Witnessing Without Words, Part 2

Spirit inspired strategy but here it is universal. But maybe you want without a word by behavior of their your demeanor your behavior is living out what becomes an undeniable supernatural demonstration that there really must be a living God in your life you live that way is because it would mean an unbelieving husband by watching someone live out the gospel before them. The apostle Peter thought so and he advised Christian women who were married to unbelievers to take that approach today on wisdom for the heart. Stephen Davies is going to teach and explain this passage on our last broadcast. Stephen began a message called witnessing without words. It comes from his series entitled for better or for worse working to bring you a little bit of review and then conclude that lesson right now. Try to appreciate what was going on here as Peter wrote this letter on the first century in many countries and centuries of this date, by the way, but especially in first century Rome, the wife was expected to adopt her husband's religion that there were many gods and goddesses of the Roman Pantheon was stocked with all kinds of gods and goddesses.

She was expected to adopt her husband's patron God, and more than likely that God or Goddess had been the patron God of his family for centuries, generations, perhaps, but now she's a Christian and he's probably okay at first with her having her God to his God. You know, that's okay too big a deal of it is that him that this one and were fine. You know, go along with the traditions of the but isn't long before he realizes that she isn't going to add her God is God, the application of the context because of his stubborn resoluteness now at this point when he writes the letter to them. The implication is that he is now totally opposed to the gospel which she has explained to him she's tried to explain why her God is the true and living God.

It is God why she's following the all they got all the other gods were make-believe she is, no doubt tried to explain to an unbelieving world that that irrational, frustrating and infuriating doctrine of exclusivity, Jesus Christ, that I am the way the truth and the life and no one comes to the father except through me.

He's the only way John 14.

She has let him know that she cannot have dual allegiance. She can't play game she can't go to worship with him in his temple, and then go to church and as a result, her conversion has disrupted the family order.

Her husband's social order because his his occupation and in Rome was also many times tied to one particular patron, God, you have a God over law, industry, textile manufacturing, they would gather around that particular kind of worship. And now she's not going to go to those meetings. It's disrupted everything now in this context the husband is defiantly opposed to the gospel and she's going to naturally feel like she hasn't done a good enough job convincing him giving them the right word the right argument the right example she's passionate course. She's passionate she knows he's going to help. She's going to have. She doesn't want she's going to naturally think I need to save more, not less. I need to turn the heat up none of Peter says here say less notice so that they may be one without a word. As Peter doesn't say that they may be one without the word because faith comes by hearing and hearing by what the word of God. Romans 1017 a course you must be ready to speak about Christ. Peter is denying the peters encouraging here and making sure she understands it. Taking the initiative isn't the solution effectively only deepen his defiance even more. What one author wrote it this way, 100 years ago. Commenting on this text that I quote him to persist in talking to someone who does not want to listen only hardens them more, but those whose hearts are hardened against preaching may be softened by behavior, by the way, this truth applies to all of us as we make disciples.

As we go out into our world and we share the gospel with individuals. Remember, this principle. No one has ever been argued into the kingdom of God. No one no one has ever been debated into the family of God. No husband has ever said she finally wore me down and I got saved instead of turning up the heat. Peter tells them to turn it down. Let your witness be with out word you could render it without talking without pleading without arguing. Granted the temptations in her own soul is going to stem not only from the reality of his eternal damnation in her prayers daily throughout the day, or for his salvation that that's a huge part of it but there's another part of it in that relates to the misconception of what she might have in her heart about a Christian marriage. She's never had one and she perhaps is come to the understanding she looks at couples around her in the assembly, that of her husband gets saved, they are going to experience marital less like she's never experienced. I mean if he comes to faith. Not only will he be saved. He can then save her from loneliness or frustration or discontentment, and on and on and on. I'm surely a Christian marriage doesn't involve any that a Christian wife never feels any of that right. Surely a Christian husband has a corner on communication skills wisely know a men's on that one not Christian marriages involve work to Christian marriages have communication difficulties to because Christians are still fallen sinners to read this humorous story. I think you need a break right now.

Not long ago about a Christian couple been married for 60 years throughout their lives. They presented just on model unity and love in the church and they not kept any secrets from each other.

All those years except for one large box. The wife kept on the top shelf of the closet. When they got married. She put the box up there and asked her husband never ever to look inside and never ask her questions about its contents over 60 years. The man honored her request and never looked in it and never asked about it he forgot about it.

Good thing husband are good at and 80s completely forgot about the box until one day his wife are seriously ill in the hospital and after weeks. The doctor said she more than likely is not going to recover so this husband was putting his wife's things in order to remember that box in the closet they got it down to the hospital and asked his wife if they could open it together. He wanted to know she agreed. They open the box and inside were two pairs of crocheted mittens, two pairs of precedents along with stacks of five dollar bills and totaled $45,000.

Yeah the man was astonished.

The woman told her husband that the day before they were married. Her grandmother told her this, that if she and her husband ever got into an argument with one another and she found him impossible to reconcile. He was unwilling to apologize or take any current part of responsibility on his part. She was to keep her mouth shut and crochet a pair of men's he was taught there were only two sets of mittens in the box was 60 years. Only two times he been stubbornly unwilling to.

He was almost moved to tears. He was almost moved to tears. Then he asked about the stacks of money. This is why said well every time I crocheted a pair of mittens I sold them for five dollars. If you're doing the math would be 9000 arguments were he refused about all right, Peter has a spirit inspired strategy doesn't have anything to do in crocheted mittens. By the way, but here it is universal and they may be one without a word by the behavior of their wives earlier. By the way chapter 2 in verse 12 of you look over there, Peter uses the same with the kindly believers are to live to silence the slander of unbelievers watching them keep your behavior. Excellent rights as they observe your good deeds now uses that same phrase here any applies then that the unbelieving world is watching you more than you know. 11 there watching you and Peter selling the wife more than you know your husband's watching you. They are observing your behavior. The verb to observed is referring to just a casual glance, but a steady, careful observation is a rare verb, which is used for someone who is a spectator.

They are an eyewitness in their carefully watching what is unfolding the idea here rather than hearing the gospel from you. Peter says let them see the gospel in and through the watching your demeanor your behavior is living out what becomes an undeniable supernatural demonstration that there really must be a living God in your life or you live that way is present with me an unbelieving husband who was obstinate to something she treasures Peter offers them the possibility those are the husbands defined conscious may very well be softened.

He may be forced to admit in his own hearts.

He may not say it but to admit that there really is the presence of God. You must be a living God in her life and in her faith which which he would be thinking I have mocked and I have ridiculed and I know I have that the translation of the gospel into her behavior. Right in front of my eyes. This can prove to be that irresistible witness and it's a witness without words as they observe your behavior.

Peter writes make sure it has these two attributes gives us two of them. The first one he mentions is chased behavior. Verse two is a observe your Chase behavior where Chase may be translated in your text is pure certainly carries the idea of moral purity. A purity of conduct that's known not only to your world, but to him and so you let them know that he just knows it by watching the way you act it out in your world that you are committed to him alone. Even an unbelieving man can pick up on that right.

In fact, the implication is that he isn't that way but she is I read recently from one pastor who marketed one wedding rehearsal. He was leading he was commenting to the wedding party on the symbolism of the unity candle that middle candle that stands between the two candles on the side from each family.

He said after the middle candle was lit blowing out the two side candles means that the two from either family have now become 11 of the wedding party. The young man responded in surprise and honesty and he actually said I always thought it meant that there were now no other flame on the side that works to notice secondly is a. Observe your taste and respectful behavior, respectful attitude similarly used in other contexts in the previous chapter in this one. This is going to be a convicting testimony to him because she's treating him with respect and he treats her with what this respect. She isn't running down his God. She is taking every opportunity to let them know why supposed to go to the temple. I mean, what are you thinking she treats him in every way. She possibly can with respect wife is ultimately motivated to show respect where she can Verizon because because he deserves it, but because she ultimately is showing respect and obedience and submission to the design of God and the will of God according to the word of God.

She desires about everything his favor, even more than her husband.

By observing that kind of behavior as an eyewitness who knows I like that make that a W who knows what will happen.

She may get a new husband. After all, not another one. But the old one made new in Christ when that be something Peter says it's possible Chuck Swindoll writes in his commentary on this text. This is the lifestyle of a wife who with selfless cooperation and devotion to her husband becomes a wife who is impossible to ignore. That may be in your life.

At first it may be your man, a believer, married to an unbelieving wife. I isolate this into my sermon and the lesser in this. I was sent this link.

It's a link to the testimony of a woman that used to be on our staff of her name is Emily Elliott. We now support Emily.

She is a missionary part-time to children in the southern part of our state. She's 90.

She was one of our secretaries for many years worked in the graphic arts department faithful to Christ. Her husband George when only the Lord three years ago and that he was on a pastoral staff during visitation and evangelism.

This article was written after an interview with her by the Billy Graham evangelistic Association because because what happens in that famous Billy Graham evangelistic crusade in New York. The Catholic grandma map and it lasted for weeks and I think it was public to Jillian people actually attended and it told the story of the skin of my mind as I'm standing up your last hour, begin a lustration for a husband who's in this condition or situation is what happened was a friend from work invited George to go to church for all unbelievers, and he invited them and so I went that interested in the pastor announces you to be. This crusade in the big city and that he was invited to go and she said sure glad so you know they set it all up and he went out on the boss when couple hours and went to the crusade. It was there and Xavier the gospel very clearly in the wood for the receipt Christ as Lord and Savior. He came back and Emily is the one being interviewed in this magazine and she said I knew something was different. In fact, I saw begin reading his Bible and she said we are all from you in a church one families. We respect the hell of the stomach. So we respected the Bible, but we didn't go around reading, that's a little too far. As a little fanatic Kenny Annie's reading it. She said isn't preaching to me, but a couple weeks later, the crusade was expanded, he said to me what I'll watch the kids I'd like you to go.

She said I went because I wanted to get out of the house go to the big city can have a night out.

Get up to go.

You listen to this for little while but it was freedom for a while and so she said I got on the bus went places jampacked Billy to preach the gospel. She said I this compelling movement in my heart is if somebody grabbed me by the collar and I went down there with all those other people except the Christ. She said she would learn years later, just never came up. It was years later that her little girl. One of her little girls now grown young woman said to her, you know I never told you this but that night you went to the crusade I came out of my bedroom and I walked into the living room and dad was on his knees at the couch and he was weeping and praying for you. That's this text, though I cannot imagine how difficult it is for you.

This is your text. This is the spirits strategy tone heated up: town is God opens the door.

Let me encourage you as well that is your children see your testimony is the believing spouse and your grandchildren. They may become powerful allies and evangelists in the home.

I've seen it over my years in ministry where God uses the words of a little child to just provoke spiritual thinking being courage that may have been a be a coworker.

Maybe anybody but I wanted to share this with you. One author that I was reading. She was actually illustrated in a book I was reading. She was raised by her dad to be a devout atheist. He insisted that she and the rest of the children in their family agree to be atheists in contract form that actually had to sign a contract even before they started elementary school. She says it this way. Early on, I started backsliding into the gospel, the great, she knew she writes that my father was wrong even I didn't know how or why it's used as an illustration, the perception and insight. And then the testimony of another little girl. She writes about this three-year-old girl who also is raising an atheistic family event. There was no church contact with the Bible ever in the home and one day little three-year-old. She asks her father what your three-year-old probably ask you, daddy. One of the world come from, and he answered her in naturalistic evolutionary terms, then he added, well, you know some people say the world comes from a powerful being in the call of God, and this little girl started dancing around the room with joy as she said I knew what you told me wasn't true. It's him him the wife wanting to apply the strategy of the Holy Spirit through the apostle Peter's objective inspired text. What does respectful behavior look like we just prime the pump. I gotta move quickly, but to give a few suggestions on the go quicker doing right talk about them in a positive light to others slandering to others even what you're saying is true. Make sure that your prayer request for him is a prayer request for salvation without all the details be warm and gracious to his family and his friends there probably unsaved as well and and a welcome mat from you will surprise them could be used by the Spirit in their lives. Make your commitment to him obvious to those in his world, asking for his opinion and his guidance whenever possible. Don't complement other husbands and other marriages. The him and we ought to be like them. Make your loyalty to him unconditional find areas where he's leading the way and express appreciation.

Make sure you're a good follower, even if you're a better decisionmaker. Don't expect perfection room for failure happens to non-Christian men and Christian men as well.

When asked about your faith say as little as needed.

Not as much as you want, expect God to work according to his timetable. Expect God to work according to his timetable.

Remember to him a thousand years is like a day while God works his will, throughout all of eternity.

You follow his will for today. Just today, just let me just tell you one of those famous examples in church history of a godly wife, married to an unbeliever was a woman named Monica. Monica was the mother of Augustine and God would use Monica in the conversion of both her son Augustine and her husband also on his death, Augustine if you're new to the faith. You may not know he was a significant church leader and theologian in the fourth century. In fact, is considered by many to be the theological forerunner of the Protestant Reformation. Augustine in his later years, wrote his autobiography and entity included the testimony of personal testimony about his mother Monica and her behavior toward her unbelieving husband, Augustine wrote, and I've put it into English. We can understand my mother served him faithfully and did her diligence to win him unto Christ preaching Christ unto him by her behavior, and the Lord made her lovely to her husband and at last, when he was at the end of his earthly life she won him for Christ doesn't take much to imagine the challenges of hard-pressed experiences in the longing by praying tears Monica and perhaps yours, no doubt looking for strength to go on in her quiet service for the glory of God. I've little doubt that one passage in the New Testament would have been especially precious to her, as it might be for some of it would be this tends the same way wives, be submissive to your own husbands, so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be one without a word, by the behavior of their wives as they observed Chase in respect to lesson called witnessing without words.

It's lesson number two, and Stephen series on marriage called for better or for worse. Stephen is the pastor of the shepherd's church in Cary, North Carolina.

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