Jack W. Hayford - Biblical Ministries Through Women: Gods Daughters and Gods Work

BIBLICAL
MINISTRIES
THROUGH WOMEN

JACK W. HAYFORD
Executive Editor
WITH M. WENDY PARRISH

1994, 2012 Jack W. Hayford

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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Scripture quotations are taken from The New King James Version. 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4185-4925-1

Printed in the United States of America

12 13 14 15 16 17 QG 6 5 4 3 2 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SESSION ONE
Women of Virtue

SESSION TWO
Sarah, Daughter of Faith

SESSION THREE
Sarah and Lessons of Faith

SESSION FOUR
Miriam, Daughter of Ministry

SESSION FIVE
Miriam, Daughter Who Spoke

SESSION SIX
Deborah, Wise Leader

SESSION SEVEN
Ruth, Daughter of Faithfulness

SESSION EIGHT
Ruth, Daughter of Redemption

SESSION NINE
Esther, Daughter of Purpose

SESSION TEN
Mary, Daughter and Mother

SESSION ELEVEN
Priscilla, Daughter of Virtue

SESSION TWELVE
Lydia, Daughter of Hospitality

W hat is a womans role in the kingdom of God?

An inescapably blessed fact fills the Scriptures: God has ordained that every believer realize the significance of their mission and ministry as His servant. Gender is no restriction intended to limit significance or breadth of dimension in living for or serving Christ: I will pour out My Spirit upon your sons and daughters... upon your menservants and your maidservants (Acts 2:17, 18).

Jesus lived and taught human dignity at every dimension God intended. This shows in His treatment of both genders. Women accompanied Him and His disciples on their journeys (Luke 8:13). He refused a social taboo and talked with the Samaritan woman at Jacobs Well, leading her to a conversion experience (John 4). Jesus allowed Mary to sit at His feet, assuming the role of a disciple (Luke 10:3842).

Throughout the ages, God has placed His women in positions of service in nearly all levels of authority. Pauls words in Ephesians 2:10 are true for all who love and serve the Lord: For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. God has a purpose and plan for all His women!

K EYS CAN BE SYMBOLS of possession, of the right and ability to acquire, clarify, open or ignite. Keys can be concepts that unleash mind-boggling possibilities. Keys clear the way to a possibility otherwise obstructed!

Jesus spoke of keys: And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven (Matthew 16:19).

While Jesus did not define the keys He has given, it is clear that He did confer specific tools upon His church which grant us access to a realm of spiritual partnership with Him. The keys are concepts or biblical themes, traceable throughout Scripture, which are verifiably dynamic when applied with solid faith under the lordship of Jesus Christ. The partnership is the essential feature of this enabling grace, allowing believers to receive Christs promise of kingdom keys, and to be assured of the Holy Spirits readiness to actuate their power in the life of the believer.

Faithful students of the Word of God and some of todays most respected Christian leaders have noted some of the primary themes which undergird this spiritual partnership. A concise presentation of many of these primary themes can be found in the Kingdom Dynamics feature of the New Spirit-Filled Life Bible. The new Spirit-Filled Life Study Guide Series, an outgrowth of this Kingdom Dynamics feature, provides a treasury of more in-depth insights on these central truths. This study series offers challenges and insights designed to enable you to more readily understand and appropriate certain dynamic Kingdom Keys.

Each study guide has twelve to fourteen lessons, and a number of helpful features have been developed to assist you in your study, each marked by a symbol and heading for easy identification.

Kingdom Key

KINGDOM KEY identifies the foundational Scripture passage for each study session and highlights a basic concept or principle presented in the text, often along with cross-referenced passages.

Kingdom Life

The KINGDOM LIFE feature is designed to give practical understanding and insight. This feature will assist you in comprehending the truths contained in Scripture and applying them to your day-to-day needs, hurts, relationships, concerns, or circumstances.

Word Wealth

The WORD WEALTH feature provides important definitions of key terms.

Behind the Scenes

BEHIND THE SCENES supplies information about cultural beliefs and practices, doctrinal disputes, and various types of background information that will illuminate Bible passages and teachings.

Kingdom Extra

The optional KINGDOM EXTRA feature will guide you to Bible dictionaries, Bible encyclopedias, and other resources that will enable you to gain further insight into a given topic.

Probing the Depths

Finally, PROBING THE DEPTHS will present any controversial issues raised by particular lessons and cite Bible passages and other sources which will assist you in arriving at your own conclusions.

This Spirit-Filled Life Study Guide is a comprehensive resource presenting study and life-application questions and exercises with spaces provided to record your answers. These study guides are designed to provide all you need to gain a good, basic understanding of the covered theme and apply biblical counsel to your life. You will need only a heart and mind open to the Holy Spirit, a prayerful attitude, a pencil and a Bible to complete the studies and apply the truths they contain. However, you may want to have a notebook handy if you plan to expand your study to include the optional KINGDOM EXTRA feature.

The Bible study method used in this series employs four basic steps: