Women of the Word (W.O.W.!)

“Women of the Word” (W.O.W.!) Genesis 2:18-24 I recall the first time I saw it. The letters “PTW” displayed on the rear plate of Pastor Phil’s truck. He had not been with us long when I questioned him on it. We were leaving church and we happened to be walking together next to his truck. “I like your plate, but what exactly does it stand for?” I asked. I remember well the look he gave me. As if I had two heads. He walked to the plate and pointed to each letter, slowly and deliberately saying, “Philip T. Wanck. PTW. My initials!” he excitedly exclaimed. He waited for my response. And I gave him one. “Well, Pastor Phil, I hate to burst your bubble, but clearly it means Praise. The. Women!!! Of course, I had to share that with Carol; and to this day I shout it out when I walk by his truck as he is getting in and out. Today we celebrate Mother’s Day. I feel we should just have a day to celebrate “women,” whether a mother or not. The Bible mentions amazing women. Some mothers and some not. Some named (nearly 150 named per Dr. David Jeremiah) and some unnamed. No doubt the “women of the Word,” in many ways, experienced the same emotions and circumstances as all women since their time. Tears and fears. Trials and triumphs. Anger and inexplicable joy. Tantrums, envy and disobedience. Sacrifice. But also great loyalty, obedience, courage and influence. And so the list goes on. We are familiar with many of the women found in the Gospels, but perhaps a few we know little about. Today we praise women of the Word. Eve. Created by God for Adam from Adam’s own rib. That's our wonderful loving God. He didn't want Adam to be lonely so He created a helper/companion for him. God brings Eve to Adam. “Now this is someone whose bones came from my bones. Whose body came from my body. I will call her woman because she was taken out of man,” declares Adam (NCV). We know what happens next, don’t we? Because of her sin, God tells Eve she will have much trouble when pregnant and experience great pain. Hence, the contractions we mothers experience in childbirth! Motherhood. Eve is the first recorded mother in the Bible. Conceivably, Eve earns the title “Mother of All Nations.” Esther. She earned the title “Queen” Esther when she won the Miss Persia contest. Raised by her uncle, he enters her in a beauty pageant ... and she wins! When she learns of an evil plot to annihilate her people, which most likely would result in her own demise as well, she rises above and thinks not of herself but her people. Just when things start to close in on her, she asks her uncle to gather the Jews in the area (as she does with her maidservants) and to fast on her behalf for three straight days. She states she will then go to the king although against the law (for barging in on the king ― even a wife ― could mean ultimate death), further stating, “and if I perish, I perish.” As well, she needs to disclose her hidden Jewish heritage. She places her faith in God and is successful in her request to the king to save her people. God's timing is always perfect. He sets the stage and timeline for Esther to enter and do His will. Esther was born at the precise moment God wanted so she could fulfill His work. Esther’s uncle, during a conversation in chapter 4:14, tells her “she may have been chosen queen for just such a time as this.” The Book of Esther is wonderful and encouraging. A reminder that God is in perfect control all of the time. Whether we feel His presence or not. God will use whoever, whenever, He wants. Trust and obey. The woman at the well. One of my absolute favorite stories. Although unnamed in Scripture, Greek tradition and The Eastern Orthodox Church refer to the woman as Photini, or St. Photini. It appears the story found in the Gospel of John may be the longest story in the Bible about a woman and the longest conversation Jesus has with a woman. John 4 tells us that Jesus went through Samaria on His way to Galilee from Judea. One day, Jesus’ followers went into town to market. Tired from His trip, Jesus sits down by a well (not just any well — Jacob’s well!) when a Samaritan woman approaches. Jesus asks her to draw Him up a cold drink. She states she is shocked He asked (Jesus being Jewish and her a Samaritan). Jesus then tells her if she only knew WHO was asking her for a drink, she would be asking HIM for a drink. Of God’s free, living water. HIM. She inquires about this “living water.” He goes on to say the well water will leave her thirsting for more, but the water He can offer will leave her eternally fulfilled (so to speak). Upon hearing this, she asks for this water to quench her thirst. I love this next part. I can just see the twinkle in Jesus’ eye when He tells her to go get her husband. She replies she has no husband. Jesus then tells her she is correct. That the man she is in a relationship with is, in fact, not her husband. So she didn’t lie, He assures her. He then tells her He knows she has had five husbands. She believes at first Jesus is merely a prophet. Jesus then has a lengthy discussion with her on worship and salvation in spirit and truth. The woman tells Jesus she knows the Messiah is coming and that He will explain everything when He comes. Then, finally, the big reveal. Verse 26! Jesus tells her He is the Messiah! She then leaves her water jar and runs back to town exclaiming to all who will listen that she has met the Messiah, and He has revealed everything she has ever done! Verse 39 tells us many believed in that town from that day on because of the woman and her testimony. The Samaritans then begged Jesus to stay with them, and He stayed two more days. This woman, with no name, would be forever remembered as the perfect witness. Jesus could have taken another way to Galilee. He knew, however, she would be there. Proof that one person (in this case, one woman!) can lead someone to Christ. She sets an example for witnessing and spreading the Good News wherever and whenever we can. As well, she does so with great joy! Woman of faith. I love Luke 8. For me it is a story within a story. Jesus performs one of His many miracles in Luke 8. He arrived in Galilee where a large crowd awaited His arrival. A man named Jairus begs Jesus to come to His house where His 12-year-old daughter was dying. On his way there, Jesus experiences (for lack of better description...) somewhat of a power surge. A woman in the crowd, suffering from 12 years of chronic hemorrhaging, merely touches the edge of Jesus’ cloak in healing faith. Jesus instantly senses a loss of power and asks the crowd who touched Him. (Of course, He already knew, yet He questions. Don’t you just love this about our Saviour?). Everyone denies touching Him. One woman steps forward as she knew she could not hide. She goes to Jesus and falls down before Him. While the crowd listens, she tells them she knew if she merely touched Jesus, she would be healed. She was instantly healed of the bleeding that plagued her 12 years. The Bible states nobody was able to heal her, yet one simple touch did. Jesus tells her that her faith healed her, and she may go in peace. Some may feel the bigger story here is Jesus raising Jairus’ daughter to life where she lay dead in her bed. A miracle for sure. I find, however, equally important the story of faith. I cling to this faith in my own life. Like you, I struggle many days. When I do, I picture in my mind touching the hem of Jesus. Leading loved ones needing healing to touch Him as well as in my heart and mind. I can see it. Like the woman at the well, we too can experience healing through faith. Not just physically, but mentally, emotionally and more importantly, spiritually. If you are here today you have a biological mother. Perhaps you have two mothers, a biological mother and a mother or woman who raised you. Such was the case for Moses. Jochebed was the biological mother to Moses, and Pharaoh's daughter was the woman who adopted Moses and raised him as her own son. I think of women who give up their babies for adoption out of pure love. Wanting a better life for their child. I think, as well, of the women who raise these children as their own; and it matters not that they are not biologically related. We know it takes much more than DNA to love and raise a child. Moses’ mother, Jochebed, gave birth to a baby boy during a time when Pharaoh issued a decree that all baby boys be tossed in the Nile for he feared the Israelites would grow in population and eventually overtake the Egyptian empire. Exodus 2 tells us Jochebed hid her baby until he was three months old before designing his waterproof cradle and placing him in the Nile. With his sister Miriam nearby watching, the baby gently floated down the Nile, hidden by the tall grass along the shoreline until a Pharaoh princess discovers him. Miriam approaches Pharaoh's daughter, asking if she would like her to find a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby. The princess tells Miriam to find a woman, and Miriam brings Jochebed, the child's biological mother! Pharaoh's daughter tells Jochebed she will pay her to nurse and care for the child. When the child grew older, Jochebed took him to Pharaoh's daughter where the princess adopted and named him. She called him Moses, stating she had “drawn him from the water.” Jochebed. She gave to save. As well, our God gave to save when He sacrificed His only Son to save us. Three Mary’s huddled together at the Cross at the crucifixion. Mary, the wife of Clopas; Mary Magdalene; and Mary, the mother of Jesus. We don’t know much about Mary, the wife of Clopas, but we know much about the other two present. Mary Magdalene. The beloved and faithful female follower of Jesus. Always near. She saw Jesus comfort and heal. Saw Him pray. Prayed with Him! Was always near, hanging on to every word He spoke. She stayed when others retreated, even until the end when Jesus took His last breath. She was there. Watching and waiting. No doubt comforting the others as tears slid down her cheeks as her heart ached and then broke. Of everyone God could have chosen to be the first to see the risen Savior, He chose a woman. Mary Magdalene. As well, she was the first to spread the news to the others that Jesus was alive. Mary, Mother of Jesus. The Jewish maiden born to bear a King. Not just any king. “THE” King of all. A part of God Himself. She was faithful and obedient, doing all God asked of her. Ask any mother, and she will tell you that it is unbearable to watch their child suffer. In any way or form. Mary lovingly cradled and caressed her Son's head at birth. Then again at His death. Parents often say they should never have to outlive their children. Mary’s Son, though, would live eternally. Seated at the right hand of the Father and living in the heart of all that will believe. Mary delivered a Son who delivered her. And the world. Past, present and future. So many women of the Gospel. Too many to discuss in one sermon. Ruth and Naomi. Deborah, the recorded first female judge. Judges 4 states she settled disputes and was a “woman of great wisdom, revelation and discernment.” Martha and Mary and the like. An entire Bible study could be done on “Women of the Word!” Women. We are mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmothers. We are coworkers, friends and neighbors. God felt Adam, His first male, needed a companion. God chose us! Women! More importantly, male or female, God’s Word tells us we are created equal and made in God’s image. Ephesians 5 tells us that we are all one in Jesus. Psalm 139 reminds us we are “fearfully and wonderfully” made! One thing is for certain. We were lovingly created BY God ... FOR God! Often, we think we were created solely by God to love Him. We have it backward, for 1 John 4:19 tells us, “We love because He FIRST loved us.” We were created for Him. Not ourselves. Billy Graham preached a sermon in 1956 on Jeremiah 18. The potter and the clay. The making and molding. We are clay in our Father’s hands. HIS creation and craftmanship. Not of our own doing. All God’s doing! Billy highlights in this message that men and women were not created haphazardly, but rather with “infinite plan and purpose.” He goes on to say we were made in God’s own image so He could “commune, companion and fellowship” with us. Furthermore, he states for us to “fulfill any other purpose is to fail to fulfill our own destiny.” “We have been created for greater things, to love and to be loved.” (Mother Teresa) janet