“AN EXCELLENT WOMAN” Proverbs 31:10-31
FBCF – 5/12/24
Jon Daniels
INTRO – DANGEROUS TERRITORY FOR ME TODAY! A man preaching a sermon about women!
- I’ve had a wonderful Godly woman as a mother for nearly 60 years.
- I’ve had a wonderful Godly woman as a wife for nearly 39 years.
- I’ve had a wonderful Godly woman as a daughter for 34 years.
- I’ve had 2 wonderful Godly women as daughters-in-law – one for 16 years & the other for 5 years.
But I will be the first one to say that none of that makes me an expert in womanhood in any way, shape, or form!
So, we are going to look to the Bible for the guidance we need as we start this new sermon series out of the book of Proverbs – “HomeWork”. 6 weeks – important components of a strong home/family. Start today on Mother’s Day & end on Father’s Day.
EXPLANATION – Proverbs 31:10-31
Want to be clear about something: Talking about an “excellent” woman today, not a “perfect” woman. Don’t want you to feel beat up or weighed down – you’ve got enough on your plates. We are going to raise the bar only as the Scriptures raise the bar, knowing that whatever the Word of God calls us to do – whether as women or as men – the Spirit of God will empower us to accomplish that. We are not going to call women today to make unattainable commitments b/c of unrealistic expectations. But, w/out apology, we are going to call women today to examine their lives in light of the truths of God’s Word & respond in obedience.
2 words to consider here at beginning of this passage:
- “excellent” – power, strength, courage, bravery
o Same word used in Psalm 18:31-32 – “For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God – the God who equipped me w/ STRENGTH & made my way blameless.”
o Same as Psalm 60:12 – “With God we shall do valiantly [we will do mighty things – NLT]; it is He who will tread down our foes.”
- “wife” – Hebrew word can be translated “wife” or “woman”
o AMP – “An excellent woman [one who is spiritual, capable, intelligent, and virtuous]”
APPLICATION – Every woman has the potential to be an excellent woman.
2 questions for feedback from women in church:
- When do you feel the strongest in your Christian life?
- When do you feel most vulnerable to Satan’s attacks on your life?
Great response from about 50 women in our church. Will use much of their feedback in the points that I’m going to give you.
So, let’s talk about this imperfect, but excellent woman.
AS A WIFE – v. 10-12 – Most of the women who responded to my callout this week are married. Some responded that they were strong in their Christian life when they were strong in their married life. Some responded that they felt most vulnerable to Satan’s attacks when struggling in marriage. So true!
- Quick word to the men: Do you hear that? She NEEDS you to be strong in YOUR walk w/ the Lord, & she needs you to walk w/ her & encourage her in HER walk w/ the Lord!
God’s plan for marriage is clearly taught in His Word. All the way back to Garden of Eden, God established HIS perfect design for marriage - & that design has not changed!
- Genesis 2:24 – “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto [be joined to; hold fast; cling to] his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”
- Jesus reiterated that – Matthew 19:4-5 – “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female,5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?”
This design has not changed one bit!
- He does not allow 2 men to get married to each other, nor does he allow 2 women to get married to each other, no matter what some so-called Christian denominations have decided.
- He does not allow a man to decide that he’s a woman or a woman to decide that she’s a man - & then get married to someone else who may also be deciding that they are going to change their gender.
Your call as an excellent woman & wife is to be who God created you to be as a woman & be committed to your husband. Your call is to be so committed to the Lord & to your husband that his heart trusts in you completely. Your call as an excellent wife is to bring good things into his life – comforting him, encouraging him, not hindering or harming him but helping him.
Your husband may not be saved – may not be walking w/ the Lord – may not be leading your family as he is called by God to do. But your call as an excellent woman & wife does not change. Keep doing good for him b/c 1 Peter 3:1-2 says that, when he sees the reverence & purity of your life, he may be won over to the Lord. The Lord will use YOU living as an excellent woman/wife to bring conviction to your husband & change his life.
HER WORK – v. 13-24 – Many of you expressed struggles & vulnerability to Satan’s attacks due to your work – whether that work was your job or your work at home as a mom & homemaker. Words like: “busy” – “not enough time” – “overwhelmed” – didn’t get all the “to do list” done – “stressed” – “hectic” – “crazy” – all opportunities to Satan to sneak into your life & launch an attack, telling you you’re not worthy, not valuable, not measuring up.
When you read these 12 verses, you can find yourself getting overwhelmed all over again, but don’t let that happen. Remember that this passage raises a high standard that the Lord will enable you to work toward. But also remember that we are ALL a work in progress.
- Philippians 1:6 – “And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
There’s no doubt that you are called to be a hard worker, to be industrious, to be diligent in your responsibilities. Laziness & slothfulness are sinful. Shirking your responsibilities as a wife & mother is sinful.
But, sister, God IS at work in you. If God has called you into a relationship w/ Him – if he has called you to be a wife – if He has called you to be a mother – then He will equip you to accomplish your work.
Let me tell you something that I hope will be an encouragement to you: Based on what I saw in those emails you sent me, y’all are all in the same boat. Look around this room – Look around your office – Look around your LG – Whichever woman you think has it all together is probably struggling in the same area you are struggling in.
- Reach out to each other for help & prayer. Yall need to help each other be excellent women. You are not alone in this struggle!
- You older women reach out to these younger women & offer your help & wisdom.
o Titus 2:4-5 – “…older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands.” (NLT)
- You younger women reach out to these older women & ask for their help & wisdom.
HER WISDOM – v. 25-28 – Proverbs – wisdom literature – talk about that more next week – “The Building Blocks of Wisdom.”
An excellent woman is a woman who has wisdom & she speaks that wisdom as she teaches others. And you will all teach others in some way:
- Some of you will teach a LG, or in VBS, or a Bible study. Some of you will teach your own children or grandchildren.
Why is it important for you to teach w/ the wisdom of God? Listen to this quote:
“[Mothers], our daughters will be products of their theology. Their knowledge – or lack of knowledge – of who God is and what He has done for them will show up in every attitude, action, and relationship. Their worldview will be determined by their belief system. We must teach our daughters that their value and identity lie in the fact that they are image-bearers of the God of glory. This will protect them from seeking significance in the inconsequential shallowness of self-fulfillment, personal happiness, materialism, or others’ approval. Our daughters must know the wondrous truth that their overarching purpose in life is God’s glory.” (Susan Hunt - https://gracequotes.org/topic/parenting-mothers/)
How do you get this wisdom? Simply ask God for it!
- James 1:5
HER WALK WITH GOD – v. 29-31 – Foundation of all of the others.
- Can’t be the wife you’re called to be apart from a strong walk w/ the Lord.
- Can’t accomplish lasting, eternal work as a mother in the home, a worker in the community, or a worker in the church apart from a strong walk w/ the Lord.
- Can’t teach life-changing, lifegiving wisdom to your children, grandchildren, & others over whom you have influence apart from a strong walk w/ the Lord.
This strong walk w/ God is described in v. 30 as a “woman who fears the Lord.” What does that mean?
- John Piper – “The fear of the Lord is fear of fleeing out of His fellowship into the way of sin.”
- It means that you have such high regard for Him, such deep love for Him, such breathtaking awe of Him, that you don’t want to do anything to impede His work in your life.
- It means that you realize how foolish it would be to do anything that would disrupt your intimacy w/ Him b/c of the pain it would bring, the peace you would forfeit, & the problems that would come.
Every one of you who responded to the email said you felt strongest in your Christian life when you were in the Word, when you were praying consistently, when you were worshiping w/ your church FAMILY, when you were surrounded by other believers who encouraged you. That’s the work of the Holy Spirit in you, convicting you & convincing you that your ONLY hope is JESUS! Your only hope to be this excellent woman is found in Christ & Christ ALONE! So come to Him today!
