FACING THE CHALLENGE OF BEING GODLY WOMEN IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Women. Where would we be without you?
As much as it may challenge our men-minds, it's really a blessing to see this season in the history of mankind where women are at last beginning to walk in the light that God created for women to walk in.
You've been put down, shut up, kept pregnant in the summer and barefoot in the winter. You've been underpaid and undervalued.
Yet, in the eyes of the Lord, your place in his plan has never been lessened.
Women have always fulfilled an important role in God's plan. And it may be true that the first woman was deceived by Satan. And men have been putting women "in their place" ever since. But face it men. Adam gave up the glory with his eyes wide open while he was "beholding the beauty" of this creature that God had created with him specifically in mind.
Let me remind you of the fact that, ever since the fall in the Garden of Eden, God has appointed and anointed women for important tasks and works of ministry both before and after the Cross and you can't read the Bible with a "mind toward the things of God" without recognizing this.
Take the time to look at the accounts of Miriam in Exodus 13, Deborah in Judges 4, Huldah in 2 Kings 22, Noadiah in Nehemiah 6, Anna in Luke 2, the daughters of Phillip in Acts 21. Just to name a few.
And, lest we forget, and in the event we've never learned, know and remember that:
Women were the last ones at the Cross. (Mark 15:47)
Women were the first ones at the tomb. (John 20:1)
Women were the first ones to proclaim the Resurrection. (Matthew 28:8)
A woman was the first recorded preacher to the Jews. (Luke 2:36)
Women attended the first "upper room" prayer meeting. (Acts 1:14)
Women were the first to greet Paul and Silas in Europe. (Acts 16:3)
A woman was the first European convert to the Gospel. (Acts 16:14)
And to be honest and accurate in looking at the contemporary history of the church in the last century, had it not been for the dedicated devotion of women to the work of the church in America and their prayers of intercession, the American church would have fallen flat on it's face while men were busy following after the fortune, fame and folly generated by the industrial and technological revolutions that have consumed us.
It's a landmark year in a landmark season. As we look back at the history that's been written in the collective life of the church and in the personal lives of believers, and as we forge ahead into the future leaving behind us a historical account of our own actions and attitudes, there are three thoughts that I want to plant in the minds of the women, both mature and yet to mature, who make this church their church home.
I. SEE YOURSELVES AS PERSONS OF VALUE.
See yourselves as those who are chosen by God who are being put through his refining process to make you into the persons of value that he desires you to be.
With all the changes that are taking place in our world today, I've come to the conclusion that women are the most significant human agents walking on the earth in this age that we are living in.
See yourselves as persons of value and make it your aim to remain in the refining fires of God's purposes for your lives until you shine and sparkle as pure gold in a world that is full of dross and corrosion. And you will be remembered by your attitudes and actions.
Proverbs 31:30 says,
"Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised."
Value yourselves as God values you as women of God.
II. GET A VISION OF GOD'S DESIGNED ROLE FOR YOUR LIVES.
Catch a glimpse of God's designed purpose for you in his plan of the ages.
You are as important in God's plan for the church as any one else.
Joel prophesied it and Peter preached it and men have worked hard to keep you from walking in it.
Acts 2:17-18 says,
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on my menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy."
If God counts you worthy of his anointing then who are we, who are you, to discount and discredit the plan and purpose of God?
You have spiritual gifts and God gave them to you to be used in the work of the ministry. Discover them. Develop them. Display them.
See what God desires to do in and through you as spokeswomen, as those ordained by him for such a time as this, to be used by him to bring change into the lives of those around you and in the world that we live in.
And do it in love. Do it in the compassion that God has designed in you that so often far exceeds the level that most men will allow themselves to feel and express.
III. CULTIVATE A SENSE OF VIRTUE IN YOUR LIFE THAT EXCEEDS THE STANDARDS OF THE WORLD.
I may sound a little pointed here but there is a serious point that needs to be made and if this is offensive to you then forgive me and go get a real life.
We live in a real world and there are some real issues that are destroying a lot of lives and somebody has to address them.
Young ladies, don't stain yourselves by yielding to the moral decay that's part of the world that we live in today. Your God given goods are too good to throw away and you don't need the spiritual, emotional and possible physical scars that a fling in the flesh can and will create for you!
It may not be popular opinion in the public school system. It may not be socially correct in our society today. But sexual purity and virginity are not crimes in the eyes of God and anyone who tries to impress upon you otherwise doesn't have your best interest in mind.
Proverbs 31:10 begins by asking the question,
"Who can find a virtuous wife?"
and ends by making the statement,
"For her worth is far above rubies."
and then spends the next twenty verses outlining all the reasons why her husband can "safely trust her".
I know we've been victimized by some of the radical freedoms of the last half of the twentieth century and I know that there are times when the enemy is allowed to destroy holy relationships and the sad reality is that people getting married today have about a 50/50 chance of staying married until "death do they part". But it doesn't have to be that way!
And if you want to beat the percentages there is a simple key to doing it.....don't give yourself away before God ordains that you give yourself to the one that you will spend the rest of your life with.
Why bring the heartache upon yourself and those who love you? Why take chances on bringing innocent lives into the world to be victims of messes that you create?
Life becomes very simple and uncomplicated when we live it the way God ordains that we live it.
Here are three thoughts that have the backing of God's Word.
Here are three suggestions that will help you face the challenge of being a woman of God in the 21st century.
I. SEE YOURSELF AS A PERSON OF VALUE.
II. CATCH A VISION OF GOD'S DESIGNED ROLE FOR YOUR LIFE.
III. CULTIVATE A SENSE OF VIRTUE THAT EXCEEDS THE STANDARDS OF THE WORLD.
And, whatever you do, don't settle for less than God's best.
COPYRIGHT - DAVE KRALIK 2000
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