[Music] in the Book of Ruth chapter 1 verse 18- 22 I must I must have hit something yeah Ruth 1:1 18-22 and at the part that we jump into this text it is in the midst of transition massive transition Soul altering transition and I don't give you the upper story but I will explain it as we go at the moment that we read the 18th verse it is it is come after Naomi uh has rejected Ruth and told her to go home like orpa just go just go but Ruth would not go I know I don't dress like you and I know I haven't worshiped your God and I know that I don't look like you and I'm from a different culture and I'm a moabitas I cannot deny that but I cannot leave you because you have so impacted my life that I tell you what thy God shall be my God and that's conversion thy God shall be my God thy people shall be my people where thou th uh livest I shall live and when thou dest will I die and there will I be buried this is a lifelong commitment this is not a flame this is not a passing fancy this is not a result of a mood I'm in I'm going to die where you die I'm going to live where you live I'm going to worship the god you Worship the Lord do so to me and more also if ought but death part thee and me till death do us part I'm your girl I got your back I'm not just your daughter-in-law I wasn't just with you for your son I'm with you in in good times and bad times when she saw that she was steadfast minded to go with her then she left speaking unto her said okay so they too went oh that's so beautiful so they too went until they came to Bethlehem and it came to pass when when they would come to Bethlehem that all the city was moved about them and they said is this is Naomi Naomi is this this Naomi is this Naomi and she said unto them call me not Naomi call me Mara for the almighty have dealt very bitterly with me I went out full and the Lord had brought me home again empty why then call ye me Naomi seeing the Lord have testified against me and the almighty have Afflicted me so now returned and Ruth the moabitas her daughter-in-law with her which returned out of the country of Moab and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley Harvest notice that they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest the word that the Lord told me to give to you is this famine this famine will won't last this famine won't last I don't know what kind of famine you've been in what you've been going through what's been happening in your life what kind of upheaval emotionally physically spiritually financially attitudinally has been going on in your life maybe the lack of love maybe the lack of friendship maybe the lack of attention maybe the lack of purpose but what kind of f whatever famine it is that has that has turned you into somebody else and disfigured you and and rearranged you and discombobulated you and disoriented you this is a prophetic word from God it's not a message is not a sermon is it's a word from God God said this [Applause] famine will not last let us pray Spirit of the Living God fall fresh on us today as we stand before the people as your Oracle speak through me and I'm not much but speak it through me speak through me in such a profound and clear and dactic way that hell is horrified that demons flee that hearts are converted and chains are shattered I believe you for victory in the name of Jesus we pray amen you may be seated yeah let's go to work when you when you read the first chapter or the first few chapters of the Book of Ruth the first one in particular is where all the drama unfolds and unravels it is difficult to determine between Ruth who married Naomi's son thereby her daughter-in-law and Naomi who is the mother and orpa who married her other son are the main characters in the story IMC her her her husband and then her two sons are also Paramount in the story but to me the real Catalyst the driving Factor the Paramount character in the story is not the embodiment of Flesh it is the fact famine that drives the narrative it is the famine that drives the narrative say that with me it is the famine that drives the narrative you will notice we I I just came from a meeting and we were talking about how people are uh migrating to the South now and when I was younger they were migrating to the north all the southern people were going to the north for the good jobs be because the famine drives the narrative people will pick up and move when they get hungry they will leave areas cities communities even family friends communities Traditions when they get hungry the famine is the star of the text the famine is the star of the text because Naomi's husband decides to move his whole family away from Bethlehem to go to Moab where they don't have the same Customs the same Traditions the same clothing the same apparel they don't necessarily speak the same language to take on a new identity do you know how hard it is to go someplace out on a limb and take on a new identity and forsake all that you are accustomed to and to have to blend into an atmosphere where you are a foreigner but the famine The Narrative because if you get hungry enough you'll change your skirts you'll change your blouse you'll change your hair you'll learn another language you Mo if you get hungry enough the famine here drives the narratives often when God wants to move us he sends a famine it may not always be for food it may not always be for water it it may be for affection or validation or attention but but but the famine drives the narrative and and and the famine in the Book of Ruth plays a crucial role in in in in really setting the stage for the story it occurs during the time of the judges so it precedes the it precedes the Kings Israel had judges before they had Kings because God wanted them to understand that he was their King they ended up with Kings by default because they admired the heathens so much that they wanted Kings but originally God wanted to be their King therefore making them a theocracy because God was their King America Claims to be a Christian country which you could not be a Christian country and a democracy or even a republic you would be a theocracy your Constitution would be the Bible and though it is a nation filled with Christians it is not a Christian Nation and every now and then it reminds us that it is not I'mma leave that alone this is a time of instability and and trouble and Mayhem and and and frequent hardships in Israel it's it's it's it's it's a time it's a season of distress because of the famine has pushed them to the breaking point they are not leaving because they have left their faith or left their Traditions or left their culture or ashamed of their culture the famine has made them have to become an immigrant the famine has got people at the border the famine has got people trying to climb through Bob wire the famine if there's enough famine where you are it will make you desperate enough to Slither on the ground past snakes and to swim with alligators to get to something that you can you can have a better the chance at a better life will drive you to put your life at risk because the famine drives the narrative the famine promps ELC a man from Bethlehem in Judah to leave to pull up stinks to leave his relatives and his friends where he's respected and appreciated and to leave his homeland with his wife Naomi and his two sons Maan and Chilean and head out for a place to make it home that wasn't really home a nearby country of Moab and there they come to meet their wives and Naomi as a woman as a woman as a mother went out full she has her sons she has her husband she has her God she has her identity she has everything but that is not really the highlight of the story there are many things that I want you to see because eventually you will come to understand the famine is significant for several reasons the famine is significant because it drove them out but I want to pause and chall Cheng you not to be too quick to relocate every time things get hard it it it led them to Moab true enough and while their immc dies and his sons marry moabit women one of whom is Ruth and she is to be significant in this story but Ruth would have never never met Naomi's son if it were not for the famine Naomi loses her husband and as a parent I can't even imagine this as a husband I can't even imagine it much less as a parent she lost both her sons it is natural eventually to lose your parents that doesn't make it less painful but it is natural but when you start losing it is possible to lose your spouse cuz cuz you're the same age in the same era and you get old you grow old together if you're lucky enough to do that maybe your second one your third one what whatever you work out but to lose your children is a pain I pray I never know to to bury my child and so we we have to give naom me some Grace for being a little moody in this text because she has lost everything that mattered to her I could come in and tell my wife almost anything as long as me and the kids was okay she we'll figure the rest of it out okay for Naomi she has lost her world she says I went out full and I came back empty and I've got absolutely nothing and here comes Ora and Ruth behind her trying to follow her and she just don't want to be bothered have you ever come to a point in your life where where you've been through so many famines that you just sick of people you know they didn't cause the famine but you're just sick of them by the time Naomi hears that her Homeland has food again and she's ready to come back there's no sons in her hands no grandsons playing at her feet no Husband by her side she is alone at the point of being alone she even wants to be alone she kisses Ora goodbye which I'm told that's where Oprah got her name from they misspelled It Goodbye Ora okay and and and and and she tells Ruth go home girl she says it's too late for me to be productive if I got married today and had another son could you wait for him there are some moments that cannot be repeated y'all don't hear me the the I want you to hear the weight of what I'm saying the the the enemy comes to kill steal and destroy because the enemy knows that if he can kill steel or destroy a moment that moment may not be recreated ever again and for all of your murmuring and complaining about what's going on in the world don't miss a moment don't miss a moment because you don't always get a doover you don't always get another CH I wish somebody experience would back me up in here you cannot roll back the clock of time and do it over again this was a unique moment and so now she has to let go of the moment because she is a Survivor but she being a Survivor sounds better than it feels the fact that you survived what you love didn't takes the joy out of being a Survivor the fact that you survived doesn't mean that you didn't suffer loss but nobody Comforts The Survivor They Mourn the dead but they don't Comfort the Survivor because they think that the Survivor means you feel Victorious but it is possible for you to be a Survivor and still not be victorious because it costs you so much much it costs you so much it cost you so much to survive that sometimes you have to recover from survivorship and most of the time you have to recover alone because nobody would suspect that the Survivor is suffering [Music] too Naomi is suffering and she's in agony and and and her daughter-in-law Ruth chooses to accompany her but the truth of the matter is she really wants to be alone because sometimes when you are hurting bad enough you lose trust you don't want to love again because if I love again I risk losing again and I haven't recover from the last bruise and for you to make me love you only to lose you is to reop a wound that I'm still trying to stitch shut because you don't you don't Stitch these wounds shut in a week or two you don't you don't fix this in a year or six months sometimes it takes you a decade to survive the loss of what you had to give up to get to the next level and so give yourself some Grace give yourself some time give yourself some room to recover give yourself the space to be honest honestly angry honestly tired honestly frustrated honestly at the end of your road honestly at the place that you don't no y'all going back going back going back I can't do this I cannot be who I used to be again [Applause] I'm going get into this the problem with great blessings of any kind whether it's the blessing of knowledge or the blessing of finances or the blessing of influence or just a blessing of life itself is that you cannot always do it again and if you're not careful you will push yourself to the Limit trying to be who people expect you to be rather than to recreate yourself and find out that there is another version of yourself that may even supersede the former version of yourself if you have the courage to stop trying to do encor and maybe you know not boxing anymore maybe you're coaching now but maybe you're better in the coaching role than you were in the boxing role and instead of standing out there at 70 trying to box somebody just so that you could you know how to do it but just because you know how to do it doesn't mean you're supposed to do it [Applause] and it occurs to me that the famine that drove them to Moab is still present in another form the famine that was that drove them to Moab was a natural famine but now she's having a familiar famine her family is gone and it occurs to me that losing your family is worse than losing loaves of bread oh did I tell you that Bethlehem means House of Bread and so there was no bread when she left Bethlehem there was no food when she left but she had family it's possible to have famine in one area and have abundance in another area and so when you when you can't use what you don't have you lean on what you do have and she had family but now the famine has progressed and taken on another form and now she's lost family too and so there is a famine in Naomi's heart there is a famine in Moab and there is a famine in Ruth SW all three are desolate all three are without life all three are without fruit and so when I look at the text it is a class in survival for those of us who are in famine that's what it is it's a class in survival for those of us were in famine when I look at the text it reminds me not to always think that just because Bethlehem was in a famine when I left that it's going to be in a famine when I get back that the place that was dried up can become the place of abundance and the place that was the place of abundance can become dried up and so you don't fall in love with places persons and things as if they cannot change because the one who cursed you yesterday can bless you tomorrow and the one who blesses you today will turn around and cut your throat tomorrow so you got to be fluid in the moment you got to be ready for change in the moment you got to be prepared to deal with whatever you got to deal with and stop defining people by by how you met them because people change jobs change situations change seasons change time [Applause] [Music] changes and it's changed everything everything is changed and everything has changed and the one thing we hate is changed I hate change don't change on me just don't change don't say it if you're gonna change it next month don't make me believe it don't make me trust you don't make don't make me open my heart don't don't do that to me if you're going to be dry just go ahead and be dry so I can put you in the dry box but don't tell me that knowing you is going to give me water don't start it if you're not going to finish [Applause] it and so the text is about famines it's about surviving it's about persevering it's about enduring it's about it's about aging it's about accepting that you have nothing to prove that just because you don't do what you used to do in a previous season doesn't mean that you can't ReDiscover new parts of yourself that have not been touched and don't allow people to lock you in a box and make you have to be something that you were in the spring that you don't have to be that in the winter that the winter can be just as beautiful as the spring if you stop craving spring and start noticing winter every season has its own Beauty every y'all y'all don't hear me I'm I'm I'm sorry let me go sit down I'm talking to the wrong people every season has its own Beauty as soon as you give up on insisting on what was you can start to enjoy what is but you are stuck in trying to recreate what used to be and even if you meet a man today Naomi by the time your sons are grown Ruth will be an old woman and so you cannot fix her barrenness by your behavior stop trying to fix what you didn't break [Applause] I want you to get the substance I'm moving slow but I want you to get the substance out of the fact that just because a season changes doesn't mean your life is over just because you move into another dimension or a new place or a new area doesn't mean your life is over just because you didn't hit the spot by 30 doesn't mean your life is over just because you thought you'd be further along by 40 doesn't mean your life is over just because you thought that you would own your own place by 50 and now you're 57 and you're still staying in an apartment in a garage above your mama's house does not mean your life is over flip to my page on the people that God did great things in their lives in the middle of their lives I want I want to give you some reminders I want to I want I want to remind you that that that that Haron Sanders was an old man in his 60s when he started his first Kentucky Fried Chicken and the first one failed the first one failed and he fought back and he got up and he became famous and he came now you got KFC all over the world but it started not at 20 it didn't start at 30 it didn't hit till 65 up until until then he worked menial everyday ordinary jobs and he didn't hit his stride he didn't get his sucking wind till he turned 65 so stop planning on the nursing home and get yourself up out the bed and get yourself together oh then there was Ray Croc Ray Croc was in his 50s when he partnered with uh two brothers called the McDonald's brothers and started the chain the fast food Empire that exists today he started it in his 50s it takes time to grow up y'all don't hear what I'm saying it takes time to grow up it takes time to to know yourself to come into yourself to come into your fullness as good as you are now you're not nearly as good good as you're going to be later nowhere close nowhere close nowhere close because life's experiences acru in equity and value be because you lose your sons and you lose this and you lose that for everything God takes God gives God gives you something that you couldn't have bought in the store a resilience a tenacity a fight a drive a work you have to understand that God will use the famine to bless [Applause] you Laura Engles Wilder the author of the famous little story Little House on the Prairie series Wilder published her first book in her mid 60s after many years of other occupation since she wrote Little House on the Prairie in the middle of her 60s and there you are at 40 mad talking about why hadn't it happened for me they just don't appreciate me they don't respect me they shut up enjoy what 40 [Applause] gives enjoy what 30 gives enjoy and stop trying to control the famine because when he squeezes you over here he's pushing you over there and you're going from Faith to Faith and from glory to glory I wish I had a witness in this room there are people in history like Grandma Moses Anna Mary Robertson Moses a renowned folk artist Grandma Moses began painting in Earnest in her 70s after arthritis made it difficult to continue her prior work in embroidery she started painting when she was arthritic Ronald Reagan though known earlier as an actor living in California ends up going into politics became the United States president at 69 leading the country through a transform period in his 70s and you out at 50 you done at 50 Naomi Naomi has said to them don't call me Naomi by by the way Naomi means my joy because when they they birthed her they looked at her and said my joy and they loved her and she said don't call me my joy anymore call me Mara which means bitterness cuz I went out full and I came home empty Naomi has decided that if she cannot be who she used to be she's nobody she's not worth following she's not worth supporting she's not worth loving she's not worth company because when you fall in love with how you saw yourself it stops you from seeing what you are going to become out of what you lost in your life I don't know who I'm prophesying to somebody I don't know who it is but but you've been in love with with a season you've been in love with a moment in time and it's just as foolish as going down to the ocean and sticking your foot in the water and coming back 10 years later and stick your foot in the water at the same place and expecting it to be the same way water that's why you got to enjoy everything when you do it that's why you got to love everybody when you love them that's why you got to say it that's why you got to feel it that's why you got to know it that's why you got to taste it because you blink and it's gone and you don't get a doover so stop going out to the cemetery having conversation with people who can't hear you and missing the people who desperately need you to talk to them your soul is in a [Applause] famine so what we find is a Naomi go oh God I wish I had time what we find is a Naomi who has responded to pain and trauma by isolation so she pushes everybody away who would love her because isolation is the way we punish ourselves for not feeling valuable enough and we say we use word like introvert no you're not introvert you're punishing yourself because you either don't trust the people or think yourself worthy of the love they offer oh you're fine giving it because as long as you're giving it you're in control so Naomi says to Ruth don't follow me I'm empty never even noticing that even empty she has converted Ruth to serving Yahweh even hurting and in pain she has made a young morebest girl want to follow her God even in her confusion and her Agony and her distress that she would change the entire Narrative of the Bible not at the height of her life but at the worst of her life she becomes better when it's bad than she ever was when it was good and she don't even know [Applause] it if if Naomi had not brought Ruth back to B lehem the rest of the scriptures could not have been written if Naomi had not brought Ruth to Bethlehem the House of Bread in the middle of the famine if she had not brought Ruth to Bethlehem Ruth would have never met Boaz and if Ruth had never met Boaz she could have had OED and if OED had not been born there couldn't have been Jesse and if there were no Jessie there couldn't have been David and David being born in Bethlehem was a prophecy of Jesus being born in Bethlehem and all of it depended on her going through this famine and understand that you may be in pain but sometimes you're better in pain than you are in power because pain brings stuff out of you I don't know who I'm talking to but I'm going drive this thing till I drive it home there you are bitter and none of your feelings are telling you the truth a feeling is not an an evaluation of worth she felt bitter she was angry with God she was she said the Lord have dealt bitterly with me and all the while she's fussing about what God didn't give her she's winning people to [Applause] God and Ruth is walking behind it thy God should be my God and she's talking to somebody who is angry with God and the truth of the matter is there are some people in this room no matter how you clap and Skip you're angry with [Music] [Applause] God because of the famine in your life but I got news for you something is about to [Applause] happen I'm going try that again something is about to happen and you've been praying about the famine but you've been praying about the wrong stuff whether you're talking about the famine that was in Bethlehem or the famine that was in your heart or the famine that was in Ruth's womb you must understand the one thing that all three famines had in common is that none of them lasted hey I feel like preaching in here can I preach a minute before I leave the stage I want you to know that every famine has a birthday and every famine has a death day that if God started it God will finish it I want you to know that these light afflictions which are but for a moment work for us a far long exceeding waiting glory for we look not at the things that are seen for the things that are seen are temporal y'all don't hear me the things that are seen are temporal but the things that are not seen are Eternal slap five people and tell them the famine won't last the famine Won't Last Cry if you want to but the family won't last stay up at night but God said the famine won't last walk the floor if you please but God said the famine won't last slap somebody and tell them the famine won't last you're in it right now but the famine won't last you're suffering right now but the famine won't last you're watching online and God kept you online you you couldn't log off because God wanted you to know the famine will not last somebody take 10 seconds and praise him like you got a breakthrough it won't last it won't last and it came to pass and it came to pass everything that happened to you came to pass but when it All Passes over you'll still be standing there praising God serving God lifting him up find another neighbor and tell them did you hear what I said the famine won't last you ought to run all over this church you ought to leave on top of the Pew you ought to swing from the chandeliers cuz you've been up under attack for a long time but the devil is a liar the famine won't last y'all better sit me down cuz I'm about to feel like preaching and if I start preaching something's going to break loose in this place the famine you're in right now that looks so real that you're making decisions about God said it's temporary it will not last if that is your word give him a praise you're going to go from Faith to Faith and from Glory glory to glory the problem is not Faith to Faith or glory to glory is being stuck in between where you're not quite here and you're not quite there and you've been stuck for a while but the Devil is a lion I said the Devil is a lion I said the Devil is a lion I said the Devil is a lion I said the tell is a liar I said the tell is a liar the Lord told me to tell you this won't last uh that won't last uh the trouble won't last the poverty won't last uh the famine won't last the loneliness won't last the struggle is over the famine will not last somebody help me shout somebody help me praise him some somebody help me lift him up somebody help me give God the [Applause] glory watch this with me by the time R Naomi had lost her husband and her sons it that took time to occur by the time that was over the famine was over in Bethlehem and it was time to go back home so she started out to go back home full of uncertainty full of her past full of her pain full of her agony full of her struggle full of her contemplation but still walking is there anybody in here you're confused but you're still walking you're hurting but you're still walking you're worried but you're still walking you're bitter but you're still walking is there anybody in here that's Det determined to keep on moving forward though he slay me yet shall I trust him sometimes up sometimes down almost level to the ground but I'm still walking somebody take a little walk walk somewhere let the devil know I'm still walking I'm hurt but I'm walking I'm lonely but I'm walking I'm uncertain but I'm walking I'm worried but I'm walking I'm distressed but I'm walking and stop right where you are I know you're not there yet but stop right where you are and praise him in the middle of the way praise him I may not be there yet but I'mma Praise Him Anyway I may not be there but I'm a praise him in the middle of the road I'mma praise him I haven't got home yet but I'mma praise him right where I am this is a rest stop this is a roadside praise uh this is a give me a minute to give God the praise I'm fussing at you but I'm still praising you I don't understand than you but I'm still praising you I'm brokenhearted but I'm still praising you I'm lonely but I'm still praising you I'm disappointed but I'm still praising you I'm distressed but I'm still praising you got a feeling that everything is going to be all right I don't know how I don't know when I don't know where but [Applause] I I got a feeling it's going to be all right I don't have no money but I got a feeling it's going to be all right I don't have no bread but I got a feeling it's going to be all right Make some noise in this place so the writer says [Applause] the writer says they both went on together they went together come here they went together two generations going together Naomi and Ruth going together two different perspectives but they going together one of them has their future in front of them and other one has most of their future behind them but they're going together but the writer takes the time to tell us that by the time they got to Bethlehem it was at the time of the Harvest of The Barley this is no accident because if you going to have bread you need to come at Harvest Time and the Lord said he's setting you up that by the time you get through this you're going to be in the right place at the right time to receive everything that God has promised for you he said he's going to set you in a field full of B leaves and every need is going to be met slap your neighbor and say I see baring in my future the famine won't last but i' got a feeling that there will be bread in my in my house I feel God about to give me bread in the house shout yes shout yes yes shout yes shout yes shout it like you mean it shout it like you don't care shout it with all of your [Music] heart so they got [Applause] there and they came into a prepared blessing [Applause] they came into a prepared blessing they didn't SE [Applause] it they didn't work the feel for it they showed up at Harvest Time high five somebody and say you going to show up at Harvest time now we have gone we have gone from famine into Harvest what was a famine this is a the same land that was a famine has become a harvest so be careful who you right off because who used to be your famine may become your harest and God may use the same place that almost killed you to be your place of provision oh he told me to tell you your eyes have not seen uh your ears have not heard uh neither have Ed into your heart the things that God has in store for them that love him leap up and down that's how your blessing is going to LEAP up after you it's going to LEAP up and grab you it's going to leave up and touch you it's going to leave up and overtake it's going to leave up it's going to LEAP it's going to leap [Music] [Applause] I can't explain this but they showed up at the time of the Harvest of The Barley so that famine is destroyed it's mitigated because they came up at a time of the Bary the fruit of the barley is seed wow so there Seed where there was barrenness and Naomi points Ruth to the corner of a field she did me Mo and she's working over in the corner of the field and boy saw at a distance and commanded that they leave hands full on purpose in other words don't don't reap everything but leave something behind cuz whoever that Mo bite girl is over there in the corner of the field I got something special for her and I want you to leave it for her reach down and pick up something you going to pick up stuff that God left handful a handful of favor a handful of prosperity a handful of blessing a handful of wisdom uh God said a handful are you watching me online a handful is left for you no nobody can take it uh nobody can have it uh nobody can steal it uh it left hand full on purpose what the field was what the field was to the famine is what Boaz was to Ruth because Boaz had the seed for her famine in her womb but the part that's hardest to explain is this little phrase in the text it says that when Ruth and Naomi got together Ruth and and Boaz got together and they had the baby they brought the baby to naom me to nurse the baby now I got a problem with this cuz old women don't nurse babies because there's a famine in their breast and there is no milk but when God started rebuking famines he rebuke the famine so strong that Grandma's breast became came in gorged with milk grandma is a type of Israel that would nurse the birthing of the church and as she begin to nurse the baby it is a sign that Israel breast will be engorged with milk and we know that milk is the word and we know that the in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and we know that the word was made flesh and the word dwelt among us and we beheld The Wonder of his glory and we know one more thing we know this that the famine whether it's in your breast or in your field or in your finances or in your mind or in your life that God sent me with a declaration I can't control who believes it but I'm going to throw it out here anyway I know you think you're too old or Too Young or too late or too dark or too bright but the Holy Ghost told me to tell you the famine is over it's going to be so over that an old lady is going to nurse a baby that she never had to push out it's going to be so over that a young girl is going to get barley that she never even planted it's going to be so over that the field she started working in she ended up owning God he's going to do a switch and the last shall be first and the first shall be last I got to close I'm out of time but somebody turn around in a circle and tell them God is about to turn this thing around I started out in the back of the field but I'm going to end up in the front of the field I started out working in it I'm going to end up Hing it if I'm talking to you give God a praise as an indication that you understand that it's over there might be a few demons left in this room but when we shout this famine is over every demon is going to have to hit the door Hallelujah to God I want you to shout it like you mad at somebody I want you to shout it like you ready to whip somebody I want you to shout it uh like you about to step on new ground uh I want you to shout it uh like this is a prophetic word for you I want you to shout it at every frustration in your spirit I want you to shout it like you're ready for victory I want you to shout the famine is over the famine is over the famine is over the famine is over the famine is over I want you to shout it the famine is over it's over it's over in my pocketbook uh it's over in my 401k uh it's over in my family it's over in my body shout it out [Applause] again Hallelujah Hallelujah now let's just shorten it and touch 10 people and say it's over it's over it's over it's over it's over it's over it's over I decree and declare it's over I decree and declare it's over I decree and declare it's over in my life I'm through struggling I'm through being bitter I'm through being worried I can't hear you [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] I yes what the Lord just spoke to you and told you to sow if you sow it it's going to stop that famine in your life right now right now obey him I know you're trying to figure out is it God or not obey the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit spoke to you this is a curse breaking message in your life it's going to break curses not just generational curses but curses in the way you think curses in the way you define yourself curses in your emotions and your attitude that Spirit of bitterness is going to leave you God said it's over while it's on it type on the line it's over it's over it's over it's over it's over it's over it's over it's over it's over it's over it's over it's over it's over it's it's it's over I know the popular thing I must apologize I know the popular thing is to preach about favor but instead of preaching about favor the Lord told me to preach about famine I said well Lord it it would be nice to preach about favor and the Lord said the favor is in the [Music] famine y'all didn't get it the favor is in the famine the favor is in what went wrong the favor is in what you didn't get the favor is in the the nights you cried the favor is in the nights you did without the favor is in the moments you suffered great Agony favor is in the famine if there were no famine you wouldn't have went to Moab if there were no famine you wouldn't have met Ruth if there W no famine Ruth would have been a married woman and couldn't marry Boaz if Ruth would have still been married and your son would have live Jesus genealogy would not have set him up to take the throne oh little town of Bethlehem how still we see the LI that song would have never been ridden you see the real bread is is not in the loaf Jesus says I am the bread of life your father did eat Mana in the wilderness and they perish I am the true bread that cometh down from heaven this ain't about Ruth this ain't about Naomi this ain't about Boaz when you see that wheat blowing in the wind that's Jesus Jesus said except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die it abide alone but if it die it will bring forth much fruit yes Lord the favor is in the famine it is it is a famine breaking seed Jesus said I am the Seed of Abraham I am the grain of wheat but seeds don't grow if they don't get buried because what you call buried God calls planted they look just the same you know you you got to dig for both of them when you bury you dig to bury but when you plant you got to dig too but when you bury something it goes in and doesn't come up but when you plant it it goes down that it might get up and the Bible says that he went down that he might rise again on the third day and that he he is your bread now I'm going to close I don't feel like it I I I feel like flipping [Applause] out I want you I want you to understand if you don't get anything else yes sir I I want you to understand that half time isn't out of time that Naomi's greatest job was not in raising her own child but nursing roof child I want you to know that God will give you unnatural resource to nurse what he places in your hands he'll make stuff work that don't work that God won't put nothing in your hands he won't give you milk for all right all right I want you to stop being distracted by the famine I know it hurt and I'm not minimizing how traumatic we have like real fames I'm not talking about you didn't get your parking space this morning morning and and and you know somebody didn't speak to you when you came in church and th those are the luxuries of being able to be offended by people who have not had real trouble when you have had real trouble you are not easily offended cuz you know what real trouble is but in the absence of real trouble yall make up trouble and act like you wounded about stuff that don't even matter it don't matter you think it matters whether you speak to me it don't pay no bills it don't add no sucks to my life it don't give me a grain more wisdom it's nice if you speak but I'll be good if you [Applause] don't because my umbilical cord is not cut on your reaction to me God will send somebody that'll smile at [Applause] me because I decree and declare today that the famine it's over [Music]