INTRODUCTION
Last week we took some time out of our day to clean our closets out. As we cleaned out the closet, we examined each thing we found to see if we need to take it with us to our new address in heaven. Out were the disco shirts, the leisure suits, and the powder blue tuxedos and so forth.
Today as we peer into the near empty closet it is time to fill that closet with a wardrobe befitting where we are going and what we are going to do.
As we move to our new address, we will have many new things that go along with that change.
Today was we decide what kind of wardrobe we need to put back into our closets to wear, we will look at some of the new things that come along with our new address.
They are:
1. A New Position.
2. A New Wardrobe.
3. New Responsibilities.
SERMON
I. THE NEW POSITION VERSE 12
When we come to Christ, we receive a new position. 2 Corinthians 5:20 says the following: Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
When we become Christians, we now have the job of representing Christ to the world. Here are some of the implications of our new position.
A. We are chosen of God.
Whenever the United States wants to send an ambassador to another country, they go through a process of selecting a person.
Everyone who comes to Jesus is chosen by God to be His ambassador.
We belong to God’s team and we must carry ourselves in such a manner.
B. We are set apart. (Holy)
Holy means to be set apart. When we become a Christian, we are set apart as a royal priesthood. 1 PETER 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
C. We are special to God (Dearly beloved). This is a term of endearment that God has for His chosen people!
I remember when I used to work at Square D Company. I started out on the assembly line. My goal was to get into upper management. I worked hard to get on that ladder, then one day, I got on the first rung of the ladder. I received a salaried position that got me off the assembly line.
When I got this new position, I could no longer wear my greasy ragged looking wardrobe that I used to wear.
My new position required a new wardrobe.
When we accept our new position in the Kingdom of God, we too need a new wardrobe. Let’s look at what our boss tells us what we need to wear to represent Christ.
II. THE NEW WARDROBE VERSES 12,14
In verse 12, Paul tells us to “put on” these things that he will mention to us. It is like he is telling us to put on these new clean clothes.
A. The heart of compassion. The tee shirt.
Compassion is an expression of tenderness towards the suffering and miserable.
It is easy for us to look at the suffering with a hard heart, but a person with compassion will feel a warm spot for them in their heart. A tee shirt is worn next to the heart and helps keep a person warm.
Compassion should be part of our character. Our compassion should come from the depths of our soul. It is an essential part of the wardrobe of one who is going to reside in heaven.
B. The shoes of Kindness
This is a sweetness of disposition. The first people that come to mind when I think of kind people are Glen and Harriet Mitchell. Glen is the preacher at Farber Christian Church. You will be hard pressed to find kinder, sweeter people. They seem to have a calming, caring presence about them. They have a tenderness about them that is impressive.
Compassion and kindness sum up how we are to treat other people, the next two articles of our wardrobe represent our state of mind.
C. The jacket of Humility
Humility is being able to put others ahead of self and it is the ability to seeing others as more important than oneself. READ PHILIPPIANS 2:1-8
A jacket covers our other garments, humility should cover all that we are.
D. The socks of Gentleness
We need to be gentle when we deal with people. Gentleness was not considered a virtue in the pagan world of Jesus day.
A gentleperson is willing to make concessions when principles are not compromised.
Gentleness is said to be power under control. It was used of wild horses that were tamed down so that they would ALLOW someone to ride them. The horse could throw the rider at any time, but the chose not to.
Gentleness is part of the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:23.
In Matthew 5:5, Jesus said that the one who belongs to Him will possess this trait.
E. The slacks of Patience
This is the same word as LONG-SUFFERING. This definition says it all. When we deal with people, we will have to exhibit patience with them.
Patience is the self-restraint that enables us to bear injury and insult without resorting to hasty retaliation. It is natural for us to want to retaliate every time we suffer a wrong. People of God are not supposed to be vindictive.
1 Corinthians 13 tells us that love is patient.
F. The tie of Love verse 14
Whenever I want to wear a certain shirt with a certain pair of slacks or suit, my wife will tell me that I need a tie that will bring it all together.
For the Christian, the thing that brings our whole wardrobe together, the thing that gives it a sense of unity is LOVE.
If we do not have love, then none of the wardrobe we wear will look right. Without love, these things that we are supposed to have will not exist except by an illusion.
Everything we do must be grounded in love. If what we do is grounded in love, then when we do good for people and they are cruel back, we do not care because we are not doing it for them, but for Jesus.
This is the wardrobe that citizens of the kingdom should be wearing and keeping in our closets. Next let us finish up by looking at some of the new responsibilities that come along with our new address and position.
III. THE NEW RESPONSIBILITIES VERSES 13,15-17
A. We have the responsibility to bear with one another. Verse 13
Bearing with one another means that we will put up with some of the faults or unpleasant traits of others that irritate us. This responsibility and forgiving each other really expands on the idea of patience.
B. We have the responsibility to forgive one another. Verse 13
This is self-explanatory. WE have the responsibility to forgive no matter if the other person forgives you or not.
MAT 6:15 "But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
We have the responsibility to be a forgiving people
C. We have the responsibility to let the peace of Christ rule our hearts. Verse 15
Jesus died so that man could have peace with God. In order or us to allow the peace of Christ to rule in our hearts, then we must focus on heaven as verse 1-3 of this chapter tells us to do.
We have a peace about us because we know that God is in control.
The word here for “rule” had a meaning that implied “to act as an umpire”.
An umpire does things in a game in accordance with the rules. In baseball, the umpire is supposed to call balls and strikes according to the rulebook.
For the Christian’s as we follow the teaching of the Bible, the word will direct our lives, giving us the peace of God.
D. We have the responsibility to let the Word of Christ richly dwell with in us. Verses 16
EXPLAIN THIS.
E. We have the responsibility to do all that we do in the name of Jesus Verse 17
F. We have the responsibility to give thanks to Jesus for all we have. Verse 17
CONCLUSION
When you clean out your closet, what are you going to fill it with? What are you going to wear as an ambassador for Christ?
Usually we can look at a persons clothing and tell what they have been doing. You do not wear your best suit out to mow the grass do you?
As people who have a residence in heaven and who have an ambassadorship for Jesus, we too must wear the appropriate clothing. As you are representing Christ, what are you wearing?
How are you doing with your new responsibilities? I hope that you will discard the things you do not need for heaven and will put on the things befitting one who belongs to Jesus!
