Dressed For Success

Everyone take just a moment and look around you. Look at the differences in all of the people who are seated in this room this morning!

Look at the differences in the hairstyles of those around you.

And even more so, look at the differences in the choice of clothing of those in the room around you.

I am not talking about the brands of the clothing, but rather I am talking about the preferences of the styles of the individuals in this room.

We are all individuals and we express ourselves differently, in certain things, such as the clothing that we wear when we go out to various places throughout the week.

What we wear, says a lot about us, right?

I mentioned in a message that I gave some time ago, that we associate people to certain jobs and roles, by the the outfits that they wear.

Like we identify a firefighter by his/her outfit.

We identify a cowboy by his hat and boots and the like.

We identify a police officer by his/her uniform and their badge and gun.

When you go into a hospital and you see a man, or a woman in a white lab coat and a stethoscope hanging around their neck, we visually identify them as a doctor, right?

Well, this morning, I’m going to talk about the way that we dress as Christians.

And in saying this, I am not speaking about the clothing that we wear on our physical bodies, but rather, I am talking about the attire that we don in our spiritual life each and every day!

How many people here have a job, or have had one in the past, that requires that you wear a certain type of clothing to work each and every day?

I know that there are definite pros and cons to this scenario. On the plus side, you never have to worry about waking up and wondering what you’re going to wear to work that day, right?

And on the negative side, you never get to wake up and decide what you’d “like” to wear to work that day!

Like it or not, the outfit identifies you to everyone who comes in to that place, as a representative of that institution and thus you can help them out with whatever they are there for.

If I go in to a Chic-fil-A to eat and the person behind the counter is wearing a McDonald's uniform, then that is going to seem pretty weird to me, you know?

So, I expect to see the employees of that institution wearing the outfits that tell me that they are who they say that they are.

And one of the main reasons for this, is that it instills confidence into the mind of the customer.

I was at a Best Buy this week, and when I am at a place like this, I want to talk to people who are the supposed “experts” at the field of electronics and computers.

Or at least they should have a pretty good understanding of the products that they are selling and not clueless when you approach them with questions, right?

Well, when I am in a place like this, and another person who is a consumer, the same as I am, helps me out more and gives me more information about what I am asking about, than the employees can, it doesn’t instill into me very much confidence about that place and the men and the women who work there!

And it doesn’t prompt me to want to return and do future business with them again, because of that lack of trust and respect that lost with their staff, right?

Do you see what I mean?

If you’re admitted into the hospital and the surgeon comes into your room to discuss the surgical options for your issue, and the hospital volunteer who goes around, handing out magazines and newspapers to the patients, enters the room and proceeds to correct the surgeon on which method would work better for you and how the doctor should approach your condition and the doctor concedes and begins to ask the volunteer of their thoughts on other issues , would you want to have that doctor continue with your care?

So, you can see what I mean by my saying that the people who you expect to have the insight and skill base, need to be able to instill confidence to you about your decision to be there and to do business with them.

It’s for this reason, large and in part, that companies have mandatory uniforms for their employees to wear. The uniform represents the company as a whole and the reputation that they want it to carry about for them.

And so, in a minute we are going to look at some articles of clothing that are of great importance to each and every believer in Christ Jesus! A uniform, if you will, that we are to wear, each and every day.

And more specifically, one outfit in particular and the articles of clothing that go with it.

Have you have ever heard the phrase that someone is “Dressed for success”? And whether you have or have not heard of this saying, how many of you actually believe that the way someone dresses, can affect or determine their level of success at a job or a career in life?

As it turns out, there have been many studies done on this very thing, and the results of these studies are very intriguing! Listen to some of these:

A paper in August 2015 in Social Psychological and Personality Science asked subjects to change into formal or casual clothing before cognitive tests. Wearing formal business attire increased abstract thinking—an important aspect of creativity and long-term strategizing. The experiments suggest the effect is related to feelings of power.

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In a study completed at Yale in 2014 that used 128 men between the ages of 18 and 32, researchers had participants partake in mock negotiations of buying and selling.

Those dressed poorly (in sweatpants and plastic sandals) averaged a theoretical profit of $680,000, while the group dressed in suits amassed an average profit of $2.1 million. The group dressed neutrally averaged a $1.58 million profit. (THE WELL DRESSED MEN PERFORMED BETTER AND MADE MORE PROFIT THAN THOSE WHO WERE DRESSED POORLY!)

According to a co-author of the study, this shows that the poorly dressed participants would often defer to the suited ones, and these suited participants could sense this heightened respect, backing down less than they might have otherwise.

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For better focus, get decked out like a doctor. In research published in July 2012 in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, subjects made half as many mistakes on an attention-demanding task when wearing a white lab coat. On another attention task, those told their lab coat was a doctor's coat performed better than either those who were told it was a painter's smock or those who merely saw a doctor's coat on display.

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A series of studies published in an article in June 2014 in the Journal of Consumer Research explored observers' reactions to people who broke established norms only slightly. In one scenario, a man at a black-tie affair was viewed as having higher status and competence when wearing a red bow tie. The researchers also found that valuing uniqueness increased audience members' ratings of the status and competence of a professor who wore red Converse sneakers while giving a lecture.

The results suggest that people judge these slight deviations from the norm as positive because they suggest that the individual is powerful enough to risk the social costs of such behaviors.

These studies and others like them, tell us that the articles of clothing that people wear, can very much aid in the effectiveness of someone’s performance.

The adverse is true as well. Whenever these clothing items are not in place, or are found to be false versions of the articles, that is, imitations, then the person’s performance changes for the worse.

A study done back in 2010, showed some interesting results about women and their wearing of designer sunglasses. The women in this study were given these expenses designer sunglasses to wear and perform certain tasks. When the women were told that the sunglasses they were wearing were not real, but rather were imitation ones, their performance level changed quite dramatically. They began to cheat on the lab experiments that they were doing for cash rewards and they also began to look at other women’s actions with great suspect. The study concluded that the counterfeit sunglasses that they were given made the wearer’s behavior turn unethical, because the counterfeits made them feel less authentic.

How many of you have ever personally noticed before that whenever you put on a certain suit or outfit, you felt more confident about yourself?

And this confidence is not just in your mind, but it is also projected to those around you who you are interacting with you while you’re wearing that certain outfit.

In the business world, they refer to such outfits as power suits, or power outfits.

Because while wearing such outfits, you tend to exude confidence and increased boldness!

It is a proven fact

Thus, these people are what we would call, “Dressed For Success”!

Turn with me in your Bibles this morning to the book of Colossians chapter 3, please.

We will begin reading here with verse 1. I am reading from the NLT this morning for this passage.

() -”1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

Colossians 3:1–17 NLT

1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. 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. 11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. 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 each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs 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.

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. 11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

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 each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs 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.”

READ VERSE NOTES FROM THE ROCKETBOOK FOR VERSES 1-12.

And it is here that we turn our attention to what Paul is stressing with verse 10 and going into verse 12. Paul says that we are to “Put on our new nature/new self (new spiritual self)” and then he says in verse 12 that we are to, “clothe ourselves” with a new spiritual nature!

Paul used a very easy and understandable way of stating the exchange of our old life in the flesh with our new life in the Spirit.

In fact this same thing is said in other verses:

, “Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.”

, “And to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

And to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

, “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

And the very thing that Peter just mentioned with “clothing yourself” with humility, is one of the very articles of our new “spiritual wardrobe” that Paul is describing to us in this letter to the church of Colossae.

Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Paul says that we MUST clothe ourselves as Christians, with the following spiritual wardrobe, or UNIFORM, “ with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”

This is your DAILY outfit as a Christian in God’s kingdom!

This list is not how we present ourselves to God, but rather, it is how we present ourselves to the world around us!

Just as I said that a uniform tells people that you belong to a certain business or organization, so to does your new “spiritual clothing” tell the world that you belong to God and His service!

Actually, we know that there are actually TWO outfits that we must wear in our walk with the Lord. This one that we are looking at right now, which is actually our “civilian street clothing”, if you will. And the other outfit is our warring outfit, which we read about in , which the “FULL ARMOR OF GOD”!

We are not looking at this outfit today, just our street/civilian clothing!

Paul said that we are to have nothing to do with our old sinful nature, which is where he mentioned the sexual/sinful nature and that we are to put this old self to death and then in verse 8 Paul says, “But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language.”

So, he shows us 5 articles of clothing that MUST be removed and cast away from our spiritual life, which would identify us with the carnal world. And then, in verse 12, he shows the articles of clothing that we are to replace the old ones with!

MERCY/Compassion - The Bible tells us that God is a god of mercy, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin …” .

“The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy. The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works.” .

And God displayed His great MERCY to us through the gift of His Son, Jesus:

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) …” .

And through Jesus, as our great High Priest, we can obtain mercy for our lives and for others, “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” .

We are to put on KINDNESS - The Lord God has unfailing KINDNESS and this virtue that we are to wear at all times is never to leave us, “Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart.”

Paul said that it was the KINDNESS of God, which led to our repentance and brought us into the kingdom to begin with!

And it is Jesus, Himself, that said that His “kindness” is the yoke that He offers for us to wear. In , where Jesus says, “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”, the word for “easy”, in the Greek. means KINDNESS!

The third item of our spiritual outfit is to be our HUMILITY - Being “humble” is one of the things that Jesus said we would be blessed for in this life, as He mentioned in , “Blessed are the meek/humble, for they shall inherit the earth.”

And it also the very thing that Jesus described Himself as in , where He says, “for I am gentle and lowly in heart.”

The Greek word for “humble” is “praus” and it refers to “strength under control”, and to the Greeks, it referred to war horses that were trained to be meek — strong and powerful yet under control and willing to submit.

That is what it means, as Christian, to be HUMBLE; we have the strength and power of God within us, and yet we are to be bridled and under His control!

GENTLENESS - Very close to being humble and they are quite often used together as complimentary virtues that we are to wear, as in , where Paul instructs us to, “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.”

The fifth item of our spiritual wardrobe is that of PATIENCE - God our Father and Jesus our Lord, have more than demonstrated to us GREAT “patience” in dealing with us as sinners and leading us to salvation and guiding us within our walk into the kingdom!

, “ Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you?”

, “And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved.”

And the patience that we learn from our Lord is be given to one another. , “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.”

And finally, to complete our new spiritual outfit, that you and I are to put on each and every day, we need something to hold it all together and really accent it well.

Paul says in verse 14 of our passage in Colossians, “Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.”

Just as the belt of truth holds everything together with the full armor of God, so to does the LOVE of God bind every virtue together that we have from the Lord!

says that without the love of God active in your life, no matter how great you become, you still have and are, NOTHING! LOVE is the greatest of all virtues and it is prime directive of the kingdom of God!

Look at yourself daily, before you go out into the world and see if you are spiritually naked, or have you put on your uniform! Are you dressed for success in the kingdom of God, by wearing these MANDATORY items, each and every day?

We are to wear these virtues daily and we are to NEVER put back on the items of the sinful nature that we were delivered from. These virtues show the world that we belong to the kingdom of God and they remind us of who we are and what we have been bought from.

A man visited his longtime friend, a British military officer stationed in an African jungle. One day when the friend entered the officer’s hut, he was startled to see him dressed in formal attire and seated at a table set with silverware and fine china. The visitor asked why he was all dressed up and seated at a table so sumptuously arrayed in the jungle. The officer explained, "Once a week I follow this routine to remind myself of who I am--a British citizen. I want to maintain the customs of my real home and live according to the codes of British conduct, no matter how those around me live. I want to avoid substituting a foreign culture for that of my homeland."