July 13, 2008

WOW! What a Coincidence!

Ruth 2:17-21

Opening Words: It has become my custom to take the summer months and preach on a single Old Testament personality. Over the past few years we a examined the lives of Nehemiah, Esther, Elijah and Joseph. This summer we are looking at the life of Ruth.

Ruth’s story began in a sea of despair. Naomi and her husband decided to move to Moab to escape the famine that had come to Judah. The move is only fifty miles but it is like living on another planet. Naomi and her husband are suddenly outcasts. That was difficult, but the hardest was yet to come. It is while they are in this foreign land that Naomi loses the people closest to her. Her husband and her sons die. Standing on a mountain of regret she decides to return home because the famine in Judah has passed. The only thing holding her back is her two Moabite daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth. Both young women have the option of returning home to their biological families. Ruth opts to stay with Naomi and live in the land of Judah. It is while they are in Judah that they are faced with the most basic of needs, food! Ruth gleans the fields of the rich trying to find enough barley grain to exist. It is from this lowly position in life that God suddenly begins to appear. The rich field owner, a man by the name of Boaz, has compassion on her. She leaves with enough food for one week. This weekend’s scripture is Naomi reaction to Ruth's great news. Let me call this message What a Coincidence! Let us hear these words together.

Ruth 2:17-21 17 So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah. 18 She 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.

19 Her mother-in-law asked her, "Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!"
Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. "The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz," she said.

20 "The LORD bless him!" Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. "He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead." She added, "That man is our close relative; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers."

21 Then Ruth the Moabitess said, "He even said to me, 'Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.' "

WOW! What a coincidence! In 1858 a Sunday School teacher named Mr. Kimball lead a young shoe clerk to Jesus. That young’s shoe clerk’s name was Dwight L. Moody. In 1879 Moody was preaching in England and the heart of a preacher, F.B. Meyer, was set on fire. Meyer came to America and preached on college campuses. One evening a soul was saved at one of his services. That young man’s name was Wilbur Chapman. He got involved in YMCA work and employed a former basketball player by the name of Billy Sunday to do the evangelic work. Billy Sunday held a series of evangelic rallies. One of his rallies was in Charlotte, North Carolina. That revival led thirty business men in the city to organize another revival. In 1934 a local farmer offered his land for the revival. The farmer’s name was Franklin Graham. The evangelist who preached that revival was fiery southern evangelist, Mordecai Ham. His words steered the heart of Franklin Graham’s young son, William. In time Billy Graham grew up and has preached the Gospel to more people that anyone else in history. WOW! What a coincidence!

During the spring of 1986 I was a seminary student living in Danville, Kentucky. It was my last year at Asbury Theological Seminary and I was looking for a job after graduation. The problem was I wasn’t ordained in the United Methodist Church and not one wanted me. I really wanted to go back to northeast Ohio but the only offer I received was to be an Associate Minister in a large Cincinnati church. I didn’t want to go there because I wasn’t a Bengals fan. Later that day I was going to call the District Superintendent in Cincinnati to tell him I would accept the position. When I left for school that day I was running behind. I jumped into my car and discovered I had forgotten my textbook. I almost left without it but then I remembered I needed it. I ran into my apartment to grab the book when the phone rang. I was running late, I almost didn’t answer the phone but I did. On the other end of the line was a man by the Name of Abraham Brandyberry. He was the District Superintendent in St. Clairsville. I had met him during a seminary visitation day. He said, “Russ, I am glad you answered the phone. I have these three little ugly churches and I thought about you. I don’t think anyone else will want them but you never know. I hate to press you for an answer but I need an answer now. I am on my into a meeting to fill these churches. I am glad you answered the phone. This was my only chance to call you. I think you have a bright future and I believe these churches will give you a opportunity to fulfill your potential.” My car was running and gas was expensive in 1986. I was late for class, so I said, “Yes,” without thinking.

It was only later I thought about that day. If I would have been on time that day, if I would have remembered that book, if I would have not answered the phone, my life would have gone in a different direction. Because I was there to pick up the phone at that moment a chain reaction of events took place that are still being played out. Think about it with me. If I didn’t pick up the phone that day I would have not served those three wonderful churches in St. Clairsville. If I would not have gone to St. Clairsville I would not be an Elder in East Ohio. If I didn’t serve in East Ohio I would have never met my wife. If I would not have met my wife I never would have met Sarah and Anna. If I never would have had Sarah and Anna, I never would have fought to stay in one place. Canfield will always be their home. If I wouldn’t have stayed for so long we never would have made such progress. I never would have missed my Western Reserve experience for anything. It all happened because I was running late for school, forgot my book and picked up the phone. WOW! What a coincidence!

In the Bible lesson today there is another coincidence. Ruth and Naomi are two widows trying to survive in a hard world. Naomi is scared from her hardship. She sends the younger Ruth to glean in the fields for food. Ruth is a Moabite. She knows nothing about the landscape or the politics of Bethlehem. There are many fields in which to glean. She picks one. It is owned by a rich man named Boaz. She has no clue but he is a relative of her deceased husband. He has compassion on her and gives her enough food for her and Naomi for a week. When Ruth returns to Naomi she tells her of his kindness. In verse 20 and 21 Naomi says, “WOW! What a coincidence!”

Do you believe those three stories are a coincidence? Or do you believe Billy Graham was saved by accident? Do you believe it was a matter of luck that I picked up that phone call in the spring of 1986? Do you believe Ruth randomly picked Boaz’s field to glean? Or do you believe God’s fingerprints can be found through those stories? Do you know how many times the word coincidence is used in the Bible? The answer is zero. Coincidence: is a small miracle where God prefers to remain anonymous.

This morning I want to ask you two questions. However, these two questions are important because they will challenge your understanding of God. When was the last time you really thought about God’s role in our world today? So if you are ready for my two questions say, “Amen!”

Do you believe God is at work in the world?

Don’t answer that question too quick. It is not a yes or a no question. The answer requires some thinking. The world is filled with opinions on how the God relates to his creation today. The academic world has labeled these various opinions. Which one of these camps do you fall into this weekend?

Camp number one is FATALISM. They believe all things are determined by an untouchable law of cause and effect. These laws can not be changed and we are simply waiting for the end to come. God plays no part. You and I exist because of an accident. We are the product of just one more cause and effect. Do you know anyone who is a fatalist? If so, they are in camp number one.

Camp number two is DEISM. They believe God created the world but then withdrew from its day-to-day caring of it. I hate to say this but so many of our founding fathers were deist. Thomas Jefferson was a deist. The Constitution of the United States was not written by a Christian. The Constitution was written by a deist. Jefferson had his Bible rewritten to eliminate anything that could not be explained by science. The resurrection of Jesus can not be explained by science. It is a miracle. Do you know anyone who is a deist? If so, they are in camp number two.

Camp number three is DUALISM. They believe there are two opposing forces in the universe locked in struggle with each other for control. You can make a case that many within the Christian case are dualists. It is God verses Satan. It is good verses evil. Do you know anyone who is a dualist? Are you are dualist. If so, you are in camp number three. Or are you in camp number four with me?

Camp number four is GOD’S PROVIDENTIAL CARE. We believe in God’s faithful and effective care and guidance of everything which He has made toward the end which he has chosen. That is what you hear in Proverbs 16:9, “A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.” I think it is interesting that God who can move mountains, raise people from the dead, heal the sick and lame, give sight to the blind, provide miraculous feedings, and raise His own Son from the dead, chooses to do most of His work in the quiet, very normal everyday events and happenings!

Do you believe God is at work in the world? The question does not require a yes or no answer. The answer requires some thought. Are you a fatalist? Are you are deist? Are you a dualist? Or do you believe in God’s providential care? If you have your answer to that question say, “Amen!”

When was the last time you experienced God?

One of the great passions I have in my life is worship. These are no form of worship I do not enjoy. I experience God in all forms of worship. I was called to preach and I experience God every time I have the opportunity and privilege to preach. It doesn’t matter if it is in a traditional setting with organ music and hymnals. It doesn’t matter if it is a contemporary setting with power point slides on the wide screen. It doesn’t matter if I am inside or out. I love worship but what I really love is to experience God.

That is one of the things that was so great about Mill Creek Workcamp. Every evening after supper we worshipped. What made it so special was not the videos or the music or the congregation. What made it so special was God. What took place every evening was a segment in the service called “God sightings.” The devotion leaders from three crews would stand up and tell the crowd where they saw God on their worksite. Sometimes it was in the kindness of the resident. Sometimes it was a word of appreciation from a neighbor. Sometimes it was the response of a child. They experienced God moving in the world in a variety of ways. They didn’t know it but sometimes people experienced God in them!

On Tuesday of this week I received a letter in the mail from East Boston Street from within the city limits. Most of the mail I get is forgettable. Someone is promoting a program or someone else finds it necessary to criticize. These words were different. These words were kind words of appreciation from a couple who are on disability and have a hard time getting around. Let me read you a few of these words:

We just wanted you to know how wonderful it was to have a work crew at our house, painting, laughing and working like busy bees. The place has not seen so much love and laughter and life in years. We really enjoyed having them here… We just wanted you to know this program has renewed our faith in mankind and especially today’s youth. God put us here to help one another and it is fantastic to see how many good hearted people are pitching in

to do so.

That is a “God Sighting.” The couple on East Boston saw God in their work crew. When was the last time you experienced God.

This is a better question. When was the last time someone saw God in you? This week I am going to ask you to go out and commit some random act of kindness. Do something for some one else, where you will gain nothing personally. When you commit your random act of kindness you will position yourself perfectly. People will see God in you. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

One of the world's great theologians today is the beloved comic strip character Hagar the Horrible. In one strip we find Hagar kneeling in prayer. "It’s not easy to believe in you God. We never see you. How come you never show yourself? How do we know you even exist…" Next we see

1. a flower springing into life beside Hagar,

2. a volcano erupting in the distance,

3. an eclipse of sun turning the sky black,

4. a star shooting across the stratosphere;

5. a tidal wave rushing over Hagar,

6. lightning flashing,

7. a bush beginning to burn,

8. a stone rolling away from the entrance to a tomb.

Hagar pulls himself from the mud, dripping wet, surrounded by darkness. "OK, OK. I give up! Every time I bring up this subject, all we get is interruptions." Hagar missed God! I hope that is not your story. I hope you are just like Ruth. I hope you are experiencing God in the so called coincidences of life. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”