Make A Difference II // Pastor Chuck Colegrove // Oct. 26

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:02):
The year was 1987.
I was a junior in high school,and obviously, as a junior in
high school, you've been therebefore, or many of you are
headed there.
You have this moment whereyou're like, people start asking
you what you're gonna do for therest of your life.
And you're 17, and you reallyhave an idea.

(00:24):
I mean, for me, I always thoughtI was gonna be a professional
football player.
I was the smallest person oncampus, so I don't know.
I was like, well, I'm maybe Ican just kick the ball.
Maybe that's that'll be my role,but never even kicked one time
in a game or on a field, solike, no, that wasn't.
So all of those young agedreams, oh, I'll be a major
league baseball player.
Yeah, no, that that didn't panout.

(00:45):
And maybe I'll play basketballfor the rest of my life.
That didn't pan out.
And so I remember having aconversation with one of the
guys in my dad's church.
He was a businessman, and and II I looked up to him because I I
saw a measure of success on hislife and the way he attended
church and was involved inchurch.
And so I'm watching him from adistance, and then we were we

(01:05):
were hanging out, and he it wasat some kind of sporting event,
and he started asking me what Iwas gonna do.
And I said, I you know, I don'treally, I really don't know.
I don't know what I'm gonna do.
I don't know if I'm gonna go tocollege, I don't know what I
want to pursue.
I I'm just kind of in this spaceof I'm not sure.
And so he just started askingsome questions, and and he was
like, you really need to likeget a get a plan.

(01:26):
You need to have a plan, Chuck.
You need to really like investin thinking about it.
And he said, and he told me whathe did and he where he got his
degree from and what he got hisdegree in.
And I thought, man, if he coulddo that, maybe that is something
that I that I could do.
And so I started writing downsome plans.
And my plan was I was gonna goto college and get a marketing

(01:46):
degree, and then I was gonna beinvolved in research and
development, and I was gonnamake a ton of money, and I was
gonna buy a big house and marrya beautiful girl and have a
wonderful family and and doamazing things, and I had all of
these plans, and and then uhthen I graduated and went to
college, and then in 1992, Igraduated from college with my

(02:10):
degree.
By the way, I'd met a wonderfulgirl in that time, and we I
graduated in December of '92.
We got married in February of1993, and now it was time for me
to get into my career, researchand development, make a lot of
money.
And you know, I told her,Shauna, she she always told me
that her mom said, Don't evermarry a pastor.

(02:30):
And so I told her, I'm not gonnabe a pastor, I'm gonna be in
marketing, I'm gonna, and um, Iwas really honored.
It was my plan.
But then somewhere aftergraduating, my plan started
getting kind of not looking sogreat.
It wasn't working out, but Godhad a plan and God ordered our

(02:51):
steps.
And from Grand Rapids, Michigan,we went to Dallas, Texas, and
served at a great church therefor seven years, and then from
Dallas, we went to Houston,Texas, and served at a great
church there for 12 years, andand then we felt this call on
our life, and we moved ourfamily here to Oak Park in 2012,
and 13 years later, 14 yearslater, here we are.

(03:11):
We're just amazed at all thegood things God has done.
And what I told this story foris because this is the year that
I'm learning again that you canmake all your plans, but God's
plan is what's gonna prevail.
And really, I'm so thankful forGod's plan being so much better
than my plan.
All the things I've got to seeand do in our family and be

(03:33):
around and be involved in, andjust, man, I think about my plan
was just such a small idea towhat God had in store for my
life.
So why don't you just turn toyour and say, God's got better
plans for you than you have foryourself.
So we're in week two of thisseries of make a difference.

(03:58):
And last week we talked aboutNoah, and Noah would tell us
that you can make a differencein your family, and you can make
a difference in your generation,and you can make a difference
for God.
And we know that He's Noah'sexample is that one person
really can make a difference.
Like God can see through all ofthe chaos around us and find one

(04:19):
person that establishes andlives in the favor of God.
And today we're gonna give ashout out to the ladies in the
house today.
It's not Mother's Day, but it'sa day to shout out to the ladies
who have stood by us and spokeninto us and led us and prayed

(04:39):
for us.
And man, I always say, like,wherever you find a successful
man, you'll find a praying wifeand a shocked mother-in-law.
Because, listen, we're we're I'mjust gonna be honest, as guys,
we're not very good on our ownuntil we find a helpmate.

(05:01):
And I thank God for my helpmate,and um, who tells me that I can
be more patient when I'm drivingin a sweet way, who tells me I
can you know slow down and enjoythe moment instead of being so
tense all the time and gotta getstuff done.

(05:23):
But today we're gonna talk aboutRuth.
And um, Ruth, who is Ruth?
Ruth, Ruth was an outsider, shewas not from the nation of
Israel, she was a Moabite, whichwould have been of the clan of
some of the enemies of God'speople.

(05:44):
She wasn't royalty, she was notrich, she had, she was a woman
of sorrow and grief.
She had experienced famine andlost her husband and lost her
father-in-law and had familyloss all throughout.
And yet Ruth reminds us thatGod's plan for us is better than

(06:08):
our plans for us.
And I think if she were toactually say it, she would say,
God's plan for you is betterthan your plan for you, so don't
give up.
Don't give up.
And I want to just lean into howI think Ruth would talk to us
about making a difference.
And the very first thing isthis.

Ruth would say this (06:31):
if you want to make a difference, don't let
your past hurt keep you fromyour future home.
Ruth 1, verse 1 says, In thedays when the judges ruled,
there was famine in the land.
So a man from Bethlehem andJudah, together with his wife

(06:51):
and two sons, went to live inthe whole in the country of
Moab.
The man's name was Elimelech.
His wife's name was Naomi, andthe names of his two sons were
Malan and Kelan.
So just setting up the context,this is the family that has left
because of famine.
Now they're in uh living in theland of Moab.

(07:12):
Let's keep reading.
They were Ephraithites fromBethlehem of Judah, and they
went to Moab and lived there.
And now Emelech, his Naomi'shusband, died, and she was left
with her two sons, and theymarried Moabite women, one named
Orpah and the other named Ruth.
And they'd lived there for about10 years.
Both Malan and Kelan also died,and Naomi was left without her

(07:35):
two sons and her husband.
And then Naomi hears that thefamine in Israel is over and it
would be safe for her to returnthere.
And so she gathers up all of herbelongings and has a sit-down
conversation with Ruth and withOrpah about what the plan would

(07:59):
be next.
Here's our plan.
And what I know is Ruth hasexperienced a lot of pain, loss,
the future doesn't look bright.
And hurt is the thing that getsus often to give up in life.
And I want to talk about hurtfor just a minute because I

(08:21):
think sometimes we we aretrained to deal with hurt, which
by the way, hurt is one of theeight core emotions and feelings
that God gives us.
So, in the context of thoseeight emotions, there are seven
of them that if you just look atthem, they seem like they might
have a little bit of a negativevibe.
It's things like sadness, it'sloneliness, hurt, it's anger,

(08:46):
it's fear, uh, it's um uh twoothers, I can't remember them
right now.
So eight core, seven of themhave kind of a negative
connotation.
One is called the last one,number eight, is joy.
So we think, oh, God gave us thegift of an emotion of joy, but
he gives us seven negativeemotions.

(09:07):
Whoa, but they're not meant tobe negative if we learn how to
respond.
But the problem is our cultureteaches us the wrong way to
respond in most cases.
In fact, we have phrases to helpus deal with hurt and pain.
It's stuff like, oh, no pain, nogain.

(09:29):
You just suppress that pain.
Or we have phrases like, whatdoesn't kill you makes you
stronger, which sounds like agreat, great anthem, but it
actually hides the pain, ignoresthe pain, ignores the hurt.
And when you ignore the pain andyou ignore the hurt, then you
begin, you begin to become, youyou, you have this resentment in

(09:50):
life.
And when you resent things,you're saying things like, I'm
not going to hurt, you're goingto hurt.
And resentment leads to blame,where it's only others are
responsible for my hurt.
And that leads to revenge, whichmeans I hurt, so you're gonna
hurt.
And then isolation, which pushesyou away from everybody, which

(10:11):
means I'm sad, so everybody elseshould be sad.
And so we have all of these waysto hide it, to suppress it, to
ignore it, but I'm gonna tellyou that's not God's plan for
hurt.
And hurt, your pain can have apurpose.
If you'll just admit it, God canstart healing it.

(10:32):
In fact, to admit heart hurt isto hope for heart healing.
David said this in Psalm 69.
He says this I'm hurt and inpain.
Give me space for healing ineven the mountain air.
Just let me find a space to behealed.
But I'm confessing my hurt.

(10:53):
And I think that's the powerfultool that God has given us is to
admit it that there's hurt, thatthere's something, there's a
wound.
Hurt means there's a wound thereto admit it, to address it, and
then to arise from it.
Because healing is what helpsyou get ready to get back into

(11:14):
the purpose God has for yourlife.
Back into making a differenceagain.
So if Ruth were here, she wouldsay, listen, don't let your past
hurt keep you from your futurehope.
A lot of us, when we ignore it,we it we suppress it, we hide
it, we allow it to stop us inour tracks.

(11:35):
And I'm just gonna tell you, ifyou'll confess it, you'll find
your way to healing.
The second thing Ruth would sayis this if you want to make a
difference, hold on to God, holdon in honor to God-ordained
relationships.
You see, the thing is, the thething that hurts us the most are

(11:55):
people.
People say things, do things,act things, think things,
project, like people hurt us.
But you know what?
Even though people hurt us, Godhas a plan for people to heal
us.
That's why he says, confess yourfaults one to another so that

(12:15):
you can be healed.
We go to God for salvation, butwe go to one another for
healing.
And I just want to just lean inbecause just because one person
hurts you doesn't mean everyperson's gonna hurt you.

unknown (12:27):
That's right.
That's right.

SPEAKER_00 (12:29):
Like we we carry around hurt and we we block the
very possibility of the rolethat people will have in healing
us because somebody hurt us.
And I just want us to break thatdown today.
Like, no, we're not gonna stopit.
We're not gonna run from the onethat God sent to refine us
because of the ones who tried toruin us.

(12:52):
Naomi was ready to let Ruth go.
Naomi's like, listen, I'm goingback, you stay here with your
people.
You and Orpah, go back, you canremarry in your land, having
family in your land, but I'mgoing back to my country.
And Orpa's like, check it, I'mout.
I'm out.

(13:13):
And Ruth is like, no, I'm gonnago with you.
Where you go, I'll go.
Your people will be my people,your God will be my God.
I'm not letting go of you.
This is a relationship I knownot to let go of.
And I think in life sometimes wehave hurt, we make decisions,
and we let go of the people Godput in our life to heal us.

(13:38):
Ruth shows us loyalty and leadsto legacy, and she shows us
difference-making devotion.
But watch this, Orpah left, andyou know what?
Through Orpah's family linecomes one of God's, uh comes a
literal giant to God's people.
An enemy named Goliath comesfrom the family line through

(14:01):
Orpah because she left.
And Ruth stayed, and through herline comes a king to represent
God's people.
It is incredible what willhappen if we stay in the
relationship God has led usinto.
Listen, there when you hold onto right relationships, God will
birth right results.

(14:23):
Because life moves at the speedof relationship, and the people
you run with determine thedestination you run to.
So, what else would Ruth tellus?
The third thing Ruth would tellus is this if you want to make a
difference, know that when theworld overlooks you, God has his
eye on you.
Ruth was a Moabite, an outsider,had no inheritance, no

(14:46):
influence, no reason to bechosen.
But that's just how God works.
God takes the overlooked andturns them into overcomers.
You might not have the pedigree,but I can tell you you have a
divine purpose.
You might not have all theconnections you think you need,
but you have a calling on yourlife.
And when the world counts youout, God starts counting you in.

(15:09):
Look what happens in Ruthchapter 2, verse 11.
It says, The Lord repay, he'stalking about Ruth, the Lord
repay your work and a fullreward be given to you by the
Lord God of Israel, under whosewings you have come for refuge.
Like what everybody else wasoverlooking, Ruth, God's like, I
see you, I've got my hand onyou, I know where you're at, and

(15:30):
that's what he has for you,because in favor found Ruth in
the field.
When Ruth got into the field,she she was seen by a guy, a man
named Boaz, who becomes thekinsman redeemer, meaning what
Boaz provides for Ruth is thelegacy and inheritance that Ruth

(15:50):
had lost back in her own land.
The fourth thing that Ruth wouldtell us is this as we close.
If you want to make adifference, know that doing
right now leads to righteousgenerations later.
That's why parents, doing rightnow makes a difference in your

(16:14):
children's life later.
You don't have to be perfect.
But listen, you need to helpthem see how important church is
by being in church with yourchildren.
You need to help them see howimportant youth ministry is by
getting them to Sunday nights.
You need to help them see, likethe only way they're gonna learn
it is if you set the example forthem.

(16:38):
And one right decision today andtomorrow and the day after that
will lead to a generation ofrighteousness for years to come.
And I want to show this pastorof scripture.
Ruth 4, 17, it says, uh, this iswhat they said.
Naomi has a son, and they calledhim Obed.
He was the father of Jesse andthe father of David.

(17:01):
The father of Jesse and thefather of David, which is
amazing.
Ruth is the one who's throughher lineage comes Obed.
From Obed comes Jesse, fromJesse comes David, and we know
if you run the family line fromDavid, it goes all the way to
Jesus.
What a legacy, what a gift, whata heritage.

(17:22):
Ruth's faithfulness led to a sonnamed Obed.
Obed was Jesse, Jesse was David,David to Jesus through one
woman's obedience changed thecourse of eternity for all of
us.
As we closed, music can come up.
I was uh reading this storyabout Susanna Wesley, just a mom

(17:46):
of 19 children.
I mean, it was the early 1600s,but 19.
The thing is, it wasn't as fullof a house as you would think.
She actually buried nine ofthose children in their infancy.
She knew brokenness, she knewloss.
Her husband traveled all overpreaching and was gone many

(18:09):
times, so she was home with thekids on her own.
But she she made this dedicationto be a mom of prayer, and she
would pray during the day, andher kids knew that if mom took
her apron while she was cookingand preparing for the family, if
she took that apron and put itover her head, that meant it was

(18:30):
time for mom to pray.
And you're not to interrupt momwhen she's praying.
It was her own tent of meeting.
It was like the the holy placein the wilderness for the
children of Israel.
She would pray.
And then she would gather herkids around in the evening and
they would sing songs and shewould teach them and read from
God's word over their life.
I mean, she wasn't really, itwasn't a spectacular arena, it

(18:54):
wasn't a beautiful house.
It was they were doing justenough to get by.
But you know what?
Out of those children, out ofher example she set, two of her
sons, one was named CharlesWesley and the other was named
John Wesley.
And they became became greatrevivalists in our nation.
In fact, birthed thedenomination called the United

(19:16):
Methodist Church.
Back in the day, that was afiery, fiery, Holy Spirit-filled
denomination.
And they wrote 1,600 hymns,songs that maybe you would
recognize.
Hark the Herald Angel Sings.
That's one of the songs theywrote, more famous songs.
They wrote a song called O for aThousand Tons to Sing, my great

(19:39):
redeemer's praise.
What I'm telling you is just oneobedient day after another led
to generations of proclaimingand declaring God's promise and
fulfilling his purpose forgenerations of the Wesley
family.

(20:00):
I just want to encourage youtoday, parent, mom, dad, listen,
don't delay in building theexample of one right step after
another.
Don't delay in setting theexample of praying with your
kids, speaking over their life,getting the word of God out, and
just prophesying God's word overtheir life.

(20:26):
We have a prayer that we prayedover our kids when they were
younger.
And it just would simply be thisout of right out of God's word.
It's time to go to bed.
Do all the things, read a littlebit, get them, get the boys in
bed.
And all right, here's theprayer.
You ready to pray?

(20:46):
Let's pray.
Dear Jesus.
Make Evan and Eli, make Ethan,make Eliot, Prince the Nations,
ruler of the worlds, anambassador to kingdoms, a leader
of the make them wonderfully,well blessed, and highly favored
of the Lord.
And they would say that everysingle night.

(21:07):
Every single night.
Every single night.
And when the when Ethan andElliot started getting just a
little older, they got real,they would get real preachy with
wonderfully, well-blessed,highly favored.
They would say it in all kindsof preacher voices.
But you know what?
It just wasn't, it was just ushaving one moment just to speak
over their lives.

(21:28):
Hey, you can be a prince tonations, a ruler of the worlds,
ambassador of kingdoms, leaderof millions.
World changers.
Once in a lifetime, generationalleaders.
Just anything we do.
We're not perfect, but we tooktime to just speak over their
life, speak into their life.

(21:50):
And I'm just gonna tell youwhat, when you do that in a
consistent basis, doing theright thing now leads to
generational righteousnesslater.
Because it is a God's promise.
When you raise a child on theway he'll go, he will not depart
when he's older.
And we just stand on thatpromise.
So Ruth is here, she's tellingus, listen, you need to know

(22:11):
this.
Don't let any hurt keep you fromyour future hope.
Don't let go of the rightrelationships in your life.
Don't let go of thoserelationships.
She would tell us, listen, justGod's got his eye on you.
Don't worry about what everybodyelse is doing.
God's got his eye on you, Heknows where you're at.

(22:32):
And then she would tell us,like, hey, keep sowing seeds
that will bless generations withrighteousness for years to come.
Can you receive that word today,church?