THE HIGH CALLING OF THE VALIANT WOMAN Women s Weekend

Transcription

1 THE HIGH CALLING OF THE VALIANT WOMAN Women s Weekend I. To begin, as we talk of being valiant women we need to remember that it s not so much us being valiant as it is God working valiantly on our behalf. Proverbs 16:9 Man makes his plans, but God directs his steps. Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. We are not for one moment of our lives at the mercy of chance. Elizabeth Elliot A. Don t you find yourself doing things you never thought you would be doing? B. Not knowing the future and trusting the Lord alone can be scary. Psalms 103:8-11 The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep his anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love toward those that fear Him. Psalm 94 (paraphrased) Unless God had been my hope, my feet surely would have slipped. C. All of the promises of God that are available to us as believers are available to our children as well if they are believers. 1. What God started, He will complete (I Thess. 5:24) 2. He will be with them always. (Matt. 28:20) 3. If they confess their sin, He will forgive them. (I John 1:9) God is over all of our lives doing valiant works on our behalf and working valiantly for our children.

2 II. As we talk of being valiant women, we need to valiantly embrace our current season. Psalms 16:6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. A. We ll never get this chance again to live valiantly! Wherever you are, be all there. Live it to the hilt! Jim Elliot B. Hard to remember: that God is working valiantly on your behalf when you have small children. C. Hard to remember: that God is working valiantly on your behalf as you move from one season to the next, especially if you really liked the previous season. The Proverbs 31 woman smiles at the future and does not look back with longing sighs. Gayline Shorey Cheerfulness is the support of our strength; in the joy of the Lord we are strong. It acts as the remover of difficulties. It is to our service what oil is to the wheels of a railway carriage. Without oil the axle soon grows hot, and accidents occur; and if there be not a holy cheerfulness to oil our wheels, our spirits will be clogged with weariness. Reader, let us put this question do you serve the Lord with gladness? Let us show to the people of the world who think our religion to be slavery that it is to us a delight and a joy! Let our gladness proclaim that we serve a good master! Charles Spurgeon III. As we talk of being valiant women, we need to encourage those that follow us that God will work valiantly on their behalf.

3 A. If you re a mom, that s where you start. 1. Do you regularly encourage your children? 2. Do you regularly point out where you see God at work in their lives? 3. If your daughter is married, do you look for ways to serve and encourage her? 4. If your daughter is a teen, are you pursuing friendship with her? Are you training her? B. If you re a teen, there are still those behind you. 1. Do you take an interest in your younger siblings? 2. Do you take an interest in children you babysit? 3. Do you take an interest in younger teens? C. If you re a single, there are those behind you as well. There are many questions you can answer: 1. What is it like to relate professionally while still remaining feminine? 2. How do you relate to unwanted male attention? 3. How do you balance working full-time and being involved in the local church? 4. How do you have relationships with married women? D. We need to share transparently from our own lives. 1. Do you regularly share with others what God is doing in your life? 2. To have another woman, particularly an older woman, come alongside is a huge means of grace. E. God has given each of us a job description Teach what is good, that they may encourage the younger women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be dishonored.

4 IV. As we talk of being valiant women, we need to learn from those ahead of us who testify to God working valiantly on their behalf. A. Books: Elizabeth Elliot, Barbara Hughes, Susan Hunt, Martha Peace, Carolyn Mahaney, Elyse Fitzpatrick My very dear child. What shall I say? A holy and good God has covered us with a dark cloud. O that we may kiss the rod and lay our hands upon our mouths! The Lord has done it. He has made me adore His goodness, that we had him so long. But my God lives; and he has my heart. O what a legacy my husband and your father have left us! We are given to God; and there I am and love to be. Your very affectionate mother. Sarah Edwards B. Older women C. What do you have that you have not received? D. We are standing on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. V. Finally, as we long to be valiant women, we need to remember that our valiant God informs us and transforms us through the gospel. A. The gospel informs us of our daily need for a Savior. *we are sinners who make mistakes *we need forgiveness *we need fresh mercy every day *we are not valiant at all!

5 B. The gospel transforms us to look like our Savior. *we are the not the same people we were last year which gives us hope for next year! *Because God works valiantly on our behalf, we reflect Him more and more. C. Romans 8:32 for reflection He who did not spare His own son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also along with Him graciously give us all things?

6 Application Questions for The High Calling of the Valiant Woman 1. Do I really believe God s promises? 2. Do I really believe God s promises are for my children? 3. Do I valiantly embrace my current season? 4. Do I regularly encourage women younger than me? 5. Do I seek to serve women younger than me? 6. Do I regularly seek help from older women? 7. When in the position of being the younger woman, do I ask lots of questions or do I think I already know everything and subtly marginalize those older than me? 8. When in the position of being the older woman, do I respond by humbly sharing from my mistakes and point to God s grace, or do I act like I know everything or do everything right?

7 Quotes over the Kitchen Sink God doesn t just give us grace, He gives us Jesus, the Lord of grace. Anne Graham Lotz I believe in the doctrine of election, because I am quite certain that if God had not chosen me, I should have never chosen Him; and I am sure He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterwards; and He must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason in myself why He should have looked upon me with special love. Charles Spurgeon Human sin is stubborn, but not as stubborn as the grace of God and not half so persistent, not half so ready to suffer to win its way. Charles Spurgeon The gospel of justifying faith means that while Christians are, in themselves, still sinful and sinning, yet in Christ, in God s sight, they are accepted and righteous. So we can say that we are more wicked than we dared believe, but more loved and accepted in Christ than we ever dared hope at the very same time. This creates a radical new dynamic for personal growth. It means that the more you see your own flaws and sins, the more precious, electrifying, and amazing God s grace appears to you. But on the other hand, the more aware you are of God s grace and acceptance in Christ, the more able you are to drop your denials and self-defenses and admit the true dimensions and character of your sin. If you gladly live to make others glad in God, Your life will be hard, Your risks will be high, And your joy will be full. John Piper

8 Quotes over the Kitchen Sink I once knew a good woman who was the subject of many doubts, and when I got to the bottom of her doubt, it was this: she knew she loved Christ, but she was afraid he did not love her. Oh! I said, that is a doubt that will never trouble me; never, by any possibility, because I am sure of this, that the heart is so corrupt, naturally, that love to God never did get there without God s putting it there. You may rest quite certain, that if you love God, it is a fruit, and not a root. It is the fruit of God s love to you, and did not get there by the force of any goodness in you. You may conclude, with absolute certainty, that God loves you if you love God. Charles Spurgeon Complaining Christians are proud Christians, they refuse to submit to God s will for them. Complaining implies that you do not believe God is willing or able to look after your best interests. True happiness comes from wanting only those things that God wants to give us. Whatever weakens your reason, Whatever impairs the tenderness of your conscience, Whatever obscures your sense of God, Whatever increases the authority of your body over your mind, Whatever takes away your relish for spiritual things, That to you is sin no matter how innocent it is in itself. Susannah Wesley The first generation has the gospel, The second generation assumes the gospel, The third generation loses the gospel. May this not be so for our family or our church! May it be our greatest joy and deepest delight throughout all generations!!

9 RECOMMENDED READING LIST Biblical Womanhood in the Home Helper By Design The Afternoon of Life A Mother s Heart The True Woman God s Design for Women Sweethearts for a Lifetime Feminine Appeal Radical Womanhood The Excellent Wife Recovering Biblical Womanhood/Manhood Lost in the Middle The First Years of Forever DeMoss, Nancy Leigh Fitzpatrick, Elyse Fitzpatrick, Elyse Fleming, Jean Hunt, Susan James, Susan Mack, Wayne & Carol Mahaney, Carolyn McCulley, Carolyn Peace, Martha Piper/Grudem Tripp, Paul Wheat, Ed.