Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

We have come to remember the earthly life of our dear sister, mother and wife, Nina Faye Martin-Merritt.

Nina began her life with Christ here in the congregation of Zion Orthodox Primitive Baptist Church.

She was a member of this church fellowship at the time that Zion moved from what is now Blake over to Fiske.

She sang in the choir and learned to love the Lord.

I mention this in my introduction, because it is her Christian experience and her conversion to the kingdom of God that obviously has affected and re-directed her entire life.

When I asked the Lord what would He have me to say about Nina Faye, He turned my attention to Proverbs, chapter 31, that begins verse 1.

Though, we know nothing about King Lemuel, what we do know is that his mother spoke to him with an urgent appeal for him to act wisely in one of the two most important decisions in life.

The two most important decisions a person can ever make is; 1. to choose whom you will live with as your husband or wife here on planet earth, and; 2. whom you will spend the rest of eternity with, by accepting or rejecting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

A. TEMPTATION OF THE STRANGE WOMAN

The mother of King Lemuel informed him in verse 3 of chapter 31 that the wrong kind of woman could ruin him for life.

The book of Proverbs is filled with warnings to young and old men about hooking up with the wrong woman.

The writer Jim Newheiser affirms this in his book “Opening Up Proverbs.”

as he uses the scriptures of Proverbs to prove his assertions.

He writes,

“The Strange Woman, like strong drink, will drain your strength.

She will seduce you, encouraging you to be unfaithful to your marriage vows (7:21–22).

If you marry her, she will be unfaithful to you (2:17).

She is the opposite of the virtuous wife.

Instead of strengthening your house, she will demolish it: ‘The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands’ (14:1).

She will neglect your family (7:11).

She will bankrupt you financially (6:31).

She will ruin your reputation (6:33).

She will distract you from your calling.

You will be so busy trying to please her (and she is hard to please!) that you will have little time left for your vocation.

You won’t be able to trust her to run your home.

Your kids will be out of control.

You will be constantly fighting domestic fires.

This woman will surely wear you out!”

This is what happens when a man succumbs to the tempting of the strange woman.

However, Not only do I see the temptation of the strange woman in the text, I see...

B. AN OBSERVATION OF THE EXCELLENT WIFE

In verses 10-27 of chapter 31, we learn from the writer of Proverbs that an excellent wife will contribute and commit to a man’s success in life!

Verse 10 begins by emphasizing the worth of an excellent wife.

It tells us that she is hard to find among other women and her worth is far above jewels!

The Hebrew word for “virtuous” is the same word that is translated for “strength” in verse 3.

This word is also used and translated as “valiant warriors.”

In other words, the Bible is telling us that virtue in this regard is not just moral standing and uprightness in a woman, but this sort of virtue refers to strength that is directed and passed on to all that she comes in contact with.

This is the strength that Nina Faye possessed and it is the strength that everybody admired in her.

Though men often would like to suggest that their success came by “pulling themselves up by their bootstraps,” most men in this room and beyond owe their strength, success and standing in life to a strong helpmate.

They owe their triumph to the female who rejected their willingness to settle for mediocrity in exchange for pressing towards greatness.

Most of us remember Hillary Clinton for her bid as the Democratic Party’s Candidate for the 2016 Presidential Election.

However, she is known for this amusing story that was circulated during the early days of the campaign.

During one stop in Chicago on her nationwide bus tour, a man that looked familiar reached out to shake Hillary Clinton’s hand from the crowd of admirers.

As she spoke to him, she identified the gentleman as a former high school acquaintance of hers and admitted that they had dated in high school for a short time.

The press immediately picked up on the story and wanted more information on the “mystery man.”

The press crowded the man and wanted to know his name and address.

He replied in a non-descriptive fashion that his name was Thomas Hale from Park Ridge, Illinois.

One reporter asks what he did for a living.

He looked up and confessed that he had been employed for the last 13 years as a trash collector, to which the crowd responded with an awkward, almost embarrassing chuckle.

Mrs. Clinton reached out and shook the man’s hand, thanking him for his support during the upcoming election and returned to the bus.

Afterward, a male reporter sat in the seat in front of her and made the statement; Mrs. Clinton, you should be happy that Bill came along when he did.

If you would’ve married Thomas Hale, today you would’ve been the wife of a trash collector.

Not missing a beat, she immediately replied; “Oh no sir.”

, “If I had married Thomas Hale, he would’ve been president.”

As he was returning to the car, he noticed that the attendant and his wife were engaged in an animated conversation.

The conversation stopped as he paid the attendant.

But as he was getting back into the car, he saw the attendant wave and heard him say, “It was great talking to you.”

As they drove away from the station, Wheeler asked his wife if she knew the man.

She readily admitted she did know him.

They had gone to high school together and had dated steadily for about a year.

“Boy, you were lucky that I came along,” Bragged Wheeler.

If you had married him, you’d be the wife of a gas station attendant instead of the wife of a chief executive officer of a fortune 500 company.

All I’m saying is that as men, we are either blessed by our helpmates or cursed by them.

The women in the lives of men can either make them or break them.

They can either lift them up, or drag them down.

Well, Nina Faye Merritt, was a blessing to her entire family.

She was most, if not all of what the Word of God speaks about when you look at a woman.

Consider today that she was an asset to her family.

She was a trustworthy wife and mother.

She was a hard worker in the workplace, having worked in a professional career that spanned over 40+ years.

And even in the midst of those professional demands, she was home-centered and family-focused.

She was an interior designer in her new home!

She was diligent, using her time effectively, as is spoken of in verse 15.

She was organized in her own way, and she never cut corners when it came to accomplishing a task.

All the reports that I’ve heard about Nina Faye all conclusively tell me that she loved her family and was diligent in all her ways to provide for and protect her loved ones.

However, not only do I see in the text the Temptation of the Strange Woman and An Observation of the Excellent Wife, But I also see...

C. THE GLORIFICATION OF HER HOME

The glory of the virtuous wife cannot be seen in the gates of the city.

Not can the glory of the virtuous wife be seen in the marketplace.

The glory of a virtuous woman can clearly be seen in her home.

The writer of Proverbs measures the glory of the home by the response of those that live inside of it.

Verse 28 helps us to understand this.

To know what kind of woman Nina Faye was, we should not ask her friends and acquaintances alone.

We should not ask her fellow-workers and co-laborers only.

Their view of Nina will be at times, incorrect and incomplete.

They can only see a part of the true story and the glory of Nina Faye.

However, you can comprehend her greatness by seeing how those she cared about the most responded to her daily actions of love and consideration.

The word of God tells us that the children of the virtuous wife and mother will “rise up and call her blessed.”

The word translated for “rise up” means that her children will arise and stand up for the entire world to see the blessing of who Faye has caused them to become!

When we look at her two girls who are now young women, we see in their lives the handprint of a mother whose continued to press for the very best that could be found in them.

Without her in their lives, they would not be the women that they are now.

Their families would not be what they are today.

However, now, they can rise to tell the entire world who their mother has caused them to become!

Great women of God.

However, not only will Sherwon and Carmen confirm her greatness and glory within the home, but her husband, Nathaniel will also arise and stand up, affirming her character and her contributions to his life.

Moreover because of her, his greatness resounds much farther than the geographical confines of the home.

says it this way;

The virtuous wife has a lasting impact and influence on the standing and public stature of her husband.

It all begins with her private love that spawns a public regard for her husband’s personhood and greatness.