Women: The Reason Men Pray
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Women: The Reason Men Pray
Women: The Reason Men Pray
READ THE TEXT
READ THE TEXT
8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;
9 in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing,
10 but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works.
11 Let a woman learn in silence with all submission.
12 And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.
13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve.
14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.
15 Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.
1 Timothy
8 Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.
9 Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments,
10 but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness.
11 A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness.
12 But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.
13 For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve.
14 And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.
15 But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.
PRAYER
PRAYER
Introduction: Sir Thomas Overby, the 17th century English poet, penned “A Wife” espousing the virtues a young man should demand from a woman. It is rather lengthy, so here is but a portion:
And all the carnall beauty of my wife,
Is but skin-deep...
Man did but the well-being of this life
From woman take; her being she from man;
And therefore Eve created was a wife,
And at the end of all her sex, began:
Mariage their object is; their being then,
And now perfection, they receive from men.
Good, is a fairer attribute then white,
’Tis the minds beauty keeps the other sweete;
That’s not still one, nor mortall with the light,
And all the carnall beauty of my wife,
Is but skin-deep...
Good, is a fairer attribute then white,
’Tis the minds beauty keeps the other sweete;
That’s not still one, nor mortall with the light,
Nor glasse, nor painting can it counterfeit;
Nor doth it raise desires, which ever tend
At once, to their perfeciton and their end.
As good, and knowing, let her be discreete,
That, to the others weight, doth fashion bring;
Discretion doth consider what is fit,
Goodnesse but what is lawfull; but the thing,
Not circumstances; learning is and wit,
In men, but curious folly without it.
Good, is a fairer attribute then white,
’Tis the minds beauty keeps the other sweete;
That’s not still one, nor mortall with the light,
Nor glasse, nor painting can it counterfeit;
Nor doth it raise desires, which ever tend
At once, to their perfeciton and their end.
Good, is a fairer attribute then white,
’Tis the minds beauty keeps the other sweete;
That’s not still one, nor mortall with the light,
Nor glasse, nor painting can it counterfeit;
Nor doth it raise desires, which ever tend
At once, to their perfeciton and their end.
Good, is a fairer attribute then white,
’Tis the minds beauty keeps the other sweete;
That’s not still one, nor mortall with the light,
Nor glasse, nor painting can it counterfeit;
Nor doth it raise desires, which ever tend
At once, to their perfeciton and their end.
As good, and knowing, let her be discreete,
That, to the others weight, doth fashion bring;
Discretion doth consider what is fit,
Goodnesse but what is lawfull; but the thing,
Not circumstances; learning is and wit,
In men, but curious folly without it.
Mariage; to all those joyes two parties be,
And doubled are by being parted so,
Wherein the very act of chastity,
Whereby two soules into one body go.
Which makes two, one; while here they living be,
And after death in their posterity.
This poem reminds us of the words of Solomon.
22 Find a good spouse, you find a good life—
and even more: the favor of God!
22 Find a good spouse, you find a good life— and even more: the favor of God!
Virtue is not something innate to a person as much as it is fostered in a person. If one is a good spouse it is the result of something or someone else.
Virtue is not something innate to a person as much as it is fostered in a person. If one is a good spouse it is the result of something or someone else.
Creative minds of every century have invented tools that shaped their societies and shaped the lives of the generations that came after them. But, only God can shape the hearts of the people who are the generations to come, and he does not use a tools. He used a person - A Mother.
Those same 2nd graders, when asked how God made mothers and from what replied: “He used magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.” When asked what would make their mom perfect, they replied: “On the inside she’s already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.”
You have heard the old idioms: “Beauty is only skin deep. and Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Much of the truth that lies behind those sayings is in the fact of what lies beneath, in the heart of a woman. That truth comes from a biblical worldview of character and virtue are something to be desired far more than beauty and wealth, much like Solomon says that wisdom is to be desired more than rubies.
They say beauty is only skin deep, which means that beautiful people are no different from ugly people except for their appearance. This is the second stereotype or aphorism that evolutionary psychology has overturned. It turns out that beautiful people are genuinely different from ugly people, because they are genetically and developmentally healthier.
What we learn from God’s Word is:
A Godly Woman is a Thing of Beauty. Doesn’t matter how young or old, rich or poor. Virtue is what last. Go home later and read how Lemuel best remembers his mother in the last chapter of Proverbs.
30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
Proverbs 31:30
As a father I would much rather my wife and I lead my girls to be healthier spiritually, to be seen as beautiful in their attitudes and actions, their character as a godly woman who honoring Him with their life, than for them to be seen as a hot girl, popular and dressed in the best fashions. I would much rather my wife and I lead Silas to find a good spouse according to God’s Word than according to societies ways. As a pastor I would hope that you fathers and mothers, uncles and aunts, grandparents and members period would desire the same for the females that you know. I would hope for you to desire for and lead the boys to grow up being men who seek a Godly woman that will honor God, follow her husbands lead and be a partner in life.
As a father I would much rather my wife and I lead my girls to be healthier spiritually, to be seen as beautiful in their attitudes and actions, seen in their character as a Godly woman, than for them to be seen as a hot girl, popular and dressed in the best fashions. I would much rather my wife and I lead Silas to find a good spouse according to God’s Word than according to societies ways. As a pastor I would hope that you fathers and mothers, uncles and aunts, grandparents and members period would desire the same for the females that you know. I would hope for you to desire for and lead the boys to grow up being men who seek a Godly woman.
Paul urges two young pastors in two churches the need for this to happen in the family and the family of God. 1) Titus lead the church in Crete, a very worldly place where a queen (I believe the wife of King Minos) became infatuated with a prize bull given to him, and the Greek myth is the Minotaur is birthed from bestiality. is where Paul encourages the older women to behave rightly with their mouths and their hands teaching the younger women to do the same in order to keep the Word of God from being blasphemed. 2) Timothy leads the church in Ephesus, the which could be described as “the great bastion of feminine supremacy.” It is where they worship the Greek Goddess called Dianna by the Romans, and they do so in a temple where the prostitutes wore their hair up with shiny braids and beads. The place was also a wealthy center of trade. The men were know to have one wife for child-birth and one for going out on the town who would wear the finest and flashiest clothes.
1 But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.
2 Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.
3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good,
4 so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,
5 to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.
6 Likewise urge the young men to be sensible;
7 in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified,
8 sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.
9 Urge bondslaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative,
10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,
12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age,
13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,
14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
15 These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.
10 but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness.
Notice Paul’s words in - It is not hard to understand that a committed Christ follower of that day changed to be a new creation on the inside needed to show themselves different on the outside. Listen to how it is paraphrased in the message:
10 but doing something beautiful for God and becoming beautiful doing it.
Paul acknowledges two things in this text to Timothy:
That women are beautiful creations made in God’s image
That women can enhance their beauty both outwardly and inwardly (which is his greater concern)
Transitional Sentence and Keyword: Here are three secrets/practices to enhance your beauty, whether you are a mother or not. In doing so you will something beautiful for God, for the men in your life, and children around you.
Learn your place in God’s created order or design.
Love your place and from your place.
Live well in your place.
These 3 things are not in that particular order in the scripture, they are there in Paul’s teaching. In order to live well, you must love God and how He fits you in His created order, which you cannot do unless you learn what that place is and why.
Learning your place - I mean the how and why. The marriage unit consist of two people, male and female, made distinctly different in personality and practice by God’s design, but to function properly, everything needs a person in the position of leadership, especially the family. By God’s design, that “headship” (the caring for responsibility) is given to the man, not because is better or smarter. It is from the very beginning - before sin.
I heard Rick Warren say, “The reason for the 2 sexes is 1) God contains both male and female qualities (often described in OT) and 2) Together in marriage we both project what God is really like to the children and the world.
v.12 - when Paul uses the phrase “to have authority over” he is essentially saying that the wife should never do anything that will jeopardize or undermine the position of leadership given to man by God.
v.12 - when Paul uses the phrase “to have authority over” he is essentially saying that the wife should never do anything that will jeopardize or undermine the position of leadership given to man by God.
Eve took an improper initiative when tempted and usurped Adam’s place of leadership. Instead of asking Adam about it before eating, ate then asked. Too late. Many of the women in the church of Timothy’s pastorate - were usurping the authority of church leaders (feminism leads liberalism in this area) (Too often in most churches now - women take it because the men will not). I have to teach and lead you both on the proper order.
Quickly on Paul’s forbidding women from teaching - You have to think of these difficult passages in terms of universal and cultural. 1) What applies to them and me and never changes: Submission to God’s design for home and church leadership. 2) What applies to them but could change with me: silence in worship - teaching does not always symbolize authority. The women of that culture were not afforded the educational opportunities you ladies are today. They were not learned and equipped enough to teach men. Some of the women were also teaching the false doctrines, having been swayed in their emotions. Which leads to the next point.
Quickly on Paul’s forbidding women from teaching - You have to think of these difficult passages in terms of universal and cultural. What applies to them and me and never changes: Submission to God’s design for home and church leadership. What applies to them but could change with me: silence in worship - teaching does not always symbolize authority. The women of that culture were not afforded the educational opportunities you ladies are today. They were not learned and equipped enough to teach men. Some of the women were also teaching the false doctrines, having been swayed in their emotions.
Loving your place and loving from your place - v.12 - “in silence” - Paul does not want there to be a contentious woman trying to disrupt church and home. A loving woman submits lovingly to the support role God designed for her in the marriage. Again, Adam and Eve are an example: before sin their existed joyful harmony, after sin the prophecy and fulfillment of it is festering conflict. Paul was not giving a gag order for women. Simply speaking, God doesn’t want you to squirm around under the headship. He wants you to rest in His sovereign teaching and submit to his will, which can only be seen not said.
In v.15 - Paul is not saying that only Mothers who are fertile will be saved. If that were the case I have several people in my life that I could not see in eternity, yet I know their lives have given evidence of salvation. There are about 3-4 different interpretations of this most difficult verse, but the one that seems to make the most sense is that Paul is alluding to - the seed of Man - the Messiah that will crush the serpent. And that the ending of the verse is the evidence of that salvation in a woman. We know that Paul says elsewhere that the greatest of these evidences is love.
Living well in your place - this begins with you being sober-minded about it all. The Greek word translated “moderation” means “the voluntary limitation of one’s freedom of thought and behavior.” Mindful of your attitude and your actions. This gives us the picture of being deliberate.
Living well in your place - this begins with you being sober-minded about it all. The Greek word translated “moderation” means “the voluntary limitation of one’s freedom of thought and behavior.” Mindful of your attitude and your actions. This gives us the picture of being deliberate.
Be deliberate in your clothing - Ephesian women - don’t look like the harlots down at the temple of the goddess, or like the vain women of town flaunting their materialism. American women - don’t look like the worldly people you see. Let your clothes be according to culture but not extravagant, not vain, not suggestive. Godly women call attention to God and promote worship of Him in humbleness. To do that you have to:
Be deliberate in your character - Attitudes and actions are more important than even attire, but when you get heart and mind in agreement with God the attire will fall into place. The word “dress” can just as easily refer to demeanor as well as attire. The attire is a mirror of the heart and mind. Now in these thing I do not mean legalism.
We see from v.15 - you should be more concerned about your life producing the fruit of the Spirit, which is an outflow of being deliberate in your character.
Conclusion: Agreeing with God on these difficult passages will promote unity, harmony and order in the home and the church.
Men, these women have a lot to consider and commit to if they want to be beautiful for you. That’s why Paul begin this text with a charge to you, Pray. Women are the reason men pray. Beginning with your wife and kids, if your married.
Illustration: I met with Bob Dickerson this week. We were discussing prayer life. He said the best and most life changing decision he made in his prayer life was to pray with his wife and over his wife aloud each night before bed. He said he wished he would have done it a lot sooner in his marriage.
Men, I cannot tell you what to pray. I can say pray for her how you would want her to pray for you. We must pay attention to Paul’s words in order to be effective. 3 hindrances you will face:
Sin - Our attitudes and actions are just as important if not more so. Practical Holiness enables prayer. Lifting hands in Paul’s day was a sign of cleanness/purity. Watch where you place your eyes. Guard your heart so that nothing lustful lingers.
Anger - There is a reason Paul says don’t let the sun go down on yours. Bob said it was very hard to pray over her when he was angry with her. It became very hard to be angry at his wife knowing he was going to have to pray over her.
Quarreling - The word doubt is better translated as dispute or dissension. Guard your lips so that nothing harmful or hurtful is hurled towards the wife or women in your life. Resentment is a wall. Bitterness is a cancer. When you recognize it, ask God to rid you of it.
These women are too special and too precious for us not to pray for them. Men, this context begins with the worship service. I do not know too many men I can call on to pray. I can teach you how later, but you have too be willing first.
Invitation to Respond
Invitation to Respond
What do you need to do today? The gospel is clear. You and I were never able to save ourselves from the wrath of God against our sin. God from His love sent His son to die and face it for you so he could save you from it. He calls you to salvation, but it is not absent of something from you, repentance. God’s design is for everyone. At times, even when we are followers, we stray. Have you strayed from the design as a women? As a man? Repentance always brings us back to God’s design.