Sarah  and Rebekah both had their husbands hide behind them. And yet they remained faithful women who became mothers. The nature of the new life is that way believe God and show grace. (1 Peter 3:3-6)

Speaker(s): Pastor Thomas Schaller
Sermon # 11452
7:30 PM on 4/11/2018

P. Schaller

I don’t know if any of you noticed I wasn’t here for a couple of days! I was in Hungary. I thought I’d go there for a cup of coffee! It was awesome. We had a beautiful time. I can’t believe we live in a time when you can fly to Europe, have a few days of meetings, have connections with people and come back and be with you folks, the greatest people in the world. You are amazing!

Turn to Php. 4 and we’ll read about how amazing you are!

Php. 4:1-brethren and what’s the next one? Dearly beloved. I love you Paul is saying to the Philippians. My wife was with Joe Zucker and Sky and she goes they are the most amazing people. Longed for. I want to be with you. Desiring you. Wanting to be with you. Present with you. Just to sit with you. I have a riding lawn mower someone gave to me. I can’t tell you who it was. I went out on the street with it today and my neighbor drove by. I went up to his driveway. We are new in the neighborhood. He said this reminds me of an old movie where a guy lost his license so he used his riding lawnmower and visited his brother in another state! Then he said do you know I told your wife I want to talk to you about how you can turn beer into furniture. He read my book. He said I bought it on Amazon. You don’t know what people are saying or talking about in the neighborhood! We are longed for, desired. We want to be together. My joy, my crown. High priority on people. When you find people and the treasure in people, in a women’s Bible study, in church service, in the parking lot, on a mission field it starts to grow in you and you start to think that these people are a joy and our crown. So stand fast in the Lord. My dearly beloved. How many different words does he say? Six. Words of affection. This is what God does in our heart by the H.S. We get to know each other in Christ and get to see in each other who we are. I was thinking as flying back here just seeing you. I’m amazed at the number of things that happen on this campus, at the kind of giving, faith, attitude. Amazed at the kind of love we have for each other. I took a little video Monday night and Bible college waving and hooting and hollering. People. People that know Christ has changed their life, their sins are forgiven, have the H.S. dwelling in them and know that God is our Father. Thank you for your prayers, love, faith, attitude, taking up the cross, believing God, love, laying down our lives through Christ in us so we really care about each other. Have a prayer for outreach this Saturday and ask a question, Could I go?

1 Pet. 3:5-6, I’d love to spend time on this. These are general principles you will see.

About women and how they dress is in vs. 3. Any of you women want to know about what the Bible says about your hair? Thank God you got some!

vs. 3. Putting on of blink!

There is the women taking care of themselves on the outward and then the beauty of vs. 4. Every woman has something in her heart that is from God. Every born again woman has a treasure in her heart from God. The new man. Her new nature. New character, new heart, new spirit and that makes her beautiful. It comes through.

I asked P. Jason to give me a little list of the extraordinary women in our church that do amazing work as teachers and ministers. Lorie Simpkins, Monday night Ladies Night Out; Karen Pevac, wow; Anna Braganza, Federal Hill Bible Study; Dawn Kress, Abbie Lange, Kayce Shibley, Kerry Roberge, Michele Benoit, Bev Tjomsland, Geraldine Willis, they meet for prayer and consider names to reach out to the women that are in our ministry. What an amazing work. Kimmy Andrulonis, Monique Davis, Tarja Saivonen; Darlene Stevener, Sirpa Anderson. What an amazing group of ladies. These are mighty women. Halleluiah! These are mighty women of God. There are the sons of thunder and these are the daughters of lightning! Women reaching out to women and the phone ringing and the care for women and ministry.

Now there is a beautiful character in vs. 4. The hidden man of the heart.

vs. 4. Meek and quiet spirit. Meek and quiet spirit. So much happens through the inner man. The Spirit of God, the wisdom of God amongst the women in our ministry. My joy, my crown, what was the last one? Dearly beloved.

I want to make a comparison and we see this character and clarity of it in vs. 5. After this manner in the old time, long ago there were women like this. Long ago. In the old time. In the Old Testament.

vs. 5. In this way the women in the old time – Sarah, Rebekah, Ruth, Deborah and many of these women and the way they were in their humility, brokenness, spirituality, beauty, hidden beauty in them. And they adorned themselves and trusted in God being in subjection unto their own husbands. By the way, it may be difficult. Just ask Ginny Rollins! It’s fun to throw names around! To be submitted or in subjection to. I titled it, When Men Have a Yellow Streak. Right down the back! Abraham and Sarah. It seems that she was at some point in her life amazed or astonished.

vs. 6. She was submitted to him but in a sense she had reason to think of him cowardly. A woman could be afraid with amazement. Referring to someone who becomes stunned, dumbfounded at what they see or hear. A state of amazement at the sudden or unusualness of the phenomenon. Sarah was stunned by her husband. Where did this happen? It doesn’t say. I want to use this text to say a woman could be stunned by what is happening or amazed and emotional about it. I married you and you have become some kind of disappointment to me. In Sarah’s case when this happened, she had a relationship with God. Sarah is looking at her husband thinking, I married him?

When we were first married Lisa and I -she’s the only one I ever married – I don’t know where you mind is going on that so I clarified that! We didn’t know each other that way and something happened and hurt her and she was hurt by something I said or did or didn’t do. It didn’t make such a big impact on me. At the time I realized I hurt her. She was trained in Bible school and in this ministry. You know what she did? She went off and went with God and sought God and came back. Had an attitude of loving me. Wow. I don’t know if I explained that too well. Did I? Okay, let’s move on quickly! Get going! Get out of there!

Ge. 20 – Could there be anything more destructive to your marriage than what happened with Abraham and Sarah in Ge 20? When Abraham journeyed to the south country and said of Sarah his wife, she is my sister, Sarah had married him as her hero. Her Prince Charming. The epitome of masculinity, protection, security, my man, my lover, my defender. My man with big muscles and great strength. My confidence and supporter. The one I trust in. He’s under pressure and looks around and when it’s time for him to show up as the hero. The king makes a move toward Sarah and Abraham says more or less do you like her? Sarah is looking at him with a hopeful gaze. Do you want her? She’s my sister. Sarah is stunned. You’re my hero. My Prince Charming. Disappointment.

90 years later, Ge 26, look at the story.

vs. 6-7. Isac said, she is my sister.

vs. 7. Rebekah could do the same. Look at him stunned, dumbfounded. Emotional, heartbroken, disappointed. She could slap him. Give him a “what are you doing,” you jerk? You failure, you idiot, you loser, and distrust him and lose complete trust and respect for her husband. I don’t respect you. I can’t believe it. You throw me under the bus. I thought you were my husband. Wow.

That text in 1 Pet 3 if you can adorn yourself with this kind of beauty where you are not putting your husband down, but instead you are able to be there and say I know my husband has a yellow streak down his back but because of his new birth and what Christ has done, my husband is a lot more than what he appears to be just now. I was affected by that in my marriage when my wife would be disappointed with me and go to God. When you go to God whether a man or woman, you are taking a place – I want to use stairs. I am looking at my husband. You have disappointed me, failed me. I am acting as a judge. When you have that humble hidden man in the heart you come lower. I’m thankful you are here. You are my man. I respect you and love you and will encourage you and pray for you. We could say to this woman, you are beautiful. More than how you put your hair or jewelry or blink. The clang, clang. There is something amazing about this submission. A meek and a quiet spirit. Amazed and stunned would lead to emotion. Like judging, yelling, huffing and puffing. This is more than male and female. This is the nature of our new life. It is a spirit of laying down our life for the guilty. I could easily judge him.

In Hungary, I gave a good example. When we went to Finland our home church pledged to our team of 10 people $1,000 a month support. This is from Dr. Stevens and D. Lewis. We are promised $1000 a month to pay our rent. It’s very little for ten people. Five months the money didn’t come. So we had to live by faith. I decided instead of judging my church, we are starving over here. We can’t pay our bills and everything. I was taught this in this church. My church sent us out. My church loves us. My church is on our side. I don’t know why but I’m not going to worry about it. I love my church. I had ammunition to go against them.

Sarah and Rebekah had ammunition to go against their husband. You know how to destroy a marriage? Throw me under the bus. I’m your sister. I’m your wife, idiot. Why can’t this woman be beautiful on the inside and say you need me not as your judge but as a helpmate. You need me to love you, care for you, and support you. You’re my hero.

We’re moving on. God is with us. Please do not be a judge of your brother but lay down your life for your brother. Love him and support him and encourage him. Whether in your church or marriage. When someone is your hero, it’s easy. When they disappoint you, you can get stunned, amazed and emotional. This other way is the way to go.

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