"How To Win Your Husband (For Christ) Without Saying Anything"

7 October 2007

by

U.S. Army Chaplain (MAJ) Ken Harris

Ord Military Chapel

Seaside, CA

BIG IDEA: Christian wives should share the LOVE of Christ with their husbands through their Ministry of Submissiveness.

REFERENCES: 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 NLT (Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance); Esther 1:17-18 NKJV (For the queen’s behavior will become known to all women, so that they will despise their husbands in their eyes, when they report, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought in before him, but she did not come.’ This very day the noble ladies of Persia and Media will say to all the king’s officials that they have heard of the behavior of the queen. Thus there will be excessive contempt and wrath). Proverbs 31:10-31 (Proverbs 31 Woman); Matthews 5:16 KJV – (Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven); James 1:19-20 KJV – (Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God); Genesis 3:16 KJV (Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee); Ephesians 5:21-23 KJV ( Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body); Matthews 8:14-17 (Jesus cures Peter’s mother-in-law); 1 Corinthians 7:10-16 (Married Christians Should Not Seek To Part From Their Unbelieving spouse); 1 Peter 3:1-7 (The Duties of Wives & Husband); Ephesians 5:24-28 KJV - (Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself);

I. ANNOUNCE THE PERICOPE: 1 Peter 3:1-7 (KJV)

II. READ THE PERICOPE: 1 Peter 3: 1-7 (KJV)

III. READ THE TEXT: 1 Peter 3:1-2 GW (Wives, in a similar way, place yourselves under your husbands’ authority. Some husbands may not obey God’s word. Their wives could win these men {for Christ} by the way they live without saying anything. Their husbands would see how pure and reverent their lives are;

IV. PURPOSE: To encourage Christian wives - through LOVE and the MINISTRY of SUBMISSION - to willingly place themselves under their husbands’ leadership in order to win them for Jesus Christ.

V. SERMONIC THEME:

“HOW to Win your Husband, for Christ, without Saying Anything”

VI: INTRODUCTION:

As an only child - I have been taught, by my late mother, to have a tremendous respect for all women.

As mothers, wives, leaders, homemakers, and professional women alike, you have been called, by God, to conduct an awesome ministry: The Ministry of Love and Submission, and I applaud you!

Therefore, the question is “How Do You Win Your Husband, for Christ, without Saying Anything?”

In the New Living Translation of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, the Apostle Paul says:

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance

Matthews 5:16 (KJV) says, “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven”.

Someone else said, “Actions Speak Louder than Words”.

Finally, an Old African Proverb says, “When deeds speak, WORDS ARE NOTHING”.

****************TAKE 5 BEATS *********************

MOVE 1: Recently, through my reading and surfing the NET, I came across a Christian Counselor Advice Page (HoyWeb.com) …

a. … along with a Christian Wife Scenario and Question … that I believe represents many homes - led by unsaved husbands that are married to Christian wives: