 |
| Heavenly Makeover....Sundays message |
We all love
a good before and after story…..
WE love to
see houses before and after, think Extreme Home Makeover.
We love
girly makeovers….think What Not to Wear, Mission Makeover, etc.
Our how
about the Biggest Loser transformations?
Even Dancing
with the Stars is a type of before and after….before they can dance and after
they have been training for 12 weeks…
These types
of shows, us ladies love them and maybe even some of you men.
Don’t worry
guys if you like any of these shows we are not going to pull your man
card.
Or how about
for you guys…Pimp my Ride….they do all those fancy things to the cars inside
and out to make them….better, faster and just plain cooler.
My point is
just this, that we love a good story where someone starts out one way and then
with the help of a team or somebody they get a new look or a makeover.
We love before and after’s and Jesus well, He is in the
business of before and after’s!
He chooses
us, pursues us, no application process, no qualifying to be on reality tv….
He says, I
love you and I pick you. He offers us a
heavenly makeover; a Divine makeover of sorts.
All of us
have a “before Jesus” and an “after Jesus” story.… It is an ever changing story.
We get an instant makeover and then we get an ongoing,
“look how I am changing” makeover until finally we are in heaven…Once
there we will be surrounded by His glory, perfected in His presence.
The awesome
part is it is a never ending supply….unlike all these shows that you only get
the clothes and makeover one time….think about it, you gain weight you are out
of luck…your wardrobe doesn’t fit anymore….or it goes out of style….The house
gets made over only one time, etc.
Jesus never goes out of style.
His makeover is a constantly updated,
unending, you never outgrow it and you won’t outlast it.
It’s the best of all makeovers and it
is all because He loves you.
So we have
been going through the book of Ephesians….
Let’s do a
little recap of Chapter 4 in light of this before and after….
So in this
dressing room or in this garage to pimp your ride, depending on which you can
relate more to….
Our heavenly
calling/makeover requires a heavenly wardrobe….
These are
some of the things we get to put on….
Our garments
of holiness…. Or for you guys, our new paint job….
In verses
1-6 We get to be humble and gentle, patient and bear with one another….now you are thinking how do we get to
be this?
Here is the thing……
When we truly understand how much Christ loves us,
how much we are forgiven of every single day, how we continuously miss the
mark, how we are sinners saved by grace, when we grasp the love of God not in a religious weird
way but in a, “I am so in love with the Father because He is so good to me every
day” way.
When we
truly understand Who He is and whom we belong to; we are humbled, we can be long
suffering with others because we recognize that He is so long suffering with
us.
We become unconcerned
with pointing out others sins because we truly recognize our own and that
breaks our heart because we love our daddy and we just want to make Him happy.
The very nature of understanding our identity in Christ, humbles us….Forgiven, accepted,
loved, how can we not be like this then to others?
This is our walk….a way of
living…humbly, lovingly, peacefully
We get to
wear a banner that says, “One Lord, one
faith, one baptism” (Eph 4:5)
We are One, you get to be united with
some of the most amazing people in the world and considered One with them! You get instant family….
Eph 4:7 says
we are adorned with grace…..His empowering grace fills and overflows us….
But unto
each one of us was the grace given according to the measure of the gift of
Christ. Eph 4:7
(ASV)
Last week we
learned that part of this makeover or “pimping our ride” is that we get sealed with the Holy Spirit.
·
This
is like a young man putting an engagement ring on the love of his life’s
finger…
·
It
is the mark of ownership.
·
Like
a pink slip for a car.
·
Like
a tattoo??
We have been
bought with a price, established in Him….so that we can be upgraded….and not only is it an upgrade, a makeover, but it’s free….Jesus paid the price.
I know some of you may
be thinking, “I don’t need an upgrade.”
Turn to your
neighbor and say, “yea, I think maybe you could use an upgrade.”
So if all
these things are given to us what is our
responsibility?
Ephesians 4 is rich in
telling us what we get from God; chosen, adopted, equipped, sealed with Holy Spirit, but it
has this to say about our part…..now this is from the message but I love how
direct it is…
The Old Way Has to Go
17 And so I
insist—and God backs me up on this—that there be no going along with the crowd,
the empty-headed, mindless crowd. 18 They've
refused for so long to deal with God that they've lost touch not only with God
but with reality itself. 19 They can't
think straight anymore. Feeling no pain, they let themselves go in sexual
obsession, addicted to every sort of perversion. 20 But that's no life for you. You
learned Christ! 21 My assumption
is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the
truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. 22 Since,
then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean
everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It's rotten through
and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a
God-fashioned life, 23 a life renewed
from the inside 24 and working
itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you. 25 What this adds up to, then, is
this: no more lies, no more pretense. Tell your neighbor the truth. In Christ's
body we're all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you
end up lying to yourself. 26 Go ahead and be
angry. You do well to be angry—but don't use your anger as fuel for revenge.
And don't stay angry. Don't go to bed angry. 27 Don't
give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.
28 Did you used to
make ends meet by stealing? Well, no more! Get an honest job so that you can
help others who can't work. 29 Watch the way
you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what
helps, each word a gift. 30 Don't grieve
God. Don't break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is
the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don't take
such a gift for granted. 31 Make a clean
break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. 32 Be gentle with one another,
sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ
forgave you. Eph 4:17-32 (MSG)
Verses 21-24 now from the New Living Translation
21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the
truth that comes from him,22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way
of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.23 Instead,
let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.24 Put
on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
Eph 4:21-24 (NLT)
Seems to me like a small price to
pay compared to the riches of Glory we get in Jesus! So today we are going to look mainly just at
one key principle.
Now that you
know the truth….how much you are chosen, accepted, adopted, equipped and sealed
with the Holy Spirit…..
Throw off your old self and put on
your new self!
Okay so we
all have a “before Jesus” the old self…..When we give our lives to Jesus there
is an immediate change that takes place.
It is like red rover, red rover….
You were on
the losing team—Satan’s team and God called you over to His team….(describe the
game)
You ran
towards him maybe thinking it was going to be hard to break through the line to
get on His team but in reality, He already made a way and all you had to do was
the “run to Him” part and instead of
arms blocking you they embraced you….He threw His arms around you.
Immediately
you were on the team. Chosen, accepted and equipped.
But you have
to choose to grab arms with others…you can’t keep going back to the other team
and saying I just wanna be on your team for a little bit….the Bible refers to
this as double minded(wavering in your faith, in the book of James).
You are on the winning team now and it means a
shift in how you play the game…a shift in which team you belong to…You have to take off one jersey and put on another
jersey…..God always wants us dressed appropriately
for His team, clothed in His ways as an outward expression of whose we are and whom we serve.
Made over in His image…Not in a weird
religious way but in an “I love God and I love His people way.”
When we love
God and we see His character as it relates to us the natural outflow is
that we
are changed and become more like Him.
This is not a set of rules that we
follow, or a giving up of all things fun…. this is the road of love that leads
to new life. This is exchanging playing
at making mud pies with making glorious sweet apple pies!
Children do
not give up playing dolls or cars, they
simply outgrow it. This is how it
should be with us….we simply outgrow the Old Self as we become more and more
aware by the renewing of our minds of who God truly is.
Christ adds
so much to our lives that there is no room for the old things. I didn’t have to work at changing, I simply outgrew the old.
There is always
something to be learned, we should never stop growing…
When a fruit
tree bears fruit….it doesn’t have to think about bearing fruit it is a natural
result of who it is….. A fruit tree.
His divine
life releases His supernatural fruits in me…..
As I read His word and am around His people, I begin to be changed.
The old me
begins to drop off and the new me begins to blossom.
Example:
Can you imagine how ridiculous I would look if I went into buy a new
outfit at Nordstrom’s and the tailor came to the dressing room to make
alterations but I had the new outfit on over the old one?
She would
say I can’t make this fit over the old clothes, you need to take the old clothes off….If want the new clothes to
fit you….
What if I
argued and said no…she would say well these new clothes are not going to fit
you well because of the old ones.
We need to take the old off in order
to put the new on….in
order to know you love making apple pies you have to quit playing with mud
pies.
This is the
put off and put on biblical principle that works whether you are a Christian or
not. Just like the tithing principle it is timeless and always relevant.
You quit
stealing and get generous and guess what your life is going to be better…put off being bitter and put on
forgiveness and you sleep sweeter and life is better.
Think about that? How do we break a habit, we replace it with
a new one…in all sorts of ways we have to get rid of the old in order
to get the new….our baby teeth, old
boyfriends, tires on a car, the list goes on and on…
In the Greek
that word throw off or put off is specifically talking about garments….so that
we could get the visual…we have to
remove something….it’s an easy process because we are replacing with something even better….
I don’t just
walk in my closet and go ta da….and my old clothes fall off and my new clothes
jump right on me….Contrary to the rumors I am not Cinderella with birds flying
all around me and dressing me….
It takes
effort, sometimes more than I like. I
have the clothes.
I am equipped but there is some action required to get them on me….
I was
thinking about in the 1980s when pants were so tight and I had a special pair
of pliers used for pulling up the zipper on my very tight pants. That was a lot of effort. There is some effort required but it also has
a huge payoff!
We have to renew
our minds with the word and put off the old habits that in actuality if
we are honest about disrupt and bring chaos to our lives.
The old way is not who we
are anymore even though for some of us it may be how we act! (repeat)
It is not
that these are awesome, lovely things that we are encouraged to sacrifice and put
off….
Let’s look
at the list of old and new….
17 With
the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they
are hopelessly confused.18 Their minds are full
of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have
closed their minds and hardened their
hearts against him.19 They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every
kind of impurity.20 But that isn’t what you learned about Christ.21 Since
you have heard about Jesus and have learned
the truth that comes from him,22 throw off your old sinful nature
and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and
attitudes.24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly
righteous and holy.25 So stop
telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth,
for we are all parts of the same body.26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down
while you are still angry,27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.28 If
you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and
then give generously to others in need.29 Don’t use foul or abusive
language. Let everything you say be good
and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear
them.30 And
do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own,
guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger,
harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.32 Instead,
be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through
Christ has forgiven you. Eph
4:17-32 (NLT)
Paul is giving us a mirror here….helping us to decipher who we truly are….
Just like when you do demolition on
a building sometimes things may look okay on the outside but when we start
looking deeper we see the dry rot, mold, mice, termites, etc. Makeovers can be
messy, it’s hard to see behind the curtain sometimes, to get real with
ourselves and with others…..
In Colossians Paul says it even
blunter than he did in Ephesians…in Col 3:5
5 So
put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do
with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for
a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.6 Because
of these sins, the anger of God is coming. 7 You used to do these things
when your life was still part of this world.8 But now is the time to get rid
of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language.9 Don’t
lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its
wicked deeds.10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to
know your Creator and become like him. Col
3:5-10 (NLT)
He says
put to death that
which belongs to your old nature. Now, that
is some strong language. We once were dead in our sins….now
we are alive and no longer need to be slaves to sin.
So what do we put off? Hard hearts, lustful
pleasure-(chasing things that make you feel good temporarily, things that feed
your flesh, impurity, lying, controlling and manipulating anger, stealing, greed,
bitterness, rage, harsh words and slander and any type of evil behavior. Bitterness by the way is just nursing anger…These are all behaviors that feed the flesh and fuel chaos in our lives.
God is
trying to teach us how to make our lives better, more enjoyable…..these things
to avoid and put off are the guard rails that keep us from danger… from messed
up chaotic lives.
The truth is the Old self is
ruled by selfish desires while the new flesh is selfless.
So what do we put on?
Let the Spirit renew your mind, be kind, tenderhearted, forgive one
another just as you have been forgiven.
In Colossians 3:12 Paul talks about
this again….
12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves,
you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility,
gentleness, and patience.13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive
anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive
others.14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.15 And
let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one
body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness,
fill your lives. Teach and counsel (here
is some physical work) each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs(come together and worship) to God with thankful hearts.17 And
whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the
Father. Col 3:12-17 (NLT)
WE have heard this many times, but
it bears repeating…..above all clothe yourselves in love! Love is the little black dress, it’s the
perfect suit, it’s the most pimped ride, etc…
Then practice being thankful!!!! Attitude of gratitude!
The Key to success is not just to put off but to
put on…don’t leave a big void but fill it with the things of God and most of
all fill it with LOVE AND GRATEFULNESS!!
Love is what holds it all together…love
is what fuels the kindness, longsuffering, humility,
He has seated us in heavenly places;
given us new identity but we must choose love.
In Col 3:12-14 He calls out the
identity we have in Christ…as God’s chosen people , holy and dearly
loved….
It is not about the rules that we follow, or rigorous
self-discipline.
It is simply a deep understanding of
our identity
in Christ and that becomes a pure expression
of compassion and love for others.
Our Holy Makeover isn’t seen in the rules we keep but in the
love we express.
Our Jesus did the exact opposite of a makeover for us….
He the King of Kings, came to earth
as a peasant.
He the only Righteous one took on
our sin and covered us in His robe of righteousness.
He the loveliest of all, chose to
love us, the unlovely. He takes these
broken vessels of humanity and makes us carriers of His glory.
He chooses us, forgives us, accepts
us and equips us and all He ask is that we put off the old man and put on His
beautiful garments of peace, love and humility.
I heard this story about an old
Indian who had two horses one white and one black constantly pulling against
each other. Which one won the
contest? The one he decided to ride.
What will you choose today? The
choice to put off and put on is all up to you.
The new man will win if you follow this practical key….
Put off the old but always replace
it with the new and don't forget to let love fuel it all!
.JPG)
