On December 22, 1899, the evangelist D. L. Moody lay dying. His first job had been as a shoe clerk in Boston, gathering eighteen ragged boys off the street to organize a Sunday school class. In two years the class had grown to fifteen hundred. In his lifetime Moody was to take two continents in his hands and shake them for God. As he died, he left this epitaph written on the flyleaf of his Bible, “If God be your partner, make your plans large.” Source: Peloubet's Select Notes on the International Lessons, Adolphus Frederick Schauffler
What is your plan to follow God?
Is it to go to church, read your Bible more than not through the average week and see what happens?
Is your plan to work your job and come to church to do the right thing?
Is your plan to fulfill a spiritual “to-do” list? Or just keep ‘status quo?’
Or maybe your plan is to memorize & study scripture, and pray, and surround yourself with God’s people and to hear much preaching of God’s Word and by the grace of God be a bold witness for Him and be found faithful in the daily activities of your life?
We must make a plan to follow God!
“Failing to plan is planning to fail.”
Planning to do Right (3:2b-4)
The Reasoning.
“Is not Boaz of our kindred” – Ruth 2:20 revealed this new information.
“with whose maiden thou wast” – why is she still there?
Ruth 2:8 reminds us that Boaz told her not to go anywhere else for gleaning.
Ruth 2:23 reminds us that Ruth continued in Boaz’s fields because Naomi told her to do so. Both good counsel based on the Bible!
The plan had to do with their routine. It is probable that the “winnowing of grain” was effected by taking up a portion of the corn in a sieve, and letting it down slowly in the wind; thus the grain would, by its own weight, fall in one place, while the chaff, etc., would be carried a distance by the wind. It is said here that this was done at night; probably what was threshed out in the day was winnowed in the evening, when the sea breeze set in, which was common in Palestine.
The plan wasn’t inappropriate. Naomi wouldn’t have suggested a wicked or immoral plan. Instead, this plan had much to do with the customs and laws of the time and culture.
Here’s the plan. Can you see the comparison to Christ!?
Wash Yourself. We need the washing of regeneration and to be sanctified by the Word
Anoint Yourself (perfume). We need the anointing of the Holy Spirit to enable us to do His will.
Put on nice clothes. Get rid of the widow clothes. The mourning is over. Christ has a robe of righteousness for those He saves. He takes our beggar rags and credits His righteousness to our account! Jesus transforms us from enemies with God (Rom. 8:7) to righteous because of Jesus (II Cor. 5:21).
Get down to the floor and let the man know you want him to be your kinsman redeemer. Have you ever told the Lord Jesus you love Him and want to be His?
Hear the gospel clear and plain! Jesus is waiting for YOU! His arms are stretched out wide for YOU! His eyes are fixed on YOU! He alone has paid your sin debts. He alone has satisfied God’s judgment for YOUR sin. He cannot love you anymore than He does right now (Jer. 31:3).
Come to Jesus and accept His gift of salvation (Rom. 10:13).
Christian, come to Jesus and know you are still loved by almighty God – even though you struggle with sin (Rom. 5:8).
Come to Jesus and seek His mercy to pour over you (Psalm 86:5).
Come to Jesus and find His grace by faith to live the gospel you received from Him years ago (Rom. 5:1-2)!
Come to Jesus and lay down your life for others (I Jn. 3:16).
Boaz wasn’t making a move, but he was the Kinsman Redeemer! Naomi tells Ruth to go claim him as the Kinsman Redeemer. Christ died for you, but you and I need to claim Him as our own…claim Him in salvation and sanctification.
“When she had thus made her claim, Boaz, who was more learned in the laws, would tell her what she must do. Thus must we lay ourselves at the feet of our Redeemer, to receive from him our instruction. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Matthew Henry)
When we came to the Lord and yielded our way to Him…it was at that time we needed to begin looking to Him for instruction. Disciples of Jesus – stand up and seek out the Lord’s way!
Instruction from Him for how to grow closer to Him
Instruction from Him for what to say AND what not to say
Instruction from Him for the next person to give the gospel to
Instruction from Him for the order of our priorities
Ruth 3:5. Ruth didn’t know how this was going to all turn out. Naomi understood the law better than Ruth, but even Naomi was depending on Boaz to tell Ruth what to do next! However, Ruth did have some comfort:
She had comfort in knowing Naomi wanted the best for her
She had comfort in knowing this was the law of God
She had the comfort in knowing Boaz’s kind treatment in the past
Look how good the Lord is to Ruth. All she needed was the Mosaic Law to act, but God gave her Naomi and Boaz to encourage the next step of faith. The Lord continually gives good gifts to those who walk uprightly (Ps. 84:11-12).
You may say, “this seems too basic – ‘just follow the Word of God and He will bless.’” Sometimes we need to go back to the basics to become more advanced. Pro Golfer Jack Nicklaus relates the story of the year his game was way off. He didn’t win any tournaments or even place in the top positions. He went back home and looked up his old coach and asked him to take him back to square one. He asked his coach to teach him how to swing again…how to stand again…and he didn’t want that coach to assume anything just because he was a professional golfer.
What is the next step God has for you to take you to your next level in a relationship with Jesus?
5 Steps Every Believer Should Take
Study the Word. Am I in the Word daily? What kind of understanding do I have of Bible doctrine? Am I a “shallow waters” believer? Do I know the Word well enough that I memorize it? (Prov. 30:5-6; II Tim. 2:15; 3:16-17)
Vibrant Prayer Life. How can my communication with Jesus improve? Do I only talk to Jesus when I want something? Do I look forward to time with Him or is it a chore? (Matt. 7:7-8; 26:41; Lk. 18:1)
First steps to take. Have I been baptized since I trusted Jesus as my Savior? Have a joined a local church family? What keeps me from taking these first steps? (Acts 2:41; I Cor. 3:1-4)
Forgiven & Forgive. Jesus forgave me…do I forgive others? Is there someone that comes to mind that I need to ask someone for forgiveness? Am I holding bitterness against another person? (Matt. 6:14; Lk. 17:3-4; Eph. 4:32)
Growth. Am I in the same place (spiritually) as I was last year? Am I making choices this year that lead me to a closer walk with Jesus? What are those choices? (Phil. 1:9; I Tim. 4:15; II Pet. 3:18)
What is your plan to follow God? Seeking the Lord and being faithful in the small steps (even what we don’t want to do, but we know we ought to do), is great preparation for the big steps of faith to come.
Disciples of Jesus – are you learning at His feet? Are you growing closer to the One you declare you follow? Are you helping others to do the same?