What to Wear
Notes
Transcript
The Emperor’s New Clothes
The Emperor’s New Clothes
The Folktale
The Folktale
When I was a child, one of my favorite books was an adaptation of a folktale written by Hans Christian Anderson called The Emperor’s New Clothes.
The story is about a vain Emperor who’s vanity allows him to be fooled. He falls into the hands of swindlers who convince him that they can weave the finest clothes for him with a thread which can’t be seen by those who are stupid or incompetent.
Once the swindlers claim the garment is complete, the Emperor makes believe that he can see it in all of its splendor. His pride won’t allow him to admit that he see’s nothing, lest he be numbered with the stupid and incompetent who also can’t see.
The Emperor ends up parading through the streets wearing nothing, making all of the townsfolk uncomfortable but afraid to speak up, until a young child does just that and exclaims “The Emperor has no clothes”!
The Point
The Point
If you have your Bibles this morning, please turn them over to Hebrews 4:11-13. Just as the Emperor found himself clothed in nothing, you and I may be deceived in thinking that we can hide our hearts from God. We may think that the sins we keep in private are unknown to God just because we can keep them unknown to others. As we will see in our passage this morning, trying to hide our sins from God is like the Emperor putting on his new clothes.
11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. 12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
Our message this morning is entitled What to Wear
Let’s Pray
Hiding from God
Hiding from God
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve
There are many ways that people try to hide from God, and it certainly isn’t a new invention. In Genesis 3 Adam and Eve had commited the first sins and what did they do? Well Genesis 3 starting in verse 6 reads
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
What did they do? They tried to hide themselves from God.
3 Ways People try to Hide from God
3 Ways People try to Hide from God
In an article written by Josh Weidmann, a pastor in Denver, identifies 3 ways that people today try to hide from God.
We don’t answer the phone When we feel guilty or ashamed the first thing we do is stop communication. We see this in interactions people have with each other don’t we? Someone is ashamed and so they avoid other people. They hide from their shame by avoiding anyone who might know about it. — Sadly, this is how people often respond to God in their sin. Rather than repenting and asking for forgiveness they stop communication. Their prayer life ends because facing God would mean facing their sin.
We steer clear of people who might see right through us We see this in people hiding themselves in their work, I have even seen people hide in ministry. I mean, understand that can sometimes hide in ministry because the acts of ministry can be relatively anonymous, especially if you aren’t developing deep relationships to hold you accountable. Often people that are trying to hide from God want to hide from anyone that God might use to point out their failings.
The author’s words, not mine. We can hide from God by Giving the old “Razzle-Dazzle” This is hiding in plain sight. If you know how a Christian is supposed to act, what words a christian is supposed to say and the kinds of things christians are supposed to to, in order to fit into the mold of christian culture then you can ape those things even if they aren’t coming from your heart. I am afraid it is all to common for people to hide behind religion but in their heart hide wickedness and secret sin. If we can act Christian enough we can fool other people, ourselves, and even may think that we are fooling God.
God is in the Details
God is in the Details
An Old Expression
An Old Expression
You are likely familiar with the old expression The devil is in the details, but what you might not realize is that it is a play on an even older expression God is in the details.
For someone to say that the devil is in the details is to say that: Things appear to be on the up-and-up and going the way you would want them to go, but upon examining the details of the situation you find out that there were a lot of hidden problems that make the good thing you thought you had, turn out to be bad.
To say though that God is in the details is to say that whatever we do we should do throughly and to the best of our ability because God notices the details. This is very true.
Thoughts and Intentions
Thoughts and Intentions
In Hebrews we read in Hebrews 4:12
Hebrews 4:12 (KJV 1900)
12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
I have heard people make a lot out of the two-edged-ness of the sword, but the emphasis is really on the sharpness of the sword. A twoedged sword is blade common to a Roman soldier, it is a weapon, and simply by its intended use it would be kept extremely sharp and deadly. The language in Hebrews says as much saying that it divides joints and marrow
But in our passage it isn’t joints and marrow that are the subject of the analogy, any sword can divide joints and marrow, but the sword of God’s examination divides the soul and spirit and the thoughts and intents of the heart. The picture is made, but this is another thing for us entirely.
Philo, a first century Jewish philosopher commented on Genesis 15 where we read about the sacrifices being cut in half during God’s covenant with Abraham. Philo said
After this the scripture proceeds to say, "And he divided them in the middle," not explaining who did so, in order that you may understand that it was the untaught God who divided them, and that he divided all the natures of bodies and of things one after another, which appeared to be closely fitted together and united by his word, which cuts through everything; which being sharpened to the finest possible edge, never ceases dividing all the objects of the outward senses,
And then Philo proceeds to look at all of the ways in which God has created divisions in the world by his word: Light and Dark, Male and Female, Heaviness and Lightness and so on.
The author of Hebrews is no doubt pulling from this understanding that the Jewish people had of the word of God, that it can make division like a sword.
John Piper explains that this passage in Hebrews compares a sword to the word saying that the sword:
it's like dividing joints and marrow. Joints are the thick, hard, outer part of the bone. Marrow is the soft, tender, living, inner part of the bone. That is an analogy of "soul and spirit." The word of God is like a sword that is sharp enough to cut right through the outer, hard, tough part of a bone to the inner, soft, living part of the bone. Some swords, less sharp, may strike a bone and glance off and not penetrate. Some swords may penetrate part way through the tough, thick joint of a bone. But a very sharp, powerful double-edged sword (sharp on each side of the point) will penetrate the joint all the way to the marrow.
So, Just as Piper says a sword can cut to the core of bone, so does the sharpness of the word of God get past the soul to the spirit, and thoughts to the intents of the heart.
You can try all you wish to hide your true motives from God, but understand what 1 Sam 16:7 says
1 Samuel 16:7 (KJV 1900)
7 ..... for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.
God gets past our outward actions, and even past our internal defenses strait to the spirit of man, and that is where he judges.
God Looks on the heart
God Looks on the heart
Jesus, at the sermon on the mount speaks to intent. In Matthew 5:21-22 he says of murder and hate
21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
And then in Matthew 5:27-28 he speaks of adultery and lust
27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Let me illustrate this another way. Turn your Bibles over to Genesis 3:6
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Where did the first sin take place? Eve eating the fruit? No the sin happened when Eve took the fruit. When she intentioned in her heart to rebel against God and thereby plunged mankind into sin.
Later in the garden Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent but God knew their hearts. In their hear they were tempted by the Devil, they were more driven by the idea of being like God than being obedient - to - God, and for that heart of rebellion they fell.
Striving
Striving
Labor
Labor
Hebrews 4:11 said
11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
We are to labor or to strive. This doesn’t mean that we have a works based salvation. If you remember from the previous weeks, the writer of Hebrews is following the picture of the Israelites who were unfaithful falling in the wilderness and not being permitted to enter into the rest of the promised land.
The hearers of the gospel today, ought to be intensely motivated to follow after God unto salvation lest they end up with the same ultimate fate of those who knew of God, were part of God’s congregation in the desert, yet never surrendered their lives in obedience to God, so they fell in the wilderness.
Wardrobe Change
Wardrobe Change
When God looks upon us he sees through the trivial things we use to try to hide our hearts. We need a wardrobe change, but it can’t be like the Emperor in the folk tale who thought he was clothed but ultimately was naked.
So many people try to put on things to cover their sin: be it denial or activities or false piety or (as is often the case) resting on the philosophy of the world so that they can convince themselves that there is no God to be accountable to. God — see’s right through it all. When we try to clothe ourselves in those things we are as naked and foolish as the Emperor.
But there is something to put on - Please turn with me to Isaiah 61:10
10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
If God is going to look at you, let him see you clothed in the garments of salvation and covered in the robe of righteousness.
People who go unclothed in the wilderness for too long, tend to die of what we call ‘exposure’. They have nothing to protect them from exposure to things like sunburn, insects, hypothermia or more extreme dangers like frostbite or sunstroke.
A man without God is like someone walking naked through the wilderness. The consequences to their body build and build until they can no longer push through, and they perish.
But In Romans 13:14 we read of our need being met:
14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Christ is our garment and our protection, he is the one who can clothe us in salvation and when God looks upon us, yes he sees us as we are, he see through to our spirit and our intentions, but he also sees us wrapped up in the safety, the protection, in the garment of His son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Invitation Call
This morning if you aren’t covered by Jesus Christ, you are probably doing a lot of things to try and cover the truth. You know you don’t live up to Gods standard and according to our Bible, if you aren’t then you should be very concerned over fate.
I beg you today to put on the garment of Christ and be covered. To do this what needs to be done is to put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and savior. This means that you turn from your sins and make a decision to follow him instead of the foolishness of the world.
If you would like to know more about what it is to follow Christ or have any other questions, we are going to close in prayer soon and I would like nothing more than to talk to you about my God. If you are watching at home, you an send a private message to Harvest and I will respond back to you privately.
Let’s Pray