OPENING PRAYERS
Father, we thank you, for this amazing day you have given unto us. We thank you because you are with us, you are watching over us, you are guiding us, you are showing us the way. We adore you, we worship you in Jesus precious name we have prayed and we all say amen and amen.
SUNDAY SERVICE INVITE
This coming Sunday is the Sunday of Second Glory. In Haggai Chapter Two Verse Nine, the Bible says, “The glory of the second house shall be greater than the glory of the former”. This Scripture is about the temple of Jerusalem that was destroyed by the enemy. After the enemy destroyed the temple, there was no hope remaining for the people of God. But God promised that he will restore everything and he promised that the house will be rebuilt again.
Maybe you are there in a place where something has been broken and destroyed in your life, I just want to let you know that there is hope in God. And God is reassuring us that the glory of the second house will be greater than the first one, the former one.
Whatever you have lost in your life, whatever has been shattered, destroyed and broken into pieces because of the enemy God promises you and promises me that we will recover. And God is just telling you that you cannot recover what has been destroyed at the same level of glory than the former one.
Restoration always comes together with amelioration. Restoration always comes together with an upgrade. And I strongly believe that in the life of somebody listening to me, that is your season where something will be upgraded in your life. What God has in store for you after you have lost everything is greater than what you have lost. God is the Covenant Keeping God, not the Father Christmas God. Trust Him and believe in Him because this is your season of second glory.
We are still in Ruth Chapter number two
Ruth 2:1 And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz.
Ruth 2:2 And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.
Ruth 2:3 And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.
THE BENEFITS/BLESSINGS OF DIVINE DIRECTION
Was it a coincidence? I don't think so. I believe in God's guidance. I believe in God's leading. And in this text, we see the power of God's leading, the mystery of God's leading, God's guidance, God's direction.
Allow me to share with you the benefits of divine direction.
Number one | When it is God guiding you, he will guide/lead/direct you to the right place.
The Bible says very clearly that the field that Ruth was in belonged to Boaz. The beauty of being led by God is the place. When God is the one leading you, he knows the best place for you. The right place. And it is amazing because I see Ruth here who is not continuing the mistake of his forefathers.
The Bible talks about Lot in Genesis Chapter Thirteen
Verse 10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
Verse 11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
Lot was Ruth’s ancestor. Listen to me … You can make a difference in your generation if you do things differently from the previous generation. The problem with many is this … we make the same mistakes like our ancestors.
And the truth of the matter is this .. If you make the same mistakes that the ancestors made, you will suffer the same consequences.
That is why I said that when it is the Lord leading you, he willl lead you to the right place. But when you are led by yourself you are in trouble.
The place that Lot chose was wrong as it is clearly described in the Bible. That is why when you go to Genesis chapter nineteen verse thirty, you will find that Lot lost everything and found himself in a cave with his two daughters until he made them pregnant.
Friend, God knows the right place for you. Not every place is your place. In Second Samuel chapter seven verse ten, God says, “Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime”.
God knows. God is the God who appoints a place for you. So, it is important for you to be led by God. There is a place that God has ordained for you. And here we find Ruth being at the right place.
There is also a right place of giving. In Genesis twenty-two, God instructed Abraham to offer his son Isaac at the place he will tell him of.
Number Two | When God is the one leading you, he will lead you to the right person.
We see here in this text that Boaz was the right person. He was introduced as a kinsman of the late Naomi’s husband. He was a man of wealth. He was of the family of Elimelek. Those are the three things. I will expound it in the coming session.
But at this point, know that Ruth was directed to the right person. There is nothing as dramatic in life than to be connected to the wrong person.
Let me give to you an example. The moment Jonah entered the ship is the moment the ship started having a lot of storms.
There are people who will come in your life, the moment you allow them in the boat of your life, they will bring to you a lot of trouble. That's why you need to be led by God. God knows the right person.
In 1 Samuel 16:7 , the Bible says, “But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart”.
That's why in Acts 1:24, the disciples prayed, saying, “Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen”,
When God guides you, he will guide you to the right person whether in business or in marriage or in any other place where you can stay.
Let God lead you to the right place, to the right person, to the right husband, to the right wife, to the right partner. It is God who knows.
Unfortunately, people don't want to be led. They want to do things on their own.
Number Three | When God is the one leading you, he will lead you at the proper time
It's amazing to read in Ruth 2:4, “And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee”.
Was it a coincidence? I don't think so.
When you are led by God, there will be a synchronization of time. It will just happen that when you do something, you will just find yourself that it was the right time for you to do it.
when Boaz came, he found the reapers. He found everybody working. You know? Boaz was a man of wealth. Maybe he came from his other fields where he was maybe supervising some few businesses there. And when he came, it was the proper time for him to meet Ruth. It happened at the right time. That is what happens when you are led by God.
There is a beautiful Scripture in Luke 2:25-27,
Luk 2:25 “And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
Luk 2:26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
Luk 2:27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law”
Have you seen that? Simeon came at the right time.
Let God lead your life. You are too small to be led by yourself. God is the God of times and seasons. I pray that your life will be synchronized with heavenly time.
It was at that exact time that Mary and Joseph came in the temple, exactly when Simeon was moved to go to the temple.
Look at how you go to church. You go like you are pushed. You go like you don't want to go to Church.
Do you see the best way to go to Church? It is by the move of the Spirit. You need to be moved by the Spirit to go to Church. There must be that move in the Spirit inside you to go to Church.
That is why there are some people who go to Church and leave empty without any encounter. Why? Because they are just going because it is Sunday. When somebody is moved by the Spirit as he goes to Church, that person will have an encounter with God.
Even those who are having session with me. Those who attend anyhow and without any expectation, they get nothing.
I'm loving God more and more even in my own life when I read Scriptures like this.
When Boaz came, because it was the right time, he saw a lady who was there. He asked the reapers, “Whose damsel is it?” (Ruth 2:5)
I want to let you know that at the right time you will be located. Sometimes, it can happen that God hides you to protect you, but when the right time comes, there is no way that you can remain hidden. You will be located.
Boaz located Ruth at the right time and she enjoyed the proper time because of the leading of God.
Let God lead your life. Don't rush in life. Don't go ahead of time. God knows the best time for him to reveal you to your Boaz. May God lead you.
At the right time, the reapers witnessed about her. Ruth is not the one who went to talk about herself to Boaz. No. Boaz is the one who located her, then, the people witnessed about her.
Number Four | The fourth thing that happens when you are led by God, you will enjoy preferential treatment.
After Ruth was introduced to Boaz, he started talking to her as we can read it in Ruth 2:8 , “Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens”:
Dear friend, let God lead you. Let God lead your life. Let God lead you. Your pride is killing you. Swallow your pride and let God lead you.
What happens when one enjoys preferential treatment?
1- Supernatural preservation
When we read the declaration of Boaz, it is clear that it was a very dangerous thing for a foreigner like Ruth to go in another field because obviously she could have been mistreated.
Friends, God will not preserve you everywhere. There is a place where God will preserve you. It is the place where God is leading you. He will preserve you there.
That is what we find in 2 Samuel 7:10, “Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime”
Remain in your place. Remain where God is leading you. He will preserve you there.
Remember in Revelation Chapter Twelve, a woman was helped from the flood the devil sent against her.
We read in Revelation 12:16, “And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth”.
Why did the earth help her? Because she was led by God and by the leading of God the earth helped her. And she was preserved.
God will preserve you when you are led by him. When you are led by God, you will enjoy supernatural preservation. Stay in the place God wants you to stay. Stay in the place where God wants you to stay. That is where God will preserve you.
In Ruth 2:22, Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, “It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field”.
Are you hearing what Naomi told Ruth? May you not be found in a place that is not yours. May you not be found in a place that is not yours. God will not preserve you there. God is the Covenant Keeping God. Not a Father Christmas God.
Ruth enjoyed preferential treatment that came in the package of that preservation as we find it again in Ruth 2 : 9/15-16
Ruth 2:9 Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.
Ruth 2:15 And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not:
Ruth 2:16 And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.
When you are guided by God, you become untouchable. There is no way the enemy can touch your life. Because of divine guidance. Because you are led by God. Be led by God and no devil in hell will touch you.
When you are guided by God, you will never suffer reproach again in your life. But you need to be led by God.
What happens when one enjoys preferential treatment?
2- Supernatural Promotion
In the preferential treatment, you have secondly supernatural promotion.
In Ruth 2:14, Boaz said unto her, “At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left”.
Can you imagine that Ruth had just arrived in the field and that she's sitting at the same table with Boaz and the reapers?
When God is the one leading you, he will make a table before you in front of your enemies. When you are led by God, you cannot remain in the same place. God will promote you.
I want to announce to you today that you will sit among the kings in this land. I want to announce to you today that you will sit among the great people in the land.
What happens when one enjoys preferential treatment?
3- Supernatural Provision
Ruth 2:17 So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley.
Ruth 2:18 And she took it up, and went into the city: and her mother in law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth, and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed.
Ruth 2:19 And her mother in law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to day? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. And she shewed her mother in law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man's name with whom I wrought to day is Boaz.
Ruth 2:20 And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.
You see the food that Ruth was eating during the meal time? She kept some to bring to her mother-in-law as a way of testifying to her, “See what we have eaten with Boaz”.
When you are led by God, God will make the heart of men available for you as you can see here Boaz being made available just for Ruth.
Now see what she has brought back home. An epha of barley. Isnt it amazing? An epha of barley was an equivalent of a meal for 10 days. Just imagine how bountiful it was. She was working hard but on top of it, the heart of Boaz was made available for her because of divine guidance.
If you want the heart of a man to love you, you who are single, let God lead you.
If you are led by God, you will enjoy all those things in your life, and the Second Glory we are talking about comes through divine leading/divine guidance. That will be your experience if you believe so. In the name of Jesus Christ. The son of the living God.
CLOSING PRAYERS
Just pray and tell God carry me oh Lord. Pray God lead me. Oh Lord I pray as I'm going as you are leading me the gate that stopped us will be broken down before me in the name of Jesus.
Lord as you go ahead with me as you go as you lead me Lord your presence will go with me. Hallelujah.
When God leads you, he goes with you.
Lord I believe in you that in this season I will enjoy divine backing oh Lord. I will find favour. Oh preferential treatment oh God in the name of Jesus Christ. Even when it come to my decision.
Lead me.
Even when it come to everything I want to do. I want your leading, your guidance oh God. The kind that is woman of God enjoyed. Let it be my portion oh God. Lead me. I don't want to be led by myself. I want you to lead my life.
Let it be so for me oh God. I pray that it will be so for you. Let God lead you. And the second glory will be your experience. In the name of Jesus Christ the son of the living God. Amen and amen. Glory be to God.
Pastor TD KASUKU
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