Illus: For example, Princess Diana, Jacqueline Kennedy and Nancy Reagan were known for the beautiful clothes they wore.
When Barbara Bush came along, she was a wonderful First Lady, but she was different. In fact, she was so different that many times it looked like she bought her complete wardrobe at Kmart during a blue light special.
Someone asked her what she did with her old clothes and she said, “I wear them!”
Illus: When it comes to fashions, have you ever watched some of these fashion shows on television? These young pretty girls that look like they have not been fed in the last six months, come out wearing things that look like curtains they snatched off the wall. And everyone of them walk like their hip joint is fixing to go any moment!
There are some folks that are considered attractive because they know how to dress, and there are some folks who are attractive, but they do not look attractive because they do not know how to dress.
The way we dress tells a great deal about us.
(1) MANY TIMES OUR CLOTHING IDENTIFIES OUR PROFESSION
Consider the clothing of a baseball player, a football player, a mailman, a delivery man, a nurse, etc. Their uniforms identify their occupation.
Illus: This reminds me of a police officer that, though scheduled for all-night duty at the station, was relieved of duty early and arrived home four hours ahead of schedule, at 2 in the morning. Not wanting to wake his wife, he took his police uniform off in the dark, crept into the bedroom and started to climb into bed. Just then, his wife sleepily sat up and said, "Mike, dearest, would you go down to the all-night drug store on the next block and get me some aspirin? I've got a splitting headache, And please do not turn on the light, it would just cause my head to hurt even more."
"Certainly, honey," he said, and feeling his way across the dark room, he got dressed and drove to the drug store.
As he arrived, the pharmacist looked up in surprise, "Say," said the druggist, "I know you - aren't you a policeman? Officer Fenwick, right?"
"Yeah, so?" said the officer.
"Why are you wearing a UPS uniform?”
Many times our clothing identifies our profession.
(2) MANY TIMES OUR CLOTHING IDENTIFIES OUR SEXUAL BEHAVIOR
We all have seen women on the streets (Prostitutes) and we could tell by the way they dressed, they were practicing their trade.
The way folks dress often identifies their sexual behavior. Many of us have seen people on television who were cross-dressers.
• There are some men that make better looking women than real women.
• There are some women that make better looking men than real men.
Paul picks up on this idea of clothing, and tells us that as Christians, we need to be careful what we PUT ON because some things are not becoming to us.
• Many folks do not wear what looks good on them, they dress according to what others wear.
• This is also true among many professing Christians, WHATEVER THE WORLD WEARS, THEY WEAR!
Paul mentions there are some things Christians should never PUT ON. What are these items of clothing? As Christians it is unbecoming to us to be caught wearing:
I. THE GARMENT OF LYING
Look at verse 25, we read, “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.”
Before we were saved we told lies. Listen, there are people who tell lies and they do not even realize they are telling them.
Illus: There is a list of some of the lies that people tell each day, I happened to have the list, they are:
• I gave at the office
• The check is in the mail
• Go ahead, tell me how you feel about me. I promise I won't get mad.
• Having a great time. Wish you were here.
• I can't remember.
• I did it.
• I didn't do it.
• I don’t know who did it
• If it will make you happy, it will make me happy.
• I'll call you later.
• I'll do it in a minute.
• I'm from the government. I'm here to help you.
• I never watch television except for PBS.
• It's delicious, but I can't eat another bite.
• It's not the money; it's the principle of the thing.
• I've never done anything like this before.
• Looks don't matter; it's personality that counts!
• The baby is just beautiful.
• The delivery is on the truck.
• The puppy won't be any trouble, Dad. I promise I'll take care of it myself.
• Then take a left. You can't miss it.
• This car is like brand-new. It was owned by a retired school teacher who never went anywhere.
• This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.
• You look like you've lost weight.
• You made it yourself? I never would have guessed.
These are just some of the little lies that people tell every day, not even realizing they are telling lies. But some folks are known for telling big lies.
Illus: A clergyman was walking down the street when he came upon a group of about a dozen boys, all of them between 10 and 12 years of age.
The group surrounded a dog. Concerned lest the boys were hurting the dog, he went over and asked "What are you doing with that dog?"
One of the boys replied, "This dog is just an old neighborhood stray. We all want him, but only one of us can take him home. So we've decided that whichever one of us can tell the biggest lie will get to keep the dog."
Of course, the reverend was taken aback. "You boys shouldn't be having a contest telling lies!" he exclaimed. He then launched into a ten minute sermon against lying, beginning, "Don't you boys know it's a sin to lie," and ending with, "Why, when I was your age, I never told a lie."
There was dead silence for about a minute. Just as the reverend was beginning to think he'd gotten through to them, the smallest boy gave a deep sigh and said, "All right, give him the dog."
Lies are something that are identified with SINNERS, and Paul lets these Ephesian Christians know that lying is not becoming to Christians.
Lying for Christians is like a person putting on something where the colors clash. Paul said that we are to “put off” lying once we come to know the Lord Jesus.
As Christians it is unbecoming to us to be caught wearing the GARMENT OF LYING and -
II. THE GARMENT OF ANGER
Look at verses 26-27, we read, “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.”
Notice, the Word of God says, “Be ye angry”. Listen, it is not a sin to get angry. There are some things that should anger us.
I have a problem with people who profess to be saved and no matter how much evil someone will do, they laughingly dismiss it by saying “Oh, their medication needs adjusting!”
Listen, there are things that people do that should get the people of God ANGRY, and they should not justify these evil deeds and dismiss them when they hurt the work of God.
Illus: A young girl who was writing a paper for school came to her father and asked, "Dad, what is the difference between anger and exasperation?"
The father replied, "It is mostly a matter of degree. Let me show you what I mean." With that the father went to the telephone and dialed a number at random.
To the man who answered the phone, he said, "Hello, is Melvin there?" The man answered, "There is no one living here named Melvin. Why don't you learn to look up numbers before you dial".
"See," said the father to his daughter. "That man was not a bit happy with our call. He was probably very busy with something and we annoyed him.”
The father dialed the same number again. "Hello, is Melvin there?" asked the father.
"Now look here!" came the heated reply. "You just called this number and I told you that there is no Melvin here! You've got a lot of guts calling again!" The receiver slammed down hard.
The father turned to his daughter and said, "You see, that was anger. Now I'll show you what exasperation means."
He dialed the same number, and when a violent voice roared, "Hello!"
The father calmly said, "Hello, this is Melvin. Have there been any calls for me?"
There are things in life that cause Believers to get angry. That’s OK, because the Bible says, “Be ye angry!”
But notice, it says, “Be ye angry and sin not…”. There are things in our life that cause us to get angry, but they should not drive us to sin. For example, you might be angry about an abortion clinic, and that is alright! But you should not get so angry that you go down there and blow it up!
As Christians it is unbecoming to us to be caught wearing THE GARMENT OF LYING, THE GARMENT OF ANGER and -
III. THE GARMENT OF STEALING
Look at verse 28, we read, “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.”
There are Christian people who will read this and think this does not apply to them. They will tell you they have never broken into a home and stolen from anyone.
But they steal every day! The problem is that their minds are so messed up, they steal and do not even know they are stealing. They have a way of justifying their stealing.
Illus: They remind me of a shoplifter who was caught red-handed, trying to steal a watch from an exclusive jewelry store.
• “Listen,” said the shoplifter, “I know you don't want any trouble either. What do you say I just buy the watch, and we forget about this?”
• The manager agreed and wrote up the sales slip.
• The crook looked at the slip and said, “This is a little more than I intended to spend. Can you show me something less expensive?”
When it comes to honesty, it is amazing the way some folk’s minds work. You can not help but wonder if they have a brain in their head.
Illus: They make me think of the man at Lowe’s in the checkout line waiting to pay. This redneck came running into the store and said to the man, “Hey mister! Someone is stealing your truck."
• The man ran outside, but came back right away as he saw the thief drive away.
• He said to the redneck, "Why didn’t you try and stop him?"
• The redneck said, "He was too fast. But I got his license plate number before he got away!"
But notice here, Paul is talking about the stealing that many Christians are guilty of committing each day.
Illus: When you agree to work for a company for a certain amount, to do a certain job, you are stealing when you only work when the boss man comes around.
If you are late 15 minutes a day you have stolen one hour and fifteen minutes a week.
If you are making $8.00 an hours, in one year you have stolen $52.00 dollars from him.
Illus: If you borrow something that costs $300.00 from someone and do not return it, you might as well reach in their pockets and steal $300.00 dollars from them.
And you will never have:
• A Christian testimony while wearing the garment of stealing.
• The joy of the Lord while wearing the garment of stealing.
As Christians it is unbecoming to us to be caught wearing THE GARMENT OF LYING, THE GARMENT OF ANGER, THE GARMENT OF STEALING and -
IV. THE GARMENT OF WORTHLESS TALK
Look at verse 29, we read, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”
Look at the word “edify,” it means to build up. The opposite of to build up is to tear down.
• There are folks you can talk to and the things that come from their mouths are nice things.
• There are other people you can talk to and they even tear down their so-called best friends. Nothing but “corrupt” communication comes out of their mouth.
Illus: A woman in Columbia, South Carolina, professes to be a Christian, but so much filth and negative things come from her mouth that she has had numerous people tell her “Do not call this house again”. Why? Because she wears the garment of worthless talk, and no one has any confidence in her.
If you want to know what a person is like on the inside, pay attention to what comes out of their mouth. Sometimes these folks who use their mouths as weapons of mass destruction, have to be put in their place.
Illus: Betty, the town gossip and self-appointed supervisor of the town's morals, kept sticking her nose into other people's business.
Several local residents were unappreciative of her activities.
But one day she made a drastic mistake when she began to spread gossip about Ted, whose truck broke down in front of a house of ill-repute.
Ted, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment when he heard of the rumors she was spreading about him. Later that evening, he parked his pickup truck in front of her house and left it there all night for everyone to see.
DID YOU KNOW SHE GOT MAD ABOUT THAT?
As Christians it is unbecoming to us to be caught wearing THE GARMENT OF LYING, THE GARMENT OF ANGER, THE GARMENT OF STEALING, THE GARMENT OF WORTHLESS TALK, and -
V. THE GARMENT OF BEING CONTRARY
Look at verse 30, we read, “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”
I believe that God the Father looks down and sees Believers like Job, and says with pride, “Have you considered my servant Job?” But also the scriptures indicate that He looks down at some, and how they live grieves Him.
Illus: Their life is like a wayward child that only brings grief to their parents.
Finally, as Christians, it is unbecoming to us to be caught wearing -
VI. THE GARMENT OF UNKINDNESS
Look at verse 31, we read, “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice.”
We live in a very evil society, but Christians should not be a part of this evil.
Illus: In the book, The Day America Told the Truth, by James Patterson and Peter Kim, they asked the question, “What are you willing to do for $10,000,000?” Twenty-five percent would abandon their entire family.
Twenty-five percent would abandon their church. Twenty-three percent would become prostitutes for a week or more. Sixteen percent would give up their American citizenship. Sixteen percent would leave their spouses. Ten percent would withhold testimony and let a murderer go free. Seven percent would kill a stranger. Three percent would put their children up for adoption.
While this is something the lost world would do, these are not the things a child of God should do.
Conclusion:
After Paul tells us what Christians should not be caught wearing, he then tell us what we should be wearing.
Look at Ephesians 4:32, “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”
As Christians it is unbecoming to us to be caught wearing:
I. THE GARMENT OF LYING
II. THE GARMENT OF ANGER
III. THE GARMENT OF STEALING
III. THE GARMENT OF WORTHLESS TALK
IV. THE GARMENT OF BEING CONTRARY
V. THE GARMENT OF UNKINDNESS
Note: You can hear Dr Odell Belger preach some of these sermons on Youtube. Type Youtube and the word Lykesland
