SUNDAY - MAY 11, 2025 "Who Can Find?" Proverbs 31:10

Welcome to DeSoto Hills Baptist Church.

Our Sunday morning services are weekly at 9 and 10 30 am.

You're listening to an audio recast of this past week's service.

We hope you enjoy.

God bless.

If you have your Bibles this morning, we'll be in the book of Proverbs.

Tell you, mother's Day can be a difficult day to preach.

Just let me tell you.

Let me tell you, mother's Day can be a difficult day to preach.

Let me tell you.

Let me tell you some reasons why.

As one person reminded me when he got here this morning.

He said Grant, easter, christmas, mother's Day three biggest Sundays of the year you got your A-game.

You better be prepared.

You better be ready.

So you have the pressure of the crowds.

I mean and here's how significant crowds can be on Mother's Day there really aren't any baseball tournaments today because the people who put the baseball tournaments are so scared of moms on Mother's Day they don't schedule anything that weekend.

So the crowds can be a little bit larger on Mother's Day.

Here's another thing.

I don't know if you know this about me, but I can be very sentimental and can get emotional.

So if I'm not careful, mother's Day could be a cry fest for me, thinking about all the women who have impacted my life my mom, my grandmoms, my wife.

So I can just break down and cry up here and I don't want to do that to you.

So I have to be careful with that.

Another thing that makes Mother's Day difficult to preach is I feel like I am challenged to encourage you mothers on Mother's Day, and if I'm honest, there's a lot of time I don't even understand.

I know I don't understand what it's like to be a mother, so how am I to encourage you in that?

So what I want to do then today is, instead of me offering encouraging words to you, I want to bring an encouraging word to you from God's Word, because it's His Word that carries way more weight than myself anyway, and so we want to look at God's word.

But then that presents another challenge what passage do I preach?

I mean typically Brother James.

What he always did is whatever book he was preaching from, no matter what it was, if it was Easter or Christmas or Mother's Day or Memorial Day or 4th of July or whatever, he would just continue on in the book that he was in.

And I'm sure that over time I will develop that same kind of tactic.

But if we had stayed in Acts today, our passage would have been about the early church picking seven guys to minister to widows who were being overlooked.

I just didn't feel like that fit Mother's Day very well.

So I had to come to a passage here of what would I do.

And so, as I came to Proverbs, chapter 31, this is a passage that I've heard read often, that I have read often, but, if I'm honest with you, I've not heard it preached often.

Proverbs 31 · chapter mention

You may have, but just personally, on a personal level, I haven't heard it preached often, except for maybe on a Mother's Day.

And so I came to Proverbs chapter 31, and I've never preached it myself to Proverbs chapter 31, and I've never preached it myself.

Proverbs 31 · chapter mention Proverbs 31 · chapter mention

So I thought, okay, proverbs 31, this will be a good passage for us to preach.

And while you may have heard it, and mothers, I do want to encourage you with a word.

Let me say this as a side note guys, just while this is an encouragement to mothers, don't go to to sleep.

You shouldn't go to sleep for a couple of reasons.

One, there's truths in this passage that can apply to us guides as well.

But secondly, don't make your, my, your wife or your mom or the lady sitting next to you work by elbowing you to keep you awake.

Like, give her the day off.

She elbows you every other Sunday.

Don't make her do it today.

So we're going to be in Proverbs, chapter 31.

Proverbs 31 · chapter mention

I'm going to read from verses 10 down through verse 31.

So Proverbs 31, 10 through 31.

If you are able this morning to stand with me as we give honor to the reading of God's word, to the reading of her life.

She seeks wool and flax and works with willing hands.

She is like the ships of the merchant.

She brings her food from afar.

She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens.

She considers the field and buys it With the fruit of her hands.

She plants a vineyard.

She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong.

She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.

Her lamp does not go out at night.

She puts her hands to the staff and her hands hold the spindle.

She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.

She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet.

She makes bed coverings for herself.

Her clothing is fine linen and purple.

Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.

She makes linen garments and sells them.

She delivers sashes to the merchants.

Strength and dignity are her clothing and she laughs at the time to come.

She opens her mouth with wisdom and teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children rise up and call her blessed.

Her husband also, and he praises her.

Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.

Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Give her the fruit of her hands and let her works praise her in the gates.

Let's pray together.

God, we are thankful for today.

We are thankful for how you love us and we are thankful for all you have done for us.

God, we come before your throne today and ask you to enlighten us.

We ask you to help us as we engage with your scripture, with your words.

Change us by them.

We love you so much and, god, it's in your wonderful Jesus, it's in your wonderful name that we pray.

Amen, you may be seated.

So this passage, the point of this passage when he wrote this, when the author wrote this was a godly woman is greatly valued because she points us to a relationship with God and as we take a text of Scripture, so often we try to find the point of the passage and then say, okay, what is the point he is trying to make to us today?

And if you look in Proverbs, the point is really the same.

This is a timeless truth that we find throughout, across all time.

And so, again, let me say the point it is a godly woman is greatly valued because she points us to a relationship with God.

So the challenge then for us is this Ladies and men, we should strive to grow in our relationship with God.

So the question that we want to answer today is this For what do godly women strive?

For what do godly women?

What are they striving for?

What are they looking after?

What are they trying to attain?

And as we come to this passage today, the first thing that we're going to find is a godly woman strives to be trustworthy.

Look at verses 10 through 12.

It says this An excellent wife who can find she is far more precious than jewels.

The heart of her husband trusts in her and he will have no lack of gain.

She does him good and not harm, all the days of her life.

So let's first address this first question An excellent wife who can find Understand he is not saying excellent wives are so few and far between, nobody can find them.

That's not what he's saying.

Here's what he's saying An excellent wife is as valuable as a precious jewel.

I remember when I bought Amber's engagement ring, her grandfather owned a jewelry store, so the setting it came from his store, so it's a precious setting.

So I just I had to buy the diamond.

So I remember going and purchasing the diamond and picking it out and taking it, and someone suggested to me something that I had never thought of Grant, are you going to insure it?

I thought, well, that's a great idea.

I never even thought about it.

It's a ring.

It's not great idea.

I never even thought about it.

It's a ring.

It's not that big.

But you know what?

I saved up for a long time for this thing and it has some value, and so maybe I should insure it.

And while I can't replace the preciousness of her engagement ring, it is a valuable asset to us and so, yeah, I should insure it.

Now, guys, I'm not telling you to go buy an insurance policy for your wife for Mother's Day.

It's not a good Mother's Day gift, but the point is still the same.

That diamond that I bought her was so valuable and it is so precious that I wanted to do all I could to make sure and to value it, to show that I bought her was so valuable and it is so precious that I did.

I wanted to do all I could to make sure and to value it, to show that I valued her.

A godly woman is of more value than that diamond and when we find a godly woman, when you find her, we should value her greatly and we should value her greatly, he tells us.

The first thing here is because she is trustworthy.

The heart of her husband trusts in her and he will have no lack of game.

She does him good and not harm all the days of her life.

When the husband here that he is talking about, when he would go and sit at the city gate or go do what he did, he never had to worry about what was happening at home because his wife he fully trusted in her he could go and take care of the business that he needed to take care of because he knew things were handled.

Now, listen, I know that our households in 2025 are very different, probably, from these households.

I understand that.

But listen, I also understand that the trustworthiness in a husband and wife.

It goes beyond compare, and while the responsibilities in the household may look a little bit differently because God creates us all different and so here's what a husband and wife we must do we must sit down with our spouse and we have to talk about those responsibilities and we have to pray through those responsibilities.

And when we decide those here's what he's saying when that husband goes out, whatever the responsibilities have been decided upon, he doesn't have to worry about those things.

He can worry about his things and it causes gain not just for him but for the household and for the wife.

He trusts her.

He knows that what she is going to take care of, what she is supposed to take care of, she is going to take care of, and that does him good, not harm, and that does him good, not harm, a godly woman is trustworthy.

Second, I think what we see here is a godly woman is resolute.

In verses 13 through 19, he goes through a lot of things that this godly woman does.

He says she seeks wool and flax and works with willing hands.

She's like the ship of the merchant she brings her food from afar.

She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens.

She considers a field and buys it with the fruit of her hands.

She plants a vineyard, she dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong.

She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.

Her lamp does not go out at night.

She puts her hands to the staff and her hands hold the spindle.

To be resolute could be defined as being admirably purposeful, determined, unwavering.

You see that in this lady, that and in in night she, her light does not go out.

She is always working.

She is always striving for her family and to make her family better.

But here's the phrase that catches me in verse 13 at the end, when it says and works with willing hands.

Some translations will say this she works at the pleasure of her hands.

Listen, I'm not saying here that she always enjoys what she does, but I am saying that she works willingly.

She does it willingly, tirelessly.

She is providing for and taking care of her family.

I think about my mom when I was in high school we were playing and during baseball season we would come home.

We'd have a game.

There are often times we played on a Friday and Saturday and we would come home on Friday night and my uniform would be just nasty because I thought it was a terrible game if I didn't get dirty.

So some games, even when I didn't need to, I would just roll around in the dirt just to at least look like I did something.

Just kidding, that's a joke.

Gosh, y'all are dead.

Y'all got to wake up.

So anyway, I would take my uniform home at night and and it would need to be washed, because we'd have a game the next day and and understand, we had other uniforms but we had to wear that one because we were playing good in that uniform, not the other ones.

You don't mess with the streak I I'm not superstitious, just a little stitious.

She had to wear that uniform, so I would give her that uniform at night and I would go to bed not thinking about she was going to have to put that in, she was going to have to treat it, because that red clay in Pontotoc County doesn't come out real easy.

She's going to have to treat it, then wash it, and at least they'll wait for it to finish washing so she could put it in the dryer.

In countless mornings I would wake up and my uniform was not only dry but it was hanging on a hanger and my dad's breakfast was on the table awaiting for him, and she was dressed and ready for work.

Not only was she the last one to go to bed, but she was the first one to arise to take care of her family.

And in all of those years, the only time I heard my mom complain is when I started doing my own laundry because she couldn't take care of me.

Listen, I'm not telling you to be like my mom.

That's not the point.

The point is that a godly woman works resolutely and counts the blessings that God has given her as blessings from God, and so willingly goes about the task of accomplishing the things that God has given her to do.

If you're a mom, it's to take care of the blessings of the family that you have.

If you're not a mom, it's to take care of the blessings that God has given you.

That's what a godly woman does.

She resolutely goes about doing the things that God has called her to do and the blessings, and taking care of the blessings that God has given her.

Third, this morning, a godly woman is compassionate.

Look at verse 20.

She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.

Listen, this is difficult for us today Because we are so busy that so often we get caught up in our little worlds.

We get caught up in our little worlds and our worlds become so compact that it's taken care of this close little circle that we forget to look out around us.

But that's not what a godly woman does.

While she takes care and works resolutely to take care of the blessings that God has given her right here in her own little world, she reaches outside of her comfort zone and looks outside of that world and has compassion on those who need compassion.

She reaches out her hand to the poor.

She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.

She is compassionate.

Also, we see this morning that a godly woman is prepared.

Listen to how he says.

She said what he writes in verse 21 and 22.

She shall not be afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet.

She makes bed coverings for herself.

Her clothing is fine linen and purple.

She't she's not worried about any weather situations that come.

That word that says scarlet, it can also be translated in earlier translations.

It's not scarlet, it's double thickness.

So all her household are clothed in double thickness.

So she's not worried about the snow because she is prepared.

She has looked for it.

She has prepared for what may come.

She is ready for what may come.

She's always ready.

And a godly woman looks forward and looks ahead at what may come and, as we're going to find later, it's going to say that she laughs.

She laughs at what may come because she is prepared.

Next, we also see that a godly woman raises up her husband, raises up her husband.

Look in verse 23.

Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.

She raises up her husband.

Now, guys, listen to me.

I'm not telling you that a godly woman raises you like she raises a kid.

That's not the point.

You're a grown man.

What she does is she lifts her husband up, she provides for him a good reputation, she makes him better.

Listen, I'm going to get in trouble.

Second service, because Amber comes to second service.

But let me tell you I don't know what I would do without her.

Listen, she just has this simple way of making me want to be a better man.

From the time we started dating, she made me want to read my Bible more.

She challenged me, and not because we would sit down and have deep theological discussions, but she challenged me to grow in my relationship with God.

She pushed me in that and often it's even without words, but in timely situations she seems to know those moments when I need a word of encouragement, so she is able to provide that.

She's also able to know those moments when I need some constructive criticism, because I need that a lot, because I need that a lot.

But she is able to provide that in such a loving way that it makes me not want to God.

Why are you always on me?

It makes me want to listen.

She challenges me to be better and a godly woman is going to challenge her husband to do that.

And honestly, if we're honest with ourselves, godly people, we should challenge each other to be better.

I should challenge my children to be better.

I should challenge you to be better.

You should challenge me to be better.

We should challenge each other to grow and stay accountable.

A godly woman raises up her husband.

A godly woman is also wise.

She is also wise.

Look in verses 24 through 26.

It says she makes linen garments and sells them.

She delivers sashes to the merchants.

Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.

She opens her mouth with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

Listen, she is able to go to the market and sell the things that she has because she is able to know what value they are worth, so she is able to go and sell them.

Strength and dignity are her clothing and she is able to laugh at the time to come because, in wisdom, she has done what we've already talked about.

She has prepared for what may lie ahead, but she opens her mouth with wisdom and she does so in kindness.

We also see this morning that a godly woman is to be admired.

Look at verse 27.

She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children rise up and call her blessed.

Her husband also, and he praises her.

Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.

A godly woman is to be admired Because who can find they are far more precious than jewels.

They are far more precious than jewels.

I pray that today, on this Mother's Day, and I pray that every day, that, women, that you will strive to be this godly woman, and I pray husbands, children, sons, that we will not take for granted the blessing that God has given us in our mothers, that we will hold on to them because they are of great value.

But I don't know if you ever feel this way, ladies, I don't know if you ever get overwhelmed with life, that this that he is calling us to, that he is calling you to be a godly woman.

If it seems too much, you just get overwhelmed with it all because it can happen.

This is a big thing that he's asked.

This is a big ask.

It's not something like so do you ever get overwhelmed and think that it's just too much?

Not just ladies, but Guys?

Do you ever feel like you have failed too many times, that you have messed up so much that this person, this godliness that he uses to describe a woman, but could be a godliness for anyone, that it's just too much that you could never attain, you could never get there?

Does it just feel overwhelming?

Well, let's don't miss what I think to be the greatest value that he places on a godly woman.

He says in verse 30, charm is deceitful, beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

That woman that you admire that we just talked about.

That is to be admired because she is trustworthy, because she is resolute, because she is compassionate, because she is prepared, because she raises her husband up, because she is resolute, because she is compassionate, because she is prepared, because she raises her husband up, because she is wise, we admire her.

But in all of that, all of that, she is to be praised.

Not because of those things, but because she fears the Lord.

You may say Grant, what does that mean?

What does it mean to to fear the Lord?

Well, the author of Proverbs gives us several things to help us there.

In Proverbs, chapter 1, verse 7, he writes this the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.

Proverbs 1:7

Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

So again, we're looking for what does it mean to fear the Lord?

We know it's the beginning of knowledge.

But he also gives us the opposite to help us understand Fools despise wisdom.

Fools despise what does he say?

I forgot, sorry.

Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

If fools despise wisdom and instruction, what he's talking about is fools don't want input.

But the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.

So it must be input.

So what input does he give to us?

He tells us in Proverbs, chapter 3.

Proverbs 3 · chapter mention

In Proverbs, chapter 3, verses 5 and 6, he writes this Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean in your own understanding.

Proverbs 3:5

Here.

In all your ways, acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.

In all your ways, acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.

Here's what he's telling us.

Make your paths straight.

Here's what he's telling us.

He makes our paths straight when we acknowledge him and we have a relationship with him.

When we are walking with God, when we are gathered with him, when we are in communion with him, when we have this relationship with Him, what he does for us is he grows us and we become trustworthy and we become wise and we become all these things that we just talked about, that a godly woman is.

If you'll allow me quickly to point to one other passage, one other passage that talks about fear of God In Ecclesiastes and some of you think Ecclesiastes on Mother's Day.

Yes, ecclesiastes, chapter 12.

Ecclesiastes 12 · chapter mention

Verse 13.

Verse 13.

The author, the preacher many believe to be Solomon, writes this.

The end of the matter.

All has been heard.

Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

Understand what's happening in Ecclesiastes, the writer of Ecclesiastes, has strived for the meaning of life.

He has worked and he has looked, and he has looked for purpose in so many different things.

He's looked in wisdom and he's looked in knowledge, and he's looked in money and he's looked in work, and he has strived to find the purpose of life in so many different things.

Just like we can strive hear me, ladies, you can strive to be a godly woman or anyone, we can strive to be godly people, looking for meanings of life, looking for purpose, looking for value, looking for all of those things.

But here's what happened the preacher in his strivings and in his searchings, he never found meaning, he never found purpose.

That's why he begins the book with saying Vanity of vanities, all is vanity, meaningless, meaningless.

Everything is meaningless Until it comes to the very, very end.

And he finds meaning, for this is the whole duty of man.

He finds purpose, for this is the duty of man Fear God, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding and keep the commands.

What he is talking about with fear of God, again I will say it he is talking about acknowledging the sovereignty of God, that he is over everything.

And we have this relationship with him, the one who created everything, who made everything, who is intricately involved in everything.

We trust in him because he is sovereign.

We fear him.

We have this relationship with him and we keep the commands.

Now, listen, I know in the New Testament, when we are living under grace and not living under the law, that the dynamics of the commands change.

We don't keep the commands so that we can be in a relationship with God.

We keep the commands because we are in a relationship with God.

While we are under grace, the dynamics of the law changes.

What the law does for us now is it shows us the nature of who God is.

The commandments show us who God is and that is where he lives, that is where he dwells.

And so if we are going to be in relationship with him, if we are going to fear him, we are going to keep the commandments, not so we can get to him, but we're going to keep the commandments because that's where he is and we have a relationship with him.

Listen, I'm convinced of this mothers, if you want to be a good mother of this, mothers, if you want to be a good mother, you need to be in a relationship with God.

Let me change that.

If you want to be a godly mother, if you want to be a godly mother, you want to be a godly mother, you need to be in a relationship with god.

Your relationship with him should be your top priority.

I am convinced that the closer that we are in a relationship with god, it's going to affect every other aspect of our life.

If I want to be a good dad, I'm not going to be a good mom.

If I'm going to be a good dad, I'm not going to be a good mom.

If I'm going to be a good dad, I need to be close to God, and he's going to give me what I need to be a good dad.

If I want to be a good husband, I need to be close to God, and he's going to give me what I need to be a good husband.

I'm going to be a better husband and a better dad when I am close to God.

I'm going to be a better friend.

I'm going to be a better pastor.

I'm going to be a better.

Whatever I am and set my mind to do, I'm going to be better at it when I'm in relationship with God, because all these things of a godly person.

He gives me as I need them.

So moms draw close to God, dads draw close to God.

Dads draw close to God.

People draw close to God.

Be in a relationship with Him.

Listen, I don't know where you are this morning.

Maybe this morning you have never begun a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Well, the only way to be in a relationship with God, what Jesus tells us, is through Him, through His death and resurrection.

And if you've never trusted Him, we invite you this morning to come.

We're about to stand and sing a hymn of invitation.

As we sing, we invite you to come forward.

We want to pray with you.

There are counselors who will take you out and share with you how you can trust Christ.

Maybe you have and you've trusted Christ, but you have allowed your relationship from Him to not grow and it's become stale and it has become stagnant, and so every other aspect of life is overwhelming.

When I present to you these characteristics of a godly woman or a godly person, you say I can never be that it's because you are not close to Him.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not in your own understanding.

In all your ways, acknowledge him and he will make your path straight.

Maybe this morning, you just need to come and kneel down on these steps and make them your altar, cry out to him, renew your relationship with him this morning.

If you're looking for a church home as we sing, we invite you to come and be a part of DeSoto Hills.

However, god is leading you.

We encourage you to come and do business with Him today.

Let's pray, god.

Thank you for today.

Thank you for how you love us.

Thank you for how you love us.

Thank you for all you've done for us, god.

Thank you for making a way for us to be in a relationship with you through your son Jesus.

Thank you that you sent him to die on the cross To offer us salvation and to rise so that we may have life, and have it to the full.

God, I pray for those who are here this morning who have never trusted you that today will be the day of salvation for them, god.

I pray for those who are here who are overwhelmed with life, who, this morning, just need to come and kneel at this altar and cry out to you, renew a relationship with you.

God, I pray that you will, today, move as only you can and you will be glorified in our lives, jesus.

It's in your name we pray.

Amen.

Thanks for listening to this week's sermon.

If you have any questions for our pastor, feel free to reach out at desotohillscom.