The Power of a Spirit-Filled Woman in a
Home
Part of the “Bow the Knee” Series
1Peter 5:1-6
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
DATE: 2 Mar, 2008 AM
PLACE: BBC Ballincollig
I.
Introduction
A.
Peter
Marshall, a former Chaplain to the entire
1.
“The modern challenge to motherhood is
the eternal challenge -- that of being a godly woman. The very phrase sounds
strange in our ears. We never hear it now. We hear about every other type of
women: beautiful women, smart women, sophisticated women, career women, talented
women, divorced women.
2.
But so
seldom do we hear of a godly woman -- or of a godly man either, for that matter.
3.
I believe
women come nearer to fulfilling their God given function in the home than
anywhere else. It is a much nobler thing to be a good wife, than to be Miss
4.
Amen,
Peter Marshall!
B.
Where
have people missed this truth?
1.
It’s
because the world has been screaming louder and louder about personal rights,
and women’s rights, and the evils of Christianity, and all the while, the
delicate balance of life that we call home has been almost stamped out
2.
Huge
numbers of kids on drugs – KIDS starting at 13 and 14
3.
Almost
50% of all babies born in
4.
Divorce
hasn’t hit hard here because of two reasons:
a.
Most
couples today are only living together – most
b.
For those
marriages with serious problems, separation is enough to hurt the other person –
divorce is too good for them
5.
Homes
here in
6.
And we
have freedom loving feminists to thank… No! We have OURSELVES to thank for
believing them!
C.
We are in
a series of messages from the Bible that we call, “Bow the Knee”
1.
They are
not sweet, easy to take messages, because they deal with things that block the
blessings of God - pride and looking out only for yourself!
2.
During
this year, we want to learn to truly bow the knee as we bow our hearts before
God, and before His perfect word, the Bible!
3.
This
month is about the need for our generation to repent and become born again!
D.
But,
seeing it is Mother’s Day, I have another opportunity to preach on the Family,
and today it is going to be a doozey!
E.
I want to
finish what I started with the Eight Priorities of a Real World Wife
F.
But to do
that, I need to teach you some things about the TRINITY, and what it means when
the Bible says that God created mankind “in His image”
G.
I want to
show you that a home is a reflection of the Trinity, and that the wife has a
most amazing place in that earth-based trinity!!!
II.
Message
A.
The
Trinity in Heaven (1John 5:7)
1.
God is a
Triple Personality Being – One God, three personalities that represent that
Being
a.
There is
ONE God, Jehovah, yet He is a Tri-une God, an eternal, infinite being that
relates to us in three personalities:
1)
The
Father
2)
The Word
3)
The
Spirit
4)
These
three are ONE
b.
The
Trinity is shown at Creation (Genesis 1:1-3)
1)
God the
Father created everything, by just His will
2)
God the
Holy Spirit moved upon that creation, moulding and shaping it
3)
God the
Word, Jesus, went forth and created light throughout the universe in the
twinkling of an eye
c.
The
Trinity is shown at Christ’s baptism (Matthew 3:16,17)
d.
Don’t let
anybody say that there is no trinity in the Bible!
2.
Now, all
that aside, I want to focus a bit this morning on the Third Person of the
Godhead, of the Trinity… the Person of the Holy Spirit
a.
We have
already seen that He was active in the creation of the world - Genesis 1:1-2.
b.
But did
you know that the Holy Spirit is Active in the regeneration of sinful man? (John
3:3-5)
c.
Did you
know that the Holy Spirit was active in the inspiration of our perfect
Scripture? (2 Peter 1:21)
d.
Did you
know that the Holy Spirit has a mind? (Romans 8:27) “And he that searcheth
the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh
intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
e.
Did you
know that the Holy Spirit has a will? (1 Corinthians 12:11) “But all these
worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he
will.”
f.
Did you
know that the Holy Spirit has emotions? (Ephesians 4:30) “And grieve not the
holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”
g.
He is not
merely an “influence,” or a “power” but a Divine person, coequal and co-eternal
with the Father and with the Son.
Believers can be robbed of a real relationship with the Holy Spirit if they
consider the Spirit to be an impersonal influence, power or energy. He is a
Person, who has feelings, and gets grieved, and has a plan that he is trying to
work out in your life!
3.
Let me go
a.
Did you
know that God the Father gets all the glory for everything good that happens in
this universe of ours… not the Holy Spirit?
b.
Did you
know that God the Son, Jesus, as a Man did everything in the power of the
fullness of the Holy Spirit?
c.
Did you
know that the Holy Spirit basically was always in the background, busy making
things happen, even though unseen, and most of the time, unappreciated? Take a
look at John 16:13! Doesn’t draw much attention to Himself!
d.
Let me
lay it out this way: When you have needs in your life, to whom do you turn?
1)
You look
to God the Father because His is the giver of every good and perfect gift.
God the Father is the source for all your needs!
2)
The
ACCESS to that source is Jesus Christ.
He makes it possible to access the Father (John 14:6).
3)
And the
power behind every gift in your life is the Holy Spirit. Without Him, without
the Person of the Holy Spirit, working in our lives, convicting us of sins, and
humbling us in prayer, none of the gifts that God the Father gives us have any
power!
4.
Now! Let
me move to where we live! To our homes, and our families
B.
The
Trinity in the Home (Genesis
1:27,28)
1.
The Lord
chose to compare an earthy family with the Trinity.
a.
He called
the head of the family, the man, after His own name, Father. We pray, "Our
Father, Which art in Heaven."
b.
He
likened the children in a family to His own Son, the second Person in the
Trinity, His Son. Hence, we have in a family a person who represents God the
Father, and we have a person who represents God the Son.
c.
Now get
this… there is no one left out!
d.
By
process of elimination, we come to realize who represents the Holy Spirit in
your family. There is only one person left, and that's the lady. That means you
- the woman, the wife, the mother – you represent the Holy Spirit.
e.
Ladies,
if you would like to find your best duties in life, just find in the Bible what
the Holy Spirit does.
1)
He
comforts; so does a Mother and a wife.
2)
He
teaches; so does Mom.
3)
He
instructs; so does Mother.
4)
He leads
and guides; so does Mother.
f.
Think of
all the ministries the Holy Spirit has in the world.
1)
He's the
unseen One; so is Mother.
2)
He is the
one Who gives others all the attention; so does Mother.
3)
If you
want to know what your duties are in your family, all you have to do is find out
the duties of the Holy Spirit in the Trinity
4)
Because
you ladies are the Holy Spirit of your home.
C.
The
Power of a Spirit-Filled Woman in a Home
(1Peter 3:1-6)
1.
You can
win, ladies – that’s what you want to do anyway! You can conquer the mightiest
of armies, and the strongest of men – but only the Bible way! So, what is THAT
way?
2.
Three
Steps to being a Holy Spirit Filled Woman in your home – they will also be three
tests that you will face regularly
a.
Submission (1Peter 3:1; Titus
2:1-5)
1)
Don’t get
mad at me. Remember those Eight Priorities of a Real
2)
Here is
the FINAL priority that a woman has to put in place in their life – it is not
the first!
a)
If you
find it hard to submit, then you have things out of order
b)
You are
not soberly thinking about things from God’s viewpoint
c)
You are
not loving your husband by choice instead of feeling
d)
You are
not really loving your children well – if you think staying angry at your
husband, and depressed at life in general is taking good care of your children,
then you better re-think your ways!
3)
The
Holy Spirit does not act and work against God the Father!
4)
Subjection does not mean
servitude and slavery
a)
The idea
is that as husband and wife work together and that you are not constantly
pulling in an opposite direction.
b)
This
obedience does not mean that you are a slave or a bond-servant, but rather that
you are team, sharing a mutual goal.
c)
The
harshness of the word “obey” is tempered by the display of love and affection
that the husband shows his wife.
d)
The
husband leads, and you follow – there is one lead horse that reins in the other
horses – same with sled dogs, etc.
e)
Remember,
your submission is to the Lord, not really unto a man! (Eph. 5:22-24)
5)
It is a
kind of submission which rejects the errors of both chauvinism and feminism.
a)
When a
chauvinist man treats his wife as though she is a lesser being and not one with
him, what he is doing is showing the false doctrine that the Holy Spirit is
inferior to the Father and not united with him as one God. He is showing the
world that they are not equal!
b)
When a
wimpy man does not lead spiritually at all, and his feminist wife is not
responsive to him as her head, they are both showing the false doctrine that
there is no distinction between the Father and the Holy Spirit, that the Father
is not the head of the Trinity.
c)
But when
a biblical husband and wife see themselves as equal and one with each other,
with the husband gently leading and the wife joyfully responding, they show the
truth about the Father and the Holy Spirit in the holy Trinity. Their loving
union offers a glimpse into the Being of the God who created male and
female in his own image.
6)
Subjection is not a submission to everything a husband tells a wife to do. That
goes without saying. Any man that is trying to force his wife to sin, or is
brutal in his home-life should be dealt with by the men in this church, or by
the law!
b.
Inner
Beauty (1Peter 3:2-4)
1)
All about
an ATTRACTIVE ATTITUDE
2)
Chaste
conversation, means a life and a mouth under control
3)
The fear
is of God is all that is needed, not of the husband!
4)
a)
Notice
how much emphasis is on looks today
b)
Clothing,
jewellery, hairstyles, tints, shoes, make-up to attract people’s attention
c)
Nothing
wrong with having any of those things
d)
The
problem is its priority in life instead of the priority of godliness
e)
A Meek
and Quiet SPIRIT very attractive!!! Full stop!
(i)
Muscles
on a woman – not attractive
(ii)
Bossy-ness, domineering – out
(iii)
Scowls
and glaring eyes – not beautiful
(iv)
Arrogance
– not pretty
(v)
Those are
masculine qualities – and not that great!
5)
Woman was
not made to till the soil, she was not made to build a house, she was not made
to stack the brick, nor cut the stones, nor build a road, nor head the state,
nor lead the church, nor reap the harvest.
6)
In God’s
kingdom, a woman set the atmosphere while the soil is being tilled. It is
woman's awesome job to determine the mood while the house is being built.
Everywhere woman has ever been, it has been her job to provide the spirit or the
tone while man does his work and changes the course of history.
7)
I know
great women have changed the course of history too – but when most women seek
only to take their place in history, they do it usually to the harm of their
home!
8)
Whether
it be good or bad, there is one thing that woman always does; she determines the
spirit and the atmosphere of any place where she is present. Ladies…
a)
A woman
can make
b)
She can
make an ark a lifeboat, and the
c)
She can
ruin a man as did Delilah or she can change a house into a church as did
Priscilla.
d)
She can
fill the house with Mary's ointment or she can fill it with Michal's hatred.
e)
She can
save a nation as Esther did or she, like Jezebel, can destroy one.
9)
Ladies, I
don't think you understand completely how the atmosphere of your home is
determined by you.
a)
All of
creation, as beautiful and perfect as it was, could not take the place of Eve
b)
Adam
needed SOMEONE to share with him the beauty of the world - someone who just by
the power of her presence would make creation ever more beautiful!
(i)
Adam
needed someone to whom he could say, "Look at the stars! Aren't they stunning
tonight?"
(ii)
Adam
needed someone with whom he could share the joys of the life he had been given
in that beautiful garden
(iii)
He longed
for communion with a kindred soul, one whose wants and joys were like his own.
(iv)
To a
lonely man, the world was cold and blank. Adam needed somebody, and God made
her; and she came fully dressed in all the beauty that a human being could
possess.
c)
The winds
are a thousand times more refreshing now that she is here. The flowers are a
thousand times more fragrant now that she is here. The birds are a thousandfold
more melodious, the trees are far more beautiful, and the fruits are amazingly
more delicious. The sun is much brighter, the moon is more lovely, the stars are
so much closer, and the animals are more exciting all because she is here.
d)
Man
worked before woman came, but man worked harder after she came. Man ran before
she came, but man ran faster after she came. Man jumped before she came, but man
jumped higher after she came. Man was good before she came; man excelled after
she came.
e)
She was
created all because of the perfection of the Garden of Eden did not give to Adam
what he needed. The garden, and life itself was not enough without her!
10)
This is
the Spirit of a Christian Woman in a Home – this is the work of the Holy Spirit
in a home!
a)
What does
the Bible call it?
b)
Meek, and
Quiet
c)
Oh how
far this world has moved away from such a concept
d)
Meek does
NOT mean weak! It means, not drawing attention to self’s demands, but thinking
of others only!
e)
Quiet
means, restrained - not boisterous, or loud, or angry or bitter
f)
The
“still, small voice” of the Holy Spirit is what
(i)
Convicts
sinners of their sin
(ii)
Directs
believers into the will of God
(iii)
Comforts
believers when they are hurting
(iv)
Thrills
believers when they have done their best for God
c.
Strong
Confidence in God (1Peter
3:5,6)
1)
Trusting
God’s plan, not your worries
2)
Trusting
God’s wisdom, not your own ways
3)
Trusting
God to know what is best
4)
Strong
confidence comes from your own personal relationship with Jesus! Not a religious
experience, but a transformation of heart because you yourself one day bowed the
knee and asked God to save YOUR lost soul!
5)
And from
that day, you walk with God and talk with God, and listen to the words of each
page of His journal, the Bible!
6)
Oh, this
will be the most important choice you will ever make – to fully trust God, for
your home!
7)
Proverbs
3:5,6
III.
Conclusion
A.
Peter
Marshall said, “The world has enough women who know how to be brilliant. It
needs some who will be brave. The world has enough women who are popular. It
needs more who are pure. We need women, and men, too, who would rather be
morally right than socially correct.” Someone who would be spirit-filled,
instead of self-filled!
B.
It begins
with asking yourself, how far you are going to trust the Lord
1.
Believe
me, you can trust him for forgiveness, full and free, from all sin in your own
life! That’s what the cross purchased for each and everyone
2.
Christ’s
death was a substitute in your and my place
3.
But we
have to accept it – that WE deserved to die in punishment for our own sins – not
Him!
4.
Yet Jesus
died, and was buried, and three days later rose up victorious over death.
5.
Believing
it and living it are the key – that’s when it becomes a new birth – it changes
the life! Totally!
C.
Folks,
especially the ladies in this room today, you can trust God!
D.
He knows
how to help you win over your past, your failures, over your hurts, over your
feelings, and ultimately over your husband, and your children!
E.
There is
a Trinity in Heaven – the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost
F.
There is
a trinity in every home too – the Husband, the Wife, and the children
G.
The focus
this morning has been on the wife, the mother, as the Holy Spirit in her home
H.
Will you
set the atmosphere, the mood, the humour, the tone of your home? Whether you
realise it or not, you already do. The Lord is asking you to set it right for
Him! Make your home, just by its atmosphere, a haven, a refuge, a taste of
heaven! By God’s grace!