Mom’s Day, May 2020

https://www.incpu.org/moms-day-2020.htm

https://www.incpu.org/moms-day-2020.pdf

Hello brothers and sisters in Christ, today is a short sermon/study on Moms, including grandmas, moms, moms-to-be, adopted moms, and even God-fearing foster moms. The worldly women who chase the trinkets and pleasures of this world are also chasing flattery to boost their pride, while being quite unwilling to grow spiritually. But the God-fearing ladies and Moms are actively growing and helping and serving – and where there are no guys to lead, leading as they train up God-fearing guys to lead. God does not condemn or belittle ladies – ever, though He does correct them when they are wrong or in sin. The devil, satan, condemns anyone and insults anyone who doesn’t go with his next “wind” of demonic doctrine that sweeps the land. So, ladies, if you find the devil screaming at you, know that you are in GOOD company. Us God-fearing guys happen to know something about that too. Remember God’s admonition/teaching in Ephesians 6 to both genders – male and female:

“¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints-- ¹⁹ and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” (Ephesians 6:10-19).

> Note that as we are doing all that we know to do to stand, we just need to stand – resisting the devil, and that goes for God-fearing ladies or guys.

So, today’s topic, as seen in the title: What makes a God-pleasing lady/mom different? Let’s take a look. I just want to start out with a little announcement first. I’m blessed to have a Madre who deeply loves and serves Jesus and her family. I know that some people do not have that. I thank God for Barbara – whom I call “Madre”, because “Mother” is a tad too proper, stuffy and formal, and “Mom” is too… well cliché and bland. But even better, I can now call her “Ima” because I just learned the Hebrew word for Mom is “Ima” = rav! It should be alef, mem, alef, but this font doesn’t have alefs, so I had to write it yod, mem, alef… so oh well :D. So, if you don’t know Hebrew, but would like to, contact me – we’d love to connect you with our teacher Nina – she is so helpful.

I’m writing this study to, I pray, be a blessing to you whether you are a guy or a lady, and for the ladies even if your single, I believe you will find some very helpful passages and examples to help you to grow to be a God-fearing lady. I pray it challenges and encourages you.

If you’re a lady to grow to become a bold, caring, God-fearing Mom. If you’re a God-fearing Mom, to keep growing in these things and to teach other ladies also. And whatever age you are, (speaking to ladies still) that you learn to glean from Scripture of what you can grow in rather than feel guilty or condemned because you aren’t perfect.

If you’re a guy, I pray this short study helps you know how to avoid ladies who reject the fear of the Lord and who chase the sins and temporary pleasures of this life, not caring about the eternal life and kingdom to come – which some of them will not attain or make it to Heaven. But, also that God would encourage and inspire you to cherish the God-fearing ladies in your sphere of influence. Pray for them. Pray that they’d grow through trials. Pray that God would give them wisdom. Pray for their protection. And this should go without needing to be said – nurture them. Provide for them. Help them when you can. Or if you can’t help them, pray that God brings someone along who can help them. Don’t ignore the Godly and caring ladies around you – reach out to them. They need you as much as you need them.

Okay, so let’s look at qualities you see in God-fearing ladies. Above each passage, I note the character qualities.

> They pray for spiritual growth in you.

> They pray for you to grow through trials.

> They pray for you to be strong in the fear of the Lord and holiness.

“¹⁰ And Hannah was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish. ¹¹ Then she made a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head."… ¹⁹ Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her. ²⁰ So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, "Because I have asked for him from the LORD."” (1 Samuel 1:1-20)

“³ I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, ⁴ greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, ⁵ when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. ⁶ Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:3-7)

> They rebuke when necessary – even if their voice shakes :)

“⁴ Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time. ⁵ And she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.” (Judges 4:4-5)

> They work hard, giving sacrificially – even when they think no one notices.

“⁹ Now while he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess.” (Genesis 29:9)

> Loyal.

“¹⁶ But Ruth said: "Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. ¹⁷ Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me."” (Ruth 1:16-17)

> Attentive. Always keeping a quiet watchful eye out for trouble and concerns and prayer points.

“⁷ Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.” (1 Peter 3:7)

-- Husbands, if you are ignoring the voice of genuine Godly wisdom from your wife, if you are a child of God (through Jesus), God will hinder your prayers until you listen to her concern and work together with her to solve it.

> They don’t focus or spend much time on outward pretty-ness, knowing that hard-working, modesty, and deep-rooted character of the heart is the real treasure that will last.

“³⁰ Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. ³¹ Give her of the fruit of her hands, And let her own works praise her in the gates.” (Proverbs 31:30-31)

> They focus on righteous partnership with their husband, not enabling his sins.

“¹ Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, ² when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. ³ Do not let your adornment be merely outward--arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel-- ⁴ rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. ⁵ For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, ⁶ as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.” (1 Peter 3:1-6)

> They know how to entreat the Lord to correct evil or provide (as Hannah did), as well as how to petition/entreat their Dad, their husband and other leaders to do what is right in God’s eyes. They request/requested things from God that were right to have and they were going to be faithful in using to serve God and people.

“¹ Then came the daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, from the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph; and these were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ² And they stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, and before the leaders and all the congregation, by the doorway of the tabernacle of meeting, saying: ³ "Our father died in the wilderness; but he was not in the company of those who gathered together against the LORD, in company with Korah, but he died in his own sin; and he had no sons. ⁴ Why should the name of our father be removed from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father's brothers." ⁵ So Moses brought their case before the LORD. ⁶ And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: ⁷ "The daughters of Zelophehad speak what is right; you shall surely give them a possession of inheritance among their father's brothers, and cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them. ⁸ And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'If a man dies and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter. ⁹ If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. ¹⁰ If he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father's brothers. ¹¹ And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the relative closest him in his family, and he shall possess it.' " And it shall be to the children of Israel a statute of judgment, just as the LORD commanded Moses.” (Numbers 27:1-11)

“¹⁸ Now it was so, when she came to him, that she persuaded him to ask her father for a field. So she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, "What do you wish?" ¹⁹ She answered, "Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water." So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.” (Joshua 15:18-19)

> They study how to not only share the gospel of Jesus the Christ, but also how to teach the Bible to those in their sphere of influence.

“⁸ On the next day we who were Paul's companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. ⁹ Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.” (Acts 21:8-9)

“¹ After these things Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. ² And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them. ³ So, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked; for by occupation they were tentmakers. ⁴ And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.” (Acts 18:1-4)

> They are ladies of Godly character, leaders by example, and learning to teach other ladies to also walk holy and in the fear of the Lord.

“² A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; ³  not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; ⁴  one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence ⁵  (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); ⁶ not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. ⁷ Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. ⁸ Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, ⁹ holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. ¹⁰ But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. ¹¹ Likewise their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. ¹² Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. ¹³ For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 3:2-13)

“¹ But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: ² that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; ³ the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things-- ⁴ that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, ⁵ to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed. ⁶ Likewise exhort the young men to be sober-minded, ⁷ in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, ⁸ sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.” (Titus 2:1-8)

There are so many other qualities to mention and discuss, but it’s hard to find verses on them because they are spread throughout the Bible and it would take a lot of time and context to draw them out. In future years, maybe someone will be able to do a better series of sermons/studies on this, since the topic seems to be almost non-existent from the proud and smooth-talking “pastors” at 501c3s. They know how to teach information, and now how to train up a God-fearing flock as an under-shepherd under Jesus. In the coming years, I pray God will raise up many to correct and rebuke all of the so-called pastors who take money from the government and stop teaching the full council of the Word.

For now, that is all the time I have to spend drawing out from Scripture the characteristics of women. So, let me next move to noting how many God-fearing women you can glean from the examples of.

-- Read about Sarai/Sarah, wife of Abram, whom God changed his name to Abraham. [Genesis 17-21]

-- Read about Rebekah, wife of Isaac [Genesis 24-29]

-- Read about Rachel, wife of Jacob, whom God changed his name to Israel. [Genesis 24]

-- Read about Miriam, Moses’s sister [Exodus 2, 15; Numbers 12, 20]

-- Read about Zipporah, wife of Moses. [Exodus 2, 4, 18]

-- Read about Ruth, daughter-in-law of Naomi. [Book of Ruth]

-- Read about Deborah, wife of Lapidoth. [Judges 4]

-- Read about Manoah’s wife – mom of Samson, and how she tried to teach him what was right [Judges 13]

-- Read about Hannah, wife of Elkanah. [1 Samuel 1-2]

-- Read about Abigail, a righteous woman married to a cruel and hard-hearted man. God did not want David to have more than 1 wife (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5)… but I do know why he respected this woman, for she was highly commendable for her character and actions and serving. [1 Samuel 25, 27, 30]

-- Read about Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptizer, who gave him a good foundation before her death [Luke 1]

-- Read about Anna, the prophetess who spoke about Jesus’ coming at His Temple dedication [Luke 2:36]

-- Read about Priscilla, wife of Aquilla, leader in the large Roman home-church and one who helped train Apollos, and fellow teacher (with her husband) to apostle Paul [Acts 18, Romans 16:3; 1 Corinthians 16:19; 2 Timothy 4:19]

-- Read about Phoebe, who took the apostle Paul’s letter to Rome, read it, explained and taught it, in addition to being a God-fearing companion of the apostle Paul himself. [Romans 16:1]

-- Read about Lydia, a lady known for following Jesus and serving others [Acts 16]

But, there’s more! We can learn from the examples of real heart-changing and repentance that led to a life-style change, as we see in:

-- Read about Rahab [Joshua 2, 6; Matthew 1:5]

-- Read about the unnamed Samaritan woman that Jesus spoke to and who spread the gospel message [John 4]

-- Read about formerly demon-possessed (7 demons that Jesus cast out of) Mary, of the town called Magdalene, who never was Jesus’ “wife”. Jesus is the eternal virgin – pure and holy and always will be. But Mary was one whom Jesus cleansed of demons and sin, and she lived holy from then on, serving and helping the disciples while Jesus was on earth and Jesus’ church afterwards. The Vatican’s myth about the disgusting and vile “priory of sion” and the so-called “da vinci code” is just one more of their many lies, and another judgment against them and satan and his demons. The devil always lies to get you to question God. If you research any of it, you will find they make all of it up. But God’s Word explains the whole truth, the additions are just satan’s lies. [Mark 16:9-14]

Learn from the terrible lessons of loss:

-- Read about Lot’s wife [Genesis 19; Luke 17:22-37]

-- Read about Michal, David’s first wife – daughter of King Saul. She was a really bad choice, but apparently he fell for her appearance, and later found that choice very regrettable. [1 Samuel 18:20-21, 28-30; 1 Samuel 19:8-17; 25:44; 2 Samuel 6:20-23] Please be aware the perverts twist that last passage – David wasn’t dressed royally, and Michal despised him for it. David wasn’t indecent – Michal was just prideful according to worldly standards.

-- Read about God’s many warnings in Proverbs and throughout Scripture to avoid the loud adulterous woman.

[Proverbs 2, 5, 7, 22, 30; 1 Corinthians 6-7; 2 Peter 2]

Passages for deeper study:

1 Peter 1:17-25; 2 Peter 1:5-11

And lastly, a passage many ladies know but feel helpless to fulfill. God didn’t mean it that way. God meant it for you to learn how to do, not to feel condemned if you cannot do. Amen?

“¹⁰ Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. ¹¹ The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So he will have no lack of gain. ¹² She does him good and not evil All the days of her life. ¹³ She seeks wool and flax, And willingly works with her hands. ¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships, She brings her food from afar. ¹⁵ She also rises while it is yet night, And provides food for her household, And a portion for her maidservants. ¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it; From her profits she plants a vineyard. ¹⁷ She girds herself with strength, And strengthens her arms. ¹⁸ She perceives that her merchandise is good, And her lamp does not go out by night. ¹⁹ She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hand holds the spindle. ²⁰ She extends her hand to the poor, Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy. ²¹ She is not afraid of snow for her household, For all her household is clothed with scarlet. ²² She makes tapestry for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple. ²³ Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land. ²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies sashes for the merchants. ²⁵ Strength and honor are her clothing; She shall rejoice in time to come. ²⁶ She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness. ²⁷ She watches over the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness. ²⁸ Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her: ²⁹ "Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all." ³⁰ Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. ³¹ Give her of the fruit of her hands, And let her own works praise her in the gates.” (Proverbs 31:10-31)

Praying these teachings have been a blessing to you. If they have, please share them.

~ Watching, Preaching, Praying, SH with the INCPU and SofD Bible study teams