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No claims of absolute originality are made for this material. As one man said, "I milk a lot of cows, but I churn my own butter." Please use these sermons as the Lord leads, but nothing on this site may be used for profit without my expressed, written permission!
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Proverbs 31:10-31 GOD’S DESCRIPTION OF GODLY WOMANHOOD Intro: A teacher gave her class of second graders a lesson on the magnet and what it does. The next day in a written test, she included this question: “My full name has six letters. The first one is M. I pick up things. What am I?” When the test papers were turned in, the teacher was astonished to find that almost 50 percent of the students answered the question with the word “Mother.” Today is the day when we celebrate one of God’s great gifts to the world: the mother. While I will be preaching what could be classified as a Mother’s Day message, I want to include all women under the umbrella of what I am going to say today. The Bible makes it clear that the man is the head of God’s creation! If man is the head, then woman must be the crown. When God made woman, He was finished with His creation. Woman was the last creative act of God. You can make of that what you will! I have said in jest that Adam, went to sleep, had surgery on his side and woke up with a pain in the neck! In all sincerity, godly women are the backbone of the home and the church! Without godly women, their work, their influence and their abilities, we would have to shut the doors of the church and declare the home an unfit place to live. The message I will preach today is not designed to put women down. Instead, it is designed to put them where they belong, on a pedestal. It designed to show speak to husbands, children, and families, to remind them of just how important godly women truly are. I want to take this passage, a passage that was written in praise of godly womanhood, and preach about God’s Description Of Godly Womanhood. Notice several thoughts that present themselves in this passage today! I. v. 10-12 HER STANDING A. v. 10 Her Price - The word “virtuous” refers to “the strength of an army.” It refers to a person who is strong, has character and integrity. Such a woman is more valuable that all the wealth of the world. This is why Pro. 18:22 says, “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.” If God has placed within your life some good, godly women, He has blessed with something more valuable that any material possessions. B. v. 11 Her Perfection - The godly woman is trustworthy, and she always has the best interest of those she loves on her heart. Her husband, and all those around her, are blessed by and benefit from her diligence. Pro. 19:14, “House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the LORD.” She is exactly what God designed her to be, “a help meet” for her mate, Gen 2:18. She is his completer! Ill. Left brain and right brain! C. v. 12 Her Plan - This kind of woman is an asset, not a liability, to her husband and family. Good comes to him that can be directly attributed to her. She supports and encourages him. And she is faithful in helping him al her life. Ill. Pro. 12:4a, “A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband...” (Ill. Abigail - 1 Sam. 25. She did her best to help her husband, but he was a fool because he would not listen to her advice.) I. Her Standing II. v. 13-18 HER SACRIFICES A. v. 13-14, 16-17 She Gives Of Her Talents - She labors, she shops, she cooks, she keeps the home. She is a giver of the abilities God has graced her with and her family benefits from her gracious gift os herself to those she loves. Ill. What would your house be without the ceaseless and selfless labor of the godly women God has given you? B. v. 15, 18 She Gives Of Her Time She takes care of the necessary details of the home. She rises early, and she works late. She tends to the needs of her children, her husband and the others in her household. She is there when they are hungry, when they are sick, when they are broken and when they need someone who cares. She gives her live for those she loves. I. Her Standing II. Her Sacrifices III. v. 19-25 HER SERVICE A. v. 19, 21-22, 24-25 She Labors - Ill. Most men, and children, have no idea of the work a woman does! Ill. Joan just seems to know what to do. I need direction. Men, children, we need to be sure we all do our part to help around the house. Just for the record, there’s no such thing as “woman’s work.” B. v. 20 She Loves - The godly woman is moved by her compassion to make a difference in the lives of others. I see this trait in Joan all the time. She has a heart for people that I sometimes lack. She sees needs that I often do not see. She reaches out ion countless ways to help others. Imagine a world without that kind of heart. If it was a world filled with men, that kind of compassion would be missing. Thank God for good, godly women! I. Her Standing II. Her Sacrifices III. Her Service IV. v. 26 HER SPEECH A. She Guides - She stands by to help those who need the benefit of her intuition and her wisdom. She offers counsel to her husband and to her children. Wise are the individuals who listen to the counsel of godly women God has placed in their lives. “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver,” Pro. 25:11. B. She is Gentle - She has a way of soothing the hurts of life. Whether it is the boo-boo suffered by the child, or the hard blows of life that have left her mate defeated, she has the power to lift others with the gentle medicine of her tender spirit. I thank God for the times my wife has lifted my heart with the right word at the right time. I. Her Standing II. Her Sacrifices III. Her Service IV. Her Speech V. v. 27 HER SELFLESSNESS A. She Watches - She keeps her eye on those who have been given to her to love. She watches their lives to be sure they have what they need, and that they are walking the right path. B. She Works - Whatever needs to be done, woman is willing to do it! Her primary concern is that the needs of her family are met. The book of Proverbs speaks of a contrast between the wise woman and the foolish woman. The Proverbs 31 woman does everything in her power to build up her home, while the foolish woman seems to be doing everything in her power to destroy the things she has been given.
I. Her Standing II. Her Sacrifices III. Her Service IV. Her Speech V. Her Selflessness VI. v. 28-29 HER SATISFACTION In any loving, properly functioning family, all the members recognize the value of the others in the family. In this case, the children and the husband declare the “excellency,” or the “invaluable contribution” the godly woman had made in their lives. A. v. 28a Her Young Ones Praise Her - Those in whom she has invested her life “stand up” and publicly praise their godly mother. How long has it been since you said thanks to your mom? Only foolish children treat their mothers badly. Only foolish children refuse to honor the godly woman who has been such a blessing to their life. “For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him,” Lev. 20:9. B. v. 28b-29 Her Yokefellow Praises Her - The husband who has received so much from this special woman in his life also praises her for the blessing she has been to him. Men, we have a duty to our wives. Here is the Lord’s command to us. “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it,” Eph. 5:25-26. If God has given you a good, godly wife, you should love her selflessly, unconditionally, and sacrificially. God did not give you your wife so that you would have someone to dominate. He did not give you a wife so that you could oppress her and be a little Napoleon in your home. He gave you a woman so that you could demonstrate His love to her like He demonstrated His love to you. Some of you men probably need to ask the Lord to forgive you for the way you have acted, then you need to apologize to your wife, and ask her to forgive you. A man by the name of George E. Bergman said, “Legally, a husband is the head of the house and a pedestrian has the right of way. Both are perfectly safe and within their rights as long as they do not try to confirm it!” If you have been blessed with a good, godly wife, you need to let her know that you love her, appreciate her, and that you are thankful for her! “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered,” 1 Pet. 3:7. I. Her Standing II. Her Sacrifices III. Her Service IV. Her Speech V. Her Selflessness VI. Her Satisfaction VII. v. 30-31 HER SECRET A. v. 30a She Despises Compliment - This woman does not do the things she does for the praise of men. Her’s is a labor of love! She is not seeking the passing praise of others, she is seeking the good of those she has been entrusted to care for. B. v. 30b She Deplores Conceit - She knows that true beauty is not the artificial adornment of the face, hair and body. She knows that true beauty runs far deeper. She knows that outer beauty will fade. She knows the body she had in her youth will change. So, she pays more attention to the beauty inside, She adorns the person she truly is with love, grace, goodness, and peace. Because she pays more attention to her inner woman than the one on the outside, her true beauty grows greater and she becomes increasingly more beautiful in the eyes of her family as the years pass. “Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price,” 1 Pet. 3:3–4. C. v. 30c She Is Devoted To Christ - The true secret of her beauty, her love and her ability to be a blessing to her loved ones is found in her faith. Because she is a woman who loves the Lord, she has the ability to allow the Lord to love through her. She is a blessing to others because she walks with Him. The walk of faith is far more powerful that we will understand. “Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear,” 1 Pet. 3:1-2. Conc: Verse 31 says, “Give her of the fruit of her hands...” That is, in due time, she will be rewarded! Ladies, your husbands and children may never honor you like they could or like they should, but God in Heaven is taking careful notice of your life and love. Nothing you do goes unnoticed, nor will it go unrewarded. In Rev. 22:12, Jesus said this: “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Let me encourage you to keep loving, keep giving, keep sacrificing and keep serving. Your task may appear thankless at times, but one day, at the end of the road of life, you will hear Jesus say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” Isn’t it way past time when we rose up and called our mothers, our wives, the women of our church, blessed? They deserve our praise! After all, they already have the Lord’s, v. 31! Here is something most of us never think about. This passage causes many women to have nightmares because they know they do not measure up to the exalted view of this godly women. In others words, they are like the anonymous woman who penned the following words. I Wish I Were A Bear If you're a bear, you get to hibernate. And another thing: before you hibernate, If you're a mama bear, everyone knows you mean business; Your husband expects you to growl when you wake up. I wish I were a bear. This lofty portrait of excellence sets such a high standard that it can be depressing to godly women today until its purpose is understood.
The fact is, this passage is a goal to strive for, not a standard by which to judge your life. If you see areas where you need improvement, get to work on those areas. Remember this one truth as you hear these words read and preached today: you are human! No one expects perfection from you. You are allowed to make mistakes. You are allowed to be you. Here is the invitation today;
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Copyright 2003 by Alan Carr |
