The last quarterly meeting of The Ruth and Boaz Fellowship of The Fountain of Life Church, Ilupeju, Lagos, was attended by TEMITOPE OJO who reports that it was a soul lifting experience for everyone present.
It was a time of refreshment for members and non-members of Ruth and Boaz Fellowship of The Fountain of Life Church, Ilupeju, Lagos as they fellowshipped.
The theme of the event was “Enlarge your territory.”
The fellowship, an interdenominational ministry outreach, is open to people from different churches.
It was conceived in 2008 when it became apparent to Taiwo Odukoya, the senior pastor, that the percentage of mature/older singles, single parents, separated/divorced, and widows/widowers is increasing in the church and the larger society.
Opportunity to discuss
The atmosphere presents an opportunity to discuss issues readily not addressed in mainstream services. It is done in a conducive environment to cater to the spiritual, emotional, and financial needs.
Odukoya charged the congregation not to allow their present status to limit the work of God in their lives. They are all still alive because God loves them regardless of their situation, he added.
He counselled that though there are distractions and things calling for the attention of Christians, especially the singles, thereby limiting them, the blood of Jesus Christ is the answer as it is the reason they are alive.
“Even the devil knows there is no answer to the blood of Jesus Christ, and qualifies the unqualified,” he affirmed.
If God has said “enlarge your territories” nothing should inhibit you as He is ready to show mercy upon His children as stated in the book of Romans.
“What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, 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” (Romans 9:14-16).
God spreads for a man standing for Him
Odukoya stressed, however, that God only spreads for a man or woman who is standing for and with Him.
He said though it is natural, as humans, to have made a mistake in the past, God is ready to use the situation to exalt Himself as He turns the situation around for good.
He added that it is natural for a woman to have made the mistake of having a child out of wedlock; sometimes, it can be losing one’s spouse to death or even getting divorced, but as long as you are born-again, all things will work together for good for you.
He quoted Romans 8:28 – “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
Many profess to be Christians, he added, but few know that in Jesus Christ they are complete; so, they are inhibited by that unfortunate circumstance of their lives, and that is what the world is using to mock them.
He counselled that as commanded in Isaiah 54:3 – “For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left. And your descendants will possess nations And will resettle the desolate cities” – it has to first happen in your mind.
Confront issues
Said Odukoya: “Don’t hide your head. Come out and confront the issues and very soon, you will sing praises.
“Term it as a misfortune. But if you are in Him, you should come out strong. Accept the situation but don’t accept defeat. If you accept defeat, the devil will not leave you there. He will continually push you down further down.
“Until the woman in 2 Kings 4 ran to the prophet, nothing happened. The woman in the story said she had nothing until she remembered a jar of oil.
“The woman in the story was also limited by the number of jars she borrowed. If she had got more, the oil would not have seized. So, expand your faith so you don’t limit Him.
“Release yourself for breakthrough. The devil wants you to assume you have nothing but you have something. Don’t ever say you have nothing.
“Don’t let the devil sow seeds of lie in you; because it is at that point your miracle is about happening. For with God, all things are possible. He cares. When the Bible says He is the Father of the fatherless; the defender of the widows, He means it.
“The world may not expect you to be standing, but in Him you will open doors! There is no plateau to the things of God.”
Mark 10:27 – “And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.”
Ruth and Boaz
Odukoya also cited the story of Ruth and how God turned around her situation for good.
“God wants us to see Ruth and Boaz’s union as an example of how He notices, loves, and redeems each of us, especially those who feel as though life has ravaged all promise and purpose.
“Ruth was a woman who lacked the right pedigree, position, and purity that most people would have expected a man like Boaz to desire: she was not Jewish, she was a foreigner.
“She was not a virgin, but a widow. She was not wealthy. In fact, she was less than a servant girl.
“Yet, she obtained favour from an honourable man who loved her wholeheartedly and willfully provided, protected, covered, prayed for, and ultimately redeemed her.
“Before Boaz ever said ‘I do’ — he did.
“As Ruth worked to sustain herself and her mother-in-law, God used that time not only to establish Ruth’s reputation as an honourable believer within her community, but to allow Boaz an opportunity to exhibit his Godly character as well.
“He proved himself to be a provider, a protector, an intercessor, a coverer, and a redeemer.
“Though Boaz was a man of wealth and power, he was humble enough to respect a converted Gentile woman, and wise enough to admire her courage, devotion, kindness, and fidelity to Naomi (Ruth 2:11).
“He considered himself blessed to be wanted by a woman who he believed could have gone after a younger man (Ruth 3:10).
“Boaz’s kindness and admiration was so overwhelming that at one point Ruth asked him, ‘Why have I found such favour in your eyes that you notice me – a foreigner’ (Ruth 2:10).
“Like many of us, Ruth felt ‘less than’. She felt that her past, her poverty, and her status as a foreigner in Bethlehem made her less desirable than other women.
“Yet, Boaz noticed her. In Hebrew the word ‘notice’ means to ‘acknowledge with honour, to understand.’ Boaz didn’t simply see Ruth, he understood and revered her.
“He recognised that Ruth was more than her past, or even her present struggles. He honoured the woman she was in her heart and the woman that she could become with him.”
Odukoya explained that no matter how we feel, in God, we are not disqualified.
“Do you trust God as you wait for your spouse, like Ruth? Do you pursue opportunities for God to shape and test your character, like Boaz?
“Never say ‘my case is so bad’. If your case is so bad, then you are the one He wants because the blood of Jesus Christ was shed for that.”
Changed lives
Before the Word, the Mercy Drops Choir of the fellowship, had led attendees in quality worship and high praises.
The congregation expressed heartfelt gratitude to the Lord for witnessing the last fellowship of the year, followed by testimonies of intervention in various ways and of changed lives.
Isy testifies
A testifier who identifies herself simply as Isy, a single mother of three, narrated how she got married at 20 and separated at 26. For so many years, her estranged husband took the children and refused her access to them.
Upon joining the fellowship, she teamed up with pastors and some members of the fellowship for God to intervene in her situation.
Last year, after graduating from a university in Ghana, her daughter called her and said she would want to come and spend time with her.
That was the first time she would be living under the same roof with her daughter since her children were taken away.
Her two sons, who are currently on scholarship in universities in Shaghai, China, are constantly in touch with her now and each time they are in Nigeria, they prefer to stay with her.
Funmi testifies
Another testifier, Funmi, recounted how she had to wait till after she was 41 before she got married, and had to wait for another seven years to bear a child because she had numerous fibroids in her womb.
She said after joining the fellowship she enlarged her faith, and God directed her to a doctor who removed the fibroids.
She gave birth to a baby girl on September 22, 2015.
Support for men and women
The Ruth and Boaz Fellowship provides support for men and women, meeting their spiritual and physical needs.
It creates a secure and conducive environment for members to express their views freely and get problems shared; thus giving them a clearer vision of the beauty in their challenges and the opportunities that lie ahead of them, and most importantly, one more reason to keep moving on.
Ruth & Boaz Conferences always keep it real and say it as it is so that people can learn a lot on how to live a successful life despite societal pressures.
The ministry also seeks to change the mindset of the society towards this group of people and provide a support network to enable members cope better with daily challenges.