WHAT IS IN YOUR WARDROBE?

U.S. history tells us that many African Americans could never fully believe that the U.S. government had passed a law decreeing that they had been set free from slavery, and many in that first generation lived and died with a slave/pauper mentality.

Sadly, there are many Christians, even though they have repented through lack of Biblical Discipleship never fully come to see that through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ they were set free from the penalty and power of sin, and sadly live a defeated unfulfilled Christian life.

There are many Christians, who also don’t realise that the CHRISTIAN LIFE AND WALK WITH GOD IS A WALK OF CO-OPERATION, that not only has God done His part, but we must also do our part to see the purposes of God fulfilled in our lives.

I want to ask you what is in your spiritual wardrobe? do you know what you MUST LEARN TO WEAR as a Believer.

Paul writing to the Colossians in Col. 3:12-13 NKJV Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, PUT on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

N.L.T. Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must CLOTHE yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

PASSION You are always and dearly loved by God! So ROBE yourself with virtues of God, since you have been divinely chosen to be holy. Be merciful as you endeavor to understand others, and be compassionate, showing kindness toward all. Be gentle and humble, unoffendable in your patience with others. Tolerate the weaknesses of those in the family of faith, forgiving one another in the same way you have been graciously forgiven by Jesus Christ. If you find fault with someone, release this same gift of forgiveness to them.

MESSAGE So, chosen by God for this new life of love, DRESS in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you.

AMP. N.T. CLOTHE yourselves therefore, as God’s own chosen ones (His own picked representatives), [who are] purified and holy and well-beloved [by God Himself, by putting on behavior marked by] tenderhearted pity and mercy, kind feeling, a lowly opinion of yourselves, gentle ways, [and] patience [which is tireless and long-suffering, and has the power to endure whatever comes, with good temper].
Be gentle and forbearing with one another and, if one has a difference (a grievance or complaint) against another, readily pardoning each other; even as the Lord has [freely] forgiven you, so must you also [forgive].

Paul is telling us we have to make the choice, and co-operate with the Lord and His Word, and make a constant decision of our will to take what is in our spiritual wardrobe and put it on and wear it.

Everything Paul tells us we must wear is contrary to what is in our sinful nature, and our first reaction in a situation will be to react out of our sinful nature, let me remind you today that Paul would not tell us to do these things if it it was not possible for us to do it.

This is where we must co-operate with the Lord, and learn to continually surrender to Him so that more and more of His likeness will show forth in us, and our response will be to do and react like Jesus would.

There is that old statement “we become like the people we live with” so the more time we spend in His presence, and the more we let God’s Word work in us, the more we will respond as God wants is too.

Please spend some time meditating on these verses in each of these translations, and let the Holy Spirit speak to you (regarding every piece we must learn to put on), and be praying that each of these things become part of your life more and more, I am sure you want to be more like Jesus every day, I sure do.

So may our spiritual wardrobe get fuller and fuller, not with the fashions of this world system, but with those things that reflect the likeness and nature of Jesus.

Acts 4:13 (PASSION) tells us that the religious leaders speaking of Peter and John said “they began to understand the effect Jesus had on them simply by spending time with him”.

May people say of us, HE SPENDS TIME WITH JESUS.