The Sisters - The Blessing of a Local Church Life
Message Four: The Divine Blessing through the Virtuous Woman who Focuses on Operations

Introduction

For a sister to be a blessing to the church life she needs to focus on three things: life, truth, and operation. Now we will consider the virtuous woman's operation in the church life. Her operation includes eleven points of experience, and ten points of application.

I. The Experiences

A. She is able to bring food from afar.
She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar. (Prov. 31:14)

B. She lives a life in diligence for the sake of dispensing life.
She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. (v.15)

C. She develops the portion of other saints (the maidens in verse 15).

D. She pays a price to get a field of operation and plants a vineyard (uses it as a source of life).
She considereth a field and buyeth it; with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. (v. 16)

E. She has strength in her arms by girding her loins.
She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. (v. 17)

F. She applies her riches to bear the testimony of the Lord.
She perceiveth that her merchandise is good; her candle goeth not out by night. (v. 18)

G. She is able to help the poor and needy.
She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. (v. 20)

H. She is well prepared for the stormy times in the church life.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household; for all her household are clothed with scarlet. (v. 21)

I. Yet her operation is so hidden that her husband is able to have a proper manifestation.
Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. (v. 23)

J. Her speaking becomes a blessing to the church life.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. (v. 26)

K. Her family becomes a testimony.
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. (v. 27-28).

The virtuous woman is able to bring food from afar. She lives a life in diligence for the sake of dispensing life. She rises while it is yet night, and gives meat to her household and then a portion to her maidens. This means that she develops the portion of other saints. Then she pays a price to get a field of operation and to plant a vineyard. Our problem in the church life is that we have a good heart, but we don't have a field in which to labor. A heart to labor must have a field to go with it. Without such a field a good heart can't be effective. A virtuous woman needs a field in which to operate.

The virtuous woman also has strength in her arms by girding her loins, and she applies the riches to bear the testimony of the Lord. She is able to help the poor and needy. She is well prepared for the stormy times in the church life. Yet her operation is so hidden that her husband is able to have a proper manifestation. Then eventually her speaking becomes a blessing to the church life. Finally, her family becomes a testimony. After reading through these experiences we can come to the applications.

II. The Applications

A. She is able to bring food from afar.
She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar. (v. 14)

We have covered this point previously.

B. She has a diligent living for her spiritual companions and children.
She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. (v.15)

1. She makes sure she is in the Lord's presence every morning.

2. She practices to have morning revival with the saints in her local church for the dispensing of food to them.

The virtuous woman has a diligent living for her spiritual companions and children. She rises while it is yet night, and gives food to her household. To her this is not a job, but a matter of intimacy. She doesn't do this because she is paid, but because she loves to do it. Sisters, have you ever considered what your companions need to eat? Or do you just enjoy whatever your locality is using for morning revival? You have to learn to rise up early, and while it is night give meat to your household. First, that means you must make sure you are in the Lord's presence every morning. Before you serve others you yourself must be refreshed by the Lord. If you don't have the Lord's presence you have no ability to feed the household. Then after being in the Lord's presence, you should practice to have morning revival with the saints in your local church for the dispensing of food to them.

Sisters, it is very healthy for you to practice these two things. First, get up early in the morning and enjoy the Lord's presence. Tell the Lord Jesus that you love Him. Forget about everything else. Forget about what you have to do that day, and forget about how you look in the mirror. Just spend time with the Lord and tell Him how much you love Him. Then after you do this you can say, "Thank you, Lord. Now I'm alive! I'm ready to have morning revival with some other sisters!" Then call a sister and have morning revival with her. If you can, call two or three sisters, or all get on the same line so that you can have a corporate morning revival together. It only takes ten or fifteen minutes. You can call some sisters on Tuesday and Thursday, and others on Wednesday or Friday. Then perhaps another group of sisters on Saturday. This will enlarge your spiritual base. You can be in the Word, or have some prayer together. You can pray for the church, for the saints, for the elders, or for the new ones. All of a sudden you will find out that so many saints can be cared for, and it is not even tiring. In the process you will become a virtuous woman, a woman of worth, in your operation. You will become such a blessing to the church life.

C. She develops the portions of the younger ones (the maidens).

1. She treasures everyone's portion and encourages the development of everyone's portion.

2. She encourages those whom she cares for to care for others.

In her operation the virtuous woman develops the portions of the younger ones. This means that she treasures everyone's portion and encourages the development of everyone's portion. Then she encourages those whom she cares for to care for others. Sisters, you should not only have morning time with other saints. You should also develop the young ones and invest yourself in them. Learn to treasure and develop their portion.

D. She makes sure that she has a field of operation. She considereth a field, and buyeth it; with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. (v. 16)

1. She has such a spiritual insight.

2. She pays a price for what the Lord has committed to her.

3. The very field in which she labors becomes the source of her life supply.

a. With what she has, she produces a vineyard.

b. With the vineyard, she produces more food for the saints.

c. In practicality she struggles to produce a core of sisters and works with them for the profit of the church.

d. She treasures every environmental opportunity as a chance to gain the field, such as small group gatherings, home meetings, or other opportunities to meet a particular need, such as taking care of some children or young people, or standing with the college work or new beginners' work.

A virtuous woman makes sure that she has a field for operation. It is not in our concept to have a field. If we are asked, "How is everything going? How is the church life?," what would we say? We would respond, "Praise the Lord! I am enjoying the church life. I am making all the meetings." We would not answer according to our labor on a field. A child can attend every meal of the family, but eventually he has to grow up. When you grow up, you need a field. It is actually the matter of a field which will determine your spiritual life. It is your labor on a field that will decide how genuinely spiritual you become. A virtuous woman always struggles for a field.

Sisters, what is your field? If you don't have a field, then you have no operation. It is not just a matter of doing some things. A field is something for which you are responsible. If you are prevailing it is because your field is prevailing. Every sister in the church life must have a field. What makes the virtuous woman so special? First she has the perceiving ability. Then she considers a field. If she operates, it is with a specific field. This does not mean that you should just call some sisters and ask them if they want to be attached to you. Remember that the field comes with a price. The verse here says, "She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard." If you are laboring with the high schoolers, then you must pay a price for that field. If you are laboring with the college students, you must pay a price for that field. If you have a home meeting, you must pay the price for that home meeting. If you take care of a groups of sisters you must pay a price for them. It is only by paying the price that you gain a field in which you can operate.

If you are in college, then that college is your field. However, you must pay a price for it. Don't just walk around the campus and think, "This is my field." You must have insight. You must consider the field, and then buy it. You should consider what you really want to do. Perhaps you would like to get some people saved. You would like to help some students love the Lord. You would like to take care of someone. All of this requires a price. Don't just wait around for someone to tell you what to do. You must have a plan for your field. The verse also says, "With the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard." To plant a vineyard is not easy work. It requires diligence. Only by sowing life can you beget more life. Perhaps a group of you sisters can come together on your campus and pay the price for your field. You can decide that you are not only there to study, you are there to advance the Lord's interest. You can have morning revival together and enjoy Christ together. You can preach the gospel together. Then you are paying the price to gain the field. You will grow a vineyard on the campus. Fruitfulness will come because of your labor together.

It is not enough just to be a good sister who makes all the meetings. Wherever you are, you should look for a field of operation. You should desire to pay a price for a field in which you can labor. It could be a university, or a job, or a neighborhood, or a group of saints. But you must find a field. When you have such a field, you will have no choice but to grow. You will have no choice but to operate. Whatever locality you are in, you must consider your field. Perhaps it is just a small group of sisters, but you are determined to pay the price to help them grow. You want to plant a vineyard and grow life among these sisters. Then you will have a place to operate. Perhaps you can walk around your neighborhood and begin to meet people who live there. After a few times of meeting them, you can invite them to your home. This means that you are paying a price for the field. Don't let yourself be isolated, don't let yourself be idle, and don't just wait for someone else to tell you what to do. Just consider before the Lord, "I need a field." Without a field you can never grow or develop properly. Without a field there is no way you can become mature. It doesn't matter so much what kind of field you have. But you must buy a field and plant a vineyard so that something can develop.

Sisters, do you know what is wrong with us today? We are not short of desire. We are not short of riches. We are not short of consecration. We are not short of offering ourselves to the Lord. We are not short of loving one another. We are not short of good meetings. But we are desperately short of fields. If someone asks you what you are doing in the church life, your answer is probably, "I have nothing to do. I'm just in the church life." But if you have nothing to do, you will not grow. Instead you will become withered. The secret of a healthy Christian life is the field. It is the field that gives you strength. Sisters, you must pay the price to have a field. Don't just have morning revival with some sisters. Make those sisters your field. Don't just pursue with some new ones. Pay the price for those new ones to be your field. Don't just live in a neighborhood; allow that neighborhood to become your field. A field becomes your commitment. It becomes your responsibility. It is like being in a family. Once you marry and beget children, then your family becomes your field. You can never drop them. You can never decide that they are no longer your commitment. It doesn't matter how you feel, because you know you must pay a price for your family. You must pay a price for their growth. But this is also true spiritually. Once you truly have a field, you cannot drop it or lose interest in it. Once you have planted a vineyard, you know that you must pay a price for the life to grow. If so many sisters are raised up to have a field of their own, the church will be blessed.

According to the outline, to have a field of operation you must have spiritual insight. Then you must pay a price for what the Lord has committed to you. Then the very field in which you labor becomes the source of your life supply. With what you have, you produce a vineyard. With the vineyard, you produce more food for the saints. In practicality you struggle to produce a core of sisters and work with them for the profit of the church. This means that you struggle so they can grow and become mature. Furthermore, you must treasure every environmental opportunity as a chance to gain a field. These environmental opportunities include small group gatherings, home meetings, or other opportunities to meet a particular need, such as taking care of some children or young people, or standing with the college work or new beginners' work. All of these are fields. Again, don't let yourself be idle. Within you there should be a strong desire, "I am going to purchase a field for my operation. I am going to pay the price so that I can labor. I am going to plant a vineyard for life to grow."

E. She operates according to the truth she sees and gains strength by it.
She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. (v. 17)

F. She opens up her home and makes it a blessing. She reaches out to the poor - always inviting gospel friends to her home - and she always reaches out to the saints in need.
She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. (v. 20)

The virtuous woman opens up her home and makes it a blessing. She reaches out to the poor - always inviting gospel friends to her home - and she always reaches out to the saints in need. This verse says, "She stretches out her hand to the poor; yea she reaches forth her hand to the needy." How can you really help those who are in need? It is only by your home. To help someone out of their spiritual poverty, you should use your home and family life. The family life is the biggest blessing to the church. For the church life to be healthy there needs to be a lot of families and homes that are open. These families are the base for taking care of the poor and the needy. Unfortunately the American culture teaches us that our families are private. But we should endeavor to keep our homes open. We should allow our family life to become a blessing to the church, whether to the saints or to gospel friends. We should let our home become their home, so that all their needs can be met.

This is actually the secret of laboring on a college campus. There needs to be a family near the campus that always has an open home. Every year when school begins, the family should invite some students over and give them a tour of the house. Then the family should say to the students, "This is our kitchen. This is our refrigerator. All the food in there is yours. This is your home. You can come over any time. Don't wait for an invitation. Everything here is for you." Any campus labor that has such a family will be blessed. So many students can come over, and eventually hear the gospel. They will become wide open. The family can then do their best to meet the students' needs.

Sisters, perhaps you are not on a campus, but you can still operate with an open home. After every Lord's Table meeting, try to have some saints over for lunch. Especially try to invite the new ones over. Read some verses in an informal way, and make them feel so comfortable. Eventually they will feel that your home is also their home. Then see if you can invite every saint in the church over for dinner. It may seem hard at first, but eventually through practice it will become easier. Then it will be a great enjoyment. People will be so happy to come over. They will even bring something so that you don't have to cook. This is a healthy culture that can care for so many people. If a few homes are like this, then everyone in the church life can get cared for. Opening your home makes it a blessing. To operate as a virtuous woman, open your home and reach out to the poor and needy ones.

G. She becomes a source of stability when the church goes through stormy times.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household; for all her household are clothed with scarlet. (v. 21)

1. "Snow days" are common and normal in the church life.

2. She is able to stock adequate food through her diligence in dispensing life and truth, through her commitment to others who have the same diligence, through the field she has established, and through the food constituted in her. Because of this, the church is able to go through hard times.

3. Due to her labor, the saints in the church life not only enjoy the redemptive work of Christ but are also strengthened in the life of Christ.

The virtuous woman becomes the source of stability when the church goes through stormy times. We need to realize that "snow days" are common and normal in the church life. The church life will always go through problems, either from the outside or from the inside. But the virtuous woman is able to stock adequate food through her diligence in dispensing life and truth, through her commitment to others who have the same diligence, through the field she has established, and through the food constituted in her. In the church life there are surely some very good and sweet times. But in principle the church life is a dying life. It is a place for us to grow and be transformed through many death experiences. The saints who have been helped by the virtuous woman are also able to help the church. Because of all these reasons the church is able to go through hard times.

H. She has a hidden operation that helps her husband to have a proper manifestation.
Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. (v. 23)

1. She has the wisdom, diligence, and dispensing of life.

2. Yet she is in submission to her husband.

3. Her labor allows her husband to have a proper manifestation.

4. The whole church life is profited by her.

The virtuous woman has a hidden operation that helps her husband to have a proper manifestation. Sisters, your husband doesn't need to be an elder or full-timer to have a proper manifestation. If you encourage him, stand with him, and pray for him, your husband will be a blessing to the church life. Your husband can function very well because you are doing well. Learn to exercise wisdom, diligence, and the dispensing of life in the care of your husband. Learn also to be in submission to your husband. Then your labor will allow your husband to have a proper manifestation, and the whole church life will be profited by you. Here is a quote from the booklet "The Virtuous Woman" concerning this matter: "She [the virtuous woman] is the one who stands, and she is the one who 'reigns.' She is the one who helps, and she is the one who guides the saints unto maturity. Eventually, the blessing of the church is related to her. Only through such hidden operations can her husband sit among the elders. The whole city, the whole church, is blessed by the virtuous woman, yet it is her husband who is known by all." The virtuous woman operates in a hidden way, but it is her husband who is manifested. Such a couple is a blessing to the church life.

I. She becomes the lead and comfort to the saints.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. (v. 26)

1. The wisdom proceeding out of her mouth gives the direction and solves the problems.

2. Yet she is not haughty. In her tongue is the law of kindness.

The virtuous woman becomes the lead and comfort to the saints. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She is not merely a kind person, but in her tongue is the law of kindness. When her kindness is dispensed it is according to the law of life. The wisdom proceeding out of her mouth gives the direction and solves the problems. Yet she is not haughty. In her tongue is the law of kindness.

J. The local church she is in becomes a testimony by her and through her.
She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children rise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. (v. 27-28).

Finally, the local church that the virtuous woman is in becomes a testimony by her and through her. Isn't the virtuous woman marvelous? But this portion of Proverbs doesn't say that the virtuous woman is talented, or gifted, or able to minister, or capable in so many things. Any sister can be a virtuous woman if she focuses on the right things. Sisters, just tell the Lord, "Lord, I want what's in these messages to be my reality. I want to rise up early in the morning and buy the food. I also want to pay the price for a field so that I can plant a vineyard. I want to open my home and reach out to the poor and needy. I want to allow my husband to be manifested. And I want to be the source of blessing to the saints and to my local church." Praise the Lord that the sisters can be such a blessing! May the Lord have mercy.

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  Copyright © 2002 T. Chu, The Church in Cleveland