Gender Issues In The Church

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Well, if I haven't caused us trouble yet Mike says now let's talk gender issues in the church
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And it's my pleasure my text is 2nd
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Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 2 Which I intend to apply to this topic
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But we have renounced disgraceful underhanded ways We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's Word, but by the open statement of the truth
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We would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. Let's pray Oh Father what a need there is for the church to embrace and live out and humble submission to you but also in joyful blessing the
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Relations between men and women in society and the family in the church Oh, what what what a curse we bears our society as we have rewritten the rules and Lord strengthen your people to joyfully
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Walk in your way in this manner and to shamelessly set before the world
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The wholesome and blessed way of the people of God obeying your word. Thank you for the men Thank you for the women.
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May your glory be revealed through both. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen Well as I've been saying as we deal with gender issues in the church and particularly the role of women
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I think the real issue the biggest issue is our integrity and faithfulness to the Word of God our our
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Willingness to stand before the culture and say thank you for your opinion We're going to believe
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God's Word and we believe that it's true. We believe that we can understand it We believe it's it's not just something that was for the ancient man
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It's for the modern man the postmodern man the postmodern women, but also of our enjoyment of God's blessing
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It's true of all these doctrinal areas but here with gender relationships in marriage and in the church and all what our
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Ability to live in harmony and to enjoy loving relationships and fruitful churches is in large part dependent on our embracing
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The biblical pattern of life by by making our own modifications. We are not improving
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The the the the way of things vis -a -vis the Word of God No, God has the best way for us.
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He blesses it. And again, I think our witness to the world That we really believe in the truth of God's Word and we exhibit the power of the grace of God is dependent on and one of the big issues of today is our willingness to embrace biblical gender relations and Gender roles and God's Word is the pattern of life
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The world will be shocked and we'll think that we're nutty But then they'll spend a weekend in our church and they'll go wasn't that lovely
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And our witness is not based upon our ability to get them to think initially it's great
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But as they see it lived out, they'll see that there's something they've never imagined before So I think that's what's at stake.
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Now. What I want to do is I want to start negatively you're going well, no surprise We've gotten to know you
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Rick We know you're gonna start negatively, but you know Psalm 1 does that Blessed is he who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly
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But but then it says but then whose delight is in the Word of God and it's actually helpful to deal with the no first so I can then really finish with the positive because we want to set forth a very lovely and positive and vibrant vision of women in the church
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And I think it's helpful to do that if we can first deal with the prohibitions and the restrictions and the ordering that God gives
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So that's what I'm going to do We believe in a no and yes religion people say I believe in a yes
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Christianity only you got big problems If you're gonna do that, and so I don't I unashamedly look at the nose first Here's the first thing
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I want to do with does the Bible explicitly make Restrictions on the role and function of women in the church and the answer is yes
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Paul writing to Timothy and second chapter of Timothy verses 11 and following says this
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Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise or authority over a man
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Rather she is to remain quiet now Those are very clear restrictions in the church and in the particularly the gathered
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Worship and the life of the church in its formal life Paul says that women are not to teach over men or to exercise
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Authority over men it's really not hard to figure out what he says and you go well, that's just a local letter
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No, we don't take first Timothy as describing except for here As describing the polity of just a little one church.
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We don't say when it comes to elders Well, I was just for Paul's church and Timothy No, that's the way that's the rule for the church as a whole and so it is here
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This is a general pastoral letter. This is this is his rule for the church is apostolic the word of God For the church that women are not to teach
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Men the Word of God and theology and they are not to exercise Authority over a man now.
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I think that that is going to work out That women are not to preach Women are not to teach the
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Bible We are not to in our Sunday school classes We have no women teachers unless they're teaching women and children
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Why because we are the creature and God is the creator and we say yes, sir to him and his way is good and right
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And we obey him Now Paul argues this you say how does he argue that first? He argues it in keeping with God's creation design
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For Adam was formed first and then Eve The men heard me say
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Friday last night that God made Adam and he makes men to be lords in the garden to exercise
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Authority and God did not make woman to be a lord and to exercise
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Authority over society it is not the intention of creation and all through the Bible boy all through Paul But even elsewhere you have the constant emphasis of male headship
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I think of first Corinthians 11 and women are to embrace Male leadership and male headship.
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It's very important for for your own for your Witness for your enjoyment of blessing for your faithfulness and duty to God that if you're a woman you embrace the idea
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That God has placed women to live under the authority of covenantally faithful men
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And the whole idea that that's just not God's creation intent is Redundantly overwhelmingly taught throughout the
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Bible. That's why for instance people say well It's an irrelevant argument that the Twelve Apostles were all men
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Why is that an irrelevant argument? Well, the Pope makes the argument well, he's bound to be right about some things the
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And so we should receive from the Word of God that truth He also that makes a statement
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Adam was formed first then Eve and Adam was not deceived But the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.
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He's commenting on Genesis 3 that Historical narrative he's treating it as things that happened and are recorded as true
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And he points out that the fact of the matter is that the woman was deceived and that's how the sin happened
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I don't think he's saying we're punishing women because of it. I think he's saying that God did not Make women and did not constitute femininity and all that's involved with that to exercise
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Authority women are not to stand there with a sword and the trowel Guarding over this the church and its doctrine of the
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City of God It's one of the reasons why it's not the only reason I'm gonna talk about a little later But one of the reasons why when churches embrace women ministers, they tend to deny other doctrines
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Why because by God's and by the way, I'm not belittling women at all I hope you don't think
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I am but it's not God's design that women would be the ones who would exercise Authority and hold fast the doctrine the relational makeup of women is more likely to To to not do that.
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And so Paul basing it again, by the way Notice how he thinks Jenna's the creation account is a is to be taken
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Extremely excessively literalistically like as if it actually happened and has relevance And that is why he says that and it's not situational people go.
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That's just Paul's prejudice You know, that's not the it is the he's the instrument of the
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Word of God. Well, he's I love this one Yes, that's truth of the Bible says that but Paul's just accommodating social norms
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Look, the one thing you cannot accuse the Apostle Paul up or the Lord Jesus Christ is that they accommodated social norms?
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They were in the face on social norms left and right and of course really they elevate women in wonderful ways
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But they they plainly speak forth the truth and so let me just say that the Bible playing
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I mean is it's incontestable The Bible plainly teaches that women in the church and I think that must mean at least
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The official public meetings of the church are not to teach men and are not to exercise authority over men
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Now it also is going to mean and we'll see when we turn to the office of elder in the church
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That the office of elder is is commissioned for men only where do
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I get that? Well, let's look at the first Timothy 3 verse 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach the husband of one wife
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That is that is a clear statement that it is males Only who will be in that office?
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The same is true for the office of deacon Our denomination has just had a three -year brouhaha
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Over women's deacons a lot of our churches have unordained women deacons. It does tend to be our northern urban churches and they will have they'll they'll say okay, we are our
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Polity only allows the ordination of men, but our book of Church order allows irregular
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Deacon helpers to work alongside the deacons and a lot of our churches
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Have created an office of deaconess, but they don't lay hands on them except that in practice
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They actually do even though they said they wouldn't So the question in our denomination for three years and I praise the
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Lord that we really put it to bed this year at our General Assembly and said no the Bible speaks sufficiently clearly
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They said we need a study committee and we've said there's nothing to study. There's no new information We need to just obey the
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Bible and you go. Well, why can't deaconesses? Why can't women be deacons? Well again, they are to be verse 12 of chapter 3
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Let deacons each be the husband of one wife and it is to be men now the comeback will be ah
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Rick I got you on this one because open your Bible to Romans chapter 15 16 verse 1
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I commend to you our sister Phoebe a Servant of the church at Cancria that word servant is the word deacon.
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It's the feminine Noun form of the word that means deacon said really the right transition is
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I commend to you our sister Phoebe a deaconess of the church At Cancria, what's the answer to that? Well, the word deacon has a non special meaning that means servant and I go back to Romans 13 and I read in Verse 4 that Nero the
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Roman Emperor is God's Servant for doing good. It's the same word
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Paul is not saying that Nero is a deacon and neither is
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Phoebe a deacon although we honor her service to the Lord first Timothy 3 makes very plain that the office of deacon and the office of elder are
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Restricted to men only why? Because God does not permit a woman to teach over men or to have authority over men
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Why because this creation order does not have men under women, but women over men You know when you get for instance to you know
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Paul says in Ephesians 5 wives submit to their husbands and people will say well the Bible doesn't teach the submission of wives to husbands
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It teaches the mutual submission because the previous verse says let each of you submit one to another in Christ Now, is that true?
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The answer is no the Bible does not teach the submission of husbands to wives It teaches the submission of wives to husbands when
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Paul says Submit one to another in Christ He then gives three examples of it the submission of wives to husbands the submission of children to parents and the submission of slaves to Masters maids masters do not submit the slaves parents do not submit to children and husbands do not submit to wives and no
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I am Not comparisoning wives to children except and that they both submit by the way everybody submits
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My wife said to me honey. I'm really Just really Grateful to be a Presbyterian.
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I said honey And I'm looking forward to hearing why you're so grateful to be a
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Presbyterian she goes well because while I'm under your authority You're under the Sessions authority
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And if you abuse your authority, I can go over your head to the session and they'll get you in line and I said Amen, I Also submits not to my wife.
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I serve her there's mutual servitude I love to say to my wife sweetheart
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How many your husband serve you today because she serves me like crazy She served me with five kids cheerfully probably praying for me right now that God would bless my preaching
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It's my pleasure to serve her, but it is not my calling to submit to her I do submit to the elders of the church and everybody submits and there's an order to it and Consistently women submit to men men husbands not submit to wives now
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The argument is made Tim Keller made the argument that Deacon we can have women can be deacons because deacon is not an office of authority
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But of service argument was actually made That well deacons don't have authority because they submit to the elders and if you submit to somebody else's authority you don't have authority
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What does that mean Jesus has no authority? Because he submits to the Father here again We're trying hard to make it fit the secular demand fit the church
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No, the office of deacon is an off office of authority over the ministry of works and deeds in the church
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Remember they the distribution of monies and foods to the widows the deacons were given Authority over that and it is an office of authority
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That's why we ordain them and it is restricted to men in the church. And so let me just say here
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This is the Bible's very plain teaching. You're gonna have to find a way around it. Although why would we? That women may not teach men they may not have authority over men
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They offices of elder and deacon are designed for men only why? Because of God's creation design and because of the way he has made men and women blessed be the name of the
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Lord Now, let me give you some fallacies then Fallacy number one that you may hear is this
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And this is why I have a lot of people here's probably will formally uphold the teaching of the Bible while really undermining it
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And here's an expression Women can do everything an unordained man can do you ever heard that? That is false
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That is making the difference that of ordination when the Bible makes the difference that of gender
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It's a way of avoiding the societal scandal and the scorn of an egalitarian society by actually saying no
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The difference is gender. Yes There are things that unordained man can't do and ordained man can't do
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But it's not because of gender. It's because of ordination The issue the Bible is teaching is the gender distinction and we're just not setting forth the
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Word of God Plainly before the consciences of men to say even though it doesn't cause it's gets more
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It sounds better that women can do everything an unordained man can do that is false
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Women cannot teach men and have authority over men women cannot be deacons and elders and unordained men can they just need to do it
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And so it's just a fallacy Let's not have these clever ways of avoiding scandal that don't represent the truth.
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Well, how about this one? Okay? Women may not hold the office, but they may perform the function associated with the office
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No, that is not in keeping with the Bible And so what we'll have is we'll have churches where the women will hand the elders wives will hand out the communion elements
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Why are we doing this? Well, we know why because the people who do this have conveniently written why and we had a
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PCA Church in Denver Colorado that left our denomination because they had pastor Brenda and they said we're we're not violating the
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Did not that because we didn't have an ordination service. We call her pastor Brenda. We treat her pastor Brenda She fulfills the function of pastor, but we didn't have an official service.
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So we're keeping the Bible Is this what we've descended to and then they had a two -page explanation
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The gist of which was dude. We're a downtown church. They're gonna think we're hillbillies if we don't do this
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Boy the big bad world. We better do what it says, right? And so we have women reading the scriptures in public worship services.
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That's the function of the ordained men We have women teaching but not if it's in the evening service.
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It's not preaching That's an unpersuasive argument to me loving the evening service. Although I know you don't have one here because Satan Your board says the day
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What was the sermon title? Destruction by Satan no evening service But That's the
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But No Women are not to perform the functions and we are not keeping the
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Bible's teaching we are not commending Sincerely openly to the world the plain teaching of the
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Word of God when we have women filling the roles Without the offices.
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We're just rebelling against God because we think the world in our way is better Whatever good motives we may have other than that Here's here.
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Let me give another fallacy Look women need titles to feel valued in the church. I just want to say this not in my church
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Women are my church are offended by that statement. They don't title the women of my church revel in Christian and you know the other title they revel in Woman, they do not need a male title to feel valuable as Christian when you walk into my church
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You will you will pick up within moments of getting there male Authority and Feminine beauty all over the church and the women do not need a title
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I'm not we have a woman in the church ministry We have a president of WIC and there's kind of a function for that But the women do not need semi official semi ordained titles to feel valued in the church
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It demeans the godliness of our women. Our women are delighted to serve Jesus Humbly without recognition that his name might be exalted his people might be blessed and his heart might be pleased
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That's all our women need and for the men to say that they won't be motivated unless they get a title is
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Demeaning to our godly women the daughters of Zion that they are Here's my favorite one policy number four this was said at our
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General Assembly two years ago It was not a persuasive argument The women don't know what to do unless the
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General Assembly tells them I'm trying to envision myself going back to my church before my 80 year old before Bobby Hauser Who's 96 years old who still teaches a woman's
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Bible study who was a missionary for 40 years who is? Probably knows more
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Bible theology than I do and has mentored people and I'm saying Bobby I'm now going to give you instructions on what you're to do as a
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Christian woman. She would either have struck me or laughed at me Not to mention the many other and younger women who who have been mentored by other
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Christian women We do not I'm not saying we don't give instruction To women I don't mind teaching the
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Bible to women about womanhood Yeah, I've seen the book female piety the Puritan book by John Angel James He was not married and he wrote a book on female piety as a chapter on advice to breastfeeding mothers
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Pastor preaching the Word of God and it's wonderful You know let me give you advice how to be a good mother to your first child
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Pastor who's never had children, but he's just expositing carefully the Word of God and men are men can be women's retreat speakers
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Women can too, but there's nothing you can have your pastor sometimes up, but but the women do not need special Instructions on what women's ministry looks like as if they're not able to do it
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So there's all these fallacies the fallacy that says women can do everything unordained men can do no
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They cannot the gender distinction is what the Bible emphasizes weak women cannot do the roles
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Associated with the office, and we're being obeying the Bible. It doesn't work They don't need titles in order to feel valuable, and they don't need special instruction from the men
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What they do need to do is to positively embrace The Word of God for their lives.
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This is not cookie cutter We're not putting you into a mold, but God is a God of order
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Femininity has certain dynamics. It has certain callings, and we joyfully embrace it my wife
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She's fairly militant on these things you get really this kind of evangelical feminism really gets under her skin
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And she will tell me her favorite worship services every year our ordination services
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And say why I'm they're kind of long and there's kind of boring elements She goes I love it when the elders go for all of them
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We have 18 ruling elders and many of them are old you know elder Usually means old and they are they're grave
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I got knuckles you know and they get up there. They're loving they got broken hearts for God's people They're loving fathers of the church She goes
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I go up there There's all these men and yours praying and you put your hands on this man, and she says I feel like such a woman
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I'm in the presence of godly covenantal masculinity, and I love it. She says and we brace biblical femininity
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And and part of that means is saying yes There are things that I am not called to do and you know what
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I don't need to my wife uses expression This is Eve's new Apple It's the one tree that she can't have that's all she thinks what's happening
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It's an evangelical feminist when you hear women speakers some of them I know and they'll go over angry, and they'll say to women you can't be an elder see you're being demeaned
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There's all these things you can do I'm going to talk about it all this rich field There's one tree in the garden You're not able to eat up That's the only thing you care about and my wife says don't just leave that tree alone and get busy with the glorious work as a daughter of Zion a you know a
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Christian woman and Served to the glory of God as a woman in your marriage as a mother as a wife as a
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Christian woman in the church Don't get hung up on the offense of the world Well, let me go to some things that are not forbidden
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And I think that there is a you know the big mistake we usually make is we overreact
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So the world says that men and women are equal and so all we talk about is submission of wives and marriage
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We believe in submission of wives and marriage, but that is hardly the the whole of the Bible's teaching on marriage
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It's not even the most important actually the core of Christian marriage is unity and oneness You know and a bond of intimacy
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Yes within roles, and there's an order there But we overreact since the world's against it's all we talk about we tend to do that And I I'm a little worried sometimes about the patriarchy movement
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And I have actually written that I think that patriarchy is not the most helpful word
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Because patriarchy downloads an entire social structure from the Old Testament under patriarchy my older brother
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Would be the spiritual head of my my family, and I'm not comfortable with that Much as I like him, but patriarchy is a broader social phenomenon
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And I think it's just a way of being reactionistic And I've actually written that and therefore subjected myself to thousands of emails attacking me that I dared to attack the patriarchy machine, but Let me tell you some things that women are not forbidden number one.
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They are not forbidden from church membership There is a practice that sounds good, but I think it's it's wrongheaded that says we don't have church membership
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We have household membership, and so we don't have congregational meetings We have how head of household meetings and in the ideas as we're emphasizing the covenantal structure
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You have a head of the household and he goes he represents your family and ask your when the father comes home
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He tells you what happened at the meeting and he voted for your family And we're emphasizing the role of the father in the church I get all that it's kind of cool
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But you know what it's disenfranchising the women from church membership. They're Christians for church members They need to hear from their pastor.
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They've ever let you know Husband -wife isn't it it is the primary Relationship in human society, but it is not the only relationship in human society
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I've had husbands who are abusing their wives and this church stepped in and the husband goes Pastors none of your business, and I go listen pal.
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She's a Christian She's a member of this church, and you answer to me in a session of this church And my wife's right she can appeal she doesn't she's speaking.
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I don't think she's worried about anything, but she's right I am under their authority, and she's not my possession. I don't own her she remains a daughter
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She remains a church member, and she's a wife That's not that's not all that she is and she's not in that little box
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And she needs to be the Congressional meeting she needs to hear the pastor explaining the budget And she should have the rights of a
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Christian in the church nothing We say so let's not go overboard with that and they'll say well look a single woman is the head of her own household
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Yes, but a wife Should not lose her church membership because she's under the headship of her husband, so I'm very much against well
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I think it sounds good, but it really is unbiblical overreaction women are church members
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Women can pray Your pastor is preaching 1st Corinthians. We were talking last night about 1st
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Corinthians 11 and 14 very interesting passages I think I'm gonna I mean I should like I mentioned what you're gonna say because I have not studied it and in the depth that you're going to Pastor, but I think that what we were saying last night is where I am as well 1st
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Corinthians 11 is talks about women praying And I think he's talking about like the prayer meeting in the prayer meeting of my church the woman a woman may go to the microphone and pray
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Why because that is not the gathered church for the authoritative teaching it's out
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You know it's not the interesting thing is chapter 14 is gonna say in the ecclesia in the assembly
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Let a woman be silent, and I really believe that's the for in our terms.
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It's the worship service It's the gathered meeting of the church the women are to be submissive and learn and quiet But there are other gatherings where the woman may you know make a contribution she may serve on committees
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She may work. We're actually We had architects to expand our sanctuary We've got a couple of women on that committee who are in value an interior designer and man
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She knows what she's talking about and I praise God She's on that committee and she has a lot of influence on that committee because she has stuff to offer and we need her on it, and she's working like a slave for us, and it's great and I Have no problem at all we have a
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Wednesday night prayer meeting hope you all have a prayer meeting But people don't come, but you get you keep doing it And I don't mind at all when a woman walks up the microphone and says
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Lord I want to pray for my children. You know I I think the Bible allows women some people may differ on that But women may pray women may give public speech not in the gathered
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Not in the assembly of the congregation for worship But there's all kinds of settings when women may speak before the congregation.
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They're not teaching They're not exercising authority over a man Women may exercise their gifts
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Let me give you an example Christian counseling I have no problem employing the gifts and the training of a
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Christian counselor who is ministering to a man in my church under the
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Authority of the elders of the church, and I have been accused you're putting a man under the authority of a woman
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No, I am NOT in fact when we do that we have an elder present for the meetings And we have one going on right now the man's wife is there too
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And this woman who's our counselor is especially gifted and able she's sound and she has an ability in part as a woman
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To help this guy deal with some of the issues of you know in his life and under the authority elders
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She has free reign to use her gifts in appropriate settings, and we praise God for that And I don't feel like we're compromising anything so we don't have to be overreacted
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We can be biblical we can set things up and we agreed in this case We're gonna have an elder present, and she said
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I praise God for that I need him there, and I'll appeal to him and the guy gets out of line, and she'll say you know
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Elder I defer to you, and he gets the guy in line, but she has a role to play What are the great examples of this is
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Priscilla and Aquila? You know acts says that Apollos Shows up in Corinth, and he's like this dazzling speaker, but his he's got some holes in his theology
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He only knew the baptism of John the Baptist. There's some debate of what that means, but it's like a big issue
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He's got some major doctrinal holes, and it's interesting that when we are told that Priscilla and Aquila met with him in private and and taught him proper theology the text
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Emphasizes Priscilla's role it does not say Aquila and Priscilla Which would be far and away the norm it says
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Priscilla and Aquila it puts her first and the way the Greek language works That would be giving emphasis to her, and I think that what happened was
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Priscilla She's a very strong theologian. She's been listening to Paul all that time
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She's gifted in this and she she and her husband have Apollos over and says Apollos Paul want us to talk to you.
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I'd like to honey. Would you explain the baptism of Jesus and That's why
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I'm not afraid the Bible shows that and so in private settings not lording it over him women may
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Encourage women may serve and so we have a Vibrant roles for women in the church and women may have authority and may teach over other women and over children
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Now here's where some of our leaders are gonna. Go. Oh there it is We get the children you know what my response to that is
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It grieves my soul to hear a Christian woman sneer over the ministry of children Because Christian femininity is one that loves children not all women can have children
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But Christian femininity does not despise as a low thing the ministry of children I I get upset when youth pastors.
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I meet some guy, and he goes I guess so what do you do the church? I'm the youth pastor, but I'm hoping to get out of it.
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I said the Lord rebuke you Because you are many you're not ministering to little kids you're ministering to pastors and doctors and lawyers and elders and heads of households
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They're just kids now, but they're just as valuable in fact right now is the golden opportunity
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They're likely to remember you the rest of their life the VBS teacher the
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Sunday school teacher don't ever say women Oh, I just get to do children Praise God before I was a preacher
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I love to work in the nursery why because I love children And I kind of miss taking my turn in the nursery, and I can't
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I'm preaching but The well the pastor's taken off in the nursery this would not be wise
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But let's not despise the ministry of children and the ministry of exhortation to women go to Titus 2
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I Had an issue in my church when I got there some of the women would not allow women to teach over them
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Because we're being over reactively militantly conservative, and they said we refuse we have a women's Bible study a woman should not teach a woman
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Titus 2 Which says beginning in verse 3 older women likewise are to be reverent behavior not slanderers or slaves to much wine they are to Teach what is good and so train the young women to love their husbands and children
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To be self -controlled pure working at home Kind and submissive to their own husbands that the
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Word of God may not be reviled And so the Bible gives the charge to women to come alongside other women
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I tell you what one of the things that I do not do I do not have any long -term
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Extensive intimate counseling relationships with any women why do not do that because I really don't want to have an affair
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I mean really don't you I don't want to end my ministry that way And I it would be wrong for me to think that I'm above it. I could do it therefore
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I don't sit by I don't want to I'm gonna be faithful to my wife I don't so therefore I don't put myself in the situation
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But you know what doesn't the woman need somebody to come alongside her and pray with her and the answer is yes the older woman
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And I've I mean if you're a mature Grace -filled older woman in my church. I have got you working, and I'll call up a 70 year old woman and say hey
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Can I get you to meet weekly with this 27 year old woman who needs a mother figure in her life? to come alongside with her and weep with her and open up the
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Psalms and pray together and walk her through and The blessing is going on in my church with the mentoring relationships my wife meets wasn't me setting it up But one of my elders wife who is just a sunbeam of grace and love and truth comes over to my house once a week to help with the
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Homeschooling and then to pray with my wife because of the burden she bears and boy do I love her for that?
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And what a ministry for women to become and what we need strong Women of the word
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Paul in one place he derides weak little women don't be a weak little woman
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That's not our view of oh I'm just supposed to this weak little woman and my husband tells me what to do what the
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Bible teaches be a strong view spiritually beautiful woman and who can love your family and serve your church and be a blessing and Training other women and there will be an eternal bounty flowing out of your life.
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I don't know your particular life You may have a vocational calling that hasn't but this is feminine womanhood.
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It's a beautiful and lovely thing We are to fully embrace it Let me look at some of the positive instruction to women then let's go to 1st
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Corinthians 11 beginning at verse 2 I'm not gonna execute the whole passage your pastor.
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This is the head covering pattern. Oh, this is no it's not this is the This is the women under authority of men
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Now I commend you because oh, this is head coverage. Yes it is. But the point is that women are to embrace even the cultural expressions of Male headship and so women
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I've already covered this but women are to positively embrace Male headship.
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We've got a single woman in our church whose parents are not Christians who don't live nearby She does not do free agent dating
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Right. What are we thinking? I'm trying to picture Isaiah Sending his daughter to a pub to meet a guy.
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I don't think Isaiah is gonna be doing this You know and if you want to if you're a single woman in my church
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Yes you get a little bit more of my attention and you're likely to eat at my house with my family a little more often than the
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Average person and if some guy wants to date you and we pray that the Lord would do that Then he's gonna meet with one of your elders and they're gonna have a conversation
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And you're going to date under the covenant headship of a faithful man. Women are never a
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Christian woman is to live her entire life under the loving faithful strong Nurturing covenant headship of a man.
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It's a father and I like to tell fathers at weddings, you know when you Hand her over to her husband.
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That's not mere liturgy That is a covenantal transfer and so I hope you really trust that guy even though he's got room to grow and Man is to embrace and women are to live under cover.
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There you go. That's kind of frightening because you know, I know men I know But you have a God who's watching over you and you're not at their mercy and that's why by the way
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This is why you go to a sound church With real eldership with real serious strong Christian men to keep your husband in line
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People come to me. I got people come to me. They go. We'd like to do marital counseling. I go I Don't recognize your name.
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Do you go to our church? Oh, no. No, we don't go to your church Do you want me to do marital counseling? Oh, yeah. Yeah Why where do you go?
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They go to some happy clappy rock and roll church. I go. Why do you go there? We love the music then. Why aren't you going to your pastors and they go, right?
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Well you frankly you may get one of my assistant ministers But I do not have time to do marital counseling with people from rock and roll churches who want me
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But they why do they want what do they want us to do it? Because for all of our faults we are at least aspiring to be grave biblical faithful shepherds and their churches are not well
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Don't go to those churches Here's a here's a simple rule If you love the music of your church and the brilliance of its electric guitarist
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But you would not think about taking your pastoral needs to the pastor. You are making a poor choice so But you're not on your own and you're not
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Your submission but why I say to me, you know, I'm supposed to submit to my husband, but I don't really respect him You have the you will make him respectable
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Your admiration and you do it under wives submit to your own husbands as to the Lord You do it for Jesus sake as an act of worship to Jesus and he will use it in your husband's life and get your hands off the steering wheel
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If he ain't gonna drive in the car doesn't go you sit there and wait for him to drive the car Because as soon as you grab the steering wheel, he's gonna put on his earphones and listen to the game
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You refuse to play the male roles you have a woman who said, you know If my husband cares so little for my hand family that he doesn't even map out the route and get the map quest route
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I am NOT gonna do it, but I'm gonna have lunch ready when we get there wherever we run out of gas I will feed our family
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And sooner or later he will get the idea that he needs to prepare for our trip Amen, amen
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Christian femininity endorsing and improving Christian masculinity So embrace that In general women are called.
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Let me just say this. I Was doing a radio interview So I did a men's conference last month in Fort Lauderdale and the radio station did an interview with me and they the guy
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He was doing this serves of rocks There's a Christian contemporary song playing beforehand about beauty and beautiful and I go speaking of beauty
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We're having a men's conference like I said, look we don't do beauty at men's conferences. All right Really men do not do beauty when
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God made Adam You know, it's industrial project God fashioned the woman and There's artisans where there's beauty knit into a hoot woman guys same single guys go
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I'm not attracted to the women of church ago. Women are attractive to men. Yes, you are. Stop trying
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It's your ego in the way women are made to be lovely to men and women are Lovely to men and it's not just physical
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It's it's filled the church fill your home with the beauty the feminine beauty of a heart given to Christ Right and you get over and over again first Peter 3 that great statement of women's liberation
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Let your beauty not be the outward adornment by the way There's nothing wrong with modest outward adorning physical beauty is part of it
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My wife's always upset about sanctified frumpiness frumpiness itself is not spiritually virtuous
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But you should cultivate beauty yes in your dress in your presentation but especially in your heart the inner beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit that is precious to God and Christian womanhood is to fill the church with beauty some of its physical beauty don't ask me to do flower arrangements
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I mean I you could paint my office black. It would take me three weeks to notice it I'm working on my sermon, you know
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But a woman in my church who picked the carpets made my I went and said hey
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Leslie my office is beautiful Yes pastor. I did it three weeks ago. Well, thank you You did a lovely job and my wife fills my heart with beauty and my children our lives and our home
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I you know, I fixed the stuff actually not very good at that But but you know the whole calling of godly femininity and isn't one of the tragedies of the feminist movement
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Just the despising of beauty when women there's a re I have little girls and they dress up and they love them
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I must always go and take your Sunday clothes off. It's Tuesday at 3 o 'clock You know, I got to wash that stuff.
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They want to be beautiful. By the way, here's a tip to fathers You make your little girls beautiful in your eyes.
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Tell them how beautiful they are. They're precious to you They will not need some 14 year old guy if their father
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Cherishes them is it's not just physical. It's beautiful to them and precious to them femininity involves it and let me just encourage the women to embrace your calling to fill your home with the beauty of spiritual joy and godliness and the
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Word of God and righteousness peace and joy faith hope and love and though the church should have the marks of Feminine hands on it
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If I were to be out we have a I think there's a committed I try not to know about these things and there's a committee of Decorations and I would even think about getting involved in that I would mess it up But the beauty of the feminine works and and of course primarily that comes through good works first Timothy 2 9 to 10
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Let's go there. I'm gonna run out of time. So I got to wrap this up first Timothy 2 9 to 10 Likewise women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel with modesty and self -control
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Not with braided hair and goals and pearls and costly attire But with what is proper for women who profess godliness with good works
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First of all, let me say Women you need to promote and to a certain extent and force
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Godly modesty in the church knows a pastor It's kind of a downer when you have to go to a father and say could you dress your daughters?
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You know that the the form hugging clothing It's just really not a help to the men and I had a woman say to me not long ago
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Well, you know, I have to send my daughters up to get dressed right? You're their mother just do you know? So let's cultivate feminine beauty in a modest not licentious way, but the true beauty of women is good works remember
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Dorcas and Dorcas dies and a woman's show and they display the things that she'd made with her hands in Ministry to others and a woman is to invest herself with the beauty of good works to help people
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Let me tell you this is what makes a church a community Makes a big my church is not just a preaching station
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This is why I love my church for a number of reasons But it's a community where there's loving and care and frankly that's driven by the women the men are involved
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But it's the women who are yes, they're baking. They're sewing. They're knitting. They're calling. They're following up They're in devoting themselves to good works and that makes the church a community.
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There's a statement of Deborah Well, there was there was not a mother in Israel So God raised up Deborah and look men just can't do that.
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I mean men are not going to get that done We're not equipped to do that And so the relational ability and attuneness of women and the beauty of that devote yourself to that and let me tell you that is
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A gospel work that will make the gospel more effective in your church as God blesses it
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People come to you because you got this hardcore pastor who's offending people and I my church does that mean people walk out while I'm preaching and they're mad and But it's helpful that the ladies were lovely and we're nice to them
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No, it's very helpful I really appreciate it and the love of the community someone struggling with temptation and the life of the church
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Which is so driven by feminine beauty Women are to learn 2nd
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Timothy 2 11 let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness Let a woman learn women are to be theologians motherhood requires the doctrines of grace
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No, my wife is able to to endure the rigors of obeying
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God in my marriage because of reformed theology and because she's a Theologian and I have watched the book of Psalms for Christmas like five or six years ago
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I gave my wife John Calvin's commentary on the Psalms and I remember her opening gift and going. Oh, honey. Thank you.
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It's John Calvin's commentary on the Psalms and And that book has become her conscious constant companion and she did lie
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It's not because I it's not me It's her and the Psalms in her life and you see you need the Word of God.
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Let women learn quietly yet Let women learn You need the Word of God if my wife will get up I'm not trying to tell my wife but it's just the truth she got five kids and she's got me and she gets up at like five o 'clock to be on her knees and prayer into reading
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The Word of God and sometimes her knuckleheaded husband has said honey. You're so tired. Can you sleep in and she gets mad?
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She goes I need the Word of God And the Word of God is my life and I'm able to be the
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Christian woman I'm trying to be and to serve God and to love you because of the Word of God So get out of my face husband.
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Yeah, you know Okay, second Timothy first Timothy 2 15
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Yet she will be saved through childbearing If they continue in faith and love and holiness with self -control so women go
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Great all I am as a mother and if I can't have children, I'm nobody that is not what he's saying The word saved has a range of meaning.
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Sometimes it means justification. Sometimes it means sanctification It's the whole renewal process here.
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It means sanctification what Paul is saying that you will spiritually grow Salvation will work out in your feminine life as you embrace a feminine pattern of life
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He is not saying if you can't have children and what a grief that is that you're not being saved, but he's saying
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Embrace remember it was not good for the man to be alone I will make a helper suitable for him and she's a helpmeet and she's oriented on him and her family and she's a mother and She embraces motherhood.
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She's a wife. She embraces wife hood. She doesn't fight against the feminine order She embraces it and salvation extends through her life.
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She's sanctified by that. What a great ministry we need today I mean, honestly it I actually
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I want to say I'm actually fairly sympathetic to the feminist movement Because it really is a result of male sins and male abuse and male neglect and they're just fed up with doing the same job
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I'm getting paid less That's not right And they're mistreated by their fathers and their husbands or little boys who just watch games all the time and and they're fed up And so they're fighting back
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But the problem is they're embracing male sins as the answer and so you have the hard -edged woman
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I was in the corporate world I knew many lovely corporate women who were miserable because they they had learned that if they embrace femininity
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They were gonna lose out now part of it is men Our women need us to embrace the masculinity we were talking about last night
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So, you know so that they can without fear Embracing what is going to bring life and blessing to them but Christian women embrace and what an example you'll be
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To the women of our society who visit your church that you will freak them out and they may mock you Our church reeks of motherhood
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We had a couple come to our church a while ago and the husband brought her and she kind of didn't like it because it was Not contemporary and she was she told me later.
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She was embarrassed to say she said, you know when I first got here I was really mocking them the motherhood mini vans
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Children everywhere, you know mommies and she goes and I thought and I look back and I go what was wrong with me
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But I thought I had to be a sophisticated Semi man and I was offended she goes now
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I praise God to be around mothers and grandmothers and women embrace Am I saying that you can't use you say look pastor.
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I've got special gifts and mathematics I teach math fine work it out glorify God, but embrace a feminine pattern of life
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And that's how salvation advances sanctification happens in your life Train the younger women.
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Well, let me conclude by going to first Timothy 3 Which is such a great.
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I'm sorry first Peter 3 such a great passage One verse for men, but it's a doozy in a great verse, but six verses for women
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Likewise wives be subject to your own husband so that even if some of them do not obey the word They may be one without a word by the conduct of their wives when they see your respectful and pure conduct
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Do not let your adorning be external the braiding of hair the putting out of gold jewelry The clothing you wear
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But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit
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Which in God's sight is very precious For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves by submitting to their own husbands as Sarah obeyed
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Abraham calling him Lord and you are her daughters if you do what is right and If you do not give in Wasn't the
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Bible psychologically profound don't give in to fear The Bible says if you as a church embrace biblical generals
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You're gonna be a bunch of fundies and nobody's gonna like you true But God is sovereign he said sovereign grace and he blesses it
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Anyway, that way he gets the glory don't be afraid to just cheerfully obey the Bible I had a woman attend my church recently who said it seems to me pastor that the only the elders here are all men
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I said, yes, ma 'am in obedience to the Word of God. All our elders are men. She goes that deeply offends me I said, I'm sorry, and I've never seen her since is that gonna happen?
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Yes. It's not my fault It's not my job to tamper with the Word of Truth so that that woman's not offended
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I'm not trying to offend her but we set forth with don't give in to fear Let this church along with the ministry of the
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Word and along with the whole Council of God including creation also embrace the
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Christian life and Christian gender roles godly men who are servant lords who work and keep that was our talk last night ladies and Christian women who say
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I'm gonna devote myself to good works and godly beauty within the roles and the ministries that God's given me and And people will say if you do that, you'll lose out and our answer is ah, but you forget that there is a
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God For not only does it work because you know, he knows what he's talking about But because he blesses it because it glorifies him
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Yes When in the face of the winds of culture you say let God be true and every man a liar We refuse to manipulate or tamper with the
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Word of God We hold forth the plain word and we want to obey it because it's the way of life. It's wholesome It's good and God will be pleased it will glorify him and he will give us his blessing and we will we will give up all the other advantages
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If only we can have the blessing of the sovereign God of grace who loved us and gave his son to die for our sins
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Do not give in to fear hold forth the Word of God simply with integrity and may
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God bless you. Let's pray together Father I do pray for that for all of us These are just some areas and when it works out but father let us in all things humble ourselves and say
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Lord speak your servant hears and Would you give us the grace to repent and to be humble and it
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Lord if need be to endure scorn that is hard for us And we know some of our brothers are in places where that's a little more intense and we pray for them as they receive that scorn
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But father give us the courage Let us not give in to fear That we would live out wholesomely with joy and without shame the way of your word that we would be blessed
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We desire to be blessed but that you would be glorified. What a great God you are father
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Bless this church bless its pastor send forth your word with the power of the Spirit Do a great work here to the glory of your name.