"Lessons from Women in the Bible" By Jesse Rairdon May 3rd,
2015
Please remain standing; I’d like
to ask Brother Joe R. if he would come and open us in prayer, please.
Our theme scripture for the month: “…a woman that feareth the LORD,
she shall be praised.” The world tries
to throw us all this glamour, and this beauty, and all this famous, and all
this princesses and queens, and all this stuff at us, but a woman that fears
the LORD, that’s what’s important to God. And every single one of you is beautiful to
God. Amen? Godly Women are important to us in
society, in our homes and in our ministry. Important.
If I hadn't been raised by a God fearing foster mother, who knows where
I’d be? Who knows where I might have
ended up if I hadn’t been raised by a foster-mother who prayed for me, even
when I didn’t even know it? Who knows
how I would have turned out? And a
grandmother who prayed, and who was baptized in Jesus’ name, by the way. My grandmother and grandfather were both
baptized in Jesus’ name when they were young.
My grandmother prayed for me.
Yeah, they didn’t go to church a lot; they didn’t fall into religion a
lot, but they prayed, and they taught me lessons from the Bible when I was
young. The Scripture shows us that
mothers, women have a very important part in raising our children. The Scripture says, "Train up a child in
the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” You lay the biggest part of the foundation in
that child’s life. You’re very, very
important. Yes, the father has rule over
the household, but you’re the one who’s there day-to-day, teaching and training
those children in the ways of the Lord.
Amen? Society wants to kind of
take that away; kind of make that, you know, unimportant. “Do what the school says to do;” “Do what the
government says to do.” You need to open
up the Scriptures and do what the Lord says to do. Amen? Our women have not only a part in
this, but probably the biggest part in this. Zipporah The
first woman we’re going to learn from in the Bible today is Zipporah. This is Moses’ wife. Exodus 4:24-26 And it came to pass
by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off
the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody
husband art thou to me. So he let him
go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision. Obedience. We’re going to talk a little bit about
obedience today, because sometimes we get that great calling of God, or that
great vision of God, and we see something that God wants us to do, but we fail
to obey God. You could be called to do
whatever—you could be called to come up here and preach and teach, but if you
don’t obey God, you’re in error. I’m in
error. Thank God for godly women that
will point that out to us. If you think
that’s wrong for your wife to speak up when you’re wrong, oh, you’re in
trouble. Especially if both of you are
wrong. Ananias and Sapphira can teach us
that (Acts 5:1-11). You don’t want to be
in that boat. Guys, if you’re looking
for a woman, you ought to be looking for woman who is going to tell you when
you’re wrong. It’s okay. You don’t want somebody who’s just going to
go along with it. You want to obey
God. This is the circumcision; that soul
is going to be cut off. All of you are
bloody. She’s saying, “You’re putting
our lives at risk because you didn’t obey God.”
That is an important lesson. When Samuel was talking to Saul,
and Saul disobeyed God, and he thought making all these sacrifices was going to
make up for it, what was the answer? To obey
is better than sacrifice, to hearken better than the fat of rams (1 Samuel
15:22). You can come and worship god all
you want, but if you’re not obeying God, than you’re missing the boat. Noah, if he hadn’t obeyed God, he would have
missed the boat, literally. He wouldn’t
have even built it, nor his family been saved.
I cannot justify disobedience! No
way, no how, anyway, anyhow. I cannot
justify disobedience to God. Our sister’s going to get baptized in Jesus’ name
today. Circumcision of the heart, buried
with Him in baptism, raised to walk in newness of life; that’s obedience to
God. That’s where it starts. That’s the first big thing you have to
obey. Some of you here haven’t even
obeyed that, yet, and you’ve been taught it, and you go about and think that
you’re going to do something for God.
You’re wrong, and you’re in error, and you need to stop. Amen?
There’s times when I’m wrong, and even disobedient to God, and God will
reveal that in a dream to my wife, or speak to her, and say, “You’re
wrong.” I need to listen to God. Amen? Mary and
Martha That’s our next example. Obedience is important. Probably the most important. I know people that go to church and worship
their whole lives and never get obedience down.
Never get obedience down. Ever
learning, studying, and never coming to the knowledge of the Truth (2 Timothy
3:7). I was like that. Still like that, at times in my life,
church. I might be preaching today, but
I’m not exempt from the message. I’m not
exempt. Luke 10:38-42 Now it came to
pass, as they went, that He entered into a certain village: and a certain woman
named Martha received Him into her house.
And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and
heard His word. But Martha was cumbered
about much serving, and came to Him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my
sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha,
Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath
chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. The lesson we can learn from Mary
is take time to learn from Jesus. Take
time to learn from Jesus. In fact, He
can teach you more than I can teach you, He can teach you more than all the
teachers in this room can teach you. In
fact, He’s taught me more than all the preachers I’ve heard in my whole life,
because I took time for Jesus; I still take time for Jesus. You have to take time to listen to Jesus. Jesus said "Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart."(Matthew
11:29) “Learn of
Me…” Take time to learn from the
Lord. Amen? We can learn from Martha as well. Busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy. Now, was she in sin, by preparing and getting
ready and making her house right? “We
have an important person coming!” Jesus
was coming, the Messiah was coming, the Son of God was coming, in the flesh,
coming in their house right there. She
wasn’t sinning, but someone else chose the good part. She got so busy, she didn’t take time for
Jesus. Sometimes we get so busy in
life—yeah, we’ve got kids, we’ve got wives in that household; take time for
Jesus, and God will bring all that other stuff in together. Sometimes we get so, so busy, don’t we? Everything is so important; everything is so
important… And you can get busy with
church work, too. Let’s talk to the
church for a minute. You can get so busy
visiting people, and out there doing things, and miss the boat. If you spend time with Jesus, that church
work’s going to be more blessed, and visiting someone is going to be more and
more blessed, than if we just be so busy.
Busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, bzzzzz, like a little bee; bzzzzz,
busy. Look at me, I’m busy. Take time to learn from Jesus. And learning is
more listening than speaking. Let me make
this clear: Sometimes we go to God, and
just lay it all out there, and then walk away.
Don’t even take time to listen.
God gave us two ears for a reason, and one mouth. We’ve got to do more listening than speaking
when we talk to God. How can we learn
from Him if we’re just so busy talking?
Talk, talk, talk, talk… “All my
problems, woe is me! I’m going to sing
another worship song.” Sing, sing, sing,
talk, talk, talk, don’t stop to listen, just…
Take time to learn from Jesus.
Amen? There is one thing Satan uses to
divide us more than anything. Look at
the news nowadays. What enflames people
more than anything, quickly? Racial
discrimination. Most of you know my wife is black,
and I'm white. Okay? If you have a problem with that, let’s go
have a talk. God doesn’t have a problem
with that. God didn’t have a problem
with Zipporah being black, or being from Ethiopia. But Miriam thought it was okay to talk about
it. She thought it was okay to
gossip. She thought it was okay, because
she was a prophetess. She was a
prophetess, and Aaron was a prophet, and God spoke though them, but God heard
it, so it was a problem. He said, “If I
speak to a prophet or a prophetess, I might give them a vision or a dream, but,
with Moses, that’s My friend, and I’ll talk to him face-to-face. And how dare you speak against my servant
Moses?” God was hot! You ever see an example in the Scriptures
where it makes God angry? Racial
discrimination. He was up, out of the
tabernacle, like zooop!—and she was leprous, like white as a ghost. Aaron looked at her, and she was
leprous. I like Moses’ reaction,
though. He called on God, and prayed for
her, and said, “Heal her, God!” “Well,
if her father had spit in her face… Let
her stay outside the camp seven days, and then she’ll be healed.” So, God’s anger was appeased a little bit,
but there still needed to be some judgment, because God does not like racial
discrimination. Where I grew up, I come from a
small town in Minnesota, there’s not a lot of people of different races
there. There was one person of a
different race, he was Asian and he was adopted in to that family. So anything I knew or learned about other
races or cultures, I saw on TV or what others told me. What a big bunch of lies. What a big bunch of lies! So when I joined the Navy, I made it a point
to be around other people or other cultures or other backgrounds. Most of my friends were black, and some
people didn’t like that. Even in the Navy, as integrated as they’re supposed to
be. That is their problem. So I took time to learn from others. I took time to listen to others. In fact, one of my good friends today, he’s
like a mentor to me, is black—Herb Stackhouse.
I’ll tell you, I didn’t have a father that raised me right, and he’s
given me a lot of wisdom, he and his wife.
He’s given me a lot of wisdom in finances, and how to deal with people,
how to live life in a marriage; he’s given me a lot of wisdom. When I came to this ministry, I
saw how people, true worshippers of God worshipped together of all races. You know how I saw what I saw? People weren’t looking at race; they were
looking at faith. They were looking at
love; they were looking the way Jesus looks at people. People outside of our ministry marvel at that,
and kind of ask, “How we keep different races together, to worship together?” It’s because we don’t focus on race. We don’t focus on the color of their skin, or
their background, or how rich or poor they are, or how much money they can put
in the offering plate. We focus on
faith. We focus on what Pastor Davis
taught us years ago, why he worked the streets, why he was kicked out of
another ministry because he ministered to people that other people looked down
on, of different backgrounds. Tabitha Let’s look at some things about
Tabitha; let’s read some things about Tabitha.
Acts 9:36-40 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple
named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of
good works and almsdeeds which she did.
And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom
when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber. And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and
the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men,
desiring him that he would not delay to come to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. When he
was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by
him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she
was with them. But Peter put them all
forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha,
arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up. One of the lessons we can learn
from Tabitha is how important it is to have your personal ministry. Sometimes we don’t do anything because we think
we’re not important enough, or we’re not beautiful enough, or we’re not this or
that. What the world would throw at
us: because we can’t speak well enough,
we can’t, we’re not, we don’t have enough education. Tabitha, Dorcas, saw the needs of her sisters,
and met those needs quite simply. Look
at the testimony after she had passed:
They didn’t even say anything, they just showed the life that she had lived
by the garments he had made for these widows.
People that most people neglect, forget about. These are people that have lost their
husbands, and nobody’s really there to look after them. Church, we can’t forget about these
people. They’re part of us. Amen?
So, if you have that part of ministry, that’s important. If all you can do is just pay someone a visit—someone
mentioned today that someone needs a visit.
Christine, right? She needs a
visit in the nursing home where she’s at, just to lift her spirits a little. Can we take time to do that? Can we take—that’s the first time I’ve heard
that. Can we take time, church? It’s important. You don’t have to get up here and talk; you
don’t have to get up here and sing lovely, but you can go visit somebody. You can take the time to maybe cook someone a
meal, you know, that just had surgery.
You can take time to send someone a card when you notice they weren’t at
church. These are all things that are
important that should never be neglected.
Everyone is important and everyone can contribute. Everybody’s part of the body of Christ, and
everybody has something to do. Not just
to come here, sit in church, listen to a message, and go home. We all have a part to do in the ministry; we
can all help out. If we lay the burdens
on just the leaders—and they’re great leaders, God bless them—but we’ve got to
share the load; we’ve got to work together.
Amen? If we don’t take care of
each other in the church, who will? Re you
going to wait on the government to take care of you? They’re going to run out of money quick; I
see that. We need to take care of each
other. Amen? Lessons Learned
From a Wise Mother A
lot of people think that this was a king that wrote this, and it was a king
that wrote this, but it was lessons from a wise mother. We’re going to take our time and go through
these lessons from a virtuous woman.
Like a mother, she wanted her son to marry the right one. They say that a son, if they have a good
mother, if they have a good raising, they’re going to come seek a wife that’s
like that; they’re going to look for that; they’re going to look for those
qualities. There’s a lot of good
qualities in this virtuous woman here that should not be overlooked. Amen?
I’m blessed; I got all these, and
I got a beautiful wife. Proverbs 31:1 The words of king
Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him. There we go: The mother’s responsibility, teaching the
son, even if that son is the king. It’s
important that you mothers teach your children the right things. And, this is a prophecy, so it’s from
God. Let’s skip down to verse 10. Proverbs 31:10 Who can find a
virtuous woman for her price is far above rubies. Who can find one? I waited for a long time to find one. I’m glad I waited. I’m glad I didn’t just settle for any
woman. Proverbs 31:11 The heart of her
husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. Trust is a key foundation in
any relationship. If you don’t trust
each other, you might as well give it up right now. Proverbs 31:12 She will do him good
and not evil all the days of her life. All. For better or for worse, ‘til death us do
part. Remember when you made those
vows? It seems like a long time ago, but
it’s still important today. People do
forget; sometimes I forget. Tina’s uncle
shared with me, “Every time, all the time, repeat your vows.” Repeat your vows to yourself; remind yourself
what you’ve committed to today. Remind
yourself. Proverbs 31:12 She will do him good
and not evil all the days of her life. In
the good times and the bad times. When
he makes mistakes, still do him good.
Amen? Proverbs 31:13 She seeketh wool, and
flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
Not
a lazy person. Proverbs 31:14-15 She is like
the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar. She riseth also while it is yet night, and
giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. Early in the morning, she
makes sure everybody’s taken care of, everybody’s fed. Proverbs 31:16 She considereth a
field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. She
sees the possibilities of something long before it happens, and she’s willing
to do the work to make it come to pass. Proverbs 31:17-20 She girdeth
her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. She perceiveth that her merchandise is good:
her candle goeth not out by night. She
layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea,
she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
So,
not only is she taking care of her family, but others around, just like Dorcas. Like Tabitha was doing, she’s reaching out
her hands to those in need. Proverbs 31:21 She is not afraid of
the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with
scarlet. If
it wasn’t for my wife sometimes, I wouldn’t buy clothes. I would let my shoes get holes in them, and
my clothes just basically fall off. My
wife is real good about she keeps me dressed; she keeps me warm. Proverbs 31:23 Her husband is known
in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. She
didn’t just settle for any old church-guy.
She wanted to make sure that she’s got somebody that’s talking and
living what he’s talking. Amen? Proverbs 31:24-31 She maketh
fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. This
sounds like superwoman. How can she do
all this? My goodness. Proverbs 31:25-31 Strength
and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. Sometimes
there’s some sorrow in your laboring, but she’s got her time of rejoicing. Proverbs 31:26-31 She openeth
her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She
doesn’t just shoot off in anger every time something goes wrong. I’m glad my wife’s like that, we’d be arguing
all the time. “No, honey, you might want
to think about that. You might not want
to go that route; these are the consequences if we make that decision.” “Okay, all right.” I can receive kindness a little better than sometimes
I can arguing. “It is better to dwell in
a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.” (Proverbs
21:9) My wife’s not like that; she doesn’t
beat me. There’s no spousal abuse going
on. But, with kindness and love, she
shares with me when I’m wrong. And at
times, she’ll even say, “You’re a bloody husband; that’s wrong. Stop that,” in so many words. Proverbs 31:27-31 She looketh
well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Always
trying to make sure things are better, given charge of the home. Making sure all the little details are done,
clean, taken care of, that this house is spiritual, that the babies are prayed
over, prayed with, and suckled. All
those things are important in day-to-day life.
She sees that and does that. I
don’t have to know all the details of the house, because that’s her part in our
ministry together. Amen? I do have to have rule, I do have to make the
final decision, but together, we work together, and she takes care of a lot of
the little details. Amen? Proverbs 31:28-31 Her
children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth
her. Many daughters have' done
virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the
LORD, she shall be praised. Give her of
the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates. God bless you.
|
|
|
|
