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March 28, 2004 |
"God's HDL Design:" |
Pastor Brian Shimer
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"Getting Dressed to Live, day by day"
Colossians 3:12
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Didn't Mary of Magdala have a change of clothes in her life.
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First she was delivered from seven demons, and then freed into ministry alongside of Jesus. Freed from being the object of male lust into the fullness of royal service in the Kingdom of God, Mary wore the Gospel clothes.
She knew what it was to be clothed with compassion and kindness, having experienced the compassion Jesus demonstrated toward her in kindness as he delivered her and ministered to her.
She knew what it was to walk in humility and meekness day by day, for her pride had been humbled. She walked humbled beneath God's hand and in her meekness had eyes only for her Master. He truly loved her and needed only to glance in the direction she was to walk, and she would turn there with Him.
Ah, Mary knew also what it was to live under the weight of mistreatment.
So, How does the idea of us "putting on clothes" fit with the Gospel Paul has presented in this book? Mary could tell you how it fit. For this Gospel was kingdom warfare, an act of rescue. Mary could not have freed herself, it took God to take her from the kingdom of darkness and bring her into the kingdom of His son. This indeed is the Gospel: God has done something no man could do -- the cross was God's means. God was in Christ reconciling all things in heaven and on earth to Himself.
And Mary discovered Jesus is enough for this reconciliation. She needed no other philosophy or rule or practice, for in Christ all her sins were nailed to His cross and she was freed from death for life. As Josh Groban sang, God raised her up.
| | II. |
Once God has done this, then it is time to change clothes.
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We cannot afford to wear our old clothing of habits and patterns of life on the new life God has given us. We have been made new people. Mary was set free and as a free woman could she have continued in prostitution?nbsp; May it never be!
Yet that is the very thing being said in the church today and not just in the UMC. People say, oh you can believe in Jesus and just go on in every manner of sin. What is there then to show for salvation?
Jesus does not just change our future. He changes our present.
In Scandinavia countries where same-sex marriage has been allowed for years, the institution of marriage has become obsolete. People live together and have children with no regard for a covenant. And the very evil is that it seems natural and normal. Lost is any standard which says: here is what is right and wrong.
Can I say I am a Christian and still be enjoying adultery? nbsp;Or drugs? nbsp; Or pornography?nbsp; Or gambling?nbsp; Or any of the old clothing listed in the beginning of chapter 3?nbsp; These are the old clothes, belonging to the old nature. In the church today it is the clothing of the old nature that is being uplifted as a civil rights issue.
The Bible says: take the old clothes off. Can you imagine what life would be like if you never removed your dirty clothes but just added clothing over the top day by day? What would you look like by now? nbsp; I think some Christians look like this. Instead of taking off the sin, they adorn themselves with it, and then try to act like they are wearing the new clothing as well. It is ill fitting!
So, what are those HDL Clothes?nbsp; These are the clothes God has made for those who are His chosen people, who are HOLY and DEARLY LOVED.
Over the past weeks we have seen that WE Put on these clothes. The first two listed affect how we _TREAT others -- We are called to wear: compassion and kindness.
The next two related to the state of MIND we are to possess - ONE OF HUMILTY AND MEEKNESS
And the last three are how we act when we are mistreated. Has anyone ever been mistreated?nbsp; In our society you cannot be in any group where at least one in four has not experienced some level of abuse. But that is not the only kind of mistreatment. There are disagreements that hurt. There are words spoken that barb. There are old wounds that still fester in adult hearts.
So, how do we respond when mistreated.
First, by clothing ourselves with Patience… If you broke the word into its two parts would mean: "Long temper," which is where we get Longsuffering as an English equivalent. Well, what does that mean? nbsp; Does it mean if we are in a hard situation we are to suffer with it?nbsp; We need to be careful her , for I do not think God is saying: "stay in that abuse longer." But, rather, take the eternal perspective. Be slow to avenge your own wrongs. As Romans puts it, "leave room for God's wrath, God will avenge."
I am one who has come from abuse in my past. I know what it is to be sexually abused. I know the hurts and tears and terror such abuse causes in the heart of a child, however, I also know the power of the healing grace of Jesus Christ. Were I to bear in my own hand the desire to avenge a wrong done, it would be wrong, it would have warped the character God was worked in my heart.
What God allows, God can and will redeem.
So, take a long view. That piece of your life, whether one year or 20 years, is still a season, a part, not the whole. Your life is not just this 80 years on earth (if we get that many) it is eternal. IF you have said yes to Jesus, it is eternally with the Lord. What is 80 years in the light of eternity?nbsp; A blink perhaps.
Yet, in that blink God can train us in His school of brokenness.
In that blink, God can refine our gifts and test our hearts.
In that brief moment, God can prepare us to live in eternity.
So, be patient. Don't let the moments of today be written into the eternity of tomorrow. Wait on God, trust God to take the hurts, horrors, broken times, and make something glorious. For only Jesus can cause all our wounds to cry alleluia.
God says clothe yourself with patience, take the long view. Nothing is finished in this moment. We need patience in the church situation now facing us. Nothing is done in the moment not even this situation in the NW. So, be patient. Leave room for God to work. This situation has not caught God unawares.
Secondly, the Bible says, wear the garment of forbearance, or bear with one another. Now the "one another's" always refer to your relationship with others in the Body of Christ. So, bear with each other in the local church and with those in the church who are not in this congregation. .
One of the questions I ask as I lead people through the new members' class is "Is there ever conflict in the church?"nbsp; "How do you handle conflict?"
Anyone who has been in any church knows that conflicts happen and difficulties in relationships occur. As those who have been here through my 10 year pastorate know, we have walked through many conflicts because of my own errors in judgment and leadership.
Do you adore everyone's ideosyncrancies?nbsp; Do you always like everyone around you in the life of the church? Don't some people just rub you the wrong way at times? Maybe just on their sandpaper days, but we all have things that make it hard for others to get along with us. No one is without stuff that hurts another.
So, what does God say to do when someone rubs us the wrong way? Bear it. Let the weight of their issue be on you and just bear with it rather than think you need to change them.
Now sometimes we need to speak to people about places they have injured us. That is just basic communication in relationships, but moreso we need to learn to release others from our harsh judgments in order that God can deal with them.
And so for patience and forbearance really to be worn we must be clothed with the third in Paul's list, forgiveness. He writes, "And forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."
Forgiveness keeps our hearts able to live in relationship. IF we hold onto judgments; If you can list what someone else has done wrong again and again; if you are still rehearsing the old hurts, you have not forgiven. Listen, a Christian wears forgiveness.
There are many words for forgiveness in the Bible and this one means to "give grace" to another. It is a term that is translated to "restore," to "release."
When we forgive someone, we are releasing them from our judgment. We are asking that God restore that which is broken in them and make them whole. We are giving grace, they cannot deserve, but that's the idea. We forgive because we are ones who have been forgiven, of impossible debt, of innumerable sins.
I think of how I drove myself to the hospital the day of my surgery. As I have looked back, I have the excuse of being somewhat delirious. But moreso, my problem was not my delirium, but pride. I thought I was protecting my family from worry and bother and trouble, but really I was setting them up for those very feelings and worse. It was pride, my desire to be the hero, be the martyr, be the sacrificial one.
God has forgiven me for that and so has my family. When I remember all the stupid things I have done like that, when I remember how I have pursued and sought after sin, been in bondage to sin in my life, been blinded and in the fog of resentment, confusion, doubt and fear, then, I can know some of what God has forgiven. If God can forgive me all my faults, I can also extend the grace to others, even those in the church with whom I may disagree.
What if we all wore these clothes in the current conflict in the national church, and in the daily difficulties we face with others? What if we took a long view on problems, bore with others and forgave others? Do you think this would impact our relationships?
Think of the churches that could have been spared divisions and contentions!
Think of the families that could have been saved, if more Christians had so adorned themselves!
So, how do we get dressed? You tell me? (Get to know Jesus daily through the word and prayer!)
Some outlining help from this website:
http://biblestudy.churches.net/CCEL/CONTRIB/EXEC_OUT/COL/COL_10.HTM
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