Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
July 16, 2006 - W0629

The way we live and the choices we make are rooted in either God’s way or the world’s way. In fact, the Bible says that even though others will base their choices by worldly standards, it must not be so among us. And if we try to live between the two, it gets pretty dangerous.

Right now there is a civil war raging in Iraq between two factions: the Shiites and the Sunnis. The interesting thing is that they’ve found two sets of identification in the pockets of those caught between these brawls. One classifies them as Sunni and the other as Shiite. In carrying around these dual identities, their hope is to be accepted by one of them. However, the reality is that they are acceptable by neither because it cannot be determined whom they belong to. In the same sense, we cannot have two standards of living. We must make a choice.

Today as we talk about desperate housewives, we will talk about what it means to be walking God’s way. Proverbs 31 gives us instructions for excellence in a woman’s life. However, these qualities can apply to every person as we all desire God’s best. “An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels.  The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.  She does him good and not evil, all the days of her life”.  (Prov. 31:10-12).

Leon Frazer once asked an Amish woman how she managed to have such an extravagant beauty without any make-up. Her reply was, “For my eyes, I use compassion; for my face, I use joy; for my lips, I use truth; and for my hands, I use gentleness. And for my figure, I use uprightness.”  That is the best beauty secret I have ever heard. Even Shiseido can’t put that in a bottle. So in order to become that kind of person begin to…

1.     develop your inner beauty.

Build beauty from the inside out. This applies to all of us. “Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty…You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God”. (1 Pet. 3:3-4 NLT). In other words, outside beauty eventually fades so our beauty will be defined by our spirit. Those inner qualities of character and wisdom will confirm that unfading beauty. How often have we seen a beautiful woman’s beauty quickly fade once she opened her mouth? Remember our spirit can either confirm or negate our beauty. Actually, the Bible makes a point three times of mentioning a contentious woman. In one verse, it says that it is better to live in the corner of a roof than to live with a contentious or argumentative woman. What kind of person are you? Are you a person who is long-suffering or short-fused? Are you quick to dissolve a relationship or resolve misunderstandings? Are you quick to grumble rather than find out what caused a misunderstanding?

Inner beauty is not a weakness. “Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future” (Prov. 31:25) Our beauty is our clothing and is described as an internal strength. So we must take time to develop those internal qualities because we will confidently walk into the future with faith and assurance and that is the beauty God wants us to reflect. “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised” (Prov. 31:30)

Praise comes from how we honor God. If we try to attract people with our external beauty before developing our inner beauty, in time we become like a desperate housewife frantically paying attention to things that will soon fade. Think about it, if external beauty is all that mattered, then the celebrities in Hollywood would have the best marriages. The fact is that many are into their fifth or sixth marriage. Take Elizabeth Taylor for example; she has had eight marriages. I even read recently that there was an actor who divorced his wife after being married only three months. 

The unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit will be evident as we develop those qualities from the inside out. Once that happens…

·        steward your beauty well.

Steward your outer beauty well. Remember, everything – our abilities, skills, talents and even our looks are given to us by God to be used for His purposes. “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Cor. 4:7).Use what God has given you to serve Him well!

So many times young, beautiful women think dressing provocatively enhances their beauty. On the contrary, that tends to attract the wrong kind of attention. A fisherman friend of mine told me that he uses a certain kind of lure to attract prized fish. On the other hand, another friend who does not carefully choose his lures does bring in the best catch. In the same way, women who steward their beauty poorly are trolling in dangerous waters and may end up catching something they won’t want to keep and even worse will be stuck with someone they can’t escape. If we keep in mind that women are stimulated by touch while men are stimulated by sight we will be responsible to dress moderately and avoid potentially fatal attractions. 

Everyone has an inner beauty that compliments outer beauty. Remember that our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, as we represent Jesus, let’s not stand in the way and block others from seeing Him by being more concerned what we look like. If we develop character and wisdom from within, the unfading beauty the Bible talks about will shine in such a way that others will see our Savior through us. The next principle to learn is:

2.    serve GOd and steward money.

Sometimes our tendency is to use God and serve money. However, the Bible clearly warns us against that. “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money” (Mat. 6:24 NIV). In other words, money in itself is not wrong, but the love of money can draw our focus away from God. Thus, money or as the Bible says mammon becomes our god if we are not careful. The truth is that sometimes we don’t even recognize it. How many times have we said that if we had the money we would give more, serve more, or get involved more? In essence, what we are really saying is that we would do God’s will if we had more money. Who or what is really dictating our choices? 

We must be careful that money doesn’t dictate our future. God will always provide the means for us to do whatever it is He is asking us to do. Whether we should be going to school, working at a certain job, or serving in a certain ministry we cannot let our finances override God’s plans for our future. Be certain that decisions are based on His will. Even in our church, it is not about whether or not there are funds available to pursue a ministry. It’s about His will and praying always helps us to determine that. Therefore, don’t make decisions based on money. Instead…

·        try to fulfill your assignment with the least dependence on money.

“Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money’…Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that”.  (Jas. 4:13-15) Know what God’s will is for your life by taking time to ask Him.

We didn’t have much when Anna and I lived in Hilo. And as much as we loved serving the Lord there, we knew God was directing us to move to Honolulu to plant a church. I was 42 and we didn’t have the finances to move. So I continued to pray until I knew beyond a doubt that God wanted us to move to Honolulu. At the same time, all kinds of offers to lead other churches came pouring in. Some churches were offering six figure incomes. In fact, one pastor visited me three times promising a huge income to take over his church. He could not understand how I could turn down such a large salary in the mainland in favor of staying in Hawaii with virtually no income to start off with. All I knew is that God would provide. And looking back now, I am so happy I allowed God rather than man to dictate my future.

Believe me following God’s way is tremendously better than the world’s way. So even though the path may be difficult and funds may be short, we must be sure to keep our focus and:

·        Know your assignment for this season.

God will give us the seed for sowing and bread for giving as long as we steward our monies well. Just allow the Lord to guide and He will provide the funds for whatever endeavor He assigns us. All we have to do is steward those funds well. The amazing this is that when we do, we become a vessel through which He gives and blesses. It may mean that in a certain season we need to be an intern, a student, or a volunteer and He may place us in a position where finances will not be stable or certain. It could be a season for us to raise a family and not work at the moment. Whatever it may be, the Bible tells us to: “…let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…”  (Heb. 12:1)

We must be faithful and loyal to run with endurance the race that God sets before us being careful that we are not running someone else’s race. Otherwise, we will run poorly because we are running the wrong race. We’ve talked about the importance of developing inner beauty and about stewarding money well. The last point that is equally important is especially for MEN.

3.     men:  be known for your godliness.

“Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land”.  (Prov. 31:23) Essentially it means that a man who sits among the elders has chosen to be around godly men. There is a sense of godliness which identifies him as a man of influence. And these are the kinds of men women should look for. At the end of your life, would people describe you as a man who led a life devoted to God? There is no greater honor or distinction than to be known as a godly man. 

Godly men are called to protect the sisters in the church. Women who are healing from broken relationships are vulnerable. And God will lead hurting sisters to our church because He knows that this church will protect them and not abuse them and He so delights in us when we are obedient to His will. Thus be known as godly men for the promise of God is sure to come because the Bible says: “…discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; …godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come”. (1Tim. 4:7-8)

When godliness abounds, this church will become a kingdom of God that is seen, where God is glorified, and where He is honored. Our families will not be desperate. Instead we will be families living eternally by developing inner beauty, stewarding beauty responsibly, and being careful to depend on God instead of finances by knowing our assignment and being known for godliness.

DISCUSSION ITEMS

1.      Do you know someone with an ‘unfading beauty’?  Describe that beauty.

2.      How can you begin to develop your inner beauty?

3.      Is there something you can do right now to honor your outer beauty?

4.      Do you recognize if your life is dictated by God or mammon? What can you do to assure    that you are following God’s will?

5.      What is God’s assignment for you in this season of your life?  How can you be sure?

6.      Are there areas in your life where godliness is lacking and how can you change that?

“All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16-17)

Summarized by: Debbie Chang

Sermon Notes Team:

Debbie Chang, Robin Hart II, Leighton Loo, Doreen Rabaino,

Jay Tsukayama, Rhonda Pang