The Woman’s Realm

Transcript

GR 794
7/10/1988
The Woman’s Realm
Selected Verses
Gil Rugh

It’s exciting to be a believer in Jesus Christ. God has a unique purpose and plan that He is working out through the redeemed. As a result of sin, all of us live our lives in the state of rebellion against God, but God through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ has made it possible for us to be brought into right relationship with him. To be forgiven sin and to be freed from the power and enslavement of sin. That happens when a person believes in Jesus Christ as his personal Savior, trusts Him as the One who loved them and died for them. We are now in a position to live our lives in obedience to God in submission to His purposes and plans. What is so unique about that is that we as the redeemed are called to live out the purposes and plans of God in the midst of a rebellious and ignorant generation. Ignorant from the standpoint they do not understand God’s purposes and plans for them. When we come to the realm of the home and the family, we are in a key and unique area. All the world relates to family, so unbelievers as well as believers live in family relationships. But only the believer in Jesus Christ can live his life consistently within his family and family relationships in a way that will reflect the work of God in our lives so that our homes do reveal the relationship of Christ with His church. We’ve mentioned Romans chapter 12 verses 1 and 2 and we need to mention that again as a preliminary to our study today because we come to an area that is very controversial. We talk about the role of the woman and the realm that God has appointed for her in the Scripture. In Romans chapter 12 we are exhorted as believers. Now, he is addressing those who have dealt with their sin by believing in Jesus Christ, that’s the opening part of the book of Romans. Now in chapter 12 we are exhorted as those who have been redeemed and thus the children of God to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God. Then, verse 2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Now note, we are not conformed, but we are to be transformed in order that we may be able to, “Prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” The will of God is that which is good and acceptable before God and perfect. It realizes and accomplishes His purposes. Now often believers are in turmoil and confusion regarding the will of God, and we have to back up to the first part of this verse. We are not to be conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of our mind in order that we may know what the will of God is. Sometimes wonder, why are so many believers confused about the will of God? Why do we see so many ideas and options even coming from believers. Well if we are allowing ourselves to be pressed into the world’s mode, conformed to the world, we will fail to be perceptive regarding the will of God and that’s very true as it comes to our homes. The tragedy that we see around us is not that the world is in confusion. The tragedy is that believers are mirroring that confusion in their own lives.

I want to begin with looking into 1 Timothy chapter 2 with you. We looked at this in a previous study but we left one verse at the end of the chapter. And we need to look at it in some detail and then compare it with some other passages of Scripture. But what I want us to focus on is the women’s realm. What has God appointed for the woman today? Some of you commented to me, verbally and in writing, that you were concerned in our last study we talked about what the Bible said women could not do but not what they could do. But now we come to what God has appointed for the woman. In chapter 2, beginning in verse 8 he had talked about the men being responsible for prayer. Doesn’t mean the women don’t pray, but it means the leadership in prayer, the men in the ministry of the church, is committed to men. The women are to be concerned with adorning themselves properly, and it’s not external adornment, it’s internal adornment. That doesn’t mean that women don’t adorn themselves externally but that’s not the focal point of a godly women’s life. You realize, things haven’t changed in the 2,000 years since Paul wrote this. Not too long ago we were walking through a shopping area and we were commenting, “You ever notice how many women’s shops there are compared to men’s shops?” You know, you can pass store after store after store after store that’s selling women’s clothes, but you know, you can walk a little ways to get to the men’s store. Now I’m not saying that’s good or bad, that’s just an observation. And it fits that women are a little more concerned with the external adornment. I mean, men are rather boring. I mean, you have a suit, this my mother says you string around your neck and you call it dressed up. Women are much more interesting in their attire than men are, but there is a warning here. Women need to be careful that their attention is not turned to the external adornment, but that is a byproduct, their concern is to be the development of the internal life and the good works that go with that. Things that befit a woman making a claim to godliness, good works, good deeds, so they are functioning, they are serving. A woman is to learn quietly, with all submissiveness in verse 11. It is the meek and quiet Spirit 1 Peter 3 told us that was desirable before God. They are not allowed to teach or be in authority over men. So men are responsible for the teaching and the leadership in the body. Reason, man was created first and then the woman and the woman was deceived, not the man. I have spent some time here on cautions regarding women. Verses 9 through 14 really deal with cautioning them about their dress and appearance and telling them what they cannot do, and then he comes to one verse and pulls things back into balance. Because if we quit at verse 14 we’d get the idea, well that pretty well leaves the woman out of the picture doesn’t it? I mean, let her be quiet, submissive, and be concerned about good works generally speaking. But verse 15 tells us what the realm and role of the woman is. “But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.” We’re talking about godly women in our consideration. The concern is godliness for the woman as well as the man. And if that is our concern and goal, then the rest of our life fits into place. The woman shall be preserved through the bearing of children. There’s much discussion about this verse. Back to some who are unhappy with what Paul says about the leadership of the man and his authority and teaching want to throw out the whole passage because they say verse 15 is difficult to understand so that makes the whole section questionable and therefore we wouldn’t want to build anything on it. But no matter what kind of problems you have in understanding verse 15, Paul has said in verse 12 for example, it’s pretty clear. The challenge comes because the word “to be preserved” as we have in the New American Standard Bible is the Greek word “to be saved”. King James had it translated accurately. The woman shall be saved through the bearing of children. Greek word “sozo”, to be saved, used of our salvation by faith in Christ. Now that raises the question. Obviously the Bible is clear, salvation from sin is by faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, there is no other way of salvation. But here we’re told, she shall be saved by bearing children. Does that mean if a woman has children she is assured of eternal salvation? Obviously not. The word saved has to be interpreted in light of its context. We know the Bible says eternal salvation from sin is by faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, so it’s not talking about that here. She shall be saved through the bearing of children. Some would take this as the bearing of the Christ child, referring particularly Mary’s bearing of Christ. So it’s through a woman Mary, who bore the Savior, Christ, that salvation comes. That seems to be stretching it a little bit to me here. Seems there is two possibilities that I could see fitting very well and very simply. One is, he’s looking at ultimate salvation. We’ve been talking about what men are going to be doing until we’re glorified in God’s presence. They are responsible for authority and leadership, teaching. The woman is to be occupied with the home and the children and she will experience ultimate salvation in God’s presence. I mentioned this as a possibility because over in chapter 4 of 1 Timothy verse 16, Paul says to Timothy, “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.” You will ensure salvation for yourself and for those who hear you. Now Timothy already was a saved man, he was ministering to saved people by and large. But by proper teaching, proper doctrine, he would ensure salvation looking to ultimate salvation to be realized in God’s presence. That may be what’s being talked about by the woman here. She shall be saved through the bearing of children, she’ll be involved in the bearing of children, in the raising of children as it sometimes can be translated, until ultimate salvation comes. This is what she will be occupying herself with, and that I think is a very real possibility. The other one is closely related, maybe degree rather than actual difference. And that is the woman’s fulfillment or purpose is through the bearing of children. She shall be saved through the bearing of children. She finds her purpose in life in the home and the family. So both of these views say basically the same thing. She looks forward to ultimate salvation, glorification in God’s presence, as she occupies herself with the home and of course in light of that would be true that her real fulfillment and purpose in life is the home which normally would focus on children. So for the men, they are responsible for external things, things outside the home. Even though I am the head of my home, I have responsibility for leadership and teaching in the body which carries me outside the home. But the women’s focal point is the bearing of children, the raising of children. Now also continuing in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint. In other words, we’re talking about godly women. Those who can look forward to glorification in God’s presence because they walk in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint. The goal of their life is the coming of Christ and their glorification in His presence. They are living lives of faith, love, and sanctity, holiness, as they have themselves under control through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The focal point then, the bearing of children. Interesting in this passage how concisely Paul sums up the role of women. If he is talking here about the ministry of the church as we indicated as a probability because in verse 15 of chapter 3. In the ministry of the church a major focal point for the woman is still the home. It’s the dominant responsibility that she has, the bearing and raising of children. This becomes a major area of discussion and question. In fact, I happened to catch part of a television documentary kind of a program last night on working women and children. Some of you may have seen that. Any of you see that? Oh good, nobody’s watching television on Saturday night but the preacher, that a fine statement of faith. Well the only reason I was, is the Spirit directed me since it related to this sermon. But the whole issue there was the problem women are facing as they try to decide on a career or children and what are we doing as a society to help raise children for women who want to devote themselves to careers? Now we as believers are part of this kind of pressure cooker situation where we have to face the pressure of the world, yet we have to come to Scripture and find our direction. Now here in this passage we’re told that the focal point of the woman is the children, the home. What did it say? The bearing of children. Some great commentators give examples of where this could be translated “child care” the caring of the children. That’s more than just birth of a baby but it’s the whole nurture and care that is in view.

While were in 1 Timothy let’s look over in chapter 5. Chapter opens up on the instruction for the care of widows, the responsibility that is given to the family and then to the church for the care and provision of widows. Our practice is that the relatives are first responsible, if there are not relatives to care for the widow, then the church is to provide for the widow. Talking here about those who are 60 years of age or older in verse 9. So it’s sort of a retirement program, if you will, for widows. It’s not a work program because these are widows who in their previous 60 years have been faithful in service for the Lord. Now they are provided for by the church. Younger widows in verse 11 are not to be enrolled which would mean that they would be provided for by the church. God has another program for them. Verse 14: “Therefore, I want younger widows to get married, bear children, keep house, and give the enemy no occasion for reproach.” Now here you see for a younger woman, and here focusing on a widow, younger widow’s husband has died while they’re young. What is God’s intention for that young woman? You, “Get married, bear children, keep house.” Interesting expression translated “keep” there. We get the English word “despot” from it. Literally she is the despot of the house. That word despot for us has negative connotations. It is an absolute ruler who is probably selfish in his rulership. The idea here is this is her domain, she is the despot of the home. Now in light of other Scripture, under the headship and leadership of the man, but her domain, if you will, the realm in which she functions and serves and carries out God’s purposes for her, is the house. “Keep house, and give the enemy no occasion for reproach.” Now I want you to note as we look at each passage what the passage says so that when we’re done we should have at least somewhat of a sense of what God is saying is His purpose and plan for the woman. We often want to build a case on the silence of Scripture, but we’re called to build our lives on what the Scripture says. So here it is clear. We’re talking about a young widow, Paul says she should get married, bear children, rule her home under the headship of her husband, and not give the enemy any occasion to speak against her.

Let’s go over to Titus. Just after 2 Timothy, the book of Titus. Instructions here in chapter 2 regarding what is fitting for healthy doctrine. It’s interesting to me, he’s going to talk about the things that are fitting for a healthy doctrine. Healthy doctrine, sound doctrine. That word sound is the word healthful or healthy. Sound, healthy, healthful doctrine is lived out in our lives in the practical everyday situations. Older men are to live this way verse 2, “Older women likewise”, like the men, “are to be reverent in their behavior.” Then at the end of verse 3 older women are to be, “Teaching what is good.” I thought 1 Timothy 2 said that I do not allow a woman to teach. Well, she’s not allowed to teach or be in authority over a man so very clearly she is not to teach men. But here teaching what is good is defined by the context. Number one, it’s directed toward younger women, older women to younger women. Number two, the realm in which her teaching really will focus is on the character and conduct of the young woman as a woman. What are the older women to be teaching the younger women? Well, goes on, verse 4. In order that, note here, “Teaching what is good, in order that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their won husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.” Now you ought to pick up that last phrase, that the word of God may not be dishonored, and tie it to the first verse. “Speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.” We’re talking about healthy teaching, we’re talking about a concern that God’s word not be dishonored. So for this to be accomplished we are to have godly, older women who are investing their lives in younger women. Here is where we have a major problem in our homes today. We have lost the role model of older women, we’ve lost the availability often of older women willing to invest their lives in the younger generation. To teach them what is good, encouraging them to what? Get a job so they’ll be independent and on and on and on. You note that we’ve got a major clash with the world and what the Spirit of God through the apostle Paul says God’s will is. Encourage the young women, their focal point is their husbands, their children, and their home. Husband, children, home. “Young women to love their husbands.” I just thought that would come naturally. I mean, you have to be taught and encouraged to love your husband? Don’t you get married because you fell in love, but in the practical outworking of it, it’s not so easy once you’re married is it? We see this going on and on and on. Everybody that joins in holy matrimony. You know, intends it to be forever at that point, we just love each other, but somewhere along the line it gets difficult. We go our separate ways. Here what Paul is concerned about is that the young women know how to love their husbands. Now you can’t teach them how to have a feeling, but you can teach them regarding those things which are to be done. You can teach them the kinds of thoughts that the young wife ought to have, the things that she needs to do in expressing the love for her husband. Evidently the young women are going to need this because whether they knew it or not, they married a depraved, fallen, sinful man.

The second one, to love their children. “To love their children.” You know this is a word-wide catastrophe going on today but I want to limit it just to our society and country. The program I alluded to earlier. They had a young mother on there with two children. You know what she said? “With what has been the problem has been the guilt as I see difficulties in my children and I attribute it to my absence. I could not face being closed up in a house with those two kids all day. I’d turn into a vegetable.” Say that on TV? A program that broadcasts all over the country. “I could not face being closed up in a house with my two little children. I’d turn into a vegetable.” I just couldn’t help of think of this verse and say, “The older women ought to be teaching the younger women how to love their children.” Some women have abandoned the home because they just can’t bear to be with the kids day in and day out. Every minute of every day gets easier to pay someone else to do it. What do we need? We need older women who can teach younger women to love their children. What do you do with those children? How do you love them? How do you raise them? How do you nurture them? How do you face the relentless pressure of raising children today? That’s what God says is the responsibility among believers. The older widow teaching the younger one to love their children. “To be sensible, pure.” We’ve worked through the details of this passage in another study, you can get the tape so we’re not going to go through it word by word. Just know that it is particularly pertinent to what we are saying, although you say godliness is the concern.

“To be sensible to be pure, workers at home.” I sometimes ask, “What is God’s plan for a woman and is it wrong for a woman to work outside of the home?” And I cannot answer all the questions for everyone. All I can tell you is what the Bible says, and I come to the Bible to find out what is God’s plan for young women. I see here that young women are to be taught to be workers at home and I say, “Does that mean I can’t work outside the home?” It doesn’t’ say to teach them to not work outside the home, but if I’m going to tell you what it positively says, do teach women to be workers at home. That’s the point. Now, you have to decide what does that mean? Far as I can tell it means that young women ought to be taught to be workers at home. Two words makes you think there’s some great Greek insight here that will explain it away. The word “house” and the word “work”. The word for “work”, it’s often used the New Testament for a service for God. Jesus did the works of Him who sent Him. The servants of God like Paul and so on worked the works of God. Through the New Testament this is the word that would be used. So some try to say then here, this is her divinely appointed service for God. I think that’s true whether the word work is the idea or not. Here’s what God says young women are to learn, to be workers at home. Not to be idle at home, but to be active in their home. Not to be sitting around watching soap operas, doesn’t say teach women to be at home. You know, anybody could learn that, lock the door, don’t let them out, they’d be at home. Be workers at home. We’ve got many women who are at home that are watching soap operas that are undermining godly character. They’re to be workers at home. What should a godly woman be doing in her home? You know the result of the society were growing up in, we have young women who are coming to know Christ, not necessarily young women who grew up in Christian homes, but let me just limit the young women who come to know Christ as young ladies. And they don’t have any idea what they should do with their home, how to be a worker at home. The whole world’s emphasis is to be a worker outside the home, to be career oriented, to get trained for that. The Bible says to teach them to be workers at home. I want to say something here. I realize, well I won’t say what I realize, I think we as believers have to be consistent. The Bible says we are to live in light of the goals that God sets for us. In other words, my goal is the hope of salvation, glorification in God’s presence. That is to control all that I do and the way that I live. Now the Bible says that that’s the same hope for men or women, but we back up to more short term goals that God sets down. The goal of a young women is her home, her children, and her husband. That’s the divinely appointed realm for a woman, yet we as Christian parents put the pressure on our young women to go and get an education, to be prepared to work in the working world. Why? You never know what’s going to happen to your husband. I tell you, we as husbands ought to look closely in the mirror every day, our wives have been preparing for our deaths since we got married. I mean why in the world does my wife have to spend a major portion of her life preparing for my decease. That’s why 1 Timothy chapter 5 says what you do for widows. I think that we ought to be training our young women from little girls up to adulthood in light of the purpose and plan of God for a woman. We try to adopt the world’s standard, the world’s goal, and then we wonder why our women, Christian women, don’t want to be in the home. I’ve spent my life preparing to be a doctor, I’ve spent my life preparing to be a lawyer, I’ve spent my life preparing for this career, and now you want me to drop it off and stay in the home, but I’m frustrated. Course they’re frustrated. We said let’s live like the world, train ourselves for a worldly philosophy, then if we get to the point when we’re having our children, we’ll abandon that. Let’s have plan B. I’ve shared this before, when I was in seminary, many seminary students that I was going to seminary with, many a number, were going to a secular school while we were going to seminary, getting a secular degree. I say, “What are you doing this for?” And then they’d say to me, “Well in case we don’t make it in the ministry, we’ll have something to fall back on.” They wonder why God doesn’t bless. So what do you mean if you don’t make it in the ministry? Has God called you to the ministry? I mean He’s called me to preach His word and you want me to have plan B in case, in case what? In case I decide to rebel and not submit to Him any longer. In case He proves unfaithful? What is plan B? We want to raise godly women, but we make plan B plan A until they’re in their mid-twenties, got their education out of the way. Now you can get married and have a home and take care of your children. It’s not working. Now we’ve got to come back to the word of God and find out what does God say about a woman. Now if you don’t like this, you have to resolve it before God. What does the Scripture say? What are we to be training and teaching our young women? What are they to be learning? We put them in the same environment as our young men, from the time they go to school they are trained and prepared for the same thing right on through college. And we as Christians are doing the same thing the world is as though we didn’t have a Bible, as though God hadn’t spoken to the subject. The real problem is we don’t want to hear what He has to say because again it’s not in step with the world. And so what do we have? We have homes that look like the world where the father and the mother are both out working and they’ve hired somebody to take care of the kids. And I’ve come to the word of God and say to young women, “See it says women are to be taught to love their husband, to love their children, to be workers at home, to be submissive to their own husbands.” A real problem with women working outside the home, wives working outside the home particularly, since that’s the focal point here. My wife is to be submissive to me and that’s her responsibility. You put a woman out in the working world, that cannot be. The program I alluded to, there was a young lady on there. You look at these families, it’s tragic. Attractive, lovely, young couple with a beautiful young child. Well I had my husband, my child, and my job, I couldn’t keep all three going so my husband had to go. Who sits there and says that? She’s a high-powered attorney, she’s making lots of money. You don’t put your baby in the garbage can and I wouldn’t give up my career and I couldn’t’ keep all three things going. What a tragedy. But I don’t expect anything different from the world. They live in darkness. Remember Ephesians? They live in the darkness of their mind, calloused and hardened toward God. But why are we as believers living like that? My wife is to be submissive to me, I’m her husband. Send her out into the working world where she has to dress according to what they expect, to do what they require, to meet their time schedule, and how do I fit that with the word of God? We say, well the word of God is not clear on this. I have to say there’s been times when I’ve fudged on the issue. You know why? I didn’t want to have to be as clear as the word of God is, that’s all. It’s like church discipline. And we wrestled them through for years, why? Because the word of God was not clear? No, because we just didn’t want to have to do what God said. I mean I think we have to be honest, folks, is the word of God clear here or isn’t it? You read the passage, when you go home sit down and read it. What does it say? Not does it say what you want it to say but is it clear in what it says? Wives be submissive to their own husbands. They have to be taught that by the older women. Older women ought to be modeling godliness, they ought to be spending time with the younger women to give the input into their lives, to help them with their home, so that those younger women will grow to be godly older women so that they in turn can continue the process.

Go back to Genesis chapter 3. Genesis chapter 3. Just a reminder, from the beginning it was God’s intention from the creation that the man and the woman have children. Sex is not a result of the fall you remember. In chapter one they were given the command to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Chapter 3 is the result of the fall verse 16, “To the woman He said, ‘I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth, in pain you will bring forth children; yet your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.’” Remember here that what the fall does is bring pain and hardship into the roles and realms God created for the man and the woman. He created the woman to bear children, to guide and keep the home. He created a man to lead and to provide, as the instructions to Adam which follow make clear. So the fall hasn’t changed the role or the realm of the man or the woman, it just brings hardship. So sure, it’s not as pleasant to be in the home because of the fall. There is pressures that are there and on and on and on, it doesn’t change what God has said. So that’s been truth from the opening chapters of Genesis, it’s true right through the Old Testament, it’s true in the New Testament. God’s intention for the woman is the home, that’s her realm. There’s a lot of problems when we talk about working outside the home that I’ve alluded to. Let me mention it even more broadly. It’s clear the Scripture says in the church and in the family the woman is to submit to the man or to her husband, but the generation principle that is set down that the woman submits to the man. Remember 1 Corinthians 11:3? The head of Christ is God, the head of the man is Christ, the head of the woman is the man. That is the divinely established order. Somehow we say, well we can go out into the world and that is a neutral area so women can be in authority over men because it’s not the church or the family. But it seems that Scripture is clear that the order God established from the creation is that the man is the leader, the man is in authority. Now the world doesn’t recognize that. We’ve got laws that forbid it in the workplace today, but the word of God is our authority and we wouldn’t be being twisted up by those laws and rules the way we are if we would be living more Biblically. So it seems to me that the Scripture is as clear on this issue as it is on any. The women’s realm is the home. The normal pattern is there will be children in the home. Whether or not there are children in the home, she is to learn to love me, to learn to be a worker in the home, to work with the young mothers now. We’ve got women who are saying, “Well now my kids are grown, I’ve got to do something, I ought to go out and get a job.” Isn’t it wonderful, the husband’s completely taken care of, the work of the home is completely done, the work of the ministry in serving Jesus Christ and ministering to other women to ministering to children, it’s so completely and thoroughly accomplished that now I’m looking for something to do to fill in the time. Many wonder Christianity is on its way down in our society, we’ve lost sight of what God has to say and living in light of it. One thing to touch on, now I don’t want to go into great deal, is what about the single life? Now this is all fine, it all relates to if you’re married basically. You know, having children, guiding the home. What if I don’t get married. You know, I will have to support myself. I can’t live with my parents till I die, they my die before me. Whose going to take care of a single woman who never gets married if she doesn’t prepare for a career? Well two things, first I think we ought to be very very careful about adopting the world’s philosophy on singleness. You see the instructions of the Scripture are for you to get married. Younger widows to get married. The women’s realm is the home. But the Scripture does say in unique cases God gives a special gift of celibacy in 1 Corinthians 7. The gift of celibacy is given to men as well as women to enable them to live the single life, but you know why God gives the gift of celibacy to some men and some women? Not so they can get on the fast track of a career but so that they have more time to serve Jesus Christ without distraction. You read 1 Corinthians chapter 7. That’s the reason for the single life. So if you’re a single person, the reason you are single, if you’re single in the will of God, God’s gifted you with singleness or celibacy is so that you have more time for serving Jesus Christ. Nothing to do with preparing for a career. Now I realize I have to do something, I have to do something consistent with being a woman. You say, “Aha so you want to relegate women to the low jobs, the medial tasks.” I want to relegate women to the realm that God has appointed for them because that is the absolute best that they can ever have. The most complete fulfillment is found in doing and being what God has appointed, that’s true for women as well as men. Now were going up stream, we’re going against the tide of the world. The world is trying to push through laws now for daycare centers, for the government to provide money, we have to prepare and care for these children of mothers who have to have a career. And I say it’s a tragedy, it’s something the world’s adopted. It wasn’t that way 100 years ago, it wasn’t that way 50 years ago. Back when I was growing up as a young person, my parents weren’t believers, but my mother was home taking care of me, and so were the other unbelieving mothers in the neighborhood. Society has changed its emphasis, as it’s geared up to attack the word of God in another area. We as believers better be careful that we’re standing for healthy doctrine, that we’re not allowing the word of God to be dishonored among us. The home is the women’s realm, she’s the despot of the home, that’s where her glory is. Caring for her children, caring for her husband, caring for the home, and ministering to other ladies, other women, being involved with children. As the children grow and get older, they can be involved with the young mothers and help them with their children and ministering to them. This whole area that nothing is happening today because we are occupied with other things. Our goal is godliness, godliness resuscitates submissiveness to the word of God. I ask you, how are you doing parents with your young people? How are you doing in equipping and preparing them to be godly adults? Are we really training and equipping and preparing our young women to be women? Or are we preparing and equipping and training them just like we do our young men? When our men are to be trained to go out, to provide by the sweat of their brow, to be the protectors and providers for their home. There is a difference God has established that ought to be evident in the way we raise our young people. Ladies how are you doing? Men how are you doing? Some women are working because their husbands want them to work. You know why? I’m selfish, I can always do more on two incomes than I can on one. We may not be able to live on the standard of the world and live Biblically. You have to face that. You cannot have everything the world says you have to have and do it on one income today, I appreciate that. But I also appreciate that the standard keeps going up. Now young couples have to have their own home, furnished nicely, with a couple of automobiles, and take nice vacations. I mean, you just have to today. Well the world says you have to do these things, the Bible says we have to be godly people. You may never own your own home, you may not be able to do the things you want to do, you may not have what everybody else has. You have to be satisfied with what God has provided for you, for what God enables your husband to provide. Now we as men have to learn to be willing to do what God has called us to do. The men of our homes won’t look like the world, but they will reflect the work of God in our lives and His purposes and plans for a man, for a woman, for the home that He has established. Let’s pray together.

Father, thank You, for Your love for us. Lord, thank You for the privilege of being part of Your family of having You as our Father, the One who provides for us, protects us, keeps us, nurtures us, and nourishes us. Lord, it’s our every longing. Lord, I pray for our homes, the homes that are represented here. We have to acknowledge that the pressure of the world has absorbed us, the materialism of our day has gotten ahold of us so that we’re consumed with having more, having nicer things, enjoying life. Lord, we find it impossible to live godly lives in obedience to Your word on that standard. Lord, we’ve failed to be transformed by the renewing of our mind and thus we’ve failed to prove what Your will is. Lord, I pray for these times that we might have homes that are arranged in submissiveness and obedience to Your word. Lord, make us willing to do the hard things that need to be done. Some of us need to lower our standard of living, some of us may need to sell the home that we love. Lord, make us willing to make the changes that need to be made so that we can have homes that reflect Your will for us. Thank You for the godly women of this congregation. Lord, I pray You continue to strengthen and use them, use the older women to teach and encourage and train the younger women. Lord, may we as men be willing to take upon ourselves the responsibility that You’ve given us in the providing and caring for our families. That You might be honored by it all. We pray in Christ’s name, amen.