearts of everyone that is here and as I often pray Lord, you know what we need, you know what each person is dealing with, and the Spirit we need you to meet those needs this morning. We need you to give a word of encouragement to those who need it, a word of good word from you, some of us may need a rebuke, so I pray for the Spirit you will do that too. So whatever we need to hear, you will let them hear it in Christ in my prayer, Amen. The Lord's kindness gave Naomi the confidence to take initiative, to step out and to move, and this is first seen in her initiative to seek rest for Ruth. This initiative taken by Naomi was to seek the rest that she prayed for Ruth back in chapter one. Do you remember what she prayed for her back in chapter one, if you haven't forgotten, they were getting ready to part way, she says, "May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with me and with the dead." The Lord, you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. You see, when she prayed this prayer, she warned the Lord to answer it by giving Ruth a husband in Boaz from her own people. She could not envision this prayer being answered by Yahweh and Bethlehem, but now she's beginning to see that it is, she's beginning to see that the Yahweh's ways are always bigger and greater than her own, that he is a God who works exceedingly and abundantly beyond what we can imagine or even pray. Naomi knew that it was not by chance that Ruth found favor in Boaz's eyes, it wasn't by chance that she came to his particular field to work, those are not accidents, those are the Lord's working, the Lord's at work there, he's moving, it was the Lord's doing, and the Lord's actions and his kindness sparked her to not take initiative to make a move. Another Christian says, "Human action, sometimes even replace divine action, sometimes. Nevertheless, there's a limit to human initiative, human initiative is brutal without the divine blessing of action." Human initiative is brutal without divine blessing of action. You see, Naomi's initiative is what is a response to what Yahweh has already done for her. Do you see that? She's responding to the goodness that he showed to them by leading Ruth to Boaz's field. By Boaz and Sean Ruth's kindness, she takes that as the Lord's work and she sees there's an opportunity from grinning to her by the Lord, and she didn't waste no time either. She turned right into matchmaker, matchmaker mode. What if she told Ruth, "I must secure a home for you, that you would be well taken care of." She was going to seek rest for her, and this rest is what she wanted for her was marriage. She didn't want her to be a widow for the rest of her like life. She wanted Ruth to once again to enjoy the benefits that would come from marriage. Remember the benefits I talked about, what was it for? For Israel, like women, protection, stability, security, provision, that's what the marriage relationship would give to her, things that she lost where her husband passed away. And for Naomi's point of view, Boaz was that man the Lord had provided. Look at what she tells her to do, look at what she tells in verse 2. Boaz was a close resident in Redeemer, Ruth was working with his women in the harvest. Those are not accidents. These are relative hours, and you're even working with his women, do you think that's about asking her a chance? The Lord has given us the opportunity provided, and this night he'll be working. This night he'll be working, and Naomi didn't waste any time. She took initiative for the needs in her life because she saw the goodness of the Lord was working on her behalf, and in verses 3 and 4 she made preparations, they come up with a plan. And what do you think about these words? Let me read them to you, once you say, wash therefore, anoint yourself, put on your dress and go down through the threshing floor. Was this her jumping ahead of the Lord? She just had to say it there and waited for Boaz to approach them. Why did she take this initiative? She was helping herself by making the most of what the Lord had provided. Take a bath, Ruth. Take a bath. You've been working in the field all day. Take a bath, put some perfume on, or get your nice dress, and go get your man. That's basically what she tells her. If you want to get out of this plain English, go get your man. You ain't got to pick up a commentary to see what she's telling her to do here. Go get your man. Make no mistake, she's telling her go pursue Boaz. You go pursue him. The message translation of this verse says, maybe it's time to make our move. And they did. Ruth gave Naomi Gay Ruth detailed instructions on what she wanted her to do. She said, "Do not make yourself known to the man, he's finished eating and drinking. And when he lies down, observe the place where he lies, then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do." What in the word she want her to do? Now, when you read that, you're like, "What is that?" I mean, that's some cultural thing there, uncover his feet, lie down beside him, don't make yourself known. I mean, what is Naomi really trying to get her to do here? Now, when I'm reading this, this is what I'm asking myself. Now, you may be different than me, but I'm like, "What is this? What does she want her to do? What does this uncover the feet and lie down mean? Is this seduce him? Is this some type of sexual contact? What is this? It's neither. The line of his feet presented her as a humble practitioner seeking his protection. It was a sign of dependence. It was her way of saying, "I'm available to you for marriage, not for a cheap girl." You see, you got to see Naomi's words here in the context of her intentions to get Ruth married. That's their intent. All these preparations are taking her back and putting on the dress, all that was for one purpose to get him to marry her. That was the purpose. Not for one nightstand. She wasn't going to seduce him to do it. He had a responsibility to do it wide because he's a redeemer. Now, what about you when the Lord gives you opportunities? What do you do with them when it comes to meeting the knees in your life? Let me put it this way. It's the Lord's kindness spark you to take initiative for the knees in your life because he's been good to us all. Wherever knee that you have, he's providing you, providing for that knee and some form of fashion. But what are you doing with that? Because when you see the Lord at work, it doesn't make you passive and non-respondent. It should make you proactive to give you confidence to step out in faith and move. Many of you are familiar with the Bible verse that can't be found in the Bible? You know what I'm talking about, right? God helped those who helped themselves. A friend of mine on Facebook posted a reversal that statement says, "God helped those who can't help themselves." The Christian, those of you who know Jesus, those who have seven faith in Jesus, which are those statements are true? Which is true? It's congregation participation now. Which one is true? Does God help those who helped themselves or does God help those who can't help themselves? Huh? It's both. He said, "Well, why is that both? Because God's work is not based upon what we do. He helps us when we're helping ourselves and he helps us when we can't help ourselves. For that time, when you can't help yourself." And he still is at work. Both are also true because the divine action, human initiatives are both at work in this world, in your life, and it's clearly seen right hand in the book of Luke. You can't read his book and not see God at work and human responsibility at work, all working together for the purpose here. You see it. It's written here. You see his work here. You see him moving here. And he's always, that's how real life works itself out. Life is not systematic theology takes. This is life. He works through the natural things of life, not rocks from heaven. Situations which you think are just coincidental of God's work, him moving on your behalf. What do you think Naomi was doing here? She was helping herself, she was helping herself. I don't want to be aware of the hope. I got to get you married off. I got to make sure you're taken care of. And boy, it seems to be the man the Lord has provided. Now you get down to that direction for her and let him know that. He said, what's spiritual about that? Well, she just being responsible for what she's doing, a response to what the Lord has already done. That's what she sees it as. The Lord provided this. Remember what she said, "The Lord hasn't quite walked on us, walked out on us after all. He loves us in bad times and as well as good times." And so in light of that fact, that's a turning point for her. That statement is what made her do this. Take this initiative. And so she prepared Ruth to go get her man. And what did Ruth say? All that you say, I would do. Now Ruth is going to ensure initiative to implement the plan in verses 6 and 7. You see that she actually goes through the trenching floor and we can see Ruth. She follows, she takes her advice, she takes her advice and instruction and she does it. She went there. She kept herself from being noticed. She saw boy as he and drank from a distance and his heart was married. She finally saw the place where he went to sleep and then like a female ninja, she came softly, tiptoeing to the place where he fell asleep. And uncovered his feet, she laid down and don't forget, that's not a one night stand. It's her saying, "I'm available to you for marriage." And so as the evening progressed, the midnight hour came, the text said, "The man was startled." Now who did that? Y'all way did that. Again, Y'all way at work here as well. He turned over. "I'ma let my feet, who is this?" He was surprised. He didn't know who she was and he said, "Who are you?" She said, "I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a female." She didn't waste any words. Her intentions were clear. She was proposing to Boaz. That's a proposal. You know, that's unusual for some of you, it's like the woman is posing to the man, but that's a marriage proposal. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a female." It's her asking him, "Take me as your wife, for you are a female." What was his response? He prayed that the Lord blessed her for this particular kindness toward him. He says she didn't pursue young men rather rich or poor. This last kindness was greater than the first kindness that she showed to her mother-in-law. Even this kindness was going to benefit Naomi, you know how? What didn't Naomi lose when she lost her two sons? What else did she lose? There would be no heir. The family line dies when those two sons die, but here, this marriage gave her an heir and we know that heir led to King David. We realize that, like King David will come through with this family. That's the place, place here. So we see, like we said, we never know what comes out or what the Lord is doing. David came from this marriage here, that's one take place. Boyaz was impressed with Naomi. Very impressed. He says, "For all my fellow townsmen know, you are a worthy one." So we know with that statement that this is not just some more nightstand, that they have character in charity. All my townsmen know that you are a worthy one man. One office says of this, it says, "She is a bride worth women, a bride worth women." Her husband, I hope you see your bride as such, not in the past tense, but in the present tense, that she's still worth women. So Boyaz told her, "Do not fear, do not fear my daughter, I would do all that you ask me." He was going to spread his wings over her. He was going to cover her. The spreading of his wings was going to be the symbol of rest that Naomi wanted for her. The protection, the provision, the stability, the security. "I do all that you ask me, I'll cover you." My Christian says, "Boyaz is curving a roof with his garment implements Yahweh's protective covering of her." You got to see that here. Through Boyaz, this is God's working, this Him covering of her. Their marriage was going to be the means of which Yahweh protected Ruth and at the same time paid her in full for her past kindness. God worked here, not by direct intervention, but within righteous human acts. That's Boaz's function in this story, that through Him Yahweh was taking care of Ruth and Naomi. Divine actions, hearing initiative, always worked together and I hope each of you realize that in your own life the Lord sometimes worked the same ways, human righteous acts. When you go to a brother and sister for God the council, do you implement the council they give? Are you going to meet with the pastor or a deacon or an elder, is it your intent to do so? I'm not talking about bad counsel, I'm talking about godly counsel that the Lord gave you through another brother's sister for your marriage, for whatever he lives you're dealing with, what are you doing with it? Do you take it or are you going through the motions to say what people want you to say? Do you take it? Remember the Lord often works within human righteous acts, one another, two other people to help his people. I often hear people say well I need the Lord to show up, I need Jesus to show up right now, I need Him. And I ask them what do you actually think is happening when the church shows up at your door? Do you think it's an accident that you hear this morning? Do you? What is that? It's the Lord answering that prayer for you, working on your behalf. What are you doing with the help he's providing you? I say step out and take initiative, put a knees in your life. And one of the things I'm learning here is in ministry, I haven't been to ministry long but I'm learning a lot, is that other people are not responsible for our irresponsibility. They're not. Other people are not responsible for your irresponsibility. Other people can't feel for you, other people can't hurt for you, other people not responsible for meeting your knees in your life. Other people can't fight for your life for you if you don't want to fight for it. That's more the biggest thing I'm learning right there. Because I have a tendency to try to fight for another person's life, but you know what? They don't want to fight for it. You got to fight for it. But what we do is we walk along the side of one another, but you know what? We all have to carry our own load. That's what power says, we all have to carry our own load. So there is an issue, there is responsibility that we all still have. And you look at this table, for example. This table, a pitcher or the gospel, it's a reminder of what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross. It's a reminder of the Father's initiative. The cross was His initiative. And what was that initiative, Him making a way in which sinful people like me and you could be made right with Him. Now let me ask you, even though that's the case, can I come to this table any way I want to? Can I? But He loves me, but there's grace, right? Can I just come any kind of way? Can I just come any kind of way to the table? That's a reminder of the gospel, but can I just come in an unworthy manner? But He loves me, but there's grace, right? No, He can't come in any way we want to come. He still says expectations for how I can come to the table, how He wants me to come to the table. And what's that? There's two expectations. One is I got to be a believer because it's for believers. And second, I can't come in an unworthy manner, meaning He wants me to be responsible for examining myself before I protect the element. That's my responsibility. I have to have initiative in that. Divine action, the table, human initiative, examine yourself before you come, both working together, even in the Lord's table. So what we're going to do now, we're going to go in prayer and after Holy Spirit, please examine our hearts before we take the help.