INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• How many of you watch the self-improvement shows on TV?
• There is an appeal to those shows for many folks. Some if the appeal is the desire to make some changes in our own lives.
• Some of the appeal is seeing others being able to make the changes needed.
• There is a show called What Not To Wear on TLC. It is interesting because friends and family rat out a loved one as one who has no style and then the show secretly films the offender.
• Then the offender is confronted by the hosts of the show with the change to change what they wear and are given a $5000 pre-paid Visa Card with which to get a new wardrobe.
• I am not fashion expert, but really, you should see some folks sense of style. Almost always it is a lady who needs to make a change. I guess us men have an innate sense of style.
• I bet if I interviewed each of you here today, you would all have something you would like to change about yourself.
• I would like to lose 20-40 pounds myself.
• Let us consider our life with Christ for a moment.
• How many of us are totally happy with where we are in our relationship with Jesus?
• When we give our lives to Christ, we hear about this new life God wants us to have in Christ, but it does not seem to be happening the way we think it should be.
• Do you realize that in order for you to be able to change something about yourself, you have to actually change some things in your life!
• For instance, if I want to lose weight, I have to change my eating habits, my exercise habits, along with my attitudes concerning food.
• Without changing these areas of my life, the weight will not come off. There is really no miracle cure that will cause me to change my weight without my changing some things in my life.
• It seems petty to have a loved one turn you into the What Not To Wear police, but in truth what we wear can have an effect on our life. What we wear can help us or hinder us.
• For one to grow in Christ we need to realize there are some things we ought not to wear in a figurative sense.
• We all need to rid ourselves of some or our entire current wardrobe so that we can really transform into the image of Christ.
• Let’s begin by looking at Colossians 3:5-7
• SLIDE #2
• Colossians 3:5–7 (ESV) 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. We need to closely examine what is in our closet.
• One of the most difficult things for people on the show to do it is to get rid of the old wardrobe.
• Pretty much all the ladies think they rock the house with their snake skin tights and pink boots.
• They need a wakeup call, the wakeup call on the show is the 360 degree mirror, that mirror is the truth teller. It helps make the fashion offender realize they need to look at changing what they wear.
• After the mirror the hosts of the show go through the closet of the fashion offender and throw almost everything in the trash can.
• Well, Paul gives us a list of items we need to take out of our closet and throw in the trash.
• We need to throw out the old clothing that no longer fit.
• We need to realize we are dead to our old life. We have outgrown many of the items in our closet.
• In verse five we are told we are to consider the members of our earthly body as dead to the things listed for us.
• We are to literally “put to death” these things. To consider dead means we are to hold these items in check, to restrain them. Left unrestrained, they will lead us in the wrong direction.
• If you casually look at verse three, we are told we have died with Christ, but here we are told consider our members of our earthly body as dead.
• We have died with Christ, BUT we still live in a fallen world and only we through the power of the Holy Spirit can be the one the keeps oneself in check.
• Remember, someone who is dead is no longer aroused by the world around them.
• This verse reminds us that WE have a part to play in our walk with God.
• We need to toss out the clothing that no longer reflects who we are in Christ.
• In verse five we are given a list of things that we are to consider ourselves dead to.
• Immorality deals predominantly with sexual sin. The word is the same word we get “pornography” from.
• SLIDE #4
• 1 Thessalonians 4:3 (ESV) For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;
• This notorious list includes impurity, passion, evil desire and greed.
• All of these deal with getting what we want.
• This list is actually in reverse order. The root of all these issues is greed.
• Greed is the overmastering desire for what belongs to another; it includes the breaking of the laws of right and justice in order to obtain them for oneself.
• It is the relentless urge to get more.
• This is really the root of the rest.
• We must move in a direction of pleasing God rather than ourselves.
• God is not against sex, but sex outside of marriage is wrong, no exceptions.
• As long as we live in a fallen world, we will struggle with these issues.
• The last part of verse five tells us that these things amount to idolatry.
• When we reject the true God of the Bible, we make up one of our own imagination, we make OUR desires, appetites, and lusts our god by the deification of them.
• Whatever we put ahead of God becomes our God. WE do not have little statues in our homes, but what we have is worse because we give our lives over to them.
• We need to throw out the old clothing that will hamper our growth!
• On the job those snake skin tights may hinder one from moving up in their job. The old ways will hinder our growth, our transformation into the image of Christ.
• As long as we are wearing the old clothing, it is hard for us to put on Christ.
• The old way of life lead to destruction, it separated us from God and it opened us up to being subject to the wrath of God.
• The old way of life had nothing good for us; it used us and tossed us aside.
• The things listed in verse five are to be a part of the OLD life.
• This is a reason for us to put sin to death in our lives.
• We now walk with God and what we wear should reflect that!
• When we sin, it is because we are doing what our flesh wants instead of what God wants.
• When we are immersed into Christ, we are fully saved; our life then is about reflecting that position with Christ.
• Let’s look at verses 8-9
• SLIDE #5
• Colossians 3:8–9 (ESV) 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices
• SLIDE #6
II. We need to develop a new attitude about who we are in Christ.
• When you watch What Not to Wear, a reoccurring theme seems to happen on the show, people dress like they did because of bad self-image or a poor understanding of who they were.
• The 45 year old mother of 3 is not 16 any longer so maybe she should not try to dress like it.
• As we look at verses 8-9 they really deal with issues to have their roots in our attitudes.
• Because we laid aside the old life, we need to have a new attitude.
• We are told that we are in need of putting some old attitudes away.
• To put aside means to take off like taking off clothing.
• We are to disrobe from these sinful attitudes.
• Each of these attitudes if left unchecked will build upon one another.
• Anger is a deep smoldering bitterness. Unchecked it leads to wrath which is a deep determined anger that manifests itself in outbursts of anger.
• Unchecked, this leads to malice which is being bent on causing injury to another either physically or to their reputation.
• All these things can lead to slander and abusive speech.
• We need to rid ourselves of these things.
• There are many Christians who still to this day struggle with these attitudes.
• SLIDE #7
• Ephesians 4:29 (ESV) 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
• It is easy for us to focus on the evils of verse 5 and forget about the evils in verse 8.
• I believe the issues of attitude in verse 8 may be more difficult for us to deal with because we can always rationalize our actions. THEY MADE ME MAD.
• Bad attitudes lead to bad actions.
• Verse 9 encourages us not to lie to one another. When we harbor bad things in the heart, they will come out in our actions.
• If you struggle with anger issues, do not just sweep them under the rug. Do not rationalize your anger.
• If you are dealing with an angry person, do not excuse their behavior by just saying, “well that is just how Kevin is.
• There is no justification for the Christian to live a life in anger.
• God will bless you if you refuse to acknowledge the sin of anger, malice, wrath, and abusive speech?
• Our attitude toward others needs to reflect who we are in Christ!
• We are called and obligated to treat others in a Christ-like manner, even if they do not deserve it!
• We have tossed aside the old self with its evil practices! The new attitude is the one Jesus has toward others!
• Let’s turn to verses 9-11 for some final thoughts to ponder.
• SLIDE #8
• Colossians 3:9–11 (ESV) 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
• SLIDE #9
III. We need to rid our closet of things that do not line up with who we are in Christ.
• If you go from digging ditches to being a salesman, you would be wise to get rid of the work clothing that you used to wear as a ditch digger and replace it with clothing that matches up with your new job.
• I remember when I went from working on the assembly line to being in management; I had to do the same thing.
• Our new purpose in Christ is to be renewed to a true knowledge of Christ!
• We cannot be renewed to a true knowledge of Him if we do not know anything about Him.
• Many of the world’s problems come from a lack of knowledge concerning God. Our ignorance of God and His word hold us back on the transformation process.
• We cannot be transformed into an image we do not know.
• Learning about God is exciting, and it is transforming!
• We need to rid ourselves of the clothing that does not reflect our renewed purpose!
• A true knowledge of Christ can help us to fulfill our purpose of transformation!
• By obtaining knowledge of Christ and His will, our spiritual being is being changed into the likeness of Jesus.
• We learn to feel, act, and think like Christ.
• SLIDE #10
• Romans 12:2 (ESV) Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
• Our ultimate purpose to be transformed into the image of Jesus!
• SLIDE #11
• 2 Corinthians 3:18 (ESV) And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
• That is your calling!
• Anything that we figuratively wear that hinders that needs to be gotten rid of.
• The way some of the people on the show would dress would hinder their advancement chances at their job, if we choose to wear the stuff from our old life as described in our passage today; we will be severely hindered in our transformation.
CONCLUSION
• Tacky is in the eyes of the beholder.
• It amazes me what people will wear and think looks great, it seems as though they are the ONLY ones in the room who cannot see it.
• Are you one of those tacky dressers who wear things such as: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness,
• DO you wear things such as anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth?
• IF you do others can see it and it is time to put on some new clothing, we will look at the new wardrobe next week!
