Because God is into themes I guess…
Glad you stopped by today…
as I continue to develop the theme from Monday’s post.
I may possibly be a “sermon nerd”…because after church we went to the Y and I listened to another good one as I walked the track.
This one was given on January 3rd by Pastor Dave Lee from Harvest Community Church in Hoffman Estates. (Life is Worship 1/3/2016 @harvest-community.org/sermons)
Don’t zone out on me here…this is good stuff!
And out there all you are going to get is …
so hang with me <3
The sermon is based on Colossians 3:1-17 and putting on the new man/taking off the old…which really did tie in to the sermon from FCC.
Because if you remember…the health of all of our relationships is founded on and built up from our relationship with God through Jesus Christ AND flows from a rhythm of forgiveness because we are forgiven….
The whole teaching from Pastor Dave is great and there are such good analogies on several aspects of the passage but the one I want to share is regarding that taking off and putting on picture.
I have always struggled a bit with the “putting on” aspect because I am not good at faking.
Like when people ask me how I am doing, I pretty much give a straightforward answer…you never hear me say “I’m great!”…
cause really???
Even in my finest moments and best days ever….I have been painfully aware of the not-so-great somewhere in my realm of awareness – either my own life or someone who is close to me.
So …. putting on attitudes?
Not sure how to do that and still be “real”…
Which is why the teaching was so powerful from this sermon.
He touched on so many points that helped me understand what the passage is showing us about God’s view of our old nature versus the new one He has given us in Christ, but here are a few that really spoke to me…
<3 He pointed out that when we get dressed each day, we are choosing the image we want others to see of us. We are not really dressing for ourselves because once we walk away from the mirror, we do not actually see what we look like. He says, “Clothing, by its nature is the management of our image. It is what others see of us.”
<3 In addition to that, we also choose our clothing based on how we see ourselves. “It’s telling people, this is what I want you to see when you look at me.” We know this because we avoid certain clothing styles and trends saying “That’s just not me”… We know when we put on a garment if it accurately portrays the image we have of ourselves.
<3 As for the old clothing that we are to take off, he gave the example of taking a shower after working out at the gym. You are now clean and the sweaty clothes you wore are no longer appropriate for you. They feel wrong…and are wrong.
<3 His tie-together point was that…our old nature is attitudes, reactions, responses that suited our life before it was redeemed by Christ…things like sexual impurity/immorality, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language, lies, evil desires, covetousness…the things that we hate about ourselves, others and the world that still crop up…are like those dirty clothes. When we feel them coming on (which we will still have flashes of our old nature) we put them away…take them off…as he says “do not linger in them”…but instead…
<3 We remember who we are NOW…redeemed by Christ through His death and resurrection…and we PUT ON…we make the choice to wear the attitudes and responses that reflect who we are IN HIM.
This resonates with me as we begin 2016.
Because I realize that a lot of times, my responses are based on who I used to be and not on who I am in Him.
I do linger, sometimes, in a mind set of old sweaty clothes that stink from my old nature…and this keeps me bound in unhealthy ways from experiencing the fullness of the God-ordained relationships He has blessed me to have with others.
I hope the visual shared here will help you, as it has helped me already this week…when I feel some of that old nature creeping up…I can affirm that I am cleansed by the Blood of the Lamb and I will not put on yesterday’s cruddy clothes!
May God bless us with a fresh image of who we are in Him and I pray He will give us wisdom as we choose what we will wear each day <3