Sunday, July 14, 2013
Revealed Through His Word
I Samuel 3.21
The Revelation of Jesus Christ is through The Word of God. v.7
The heavens declare the glory of God. There is not a place on earth where their voice is not heard.
God calls men to serve Him. Corresponding with one this week wanting to know of my call, how I knew, etc.
The greater way, the greatest way by far in which God reveals Himself to us is by His Word.
The Bible is the Book of Books whereby we hear God, how He reveals Himself to us. Obedience to it brings the reward of intimacy with Him.
John 14:21, 23 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them."
So powerful is the Word of God:
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Deuteronomy 32:45-47 When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” God's Word -Words of Life
John 5:24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.
1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.
John 1:1, 14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
1. The Word Of God is Jesus Christ.
Spirit John 4:24 God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
Flesh John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Written Hebrews 1.3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.
2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
2 Peter 1:20-21 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Spoken 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
We get to know Christ through His Word and His Spirit working through His Word.
We grow in Christlikeness by growing in His Word.
Knowledge of the Son of God.
True we grow by suffering and trials but we need the feeding of the Word to make sense and give us direction and comfort in those times and all the time.
We defend our faith through the Word.
Jude 1:3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.
2. The Power of God's Word come through in all life.
There are those who are the error of the Word of Faith Movement, also called Positive Confession. It is a retread of Napoleon Hill, "What you can conceive you and receive."
Read the article link on our facebook page and see the damage which is being done by this error in Africa:
http://www.christianpost.com/news/south-african-pastor-calls-prosperity-gospel-damaging-asks-where-are-we-heading-to-99712/
We go to the Word for daily strength.
We go to the Word when we are in trouble.
We go to the Word for direction and answers.
It is a solid foundation. Matthew 7:24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock."
3. We Need to Have Heart Like Samuel's.
Childlike. Not childish.
He heard the call.
Speak LORD, for your servant is listening.
We need to listen, quietly.
He obeyed.
The revelation of God is in His Word. He comes to us. We speak His Word to others and we see its power. We obey and live by it and we see its power.
Speak LORD, this week, through your Word. Your servant is listening.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Our Great God
I Samuel 2.2
1 Samuel 2:2 “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. "
The songs of women who became pregnant under unusual circumstances in the Word of God are a blessing to read.
Elizabeth had her song, Mary sang the Magnificat, and Hannah's Prayer/Song of Praise is beautiful.
I would like us to look at one verse of that wonderful prayer this morning.
It is verse two.
“There is no one holy like the Lord;
there is no one besides You;
there is no Rock like our God."
The exclusivity of God, the Eternal Uniqueness which is His.
1. The LORD is Holy.
The cry in heaven is recorded in
Revelation 4:6-8 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:“‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’who was, and is, and is to come.”
Sacred, set apart, sinless
Pure, Righteous
Job 23
2“Even today my complaint is bitter;
My hand is listless because of my groaning.
3 Oh, that I knew where I might find Him,
That I might come to His seat!
4 I would present my case before Him,
And fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would know the words which He would answer me,
And understand what He would say to me.
6 Would He contend with me in His great power?
No! But He would take note of me.
7 There the upright could reason with Him,
And I would be delivered forever from my Judge.
8 “Look, I go forward, but He is not there,
And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;
9 When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him;
When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him.
10 But He knows the way that I take;
When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.
Through our tests, more than anything else, our Father in Heaven is conforming us to ghe image of His Son, Jesus Christ.
2. There is no one besides Him!
No gods before Him.
No equal. He is Eternally Unique. He is above all gods.
There is a very dangerous movement to blend our faith with others religions.
Ephesians 4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
There are other gods but they are empty.
Take the god of money. It takes away the life of those who worship it.
1 Timothy 6:9-10 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
The ones who remain in the faith but still eager for money try to constantly sell us something. Jesus was penniless.
The god of human power Jesus spoke against.
Matthew 20:25-28 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Be a servant!
The god of earthly wisdom is a lot of hot air.
1 Timothy 1:5-7 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.
Reflect the Book of Proverbs!
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
There are many other gods which people worship today.
1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
Jude 1:3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.
These gods are not worthy of comparison to the LORD our God.
Exodus 15:11 Who among the godsis like you, Lord?Who is like you—majestic in holiness,awesome in glory,working wonders?
3. Our God is an Incomparable Rock
Firm Foundation
Solid footing
Refuge
All around sinking sand
Surety in times of disorder and confusion.
A place, the only place to build a life.
We live in such confusing perplexing times. The LORD is the only firm place. He gives peace in the storms and tumult.
Hannah could not become pregnant and it was breaking her heart. She didn't lean on her own understanding. She prayed. She knew Who to go to.
The LORD Our Rock
2 Samuel 22:32-34 For who is God besides the Lord?And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strengthand keeps my way secure. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;he causes me to stand on the heights.
Psalm 95:1 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Psalm 19:14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heartbe pleasing in your sight,Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 18:2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Psalm 31:3 Since you are my rock and my fortress,for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
No Wonder He is called Wonderful, Almighty God!
Sunday, June 30, 2013
The Renewal of Life
Ruth 4.13-17
There are times in our journey to heaven when we need to be renewed. Life can bring stress and heaviness.
Things can happen we never anticipated.
We can find ourselves facing loss like Naomi did.
We can be overwhelmed and not be sure what to do.
We can get weary while doing good, not in it but while doing it.
We can feel like Naomi.
Ruth 1:20-21 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”
Feelings like that are a dead end, until the LORD renews the soul.
Isaiah 40.31
In His Time, if we look to Him, the LORD will renew our souls when we need Him to.
There were a number of blessings He brought to Naomi, blessings that renew the heart and soul.
Look at them with me...
1. The Kinsman Redeemer
Took some of the sting out of being an orphan and a widow.
The LORD set this up through the law to make sure widows would not be destitute.
Jesus is our Kinsman Redeemer. The Parable of the unjust judge in Luke 18 shows the plight of widows in His time. The church is anything but a widow. We are the most cared for bride on earth.
Ruth got in on this through Naomi. The Kinsman Redeemer was a law of Israel. When she took on the LORD as her God she inherited all the promises of Abraham. .. And so do we!
Galatians 3:7-9, 29 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Ruth is symbolic of the church which Christ purchased.
This was a Willing Redemption. Boaz did not grudge the redemption money. How could he when his heart was set on the purchase of Ruth: He willingly offered the full price, although that price included the gift of himself. So was it with Jesus, our princely Kinsman, who loved us and gave Himself for us, that He might give Himself to us. Nor did He hesitate to pay the awful price of sorrow, suffering, and blood, that He might redeem us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.
Ruth was in a helpless situation. She needed a rescuer-redeemer.
Both Jesus and Boaz did the act of redemption publicly. Boaz inside the city gate, Jesus outside.
Hebrews 13:12-14 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
When Ruth knew that Boaz had purchased her to be his wife, would she not be anxiously looking for him every moment to come and take her to be with himself ? Is not this the present position of the Church? Working, waiting, watching, till He comes. He has redeemed us by His own Blood, for the Lord Himself shall descend, and when He shall appear we shall be like Him, we shall see Him as He is, and dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
For Ruth it was Boaz.
For us it is Jesus.
God will take care of you.
2. A In-Law Who Remains a relative after the law is fulfilled.
Mahlon died. Ruth was no longer technically related to Naomi. She was a daughter-in-law. With the death of her husband her legal relationship with Naomi ceased. But love and loyalty do not let relationships die.
What a noble woman Ruth was. She understood commitment greater than many of the Israelites. They were doing what was right in their won eyes while this "foreigner" was setting such a beautiful example of Christlikeness.
Being called an "in-law" is a gift.
Ruth went way beyond the law. So should we. We are blessed when it is done to us. Let's bless others.
3. A New Born Child In the Family
It is amazing what the birth of a child can do for a person! New life touches hearts.
Wasn't literally Naomi's grandson. Boaz was a relative. Ruth had been a daughter-in-law. Now she is better than 7 sons! Naomi lost 2. But gained 7.
Hang around with children. They will do wonders for you!
Each one of these points of restoration had to do with family members. God works through families. In the Old Testament the emphasis is on the one family, the physical children of Abraham, the people of Israel, his grandson.
In the New Testament it is the children of Abraham through faith in Jesus Christ, God's Forever Family. In these days He works through His people to bring restoration to those in great need.
This brings us to be available for the LORD to use us.
Louisa Stead
God has ways of rebuilding devastated lives. He specializes in restoring souls. The Book of Ruth shows us how He can restore and bring blessing upon a weary soul.
I love the way He works.
Psalm 95
Sunday, June 23, 2013
The Power of Love
Ruth 3.18
Love is the most powerful force in the world.
Hate can drive a person for a while. Love is eternal. Til death do us part.
Hateful movements have lasted as long as people could be held hostage but all of them have fallen. Jesus Christ has been building His Church for 2,000 years. The mark of it is love.
I love it when the church is complimented for its love. I used to like to hear about numbers, great visions, strategies. When I was young and immature I needed ti a degree the affirmation of bringing a good message. But the greatest is love.
John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
The love between a husband towards his wife is like the love Christ has for the church.
Ephesians 5:25, 28 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.
Boaz was in love. He fell in love with Ruth. An interesting courtship.
Unusual events. For the gleaners the end of the harvest meant rough times.
He had noticed her right away.
He found out about her.
He was attracted to her heart and soul.
I love Naomi's words in verse 18.
Rest = to be quiet, be tranquil, be at peace, be quiet, rest, lie still, be undisturbed
Love shakes you up on the inside
It makes you do some crazy things.
Missionary movements have been launched with love for a certain people on earth by someone who deeply loves them.
Oswald Chambers
Larry Mancini
If you debate for even one second when God has spoken, it is all over for you. Never start to say, “Well, I wonder if He really did speak to me?” Be reckless immediately— totally unrestrained and willing to risk everything— by casting your all upon Him. You do not know when His voice will come to you, but whenever the realization of God comes, even in the faintest way imaginable, be determined to recklessly abandon yourself,
Larry Mancini
Launch out in reckless, unrestrained belief that the redemption is complete. Then don’t worry anymore about yourself, but begin to do as Jesus Christ has said...
Before the day was out Ruth would know if Boaz was going to be her husband or not. He was going to press the issue with the one before him. He was going to bring things to a head.
In this chapter we get a picture of love.
1. Love is Persistent.
It overcomes obstacles.
It refuses to die.
It presses forward.
It always protects, always hopes, always perseveres.
Persistent love brings people to the LORD ...my Nana
We give up too easily. We are not talking about being codependent. Being codependent is a perversion of love. It is the opposite of what is needed: tough love.
2. Love is Respectful
It seeks the highest good of its object.
It takes the object of its affections into consideration.
It is concerned about the feelings of others.
Love is the most unselfish thing in the world. It is not self seeking.
Love is others focused. Jesus was that in the fullest sense. He emptied Himself of all but love.
3. Love Never Fails
Other things will fail but you always win when you love.
Love is the greatest conqueror in the world.
Love can make all things new in a person's life.
Love is much more than words, although words can express love. Love is more than a feeling although feeling is part of love. Love is seen in deeds.
1 John 3:11, 16, 18 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
Hebrews 13:1-3 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
1 Peter 4:8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
Love is the most powerful force in the world.
Hate can drive a person for a while. Love is eternal. Til death do us part.
Hateful movements have lasted as long as people could be held hostage but all of them have fallen. Jesus Christ has been building His Church for 2,000 years. The mark of it is love.
I love it when the church is complimented for its love. I used to like to hear about numbers, great visions, strategies. When I was young and immature I needed ti a degree the affirmation of bringing a good message. But the greatest is love.
John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
The love between a husband towards his wife is like the love Christ has for the church.
Ephesians 5:25, 28 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.
Boaz was in love. He fell in love with Ruth. An interesting courtship.
Unusual events. For the gleaners the end of the harvest meant rough times.
He had noticed her right away.
He found out about her.
He was attracted to her heart and soul.
I love Naomi's words in verse 18.
Rest = to be quiet, be tranquil, be at peace, be quiet, rest, lie still, be undisturbed
Love shakes you up on the inside
It makes you do some crazy things.
Missionary movements have been launched with love for a certain people on earth by someone who deeply loves them.
Oswald Chambers
Larry Mancini
If you debate for even one second when God has spoken, it is all over for you. Never start to say, “Well, I wonder if He really did speak to me?” Be reckless immediately— totally unrestrained and willing to risk everything— by casting your all upon Him. You do not know when His voice will come to you, but whenever the realization of God comes, even in the faintest way imaginable, be determined to recklessly abandon yourself,
Larry Mancini
Launch out in reckless, unrestrained belief that the redemption is complete. Then don’t worry anymore about yourself, but begin to do as Jesus Christ has said...
Before the day was out Ruth would know if Boaz was going to be her husband or not. He was going to press the issue with the one before him. He was going to bring things to a head.
In this chapter we get a picture of love.
1. Love is Persistent.
It overcomes obstacles.
It refuses to die.
It presses forward.
It always protects, always hopes, always perseveres.
Persistent love brings people to the LORD ...my Nana
We give up too easily. We are not talking about being codependent. Being codependent is a perversion of love. It is the opposite of what is needed: tough love.
2. Love is Respectful
It seeks the highest good of its object.
It takes the object of its affections into consideration.
It is concerned about the feelings of others.
Love is the most unselfish thing in the world. It is not self seeking.
Love is others focused. Jesus was that in the fullest sense. He emptied Himself of all but love.
3. Love Never Fails
Other things will fail but you always win when you love.
Love is the greatest conqueror in the world.
Love can make all things new in a person's life.
Love is much more than words, although words can express love. Love is more than a feeling although feeling is part of love. Love is seen in deeds.
1 John 3:11, 16, 18 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
Hebrews 13:1-3 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
1 Peter 4:8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
A Tribute to My Dad
This will be my first Father's Day without my Dad. He is with the LORD, Whom he lived for. He is with his Dad, whom he lost when he was just 21 years old. He is with my brother, whom we lost 13 years ago. I look forward to that day when I will join them!
I am away from my the pulpit on vacation on this Father's Day. This afternoon my nephew, Steve Mancini will be married to his sweetheart, Lorena. God bless all the Dads today! We remember those with Jesus now whose memory is such a blessing. My Dad was that to me.
Here is the eulogy I shared at his funeral almost a year ago.
My Dad, Larry Mancini
For 56 years it has been my privilege to journey to heaven with my Dad. He is there now.
Let me preface these remarks by saying everyone of the family members here today could add volumes to these words. This is a personal account and each of us has their own. On that same note I have had to limit my words. I am just giving a very very small portion to the man we knew as "Honey, Dad, Poppa, Great Poppa, Uncle Larry or Larry or Mr. Mancini."
He was born on January 14, 1927 to Rev. Albert and Ruth Mancini, in Pueblo, Colorado. He would be their only child. His parents were home missionaries. Their denomination in which they served had a boarding school in Zarephath, New Jersey. While the parents would do evangelistic work, their children were cared for at the school and Headquarters. At the age of 10, he went to live on its campus. Many of the stories my brother Mark and I loved to hear came from his growing up years at Zaraphath. Those stories became legendary. We told them to our kids and now to their kids. Nine years ago, an idea my brother had given me before he went to be with the LORD became reality. I recorded my Dad telling these gems on the very place wherethey occurred. That has become a treasured DVD in our family! Those descriptive accounts by him showed us that to have fun you didn't need a lot of money, you didn't need to break God's laws, you just needed an imagination and to be a little daring.
At the age of 21 he lost his father. At Zarephath he met our mother but it wasn't until a few years later that they began to date. On June 5, 1954 at the Springfield Gardens Church of the Nazarene he married Gladys Biggs. I never heard him call her by her name. It was always, "Honey" or "Sweetheart".
Gladys and Larry fell in love and stayed in love their whole life together. My Dad loved my mother deeply. Romance Never left.
They were faithful to each other from the beginning until the end.
They lived in Springfield Gardens until 1959 when they bought their first house in Bellmore, Long Island. Speaking at a funeral of a father of another family from that neighborhood in December I commented on what a sacrifice and gift our parents gave us in moving to Bellmore. For my Dad and others it meant working 2 jobs, 6 long days a week for 13 years. He did this so my mom could stay home with her children. Because he loved his family he was glad to make this sacrifice. I never heard him complain about it. I am still amazed how he managed to fit in such wonderful quality time for us. Somehow he did. I remember my dad leaving It was a joy for me to work with him regularly in Brooklyn. It was hard work but with my Dad it was enjoyable. He had a wonderful work ethic.
Back then Sundays were virtually spent in church except for Sunday dinner and a nap in between services. I can recall Sunday after Sunday afternoon where he would get down on the floor with us and play or where he would throw a baseball around in the yard or we would go for a ride together. His LORD, Jesus Christ came first. His family knew his love deeply. He loved being with us and we knew it. His spare time was spent with doing things with us. Many times it was "just" our immediate family. I put that word just in quotes for that was all we wanted and needed with Dad leading our family. We have great memories of fun times.
I have come to believe that being separated from his parents at a 10 years old for long periods of time and the loss of his own father at such a young age, gave him a tender heart and went into making him an incredible Dad to his own children.
Mark was born on April 27, 1960 and Cheryl on June 12, 1964. Old black and white photos, along with home movies tell of the joy that came to him on the birth of his three children. If there was ever a man who was fit to bear the name, "Dad" it was him.
I went to my first Mets Game with my dad. He raced home from work to make it to Mark's Little League games. He was at every track and cross country meet of mine he could be at. He brought his 8mm Kodak movie camera with him. Today those have been placed on a DVD and watched by myself and our coach and team members each Spring at our annual reunions held at my home. We've made copies of them for team members.
He loved sports and loved to share that love with others. I remember the Thanksgiving Weekend a number of years ago when he, Mark, Barry and I went to Cooperstown to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He could get a crowd together for a Binghamton Mets Game. He was thrilled when they came to town. Ron Luciano, the major league umpire wrote years before the B Mets came, that he lived in Endicott, NY and that Endicott, NY was far away from professional baseball. My dad became the Binghamton Mets#1 fan. I could tell many stories about my dad and baseball alone. In my Little League Coaching I still use the glove he bought for me 40 years ago. Oh the whiffle ball games in our driveway in Bellmore!
His mother passed in 1968, when he was 41 years old. His in-laws had already considered him a son but because of the deep love between them my Nana said to my Mom, "Tell Larry I will be his mother now." And she was! Over the next 20 years their relationship deepened. When she died my dad said, "We are going to miss Nana's prayers for all of us." He is with her this morning. What a glad reunion!
For many years he served as a Sunday School teacher. A good number of his students, including me, are now pastors. He served on the church board. He loved Camp Meetings and Gospel Music. In fact in the beginning of August my nephews Stephen, Michal and I played the guitar with my mom and him singing on the porch of Willow Point Nursing Home. One of the songs we sang on that sultry summer evening was "Mansion Over the Hilltop". He is there now, a month after. We also sang "How Great Thou Art". The last verse:
When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
and call me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration,
And there proclaim, my God, How Great Thou art!
A word about his humility... He was Sunday School Superintendent. He felt it was time to step down. He did and the next week you would have found him team teaching the toddler class with my Mom.
He was a great uncle. His niece, Dolly, told about the time he took her to Coney Island and together they rode the Thunderbolt Roller Coaster 4 times! That was my dad. He had the heart of a kid. He loved to have fun and see others have fun too. One of his great nieces and great nephews are here today along with others that knew him as "Uncle Larry". He was known as "Uncle Larry" to many beyond his actual family and as Kirstin entitled the blog she made for him after his fall 5 years ago, he was indeed "Poppa To All".
His work was with the grocery business, working for Grand Union, owning a Wise Potato Chip Route in Brooklyn and then In 1973, my dad bought a Drakes Cake route and moved the family to Endicott. On their new property on Walker Road, he put his farming skills to work he had learned growing up in Zarephath. What a garden he had!!! It became legendary. He loved to work in it and share it with others.
When Tonya was born he became Poppa. His grandchildren Tonya, Theresa, Tina, Chad, Stephen, Michal, Geren, Kirstin, Marlee and Ambria were a great source of joy in many ways. He has filled up video tapes of Kirstin's shows and musicals and VBS programs and sports events along with many family activities. Chad and I were talking this morning of the treasure trove of the videos he left us not to mention all the 8mm movies. All 10 grandkids knew his love in different ways. Whether it was rides in the wagon attached to his tractor or holding them as they fell asleep or babysitting them, or taping special shows off the Disney Channel for them, he did it with a love that was special, kind and caring. He brought his granddaughters and great granddaughters their first doll.
His grandchildren came up with the idea of bringing him home for Thanksgiving last November. It was a day that we will always remember. We asked him later in the day if he wanted to return to the nursing home and each time he said,"No." Finally at the end of the day he said that he was ready whenever we were. That would be his last time to his home. My son-in-laws and I brought him back to Willow Point after a day we will always remember.
When he became Great Poppa 8 1/2 years ago he again loved the time spent with the great grandchildren and enjoyed hearing stories about their antics over the phone the past five years. His 6 great grandchildren loved him deeply, some coming to visit him just this summer. If there was ever a man who earned the name, "Poppa" it was my dad. When he became "Great Poppa" it was a name that was so appropriate. It honored the Poppa he really was. Emma, Lili, Tristan, Jackson, Timmy and Maddie's pictures were over his bed when he went to be with the LORD on Friday. His sweetheart, his children and grandchildren's pictures at the foot of his bed.
I learned how to be a father and a Poppa from him. The vacations he took us on were epic events. He literally showed us the east coast of the US, from New England to Florida. He did it in such a way as to make it interesting, enjoyable and fun. When Mark and Cheryl and I had our children we celebrated together on a Carolina Beach for a week with my dad and mom, a gift from them. The time and the timing if that trip was perfect. A little over a year later his son, Mark, would be diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. I watched him face that terribly unspeakably difficult time with strong faith, compassion and submission to the will of God.
I can recall many instances which give a window into them man I knew as Dad.
* One very hot and humid 4th of July afternoon, after we had done some yard work together, he pitched and umpired an entire game for my friends and I. While the other dads were doing something else my dad enjoyed time with his son and the whole neighborhood in the blazing heat. I can still see that game. They have since paved that sand lot and put in curbing and all but when I go by it I see a man in a white tee shirt with half the neighborhood, on that hot July day having fun and yelling, "Out!"
*When the Jesus Movement came to the east coast, my dad drove a carload of teens in his 69 Impala to New Milford, New Jersey on a Friday night to a coffeehouse. Kids were coming to the LORD in great numbers. My dad stood there with tears running down his face and later when people criticized the loud music and the long hair, it was my dad who said, "Who are we to criticize?! Souls are coming to Christ."
*He took me to Milrose Games in Madison Square Garden in 1971. While a bunch of the track team was there, my dad was the only parent in attendance. I never asked but I got the feeling that my teammates were a bit envious of me that night. He took a wholehearted interest in what we were enjoyed. I still have the program from that night 41 years ago with my Dad, my hero.
*I remember a Christmas years ago. Poppa and Nanny came down and to Long Island. They had so many gifts for us that they to ship them ahead. They would not have been able to fit them in the car. The man, who for a number of Chritmases, had only some nuts and fruit in his stocking was loading his kids and grandkids with gifts. He maintained a hot tub in their yard for his grand children, primarily. His yard contained forts, fire pits and a path he maintained to the creek and the pond.
He loved nature. He loved to point things out to us. Whether it was the White Mountains of New Hampshire or the blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, Dad enjoyed what His Father in a heaven had created. I remember him showing me a praying mantis when I was young. He pointed how it's posture and how it folded its hands. You can imagine my awe when one appeared on the front door of our home just as we were leaving Thursday evening. I took a picture of it.
My Dad loved to laugh. His favorite movie was It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. I remember the first time we watched it on TV. He laughed so hard. When the advent of movies on video tapes came out he bought it and at holidays we would put it on and laugh together. He taught Geren and Chad to eat ice cream cones by biting the bottom. For years they ate them that way with ice cream creating , in the words of my sister, "an absolute mess." Poppa would be laughing as this would happen. I remember that laugh from when I was very young.
I never remember my dad missing a day of work because he was sick. I never remember him not being in church with us by his side. I can recall sitting next to him, listening to those deep bass notes if the hymns.
I never heard my father use foul language. I watched him read his Bible and pray before every meal. When my brother became ill, he was my greatest counselor. His wisdom helped me face reality and brought comfort to my soul.
As he lost one son, he comforted his other one.
I can recall horseshoe games, whiffle ball games and Carom and Skittle Bowl. I remember puzzles that were very difficult.
My mom and he had many young people look at heir home as their own. He took time to explain things to us. He loved our mother, his wife and sweetheart, deeply. He over his children, his grandchildren and his great grandchildren. Over all this his love for the LORD shone through.
His hands....
While we grieve we do not grieve like the rest of men who have no hope. We celebrate a life very well lived and a soul who has found rest in the place he loved to sing about. Heaven is getting richer for me as the years go by. The souls the LORD has been bringing there are the salt of the earth. I miss them. But We don't say good bye today. We say, "There is going to be a meeting in the air in the sweet sweet bye and bye. I m going to greet greet you there in that home beyond the sky! Such singing you will hear never heard by mortal ear I'll be glorious I do declare! And God's own Son will be the leading One in that meeting in the air!" I'll be there listening to that beautiful bass voice singing as I stand next to him.
I am away from my the pulpit on vacation on this Father's Day. This afternoon my nephew, Steve Mancini will be married to his sweetheart, Lorena. God bless all the Dads today! We remember those with Jesus now whose memory is such a blessing. My Dad was that to me.
Here is the eulogy I shared at his funeral almost a year ago.
My Dad, Larry Mancini
For 56 years it has been my privilege to journey to heaven with my Dad. He is there now.
Let me preface these remarks by saying everyone of the family members here today could add volumes to these words. This is a personal account and each of us has their own. On that same note I have had to limit my words. I am just giving a very very small portion to the man we knew as "Honey, Dad, Poppa, Great Poppa, Uncle Larry or Larry or Mr. Mancini."
He was born on January 14, 1927 to Rev. Albert and Ruth Mancini, in Pueblo, Colorado. He would be their only child. His parents were home missionaries. Their denomination in which they served had a boarding school in Zarephath, New Jersey. While the parents would do evangelistic work, their children were cared for at the school and Headquarters. At the age of 10, he went to live on its campus. Many of the stories my brother Mark and I loved to hear came from his growing up years at Zaraphath. Those stories became legendary. We told them to our kids and now to their kids. Nine years ago, an idea my brother had given me before he went to be with the LORD became reality. I recorded my Dad telling these gems on the very place wherethey occurred. That has become a treasured DVD in our family! Those descriptive accounts by him showed us that to have fun you didn't need a lot of money, you didn't need to break God's laws, you just needed an imagination and to be a little daring.
At the age of 21 he lost his father. At Zarephath he met our mother but it wasn't until a few years later that they began to date. On June 5, 1954 at the Springfield Gardens Church of the Nazarene he married Gladys Biggs. I never heard him call her by her name. It was always, "Honey" or "Sweetheart".
Gladys and Larry fell in love and stayed in love their whole life together. My Dad loved my mother deeply. Romance Never left.
They were faithful to each other from the beginning until the end.
They lived in Springfield Gardens until 1959 when they bought their first house in Bellmore, Long Island. Speaking at a funeral of a father of another family from that neighborhood in December I commented on what a sacrifice and gift our parents gave us in moving to Bellmore. For my Dad and others it meant working 2 jobs, 6 long days a week for 13 years. He did this so my mom could stay home with her children. Because he loved his family he was glad to make this sacrifice. I never heard him complain about it. I am still amazed how he managed to fit in such wonderful quality time for us. Somehow he did. I remember my dad leaving It was a joy for me to work with him regularly in Brooklyn. It was hard work but with my Dad it was enjoyable. He had a wonderful work ethic.
Back then Sundays were virtually spent in church except for Sunday dinner and a nap in between services. I can recall Sunday after Sunday afternoon where he would get down on the floor with us and play or where he would throw a baseball around in the yard or we would go for a ride together. His LORD, Jesus Christ came first. His family knew his love deeply. He loved being with us and we knew it. His spare time was spent with doing things with us. Many times it was "just" our immediate family. I put that word just in quotes for that was all we wanted and needed with Dad leading our family. We have great memories of fun times.
I have come to believe that being separated from his parents at a 10 years old for long periods of time and the loss of his own father at such a young age, gave him a tender heart and went into making him an incredible Dad to his own children.
Mark was born on April 27, 1960 and Cheryl on June 12, 1964. Old black and white photos, along with home movies tell of the joy that came to him on the birth of his three children. If there was ever a man who was fit to bear the name, "Dad" it was him.
I went to my first Mets Game with my dad. He raced home from work to make it to Mark's Little League games. He was at every track and cross country meet of mine he could be at. He brought his 8mm Kodak movie camera with him. Today those have been placed on a DVD and watched by myself and our coach and team members each Spring at our annual reunions held at my home. We've made copies of them for team members.
He loved sports and loved to share that love with others. I remember the Thanksgiving Weekend a number of years ago when he, Mark, Barry and I went to Cooperstown to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He could get a crowd together for a Binghamton Mets Game. He was thrilled when they came to town. Ron Luciano, the major league umpire wrote years before the B Mets came, that he lived in Endicott, NY and that Endicott, NY was far away from professional baseball. My dad became the Binghamton Mets#1 fan. I could tell many stories about my dad and baseball alone. In my Little League Coaching I still use the glove he bought for me 40 years ago. Oh the whiffle ball games in our driveway in Bellmore!
His mother passed in 1968, when he was 41 years old. His in-laws had already considered him a son but because of the deep love between them my Nana said to my Mom, "Tell Larry I will be his mother now." And she was! Over the next 20 years their relationship deepened. When she died my dad said, "We are going to miss Nana's prayers for all of us." He is with her this morning. What a glad reunion!
For many years he served as a Sunday School teacher. A good number of his students, including me, are now pastors. He served on the church board. He loved Camp Meetings and Gospel Music. In fact in the beginning of August my nephews Stephen, Michal and I played the guitar with my mom and him singing on the porch of Willow Point Nursing Home. One of the songs we sang on that sultry summer evening was "Mansion Over the Hilltop". He is there now, a month after. We also sang "How Great Thou Art". The last verse:
When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
and call me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration,
And there proclaim, my God, How Great Thou art!
A word about his humility... He was Sunday School Superintendent. He felt it was time to step down. He did and the next week you would have found him team teaching the toddler class with my Mom.
He was a great uncle. His niece, Dolly, told about the time he took her to Coney Island and together they rode the Thunderbolt Roller Coaster 4 times! That was my dad. He had the heart of a kid. He loved to have fun and see others have fun too. One of his great nieces and great nephews are here today along with others that knew him as "Uncle Larry". He was known as "Uncle Larry" to many beyond his actual family and as Kirstin entitled the blog she made for him after his fall 5 years ago, he was indeed "Poppa To All".
His work was with the grocery business, working for Grand Union, owning a Wise Potato Chip Route in Brooklyn and then In 1973, my dad bought a Drakes Cake route and moved the family to Endicott. On their new property on Walker Road, he put his farming skills to work he had learned growing up in Zarephath. What a garden he had!!! It became legendary. He loved to work in it and share it with others.
When Tonya was born he became Poppa. His grandchildren Tonya, Theresa, Tina, Chad, Stephen, Michal, Geren, Kirstin, Marlee and Ambria were a great source of joy in many ways. He has filled up video tapes of Kirstin's shows and musicals and VBS programs and sports events along with many family activities. Chad and I were talking this morning of the treasure trove of the videos he left us not to mention all the 8mm movies. All 10 grandkids knew his love in different ways. Whether it was rides in the wagon attached to his tractor or holding them as they fell asleep or babysitting them, or taping special shows off the Disney Channel for them, he did it with a love that was special, kind and caring. He brought his granddaughters and great granddaughters their first doll.
His grandchildren came up with the idea of bringing him home for Thanksgiving last November. It was a day that we will always remember. We asked him later in the day if he wanted to return to the nursing home and each time he said,"No." Finally at the end of the day he said that he was ready whenever we were. That would be his last time to his home. My son-in-laws and I brought him back to Willow Point after a day we will always remember.
When he became Great Poppa 8 1/2 years ago he again loved the time spent with the great grandchildren and enjoyed hearing stories about their antics over the phone the past five years. His 6 great grandchildren loved him deeply, some coming to visit him just this summer. If there was ever a man who earned the name, "Poppa" it was my dad. When he became "Great Poppa" it was a name that was so appropriate. It honored the Poppa he really was. Emma, Lili, Tristan, Jackson, Timmy and Maddie's pictures were over his bed when he went to be with the LORD on Friday. His sweetheart, his children and grandchildren's pictures at the foot of his bed.
I learned how to be a father and a Poppa from him. The vacations he took us on were epic events. He literally showed us the east coast of the US, from New England to Florida. He did it in such a way as to make it interesting, enjoyable and fun. When Mark and Cheryl and I had our children we celebrated together on a Carolina Beach for a week with my dad and mom, a gift from them. The time and the timing if that trip was perfect. A little over a year later his son, Mark, would be diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. I watched him face that terribly unspeakably difficult time with strong faith, compassion and submission to the will of God.
I can recall many instances which give a window into them man I knew as Dad.
* One very hot and humid 4th of July afternoon, after we had done some yard work together, he pitched and umpired an entire game for my friends and I. While the other dads were doing something else my dad enjoyed time with his son and the whole neighborhood in the blazing heat. I can still see that game. They have since paved that sand lot and put in curbing and all but when I go by it I see a man in a white tee shirt with half the neighborhood, on that hot July day having fun and yelling, "Out!"
*When the Jesus Movement came to the east coast, my dad drove a carload of teens in his 69 Impala to New Milford, New Jersey on a Friday night to a coffeehouse. Kids were coming to the LORD in great numbers. My dad stood there with tears running down his face and later when people criticized the loud music and the long hair, it was my dad who said, "Who are we to criticize?! Souls are coming to Christ."
*He took me to Milrose Games in Madison Square Garden in 1971. While a bunch of the track team was there, my dad was the only parent in attendance. I never asked but I got the feeling that my teammates were a bit envious of me that night. He took a wholehearted interest in what we were enjoyed. I still have the program from that night 41 years ago with my Dad, my hero.
*I remember a Christmas years ago. Poppa and Nanny came down and to Long Island. They had so many gifts for us that they to ship them ahead. They would not have been able to fit them in the car. The man, who for a number of Chritmases, had only some nuts and fruit in his stocking was loading his kids and grandkids with gifts. He maintained a hot tub in their yard for his grand children, primarily. His yard contained forts, fire pits and a path he maintained to the creek and the pond.
He loved nature. He loved to point things out to us. Whether it was the White Mountains of New Hampshire or the blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, Dad enjoyed what His Father in a heaven had created. I remember him showing me a praying mantis when I was young. He pointed how it's posture and how it folded its hands. You can imagine my awe when one appeared on the front door of our home just as we were leaving Thursday evening. I took a picture of it.
My Dad loved to laugh. His favorite movie was It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. I remember the first time we watched it on TV. He laughed so hard. When the advent of movies on video tapes came out he bought it and at holidays we would put it on and laugh together. He taught Geren and Chad to eat ice cream cones by biting the bottom. For years they ate them that way with ice cream creating , in the words of my sister, "an absolute mess." Poppa would be laughing as this would happen. I remember that laugh from when I was very young.
I never remember my dad missing a day of work because he was sick. I never remember him not being in church with us by his side. I can recall sitting next to him, listening to those deep bass notes if the hymns.
I never heard my father use foul language. I watched him read his Bible and pray before every meal. When my brother became ill, he was my greatest counselor. His wisdom helped me face reality and brought comfort to my soul.
As he lost one son, he comforted his other one.
I can recall horseshoe games, whiffle ball games and Carom and Skittle Bowl. I remember puzzles that were very difficult.
My mom and he had many young people look at heir home as their own. He took time to explain things to us. He loved our mother, his wife and sweetheart, deeply. He over his children, his grandchildren and his great grandchildren. Over all this his love for the LORD shone through.
His hands....
While we grieve we do not grieve like the rest of men who have no hope. We celebrate a life very well lived and a soul who has found rest in the place he loved to sing about. Heaven is getting richer for me as the years go by. The souls the LORD has been bringing there are the salt of the earth. I miss them. But We don't say good bye today. We say, "There is going to be a meeting in the air in the sweet sweet bye and bye. I m going to greet greet you there in that home beyond the sky! Such singing you will hear never heard by mortal ear I'll be glorious I do declare! And God's own Son will be the leading One in that meeting in the air!" I'll be there listening to that beautiful bass voice singing as I stand next to him.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
A Person Of Character
Ruth 2.1-12
Being a person of character.
Boaz noticed Ruth, but the thing that really drew him to her was her character. It takes character to notice it in someone else.
Virtue is overlooked too much, way too much. In this day of makeovers and the ability to change appearances through elective surgery, a word need to be given regarding he heart and soul of people.
True beauty and attractiveness is within. The heart and soul of a person matter more than outward looks which are fleeting.
Look at the qualities of one of only two women who had a Book of the Bible named after them.
1. How She Responded to Tragedy. v.11
Nothing tests a character like suffering.
Torture a man and you will find out what is in him. Until that happens you really do not know. Ruth lost her husband. She didn't become bitter. She had a big heart.
Avoiding bitterness is not easy. It is fraught with dangers. It means not allowing many things to find a place in our hearts.
It means replacing these bad thoughts with good ones.
Naomi, opposite of Ruth went from being "Pleasant" and ""Sweet" to wanting to be called "Mara" which means "Bitter". Both lost their husbands. Naomi did lose more but in choosing to give up her family, Ruth's losses were great.
She responded to tragedy by being concerned about the people in need in her life.
Be careful what you read, who you listen to.
She responded to personal tragedy with hope and faith in God. She looked for the new beginning. The LORD does have a way of bringing about new beginnings after tragic ends in our lives. For Ruth and Naomi, God had a plan and although the present was difficult, the future was going to be wonder filled.
When Sennacherib came against Hezekiah 2 Chronicles 32:8 "He only has men, but we have the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” The people were encouraged by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
2. How She Responded to Those in Need in Her Life. v.11b
Didn't abandon them.
Didn't ignore them.
Loved them and serve them.
Ruth had a sensitive heart and was selfless in her commitment to her mother-in-law, Naomi.
Ruth worked hard for her mother-in-law. She was thankful for the ability to provide for her.
Ruth could have returned home like her sister-in-law, Orpah. No one would have faulted her for that, in fact they would have expected it. A person of character goes beyond those things. A person of character goes beyond what is expected.
Luke 17:10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”
Going the extra mile, pressing the limits.
Mary and her alabaster jar of pure nard is an example of this. It is the same spirit of Ruth in going to Bethlehem and taking care of Naomi.
Boaz commended her for this. The whole town of Bethlehem was abuzz with what she had done.
She didn't do it for that reason. Oft times secret things get out. This was a selfless act on Ruth's part.
3. How She Sacrificed For Those Loved Including the LORD. v.11c
She left her father and mother. This was not easy.
Jesus spoke of this.
She left her homeland.
Missionary spirit
She came to live with people she didn't know.
Ruth 2:11 Boaz 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."
I read some years ago of a survey they did among men. They found out that the number one thing a man was attracted to in a woman was her concern for others.
I believe one of the reasons we are given these accounts in the Word of God is to not only show us the Hand of God in the lives of these people but also to show us the Christlike character that they had. Ruth left her home to come to a place where life would be difficult. She did it selflessly. She gave up everything for Naomi. Out in the fields of Boaz for the barley and wheat harvest she lived as a pauper at first.
We will do well to emulate the things she is commended for.
Ruth had an exceptional character. Her traits were well noted by Boaz.
I love how he blesses her in verse 12.
Peter writes to us:
2 Peter 1:3-11 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Continue to grow in Christlike Character.
Being a person of character.
Boaz noticed Ruth, but the thing that really drew him to her was her character. It takes character to notice it in someone else.
Virtue is overlooked too much, way too much. In this day of makeovers and the ability to change appearances through elective surgery, a word need to be given regarding he heart and soul of people.
True beauty and attractiveness is within. The heart and soul of a person matter more than outward looks which are fleeting.
Look at the qualities of one of only two women who had a Book of the Bible named after them.
1. How She Responded to Tragedy. v.11
Nothing tests a character like suffering.
Torture a man and you will find out what is in him. Until that happens you really do not know. Ruth lost her husband. She didn't become bitter. She had a big heart.
Avoiding bitterness is not easy. It is fraught with dangers. It means not allowing many things to find a place in our hearts.
It means replacing these bad thoughts with good ones.
Naomi, opposite of Ruth went from being "Pleasant" and ""Sweet" to wanting to be called "Mara" which means "Bitter". Both lost their husbands. Naomi did lose more but in choosing to give up her family, Ruth's losses were great.
She responded to tragedy by being concerned about the people in need in her life.
Be careful what you read, who you listen to.
She responded to personal tragedy with hope and faith in God. She looked for the new beginning. The LORD does have a way of bringing about new beginnings after tragic ends in our lives. For Ruth and Naomi, God had a plan and although the present was difficult, the future was going to be wonder filled.
When Sennacherib came against Hezekiah 2 Chronicles 32:8 "He only has men, but we have the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” The people were encouraged by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
2. How She Responded to Those in Need in Her Life. v.11b
Didn't abandon them.
Didn't ignore them.
Loved them and serve them.
Ruth had a sensitive heart and was selfless in her commitment to her mother-in-law, Naomi.
Ruth worked hard for her mother-in-law. She was thankful for the ability to provide for her.
Ruth could have returned home like her sister-in-law, Orpah. No one would have faulted her for that, in fact they would have expected it. A person of character goes beyond those things. A person of character goes beyond what is expected.
Luke 17:10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”
Going the extra mile, pressing the limits.
Mary and her alabaster jar of pure nard is an example of this. It is the same spirit of Ruth in going to Bethlehem and taking care of Naomi.
Boaz commended her for this. The whole town of Bethlehem was abuzz with what she had done.
She didn't do it for that reason. Oft times secret things get out. This was a selfless act on Ruth's part.
3. How She Sacrificed For Those Loved Including the LORD. v.11c
She left her father and mother. This was not easy.
Jesus spoke of this.
She left her homeland.
Missionary spirit
She came to live with people she didn't know.
Ruth 2:11 Boaz 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."
I read some years ago of a survey they did among men. They found out that the number one thing a man was attracted to in a woman was her concern for others.
I believe one of the reasons we are given these accounts in the Word of God is to not only show us the Hand of God in the lives of these people but also to show us the Christlike character that they had. Ruth left her home to come to a place where life would be difficult. She did it selflessly. She gave up everything for Naomi. Out in the fields of Boaz for the barley and wheat harvest she lived as a pauper at first.
We will do well to emulate the things she is commended for.
Ruth had an exceptional character. Her traits were well noted by Boaz.
I love how he blesses her in verse 12.
Peter writes to us:
2 Peter 1:3-11 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Continue to grow in Christlike Character.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
When Things Seem Their Worst
Ruth 1.19-22
The sovereignty of God
Naomi was beating herself up over her bad decisions.
Regret doesn't help you move on. It can paralyze you.
1. When things seem their worst, God is about to move. vs.20-21
It certainly seemed that way to Naomi.
Name change significant... A trend to change names in your 50's indicative of a person not happy with themselves.
For a Hebrew woman to do this was huge.
She went from "My delight" to "Bitterness".
There was a reason for that, a good reason, three good reasons. They were, her husband, Elimelech, her sons, Mahlon and Chilion. They left Bethlehem with her and she left them in Moab, dead. She buried them there.
She is looking at her situation without looking at the Hand of God.
She is looking at her losses.
She is looking at her situation.
Ruth is not in view. She doesn't realize that Ruth, the Moabitess will be an instrument to bring her joy, to be used generations before to bring in the Messiah.
She was looking back instead of looking up.
She was looking at the LORD in her darkness rather than looking to the LORD as David said, "my light and salvation". Psalm 27.1
How do you relate to the LORD?
I think the greatest compliment anyone could ever give is what was said about Abraham: 2 Chronicles 20:7 Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?
Things seem their worst when we do what Naomi did.
Count your blessings. That is a good habit to get into. O
2. All is not lost. vs.21-22
She left with a family and came back as a widow whose sons had died.
However she had Ruth, who proved to be her greatest blessing!
She was back in the "House of Bread".
She had survived the famine and apparently Bethlehem had as well!
She seemed to be wondering why God spared her life. Why am I here?
She was alive. If you are alive God is not finished with you! If you are alive there is hope.
3. A new day is about to dawn. v.22
The beginning of the barley harvest.
The famine was over.
Much more than that, so much more!!!
Naomi was about to experience the second half of life. It was going to turn out much differently than she had projected.
Ruth 4:13-17 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.” Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
Stop projecting. Stop coming up with scenarios. Stop thinking the worst.
You never know what the LORD may do!
The sovereignty of God
Naomi was beating herself up over her bad decisions.
Regret doesn't help you move on. It can paralyze you.
1. When things seem their worst, God is about to move. vs.20-21
It certainly seemed that way to Naomi.
Name change significant... A trend to change names in your 50's indicative of a person not happy with themselves.
For a Hebrew woman to do this was huge.
She went from "My delight" to "Bitterness".
There was a reason for that, a good reason, three good reasons. They were, her husband, Elimelech, her sons, Mahlon and Chilion. They left Bethlehem with her and she left them in Moab, dead. She buried them there.
She is looking at her situation without looking at the Hand of God.
She is looking at her losses.
She is looking at her situation.
Ruth is not in view. She doesn't realize that Ruth, the Moabitess will be an instrument to bring her joy, to be used generations before to bring in the Messiah.
She was looking back instead of looking up.
She was looking at the LORD in her darkness rather than looking to the LORD as David said, "my light and salvation". Psalm 27.1
How do you relate to the LORD?
I think the greatest compliment anyone could ever give is what was said about Abraham: 2 Chronicles 20:7 Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?
Things seem their worst when we do what Naomi did.
Count your blessings. That is a good habit to get into. O
2. All is not lost. vs.21-22
She left with a family and came back as a widow whose sons had died.
However she had Ruth, who proved to be her greatest blessing!
She was back in the "House of Bread".
She had survived the famine and apparently Bethlehem had as well!
She seemed to be wondering why God spared her life. Why am I here?
She was alive. If you are alive God is not finished with you! If you are alive there is hope.
3. A new day is about to dawn. v.22
The beginning of the barley harvest.
The famine was over.
Much more than that, so much more!!!
Naomi was about to experience the second half of life. It was going to turn out much differently than she had projected.
Ruth 4:13-17 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.” Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
Stop projecting. Stop coming up with scenarios. Stop thinking the worst.
You never know what the LORD may do!
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