Sunday AM 8 Oct 2006

“Where Are You Gleaning?”

Text Verse - Ruth 2:19

Read 2:8-19

Intro:

In our text this morning, Naomi and Ruth leave Moab and travel to Bethlehem at harvest time. In chapter one we see several truths that will help us to look inward to our own hearts and understand what it means to glean and where our focus should be.

1. First of all, I see that Naomi “arose” in verse 6 and then “she went forth out of the place that she was” in verse 7. She went forth from a place of famine to a country that God had visited and blessed with a harvest.

What is it that is keeping you from rising up from where you are this morning and leaving that dry, dusty place of famine and letting your heart be watered by the precious Word of God? When was the last time you picked up your Bible and just prayed to God to give you a morsel, you hungered so for His presence? Men, what has happened to us in the day that we live, everything has robbed us of our time with God and robbed God of our worship? There is such a famine in our hearts today that we wouldn’t even recognize Him in our service today.

  1. Secondly, I see in Ruth the example of who we are to be as Christians today. Because, in spite of losing her husband and being childless, she remained with the one she loved. This act of faith ended up in a wonderful relationship with her kinsman redeemer and she later bore a son who became the grandfather of Judah’s greatest king, David. Her name appears in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus. Her commitment at this dark time occurred during the judges period when “every man did that which was right in his own eyes” and when so very few really lived committed, faithful and godly lives. We, however are ready to quit at the first trial that comes our way. We can trust Christ to save us, but we cannot trust Him to keep us through it all. He said He would never leave us nor forsake us, and it sure is a good thing that we didn’t make the same promise, amen? We have left Him so often it really is proof that He is longsuffering. If we look at the example God gave us in Ruth, we will see that even through her suffering He used her in the lineage of Christ and that she her actions are recorded testimony for us to emulate today. Even in a world that still “does that which is right in it’s own eyes”. We must be faithful to Him whatever comes our way. Our lives must reflect His glory in all that we do or say. We are so afraid to slow down and really worship Him. Ask yourself this morning, “Why did I come to church this morning?” You can lie to me but you can’t lie to yourself. We are so afraid to let go and really worship God this morning, we don’t want to be labeled. God forbid that you should lift your hands in obedience to the Holy Spirit during the service as He puts it in your heart. We were created to glorify God, Jesus Christ saved us to glorify God and when we get to our eternal home guess what you will be doing for eternity? That’s right, giving God the Glory that only He deserves!
  1. Thirdly, I see in verse 21 of chapter one that Naomi reveals a statement that we will look at briefly this morning when she says “I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty.” We have gone out into the world so full of ourselves and void of God that it isn’t any wonder that our souls are suffering a famine! We got so much pride in us that there isn’t any room for God. It isn’t that we don’t have time for God, but that we aren’t going to make time for God. It would cut into our TV time, our computer time, it might even require missing our favorite football game this weekend! If you don’t do it yourself, God may bring you back like he did Naomi, empty. Men, we have got to get back to worshiping God and showing our families that we love God, and showing those we work with that God is important in our lives. God placed such a high priority on saving mankind that He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross! His priority is not ours today. We don’t care about people dying and going to a devil’s hell, if we did, we would be doing something about it daily! We don’t care about obeying His commandments, if we did, nothing would be more important than being in the House of God when the doors were open. We let everything and everybody govern our “choices” to absent ourselves from the church and from our service to Him. We can’t even get ourselves out of bed to be in Sunday School let alone make it to the Wednesday night services. The church is just not convenient when it comes to our hectic schedules today, amen?
  1. As we look in chapter 2 in our reading this morning, we find Ruth in the fields of Boaz. In verses 2 and 3, she DESIRES to glean in the fields after the reapers as was her right under the Law of Moses. Did you realize that you are to DESIRE to glean in His fields as a child of God? Unfortunately Christians today are looking to glean in every other field that the world has to offer. Fields of business opportunity, fields of activities, fields of entertainment and even fields of busyness in the church. We are so busy that we do not have time to glean from His Word. Half the time the messages that are preached go in one ear and out the other because we are thinking about something else we have planned or are just so dry inside that we have forgotten what it actually feels like to be moved in our spirit and worship our God in heaven.
  1. In verse 16, I find a phrase that waters my soul as it reads “and let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them that she may glean them,” I am so glad that He left handfuls of purpose but that He left them ON purpose as well! Aren’t you glad that you have a God that loves you so much that He left some corn here and a little fruit over there and praise God He left enough to fill us up and take some home with us to share with the family, Hallelujah brothers!
  1. In our text verse, verse 19, Naomi asks two questions of Ruth that we must ask ourselves. She asked her, “Where hast thou gleaned today?” and “where wroughtest thou?” You and I that are sitting here today must look at our own hearts and ask these same questions. Where have I gleaned today? Was it in the Word of God, did I glean some wisdom from His Word or did I let some of those other fields rob me and God today? Where did I work today for Him? Did I stay close behind Him as He left me those nuggets to find? Or did I have to beg and plead for Him to meet my needs by some other means as I chose other paths and other fields?

Men, we have got to get back to the business of worshipping God in our church, our home and our community. We have got to set the example because when we won’t do it, God will use someone or something else. I am so glad that when men were not willing to be the example, that God did use women. Several times in the Bible, God uses women to show us His desires for our lives.

Where are you gleaning today? What are you doing for Him? And why? God help us to be men of integrity, commitment and leadership in all areas of our lives.

Let’s pray this morning.