Sermon
The Power of Favour [Part 2]
Preached by Pst Sunday Adebamiro. Scripture: Ruth 2:1-12 (NLT)
Play transcript The Power of Favour [Part 2]
Preached by Pst Sunday Adebamiro. Scripture: Ruth 2:1-12 (NLT)
Key scripture
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.
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.
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.
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.
5 Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this?
6 And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab:
7 And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.
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:
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.
10 Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?
11 And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.
12 The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.
Minister: Pst Sunday Adebamiro
Topic: The Power of Favour
Text: Ruth 2:1-12 (NLT)
One of the first things I need to say is that although favour bridges gap and reclaims lost time and season, it doesn’t come to the indolent. You cannot fold your arms and expect favour. Favour can be attracted, favour can be activated by you doing your part. In our text, Ruth did not find favour with Boaz by being lazy, she was reported to be hard at work. You have to play your own role. In the first service we established that favour gives divine advantage. What do you do when you need something, and others need the same thing and it cannot go round? It is favour that can grant you a chance out of the many people competing for the same thing you desire. What favour does is to single you out of the many. It gives you an advantage of divine nature.
This means if you are not favoured or you do not carry the anointing for favour, you would have to resort mostly to ability. You will have to resort to efforts. It would be subject to many subjective things you may be unable to affect or influence. When you are not favoured or you carry favour, but it is not understood and activated, favour becomes inevitable. Favour is unfair in its nature. Favour comes with that challenge because it gives you what others want whether you deserve it or not.
You have to understand, no matter how gifted you are, someone is more gifted than you, no matter how intelligent you are, someone is more gifted that you. This is why the system of favour exists, to give you an edge you in instances you naturally may have been incapable of reaching for or achieving.
Favour gives speed. Ecclesiastes 9:11 says …time and chance happeneth to them all. If it is by speed, some people are faster than you, if it is by strength, some are stronger than you. You need favour to bridge these gaps. You need the speed favour can grant you to overtake. You can either use energy and efforts to achieve your aspirations or you can rely on the favour of God. We are not encouraging laziness or indolence, we are saying with your diligence, look to God for divine favour so that your effort will yield far better than it naturally can. It does not matter what you have lost, favour will return everything. Joel 2:25a (NLT)- The Lord says, “I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts.
Favour gives access. It is the supernatural liking that gives access into relationship, resources and opportunities. This is why Ruth can move from being a field worker to being favoured by Boaz and becoming his wife. Exodus 3:21 (NKJV)- And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed. In this text, for years the Israelites had laboured unpaid for building the Egyptian cities, in one night, by divine favour which conferred diving liking on the Israelites, they were paid everything owed with interest. Luke 1:18-19 (NKJV), Luke 1:33-34 (NKJV). The same doubt exhibited by Zechariah, and he was punished did not attract same punishment when Virgin Mary questioned the angel when she was told she was going to have a child despite being a virgin. The difference was favour. We may be in same circumstance, but we do not carry the same favour anointing. It is favour, divine favour that sets one apart. You have to work with this consciousness.
