When God created you as a woman, He created something “very good.” (Men can I get a witness?) In Genesis 1:27 we read: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” In other words, he created the two genders to reflect His glory through gender.
This morning, on Mother’s day we are here to celebrate God and His creative design in created gender-- and especially “girls” right? Mom’s are girls and girls are good-- very good according to God.
God’s Word celebrates gender from the first pages of scripture. He actually created us differently to mark the gender uniqueness. He created man from dirt. He created women from a dudes rib.
Why? I believe it’s because God wanted to accentuate our uniqueness. He wanted to celebrate how important these two genders are and how He created us to compliment and care for one another.
There are some things that men and women do differently. This is because God created the sexes to depend on each other. We are created to be “interdependent.” This is true in the very sense how we are created.
Today is Mother’s day. Guys, I have news for you. You will never be a Mom. You were not designed for such. Why? Because God gave women something he did not give you. Likewise, God gave men some things that He did not give women. (But that’s for the Father’s day message for June 16.)
God celebrates our differences and uniqueness. Likewise, we are called to acknowledge the differences, and appreciate the uniqueness. Guys, God created us to appreciate and depend on the ladies in our life because God made us to be interdependent of one another.
Transition:
Today is simple. From God’s Word I am going to spotlight the uniqueness of women; and specifically the uniqueness of godly women. Ladies, I am going to elevate your God-given design as defined by God and His Word.
This morning, where do we shift the spotlight to first? What special gift do we find in godly women? What does God say that He has given to the godly women that “we all” depend on? But most of all, what makes Godly women beautiful to God?
Transitional Sentence: What makes Godly women beautiful to God?
I. Your Pure Heart Is Beautiful to God
Vs. 3- “Your adornment must not be merely external- braiding of the hair, wearing of gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart...”
Explanation:
One of the things I love about I Peter chapter 3 it is a special place in scripture where God delights in women. He lifts up and helps us look into seeing how God sees the value of ladies and especially the value of Godly women.
As God shifts the spotlight upon women, he says something about their physical beauty. Let’s face it ladies, you know that you are the more beautiful of the two sexes.
I was at the gym a couple of weeks ago, getting ready for a spinning class and I was chatting to another guy who was on a bike two bikes over. In the middle was another bike and one of the ladies that takes the class with us came in, and sat down on the bike between us and said: “Wow, look, I am the rose between two thorns!”
Let’s face it ladies, you know you are the most attractive of the two sexes and God even makes that statement in scripture. Notice what He says in verse 3. He says: “Don’t let your adornment merely external...” Some versions read: “Don’t let your beauty be merely outward...”
Listen: Whether you think you are beautiful or not; God thinks you are so quit believing a lie if you think you’re not. He tells you that you’re beautiful right in verse 3!
Do you know what God is saying in verse 3? He is saying that when it comes to the two genders; you have a leg up. You can get all prettied up if you want. You can put on dresses. You can put on jewelry. You can enhance what is already there. God created you and you are attractive to Him!
God created you and believes you are beautiful on the outside.
Yet, I love the word “merely.” It literally means: “Don’t just be beautiful on the outside; be beautiful on the inside.”
God commands you here to have a beautiful heart. In other words, be the full package. Be beautiful inside and out.
He said to be even more focused on the inside and “hidden” part of your life. Pay attention to your heart because that is what God sees more than anything.
God is more interested in your heart than your hair. Notice in the Bible, when God was looking for a godly king for Israel He told Samuel: “Do not consider his appearance or height..... The Lord does not look at things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” I Samuel 16:7
Single guys, let me encourage you to do the same. You can buy a house based on curb appeal but once you make it your home, you can discover that the house is caving in. Guys, look for a girl who has a heart for God.
Ladies, God loves your heart. What is your heart like? You see, a true attempt to understand Biblical womanhood begins with the heart. Today, God is focused on your heart.
In our world, people look at a lot of things on the outside to try to determine their worth and value. Some will value you based on your outward appearance. Some might determine your attractiveness based on your career choice, or your size or weight.
In Jesus day, there were a lot of opinions. Many would pray and thank God for three things. Many of the religious Pharisees would say: “Thank you God that you did not create me to be a dog, a Gentile, or a woman.” Yet, Jesus modeled just to opposite of this. Some of his closest friends and followers were women.
Jesus involved and valued women in His ministry from the very beginning- ladies you have always been an intricate part of the gospel story.
a) Obviously a women named Mary gave birth to God in the flesh- Jesus Christ.
b) In the temple it was a woman named Anna that recognized the Messiah for the first time in
a place of worship.
c) During Jesus’ ministry there were many ladies who followed Jesus and served Him.
d) At the death of Jesus there was a group of women who were at the foot of the cross who
stayed by Him until He breathed his final breath.
e) It was a woman who God allowed to be granted the first glimpse of the resurrected Christ.
God has loved and included women in His sovereign plan for the ages. Furthermore,
God sees your heart as a beautiful place where He can take up residence.
You are a person who He wants to journey through life with. If you want to find your value, don’t look at the world, look to Jesus.
Our world constantly tries to tell you what you need to be a person of value and worth.
Yet God says this: “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but the woman that fears the Lord is to be praised.” Proverbs 31:30
Do you know what this means? It means that your greatest beauty potential is not dependent on outward looks; it dependent on the inward life of Jesus inside you. His presence seen in you is the most beautiful thing about you.
When I was in college I remember all the guys lining up to help the incoming freshmen girls move their stuff into the dorm. On the outside it appeared that the guys were “being nice guys.”
Yet, in reality, they were busy scoping out potential girlfriends. I will admit that I joined the guys for that “move-in “even a few times as a young single guy. Yet, after a couple of years I quit.
Do you know why? I discovered that after a couple of weeks, some of the girls were not as they originally appeared. Initially they were beautiful to the eyes, but later when you got to know them they were not so attractive. Do you know why? We got to know their heart.
What makes a woman beautiful?
Illustration: Beauty Poll
It is interesting but this week I read a poll of called “What gives women a deeper level of beauty?”
A large number of men responded to the poll. Here were top 5 results:
a) #5- A heart of passion. Someone who has a passion to pursue their purpose in life.
b) #4- Genuine joy. Joy is contagious and is attractive to everyone.
c) #3- Positivity. It read: Women who are negative and stressed lack that radiant healthy glow.
d) #2- Generosity. Generosity that involves empathy. Giving because you care.
e) #1- Humility. Quiet confidence and finding value in others in their life.
Application:
It seems that this poll is communicating something that God already communicated in His Word. He communicated that true beauty comes from the inside. It comes from the heart of joy, love, passion, generosity, positivity, and humility.
Amazing enough: Those sound very familiar don’t they? Galatians 5:22-23 says: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
True beauty comes from a heart that has been filled by Jesus and the Holy Spirit that transforms and makes beautiful hearts.
In verse 4 we are told what God finds beautiful. It says: “But let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.
Transitional Sentence: What makes Godly women beautiful to God?
II. Your Stealth and Support Are Beautiful to God
Vs. 5- “For in this way, in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands.”
Explanation:
One of the greatest tragedies of our day is that many people do not understand the word “submission” and completely misinterpret it.
In verse 5 we see the word jump off the page of scripture. Let me dismantle the word and help you understand what it means and apply it to our lives together. The word is “hupotasso” which is a military word. It’s a soldiers word that means: “to arrange in order.”
I find it interesting that God uses a military word to describe the power and position of stealth God gives women in our lives. To describe the power of a woman he describes her as being “the strength behind to soldier.”
How many of you know that this world is a battleground; more than it is a playground. It’s not easy to face life today. The enemy is rampant and wants to tear down all that is good and godly. Yet, God has given women a special gift to hold up the people God puts in her life. She is the leverage. She stands behind people and holds them up.
This word tells you ladies that you are two things:
a) You are a soldier
b) You are a support
This is probably the best visual picture of what submission means.
Now let’s apply this picture to what we are seeing in this passage. In this passage we discover that Abraham’s wife; Sarah was used as an example of a soldier and support to her husband.
Abraham was called to take the lead. He was to lead the charge. He was the “Father of many nations.” He was called to “lead the way” and Sarah was called to “hold him up” as he stormed the enemy that desired to disrupt God’s plan for the ages and for their family.
Yet, as a godly woman notice what she did. In verse 6 we see that in every way she consistently reminded Abraham of her confidence in her husband and in their God. She was the model of encouragement and strength.
What might seem offensive and demoralizing at first glance in verse 6 is actually just the opposite. The verse says: “She obeyed Abraham calling him lord” (with a little l)
Do you know what she was doing? She was physically and verbally modeling her confidence. She verbalizes to her husband where she is with Him. She’s behind him. She’s for Him. She believes in Him. She knows God has called him to stand up and face up to the enemy that wants to take down their kids and family.
Sarah, through her words, verbalized her love, belief, confidence, and expectation in the spiritual leadership of her husband. God designed men and women to work in a push-pull configuration.
Listen: You may not know it, but for a marriage to work God’s way, God calls for the man to pull and the woman to push.
Illustration: Push-pull locomotives
Let me illustrate it this way. Probably some of you have seen a train that has a locomotive in this type of configuration. It is called the push-pull configuration.
There is a locomotive at both ends of the train connection. In this configuration, a locomotive is hitched to both ends of the chain of cars on the railroad track.
One locomotive is at the front; the other is at the back. Yet, both are fired up, pouring on the coals, but little do you know there is in that chain of cars something called “the unit control car.”
The two locomotives is actually being driven by the control car. It links the two locomotives and helps them operate in perfect sync. It is the place where the conductor resides. The conductor controls the two locomotives and although one pulls and the other pushes; that’s what makes it able to bear the load and move forward.
Application:
That’s what happens when God gets control of a man and a women. The man knows his role is to stand out front and lead the pack, but behind him to load is easier because he’s got strength and power behind him. When both locomotives are synced up to control car; instead of working against each other, they work together.
Do you ever wonder why the enemy is always trying to get couples at odds at one another? He doesn’t want God to be in control.
Do you ever wonder why misogyny exists? Do you wonder why feminism exists? Satan hates the push-pull configuration because it’s God’s Biblical design for men and women, husbands and wives.
Do you know what Sarah and the godly women of old were? Cheerleaders for their husbands, and load pushers for their families?
Godly moms are soldiers and supporters. They take on the enemy in prayer, and spur on their families to God. Godly women do the same in their church family. They are soldiers and supporters.
Godly women like Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and Salome did it for Jesus. Even his own mother did it for Him up to the end and today, Godly women are doing the same in their homes and church homes!
So all you godly ladies; keep pushing. God thinks its beautiful.
Transitional Sentence: What makes Godly women beautiful to God?
III. Your Faith is Beautiful to God
vs. 6- “just as Sarah obeyed Abraham calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear.”
Explanation:
As God concludes his section to women that I am called: “The Biblical beauty secrets.” God reminds us a final time of what made Sarah different in her day. What made her different was that she was a woman of faith.
She chose faith over fear.
God reminds us that one of the greatest tools the enemy will attempt to use against women especially is fear.
I was studying this week the top fears that women say they face. Here’s the list that was generated and published all by women:
a) Fear of living outside your comfort zone
b) Fear of failure
c) Fear of feeling like a fraud
d) Fear of being unprepared
e) Fear of rejection
f) Fear of being wrong and ridiculed
h) Fear of not knowing enough
i) Fear of sounding stupid
j) Fear of speaking the truth
k) Fear of standing by yourself
Fear is real and it often paralyzes both sexes and genders. Yet, I appreciated the vulnerability of these ladies verbalizing what the fears that they struggle with. I bet many of you ladies can identify with one or more of these fears.
God seems to tell us that Sarah grew and became a strong woman of God through dealing bringing her fears to God. In doing so, she was vulnerable. She was honest with God and God strengthened her faith every time she brought her fears to God.
Reading Genesis we find that Sarah’s faith was a growing faith. When she heard that she would become pregnant with Isaac in her old age she laughed because her lack of faith, yet later she is found celebrating in faith seeing that nothing was impossible for God.
Ladies: God is developing your faith just like He did in Sarah.
And today, he celebrates your growing faith in verse 6 saying: “...and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear.”
Concluding Illustration: Lottie Moon
I saw a lady the other day that had on a t-shirt that said: “Well behaved women rarely change history.” I laughed. But let me give you a little different perspective.
In our denominational there was a tiny woman who was a giant among women that every Christmas we dedicate an offering to missionaries in the honor of her name. Her name was Lottie.
She was a 4’3 women whose feet did not even hit the floor when she sat in a chair. She was born into a Baptist family and was wealthy and had access to education that many people in her day did not. She attended the Virginia female seminary at the age of 14 and the University of Virginia at age 17. She became proficient at Greek, Italian, Latin, French, and Spanish-- then took up Hebrew.
By the time she finished her schooling, John Broadus called her the most educated woman in all of the south. While her mind was sharp her spirit was sinful. She mocked God and heard about John Broadus having a series of “meetings” and she attended to mock the preacher yet, that night on December 21, 1858 God got hold of her heart and she was born again.
Her zeal for God grew along with her desire to teach. She moved to Danville, Kentucky where she taught at a girls school, then moved to Cartersville, Georgia (just a few miles from where I stand) to start a girls school.
In her day, she began giving funds for missionaries to the Foreign Mission Board but never thought of ever going as a missionary because as her biographer said: “Most Baptists at that time did not believe God called women to anything.”
But as women responded to the call to give, and in 1872 a women to women organization drew ladies together in giving and ultimately the door opened for single women to not only give but go and her sister Edmonia and she became a Southern Baptist Foreign Missionary.
Yet, on the field it did not take her long to appeal to her sister to go and 18 months after the appointment of her sister she heard a sermon from her missions minded Pastor; R.B. Headen who pleaded for laborers to go and she went to her room and prayed all afternoon and it cemented her calling in her heart.
She ended up going to China and went to Ting Chow, China and resolved to do the work God called her to do with many other women and missionaries that went. They taught song, shared the gospel with her fiery passion to tell people about Jesus.
Lottie traveled and at one time went to 44 villages in 11 days. She sat up a school, taught, and went to villages telling people about Jesus. She became a pioneer in taking the gospel into the world and at 1911 severe famine came and her health failed as she gave away all she had for others around her. At her death she only weighed 50 pounds because she gave away her money and food to feed her neighbors. On the ship home she sang “Jesus loves me this I know” and on Christmas Eve in one of the ports of China she raised her hands in reception to Jesus and went home to be with the Lord.
Invitation:
I dare say: “Well behaved women do change history because Sarah and Lottie proved it. But not only her but many of the women of our past. Our godly mothers, grandmothers, great grandmothers who lived and some that still live for Jesus.”
Ladies, I urge you to join them and men, I encourage you to celebrate them. As Proverb 31 speaks of the godly women many of you have joined her ranks today as we read: “..her worth is far above rubies....(and) the woman that fears the Lord, she shall be praised.”
Will you chose Jesus and live for Jesus as these women who blazed a trail to Him in the past; and will you do the same for those yet to come in the future? On this Mother’s day, why not do just that?
