Prayer: Father, we receive all Your messages that You are bringing to us right now. We receive Your plans, Your purposes for our lives and Your direction for us and our children. Jesus, You are the Head of the church. Thank You that You always speak to us very straight because of Your love. We praise You, Lord, that all these messages have to do with the supernatural increase that is now coming to everyone. Lord, we are in agreement here this morning that You are pulling every single one of us through, every single one, no matter the messiness. May Your anointing rest on us as a people today and we all say; Amen. Hallelujah.
20 years are significant: and important because God has times and periods that must be completed. 15After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” 2But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless (Genesis 15:1-2 NKJV). 8And he said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?” (Genesis 15:8 NKJV).
12Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him (Genesis 15:12 NKJV). Why? Because of what God showed him, what was coming in the future.13Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years 14And also the nation whom they serve I will judge, says the Lord; after a specific period of time, they shall come out with great possessions.16But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” (Genesis 15:13-16 NKJV).
God says: “For Me, it is important, it must be completed, it must be fulfilled.” So God is showing Abram that a specific time period must be fulfilled before his descendants will come back. It is important to understand that in our walk with God, we will encounter different time periods. Time periods need to be fulfilled before the next one can start. Can you see the significance of why this period of 20 years needed to be completed? Brother Jerry shared with us; Twenty years means; a cycle, a period of waiting successfully completed. This year marks the completion of a perfect period of waiting – a 20 year period.
It is important to God: to bring certain periods of time to their fullness. 4But when the fullness of the time had come (Galatians 4:4 NKJV). Not a day sooner. There is a fullness that must come for things that we are believing God for on our journey. 4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, (Galatians 4:4 NKJV).
Read: John 7:8 NKJV and Luke 1:57 NKJV
Choices we have in moments: it is important for us to lean on God and not on our own understanding when making choices. It is very important for our purpose and our alignment for assignment with Jesus and Pastor John and what God has called us to bring forth. Pastor Sharon shared with us; the Israelites wandered 40 (20/20) years in the wilderness and then there is a transition, the pause to circumcise the heart. We are all in that pause today because of God’s great grace.
The Lord said to me: that not all the people in Heritage of Faith are following God with all of their hearts. Just like the Israelites, many have chosen a hardness of heart and that is why we have a spirit of repentance here. God sees our hearts and so we are grateful for this pause so that we can circumcise and look at our own hearts. We can only do it for ourselves. This is a big-rock moment and God is saying, “Let Me in, let Me in into your heart; this messiness is going to become marvellous.”
5Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5 NKJV).
Ruth followed the plan of God: She brought forth Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of King David. Not leaning on your own understanding and doing great exploits with God, is a big matter to God and to our lives. Praise the Lord. If you have not yet underlined Proverbs 3, you will after this. Praise the Lord.
The Holy Spirit said: “Christi, you’re going to look the young people again in their eyes when you speak to them. They need to hear about the choices they are making.”
The story of Ruth: was used very powerfully by God in my own life 20 years ago when He started to reveal things to me. He said; “Christi, I’m going to teach you about the Church,” and of course one of the huge revelations He taught me was plantedness. God spoke very powerfully about choices I would make in moments in my life.
1Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab. (The Moabites came through one of the daughters of Lot-Pastor John spoke about this) He and his wife and his two sons.2The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. And they went to the country of Moab and remained there. 3Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband died; and she was left with her two sons. 4Now, they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten years. 5Then, both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband (Ruth 1:1-5 NKJV).
I am just going to read it to you again, 1And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons (Ruth 1:1 NKJV).
The Jewish commentaries write, Jews always settled according to their tribal divisions, their families and their father’s house – plantedness. So according to their tribe, their own company, they speak about Elimelech’s misdeeds. They are clear on the choices he made when he took his family. All the inhabitants of Bethlehem were related to one another in some manner, and now, Elimelech and his family decided to leave and to desert their family.
We have been taught: that when you leave your spiritual family, you take your supply of the spirit, you take your supply of gifts, anointings and callings with you.
Who is your family? 32And a crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, Your mother and Your brothers and Your sisters are outside asking for You. 33And He replied, Who are My mother and My brothers? 34And looking around on those who sat in a circle about Him, He said, See! Here are My mother and My brothers; 35For whoever does the things God wills is My brother and sister and mother! (Mark 3:32-35 AMPC).
Blood-born, no. Blood-bought. But it is a wonderful thing. We’ve got beautiful families sitting in the church here today who are blood-born and blood-bought. But, I want to say this, normally, a natural family, they live for themselves and they do what Pastor John said, they do what the soul wants to do. So we understand that. Also having no problem going where Babylon wants you to go but – and this was a big thing – the Lord said to me, He said, “Christi, you focus on this thing that Pastor John said.” But something very important we must see here today, and it is a sneaky thing, it is a sneaky thing from the enemy. What is that? It is all of us, all the time. It’s not just one time in your life and then you are done with it. When you see families are starting to obey the Word of God, they make a decision to go from natural thinking to spiritual thinking and walking with God. The Lord said to me, be aware of this very sneaky thing.
Ruth meaning: See
1Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons, Mahlon and Chilion – Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to the country of Moab and remained there (Ruth 1:1-2 NKJV).
Jewish Commentaries: Elimelech and his family were known as Ephrathites of Bethlehem. This describes the importance of a family in those days. Throughout the Bible, every great, distinguished man who arose in Israel had that title, Ephrathites. But the Jews talk about how great the sin of Elimelech. The great sin was to leave the place – the place where God planted him and his family. Elimelech and Naomi decided to go away for just a little while but while they were away, they changed their minds and stayed in Moab.
A wrong choice in a moment: to go to a place you were never supposed to go. The second wrong choice in a moment was to stay in Moab. Living in the wrong place can impact, influence, and pull you in the wrong direction. Here is a Biblical story of a man who in his own reasoning, took his wife and his two children to a place where God was not leading him. He made his own choice in a moment but God never called him to go.
8By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called (Hebrews 11:8 NKJV) by God. Not leaning on his own understanding.1After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram (Genesis 15:1 NKJV). God talks. God talks, He calls. You heard the call in the last message. God will always call. He will always show you the place and this is exactly what’s happening here. Abram obeyed when he was called by God, not decided by himself to go to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. Elimelech received – nothingness, nothingness.
The difference: Abram obeyed God and Elimelech decided for himself and he had no remorse when he departed from the place God had for him. In this pause that God has for us, we need to have remorse in our hearts. God is giving us this moment to circumcise our hearts because of His great love. Elimelech started out planted in the right place, with his tribe, in his father’s house. The Israelites went out, through the Red Sea, into what God wanted for them, but just like some of us in Heritage of Faith, they start off planted, in the place that God has for them, and they mess it up with choices in the moment.
The influence of Babylon: The Lord said to me, Elimelech and Naomi were only planning to go for a little while, but the impact and the influence of Babylon, (Moab), can pull you in completely. People not inquiring from the Lord think they will just go and do a little business over there, or just go and study there and then they’ll come back. Many end up buying property there not noticing that they are being pulled away from the place that God’s got them because they have pitched their tents there. This is the influence of Babylon.
The Jewish commentaries write: Elimelech and Naomi started to integrate themselves fully with the culture of the Moabites. Ruth and Orpah were princesses, they were the daughters of the king Eglon. Naomi and Elimelech (the Ephrathites) – were very distinguished and very wealthy. Eglon, the King of Moab, marries his two daughters. Ruth, he gave to Mahlon and Orpah to Chilion. As a wealthy family, Elimelech and Naomi mingled with the high society in Moab. If you mingle with the wrong people in the wrong place, your children will end up marrying the wrong people. Jesus says; Come out of her my people, no more mingling. If you pitch your tent in the wrong place, you are going to mingle and God says, “No more.” The story goes on. The Jewish writers say Elimelech dies a very untimely death. Elimelech never repented from not doing his part in his generation.
Stay planted: If you leave where God wanted you, you are taking your supply of the Spirit, your gifts, your callings, your mantles and your anointings. Your part is vital.
Elimelech dies in nothingness: 3Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left, with her two sons (Ruth 1:3 NKJV). The name Elimelech means: To me shall kingship come. When he died, he is only called ‘Naomi’s husband.’ He died in nothingness, losing all the blessings he had in his tribe where God was planting him. He was stripped of his title and the blessing of God when he left the place he was planted – he went to another place and he died in nothingness. He is only called ‘Naomi’s husband.’
Choices in moments: In the natural, Elimelech enjoyed his riches and his wealth with the rich people in Moab, knowing it was not his place; but it was his choice. He started off good, being part of the spiritual family/tribe that God planted him into but he messed up. He followed his self-will, his desires and he ended up in nothingness.
25th October, Pastor Sharon shared: narrow and absolutely constricted is the path, pressure is the way that leads to real-life and few are there that find it – choices in moments. Wide and broad is the way that leads to nothingness. Wide is that road that leads to nothingness. If whatever you are doing, is not the will of God, you are not in His plan, the outcome will be nothingness in your life.
30What sorrow awaits my rebellious children,” says the Lord. “You make plans that are contrary to mine. You make alliances not directed by my Spirit, thus piling up your sins. 2For without consulting me, you have gone down to Egypt, (Elimelech went to Moab), for help. You have put your trust in Pharaoh’s protection. You have tried to hide in his shade. 3But by trusting Pharaoh, you will be humiliated, and by depending on him, you will be disgraced. 5all who trust in him will be ashamed. He will not help you. Instead, he will disgrace you (Isaiah 30:1-3, 5 NLT).
Elimelech did not go to God: he went to Moab for help. Mahlon and Chilion did not have a dad who chose the ways of God and so, instead of learning a lesson from their father’s death and returning to the place that God had for them, they both married Moabite women. 5Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband (Ruth 1:5 NKJV). Like their father, the two sons are no longer called Ephrathites. Even worse, they are not identified as the husbands of Ruth and Orpah. They were stripped of their prestige, they are simply called Mahlon and Chilion, even worse than their dad. Their dad’s name was still connected to Naomi. This is very significant when you read in the Hebrew Bible what this means. Can you see the choices in moments that God gives us? These were the choices of Elimelech, Mahlon and Chilion.
6Then she arose, (Naomi) with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had visited His people by giving them bread (Ruth 1:6 NKJV)
“Then she arose”, meaning; She left the place. It was time to leave the wrong place where she and her family should never have been. 8And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each to your mother’s house. The Lord will deal kindly with you (Ruth 1:8 NKJV). 14Then they lifted up their voices and wept, but Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her (Ruth 1:14 NKJV)
Choices of Naomi, Ruth and Orpah: You would think after what happened to the men the outcome for all three would be good. It wasn’t the case. Orpah and Ruth lived with Mahlon and Chilion. They met and heard the words of Hashem. So, her turning back was turning away from God to her natural father. The repentance was not real in Orpah’s heart. Living with that family she heard Jehova, Hashem’s Word coming through that family but she did not choose God. Ruth, on the other hand, did.
Is your heart going to stay hard? Oprah was named Orpah because she ultimately turned her back. In this time of repentance, is your heart going to stay hard? Are you ultimately going to turn back? Ruth was named Ruth because she saw. Remember when Jesus was sitting with His brothers and sisters and He says, “See, who are the real ones but those who choose to do the will of the Lord?” Ruth saw. She considered well the words of her mother-in-law. That’s what the name means “She saw”. 16“Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God (Ruth 1:16 NKJV).
Ruth chose in a moment: Ruth came into the lineage of our Lord Jesus and at that time in her life chose to hold on to God – the very little she knew about Him. Ruth came with real repentance out of a heathen nation. Ruth wanted God and she held onto Him. Real repentance means a turnaround. Your lifestyle must follow the purpose that God wants for you. Repentance happens because you receive something. Orpah did not but Ruth did. You receive it into your heart and it will change your future. It will bring you to your purpose but it will cost you your lifestyle. If you’ve got to make a drastic change, this is the time to make it.
Ruth made a drastic change: and Orpah went back to Moab as a king’s daughter. Wealth and comfort. She knew what she was turning back for. The Bible says that when Ruth came with Naomi back into the land, Naomi was a poor, barefoot woman. The choice cost Ruth everything in her life. She did not turn back to wealth and comfort. One choice in a moment.
2So Ruth said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favour (Ruth 2:2 NKJV). Ruth humbled herself to glean in a field after the grain was cut. This was a messy time for Ruth and Naomi but they trusted God.
The Lord said to me: “Christi, you do not have the anointing to take yourself into the Promised Land. You come to church and you listen to every message that comes from Pastor John and Pastor Sharon. You put your foot in the messages and you go to the Promised Land.” So here comes Boaz and he’s giving Ruth this message, 8Then Boaz said to Ruth, Listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one. Do not leave this field. The Lord said to me, “Christi,” “Glean in this field.” Glean means, gather My word in this field. Don’t go to all the other fields. Glean in this field. Do not leave this one but stay here close by my maidens. 9Watch which field they reap, listen to the message that’s coming and follow them. Have I not charged the young men not to molest you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink (Ruth 2:8-9 AMPC).
Glean means to gather Glean in this field, glean in this house, glean in these messages. Now you can understand that it changed my life. Young people, God doesn’t have another field for you and if you are not in this field, come back, come back to this one.
The Lord protected Ruth: 1Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you? 2Now Boaz, whose young women you were with, is he not our relative? In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 3Therefore wash and anoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking (Ruth 3:1-3 NKJV). Take note of the wisdom, the instruction, the encouragement, the love through the instructions, the messages.
Then it shall be when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies; and you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down; and he will tell you what you should do.” Listen to the response of someone who is following the Lord with the leadership in her life, 5And she said to her (Naomi), “All that you say to me I will do.” (Ruth 3:4-5 NKJV). Ruth put her foot in every message that God wanted to give her, to direct her. Moment after moment Ruth had choices to make so as not to walk away from God’s plan.
Purpose and Destiny: 13So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went into her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. 14Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! (Ruth 4:13-14 NKJV). What a purpose and a destiny for Ruth. She became the mother of Obed who was the father of Jesse, the father of King David in the lineage of our Lord Jesus, bringing forth and doing great exploits for our Lord. Abram, Isaac, Ruth, Elijah, John the Baptist, Heritage of Faith people, every son of God, you and I must ask God, “Where and what is my part?”
Young people: you cannot bring forth what God has called you to be without being connected to our Lord Jesus and His sent one, Pastor John. Every message that God is bringing you is vital. Your part starts in your heart. Pastor Sharon shared with us about mantles, callings and anointings. The choice starts in the heart.
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