If you would now please open your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 31. Proverbs chapter 31. And this is, I guess, probably one of the most, if not the most popular passage of Scripture to be looked at when you're thinking about Mother's Day and addressing Mother's Day. But quite frankly, I cannot think of any passage any better. You can find examples of mothers in the scriptures, and godly mothers in the scriptures, and it's good to look at them, but it's also good to look back at a passage here that deals with motherhood in general. Proverbs chapter 31, and we'll begin reading with verse 10. Who can find a virtuous woman for her price is far above rubies? The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She shall do him good and not evil all the days of her life. She seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. She is like the merchant's ships, she bringeth her food from afar. She rises also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. She considereth a field, and buyeth it. With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. She perceiveth that her merchandise is good. Her candle goeth not out by night. She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. She stretcheth out her hand to the poor, yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. She's not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed with scarlet. She maketh herself coverings of tapestry. Her clothing is silk and purple. Her husband is known in the gates when he sitteth among the elders of the land. She maketh fine linen and selleth it. and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. Strength and honor are her clothing, and she shall rejoice in time to come. She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up and call her blessed, her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates. Let us pray. Dear kind and gracious Heavenly Father, as we come before you this morning, Lord, we're thankful for this, another Lord's Day that you've allowed us to gather in thy house. And dear Father, as we stop and pause to pay honor to our mothers today, Lord, I just pray that we would not lose sight of the fact that what makes these ladies special, Lord, is thy blessings upon them, Lord, and their willingness to follow thy leadership and guidance. And dear Father, I just pray that you'd speak to our hearts. Father, that our thoughts and memories today would be pleasant. And dear Father, that even through this, that if there'd be one here today that's lost, that you'd speak to their hearts and draw them unto yourself. And dear Lord, what you'll do, we'll thank you for these things we do ask in Jesus' name. Amen. The subject I'd like to draw our thoughts to is who can find a virtuous woman? That's a compelling question, isn't it? You know, one of the hardest lessons, I believe, that young fellas need to get a hold of is in regard to the other gender. And I'm trying to frame this as a way to not look disparagingly on anybody. But generally speaking, that one As anytime that you see them, they never have a hair out of place. Their makeup is always perfect. They are dressed to the nines always. Generally speaking, they're not worth your time a day. Why? You don't look that way and do anything. Right? You don't. You don't look that way and have those perfectly manicured nails. Ladies here that work in gardens, whether it be a flower or vegetable garden, you don't see them with their long manicured nails because, well, they just kind of get in the way, don't they? You know, I don't care what they say, and I'll mention it now. I had it later on in the sermon, but I'm going to mention it now. You all know me well enough by now to know I'm not one of those that believe that a lady only has one place and that's where she has to be. That's not, you know me better than that. I'm not saying that. But far too many today are of the opinion that a meal comes out of a box and nothing else. Biscuits come out of Bisquick or whooping biscuits, them hypocrite biscuits. You know? And a pot of beans, I got news for you, a pot of beans don't come out of a can called bushes. They come out of a bag and they're dried and you got to sort through them because there's little gravels in them and all sorts of things like that. And don't get me started on cornbread mix. Man, that stuff is nasty. And I'm different than a lot of people. I guess, truth be told, I like corn pone. I like it sweet, really sweet. But my point is, the art, and I'll call it an art, of ladies being, as they are set forth in the scripture, are very quickly going away to the new modern way. I believe firmly that a microwave is intended to warm things up. There are some things that you can fix in them, but the stove is what you cook on, right? The oven is what you bake in. And if that makes me old-fashioned, well, I guess I am. But, beloved, I can say this now, that for soon-to-be 36 years, I've been blessed with a wonderful home. I used to have face, I don't even find it hard to believe that I would say something just for the point of aggravating somebody. But back years ago when I was in Virginia, somebody asked, I said, you got your wife a microwave? I said, nope, she knows how to cook. Or they say, do you have a dishwasher? I said, nope, I married one. Yeah, that result hadn't changed much. But the point I'm making is, ladies that are raised properly, they know how to do those things, don't they? And let me throw this out as a compliment. I want to say it now so it doesn't be misunderstood. One day in this past spring, I was working up at the farm with Mike, helping him out a little bit. And I still don't know how, unless it was my massive muscles that did it. But I went to hunker down and the whole front of my britches leg burst. I mean, it was a good one too. So I'm sitting there thinking, okay, now what am I going to do? Not to worry. Not to worry. Rachel sewed it back for me. The only part that was worrisome, she did it while I was still in them. But I shed no blood. My point is, she has learned how to do the things that needs to be done from time to time. But the fact is, fellas, there's a lot to be taken into consideration when you think about somebody that you're interested in. And looks, rather than being at the top of the list, should be down the ways. And I'm not saying, you know, I buried the most beautiful lady I ever laid my eyes on. but there are a lot of other things that went in with that as well. This is truly a special day, one in which we do pause and take a few moments to honor the lives of those women, our mothers in particular, who made a significant difference and a tremendous difference in our lives. And as we do this, I'm also aware that for some folks, maybe some folks even here, This is not a particularly good day. There are some whose mothers were certainly not the type of mothers that they should have been. And there are others who may have lost their mothers not too long ago. And in both these instances, today is a painful reminder of what either they didn't have or their loss. Then there are others still who, for reasons known only to God, that they cannot be mothers. And even though this is not a punishment from God, I would not even think that, let alone say it. Nor does it make any lady who's not a mother a less of a person than you think you might should be, or somehow not measure up to everybody. It's still something that that makes you sad when this day rolls around and you wish you had some children. And it's not my intention to cause any painful thoughts today at all. It is, however, my intent to cause us to reflect back on the qualities that makes a godly mother. The qualities that are present. These are things that can be seen in the lives of every lady. in any lady who has taken an active part in the raising of a child. For you see, biology has nothing to do with being a mother. There are a lot of women who are the biological mothers of children who are no more mothers than a stick back there. And then there are others some cases grandmothers, some cases aunts, some cases whatever it might be, a stepmother, adopted mother, whatever the case may be, who in every way imaginable, short of biology, are that child's mother. And they are that child's mother, aren't they? They're the ones that raise them. They're the ones that care for them. They're the ones that provide for them. They're the ones that love them unconditionally. Every time I think of Mother's Day, and I think I've told this story here probably many times, and well, I'm going to tell you again, but I heard a story a long time ago of them having a graduation at an Army boot camp, and everybody was there watching their family members that were graduating, and here comes this one platoon through, and there was one soldier that was out of step with everybody else. And there was a lady in the crowd just absolutely crying her eyes out. And somebody said to her, don't worry, it's OK. It's OK that he's out of step. She said, it'll be fine. She said, oh, no, you don't understand. That whole platoon's out of step except my son. That pretty well speaks to a mother's love, doesn't it? You know, if you really want to get down to it, And within the next little while, Joshua could turn into a mass killer, he could turn into some horrible individual, and he would still be Elaine Bean's son. And that wouldn't change. Wouldn't approve of what he became or what he did, but he's still her son. And there's nothing, dads, we love our children, and I'm going to have a lot to say about us next month. But there's nothing that compares with a mother's love. There's just nothing like it in this whole world. Regardless of the way in which it happened, whether good or not, I am convinced that most, if not all, of our lives have been impacted greatly by our mothers. Sometimes in some ways more than we'd like to admit. but it's there nonetheless. There's a special bond that exists. How wonderful it is to not only have had a wonderful mother or have a wonderful mother, it's also equally wonderful to have wives who are wonderful mothers to our children. They back us up. They are the ones that's not undermining the father, but they're backing them up. And I'm going to scoot through the rest of this and look at who can find a virtuous mother. In verse 10, Solomon shows to us the value of this woman. She's desirable, very desirable. It is evident by the question that's asked that a virtuous woman is to be desired above all else in life. Because, fellas, apart from your relationship with the Lord, there's not a relationship in this whole world as precious as yours with your wife. I mean, it's difficult. I've seen it happen. Sometimes when a fellow gets put in the middle between his wife and his mother and that, you're put in a situation where there's no, you can't, how do you, what do you do? You know, they're the two most important people in your life and how do you, what do you do? You know, so don't do that. But a virtuous woman is to be desired in this life above all else. It's also apparent that Solomon, of all people, was endeavoring to seek to find a virtuous woman. And this seems strange when you consider all the women that he had in his life, remember? 700 wives and 300 concubines, and here he's talking about who can find a virtuous woman? That almost stands out like saying he was over for a thousand. You know, and that does seem odd, but at the same time it also shows us the character that most people in this world have, as opposed to the true character that needs to be had. And there's a lot I could say here, but I'm going to move on. I'm not going to do that today. Perhaps he was searching for the right woman to be his wife and mother to his children. But he was proving a point here, just how precious she is. He was searching for that particular woman who possessed a godly character. You look around today. We are blessed here, very much blessed here. But you can go to a number of churches close by. And how many girls are in those churches now? Whether they be teen, preteen, or even little girls? How many do you see? And where are you going to find a godly young lady if you don't see them in the churches? They're not going to be raised in the world. They're going to be worldly, are they not? So this shows us just how scarce they are, how scarce they can be. and she was definitely desired and sought after. In our world today, much of our world has absolutely no moral standard whatsoever. Everything's based on the flesh. Too many times, I've had young people that have approached me about wanting to marry them, And they have come with the idea that if it don't work out, we'll just get a divorce and move on. And I generally send them on their way. Because, I mean, I'm not saying this in a bad light at all. There are times marriage is not easy, is it? And you have to be willing to work on it together if it's going to make it. And it's well worth working on it together. But if you're going at it with the idea that it ain't going to work, well, guess what? It won't. Our standards today have it to where people can go and have the idea that they can, it's okay to have these trial marriages. Not according to scripture, it isn't. You know, we'll live together for a while and see if we get along, and if we get along, we'll get married, and if not, then well, no harm, no blood, no foul. Well, yeah, that don't exactly work, does it? There are some circumstances where you could possibly do it and would not violate anything, but at the same time, the scripture says we're to abstain from even the appearance of evil, right? There are too many today that just go through the opposite gender as quickly as you change your shoes or change your clothes. And sometimes, yes, sometimes it happens through no fault of one. Because it takes two, right? There are times that it happens and I'm not throwing a stone at anybody. The main thing is, and perhaps you're standing right now, is if you're in a happy home right now, that's all that matters, right? None of the other stuff does. Is that you're together and you're happy now. Our homes need mothers and wives who seek the ways of the Lord and they desire, with everything that's in them, to instill their faith in the lives of our children. So much, you know, let me ask you something. How many, where would our young folks be if it wasn't for ladies that teach the Sunday school classes to the younger children? Where would they be? Most of us that grew up and come through churches, some of the first lessons we learned were taught to us by ladies, weren't they? In our Sunday school classes. They're the ones that instill to us the things that become a part of our lives. The lessons that are taught in the scripture. I would advise a young man to seek after a virtuous woman above all else. And young ladies, you need to seek a person who is willing to accept your faith, you don't have to change for anybody. And if you have to change who you are to please or be accepted by somebody else, then that somebody else is not the person for you. They need to love you for who you are. Now, having said that, if you're lost, certainly you do need to be saved. But, you know, that's not what I was talking about in that regard. If they're not committed to the Lord, then they're not the ones you need. Because, you know, Mike and I joke about this all the time. You know, the bad always rubs off on the good, doesn't it? more than the other way around, and the simple fact is oil and water doesn't mix. She's unmistakable. The question is asked as if Solomon knows exactly what he's looking for. He knows the character that he desires in a woman, and he is convinced that he will know it when he sees it. He may not know who the person is, but he'll know it when he sees it in the individual. There was a fellow that ran the Legate store that Elaine worked at in Newport News. And he told a story of one of the first stores he was manager of. At that time, they had a bridal shop in it. And there was a lady that had come in there and picked out her bride gown and had it fitted to her and had it all primed and ready to go. And somebody asked her, said, when's her wedding day? When are you getting married? She said, I don't know. He said, well, who are you going to marry? He said, I don't know, but I'm going to get married and I'm going to be ready when the time comes. Yeah, maybe pushing things a little bit. But Solomon knew what he was looking for. And when he saw it, he would recognize it and be able to go on. A virtuous woman will be unmistakable. Her virtue cannot be hidden. It will shine forth. It will shine through. And there's no mistaking who has it. A godly woman doesn't wear a sign proclaiming who they are. Doesn't need to. Her virtue will show in the life that she lives. Proof's in the pudding, right? It's in the same way that you don't have to wear a sign to proclaim whether you're saved or not. Your life will show it. Same thing applies here. It will be apparent for all to see that she loves the Lord and seeks to live for Him. She's valuable. Here's the value of a virtuous woman. Now Solomon, if you remember, was an extremely wealthy man. Probably one of, if not the wealthiest man in the world at that particular time. He had riches and treasures beyond measure. And yet he declared that a virtuous woman was more valuable than rubies. Now rubies are pretty stones. They're beautiful, and especially if you happen to see some of the older ones that there's not a whole lot of anymore. I always find it interesting, they talk about a good Burmese ruby is the color of pigeon's blood. I thought they could have picked something else to liken it to, but if you want to find out what they're supposed to look like, go find you a pigeon and wring his head off, I reckon. I said that out loud, didn't I? But that's the cover that it is, and they are indeed beautiful to see. There is so much more to a home and marriage than material wealth and possessions. That's just stuff, isn't it? That's just things. What holds a home together are not stuff or things. What holds a home together is love, first of all, for the Lord and for one another, extended to the children. That's the glue. That's why we'll keep it together down through the years. Having a godly wife and mother is far more valuable than all the riches that this world has to offer. And there's a lot of it out there. But this is far more important. It's far better to have a virtuous woman than to have all the rubies that are in this world. As beautiful and as valuable and as nice as they are, a virtuous woman is far more important, far better to be having your life. She will benefit the family far more than what money can buy. The reason for this is a godly woman possesses something that this world cannot offer. and that is the fact she knows the Lord. She has his leadership, his guidance, his instruction, and the things that she does for her family is based off of that thing, those principles that are established on the Lord and by the Lord and through the Lord. She has the ability to be a godly influence on her family. Now this, you gotta remember, there is a scripture in the Bible that is a proverb not a promise. A proverb is a wise saying, right? It's what a definition of a proverb is. And a proverb that many times people like to make a promise out of it, and it's just not what it is, is where it says, train up a child in the way that it should go and when it's old it will not depart from it. You know, that is a proverb, it's a wise saying, but I've known a lot of godly people that had some pretty rotten kids And that's not saying there's anything wrong with the parents. They most likely were in fact very godly parents and they took their children to church and they instructed their children and they did all the things they were supposed to do. But ultimately, it's individualized and it's whatever a person is, it's up to them. So, that is a proverb. But at the same time, a godly mother is one who does everything that she can to influence her children in the proper ways. And many times, though the children may get far away from it by their deeds, they don't ever get far away from their thoughts. And I've heard many times somebody that got caught in something that they shouldn't have that they revert back to, well mama told me this or I should have done that. And I remember when I was told this that or the other. And as they still, they just turn from them. A godly mother's influence cannot, indirection cannot be measured in material means. Bear this in mind. If you have a godly mother, it doesn't matter whether you're still being raised or whether you have a family of your own. If you have a godly mother, you are indeed very, very wealthy in this world. I remember a post I saw this morning that, or yesterday rather, Brother Sean Davis had posted. It was a picture of a Bible that said it was his mother's Bible. And that every Mother's Day he preached out of his mama's Bible. What a legacy. And what a wonderful, wonderful testimony to the way he was raised. Secondly, the virtue of a virtuous woman. In verses 11 and 12, it dealt with her commitment. Her commitment first to her husband. He is pleased with her because of her commitment to him. She's not working against him. And it's been said that, and this goes both ways, but this saying that I heard was only applied to the one, but it fits both, said that a man could bring $100 into a house every day and a woman could spend $200 a day. And that goes both ways, doesn't it? A man could do the same thing. But the lady is committed to him. She understands that he's doing all that he can. Not to say that she's not doing all that she can, because it bears it out here in the scripture we read, that she in fact is. And that they are working together. They are pulling together, not against one another, but together. So that for the good of the family. So that they will be able to withstand the storms of life. We need more commitment today among our spouses. You know, too many people today are married and want to live like they're single. And that don't work. It causes problems. And if it persists, that family won't stay together very long. You're no longer single. You're married. And if you're not willing to commit yourself to your spouse and live like you're married, then your best bet is to stay single. And now let me tell you something, because when you are ready, there's nothing in the world like it. I wouldn't trade being married for single again if I, you know, at all. Her purity in verses 13 and 15. A godly mother is committed to her home regardless of the work involved. Regardless of the work involved. There are some things that mothers do that are not pleasant in this world, in home. I remember once again when we were still in Virginia, Joshua and I both had contracted food poisoning, and Joshua had taken a tumble off the couch that night and hit his head. It explains a lot of things now, but he hit his head on the floor, and we were watching to make sure he didn't have any concussion signs, and we were told how often we had to get him up to make sure he would know where he was and so on. And we were in the room where the crib was, he had a sleep sofa in there, Sometime in the night, it hit me really good in the belly and I sat up in bed. And you gotta remember, I don't throw up much, ever. I'm thinking, what on earth is going on? And just as Elaine asks me what is going on, I show her what's going on. All over her, all over the crib, all over the bed, all over the floor. And I didn't clean any of it up. because while I was in the bathroom taking care of other things, she was doing it. And she didn't, I didn't hear about it, if you know what I mean. You know, mothers are willing to do those kinds of things, aren't they? Regardless. Regardless of the work involved. She is committed to her family. Regardless of the hour of need. How many times do you remember growing up that you cried out, you woke up sick or one thing or another in the middle of the night, and as soon as you cried out, Mama come. I'm going to come to help you. I'm going to come to see what was wrong and to see what could be done, no matter how late it was. And she seeks to provide for the family's well-being. In verse 15, it even goes down to her maidens. In this instance, she even seeks to serve those who are expected to be of service to her. She looks out to all, not just to her family, but she's going to do good by everybody that's close by her. Everybody that's a part of her life in whatever capacity it might be, she's going to do well for them. Because a godly woman will in all cases, in all instances, possess the heart of a servant. They don't demand to be served, they are willing to serve because they have the heart of a servant. Her harvest, verses 16 through 19. A virtuous woman is not idle. Not idle. Now, that doesn't mean that they can't sit and enjoy rest once in a while. That doesn't mean they can't sit out on the porch or wherever to relax a little bit. That's not what I'm saying. But she is constantly laboring for the needs of the family. She's not somebody that sits around and expects everybody else to do everything for her. She's busy taking care of whatever those needs may be. You've heard the old saying, a man may work from sun to sun, but a woman's work is what? Never done. And isn't that the truth? It doesn't mean that she doesn't deserve some help. And we should help what we can, but that work's never done. And I am convinced with all my heart that today many women work a whole lot harder than most men. Not in every case, not in all instances, but in a whole lot of cases it's the truth. I have a real problem at times with this idea and notion of house husbands. The first one I met, the first one of them I ever met was, I've said before, was back, oh my goodness, this was back, well before I got married. And shortly thereafter, she worked in the coal mines. Black London Bertha, we called her. Her husband stayed in the home. He drove her to work, put her out, go to work in the mines. He'd go back home, quit in time, he'd come back and get her. That's a pretty good setup, maybe. But roles are kind of reversed, aren't they? As to how things are to be done. Her compassion, in verse 20. A virtuous woman does not neglect or overlook the needs of others. She's been given a heart of compassion for those who stand in need. And boy, is there ever a day in time that we need more than anything else, compassion. Boy, there's a lot of people suffering, there's a lot of people hurting in this world, aren't they? Her character. Verse 22 deals with her modesty. Most people today couldn't even spell modesty, let alone know what it is. Modesty. You remember a time when it had become fashionable for ladies to wear their undergarments on the outside? Remember that? Wait a minute. They call them undergarments for a reason. I saw, I forget where we were at. This was the past week I was with Elaine and I looked up where they had some clothes fastened up overhead and looked up where there was one lady's pair of shorts up there and I looked at them things and I told Elaine, I said, look up there at them shorts. And she said, what? I said, why bother? And why bother on putting them on? I'm going to tell you what, from the waistline to the hemline, there's about six inches and that's it. Why bother putting anything on? That's not modest, is it? Because you've got to remember, and I am going to hit this as far as the way we're supposed to dress, you know I'm not one of those as some others are, but the Bible teaches modesty, right? That's what's behind it. Modesty. And that's what we're supposed to be. I think that it's evident here from this passage that the virtuous woman desires to present herself modestly. She's not as those who have no faith or value for themselves. You know, they don't want to go around like they just have a very little opinion of themselves. Our generation needs to learn to value the valuable trade and dress appropriately. That's around. Verse 23 deals with a purity. This speaks of purity that a virtuous woman possesses and the testimony that she presents. Her actions have a positive impact on the reception of her husband. He is honored among the elders of the land and his wife has played a significant role in that fact. We need to understand that our lives are not lived in a bubble. Our lives affect other people and other people are watching the way that we live. We saw how, and I'm going to wrap this up, we saw her honesty so far as her inner dealings and her business. Because of that, she was remembered. Because of that, they paid honor and tribute to her. Beloved, a virtuous woman is hard to find, but I dare say that Most of us here this morning can bear testimony that our lives were influenced by a virtuous woman, the mothers that God allowed us to be born to. And also, we see a lot of virtuous women today that are laboring to raise their children and to take care of their homes in a God-honoring manner. And one of the greatest things that we have in our lives, I think, is the fact that regardless of how many blunders and mistakes that we may make through life, men or women, whoever it might be, that the past is the past. We learn from them and we go forward, right? And may God help us to give thanks to our mothers today for the impact they were on our lives. May God help those of you who are still raising your children to continue to do so in a God-honoring way. And if there may be somebody here that is working in the lives of children and God has brought to mind some things in your life that perhaps should be a little different, if that's the case, beloved, May you lean to Him and ask for His guidance and help because He will enable you to do the things that you need to do and it's never too late to start. May God help us to remember these valuable lessons. Who can find a virtuous woman? Aren't you glad that there's some in the world? Let's pray.