Woman Thou Art Loosed! 20th Anniversary Expanded Edition (23 page)

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Authors: T. D. Jakes

BOOK: Woman Thou Art Loosed! 20th Anniversary Expanded Edition

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S
ome things you can learn about God only in the winter.

S
TUDY
Q
UESTIONS

~ 1 ~

Describe the beauty you see in each season, as it relates to the life span of a woman: Spring

________________________________________________

Summer

________________________________________________

Autumn

________________________________________________

Winter

________________________________________________

~ 2 ~

It is important that we teach women to prepare for _______

________________________________________________

~ 3 ~

Why should we spend more time encouraging older women?

________________________________________________

~ 4 ~

Just because demands have _________________________ doesn’t mean life is _________________________.

~ 5 ~

God tends to save the ____________ for ______________.

~ 6 ~

How did God restore purpose to Naomi’s life?

________________________________________________

What do you think would have happened if Naomi had persisted in being depressed and bitter?

________________________________________________

~ 7 ~

What other relationships are there besides family ones?

________________________________________________

~ 8 ~

Describe the bonds between: Naomi and Ruth.

________________________________________________

Elisabeth and Mary.

________________________________________________

~ 9 ~

There are two things every winter woman, every Naomi, can rely upon:

God is a _____________________. What does this mean?

________________________________________________

God will be known as the __________________________. What does this mean?

________________________________________________

~ 10 ~

Angels are the ____________________ of Heaven.

~ 11 ~

What is the purpose of angels? Explain using Scripture.

________________________________________________

~ 12 ~

In a few sentences, describe the process Sarah went through from hearing God’s promise to receiving the promise.

________________________________________________

~ 13 ~

What did Sarah learn that all of us must learn too?

________________________________________________

~ 14 ~

Sarah can be seen as an example to women in every season of life. How is Sarah an example to you in your season?

________________________________________________

F
URTHER
C
HALLENGE
:

Look back to the friendship between Naomi and Ruth.

If you are a winter woman, what are some things you can do to help younger women? What do you know from your life’s experience that you can pass to others? Ask God to reveal to you His purpose for you as a winter woman.

________________________________________________

http://wtal.destinyimage.com/ch15

Chapter 15
B
REAKING THE
C
HAIN

There is awesome power in women. God has chosen that women serve as the vehicles through which entry is made into this world. He has shared His creativity with women. Women are strong and willing to nurture others.

In spite of this, millions of women continually suffer emotional, physical and spiritual strain. The enemy has attempted to destroy God’s vehicle of creativity.

You may be one of those who suffer. Perhaps you sit and wonder whether life will ever be normal for you. Maybe you feel like your circumstance has made you different from other women. You feel like you are alone, with no one to help you find healing.

It could be that your emotional strain comes from having been abused. Others have taken advantage of you and used you in the most horrible and depraved ways. You are left feeling used and dirty. How could anyone want someone who has been abused? Nevertheless, you are wanted. God wants you, and God’s people want you.

Mistakes made early in life impact the rest of our lives. Some become involved sexually without the commitment of marriage. Maybe you believed him when he told you that he loved you. Perhaps you really did think that yielding would show your true love. Or, maybe, you simply wanted to have a good time without thinking about the consequences. You too feel less than normal.

God has determined your need. He looked down from Heaven and saw your pain and guilt. He evaluated the situation and decided that you needed a Redeemer. You need Someone to reach down and lift you. He saw that you needed to recognize how important you are. It is impossible to know all that was in the mind of God when He looked down on broken humanity, but we know He looked past our broken hearts, wounded histories and our tendency to sin, and saw our need.

He met that need through Jesus Christ. Jesus took your abuse on Himself on the Cross of Calvary. He paid for your shame. He made a way for you to be clean again. He took your indiscretions and sins upon Himself and died in your place. He saw your desire to please others and feel good. Thus, He took all your sinful desires and crucified them on the Cross.

When you accept Him, you become clean and holy. You are made pure. Don’t think you were alone, though; everyone struggles with the same kinds of sins as you, whether they show it on the outside or not.

The abused little girl with all her wounds was healed by the stripes of Jesus (Is. 53:5). The sins of the woman who wanted to fulfill her lusts was crucified on the Cross with Him (Gal. 2:20). The past is paid for. The wounds may leave scars, but the scars are only there to remind us that we are human. Everyone has scars.

T
he scars are only there to remind us that we are human.

God recognizes the possibility of what you can become. He has a plan. He sees your potential. He also knows that your potential has been bound by your history. Your suffering made you into a different woman from the one He originally intended you to be. The circumstances of life shaped your way of thinking. The responses you made to those circumstances often kept you from living up to your potential.

God knows that there is a Sarah, a Rahab, a woman at the well, a Ruth or even a Mary in you. Hidden inside of you is a great woman who can do great exploits in His name. He wants that woman to be set free. He wants the potential within you to be unleashed so you can become the person you were created to be.

There is only one way to reach that potential. He is calling you. He will spiritually stir your heart and let you know that He is moving in your life, if you will only respond to His call.

The power to unleash you is in your faith. Dare to believe that He will do what He said He would do. Shift your confidence from your own weaknesses to His power. Trust in Him rather than in yourself. Anyone who comes to Christ will find deliverance and healing. He will soothe your wounds. He will comfort you in your desperate moments. He will raise you up.

S
hift your confidence from your own weaknesses to His power.

Believe that He paid the price for your sin and guilt. Believe that He has washed you and made you clean. Believe that He will satisfy every need created by your history. Have faith that He will reward you when you call on Him, and it shall be done.

You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain. Jesus will straighten the crooked places in your heart and make you completely whole. When you allow Him access to every area of your life, you will never be the same broken person again.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ
[s]
he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

S
TUDY
Q
UESTIONS

~ 1 ~

Why has the enemy concentrated on destroying women?

________________________________________________

What does this response say to your heart?

________________________________________________

~ 2 ~

What has God done to meet your need?

________________________________________________

~ 3 ~

Is there anything too great for the grace of God to forgive?

________________________________________________

~ 4 ~

What happens when we accept Jesus as our Savior?

________________________________________________

~ 5 ~

If the past is paid for, why then do we have scars?

________________________________________________

~ 6 ~

God recognizes the _____________________ of what you can ________________. He has a ________________. He sees your _____________________.

~ 7 ~

What does God want to set free?

________________________________________________

~ 8 ~

What can you do to respond to His call and be freed?

________________________________________________

Truly, you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.

Woman, be thou loosed!

A
NSWER
K
EY

	CHAPTER 1
1.	(1) the person
	(2) the problem
	(3) the prescription
	For every person there will be a problem; and for every problem, God has a prescription.
2.	A present word from God. God’s Word, Jesus, is timeless; according to Hebrews 13:8, He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
3.	Reader’s discussion
4.	True
5.	As a narcotic to numb the pain
	It does not allow God to heal a person; it can become addictive.
6.	False
7.	A spirit of infirmity
8.	forgiveness
9.	Personal response
10.	By renewing her mind through the Word of God
11.	Reader’s discussion
12.	Reader’s discussion
13.	receiver
	Women must be careful what they receive; they must not allow the enemy to “plug into” their lives. They must receive only what agrees with the Word of God.
14.	Forgetting is more than not remembering; it is letting go of the memory.
	CHAPTER 2
1.	For their abilities and potential for the future; for going where their parents point them
2.	Personal response
3.	the mother of miracles
	Compassion allows healing power to flow; many times in Jesus’ ministry His compassion preceded the healing (Mt. 9:36; 14:14; 18:27; Mk.1:41; 6:34).
4.	No. It affects the inside of a person, not the outside.
5.	Personal response
6.	He stopped teaching, held them, touched them and blessed them.
	Personal response
7.	God giving us a chance to start over again.
8.	Personal response
9.	Personal response
10.	Personal response
11.	To be uncovered is to be unprotected.
	With the blood of Jesus Christ.
12.	intensive care
13.	Personal response
	CHAPTER 3
1.	Personal response
2.	The flesh
3.	By receiving it by faith, and by allowing the blood of Jesus to sanctify your innermost being.
4.	The Church is like a hospital that cares for people while they are in the process of becoming whole again.
5.	Matthew was a tax collector who most likely gained his wealth by charging exorbitant taxes. Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. (Reader may have other examples.)
	Personal response
6.	demarcation; past; present
7.	He understood the need to meet people where they were and to minister to their need.
8.	from events that we have no control over.
9.	living lives that bring bondage and pain.
10.	forgive
	heal
	restore
11.	The potential of their future
	CHAPTER 4
1.	David’s weakness was a passion for women; his son Amnon also exhibited this passion. Personal response.
2.	Love is a giving force; lust is a selfish compulsion focused on gratifying self.
3.	Complete healing—in spirit, emotions (mind) and body.
4.	Their maternal instinct; also, a need for love By exercising discernment
5.	True
6.	Through a relationship with God as Father; also through platonic relationships with men
7.	nurture; protect
8.	Personal response
9.	The ability to open your past to someone responsible enough to share your weaknesses and pains.
	Believers can listen to and help one another in their weaknesses, according to Galatians 6:2.
10.	Personal response
	CHAPTER 5
1.	Personal response
2.	He did not want her.
3.	“I want you.”
4.	He called her forward, waited for her to reach Him, then proclaimed her freedom.
5.	Personal response
6.	power; anointing
7.	Joy
8.	Physical (platonic) touch; the Word of God; spiritual food; an atmosphere of sharing and acceptance
9.	(1) historical faith
	(2) futuristic faith
	(3) present faith
	Personal response.
	Present faith. It is current.
	CHAPTER 6
1.	receptacles; receivers
2.	She is the receptacle he plugs into so he can meet and accomplish his task.
3.	It is open to be plugged into.
	The commitment of the marriage covenant.
4.	False
5.	He took advantage of her desire to see, taste and be wise; he caught her attention; he deceived her.
	enmity or conflict
6.	They must do spiritual warfare.
7.	Something may be plugging into you if you are feeling vulnerable to moods, attitudes and dispositions; if you are doing things and not knowing why (for example, “I just feel like doing this”).
8.	Suffering and sorrow are the way through which a spiritual baby is born.
9.	character; spirit
10.	drop; hold
11.	A baby will not come unless there is pushing; it is necessary to push in order to produce.
12.	It gives the incentive to be productive again after the pain.
13.	It gives a sense of worth and purpose.
	CHAPTER 7
1.	It is when the desire to go forward is greater than the memories of pain that a person has the power to create again.
2.	overcome past pain and move forward into new life.
3.	the desire to go ahead
	Reader’s discussion
4.	A goal Personal response
5.	Truth
	The Word of God; Deuteronomy 28:13; Psalm 8:3-4; 139:14; Philippians 4:13; etc.
6.	It is the means, the tender, by which you receive the things you hope for.
7.	Abel worshiped God by faith; Enoch walked with God by faith; Noah worked with God by faith. Worshiping comes before walking, and walking before working.
8.	No. She herself can have faith; each person needs his or her own walk with God.
9.	Reader’s discussion
10.	submits; glory
	His anointing
	CHAPTER 8
1.	A single woman can serve God with more freedom; she can pray, praise and worship God whenever and however she wants; she can build herself up in the Lord without other distractions.
2.	The Lord and her relationship with Him.
3.	Personal response
4.	singleness; husband
5.	As belonging to Him
6.	No. It is a God-ordained need.
7.	abiding; wrestling
8.	Reader’s discussion
9.	The relationship between Jesus and the Church. Jesus is the greatest advocate and intercessor for believers.
	CHAPTER 9
1.	Her likeness to him.
2.	A commitment requires an attraction that is deeper than outward appearance.
3.	cleave
	“to impinge, cling or adhere to; figuratively, to catch by pursuit or follow close after”
	The secret to cleaving is leaving. Reader’s discussion.
4.	It is through faith that a marriage relationship can be changed.
5.	It can lead to depression and will not guarantee an end to being hurt.
6.	To show by lifestyle, according to First Peter 3:1-2, the purity and reverence in your life.
7.	Men tend to be physical and women tend to be vocal.
8.	(1) Adam heard God’s voice.
	(2) Adam was afraid.
	(3) Adam was naked.
	(4) Adam hid himself.
9.	The ability to be transparent; to expose vulnerabilities without fear or condemnation.
10.	She gave him rest and cared for him. How to treat men like little boys, to give rest, to give safety, to praise, etc.
11.	When you marry a person, you marry all of his past, his weaknesses, strengths, fears, etc. The things that need healing, you can minister to.
12.	Personal response
13.	Personal response
	CHAPTER 10
1.	spiritual; all of life’s
2.	Finances, emotions, self-esteem, etc.
3.	We are to want Him enough to overcome obstacles and to push in His direction.
	It shows how much they want help.
4.	Jesus
5.	invincible
6.	Our own words
7.	religion
8.	Jesus Christ
9.	condition; position
	Personal response
10.	No. There is no discrimination in faith.
11.	fact; action
	Personal response.
12.	moves
13.	remind him whose daughter you are
14.	You must ask for it; you must speak correctly.
15.	True
16.	true equal opportunity
	CHAPTER 11
1.	perspective
	A good attitude can bring success; a poor attitude can bring destruction.
	the way people look at life, which is often determined by their history
2.	look past; change
3.	False
4.	A problem can become a reason not to do other things, a reason for not changing. Personal response.
5.	straighten out your attitude
6.	to have their attitude delivered
7.	wholeness
8.	By praising God, and not stopping
	Quit defending yourself and attacking others.
9.	eternal; time
	When you love your partner, your love covers everything—including his history and how it makes him react to certain things.
10.	By sharing burdens, trusting one another, pointing to God, providing a haven of praise.
	CHAPTER 12
1.	thank; appreciating
2.	spirit; body
3.	To know who she is on the inside; to know her own self-worth
4.	inwardly
5.	Her own husband
6.	Lifestyle
	Unbelieving husbands watch their wives for their attitudes, dispositions and words.
7.	Rest
8.	A meek and quiet spirit
9.	False
10.	When they are not afraid, remain calm, keep control, rebuke fear, trust in God, judge God faithful, smile through tears, etc.
11.	on the inside
	CHAPTER 13
1.	rest; restoration
2.	replenish or receive back those things that were expended or put out
3.	It is through rest that your life can begin to be restored.

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