Surrounded with Favour | Ruth 1:1-2:18

Introduction: Do you have a situation where things are not working out for you? Probably, it has been years or months and nothing is changing. It maybe a negative medical condition, tough finances, children not settled, your breakthrough getting delayed. Now, the future seems dim and you are on the verge of giving up. At such times it is easy to get discouraged and be all negative. God is telling you today, “Do not be discouraged. I am going to thrust you to a new level because of my favour.”

Title: Surrounded with Favour

HF: How we are surrounded with God’s favour that can lead us to our destiny.

Psalm 5:12 Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield. The psalmist said God’s favour surrounds us like a shield. That means everywhere you go you have an advantage, a divine presence, opening up the right doors, causing things to fall in its place and giving you the right break.

Illustration: I remember going to my grandfather’s house when I was a child. He had a small petty shop and he used to take me every day to his shop. Children used to come pay money and pick up chocolates but I could pick up any chocolate I want absolutely free. That is favour because I am his grandson. When we are the sons of the Almighty God, we are favoured by God.

Favour means – To assist, to provide with advantages, to receive preferential treatment, approve.

No matter who is against you, what is not working out God has surrounded you with his favour to thrust you to your destiny.

Job 10:12 You have granted me life and favour, and your care has preserved my spirit. If you believe it or not, God’s children are surrounded by God’s favour day and night.

God told Abraham in Genesis 12:2 AMP And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you [with abundant increase of favors] (God’s favour is not for just once or twice, he said he will do favour in abundance.) and make your name famous and distinguished, and you will be a blessing [dispensing good to others]. You and I are the seed of Abraham. God wants to do favour us likewise. God’s favour is such that it keeps on coming and he will bless us so much that we will end up to be a blessing to others.

God’s favour causes you to be promoted even though you are not qualified, God’s favour gives you blessing even though you don’t deserve it. God’s favour will put you at the right place at the right time. God’s favour heals you in spite of your condition. God is saying to you what he said to Abraham, “I am going to assist you, I am going to provide you with advantages, I am going to give you preferential treatment and bless you.” Somebody is receiving that favour today.

Examples of God’s favour

Throughout the Bible we can find God’s favour blessing and prospering God’s people.

1. Mary. Luke 1:28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

1. Samuel. 1 Samuel 2:26 And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people.

1. Noah. Genesis 6:8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

1. Jesus Christ. Luke 2:52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

1. Joseph.

Genesis 39:4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.

Genesis 39:21 But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.

It was God’s favour that lifted him up from the empty well and put him as the prime minister of Egypt.

1. The Israelites. The Israelites were enslaved by the Egyptians. They were not paid the right labor. Eventually the situation worsened to the level that they were supposed to make their due straw out of nothing. They were oppressed, beaten, and in utter dismay. On one side, they are God’s special chosen people on the other side they are nowhere near to their promise. When we hit rock bottom, that is where God’s that is where we can see God’s favour.

Exodus 3:21 And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. We know God rose up his servant Moses. Moses went to Egypt and after 10 plagues hit the Egyptians, Pharaoh let the people God. God is faithful, he did not want these people to go empty-handed. God paid them double for their trouble, they got back more than they lost.

Exodus 12:33 The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. “For otherwise,” they said, “we will all die!”

Exodus 12:35-36 ³⁵The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. ³⁶The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.

I am telling you, God’s favour will cause your enemies to change their attitude towards you. God’s favour will enable you to receive back all that you have lost. Your promotion might be delayed, you might feel that you are cheated, your maybe oppressed, but if God’s favour is on you, you are on the winning side. Somebody shout an Amen! Somebody say, “I am favoured.”

1. Ruth. Today we will focus on Ruth.

God’s favour on Ruth.

In the Book of Ruth we can find a family that is totally broken. Noami and Elimelek went to Moab with their two sons because of a famine. There both sons married Moabite women. Soon Elimelek and his two sons die. Naomi decides to go back to Bethlehem and asks both her daughter-in-laws to go back to their mother’s house. This family has been going through trials, problems, one after the other. Some of you here has hit the bottommost pit in your life, you are facing setback one after the other. You are in the verge of a break through. Your favour is on the way.

Ruth 1:14-16 ¹⁴At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. ¹⁵“Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.” ¹⁶But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.”

Look at Ruth’s heart. Ruth had a heart that very few people have, loyalty in tough times, a committed heart. How many people will stick to you when you have nothing? How many of you will stick to God in your deepest pain? God shows favour to such people. Ruth 1:18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

Now both Ruth and Naomi reach Bethlehem. Now I just want you to look at favor of God upon undeserving Ruth and Naomi.

Ruth 2:1-2 ¹Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz. ²And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.” Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.”

Ruth knew she has come to the right godly family. She knew she was right by sticking to Ruth. Now that everything she has done is right, she started living favour-mined even though she had nothing. You have come to the right place, live favour minded.

Ruth 2:3-5 ³So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek. ⁴Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!” “The Lord bless you!” they answered. ⁵Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?

1. Allows you to be noticed.
2. Puts you in the right place at the right time.

Ruth 2:6-8 ⁶The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. ⁷She 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.” ⁸So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me.

Ruth 2:13 “May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord,” she said. “You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.”

1. Takes you from being a nobody to be a somebody.

God’s favour enables you to be shown kindness from others.

1. Protects you.

Ruth 2:9 Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you.

1. Provides for you.

Ruth 2:9b And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.

Ruth 2:10-12 ¹⁰At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?” ¹¹Boaz 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. ¹²May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”

1. Repays your loss. You are going to get back all that you have lost. I do not know what you have lost, who has cheated you. “I am going to repay you for all your loss,” says the Lord.

1. Your Cup Overflows.

Ruth 2:14-18 ¹⁴At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.” When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over.¹⁵As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. ¹⁶Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.” ¹⁷So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah. ¹⁸She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough.

How to receive God’s favour?

1. Repent.

2. Call unto God.

3. Live Favour-minded.

Ruth 2:1-2 ¹Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz. ²And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.” Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.”

Conclusion: The God of Ruth is our God. The God of the Abraham is our God. I am going to see God’s favour. I do not know if somebody here is going through a rough time in life. But as long as God is on your side, you will bounce back. You need to life favour minded.

Psalm 30:5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

God’s favour is what helps you to accomplish things in your life that you could not accomplish on your own. God will enable his people to stand out, to get breaks that you did not deserve. God’s favour will make you the head not the tail. God’s favour will surround you with blessings. It is called divine favour.

I can see God’s favour surround his people this morning. You are going to get breaks that never seemed possible because of the favour of God. I prophesy God’s favour, double for your trouble upon you in Jesus’ name.

How do we find favour with God?

1. Walk with God.

Genesis 6:8-9 ⁸But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. ⁹This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.

Trust, seek, worship, obey, serve God.

2. Feed on God’s word.

Proverbs 3:1-4 ¹My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, ²for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. ³Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. ⁴Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.

3. A pure heart.

Proverbs 12:1-2 ¹Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid. ²Good people obtain favor from the Lord, but he condemns those who devise wicked schemes.

4. Faith.

Live favour minded like Ruth. Live favour minded like Abraham.

5. Ask for God’s Favour.

Psalm 119:58 I have sought your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise.

Job 33:26 ..then that person can pray to God and find favor with him, they will see God’s face and shout for joy; he will restore them to full well-being.

What does God’s favour do in us?

Writings of Isaiah is comfort and hope for God’s chosen people in Babylonian captivity. Isaiah comes with a message of restoration. God is promising his favour for Jerusalem and its people.

Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.

Glory in the original language implies God’s favour is heavy upon you. You come down to Isaiah 60:10 Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. Though in anger I struck you, in favor I will show you compassion.

Isaiah says God’s people are filled with God’s favour. It changes a person’s perspective. When you know that you have God’s favour, you will pray in faith, you will be bold not matter what happens.

Maybe today you are here with worry, discouragement, weighed down with problems, disappointments, sickness, lack, no you need to get ready, this is your due season. Instead of being heavy with burden you are going to be filled with God’s favour.

You are not in ordinary favour, you are filled with God’s favour. So ask big, believe big, expect God’s favour in a new way.

Isaiah 61:7  Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.

Isaiah 61:2 proclaim the year of the LORD’s favour.

God is speaking to us that in the midst of our troubles and difficulties God’s favour is with us and God is giving us a new beginning. We have hope and comfort in the Lord.

Isaiah 61:2 proclaim the year of the LORD’s favour.

1. God will use you.

Isaiah 61:1a 1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. This is God is speaking that God is going to use you for his ministry. God will use everyone here to preach the good news to the people. God will use you in the area of your talent for his glory.

2. Release your captivity.

Isaiah 61:1c to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.

Many who are captive by the devil will be freed this year. The Holy Spirit is going to set the captives free. There will be deliverance for people with satanic forces, curses, bondages etc. The Holy Spirit will cast out evil spirits. The kingdom will enlarge.

2. Bind Broken Hearts.

Isaiah 61:1b He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted.

When the Holy Spirit comes He heals the broken hearted. If you are sitting with a broken heart this year end. If you feel you have:

Not achieved anything.

No peace in family.

No job.

No finances.

Death of the loved ones.

Depressed and lonely.

You feel your life is a failure.

God is going to provide for you in 2010 to bind your broken heart. He will restore what is lost. In the next year you will find peace.

3. CHANGE.

Isaiah 61:3 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

When the Holy Spirit comes upon a person Change happens. It will make things new. It will never be the same. Let us see CHANGE promised by GOD.

‘Beauty for Ashes’ In Bible time people in the time of mourning and difficulty lay in ashes. You become dirty. There is nothing beautiful about ashes. See what God says: God will take your difficult, disgusting, depressed, and horrible situations and give you His beauty. The Holy Spirit is going to take out the ash out of you and make something beautiful out of you.

‘Joy for Mourning’ It says oil of joy for mourning. In Bible times when a person is mourning he never puts oil/cream in his face. The face looks disfigured and rough. But when a person is happy he puts oil in his face and it shines. God is telling this year He is going to give you joy.

The oil of joy is the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 1:9 9You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.

Garment of Praise. Garment is what covers people. What are you covered with emotionally today. Many of you are clothed with disappointment. Heaviness in your heart. God is telling you He will take out that garment and fill you with a new one, garment of Praise. Garment changes your looks. Your outlook will change in 2010.

God is promising you that he will fill you with beauty instead of ashes, joy for mourning, and cover you with a garment of praise.

4. Double Blessings.

Isaiah 61:7 7 Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.

When the Holy Spirit comes upon a person he receives blessings. This year God’s promise is you will experience a double portion of blessings for the struggles you went through in 2009. Tell it, “I am going to be blessed.” Yes the Holy Spirit is going to bless each and every one of you.

Understand all this is the work of the Holy Spirit and 2010 is ‘The year of the Lord’s Favour.’

Conclusion: You are God’s biggest deal. When you keep God first place, when you honour him, God puts his favour on you and lift you up.

You need faith to get this favour. Live favour-minded, you are expecting it and declaring it. I am talking about being humble but living with boldness because God is favorable to his people.