Get Ready for True Woman

Leslie Basham: Travel requires a lot of work. You need to make plans, pack, find child care, and deal with the unexpected, but when you have an appealing destination, it’s all worth it.

In 2008, thousands of women made a trip to Chicago, and it was definitely worth it. They didn’t come for sight-seeing or to visit family. They wanted to meet with God.

Woman 1: We came from Washington State, as a matter of fact, to be encouraged and hopefully have an eternal impact on the lives that we touch.

Woman 2: We wanted to know more about being a true woman. We are very curious about it.

Woman 3: I came to the conference just to have an opportunity to interact with other woman who are very passionate about their faith, about how I can strengthen my relationship with God, and be able to pass it along to my children and with my husband as well. So that’s why I came. I came with my friends, and so I’m just excited about the experience.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss: And now, look at what God is building, what He is orchestrating, what He is beginning to bring about among Christian woman. By the way, that’s where it has to start because the world has the questions, but they don’t have the answers.

Leslie: You’re listening to Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss for Friday, February 12.

Women are making plans for next month’s True Woman conference in Chattanooga, and the first step is to visit ReviveOurHearts.com for all the details. It’s the first of three True Women conferences this year. To help you understand what to expect at one of these events, we’re looking back to True Woman ’08, the original conference that launched a movement in the hearts and homes of women. As we hear highlights from the True Woman speakers over the next few minutes, we’ll start to discover and embrace God’s will for us as women.

True Woman ’08 began when Bob Lepine greeted the guests.

Bob Lepine: I just have to tell you that there are a lot of you here. In fact, you may be looking around—how many do you think there are? There were 6,350 people registered for the conference. There are women here from 48 states and eight foreign countries (cheering)—at least that’s what we think.

As far as we know from the registration, there are a lot of you from Texas, right? (applause) You can always start with cheap applause by saying, “Texas.” (laughter) There are a lot of you from Florida. This is interesting. There are more than 100 women here from the Dominican Republic. (cheering) buenas noches! We are thrilled that all of you are here. It is going to be a great couple of days.

Leslie: And it was a great weekend! Nancy Leigh DeMoss spoke the first night, introducing an important concept that would be repeated throughout the conference—the need to say, “Yes, Lord.”

Nancy: Last month I celebrated my 50th birthday, and I’ve been planning this for about ten years, looking forward to it. Those of you who’ve heard Revive Our Hearts, you’ve probably heard me say that my goal since I was a little girl has always been to be a godly, old lady. I’ve had this picture in my mind of what a godly, old lady looks like. I don’t know if I’ve ever actually met this picture in my mind, but I have found that the getting old part comes easier than the getting godly part.

But I’ve been so looking forward to this marker in my life. I took some time in Colorado. I was out there for about a week. (cheering) Colorado, where are you? (cheering) There they are! It's a beautiful state.

One day I went jeeping with some friends in the mountains of Colorado. I had not done that before, and it was an amazing experience.

We were on these mountain trails, winding higher and higher up these mountain passes, up at one point to 13,000 feet. You can hardly breathe up there. That’s where airplanes fly, and here we were in this jeep.

Some of these trails were steep; they were treacherous. There were some hairpin turns. If you got too close to the edge and looked over, it could be really scary. This was quite an experience for us. And then, you get to the top, and you look down. You look around, and you’re just awestruck by the beauty and the magnificence of the view below.

I thought of that trip as I was meditating in recent days on this passage in the book of Romans. In Romans 1 through 11, it’s like hiking or jeeping up this steep mountain trail. There’s some difficult passages, and it’s tough climbing at points. Then you get to the end of chapter 11. The apostle Paul is as if he has reached the summit.

He looks at where he comes from, and he sees this awesome view—the view of God’s sovereignty, His electing mercy and grace, His eternal plan. And Paul pauses to contemplate it all, and he’s speechless.

It’s as if there are no words to explain what he sees—the magnificence of it all. There’s no way to fully grasp the depths below. Words fail when he tries to explain it to others. It’s as if he’s grasping for words, and then it causes him to break out into this hymn of praise, to sing the doxology. That’s when we come to Romans 11, verses 33-36.

I want to read that paragraph and then break it apart for us in the moments we have remaining, and then end with saying, “What in the world does all this have to do with being a true woman?”

As I read this passage, I’d like us to honor the Word of God by just standing as I read these verses. Romans 11:33-36. Would you stand with me?

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways! "For who has known the mind of the Lord?" "Or who has been His counselor?" "Or who has given a gift to Him that he might be repaid?" For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever.

And all God’s people said, “Amen.” Amen. Thank you. You may be seated.

I believe that this passage provides a framework, a context for our lives as women. It gives us a fixed referenced point for our hearts. It tethers our hearts to God’s ultimate eternal purposes. It gives us a perspective and a grid for responding to God’s sovereign choices in our lives and for responding to circumstances that we cannot understand or explain.

Paul starts by saying, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God.” Oh, the depth. Interestingly there, the Greek word that is translated “depth” sounds a lot like our English word “bath.” It’s like you’re going down into this, to be bathed in it. “Oh, the depth—the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God.” They are immeasurable. They’re so deep that you can’t get to the bottom of it all.

How does this apply to where we live? It has everything to do with being a true woman of God. This passage, these truths—and I have not begun to do justice to them, but I pray God will work them into your hearts by the power of His Spirit. These truths bring comfort. They bring courage. They bring conviction to our calling as women.

There are many implications, many applications we could touch on, but I want to leave you with three tonight. I pray you will remember them and that you will begin to orient your life around these realities.

Number one: A true woman lives a God-centered life. We live in a self-centered world, but a true woman lives a God-centered life. She lives for His glory and His pleasure and not her own.

Ladies, little bulletin here: It’s not about us. It’s all, all, all about Him.

Number two: A true woman accepts God’s plan, His design, His will, His ways as good, though it might not be the way we would define good. It’s God who defines good, so she leans on Him. She depends on Him in times of prosperity and joy, with gratitude, but also with gratitude and trust in times of pain and hardship and loneliness and uncertainty and confusion.

And number three: A true woman says, “Yes, Lord.” And by the way, you can’t call Him Lord and say anything other than, “Yes.” A true woman says, “Yes, Lord.”

Leslie: Nancy Leigh DeMoss’ theme of “Surrender to God” would continue throughout True Woman ’08.

When a woman surrenders her will and her rights, it is counter-cultural. For half a century the feminist movement has encouraged women to do the opposite.

Mary Kassian traced this history through the decades at True Woman ’08.

Mary Kassian: Consider the image, the cultural image of women back in the 1950s, represented by the popular TV sitcom, Leave It to Beaver. The Clever family exemplified the idealized suburban family. In this series, there are four themes that are presented as requisites for happiness for both men and women: marriage, children, education (both of the Clevers, man and woman, had a college education; they met in college), and hard work. In the show, adults who didn’t follow this pattern of marriage were depicted as troubled or missing out.

By the late 1960s, the image of June Clever being happy at home in her role as wife and mother had fallen by the wayside, replaced by the 1970’s Mary Tyler Moore image of a pretty, single woman in her 30s, pursuing a career at a television station.

In the 1980s, we’re introduced to Murphy Brown, an investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional TV news magazine. In contrast to the gentle sweetness of Mary Tyler Moore’s character, Murphy Brown’s loud mouth, brash, driven, self-assured, self-absorbed and highly opinionated. She is a divorcée and a proud atheist. During the course of the series, Murphy becomes pregnant but chooses not to marry her baby’s father. A man would cramp her style.

She has the child nonetheless and leaves the baby in the care of a revolving-door of nannies so she can pursue her career. The child is merely a side in the plot that revolves around Murphy’s self-actualization in the work place.

In the mid-90s enter Ellen, a woman who doesn’t work for someone else but who independently owns her own business, a bookstore. Ellen lives with a man, but the relationship is platonic. He’s just her roommate. She’s not sexually attracted to him. Gradually we discover that Ellen isn’t attracted to men at all. She’s a lesbian, a woman-identified woman. She has the right to define her own sexuality and her own morality, and no one has the right to judge her for it. She’s out, and she’s in charge—as are virtually all of the women portrayed in the media in the past decade.

From children’s cartoons to television series to movies, women are portrayed as having an in-charge—don’t need a guy—I-powerful—traditional marriage and family and morals are outdated—I have the right to rule—how dare you try to tell me what to do—mentality.

In the past decade, we’ve been inundated with the message that when it comes to relationships, women can hook up, be in a casual or a long-term relationship, live common-law, get married or not, get married and then get divorced, get pregnant or abort the baby, sleep around, live with a guy or a girl, have sex with a guy or a girl, and participate in a whole assortment of immoral and perverted behavior, as long as they are friends.

In other words, woman makes her own rules and sets her own standards, and as long as she is nice, it really doesn’t matter what she does. Who are you to judge?

The epitome of this is reflected in the most popular sitcom recently for and about women: Sex and the City. Selfhood and sisterhood is what it’s all about. As long as women are first loyal to themselves and second to their female buddies, they’re on the right track. Singled, married, lesbian, heterosexual, promiscuous, perverted—they can be vulgar, crude and crash, but if they’re for themselves and for other women and are caring and nice, then they’re okay.

In the new world view, men are whiny and needy and not too bright and totally unreliable. They’re marginalized and demasculinized, used, regarded and discarded like Kleenex out of a box. The Sex and the City character, Charlotte, only hesitates a moment before giving up her engagement ring to help her girlfriend pay for the down payment on a house.

Now it is the epitome of empowered womanhood is to live a self-serving, self-righteous, neurotic, narcissistic, superficial and adulterous life. The main character in Sex and the City series wraps it up well when she counsels women that the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself.

Leslie: That’s Mary Kassian from True Woman ’08. Mary helps us understand the roots of the feminist movement and why a counter-revolution is needed to take its place. She’ll bring that woman to the three True Woman conferences this year.

The first is in Chattanooga, March 25-27. Get more details and plan to join us by visiting ReviveOurHearts.com.

Some serious obstacles can threaten to keep you from becoming a true woman. Karen Lorritts has been facing some of those obstacles, like fear and pride. Here she is from True Woman ’08:

Karen Loritts: Humility was not a big thing for me, but it’s something when God gets your attention. During my emotional meltdown time, I was getting through October. I was coming up on the month of November. The month of November is my birthday month, and I always go and have all those tests that you need to havet—the OB guy, the GP guy—all these letters and things like that.

I went to my OBGYN guy. My little fibroid tumor was staying; it wasn’t growing too much. I was cleared for that. Then I had to go to my mammogram. My mammogram—you know what I mean. (laughter) It was time to get that old mammogram, and I went. For the first time (I always get it year by year), I got a call back. He said, "Mrs. Loritts, you need to come in because we need to check your mammogram. Something showed up.”

Wouldn’t you know it? They couldn’t fit me in for three weeks. So my little fear buddies surrounded me and were doing a number on me. I was trying to be good. I said, “No, I’m not going to fear. It’s just a misunderstanding with the mammogram.” So I prayed through that.

Then I went to my GP guy (general practitioner), and of all the things, he told me I needed to lose weight, that my cholesterol was going out the roof, and I needed to watch my blood pressure! So now I’m walking around the mall—I’ve become a mall walker. I thought I had at least ten more years to join the other ladies, and I’m walking in the mall. I’m walking in the mall and crying and saying, "God, what’s happening? I’m having an emotional meltdown in October, and now a physical breakdown in November. Can I get through this year?” So God had my attention.

I don’t know about you, but with me, it seems as though when crisis comes into my life, those challenges, it’s always like a buffet. (laughter). It’s never like, “Here’s one little thing you need to worry about.” It’s always a buffet of stuff, and God got my attention. He got my attention.

Well, just to clear up, the mammogram was fine. I’m still walking the malls—genetics, but God brought me through that because my fear was trying to victimize me. I thought that I was just reaching the top of the mountain and I was almost through, and—November came.

God is an incredible God, and the only one I could talk to, not my girlfriends, and I don’t want to bore Crawford with that because I don’t want to fix anything. I had to fix it. Stop listening to yourself. Start talking to yourself.

I don’t know what you have to do, but I had to go in my bathroom and look in the mirror. I’d say, “Karen, you know what? You’re a wimp. You’ve been doing a lot of whining; a lot of lying, because you’re telling everybody else in these conferences all the great things about God, and look at your life.” I had a good talking with myself. I said, “God, I surrender. I don’t know what to do, but I know that You know that You know what to do. You do it, God. God, You’ve got my attention.”

Everything checked out. My body was okay. The little fibroid’s still there. We’ve still been working on the little fibroid, but I want to tell you that I just love what Dr. Piper said. “Wimpy theology makes you a wimpy woman.” This is the only thing that makes sense. God is a God that loves us.

I don’t know what your issue is, whether it’s with your husband, your children, your family, or, like with my mother—you just see no hope. Can you believe me? There is hope. If God can save a little black girl from the streets of Philadelphia, from public housing, a woman that was involved in ministry that had an emotional meltdown, and He still loves me. What is it He can’t do? What is it? There's nothing our God can't do. (applause).

Let me close with this: In Joshua chapter 1, Moses is dead. Big Moses—he’s gone. The guy God has to talk to—the new man in charge, Joshua—and He tells Joshua, “Joshua, of all things that I want to say, I want to say three things to you. (This is Karen paraphrase.) Three things I want to say to you, Joshua. Joshua chapter 1—be strong and courageous; be strong and very courageous. Joshua, be strong and courageous. Don’t tremble. Don’t be dismayed, because God is with you.”

I don’t know about you. Put your hands up. God, I surrender to You. Ladies, we have to be strong. We have to be courageous. Stop listening to yourself. Talk to yourself. Talk to God.

Leslie: Fears are real, and Karen Loritts has been sharing openly about some fears that plague her. That message was so helpful to the woman and True Woman ’08, the national conference for women. Karen will be speaking at some of the True Woman conferences coming up this year. I hope you’ll make plans to join us in Ft. Worth, Indianapolis, or Chattanooga.

This is more than just another conference. It’s a unique chance to jump into a True Woman movement. You’ll discover God’s design for you as a woman. You’ll be encouraged to embrace that design. You’ll worship with Keith and Kristyn Getty.

You’ll learn from speakers like James MacDonald, Voddie Baucham, Crawford and Karen Loritts, Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Kay Arthur, Fern Nichols, Joni Eareckson Tada, and many others.

Get more specific on the speaker lineups at each conference by visiting ReviveOurHearts.com.

If you’re considering joining us at the conference in Chattanooga, make your plans now. It’s coming March 25-27. You’ll find all the details and registration information at ReviveOurHearts.com.

Nancy Anderson felt no love for her husband, but a man at work seemed to truly care about her. Find out what God did in this volatile situation Monday when we return with Revive Our Hearts.

Revive Our Hearts is an outreach of Life Action Ministries.

 

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