Daughters of God (Part 1)
Junior/Adult Level

So what is a woman’s role according to God?  Are we allowed to speak out in Church?  Are we allowed to prophesy?  Does God’s Spirit anoint us as it does men?  All these questions we will ask and search in God’s word for the answers.  I pray this blesses men and women alike as we learn that each of us have been called to service by God to tell others of the good news of Jesus Christ!

Handout:  Daughters of God
Teacher's Guide:  Daughters of God

Joel 2:28-29  “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:  And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.”

Acts 2:1-18

 1And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.3And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.  5And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. 6Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
 7And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? 8And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? 9Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, 11Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. 12And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? 13Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
 14But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: 15For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
 18And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
This was on my heart strongly this week, and I have prayed earnestly for God to write through me.  I know there are ladies out there in every city, in every country who have these questions and are struggling with the things God wants them to do because someone has told you that you cannot, simply because you are a woman.  I’m here today to tell you that to anyone, male or female, when God speaks to your heart and tells you to move, you must obey no matter who doesn’t agree with you or who doesn’t like it.  I urge you to be much in prayer, and know, and if it is God who is speaking to you, then by all means, obey. 
I am so thankful that God does not discriminate.  He does not discriminate between races, ages, or genders.  If we have accepted His Son Jesus Christ, we are all part of the family of God and He loves us all!  There are some in these last days who still cling to the idea that women are not suppose to speak or to prophesy and it has caused major controversy in different areas.  I wondered about this myself because I know many times when I am in a church service, God’s Spirit will be so strong in me, bubbling over and I cannot contain myself and before I know it, His words are flowing out of my mouth and it is a feeling that I cannot explain, a wonderful feeling. 
I am blessed and happen to go to a church where the pastor tells everyone to obey the Spirit and let God have His way but I understand how some of you are feeling because I have been told that I am not to speak for God.  I have been talked about and ridiculed by one or two people because I have spoken when God has told me to.   Some of you are in a position where you feel bound down but God is telling you to speak.  I understand some of what you are going through and this lesson will help you to understand how God feels about women and that He uses us for His glory as much as men.  Yes we have our different roles but we are all loved and treasured by God alike.
I began to study this and I thought to myself about the word prophesy.  What does it mean?  So I looked it up and the word and in the original Greek the word is Propheteuo and it means this:
1) to prophesy, to be a prophet, speak forth by divine inspirations, to predict
a) to prophesy
b) with the idea of foretelling future events pertaining esp. to the kingdom of God
c) to utter forth, declare, a thing which can only be known by divine revelation
d) to break forth under sudden impulse in lofty discourse or praise of the divine counsels
1) under like prompting, to teach, refute, reprove, admonish, comfort others
e) to act as a prophet, discharge the prophetic office

Let’s review once more what Joel and what Peter said would happen in the last days.

Acts 2:16-18 “But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:18And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:”

Peter said THIS IS that which was spoken by the prophet Joel, it’s happening now!  Everyone had never seen this happen before so they were a little out of sorts about it all and accused those of being drunken!  Peter quickly set them straight, NO!  We are not drunk, we are filled with the Holy Ghost and now is the time spoken of by the Prophet Joel!  The Holy Spirit has come to dwell in the hearts of His sons and daughters who are washed in the blood of the Lamb that was slain for our sins!  Praise the Lord!

Young lady of God, woman of God, the Spirit of God may have poured out His anointing all over you, but you are afraid.  You do not have to fear, if God has a job for you then you need to step out on faith and do that job and He will be with you.  If He has called you to open your mouth and tell the good news of the gospel, to others, then never use the excuse that you cannot because you are a woman, that is inexcusable.  Remember when Jesus first arose from the grave?  Who was the first person He came to?  What did He say to that person?  Let’s look shall we? 

In Matthew 28, the angel of the Lord told the good news to the women and then said, Go tell the disciples that He has risen.  The angel did not wait around until a man came along, no he told the women, go tell.  Likewise Jesus in Mark 16:9 it says this:

Mark 16:9 “Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven devils.”

It goes on to say that she went and told them this but they did not believe her!  That makes me smile because in those days especially, women were not considered equal with men at all, and if you look at the life of Jesus and the way He responded and treated women, He was trying to teach the others and I do believe that He appeared to Mary first, 1. because of her great love for Him and 2. because Jesus was making a point that He would use women to tell the good news as well as men.  I love what Jesus said to her.

John 20:17 “Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” 

That word touch in the Greek Transliteration is haptomai and it means to fasten one’s self to, adhere to, cling to.  I think when she saw it was Jesus she grabbed on to Him for dear life and was not going let go!  I can almost see Him smiling as He told her, Mary let me go I have things I must do and you must go and tell the good news that I have risen!

 

Now Paul teaches about women prophesying as well, and he says this:

1 Corinthians 11:5 “5But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.”

A daughter that prophesies, her role is not the head, but of messenger.  The Bible sees the prophetess in a supportive and complementary role that does not in any way go against male leadership or headship.  This is what Paul is teaching in 1 Corinthians 11:5.  He is saying yes a woman can prophesy and pray in the church and otherwise because the gifts of the Spirit are given to all, regardless of being male or female, however a woman must give reverence first to God, to her husband, and to the leaders of the church.  That is what he meant when he talks about her head being uncovered.  The head covering in Paul’s day and in that culture, was seen as a sign of woman being under the head or authority of her husband and leaders of the church, so to remove it in those days, was a sign of denial of her husband’s leadership and authority which a woman is called to respect not only in the home but everywhere. 

What if the woman isn’t married?  Then she must still have respect and reverence to the elders and leaders of the church.  We will stop here but next week by God’s grace we will study the lives of some women that God used greatly for His glory in the Bible. 

Daughter of God, know that since you have been born again, God’s Holy Spirit lives within you.  He has a plan and job for you to do.  No matter what anyone else tells you, no matter who does or does not agree with you, if God has placed something for you to do upon your heart it is always best to obey Him and leave the consequences up to Him.  Stay on your knees in prayer and stay in God’s word and He will NEVER lead you wrong.

Dear Precious, Father,

I bow before You today in all reverence and respect of Who You Are.  You are magnificent and Holy.  You are Righteous and Perfect.  You are Beautiful and All Powerful and I love You.  Father I thank You and praise You for loving me and that Your mercies are new every morning.  Father I thank You that You us all the same, male and female alike.  You do not discriminate against race, gender, status, or age.  You are so good.  Father today I pray that You open the hearts and the minds of Your children so that we follow after the example that You are.  Help your sons and daughters to fall into the roles that You have placed for us, understanding that You know what is best and that we can support one another with respect and by doing so, bear much fruit for Your glory. I thank You for all You have done in my life and for all You continue to do!  Thank You for loving me.  I ask that You bless this ministry for Your glory and that many would come to know You and Your Son.  In the mighty name of Lovely Jesus I pray…Amen.

~*Cindygirl*~
May 29, 2010