Hidden Person of the Heart - 1 Peter 3:3-4

"You know, I have been married for over three decades to my little wife, Debbie Jo and I'll tell you, she's more beautiful today to me than she's ever been before in our lives. She was like the top 10 beauties that SMU were I played ball and she cheered for my football team. But she's more beautiful today than ever because something is happening inside that woman's heart. And I know what it is. She loves the Word of God and He's making her more and more like Christ every day." 

Family Discussion:

1. How much time have you spent trying to get beautiful on the outside?
2. How much time have you spent becoming beautiful on the inside?
3. What can you do beginning today and the rest of your life to become beautiful from inside here?

Transcription:

 

 00:13          When You look at magazines on the magazine rack or in your mailbox and you see a GQ magazine. You see People Magazine. You see a 17 magazine, Glamour Girl or whatever they are. Cosmopolitan. Do you ever wonder what it would take to make you really beautiful? What it would take to make you really handsome? Well, believe it or not, scripture has got a whole another idea about that and this should put your mind at ease. First Peter Chapter three, verses three and four, it says this, "you're adornment was not merely be external, braiding of the hair, wearing gold jewelry, putting on dresses, but let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God." You know, I have been married for over three decades to my little wife, Debbie Jo and I'll tell you, she's more beautiful today to me than she's ever been before in our lives.

 

01:14          She was like the top 10 beauties that SMU were I played ball and she cheered for my football team. But she's more beautiful today than ever because something is happening inside that woman's heart. And I know what it is. She loves the Word of God and He's making her more and more like Christ every day. You know, I get to do weddings and they're the most awesome, you know, you get a 50 yard line seat to the greatest ceremony on earth and I get to see these grooms and brides and I've done them in, you know, gigantic churches. I've done them out in the country. I've done them where they've spent like a hundred thousand dollars and I've done them. In fact, the prettiest wedding I've ever done in my life, the bride had 100 bucks. It's all she had. Girl didn't have much money. Her boyfriend had waited for her for three years as she sit by our grandmama's side until her grand mom had died.

 

02:06          And then she turned to this patient guide, said, now I'm ready to marry you. I'll never forget her walking in to that wedding. She'd spend $100 on a dress that she bought from a garage sale. $100 for the dress. And then she had taken all summer and sown costume pearls and plastic beads all over that wedding dress. She walked in, there were maple trees in this outdoor setting that we chose for the wedding cause she had no money to rent anything. No photographers, no candles, no nothing. Her in the dress and the leaves were maple leaves. They were star-shaped and it was autumn and the leaves were golden and red and orange. And as she walked into that wedding, the wind was blowing the star shape maple leaves, and they were falling all around her. I'm telling you, y'all, it was just this awesome.

 

02:54          And she was walking in on a bed of these little star shape leaves and she walked up to that little place in the country where out at our Kamp on the mountain side, overlooking Table Rock Lake, where the wedding took place. Here's the most beautiful thing you've ever seen. And she was so gorgeous because her purity came from inside of her heart. I mean, this girl just love God with all of her heart. She was just drop dead stunning gorgeous. It didn't have anything to do with any magazine in the world. It had everything to do with the word of God that had captured her heart. And we were all so taken by her beauty and the beauty of that wedding I even forgot to pronounce them man and wife. I did. I was so stunned. We get to the end and I'm sending him off. And I ain't even said the groom can kiss the bride. And then it dawned on me in the closing prayer that I'd forgotten to marry them.

 

03:44          They were going to go on their honeymoon without being married. But anyway, I caught myself and I said, now the groom can kiss the bride. And we all laughed in a way. They went for a honeymoon. Beauty comes from the heart. Men being handsome comes from the heart. A handsome dad. A handsome high school student. A handsome athlete is right Outta here where Christ leads, because he was the most intimately attractive person that ever lived on the face of the earth. Not as external beauty. But his heart. And the same can be true for you. So here's the question. How much time have you spent trying to get beautiful on the outside, and how much time have you spent becoming beautiful on the inside? And what can you do beginning today and the rest of your life to become beautiful from inside here? So when your spouse has been married to you for 40 years, almost he or she will say that you that's the most beautiful person I've ever met in my life.