(Ruth 1: 11 – 18)
1. Obedience: To be honored by God, we must live a life that pleases God and walk in obedience before Him. God honored Ruth because of her obedience to Naomi, her mother-in-law. God still expects us to live a life of obedience today.
2. Humility: God honors those who are humble (Prov. 26:1), and before honor is humility (Prov. 15: 33). God honored Ruth because she was humble.
3. Service: God will honor those who serve Him. Although she came from an idol worshipping background, Ruth embraced and served the living God. Jesus said in Jn. 12: 26 “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am there shall also my servant be. If any man serve me, him will my Father honor.”
4. Honor God: To be honored by God, we must also honor Him with our lives. The Bible says in I Sam. 2:30 “them that honor me I will honor and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.” To honor God we must make a decision. Ruth (Ruth 1: 17) as well as Paul (Rom. 8: 37 – 38) made a decision to serve God.
5. Faithfulness:
For God to honor us, we must be faithful servants in all things. Ruth
was faithful to Naomi her mother-in-law. We must be faithful in studying
the word of God and in training our children.
6. Patience: For God to honor us, we must be patient.
Ruth patiently waited on the Lord as she lived with Naomi in a foreign
land. Heb. 6:12 says “That ye be not slothful but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” The patience and the diligence of Ruth paid off because God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Purity:
God honored Mary because she was a virgin. She kept herself pure and
holy and stayed away from adultery. In I Cor. 6: 15 – 20, God instructs
us to flee fornication because our body is the temple of the Holy
Spirit. Because Mary honored God with her purity, she was catapulted
from zero to hero. Queen Esther was also highly favored by God because
of her purity. In order for God to honor us, we also must live a life of
purity.
What Can Make Us Honorable? As we seek the honor of
God, we must also understand that we must depend on the mercy and the
favor of God. The Bible says in Rom. 9: 15 – 16 that “I will have
mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I
will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him
that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.”
When God honors, what happens?
1. You are distinguished above your peers. For example, Moses, Joshua,
Ruth and Esther were all distinguished because God honored them.
2. There will be a lifting and promotion. Daniel was lifted and promoted because God honored him.
3. You will fulfill your destiny. Ruth, Esther, Mary and Daniel all fulfilled their destiny because God honored them.
4. God will make a way for you: God made to a way
for Ruth to succeed in a foreign against all odds and she became an
ancestor of our Lord Jesus Christ.