God Needs Women Leaders

What I want to speak about is also something that we can easily get tripped up with asking why questions. I want to speak from 1 Timothy chapter 2. There was something that happened recently in society that got me thinking. 1 Timothy chapter 2 is where I'll be speaking from. There's a big group of Christians in a denomination called the Southern Baptists and they have been meeting for quite a while and they came together about a month ago and it was a pretty hotly debated question on whether women should be leaders. Very famous Christians, Saddleback Church in Southern California was pushing for that women should be leaders and the Southern Baptist Convention met about a month ago and decided no women should not be leaders and so Rick Warren I think was the pastor of that day and kicked out of that group but that debate has been going on for years and it had me thinking about it too and we have been thinking about also modesty and so this passage has been something that I have spent some time thinking about so I wanted to share some of the thoughts that have helped me see this in a clearer light. It's helped me a lot to just think about small pieces of scripture and think about it and to meditate on it. In 1 Timothy chapter 2 verse 5 it starts there by saying a pretty common truth which is there's one God and one mediator between God and men. The man Christ Jesus who gave himself as a ransom for all. This is the gospel. One God, one mediator, only one way to get there and that's Jesus Christ and he was given as a ransom and then Paul then says who he is. Verse 7, that I'm a preacher and I'm an apostle. That's who he is. He spread one of the people who was entrusted with the gospel to be spread to not only the Jews but the Gentiles. Then he says therefore in verse 8, therefore because of the gospel here's the implication of it. I want men to do something and then he says likewise. I don't think I noticed that. Likewise because of the gospel, because of Paul's message being spread to us and reaching us, men have to do something, women have to do something and I saw this passage in a new light just quite like I saw many years ago when I saw that head covering was not a way of the women being stifled but the covering of the head and the uncovering of the head was a role for the man and the woman to play. The man to uncover his head at a time in first century where all the Jews wore hats when they prayed. Paul was saying take off your hat because you are supposed to represent the glory of God and women cover your head because you're supposed to represent the glory of humans, men and women and we cover all the glory of God of humans in the church. It's a tremendous privilege for the men and the women to partake together to tell the whole world whoever comes in from the covering or the uncovering, the men uncovered and the women covered, we believe in only giving glory to God and we believe in covering all human glory in every shape and form. In this passage too I see that there's a role for men to play and for women to play too and in this particular instance the instruction for men is relatively short but I wanted to share some of the thoughts that I had I learned from the instruction for women too and I feel even in this way that God needs women leaders. God needs women leaders. Leading what is the question now? What do we want them to lead? Because what is a leader? A leader is a person who inspires others, one who has influence and in the church of the living God both men and women are supposed to have influence and inspire others. How? In different ways of course but there's a tremendous way in which a woman can be a wonderful leader in the church not leader over people but a leader influencing inspiring others just like a woman who's covering her head is inspiring others cover all human glory in the exact same way. Likewise, likewise in verse 9 I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing modestly and discreetly not with braided hair and golds or pearls or costly garments but rather by means of good works as is proper for women making a claim to godliness. The first word I wanted to underline in there is godliness. If you have your bibles or notepad godliness which is god-fearing that's what it says in my margin god-fearing. Anybody who is a Christian who's saying I am god-fearing this is what applies to us. For women who are making a claim to be god-fearing we have a proclamation that women alone can make I feel in a unique way. It says in Proverbs 31 verse 30 it's another verse that I'll probably will probably turn there because it's important for you to know these verses and for us to know these verses for me as I raise my daughter for our wives for our women to understand these verses this has helped me a lot to understand how to put this in context because we have to fight against the world system. It says in Proverbs 31 verse 30 charm is deceitful and beauty is vain but a woman who fears the lord is to be praised. So remember we're talking about god-fearing god-fearing so a woman who is to be praised is the woman who is god-fearing. Here too 1 Timothy 2 it is the god-fearing woman that who's to be praised. I read a Forbes article that talked about five famous women who are living today who have started companies and have made over a billion dollars in revenue from cosmetics for the eyebrow for the eyelash I'm talking about a billion dollars that's a lot of zeros the lips the face we're just talking that hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars one of my co-workers was telling me that his daughter is 20 years old and she started her own tiktok channel and she's got a million viewers just watching her put on makeup that's it a million views just to watch somebody putting on lipstick this is the world system what we're talking about 20 years ago not talking about 2000 years ago we're talking about right now a billion dollars five different women have started companies on for the eyelash the eyebrow the lips the cheek they believe it that's the world system coming to you telling you that is beauty so what's our answer don't buy that makeup product don't put lipstick don't do this don't buy the eyelash no not at all not at all very different very different we can use those eyeliners we can use those makeup products none of my business but the Christian must make a counter-attack against the definition of beauty and the woman has been given that definition of beauty more than even the men it says in genesis chapter 6 that the angels don't properly understand it looked at the women in this world and saw them beautiful and somehow had children through them and that's what caused the great depravity that god said i'm kill the whole human race but it's the sons of god what they call sounds like it's angels or whatever that was looking at women and seeing them to be beautiful women have been entrusted with beauty no doubt about it and we're just talking about the face you got a billion dollars even in the last few years what about the hair and what about the rest of the body Christian women have to be leaders in the counter-attack on what is true divine beauty and so rather than curling up into the fetal position and bringing out our measuring tapes and magnifying glasses to measure the length of this or that or the what this word means that that word means i want all of our women to be to take up the challenge to lead in the definition of what good true divine beauty is and then it tells me what true divine beauty is how women can do that the next word i want to say is adorn that's a powerful positive word it's not cover up it's adorn deck itself out another verse i want to show with that isaiah 61 verse 10 isaiah chapter 61 verse 10 i will rejoice greatly in the lord my soul will exult in my god for he has clothed me with garments of salvation he has wrapped me with the robe of righteousness as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland as a bride adorns herself with jewels the righteousness of god for sure the garments of salvation the armor of god for sure it's an adornment that we have to think about ourselves and women have to adorn themselves a particular way this is a counter-attack to the world that says this is how you adorn yourself with this lip gloss and this eyeliner and this eyelash product i as a christian i'm going to go in a different way and there are three words here as it relates to clothing it's not the best part this is just one of the ways which is proper clothing modestly and discreetly i just wanted to give you some words that have helped me understand those three words they're actually believe it or not three hours proper clothing is respectable that's what i saw on the margin respectable it's used one other time this word it's called respectable we christian women are not supposed the christian women aren't supposed to be slovenly and unkempt and disrespectful we're supposed it's it's it's good to look attractive it's good to look respectable to look proper to clean ourselves up proper the second word is modestly i looked up that word that is reverential that's the second word respectable reverential when adam and eve sinned i'm going to this has helped me a lot to understand the way god wants us and gods want women to to behave is going back to genesis one two and three when adam and eve sinned it says that they were ashamed and they recognized that they were naked and they covered themselves up and so there's a covering up that is a consequence of the fact that we sinned so when we say we want to dress modestly us women when we're dressing modestly we are acknowledging something happened where we sinned we reverence god so we'll be modestly rest and the third discreetly is restrained not extravagant so respectable reverential and restrained not with gaudy clothes or with the fancy clothes of this world respectable looking nice this is how i've tried to dress myself i want to look nice i want to comb my hair i want to look presentable i clean try to clean myself up my family helps me with that too where i miss the spots i want to look presentable but i don't want to go to the other extreme of just flaunting it anything this is men all women and i want to be restrained i don't need to go to shopping sprees to go to get the most flashy clothes i want to be restrained this is how i'm going to adorn myself because i'm a christian this is divine beauty respectable reverential restrained we can take that those three hours to our wardrobe and say that but that's not to me what really excited me about this was in verse 10 but rather by means of good works and what are the good works that can show that i am beautiful i want to show you two verses one in psalm chapter 45 verse 2 this has been my guidance of the definition of what is beautiful one of them psalm chapter 45 verse 2 psalm chapter 45 verse 2 you are more beautiful than everyone else because grace is poured out on your lips that is the definition of christian beauty that is what god finds beautiful you can wear whatever lipstick you want to wear you can wear whatever eyeliner what you want to make but god and any christian worth their salt is saying i want to see how she speaks especially towards her husband or towards her father if she's still under the authority of her father if she's always making fun of him poking fun of him disparaging him belittling him ugly and we have to train our senses to stop looking at the billion dollar industry or the billions of dollar industry in the world i'd say and say i'm going to define beauty by my tongue and this is from children on the way up should be men and women girls and boys but this is girls you're from a young age you're going to be assaulted hit on every side saying are you beautiful are you beautiful wear this dress wear this outfit wear this necklace wear this thing to look beautiful and we have to keep reminding ourselves that this is what makes me beautiful is my tongue and it's from god's word you are fairer you are more beautiful than the sons of men than any other human being this is talking about jesus by the way this is a prophetic song about jesus because you had grace on your tongue and we have to husbands have to shepherd our wives to in that way wash our women wash our wives and daughters in the word yes i want my wife to be attractive yes i want my wife to be respectable in the way she dresses and restrained and reverential but what i really have to hold up as beautiful is the tongue is the lips how are you speaking what's your speech when jesus when paul talks about men and women in ephesians chapter five he says wives you know the one word i want to give you for your husband's respect just respect them how does that respect come through in the way we speak and my daughter is listening to the way my wife talks to me grace is poured out upon your lips god says you are the most beautiful person in the room not the one who's making the most wearing the most expensive whatever not the one who's making the most put together outfit meaningless to god is it respectable is it reverential is it restrained you're good what i'm really now looking for is good works and the good works is i want to see your lips how you're speaking especially to the ones who are in authority one more verse psalm chapter 50 verse 2 as even it gets greater than that than psalm chapter 45 verse 2 than jesus being fairer than all the sons of earth now he says psalm chapter 50 verse 2 out of zion the perfection of beauty god has shown forth sign is a picture of the church and the church is supposed to be the perfection of beauty how is that again with our mouths 1 corinthians 14 25 says when all prophesy even an ungifted person who doesn't know god will come in and say god's here not when a most anointed preacher preaches an anointed sermon not when there's a wonderful music that moves us to tears not when people are raised from the dead that's when most people will say god is here that's not what the bible says the bible says when all prophesy when everybody has anointed lips out of zion is the perfection of beauty the most beautiful thing in the world is a church of men and women encouraging one another encouraging one another it's the most beautiful thing in the world and so we have to raise our bar and completely dismiss the definition of beauty and i as a husband have to play a part in that by changing renewing my mind to god's word and not being so driven by the definitions of beauty that the world is telling me and go by the definition of what the word is telling me not the world but the word of god is telling you charm is deceitful beauty is vain but the one who fears the lord is to be praised you are fairer than anybody else because grace is poured out on your lips out of zion out of a church gathering it could be two or three but all are encouraging one another i'm opening up our mouths to speak spiritful words that's the most beautiful thing in the world this is how beauty needs to be redefined and so i want to encourage brothers and sisters define your clothing as you need to define your clothing and we try to do the best we can to give guidelines and all of those specifics be respectful be reverential in the way you dress be restrained in the way you dress but then adorn yourself with good works adorn yourself let your blessed gracious a tongue that is dripping with grace far outshine anybody else's beauty from any clone let our tongues be the object that the lord is saying i'm looking at that to see who's beautiful ones in the church today that's when we get our security in god and in god fearingness this is what it says for those who are saying we're going to be godly that are pursuing godliness one timothy chapter two for such people for the disciples that's what our church is supposed to be for for the disciples look attractive be respectable be reverential be restrained but then come with the adornment of a tongue that has grace on it has been using great as grace on it all week long to our spouses to our children that's one true beauty is a way a woman can be a leader true divine beauty and i hope that nccf will be a church where our women are taking our eyes off all the magazines and all the advertisements that are assaulting us and say what is going to drive me is divine beauty the next one is a one that gets a lot of us in trouble because we don't know how to explain it and this is what the whole confusion with sb the southern baptist was was a woman bush lebanon words a woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness but i do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over man but to remain quiet for it was adam who was first created and then eve and it was not adam who was deceived but the woman being deceived fell into transgression the language is very clear that a woman must not teach and have authority over man but what is a woman proclaiming when she relinquishes and steps away from something she may be very capable of doing teaching spiritual teaching this is in the context of spiritual matters not a matter of corporate management by the way but in spiritual matters a woman has cannot should be teaching spiritual subjects over men or exercising authority why should a woman relinquish that because she's proclaiming something that the that the world doesn't want us to proclaim one is that god has his own order and we don't need to answer why why did god create man first and woman second i don't know but why i don't know i don't know i honestly don't know why god created man first and woman second but it's god's way i don't know why god gives some children some diseases i don't know why god has his way in particular ways god gosling taxes i don't know but it's god's way so i will submit to it and so when women step back from a particular role we're saying we don't know why but it's god's way god created man first and woman second so we'll submit to god's way that's it i don't have to parse the greek and find something to twist my way into it no i'm proclaiming something this is where i'm going to be a leader i as a woman i'm going to stand up and say god's way i don't need to understand it i don't need to answer why but this is god's way that god created man first and woman second and then he also says one more reason why women should step away from those roles because he was deceived first what are we proclaiming there very important thing when a woman steps away from a leadership role in spiritual authority she is saying there's a consequence for sin eve was deceived first there was a consequence for it many people have said that there was a curse that god cursed woman he never cursed woman he never cursed man he cursed the serpent but there were consequences for man and woman do we have to sweat to make our bread consequence not a curse you got a difficult job where you have to sweat to make your living not a curse it's a consequence very important difference it's not a curse but this is a consequence and we when when women step away from this leadership role spiritual leadership role woman is saying a woman is saying in the church there are consequences for sin eve since he was the one who was deceived first let us remind ourselves there are eternal not eternal but till christ comes again there are consequences for that action and we want to tell our children that too all the way back to not only god's ways are different from our ways but in the very first sin when you sin you can get forgiveness you can get be justified just as if we've always obeyed but there will be consequences the haunting of your past memory of the sin diseases if you do the wrong kinds of sins all kinds of things are consequences god doesn't take away most of those consequences of those sins as we know we're proclaiming that and a woman gets a chance to proclaim that when her children when her co-workers say how come you don't you got a great mind how come you don't do this in the church it's my chance to tell you there's consequences for sin a wonderful role to embrace rather than to say we're being deprived or something this is a role that we can embrace so that's another leadership role but women can also part partner with the men in saying i don't know god's way but god's way is the way it is i don't know why men will create a first and women will create a second but it's god's way and there are consequences for sin on a curse consequences the third thing where women can be again unique leaders is in this but women verse 15 will be preserved through childbearing there's a lot of confusion about what that childbearing is some people say well women will be saved that word preserved is saved well we definitely were saved through a woman bearing jesus christ that's for sure but will be saved all women will be saved through the bearing of children this is something that i was thinking about two thousand years ago children women took on a great risk when they got pregnant in fact i didn't think about it till i was meditating on this i think women took on the most heroic act there was when they were pregnant sometimes not even of their own volition a lot of the cultures were just dominated by the men the men women will get pregnant and here's the big question that pregnant women would have to make at least 2 000 years ago am i going to survive there were so many children who died there were so many women who died in childbirth i know that's a normal fear for women will something burst inside something or the other happen i could die men go to battle to steal something to gain something we make heroes out of them because they're gonna go fight and win a war oh they're so courageous well a woman is courageous because she's saying i could die to bring new life greater love has no one than one who's willing to lay down her life for another life that's what i saw the woman doing it's the most courageous of all acts definitely 2 000 years ago medicine has increased a lot more now to make it a lot easier but still we find that happening but my point with that is not that women will be preserved only if they have children that's not what it means but even in the worst of all trials even through the greatest fire which is child bearing at that time women will be saved if they continue in the faith and love and sanctity with discretion they don't have to fear the worst of all trials and so i see not the men being the most courageous people in the room i see the women who are bearing children being the most courageous people in the room and this is how she's a leader she's proclaiming even though i'm doing the most dangerous thing in the room as i carry this baby and i might die i'm going to continue in faith and love and set apart for god with discretion my life is the lord's if he wants to take me he takes me now the medical practices are better we are better way of protecting women but i also read this in a way that helped me understand this to how you know as far as i can understand women because they bear the children have a unique bond with the children that a man can never buy men can never have that that's a unique thing a woman has with the children that they bear but i thought about that child bearing to bear your children in your heart that's something that women can excel in and i know in my children's case and all of our children's case they're gonna have they're going through going to go through different periods some difficult times sometimes where we don't understand what's going on with them why they're choosing different paths maybe but here's a woman who can be a leader is one who bears that pain in our heart but continues in faith and love and consecration and set apart with self-restraint with discretion with restraint this is another way in which women can be examples by their testimony to men the danger they take on the way they bear the rest of the church in their hearts i've always asked but not always i've asked this for many years who will get a greater reward in heaven the apostle paul or mary magdalene who would get a greater reward in heaven the apostle paul or mary magdalene well it depends on how you judge who will get a greater reward on what basis do you decide that is it based on the number of churches planted is it based on the number of amount of scripture written is it based on the number of sermons spoken is it based on the number of souls one is it based on the number of miracles performed who's going to get the greatest reward i don't believe it is any of those measurements rather who had the greatest burden for the body of christ who had the most child-bearing heart where the child is christ mary had a burden for the body of jesus christ but she said mary mary magdalene where have you laid him i want even though it's a dead body and i got something out of that spiritually which is she had a burden for the body the apostle paul had a burden for the body we see he got shipwrecked he got stoned all kinds of things but don't count mary magdalene out we'll find out and so i find that in the ultimate analysis it doesn't matter whether we're men or women we have an equal chance to get the greatest reward because the greatest reward goes to those who have a burden for the body of christ who have a burden for christ for christ in his purity for christ in his compassion for christ in his gentleness humility and all the other fruits of the spirit and we shouldn't get distracted by this i can't do this i can't do that rather let me say lord i want to be a leader in terms of my burden for the body of christ not standing up on a stage but in my spirit i want to adorn myself with good works with powerful anointed words not preaching not teaching not seeking to exercise spiritual authority who cares about that i care to have good works and i want to proclaim that there's a consequence for sin and no matter what trial i'm going through even if it is childbearing where i may lose my life i'm going to continue in faith and love this has helped me a lot dear brothers and sisters i hope especially for the sisters as we are thinking about these truths and i think we've talked about modesty and things like that let's understand the broader perspective of the tremendous role god needs women leaders examples inspirations people who have we name our children out of people like corrie ten boom and elizabeth elliott absolutely have been a tremendous example to me too why not and i hope that the sisters in our church will embrace that embrace all of scripture and say what's the broader point what am i gonna hit the devil with the devil is coming and flaunting all of its billion dollar industry at me get your hair like this get your face like this get your clothes like this i'm not going to believe the lie i'm going to counter-attack with a different point of view on it and scripture is my guide i'm not trying to make up things in which i'm going to strategize it no one two three two is a great one one peter three talks about the quiet and gentle spirit gentle like who gentle like jesus gentle like jesus come to me and i'll give you quietness i'll give you rest it's like jesus your hero our hero that's the spirit that we want and so we take ourselves all the politics of it and all the social pressures that we have and say lord we want to we are here to be have a counter-attack on the worldly system on this rock i will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it there's a great need for us to do that so i hope that something i've said you'll meditate on it we'll raise our daughters to not sit in the fetal position when the world comes attacking it but to say stand up to it and we'll be proud of our position different from the world's position and we'll hold on to it because we are proud to reflect the gospel that there's one god and one mediator the man jesus christ who died for a ransom me men let's raise our hands not in anger not in intellectual arguments that's what it says and women all that i've shared about i believe that god can help us for this to be true in our lives