MotherŐs Day 2008  - True beauty that comes from within!

 

 

Intro: Video – MotherŐs Day 101

 

Every year I have at least one lady, be honest and tell me – I hate this day!

  -itŐs just a reminder that I havenŐt been able to have children

  -motherŐs day getŐs billed as a day for biological mothers and every year I sayÉ

 

ThatŐs not what weŐre celebrating/or honoring here todayÉ

  -today we honor all women who biologically

  -but even more importantly, by personal choiceÉ

  -choose to love and nurture the children/friends/all people God places in their lives

  -whether or not they have or are able to give birth to their own children

 

If youŐre a woman here and you have nurtured/loved/cared for your own kids

  -if youŐre a woman here and youŐve never given birth to your own children

         -but have nurtured those children and people GodŐs brought into your life

  -if youŐre a woman and have no children but are preparing to & nurturing those God places in your life

  -then today we celebrate and honor you

 

And one last thing I have to say hereÉ

  -maybe youŐre a mom here today, & for a reason or another you failed in your past w/kids

  -& although I canŐt give you a guarantee that everything will be fixed and turn out right

  -what I can say, is that no failure has to be the end of the road, on the contrary

     -if you let him God will give you opportunity to love and nurture and care for his children

     -even if your own children donŐt ever accept you and your desire to make things right

 

So, today, as a woman, if you have chosen to love, nurture, care, be an example to those children, people GodŐs placed in your life, we honor and celebrate you! (Clap)

 

LetŐs look quickly at a passage that I think is helpful on a day like todayÉ

  -itŐs not a passage about mothers, but itŐs a passage specifically about and for women

  -itŐs some godly advice on how to be godly women

 

Peter has been talking to the Christians who by this time are scattered all over place

  -and heŐs talked about the kind of submission Jesus Christ had to have

  -in order to reach out and share his love with us

  -this is important, because this is not about just being godly women

  -this is about being the women you were created to be, because of what Jesus did for you

  -heŐs just said this, (read 1 Peter 3:21-25)

 

So then, the part weŐre interested in today, Peter talks to the womenÉ(1Peter 4:1-4)

1 In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over 2 by observing your pure and reverent lives. 3 DonŐt be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. 4 You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

ItŐs easy to get lost in the details sometimesÉ

  -we hear words like submission and authority and we all know relationships

         -where instead of that leading to a godly submitting to one another

         -it looks more like a dictatorship and we want to say, sorry God no thanks

         -so I just invite you to wait it out for a second

 

HereŐs the main point of this passage

  -ladies, do you want to be godly, pleasing and obedient to God?

  -would you like to impact your homes, communities, friendships in Godly ways?

  -do you want to have a beauty that isnŐt superficial and doesnŐt fade w/time?

         -then ladies; cultivate, focus, work, spend your time developing these thing

         -your submission (set aside whatever negativity you might have about thatÉ)

         -your inner beauty

 

First point Peter makesÉ

1. (v2) Let your purity and your reverence for God shine bright!

  -and place Peter & Paul & God says it must be shinning the most = closest relationships

  -if UŐre married then your marriage is the place where purity/reverence must be brightest

  -and although the passage doesnŐt say it, as a woman, if youŐre single

         -your purity/reverence must shine wherever you are most known

         -that might be your family, or your close relationships

         -but the point is this ladies, you want to live for, honor & impact your world for Christ

         -then let your purity and reverence for God shine in your closest relationships

 

As I said before, we hear words like submission and authorityÉ

  -and weŐve seen how that has been used to control/even manipulate, and weŐre turned off

  -we want to say, forget that, IŐm not submitting, I donŐt care about that kind of authority

  -and IŐm going to say something hard to swallow first

  -and then IŐll try to clarify things a little bit

 

Okay, hereŐs comes the hard thing (even harder cause IŐm a man saying thisÉ)

  -ladies God really wants you to be submissive in your relationships

  -and just so we donŐt get confused, GodŐs not asking you to be submissive to abuse

 

But hereŐs what heŐs saying - ladiesÉ

  -do you remember what Jesus did to reach out/show you his love to you?

  -do you remember how submissive he had to be in order to do that?

  -then if youŐre his follower - I want you to do that in your closest relationships

  -and thatŐs why Peter and Paul and ultimately God through them mentions marriage

  -why, because most women get married, itŐs just a fact       

  -and thereŐs no relationship where two people are as known to one another as marriage

 

so, God says, ladies because of what Jesus did for you and your relationship w/him

Let UŐr purity/reverence for God shine brightest in UŐr marriage/closest relationships

  -and hereŐs the point we easily miss about passages like this

  -with some exceptions itŐs true today and it was true then

  -but women seem to surrender to the gospel easier than men do

 

Step into most churches throughout history & even todayÉ

  -and youŐll find that although men have have held and hold the top positions

  -youŐll find women are often, not always, but often theyŐre  the backbone of the ministries

 

So, way back then, and today, God finds it necessary to say to the ladiesÉ

  -youŐre my ambassadors to your husbŐs and those closest to you, whyÉ

  -because many of them havenŐt believed

  -and hereŐs GodŐs word to the ladies, ladieŐsÉ

  -I want to reach them, I want to show them my love & I want to do it through you

  -and in order to do that, IŐm inviting you to partner with me in loving them as X loved you

  -how? by submitting to them and loving them unconditionally and even sacrificially

  -and then, God saysÉ

           -Ňeven if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They

              will be won over  by observing your pure and reverent lives.Ó

            -IN OTHER WORDSÉ

                        -when you live this way, even if your husband/those closest to U donŐt listen

                  -your lives will be the message and donŐt miss those three wordsÉ

                  -Ňwithout any wordsÓ – your actions will speak louder than words

                  -IŐve said this, IŐll say it againÉ

                           -the Christian message is most powerful when it is lived out

                           -than when itŐs just communicated in words without actions to back it up

 

I wish I could just leave this submission thing at thatÉ

  -but thereŐs been so much confusion/misunderstanding over this, we have to go deeper

  -this thing about only the women being submissive is completely inaccurate

  -the passage where esp. men reach for, calling for womenŐs submission is Eph 5:22-28

  -which tells us that wives are to submit to the husbands in same way church submits to X

  -and men are supposed to love their wives as Christ loved the church

  -so itŐs true, it seems only women are called to submit. BUT, but, butÉ

 

BUT hereŐs what the verse 21, verse right before verse 22 saysÉ

  -submit to each other out of reverence for Christ

  -not just wives, not just husbands, but all Christians are called to submit to each other

  -wives submit by submitting to husb in the same way that the church called to submit to X

  -husbands submit to your wives loving them in the same way that Christ loved the church

  -again, whole point is all of us are called to submit to each other out of reverence for X

  -and hereŐs a simple fact, if Xian husbands  and wives submitted to each other this wayÉ

         -the divorce rate would not be what it is among Xians – but thatŐs another sermon

 

the reason Christians are confused over this is simpleÉ

Most of our Bibles have a division between verse 21 and 22É

  -and between the two verses most of them have a heading that says what?

  -& what we do is start at verse 22 & say this is what Paul says about marriage, ignore rest

  -hereŐs what we need to remember – when Bible was written (no verses/no headings)

  -they were put in much later on, mainly to help people study –problem (donŐt always help)

 

 

 

Okay, I donŐt want to make this a marriage sermon – probably too lateÉ

  -I just want to be clear ladies when God calls you into submission

  -heŐs not making you subjects to men who can do as they please

  -but as I said beforeÉ

     -heŐs saying partner with me, let me love your husbands/those closest to you through U

     -partner with me by living in such a way your purity/reverence for Christ shines to you

     -and let it shine brightest in and with actions that speak louder than any words could

     -donŐt do this because IŐm saying this is what you should doÉ

     -donŐt live this way even because GodŐs saying, ŇI command you to or elseÓ

     -God says, do this, partner w/me this way, because thatŐs what Jesus did for you!

 

and donŐt miss this, one of the keys to being able to do that is toÉ

-let your reverence and purity shine through your submission even more than your words

 

the other way that will go a long way in showing the depth of your relationship w/GodÉ

Be Beautiful! But, be more concerned with inner beauty than with outer beauty

Vs. 3&4 DonŐt be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.                  

 

And weŐve run out of time so weŐll have to pick up on that next weekÉ

  -so donŐt wait for next motherŐs day, come back next week J (just kidding)

  -but we will pick back up on that next week

 

Let me close by saying againÉ

  -today, as women, we honor you, not just because you might have given birth to children

  -but we honor U more if youŐve made the choice to love, nurture, those GodŐs put in Ur life

         -even and especially those who didnŐt come from your womb

  -And I want to say again, if you look back as a mom and you feel like, ŇI messed up!Ó

         -the road isnŐt over. And I canŐt say everything will work out

         -but the best chance for it to work out

                  -submit yourself to those in your life that need to know God

                  -in the same way, and out of thankfulness for how X submitted himself to you

  -and ladies thank you! 

 

Would you stand with me and pray!