Good Morning Everyone.
Can we just thank God for another Monday? Another day to get it right and to live out God’s plan for our lives?
Before we get started, I want to shout our pastor, Dr. Pastor Mike Vincent Scruggs who went up north this past weekend and preached 4 sermons in two cities in two days. We now have to ask ourselves what are we not doing for the kingdom? He has definitely set a new bar for us. I wasn’t even there and I wanted to yell, Preach Mike!!
If you haven’t seen pics from this weekend or the sermon from yesterday go and check out his social media pages.
Also, can we thank Pastor Michael Johnson for the word on yesterday? "I Belong Here". I was so taken by his message that I’ve asked for other people’s notes, asked him to email me his sermon notes, and requested the recording because he definitely gave us a different perspective of the story of Ruth and Boaz. He tied it to worth, the Manufactures Suggested Retail Price and my girl Fantasia. We all know that famous course, “If you don’t want me then don’t talk to me. Go ahead, and free yourself.”
For a few minutes this morning I’m going to speak on the subject “Free Yourself”.
Whenever the Prophetess Fantasia comes on my Pandora account, I go in like most non singers. One of my favorite lyrics to that songs simply says, “If you’re not happy then you’re free to go on.”
You see we can’t tell the story of Ruth and Boaz, of Ruth and Naomi without telling the story of Naomi, Ruth and Orpah who were both Naomi’s daughter-in-laws. What makes this story interesting is that both Ruth and Orpah could have journeyed on with their mother-in-law, but Orpah decided that she was ready to go back to what she knew and what was comfortable to her.
We see in Ruth 1:14 “At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.”
Ruth 1:15 “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.”
Ruth 1:16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my god.
Might I just say to everyone on the line that in order for you to go to where God wants you to go to do those things, He’s purposed you to do that it just may be time to free yourself. Free yourself from people who see your wrong, from people who want from you but do not want to give. If we kind out look at the story Orpah found value in Naomi when she was married to her son but now that he was no longer alive Orpah was ready to leave and go back home. Naomi was useless to her. But then there’s Ruth who said, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go, I go.”
Those are the kind of people we need in this season. Where you gonna go, I’m going. If you riding to that conference, I’m going too. If you are starting that company, I’m gonna help you promote it and grow it. If your reading that Bible plan, I am too.
Free yourself of those people who don’t know your worth, who don’t value you and who don’t see you properly. Free yourself of people who don’t believe God’s word. Free yourself of people who only want to see you a light that is of benefit to them.
The songwriter said, “I’ll never know how much it cost, to see my sin upon that cross.” If there’s one thing that we know for sure it's that Jesus paid it all.
Let's pray.
Let's pray.