God's Dress Code

Introduction

Who created the first To-Do List? Was it a business man who was planning a long trip? Was it a house wife who needed to prioritize her time and resources? Regardless of who first wrote out the first To-Do List, we all do it! Whether it is a physical To-Do List or a mental To-Do List, we all use the process. Whether we are buying groceries (whole wheat bread, 2% milk, fat-free peanut butter, Duke’s mayonnaise, etc..) an automobile (convertible, fire engine red, two-door, never been driven uphill or against the wind), going on a vacation (closest hotel to the beach at the cheapest price, packing clothes that will not need to be ironed after you pull them out of the suitcase), or looking for a spouse (tall, dark, and handsome who can provide for a family, or cook, or be a good parent, etc..), we all use the List!

Let me ask you another question, “Does God have a To-Do List for you?” Are there certain things that God wants you to do with your life in a particular way and in a particular order? Does it matter to God where you live, what you do as a profession, who you marry, or the friends you choose? Or, does God simply say, “Do the best you can?” I believe God cares about all these subjects in our lives, and since He cares it would stand to reason that God would give you directions in these areas to help us make the choices that will glorify Him and will bless us! Over the next several weeks we are going to look into God’s Word and see for ourselves “God’s To-Do List” for our lives!

This morning I want to examine a topic that has been the topic of many conversations on a Sunday afternoon and in countless Bible meetings. The question is, “Does God Have A Dress Code?” Does God care what you wear? Do you realize that the Bible tells us what God expects us wear, and chances are it is not what you were expecting! I want you to know that the culture, a particular form of civilization, beliefs, customs, arts, and institutions of a society at a given time or generation, including our present generation, has a great impact on what we wear. What the Christians wore in the first century is drastically different from the clothes worn in the 10th century, or the 18th century, or the 19th century, or the 20th century.

Friends, whether you like it or not, culture is constantly changing. The change can be slow or fast, but it is constant! The mistake that any age group can make in any generation is to believe that culture is the key to their faith; rather, we need to understand that a dynamic, personal relationship to Christ is the key to faith and life. Any generation that says that their generation has the corner on the way to truly worship Christ is sadly mistaken.

Every generation of Christians should give their very best to Christ regardless of the culture in which they live. Consider these questions: If you received an invitation to meet the Queen of England, and on the invitation you knew the time and place where the meeting would take place, how would you dress? Would you wear whatever you found lying around? Would you text on your cell phone while the Queen was present? Would you act bored and yawn in front of her? You know you would not do those things. Does Christ deserve any less when we worship Him?

As we consider God’s Dress Code in this message today we are not looking at this from a physical or cultural perspective. In fact, though how we dress is important, I am not even speaking about clothes today. There have been times when certain churches or denominations put a lot of emphasis on what you could and could not wear to church. They also placed a lot of attention of what you could and could not wear in your daily life. Today, we are going to look at something more important than your clothes, but it does have a lot to do with God's dress code.

Look with me at 1 Peter 5:5-7 and note how God wants His people to dress. “And be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ (We read in Proverbs 3:34, “Surely He scorns the scornful, but gives grace to the humble.”) Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him for He cares for you.” Did you hear that? God wants you clothed with “humility.”

That is God’s Dress Code – to be adorned with humility. How do you define “Humility?” Last week we looked at Naaman, the Syrian leader who had leprosy and wanted to be healed by Elijah. Remember that Naaman thought he knew where the healing was supposed to take place, when it was supposed to take place, and who was supposed to do the healing. None of these things happened the way Naaman thought they should happen. In other words, he didn’t get his way in arriving where God wanted him to be. He had to do things God’s way. The more we study the life of Naaman, the more we will discover that he had a problem much greater than leprosy - his problem was pride! The opposite of humility is pride, and a great definition for pride is, “The difference in who you are and who you think you are.” Humility is a hard word to define because so many people think of something different when they hear that word. Some people think humility is to stare at the ground while talking to somebody because you are too “humble” to look the person in the eye. That’s not humility, that’s looking for lost pocket change on the ground! Some people believe humility is remaining silent when people give you a chance to speak. Not speaking doesn’t make it humble; it may mean you are thinking about lunch while everybody else is talking about breakfast!

Let me give you a simple definition of humility, “The freedom from pride and arrogance.” Don’t underestimate the word “freedom” in this definition, because if pride is in your heart you are a slave to pride, you will be controlled by pride in your thoughts, words, and actions. Pride will control you and lead you to say things that are hurtful, to think things that are sinful, and/or to act in ways that dishonor God and embarrass yourself. Have you ever been ashamed to honor God? Never! You should never feel embarrassed about serving God, regardless of how young or how old you are! Now that we have a working definition of humility, we must ask, “How and where do we obtain humility?”

This morning I want you to remember these three thoughts while your consider, “God’s Dress Code.”

What To Put On…Humility
What to Cast off…All Cares
Who to Trust In…God the Father, because He cares for you.

I. What To Put On…Humility

Where does one find “humility?” I know where to buy clothes, food, and other items, but where do you go to get humility? I am told in God's Word to "put on" humility. So, where can I find it. How do you get to the point to be free from pride and arrogance? Do you just say a few words and you become, “Humble?”

A. Conviction of the Spirit throughout your life.

You can be driving your car, or at work, maybe you are watching television at home and the Spirit of God comes upon and shows you something about your life and how you have been acting! Conviction of the Holy Spirit can come at any place and any time.

B. Circumstances that come in your life.

Do you remember Naaman and how he had everything figured out in his mind as to how things would work out in his life? Sometimes God will allow difficult things to come about in your life to reveal your pride to yourself and allow you to see yourself the way He wants you to be. If you received everything you wanted when you wanted it, you would become a prideful and arrogant person! Always be willing to learn something good from the bad events in your life, don’t learn how to whine or complain!

C. Consideration from the Holy Scripture.

When you study God’s Word on a regular basis, God will reveal deep truths about His will for your life. Remember, God’s Word is your authority for your life, and if you don’t use it as your authority, something else will replace it. Would you rather learn a lesson from reading about someone else going through a hardship, or would you rather be the person to go through the hardship so other people can learn from your life?

II. What To Cast Off…All Cares

I find it interesting that God’s Word tells us to “put on” before He tells us to “cast off.” You cannot get rid of pride until you grasp humility! You will only get rid of pride when you experience the freedom that comes from the removal of pride! The only way to get rid of pride to trust in God’s plan for your life and not your plan, to trust God’s judgment and not your own! How do you “cast off all cares?”

It is a…

A. Personal Decision

No one else can do it for you! God will not do this for you, your family and friends cannot do it for, nor can you do it for someone else! You have to look at all your cares and worries, and say to yourself, “Christ died to wash away my sin, and to keep me in the palm of His Hand, and if I hold on to what He has told me to release, I am being disobedient to Christ! You must decide for yourself whether or not Jesus means what He says and says what He means!

B. Continual Decision

This is something we must battle everyday of our lives! Jesus said to pick up your cross daily and follow Him…how much does pride and the cares of this world have to do with being obedient to the Savior of all mankind! This is not a one-time battle but an everyday decision. You might be thinking that humility is something you can commit to just one time! You may think it is like cleaning a fish – you only need to do it once! Putting on humility is like catching a new fish everyday. Each day has its own problems, and pride will spring up when and where you least expect it!

C. Unconditional Decision

We must cast “all” of our cares on Jesus. It will not work it you want to keep a couple of “pet cares” to hold on to and feed during the day when you think no one is watching. It is a mistake to tell ourselves, “I trust Jesus with eternity but I can’t trust Him with my family or my problems!” Do you really want humility in your heart? Give Jesus all your cares, not just the ones you don’t want. Don’t hold on to the cares you think will bring you sympathy from others! Giving Jesus all your cares must be unconditional.

III. Who To Trust In

You must trust God because He Cares For You. Do you believe God cares for you enough to trust Him when…

· The world is telling you to go in another direction?

· When your friends are telling you to do something that you know is wrong

· When you want to do something, but you know it is wrong, and God is telling you to be faithful to Him in spite of what the world says, your friends say, or what you personally want?

Conclusion

The Bible tells us that God will “exalt” us in due time. Pride is exalting yourself on your timetable, and humility is allowing God to “exalt” you on His timetable. Humility is thinking that you can figure everything out for yourself, but pride is trusting God’s plan for you.

Look at Philippians 2:5-10. Note that Jesus was so humble that He left heaven to come to this sin-cursed world. He lived here as a servant. He died on the Cross to carry our sins away. He suffered terribly, but God has highly exalted Him and given Him a name above every name. One day every knee will bow to Him. Don't you see, that is how God wants us to live? We are to be His servants. We cannot right every wrong or get our way at any cost. We must put on humility and serve Him. He will exalt us in His own time and His own way.