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[0:00] A teacher one day gave her pupils a lesson all about magnets and the next day she set out! a written test which included the question, my name has six letters beginning with the letter M! and I pick up things, what am I?

[0:19] ! So now I'm not going to talk about magnets this morning but we think of mothers today and I'm sure we can all think glad thoughts of mums and happy memories and for those that have gone ahead of us I know I think of my dear granny she was a generous soul, got happy thoughts about her and how I knew her and of course we have got somewhat of a sad reflection of mothers that have gone on before us I know someone mentioned just this morning how they're thinking of their mum this morning and praying with the thought of her today and so we can all have that glad heart today I'm sure and when we think of mothers we think of the role of a mother often we can turn to a passage of scripture in proverbs 31. so if you've got your bibles you might want to turn there but we'll show the verses also thinking of the proverbs 31 woman and lessons we can learn from her life here is a woman of virtue and she shows us how to live a life that honors the lord she's a mother of noble character proverbs 31 gives for us this example of a godly wife and mother a godly woman and today we honor mothers today I'm glad to have my own mum in the congregation this morning and my dear mum I thank god for her and what she's taught me and keeps teaching me and I can keep keep learning from mum I'm sure we all can have that thought can't we and we honor mothers for their love and sacrifice for all that you do and may god bless you mums today as you fulfill your calling as a mother it's a special calling when we think of mothers really mothers are our first teachers aren't they our protectors our role models and they've given of themselves to nurture and to raise their children and as we reflect on the importance of mothers of motherhood let us turn to the scriptures to get that inspiration straight from the one who made mothers to find that guidance and inspiration so let's turn and have a look at proverbs 31 the proverbs 31 woman let's see what we can learn from her and her example her noble example as a mother and in the context as a mother she teaches her children valuable lessons we can look right back from verse 1 through 9 in the context talking about the lessons we learn from the mother and we're going to pick it up from verse 10 proverbs 31 verse 10 who can find a virtuous woman for her price is far above rubies a virtuous mother she's got a worth of value that is far above rubies and she's a rare breed and she has virtue her character and her behavior is of that high standard as the value far above rubies you can't reckon it and it speaks here of the value of her role in the family doesn't it of her price of her worth her value you just can't put a price tag on a godly woman and there's a whole load of rupees here in this chapter that we'll have a look at i was struggling really to make it a three-point sermon but i've managed it because really there's like 11 different character qualities here and the characteristics of the proverbs 31 woman there's so many jewels here and she is an excellent wife and mother when you think about the woman here it tells how she's a manufacturer an importer a manager a realtor a farmer a seamstress an upholsterer and a merchant so it's

[4:27] just jam-packed full of the qualities and the role of this woman her strength and her dignity do not come from her amazing achievements though her true strength lies in her fear of god her fear of god she's a god fearing woman this makes her especially regarded and her quality her character qualities come from just that her fear of god she's got a reverence of god she's got a reverence of god a love of god she's a virtuous woman that's how ruth is described in ruth 3 verse 11 virtuous a virtuous woman is commanded through scripture and this word virtuous it can also mean valiant and strong excellent and mighty like a mighty army that's where this word is used in such a description there's a real strength here this is a strong woman why her fear of the lord is her strength it's the foundation of her life and her strength the true strength comes from god that's what makes her strong her faith and truly the godly wife and mother is a precious treasure so let's look at some of these rubies that shine out from her life first consider the works of the virtuous woman we've got a few verses here that i'd like to capture as kind of the works that she does the works of the virtuous woman she's marked as trustworthy and reliable it says the heart of her husband doth safely trust in her so that he shall have no need of spoil so it tells of this woman she has this wonderful quality of faithfulness she's faithful and she's devoted in this great work that is marriage and family talk about the work of the virtuous woman what a work it is the work of marriage of making a marriage work that's a work indeed and verse 12 it says of this virtuous woman she will do him her husband good and not evil all the days of her life now some husbands might might need a bit more uh managing than others but it says that she will do him good and not evil it talks about her character she's got these works that are right and good and it says she reverences her husband we could consider in ephesians she shows him respect so another thing about this virtuous woman is that she serves with the right spirit verse 13 it reads on she seeketh wool and flax and worketh willingly with her hands she is like the merchant ships she bringeth her food from afar got a picture there of kneading the dough it's just one one picture of many we could portray of of the work of a woman and it's not to say a man can't do a bit of that housework too but she is a willing worker amen she's a willing worker she works willingly it says she's not doing it out of drudgery out of having to but she's got a willing heart she's willing she's ready and willing to serve and she works with diligence here with excellence she's a hard working and diligent woman a virtuous mother is reliable you can count on her she's willingly working and fulfilling her responsibilities her wide responsibilities and so she's responsible with the resources that god's given to her she knows what her family needs and she thinks ahead her works are motivated by love and a care for her family so here's this woman working working working hard a homemaker what a picture of the willing work that motherhood is of of

[8:34] being a wife and mother sometimes we can discount that when someone asks a woman her occupation and she says home duties or or she might say oh i'm just a wife no it's so much more isn't it a mother a wife is it's a tremendous role it's a it's a wonderful responsibility it's a god-honored role and she's like the merchant ships that brings her food from afar you know it talks about the lengths that she goes to in this role that she serves and then we read on verse 15 so this is julie when she wakes up in the morning she riseth also while it is yet night and giveth meat to her household and a portion to her maidens i was thinking of this this morning when julie got up early probably because of her husband snoring but so she got up early she couldn't stay there tossing and turning anymore but we think really the picture here is of the woman rising rising early wanting to get into the day wanting to serve wanting to to be about her day a virtuous mother she takes her work seriously and in her work she strives for excellence so she's not afraid she's a wise shopper if you like she plans ahead and in her work she's practical she's practical and notice here it says that she she gives meat or food to her household she feeds her family and it goes on to say and a portion to her maidens this struck me when i thought about it that it's interesting this virtuous woman of proverbs 31 she has maid servants so she's got others working for her in her employ really she's got these servants in her household and she looks after them too she doesn't just sit back and think oh the maid servant ring the bell and they'll come running she actually serves her own servants she she looks after them so even though she has home help she's not lazy about it it's just another picture of her heart to serve isn't it and in her work she's practical she knows what she needs to do she she knows what's what needs doing and she does it she doesn't count on others to go feeding her household she serves and and provides she's a good manager is the picture isn't it so she's got this skill in managing a household so what a quality here that she would have that heart to serve and and to be about it early not to kind of lounge around and such but but to be jumping up to to get out and serve to do to be a blessing and verse 16 we read on of further of her works she considereth a field and buy it with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard so it's telling us here of this virtuous woman she works with good sense she's got common sense she's got a godly sense she's wise she's spending money wisely as a wise steward of the resources that god has entrusted her we're so she's not reckless with her money but she's making wise investments that will benefit her family in the long term she's realizing yeah this i've got to prepare for the future and notice how this virtuous woman works she's industrious diligent hard-working when i read this i kind of first glossed over this verse when i first read it but just get a hold of this thought here in verse 16 just the idea of planting a vineyard i don't know about you about the gardening in your home or how how hard you plant some veggies or or do stuff in your garden but this virtuous woman plants a whole vineyard think of that that's that's huge isn't it so you can imagine the the physical exertion the the effort of planting a vineyard that's huge a huge piece of work isn't it and so this virtuous woman has many works through the

[12:40] chapter chapter we see that she sows you know she gets this wall she works with this willingness with this eagerness she works eagerly she sows verse 14 we could say she shops she brings her food from afar she cooks as we see here verse 15 she provides food for a family and she gardens she plants a vineyard think of that she sows she shops she cooks she gardens it's all-encompassing isn't it what a woman is this virtuous woman verse 17 it says she girdeth her loins with strength and strengtheneth her arms now she must have had some muscles planting that vineyard don't you think she was a strong woman a strong woman and she puts her mind and her heart into this work she rolls up her sleeves and gets things done what a picture of the virtuous woman friends we could think of her works now verse 18 it reads on she perceiveth that her merchandise is good her candle goeth not out by night so it's talking about merchandise it's talking about business sense isn't it she switched on she's she's no no fool she's got wisdom and discernment and she can see things what need doing what has to be done and her works are well done it says so she cares about what she does and she does it well she she sets the bar high for herself her candle goes not out by night so she's putting a lot of time in here this is an application of time and energy verse 19 it says she layeth her hands to the spindle and her hands hold the disc staff talking about that machine that that makes uh garments and so she's commended for being able to do different tasks so there's two things at once there she's multi multi-talented isn't she and it's showing how the virtuous woman is diligent in her work she takes care of her family she counts her family of value and she shows it in her works she shows kindness and compassion she's a giving person she's a giving person as we read verse 20 she's not selfish we see her works here verse 20 she stretcheth out her hand to the poor yea she reacheth forth her hands to the needy so this woman has a heart to care to reach out to care for others and in her work she shows charity and compassion she's not selfish and self-centered she's not standoffish she sees the poor she sees those that are less fortunate she sees them and she stretches out her hands to them she goes out of her comfort zone and reaches out in love and generosity she's generous in her giving and she's kind she looks out for others for people in need and she sees needs and she acts on those needs she opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy and she blesses others in her works the virtuous woman is devoted to serving others what a heart it's the heart of god isn't it by her acts of kindness and generosity towards others as a virtuous mother she demonstrates the love of christ who reaches out to us we're needy aren't we he reaches out to us that are needy and she's just like christ in that the first section we looked at the works we've seen the works the works of the virtuous woman what are they a willing worker faithful hard working you can count on her a homemaker a wise steward a strong woman a giving woman in her work she blesses others next consider the wisdom the wisdom of the virtuous woman we see that from verse 21 i put to you some of the ways that she's wise she's a wise and loving

[16:47] mother so look at her stewardship of time and her resources she plans ahead so it says verse 21 she's not afraid of the snow for her household for all her household are clothed with scarlet so here's a woman who's a provider she supports her family we see the wisdom of her motherhood she doesn't have to fear the winter because she's already made preparation winter's coming and she's prepared her family for it she's made some warm clothes she's already planned for the future she's got this wisdom about time about time management about life management she doesn't fear the winter because she's already planned for it and made provision she's ready ready for the future and so her family has warm clothing to keep them warm and she applies herself to make things to do stuff she uses her time wisely so she's not sitting around idle she's making things for her family she's making sure they're provided for for the days ahead for the days to come verse 22 she maketh herself coverings of tapestry her clothing is silk and purple so this woman dresses well and wisely she puts her time into the skills of making useful things so she's got the sense to dress like a woman to make wise choices about her dress and her appearance she cares about presenting her best that's wise that's wisdom in a world where many people don't care about such things people settle for shabby or sloppy not this woman she maketh herself coverings of tapestry her clothing is silk and purple she wants to excel she makes the best of what she has her time her resources it reads on verse 23 her husband is known in the gates when he sitteth among the elders of the land the wise woman makes wise choices about marriage she's the making of her husband she's the wife of a good husband so in other words she's she is a help meet to him she helps her husband to be his best because she's supporting him and her her wisdom helps make the marriage work makes her husband the best man that he can be she has the wisdom to support him to pray for him to submit to him to reverence him of course there's a whole other sermon we could preach about the proverbs 31 husband the proverbs 31 husband because that's a whole other story isn't it because he has a whole lot of work to do to make the marriage work the proverbs 31 man we could talk about that another time perhaps and to be a husband of honor himself not to dishonor his wife will bring shame to his home and family this is not to discount this part of the equation it's the husband fulfilling his god-given role we can't unpack that today verse 24 we read on of her wisdom she maketh fine linen and selleth it and delivereth girdles unto the merchant it's saying here about her wisdom that she's making this fine linen she's a good business woman this godly woman is wise she's got the sense to conduct the financial affairs of the home she's not careless with money here she's got the whole the sense to conduct the financial affairs of the home and applies herself and a time wisely to benefit the home it reads on to talk about mothers aiming to be an example of godly character as we see in verse 25 it says strength and honor are her clothing and she shall rejoice in time to come so again there's a strength to this woman

[20:52] this is a strong woman her strength is her faith she's got a strength of faith and here is true wisdom the true strength of character we know that the word of god tells us that the fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom talking about the wisdom of this woman the fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom proverbs 9 verse 10 and the knowledge of the holy is understanding the bible tells us that before honor is humility too it tells that she's got strength and honor the word of god says in proverbs 15 33 the fear of the lord is the instruction of wisdom and before honor is humility before honor is humility so she's got the heart to be an honorable woman because she has a humility before god she's living out her faith in humility in a life of honesty and integrity she is honorable and she's a woman of dignity deserving of honor and really when you think of this woman of proverbs 31 the fear of god is what gives her the strength and power beyond what she is humanly able to achieve and it's the same men and women isn't it we've only got so much strength but when we've got supernatural strength we can do so much more strength beyond our own strength and it's the same today for every woman of faith so we honor mothers of of women here this morning you might be a mother figure in that you don't have children of your own but people look up to you as a mother figure that's a blessing too and certainly we want to encompass all of that uh today and it says that she smiles at the future she's rejoicing at the future there is a rejoicing it says that she's rejoicing in the time to come so she's made the right choices she can be glad looking back yeah i did the right thing back then i'm going to rejoice in time to come because i'm i'm doing what's right for my life and family there's a rejoicing in her heart and of this virtuous woman it reads on how she seeks wisdom and discernment it says verse 26 she openeth her mouth with wisdom and in her tongue is the law of kindness so not only does she conduct herself wisely and do wise works her words are wise you know sometimes the words that come out aren't wise can you can you can you identify with that but she is wise also in what she says she's why she has wisdom and knowledge and also in what she says how she says it there's good judgment there she makes wise decisions and it's true for all of us whenever we open our mouth we either show our wisdom or our folly don't we we do well to watch our words the godly woman watches her words and she speaks wise words when she speaks it says wisdom comes out of her mouth wisdom comes forth and what's more kindness kindness a virtuous mother recognized the importance of seeking the wisdom of god and his guidance in making decisions so not only will we have wise thoughts and actions but we'll have wise words as well coming out of our mouth the virtuous woman is a woman of wisdom mothers here this morning uh everyone let's have that heart to think how can i be more like this woman she's able to make wise and sound decisions because she seeks the counsel of god where does true wisdom come from comes from above doesn't it james says ask for it so you might say preacher i think i've probably not been as wise as i ought to have been well there's a source of wisdom that is guaranteed it says in james 1 verse 5 if any of you lack wisdom let him ask of god

[24:59] that give it to all men liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him in other words he gives to men freely liberally he lavishes wisdom on us he doesn't withhold it he doesn't hold back he just gives it he gives wisdom when we ask for it and so the virtuous woman we could consider would get her wisdom through prayer she's a woman of prayer we could count that she would go to god to get wisdom that's the source isn't it to go to prayer so let's be like the virtuous woman and aim to seek god's will for our life and follow his ways to seek what his will is and to do it and the virtuous woman is kind generous and considerate we see in her tongue is the law of kindness a godly mother makes wise choices that bring blessings it says there's a law of kindness there's wisdom there's kindness that comes out of what she says and she makes these decisions to place a priority on a family and its needs it says verse 27 she looketh well to the ways of her household and eateth not the bread of idleness so friends here as we think of the wisdom of this woman it says she's a good mother she cares about her family she looks after them she looks well to the ways of her household she's always watching her household her family her husband her children she's looking at her family and meeting its needs she's looking after the needs of her home a virtuous woman makes her family a top priority and invests her time and energy in their well-being it's saying here that she is busy she's engaged in activity she's not eating the bread of idleness she's not she's not lounging around as some lazy person she's a homemaker she's not eating the bread of idleness she's not idle she's the opposite of that she's industrious so we've seen the works of the virtuous woman just to recap what are those works she's a wise and loving mother she's a helpmate she makes good decisions for her household her wisdom gives her true strength it's a strength of faith of character she's a woman of dignity she brings god honor with her life that's what counts she wants to honor the lord and she's got a wisdom in sound judgment in her decisions in her words and she knows god's guidance for her life that's where wisdom comes from from him she's kind she's generous she looks after the needs of her home number three we're going to consider the worth of the virtuous woman we've seen her works we've seen her wisdom see her worth now her worth here is a woman of worth a woman respected a woman praised by her children as we see in verse 28 it says her children arise up and call her blessed and her husband also and he praise her praise her her the godly woman nurtures her children and this woman is praiseworthy she's a mother deserving approval and admiration she's got value there's a value here far above rubies you can't put a price on it the worth of this woman is beyond a price tag her children praise her her husband she's praiseworthy and it says it reads on verse 29 many daughters have done virtuously but thou excellest them all so this woman is again telling of her honor she's a woman who has done above and beyond and mothers can aspire to be like this one we know there's always room for improvement but think of the qualities the characteristics of the proverbs 31 woman how she excels how can we take a page out of her book

[29:06] and being more like her and to cap it off we see how she honors god above all else the testimony of the proverbs 31 woman shows how to be a woman of faith it reads verse 30 favor is deceitful and beauty is vain but but but a woman that feareth the lord she shall be praised we could think favor we could think of beauty it's passing it's fleeting the wrinkles come and the you know we get old that we're not not as uh bright and sparky as we once were but the woman that feareth the lord that's what's consistent that's what counts that's what matters that's what truly counts not some outward appearance or what people might look upon but her heart it's a heart she's a god-fearing woman a virtuous mother recognizes her importance of her relationship with god this is what matters the most she loves the lord and the fear of god has led her to be a testimony for his praise and honor and she strives to live a life that honors and glorifies god what a testament this woman speaks to us still she seeks to honor the lord in all that she does fulfilling her god-given roles as wife as mother with love and devotion god helping her through all the struggles that can come we read in this final verse how such a mother deserves honor and reward for everything that she has done it was her fear of god that set her apart the fear of the lord that's what mattered that's what matters most in all of us and so the virtuous woman it says she's due recognition she's due praise and there's a fruit here there's a fruit to show there's a fruit that's flowing out this that's abounding out of her life we see verse 31 it says give her of the fruit of her hands and let her own works praise her in the gates it's saying here the godly mother bears fruit now we don't always know mums while you're raising that little one the fruit of that life that little life we don't realize it doing well that little one is you know so little and then so big sometimes bigger than us you know the fruit of of a life that you've given birth to that's a fruit isn't it and and so much more that that fruit would be a blessing that that fruit would would be a blessing in in more ways than just the physical building up and growing up of that child but that that child would be would grow up in the nurture and admonition of the lord that that god helping you you can see that child come to their own trust in christ as savior and grow in their faith and be themselves a testimony to god's grace it says give her of the fruit of her hands and let her own works praise her in the gates it says the godly mother bears fruit and friends it's something really that's got an eternal value isn't it it's an eternal soul every one of your children are precious eternal souls and so there's this great value in nurturing them and there's a fruit from a life that honors and glorifies god mothers through all the testings and trials of of your life as a mom there's fruit there will be fruit and so can i encourage each one to aspire to have that heart the heart of the proverbs 31 woman to contemplate her example of what you can

[33:10] find find of her life that you can be more like her and it all starts with that fear of the lord as proverbs 1 verse 7 the fear of the lord is the beginning of knowledge but fools despise wisdom and instruction here's the beginning if you want to be wise if you want to have true knowledge it's the fear of the lord the fear of the lord so we seem to recap her works the works of the virtuous woman a willing worker faithful hard working you can count on her she's a homemaker a wise steward a strong woman a giving person she blesses others with her works we've seen the wisdom of the virtuous woman we've seen how she's a wise and loving mother as a helpmate she makes good decisions for her household her wisdom gives her true strength the strength of faith of character she's a woman of dignity she brings god honor with her life she has wisdom and good judgment in her decisions and in her words what she says and she knows god's guidance in her life she goes to him in prayer she's kind and generous and she looks after the needs of her home the wisdom of the virtuous woman and lastly the worth of the virtuous woman her children call her blessed her husband praises her she deserves it she deserves honor this woman of faith she should be honored this god-fearing woman should be esteemed a woman that feareth the lord she shall be praised that's a promise from god she loves the lord she lives her life to glorify god and there's a fruit a fruit from her life and it all starts with the fear that fear of the lord so mothers embrace that calling that unique role that you have to be that woman to be that virtuous woman god giving you the grace to as you start that walk of faith as you trust christ for your own salvation for your saving for yourself and then as a saved woman it impacts your whole life your whole future doesn't it and god will give you the strength and honor it's your faith in christ that starts that virtue virtuousness isn't that great value as a saved woman and may we pray to ever be more so mothers to be known as such as a virtuous woman as mothers who glorify god as a witness as a testimony to your family you've got a precious role you've got a precious gift a precious calling a precious ministry just in the home it's it's a mission it's a ministry of its own and as you work diligently and you show compassion and kindness as you seek wisdom and discernment as you're a prayerful woman god will give you the wisdom that you need that you'll have that wisdom and honor that you'll honor god above all else that that will be your first and foremost consideration and that will flow on into how you are a mother that you are a woman of honor may god bless all the mothers and mother figures and may god give each one that strength and wisdom to fulfill their important roles amen let us pray lord we thank you that we can be reminded of such a woman that is due honor lord help us to have a due honor of mums and lord to give us wisdom each one that are mums that we can be more so such a woman lord we know each one has room for improvement as i know i do lord we thank you

[37:17]  that we have that source of wisdom most especially that salvation that we can know that great gift that each one can know what it is to call on your name and to be saved to know eternal life as your great gift we know this this world is full of many challenges as there's many attacks on the family unit we know this world would discount the value of a mother that it would be something thought little of or as if the government can improve on what a mother does by taking our children and training them yet lord we know it's the mother's care that we so need and lord we just want to thank you for the testimony of this one that we each one might be such a a testimony to in our own way give us grace lord when we know marriages and families can fail and this this hardship and heartache that the scrambled eggs that sometimes can't be undone lord we pray yet give us your wisdom that we might aspire to be according to your word in in the ways that we walk and how we live that we can aspire to these godly traits in in every way each one man and woman many of these qualities are so needful for us lord we know and lord most especially that we'd be a god-fearing people that we would have a fear of you that that reverence of you that honor of you that esteeming of you as the great mighty god and savior that we love you so that we want to order our lives according to your pattern and to do your will lord give us the grace to we pray in jesus name amen