Hope in God's Provision

(e.g. while on a church retreat in the spring of 2010, I was talking to a man who was wearing a t-shirt with the words "2008 Father of the Year” , given by my kids; I asked jokingly: “who won the award last year?; “definitely not me”, ; in 2009 he was carrying his toddler down the stairs and he fell, with his full weight on the child; leg badly broken; months of surgery, therapy and pain; he described his own shame and pain of watching his son experience this, and watching his son miss out on the experiences other kids his age would have; he was constantly depressed; constantly in a state of self-hatred and guilt; he was in a dark place and, like Naomi in the story of Ruth, he was in a place of bitterness, darkness and hopelessness.

He had no hope. No expectation that this dark world he was living in would ever change. I moved to another church a few months later, but I’ve wondered if he found hope.I can accept that we live with pain, but I can’t stand the idea of living without hope: hope that our lives have no purpose, just never ending pain.

Naomi has lost her husband and sons, she only has a faithful daughter in law and her own bitterness. She has no hope.

That’s where we left our main character Ruth and her mother in law Naomi last week. Naomi has lost her husband and sons, she only has a faithful daughter in law and her own bitterness. She has no hope.

My aim is to preach through the book of Ruth this month —one chapter each Sunday. This series is about. And it's a story for people who can't imagine that anything great could ever come of their grief or suffering. It’s for anyone who can’t imagine anything being better, or this is as good as it gets; It's an encouraging book, and I want you to be encouraged this January.

Sermon Introduction

It’s interesting to me how the mind seems to choose what it remembers and what it does not remember. Have you ever experienced something or heard something - something that seemed inconsequential at the time, but for some reason you remember it? Just a couple of months ago I remembered something that happened to me, something that didn’t seem important at the time, but for some reason I had a vivid recollection of it.

I remember seeing an old man coming to my church during the week, taking the floor mat outside, shaking the dirt off it, sweeping it and putting it back inside. He was bent over, he moved very slow, walked with a cane. I would see this every week, and that’s all I saw him do.

I remember asking someone who that was, and I learned that he was one of the founding members of the church. He was a leader a teacher for many years, and even though his health was failing he still wanted to serve the church. That was what he did, until one day I didn’t see him again.

My point is not that you should keep working in the church until your back literally breaks. But the lesson is this: Pain does not mean powerlessness. Have you ever heard this verse?

Philippians 4:13 NIV

I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

This morning I want us to see how God has provided for us. Specifically I want us to take a deep look at ourselves and see the power that God has given us. And I don’t mean looking at our strengths or our talents. It is important that we realize that God has given us strengths and talents to be used for the kingdom of God. But have you ever looked at the weak and damaged parts of yourself and said, “This can be used for the kingdom of God.” “This pain can be used to transform lives.”

This morning I want us to take a deep look at ourselves and see the power that God has given us. And I don’t mean looking at our strengths or our talents. It is important that we realize that God has given us strengths and talents to be used for the kingdom of God. But have you ever looked at the weak and damaged parts of yourself and said, “This can be used for the kingdom of God.” “This pain can be used to transform lives.”

That’s the lesson I learned from that old man.

The things that we see has weaknesses may just be sources of great power.

God Chooses and Uses the Lowly.

Ruth 2:6 NIV

The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi.

we live in a culture that invites laziness (e.g. purchasing a recliner while in college on credit. it was interest free for 12 months, so I paid it off in $20 installments. It’s sitting in the parsonage right now; guess what brand name is on the lablel? - Lazy Boy) I’ve countless hours of non-inspiration sitting on that thing. we live in a culture that invites laziness, in fact we can put the name lazy on something at it has marketing appeal.

If you think about it, a remote control is silly for those who are able bodied; saves us the trouble of getting out of the lazy boy and walking across the room to change the channel.

My point is not to decry technological advancement, but we could think of hundreds of conveniences that are designed to give us more comfort, more convenience and require less effort. Sometimes that’s good, sometimes it’s just expensive and lazy.

A strong work ethic is not something we can assume in a culture that invites laziness. It’s also hard to maintain a strong work ethic when you are grieving. When you are depressed. When you are suffering internally. Some people deal with these problems by working harder, but for some it just slows them down. It’s like walking in molasses.

God Chooses and Uses the Lowly.

“Ruth the Moabite

Some of the cultural aspects might trouble us: Ruth bowing before Boaz, calling herself unworthy. Why does she do that? This was indeed a patriarchal society, but there’s more to it than that. Ruth was a person of insignificance.

Last month we read another story of a person of insignificance being used for the kingdom of God.

A few months ago I taught a class called “How to Study the Bible.” The class wasn’t about me telling a group of people what the Bible says, but equipping the class with tools so that they could go home and study on their own. Teach a man to fish...

One of the basic rules of biblical interpretation is to pay special attention to proper nouns: places, names, nations.

This is especially true anytime you see a word beginning with capital letter.

That rule would apply in the book of Ruth. Who was she? She was a Moabite. Last week we read how the phrase “during the time of the Judges” was more than a “once upon a time,” but it gave helpful background. Ruth is a Moabite: that’s more than just saying, “Once there was a poor woman.” Why is being a Moabite important?

No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord

There was a bad history between Israel and Moab. Throughout the Old Testament we read of bitter land disputes, bloody wars between the 2. They also had serious religious differences. For all of these reasons Moabites were not allowed to be a part of the worshipping community.

At the same time we see the 2 countries intermarrying, like we see in Ruth. This was forbidden, but it happened anyways. Rut doesn’t even belong in this story. She belongs in Moab. She shouldn’t be here. That’s one of the reasons why she bows: she believes herself to be inferior.

We look to the powerful for answers and solutions. We defer to the experts. Believe me I want the experts. (e.g. If the electric goes bad in the parsonage, don’t worry trustees. I’ll take care of it myself.) God chooses and uses the lowly. Stop looking in the wrong place for the answers and solutions.

We might think that because we lack status, or lack the expertise that we are disqualified from a certain task. God does not call the qualified, but God qualifies the called. Think you don’t know enough? Think you don’t have the necessary skills? Think you’re not important enough? Listen to the Apostle Paul:

God chooses and uses the lowly. Stop looking in the wrong place for the answers and solutions.

Deuteronomy 23:3 NIV

No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, not even in the tenth generation.

Deuteronomy 23:3–4 NIV

No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, not even in the tenth generation. For they did not come to meet you with bread and water on your way when you came out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram Naharaim to pronounce a curse on you.

Deuteronomy

1 Corinthians 1:28 NIV

God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are,

1 Corinthians 1:

Don’t know enough, have enough, feel important enough? In the kingdom of God the rules are different: you might be just the person for the job. Ruth lacks the importance, and yet she points us all to Jesus Christ. God provides power to Ruth despite her low status. God also gives her...

Ruth 2:7 NIV

She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.”

A Strong Work Ethic and Suffering

Ruth 2:6 NIV

The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi.

”She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.”

If you think about it, a remote control is silly for those who are able bodied; saves us the trouble of getting out of the lazy boy and walking across the room to change the channel.

In the midst of her suffering and grief, God provides Ruth with the strength to work. But her God-given strength to work is not just for her sake: God uses her work ethic to transform others around her. Her work ethic is an example of how our suffering can be a tool for witness.

Suffering and Evangelism

Ruth 2:11 NIV

Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before.

A common struggle I hear from people who really want to follow Christ, who want to be a passionate, faithful disciple of Jesus, is that it can be hard to share our faith. Lots of reasons: intimidation. Not knowing enough to explain to other people. Those are areas where disciples usually struggle.

Our greatest form of evangelism is not a good elevator speech of the basics of Christianity, or a passionate delivery of a soapbox sermon. Your greatest witness: faithfulness in suffering.

An eloquent speaker can quickly lose their faith when tragedy strikes. The best Christian leader can fall when temptation comes their way. The best witness we can provide - or God will provide - is the witness that comes through our suffering.

People are not impressed when someone who wins the lottery gets excited and dances before a television audience. People aren’t particularly

Your greatest witness

Your greatest witness: faithfulness in suffering

Boaz says, “I have seen your faithfulness. I have seen your sacrificial giving. I have seen your work ethic. Despite your pain you are still faithful to God.”

I remember that old man cleaning the rug in the church hallway. He was clearly limited in his ability to move and work, but he was driven to do it anyways. I don’t believe that it is coincidental 40 years later it is a living testimony to me of how weakness becomes God’s strength.

Pain does not mean powerlessness.

Ruth 2:20 NIV

“The Lord bless him!” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. “He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers.”

Philippians 4:13 NIV

I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Impossible? God provides

The Quiet Sovereignty of God

Ruth 2:20 NIV

I want us to go back to the beginning of today’s chapter: - As it turned out...

She "happened to come"? You don't have to write the words “God did this” in every line to say that God is doing something. God is in control even when he is silent.

"As it turned out"? The biblical authors realized that you don't have to write the words “God did this” in every line to say that God is doing something. God is in control even when he is silent.

God provides. There was a time when they were facing starvation, no support system, nothing. Now Naomi was astonished when Ruth comes home with an entire ephah! An entire ephah!

was astonished when Ruth had gathered: she brought home a whole ephah! Most of us are not used to visualizing ephahs, and as a result, we are not particularly impressed by Ruth’s haul. It may clarify the issue if we recognize that Ruth brought home somewhere between twenty-nine and fifty pounds of grain, or several weeks’ worth of food for the average worker.

Most of us are not used to visualizing ephahs, and as a result, we are not particularly impressed by Ruth’s haul. It may clarify the issue if we recognize that Ruth brought home 30 pounds of grain, or several weeks’ worth of food.

Bitter Naomi says this. She has gone from “God has made me bitter” to “God has not stopped showing his kindness.” She recognizes the quiet, mysterious, sovereign work of God.

We prefer the quick work: the uplifting worship experience, the fiery sermon, the mountain top experience, those powerful moments where God moves in a powerful, visible way. But most of the time God does His most powerful, miraculous work in a slow, quiet, sovereign way.

God provides the quiet, slow, ongoing transformation that comes through struggling to learn how to pray, struggling to discipline our minds to slow down and meditate on the Scriptures.

God provides the quiet, slow, ongoing transformation that comes through struggling to learn how to pray,

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