Restoration 2014: Rest for the Restless

God's Love Stories (Noon Meetings)

Anil Kanda

Restoration Ministry

5. The Bible’s Most Powerful Evangelistic Couple

A lot of people have come up to me and asked me different questions about relationships.

Others really thankful about some of the things they're learning.

Others feel like, I've learned this stuff before.

But here's the thing, ladies and gentlemen, it's 1 thing to know something and it's another thing to actually practice it.

I mean, you can go through many relationship seminars, and oftentimes I feel that the people, they absolutely say, they say amen to everything, and they love it, but Nothing changes in their life.

And they just repeat the cycle that the rest of the world is repeating.

So these things that you are learning, I really want to challenge you to start praying about it and really dialogue with God and ask God to inculcate this into your very experience.

I love what the book Patriarchs and Prophets says about Abraham, that Abraham was actually training the heads of other families.

Through his example, remember what the last words of Abraham were?

What were the last words of Abraham, the father of faith?

And if it was important for the Holy Spirit to lead that as Abraham's last words, then it should be important for us to actually take that and apply it to our experience.

So it's not just about our own relationships, ladies and gentlemen.

It's about future generations that should come and the rest of the world too.

You know we're going to be learning about a very powerful couple today in Scripture.

Now before I go any further I'm going to ask you a question.

Someone please tell me what is the difference between courtship and dating?

So when you're doing courtship, you have the stated intention of seeing whether you're marriageable, the 2 of you.

When you're dating, it's just sort of interacting with someone of the opposite sex.

OK, so what you said and what you said are very similar.

And that is courtship has the intention of what?

Does dating have the attention of marriage?

And more and more, ladies and gentlemen, I want you guys to understand this, dating is seen as the end.

More and more in our culture today, it used to be seen as the means to the end, but now it's seen as the end.

In other words, you're entering into this kind of committed, uncommitted relationship where you are just all about satisfying each other's desires, yet being open that this may not work out and having the option to also leave as well.

You know when I was actually out in the world before I became a Christian, to me dating was seen as that.

That is how all my friends view dating as well.

Now when I first heard about courtship I thought to myself, courtship, and this is actually how I imagined a female and a male playing basketball together.

That's what I thought courtship really was.

When you bring up courtship to the world, they don't really know what you're talking about and they probably will think about Amish couples.

And then when you present dating you tell people in within the church, hey we're dating.

They think you're in some kind of sexual relationship.

It has to do with terminology and it has to do with intention.

Do not forget those 2 things, terminology and intention.

And it's extremely important how you state it for yourself and for others.

See, if you're not in that relationship with the intention of seeing that this could possibly lead to marriage, guess what?

You're only in it to do things that will eventually be contrary to scripture.

Most Couples, and I want to say this right now, and I mean this with all the love in the world.

Most couples that I know that have been dating for more than a year and a half to 2 years to 2 and a half years, have already had physical relationships.

Now, if that is the goal of that relationship, then it's successful according to that goal.

But you see, God doesn't want that to be the final goal.

God wants marriage to be the final goal and that is for the very purpose of entering into a new phase of your walk with God and your walk with other people.

And so next week we're going to be covering principles of courtship or what we might call godly dating.

So however you want to term it, just remember the intentions of primary importance.

This is for the purpose of eventually going into a very committed, special relationship that will be a blessing to the entire world.

You know, yesterday I was talking about the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, and how they were united, and creation came as a result of that.

You read in the very first 2 chapters of Genesis, man and woman become 1, and the Bible talks about how they began to procreate.

This was to be a model of what the trinity was supposed to be.

So just realizing this, this is extremely important.

That if you're going to enter into some kind of romantic relationship, it's for the very purpose of uniting in marriage.

Okay, and then we'll cover that a little bit more.

So I want you to pay attention to a very godly married couple that's found in Scripture.

To me, they are probably the most powerful couple in all of Scripture.

Paul found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius, the emperor, had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome and he came to them so because he was of the same trade now watch us he stayed with them and work for by occupation they were what now What can you tell me about this couple, really quickly?

Okay, take a good look at this couple ladies and gentlemen You're gonna see something powerful about to take place here They are Aquila and Priscilla and Paul connects with them and then they begin to join into a business But also they begin to be very hospitable and bring Paul into their very lives.

This is a couple that is open to the work of God, and this is what takes place next.

Then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria.

What is the next stage of growth you notice about this couple?

4. Seven Years

I just want to welcome everybody to the Restoration Series.

I want to start with a word of prayer and let's ask God's blessings upon this time.

Father in Heaven, we thank you so much that this is the day that you have made.

Thank you God for a day of opportunities, a day to praise you, a day just to follow your Spirit's guidance.

We pray that Providence would continue to lead us and guide us to all the things you would have us to take advantage of for today and especially we pray for the Holy Spirit right now in Jesus name amen just a reminder there's a little bit of food left how many people are enjoying this Indian dish by the way this came under no recommendation from me, but I think it's really nice that you guys are able to experience some of my culture's food.

There is an Indian restaurant by my church where I pastor at, And I always tell people, I say, hey, if you ever come by through that town and you look me up, we're going to go to this Indian restaurant.

And whenever you eat Indian food, there's 1 big problem, and that is this.

You will feel like cement afterwards for about 2 hours.

So if you get a little bit sleepy in your class, all I can say to you is probably the Indian food So make sure you get a little bit of exercise and walking after this message.

All right today's message is going to be about Jacob and Rachel Jacob and Rachel consider 1 of the best love stories of all the Bible.

Now here's the thing about sort of this restoration series at noon, just sort of the plan.

If you come once, it's very difficult to try to explain all that you need to know about biblical kinds of romance.

So you may show up and you may hear 1 thing, you're thinking to yourself, what in the world did I just walk into?

Here's the thing, make an effort that you're gonna be there consistently so you're able to see what we're going to be covering.

In fact, next week, I'm going to be taking a slight turn, and I'm actually going to be talking about, get ready for this, actual biblical forms of courtship.

I heard a little bit of praise there too.

Because in talking to many of you, I've come to discover that I am dealing with a spectrum of people here.

People who have had education in these kinds of things, people who have not had education in these kinds of things, people who come from a background of being very churched and educated, you know, with the whole biblical deity or courtship principles, and people who've been exposed just a little bit.

But either way, you're going to come here and you're going to learn something, because I believe God's Spirit wants to reveal some special things for these times.

Let's take a good look at the story of Jacob.

This is the story of a very interesting man in scripture, somebody whose life is full of deception.

In fact, Jacob, when he was born, His whole life was already surrounded by deception.

He's coming out and he was trying to get ahead of his brother.

So Jacob, right from the very beginning, had this reputation of being a deceiver.

He gets a little bit older, grows up, working in his dad's camp, and he tries, by deception, to try to take the birthright.

And many of you guys know the story of Jacob.

Here he is at the prime of his life, and it seems like now all of plans, all of his plans, his purposes, have utterly been destroyed.

The Bible says that his brother was comforting himself, thinking about ways he could kill Jacob.

People in the camp were thinking all sorts of things about Jacob.

And here he is, he has just messed up everything in the prime of his life, and All of a sudden his father tells him, you need to go away from this camp and you need to go find a wife.

Interesting, generations prior, when Abraham sent his serving out to go find a wife for Isaac, he sent this train of camels and all these supplies and all these resources.

But when Jacob is sent out, he's sent out alone.

He went to Paddan Aram, to Laban, the son of Bethel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

And as he's making this long journey to find his spouse, Here he is in the middle of the desert, and you can just imagine what this must be like.

Can you imagine raiders or wild animals coming out in the middle of the night?

He's here in the middle of this barren desert, and he tries to go to sleep on a rock.

This is none of those ergonomic pillows you get from the chiropractor, okay?

This is just a rock that he is laying on, alone.

He's wondering if even God himself has cut off Jacob's spirituality.

Just kind of feel like you're in that spot or in that hole where you're wondering, God, I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place right now.

I'm getting pressures over here, pressures over here, and I have no clue where I am going in life.

1 of the most powerful patriarchs in all of scripture, he went through a time of darkness.

And here he is, Couldn't go any lower, sleeping on a rock, completely alone, in the middle of a desert, with nothing to show, no riches, no money, nothing, and wondering what in the world is he going to encounter.

But what was so unique, it was at this moment that God poured out his glory.

You know, it's oftentimes in the darkest moments that we grow the most, where we receive God's revelation the clearest.

But the truth of the matter is, We're not receptive usually.

And so when these tough times come, all of a sudden we're humbling ourselves and we're turning to God.

But God rather you do that in the daytime as well, amen?

And here Jacob sees in the middle of the night, he sees this ladder going up.

And there he sees angels going up and down the ladder, and there at the top he sees Jesus, and Jesus reaffirms his commitment to Jacob and the purposes and plans that he has for Jacob, and he reminds Jacob that he is still going to carry out God's plans for his life, even in spite of everything that he has destroyed?

You know, when I was actually going, when I was in Southern California visiting my mom, you know, there's a lot of economic problems taking place in the area that I'm from.

Ghost towns are basically where there was a lot of construction taking place.

People were building houses, hoping that people would be able to go into those houses, buy those houses, or rent those houses.

And all of a sudden, the housing market just slumped.

And so what you will oftentimes see as you're going through these so-called ghost towns, you will see a lot of construction equipment that's just lying there.

And you can tell the equipment has just been there for a long, long time.

Now I want you to think about this for just a second.

Here you are, you're driving by, and all of a sudden, you see this ghost town, you see maybe this building, and there's these fences, and there's these trash cans that are full of just, you know, a bunch of junk or supplies, and you see some equipment that looks a little bit rusted, and you see some ladders going up into the second story but you don't see anybody on that ladder what do you assume?

However if you were to see those you would see people on those ladders, what would you assume?

And so here, Jacob, you know what he begins to see?

He sees angels going up and down the ladder, indicating to him that God's purposes and plans were still taking place.

What Jacob needed to see was that God was still working behind the scenes, even though what was available to him, he could not see or grasp anything that was taking place.

Jacob was given a revelation of God's purposes and plans for his life.

And whether you feel like you're in the darkness or in their light, I want you to understand something.

If you commit yourself to Jesus, he will fulfill the purposes for you.

They are all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who inherit salvation.

3. Ruth and Boaz

I know God has something very special in store for us.

Before we go any further, let's bow our heads for a word of prayer.

Like David said, God, evening, morning, and noon, we will praise your name.

And Lord, it's just a little bit past noon, but right now, we just want to take this time to thank you for being our Redeemer, our lover, the 1 who watches over our lives, and the 1 who brings providences into our very existence to reveal who you are.

Again, if this is your first time in restoration, glad that you guys are here.

I know that God has some special things in store for us, as I said earlier.

Today we're going to be covering the story of Ruth and Boaz.

How many people have ever read that story before?

Now, whenever I read that book, or at least when I first heard of that book, I should say, I always thought it was 1 of the female books of the Bible.

You guys know what those are all about, right?

Where they have a woman's Bible study and they're gonna be studying the strong women of the Bible, right?

And so I'd always kind of stay away from that book and Song of Solomon as well for obvious reasons.

But then I began to study out the story of Ruth and I was blown away by the pictures of God that are in there as well as very practical advice.

In fact, part of these afternoon meetings are going to be covering 10 love stories in the Bible and how they're applicable to us and how they reveal God's character.

All right, now we're gonna jump into the story of Ruth.

It starts off with tragedy, almost like a very serious heartbreak happens in the life of 1 of the characters.

There was a lot of trouble that was happening in Israel at that time, a lot of oppression that was coming from pagan nations.

So there was this particular Israelite family, it was Naomi, her husband, and her 2 sons.

They decided to get up and leave town and they moved to the area known as Moab.

And there they were rooted in that Moab culture and her 2 sons got married to 2 Moabite women.

People who did not have a Jewish background or an understanding of the Jewish religion at first.

And so chapter 1 begins with a lot of bitterness.

It begins with a lot of tragedy, a lot of sorrow, a lot of heartbreak.

And so here Naomi is in the beginning of this story.

She doesn't even want anybody to call her Naomi.

She wants everybody to call her Mara, which means bitterness.

She's having a hard time trying to understand what's going on in life.

And it's very interesting, it is during this time that she decides that she's gonna go back to Israel and die in Israel.

However, 1 of the daughters by the name of Ruth decides something.

She decides that she's gonna stick it out with Naomi.

She's been so blessed by Naomi that she wants to follow her.

In fact, take a good look at what the scripture says right here about Ruth when she's trying to convince her mother-in-law, Naomi, to go with her.

But Ruth said, entreat me not to leave you or to turn back from following after you.

For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you lodge, I will lodge.

Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried.

The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.

Take a good look how she ends with this entreaty.

It almost sounds like some kind of marriage covenant.

You see, Ruth had not only fallen in love with that family that she had been integrated into, she fell in love with Naomi's Godly example.

And she says, the God you worship, I am going to worship.

This foreigner then became a proselytite to Judaism.

She decided that she was going to worship this monotheistic being and she was going to give him worship and praise, and she was gonna go follow Naomi back to her town.

Just think about this commitment, what that would have included.

She's just full of depression and darkness.

And here Ruth makes a decision, and that decision is a very sacrificial decision.

She's going to go with Naomi regardless of everything.

She is so attached to Naomi's godly example that she says, you know what, being around you is like being around God.

You know, when I first became a Seventh-day Adventist Christian, there was a young man who brought me into the church, but his mom impressed me the most.

Every time I'm around this woman, it's like I sense the presence of angels.

You go into her house, she has a very simple apartment, she's got a few pictures of Jesus, she's got a few Bibles, and she's a very balanced, prayerful woman.

And when I'm around her, I just feel this peace.

You know, when the Holy Spirit is dwelling in you, ladies and gentlemen, people around you are going to be affected.

Dwight Elmoody 1 day was just in a train and there was this man who was staring at him right across from the other side of the train and was just watching him the whole time during this train ride.

In the middle of the train ride, this man gets up, walks up to Dwight O.

Moody and says, I don't know who you are and you don't know who I am, but your very presence convicts me of sin.

When the Holy Spirit dwells in you, you begin to have sign of this convicting influence about the around the people around you.

And so here Naomi, she's about to go back and Ruth makes the decision she is going to go back to Israel with Naomi.

And it's Very interesting how chapter 1 ends.

It describes Naomi and Ruth going back into Israel and then it says this, and it was the beginning of the barley harvest.

The Bible here is pointing out some kind of providence is about to take place.

They're showing up at a time where they were supposed to be this great rejoicing because the harvest was taking place, yet emotionally they were distraught.

And so they get to Israel and everyone begins to whisper and gossip, oh, there's Naomi and there's her daughter-in-law.

And as they begin to go into town and attempt to make their way into town, people are whispering.

Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh.

The Big Questions (Evening Meetings)

2. The Book That Changed Asia

The reason why is because this is something that is near and dear to my heart.

We're going to be talking about a very special thing that God has given to each and every 1 of us, something that is accessible to us living in America.

And the book, This very interesting book that has changed the world, has changed Asia and many people's lives.

And so as we get into that, I just want to make sure you have your Bibles.

Everyone has a Bible right in front of them because we're going to be needing that, okay?

Back to Menu

All Teachings

5. The Bible’s Most Powerful Evangelistic Couple

30m

4. Seven Years

37m

3. Ruth and Boaz

32m

2. The Book That Changed Asia

1h 6m

1. There Probably Is No God

1h 6m

2. Ten Camels

34m

1. Adam’s Love Life

30m

6-Our Delivering Lord

27m

5-Our Protective Lord

27m

4-Our Joyful Lord

27m

3-Our Problem-solving Lord

26m

2-Our Prayer-answering Lord

26m

Sound Doctrine