The Focus of the Garment - Nolan Bechtel

Good morning to each of you in greetings in Jesus'

name this morning. It's good to be here with you.

I've enjoyed the tone of the service, appreciate the thought

of community tied in with the lesson this morning, community

church life, even reaching beyond to fellowship with other congregations.

And so I find myself here this morning and a

desire within my own heart to speak truth, and yet

understanding that I have the potential of error. I have

the potential of not understanding. I have the potential of

conveying myself wrongly. I have the potential of selfishness in

my own heart. And so I appreciate the the safety

of community in relation to even this kind of time

of sharing. And so I invite you your critiquing of

truth this morning. Maybe I'm a little more at risk

for inviting that this morning than I am some sometimes,

just because I recognize the subject where we're going. There's

a lot of potential for not conveying what I really

want to convey. There's a lot of potential for misunderstanding

in it. So hang in there and listen from start

to finish, and take the whole if you can. In

relation to the subject. Sitting here and enjoying your Sunday

School lesson, I'm not quite at that passage that you

study this morning, but I've been preaching through the Sermon

on the Mount for longer than what you've been studying

the Sermon on the Mount in Sunday School because I

don't preach every Sunday, and I'm glad that I didn't

rehearse last Sunday's lesson for you, and I'm glad to

be here and pick up some ideas for next For

the next message this morning, I'd like us to think

a little about the subject of garments. And while you

will find a little bit of fabric in this morning's message,

the focus of the garment discussion doesn't relate so much,

but it does to fabric if you will, and I

think you'll understand in a moment, the thought of garment

this morning has more to do with who you are,

by way of reputation, by way of character, by way

of everything about you that defines you. So I'm sure,

even though I don't live in your community, there are

some things when you think about me, there are some

defining things in your mind. Some of them hopefully are positive,

likely some of them are negative, and so the garment

let me take you to Let me take you to

the words of a song. One of the phrases in

the Sands of Time Are Sinking is the bride eyes

not her garment, but her dear bridegroom's face. Another phrase

in that song is I stand up on his merit.

I know no other stand all right, just kind of

couple those in your mind for an introduction to where

we want to go. The song refers largely to largely

to an eternal perspective, a perspective of what it'll be

like in eternity, bringing to mind the focus that when

we are there with Jesus, our focus is going to

be on Jesus, not on who I am. Because of Jesus,

our focus is It's going to be on Jesus' work,

not my accomplishment on this life. Because of Jesus' work,

Our focus is going to be on Jesus' sacrifice, not

what it cost me to get there. All right, the

bride eyes not her garment, but her dear bridegroom's face.

If that is the case, and we find that true

in revelation throughout, If that is the case, how does

that affect us today. If that's the focus there, what's

the focus here? How much of a garment focus do

we have here? Think for a moment with me about

the bride. Who's the bride? Revelation nineteen seven and eight says,

let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to

him and him in that versus God, let us give

honor to God for the marriage of the Lamb. Who

is the Lamb, Jesus, the Son of God. For the

marriage of the Lamb is come and his wife, who

is that the body of Christ, the body of Christ

at large, the Lamb. His wife hath made herself ready

for the Lamb, and to her was granted that she

should be a raid in fine linen, clean and white.

For the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.

There's a collective side of this verse. She should be

a raid. She the church, the bride, she all of

us collectively a raid. Okay, So there is a there

is a church culture that I would like us to

think about in the process of this morning's discussion that

enters into this. There's also the personal side of this.

For the fine linen is the righteousness of who you

and me. The saints individually think a little bit about

the garment. So the bride is the bride is us?

What about the garment is? What is the garment that's

being referred to here? The fine linen is the righteousness

of the saints. Just a few verses scattered from old

to new Psalm one thirty two, verse nine, Let thy

priests be clothed with righteousness. Let them be clothed with righteousness.

This isn't only a New Testament principle. Isaiah sixty one,

verse ten is a beautiful verse. I will greatly reach

our choice 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 deckth himself with ornaments, and

as a bride adorneth herself with jewels. What's the purpose

of a groom adorning himself? What's the purpose of a

bride adorning herself? Where after someone's attention? Aren't we where

after someone's heart? Where after someone's desire? And we're wanting

to please Job twenty nine, verse fourteen says I put

on righteousness and this is Job's words, not one of

his three friends. In this case, I put on righteousness,

and it clothed to me. My judgment was a robe

and a diadem. Do you think Job was talking about

that which defined who he really was? I think so.

I think he was talking about all that defined him.

Tewod Corinthians, chapter six, verse seven says, by the word

of truth, by the power of God, and by the

armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left. Okay,

clothing ourselves the armor of righteousness. And back again to

the phrase of Revelation nineteen eight. To her was granted

that she should be a raid in fine linen, clean

and white. For the fine linen is the righteousness of

the saints. So you think about that garment. It's a

garment you can't sew. It's a garment that you can't buy.

It's a garment that we are. Well, let's talk about

the garment just a little bit. Does the garment matter?

Jeremiah two, verse thirty two says, can a maid forget

her ornaments or a bride her attire? Yet my people

have forgotten me days without number. So in the natural sense,

while the groom is the bride's focus. There aren't one

of you married ladies that would say it didn't matter

to you on that day when you made those vows.

There's not one of you that would say, I was

just there for him. I didn't care. I didn't care

what I looked like, I didn't care how I was dressed.

I didn't care about the day. There's not a one

of you that would have said that at that time

that you wouldn't say now either. There's not a one

of you that would have wanted for your bride to

be so consumed with herself and her appearance that she

forgot to be there on time for you. She didn't

show up. There's not a one of you that would

have been happy with that. Neither would have you been

happy if she'd showed up and had forgotten about the

occasion and forgotten to dress for the occasion. Wouldn't have

been happy about that either. But God is saying God

is saying here that but this is actually what happened,

that his people became so consumed with themselves that they

forgot him Matthew twenty two, verses eleven to thirteen. We

have that little story, and this just breaks into that

story where the king had called his called all of

his chosen to come, and we understand that to be

reflective of the Jewish people. But they, with excuse, they

did not show up. And then he told his servants

go out and gather everybody, anyone from the highways and

the bios. Bring them in my wedding supper feast seats

need to be filled. Bring them in. And so they

did that, and the gentiles were invited to come. But

you remember the story Matthew twenty two, eleven to thirteen.

The king came in to see the guests. He came

wandering his way through to visit with the guests who

were there, to show them acceptance, to show them appreciation

for taking their time and their commitment for being present.

And as he wandered his way through, he saw a

man that had not a wedding garment. He saw a

man that was there just it's like he was seen

prior to coming into the wedding. And the king of

that feast, of that wedding said to his servants, bind

him hand and foot, take him away, cast him into

outer darkness, and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Is the garment important. The bride eyes not her garment,

but heard your savior's feet, heard your savior's face. And

so here we have the king casting out a man

who did not have on a wedding garment. I think

there's a lot of things for us to absorb from this,

and we're not going to spend a lot of time

with it. But let me just say this, in relation

to the garment, we can come just as we are

when our Savior calls, we can come just as we

are if we are willing for his changes, if we're

willing to change, if we're willing to embrace who he is.

We cannot remain as we are. You see, when we come,

we do come as we are, But we have no

right to remain as we are, no right once we

have come. Ephesians five, verses twenty five to twenty seven say,

as Christ gave himself for her that he might sanctify

and cleanse her, that he might present her glorious without

spot or wrinkle. That's talking about garment, isn't it without

spot or wrinkle? Jesus gave himself for you and I

that we could.

Stand before a holy and a just God and be

seen as prepared, prepared, How can you be prepared to

meet God?

You can't go to Walmart and find a good enough garment,

nor can you live righteously for enough years to create

the right righteousness. So we have our Sunday school lesson,

and we have those poor people the last part of

the Sunday school lesson? Who did all this good? But

did you notice that Jesus when he said depart art

from me? He said, you workers of what do you say? Iniquity? Iniquity?

What is righteousness in my own strength? What is righteousness

to build my reputation? What is righteousness to make myself

a dean? What is righteousness to compete with someone else?

Is it iniquity? And all our righteousness, the prophet says,

are as filthy racks. Without Jesus, we cannot have a

garment that qualifies us. Revelation Chapter three, Verses four and five.

Thou hast a few names even in sorry, which have

not defiled their garments. And they shall walk with me

in white, for they are worthy. They have not defiled

their garments. The walk with me in white, for they

are worthy. He that overcometh the same shall be clothed

in white raiment, and I will not blot out his

name out of the book of the Life. And I

will confess his name before my father and before my angels.

Revelations sixteen, verse fifteen says, behold, I come quickly. Behold,

I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth.

And do you know what those next couple words are?

Anyone have that at the tip of your tongue keepeth

keepeth his garments. Blessed is he that watcheth Revelations sixteen fifteen,

And keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked and they

see his shame. Keepeth his garments. If the garment is

the righteousness of Jesus Christ, if the garment is the

provision and the forgiveness of Christ and reconciling me, justifying

me with the Holy imperfect God, how do I keep it?

Do I have a responsibility to maintain that garment? Blessed

is he that keepeth his garments stewards of the righteousness

of Christ, stewards of the reputation of Jesus Christ. Jesus said,

you will come after me, you will follow me, you

will be like me. We're the light of the world.

To demonstrate who Jesus is, stewards of the life of Christ,

stewards of the reputation of Jesus Christ. We do have

something to do with keeping our garments, don't we. Let's

think for a little bit about this thought of eyeing

the garment, the focus of the garment, obsession with the garment.

Do you think obsession with the garment may actually draw

our focus away from Christ's provision? Does it actually detract

us from the work that Christ has done and zoom

our focus in on the maintenance of that garment? Okay,

where to keep our garments? There's a maintenance that is

to be done. Is it possible that obsession with the

garment actually draws us away from Christ's provision and puts

us in a position, I'll use the word obsessed again,

of becoming obsessed with maintaining the garment, maybe failing in

the garment, the application the reputation. All right, is there

anything in scripture that can help us with this? Romans

chapter ten, verse three says of the Jews, for they,

being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish

their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness

which is of God not understanding, and he's talking about

the work of Jesus that God provided for the Jews,

being ignorant of God's righteousness, going about to establish their

own righteousness and have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness

of God. I think this is an example of the

bride being consumed with the garment. And then my mind goes.

You turn to Matthew twenty three. If you will, then

my mind goes to this passage, and maybe we'll read

only the first seven verses of Matthew twenty three, and

Jesus speaks specifically to this problem of establishing our own

righteousness as he relates to the Pharisees in his day.

Matthew chapter twenty three, Verse one says, then spake Jesus

to the multitude and to his disciples, saying, the scribes

and the Pharisees sit in Moses's seat. All therefore, whatsoever

they bid you observe that, observe, and do, but do

nachi after their works, For they say and do not.

For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be born

and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will

not move them with one of their fingers. But all

their works they do for to be seen of men. Okay,

you notice that Jesus already said the things that they

say you should be doing. But here he's pointing out

to a problem that exists in following their example. All

their works that they do for to be seen of men.

They make broad their flactories and enlarge the borders of

their garments, and they love the uppermost rooms at the feasts,

and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in

the markets, and to be called of men. Rabbi, Rabbi,

what is the problem with a garment focus?

What is the.

Problem with becoming obsessed with how I appear to you?

What is the problem with being coming obsessed with our.

Reputation, with all that.

Defines us? What happens when that becomes the primary focus?

I think one of the things that happens is that

it ends up producing fear in our lives rather than faith.

A focus on the garment produces a helplessness. It's what

the law did for the Jewish people for thousands of years, right.

It produced a helplessness. It produced a requirement, but a

helplessness in beating that requirement. And for a sensitive person,

this focus only proclaims that you don't measure up. I

cannot make it. I'm not going to be good enough.

I cannot consistently meet these requirements. Fear is a natural

result when we fall short of required goals. We're not capable.

The garment. All of the things that you do as

part of this brotherhood, a lot of those things wrap

up in what could be considered the garment, and it

could be motivated by a lot of different things. Jesus

spoke to it here to be seen of men. A

focus on the garment does not produce faith. The garment

is a result of faith. That's why it can't produce faith.

Romans twelve two and three. Looking unto Jesus, the author

and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that

was set before him, endured faith. Looking unto Jesus, not

looking into the garment, consider him that endured. Lest you

be weary and faint in your minds, consider him look

unto Jesus. There's a lot of doubt that comes from

focusing on the garment. And you know, this can go

on either side of the road. This can be on

either ditch. I can be a young man, a young lady.

I might even be able to be an old man

and an old lady who is focused on brand names

and styles and vacations and lifestyle to please somebody else,

to fit in with my peers. Or I can drive

in the other ditch and I can meticulously make sure

that all the things that pertain to me and my

family are just as straight and true. Nobody can see

a hair out of place or a garment out of line,

and either side I have a garment focus. Right either side,

I have a garment focus. I'm concerned and I have

a lot of doubt, and I have little rest. A

lot of doubt and little rest. And it doesn't matter

which to ch I am, and that both are the same.

The focus on the garment raises a lot of questions,

burdens greater than can be born. Jesus spoke to them.

And yet that can be in either ditch, that can

be on either side. A garment focus does not bring rest.

A garment the righteousness of Jesus Christ resting in his

identity and who I am and him that does affect

my rest. The garment does pertain to my rest, but

the focus on the garment will not produce rest. Jesus said,

come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden,

and I will give you rest. My yoke is easy,

my burden is light. It's easier for you to please

me than for you to try to please everybody else,

your peers included, Jesus is, Come and follow me. It's easy.

It's easy. There is a path of surrender that is

easier than the dictates of the world. I don't know

is it error to say or the church around me?

You know, if you are only if you're only here,

and you're only controlled by the mechanism of this church,

it's a difficult life.

If it's not the heart, if it's not ye Jesus,

if it's not what he has put within you, what

He's provided for you, the righteousness, the garment of righteousness.

Rest comes in answering jesus invitation. You know, a garment

focus produces pride rather than praes And Jesus again spoke

to that. Here they love the uppermost rooms, the feasts,

the synagogues. What they do they do for to be

seen of men? They enlarge the borders of the garments.

What is they take? What is right? What God spoke

to about that blue border, and they enlarge that from

what Aaron ever commanded that it ought to be. More

is better?

Is it?

What's our focus? What's our focus? What's driving? More is better?

I don't care which side of the ditch you're on.

What's driving? I draw her attention to Hebrews chapter thirteen

in relation to this thing of pride rather than praise.

A focus in the garment is always going to result

in pride. And again, it doesn't matter which side of

the road I am gravitating toward, whether I am following

worldly pursuits, or whether I am following a conservative groove.

If you will, pride will bring a fall in either path.

But where it talks about Jesus' work in Hebrews chapter thirteen,

towards the middle of that chapter, Jesus suffering without the gait,

to let us go forth without the camp and so on.

Verse fifteen says by him, therefore, let us offer the

sacrifice of praise to God continually. That is the fruit

of our lips giving thanks to his name. The sacrifice

of praise comes from a heart that recognizes and finds

his security in the work of Jesus. Christ, not in

defense of my image, my reputation, but to do good

and to communicate, forget not don't leave those things aside.

It does matter what we do. In fact, he goes

on and says, to obey them that have the rule

of your insubmit yourselves. They watch for your souls, say

that must give an account. Focusing fixation on the garment

produces pride rather than praise from our lives. It produces

self confidence rather than self denial. A garment focus, if

it doesn't take us down the path of fear and

inability to reach it, it'll take us down the path

of self confidence and self righteousness. You see again, Satan

doesn't really care which path right. They both end in defeat.

They both end with big problems. Maybe we ought to

think about this a little bit in relation to culture,

the culture of our corporate church life, I in the

garment culture, within our congregations, congregational pride. Sometimes maybe we're

tempted that our identity is represented by how we are,

not as others are. Do you know what I'm talking about?

Congregational pride? Do we sometimes feel that way? To so?

Do we sometimes express ourselves that way? Even the even

the Pharisee public in those prayers. Even as he came

to pray that that was one of his God, I

thank you that I'm not as other people are. He had.

He had a self confidence and self righteousness. There wasn't

any self denial. There was no hint of that in

his prayer. A garment is a result of self denial, okay.

The garment that Jesus Christ produces for us, and as

we wear that, that is a productive of self Denalogesus said,

if you come after me, you're going to need to

deny yourself in order to follow me. Okay, it produces that.

But a focus on the garment will not produce self denial.

It'll produce pride. Even though maybe that garment identifies us.

It does whichever side of the path we're on. Our

garment does identify us. Our reputation all that defines us

in life. It identifies who we are. By their fruits,

you shall know them. That's part of that picture. But

comparing myself among others and saying well, I'm glad that

I don't. You know, we're not going to go there

because we've seen what it does here. Comparing myself with

others will not perfect my garment. It will not perfect

my garment. That's not the path to righteousness. If any

man will come after me, let him deny himself and

take up his cross and follow me further. Jesus said

in Luke chapter eleven, verse fifty two, woe unto you lawyers,

for ye have taken away the key of knowledge ye

have entered, not in yourselves and them that we're entering in.

Ye hindered a garment focus. By the way, that verse

in Luke eleven fifty two comes after the same set

of verses from Matthew twenty three that we read. It's

in the same context. It reduces the kingdom rather than

enlarges the kingdom. A garment focus reduces the kingdom rather

than enlarges the kingdom. You know the little book, The

Cross and the Switchblade. You read it, okay. David Wilkerson

men who began Team Challenge work, the founder of that

before he began to work with gang members in New

York City. After his first few visits, but before his

first couple of converts, he decided to go spend a

little time and made a trip to visit his grandfather.

If you know anything about that history, the Wilkerson's. There

was a history of pastors in that family. His grandfather

was also a pastor in his day. And he took

a little time and he went and his grandfather listened

to David's dream for the gangs in New York. And

David was trying to sort out is this just an intent,

is this just a desire of my own? Or is

this the calling of God in my life? Am I

actually to leave my congregation and go to this work

or not. It was difficult for him and his family

to sort through that. It was difficult for his wife

to come along with him in that decision, and he

needed additional direction, and so his grandfather listened and talked

with him. The story goes like this that as grandfather

finished with finished sharing, he says, David, I want to

tell you a story. So one day I was walking

down a path. I was walking through the woods. It

was a dark area. It was a thick area of

the woods, and it came to a place where the

light was shining through the trees and onto the path,

and all of a sudden I saw a huge black snake,

ugly critter laying across the path, and he stopped dead

in his tracks, terrified, trying to figure out, okay, does

he turn around and go back, or which is a

safe way to go round this critter. And as he

stands there and looks on, he sees a little movement

and he watches as this beautifully striped colored reptile slithers

out of its skin, its skin remaining across the path,

and the sun came, catching glimmers of the colors as

it went. He finished his story and he looked at

David and he said, David, my biggest fear is that

you will become discouraged by evil boys. You are going

to see things you have never seen before. You're going

to come up alongside people that have been involved in

things you've never been involved in. And my biggest fear

is that you will be paralyzed as I was by

that snake to inaction. David. Remember the Gospel is a

power of transformation. The story of the Gospel is a

power of transformation. You think about the fixation of the

garment and this point in relation to reducing the kingdom

rather than enlarging the kingdom. You think about your pointed,

your times of coming face to face with people who

don't look inviting to share with people who do not

smell inviting to share with people whose past baggage seems

too big to enter into with the gospel. How are

you going to change multiple marriages and divorces and crimes

and you're going to wade into that person's life with truth?

You see. Part of the problem with fixation on the

garment is that we aren't prepared to deal with those

who have not the garment. If we are going to

help those who have not the garment, our focus must

be on the giver of the garment. If we're going

to offer them life, if go and offer them hope,

if we're going to offer them truth. While the garment

identifies us with the Kingdom of God, it is not

the source of our power. Jesus Christ himself is the

source of our power, our submission, our one. Jesus prayed,

sanctify them through thy truth, that they may be one

in us, that the world may believe that thou hast

sent me. And then he goes on and says, and

that you may behold my glory. Behold the glory, not

the garment, Behold the glory. Two Corinthians three eighteen says,

but we all with open face beholding as in a

glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the

same image, from glory to glory. What will change us?

What will transform us? It's not a fixation on the garment.

It's a fixation on Jesus Christ. I can he be

a hearer of the word from James one twenty three

and not a doer. He's like unto a man. He

beholds his natural face in the glass. He's fixated on himself.

He's beholding his natural face in the glass, and he

turns away from that, and he forgets what manner of

man he was, because he's not focused on Jesus Christ.

He's not focused on the Word. He's not focused on truth.

He's not focused on the sanctification that the Word is

attempting to do in his heart. And he walks away

forgetting what manner of man he was, forgetting the call

of the Scripture. Whoso looketh unto the perfect law of

liberty and continueth therein this man will be blessed in Indeed,

there's a garment for that man who looks into the

law and obediently follows the giver of the law. Ephesians

four to twenty. But ye have not so learned Christ,

if so be that you've heard of him been taught

by him, as the truth is in Jesus. The truth

is not in your garment, it's not in your church standard,

it's not in your reputation. The truth is in Jesus.

You're going to help people with the truth of Jesus.

You're not going to.

Help people by an unmarked and unmarred perception, if you

will pardon me, perception of people's perception of who you are.

Having a perfect being perceived perfectly is not going to

change the world. It's not going to change people. But

would we come as a changed person who has been

marred and recognizes our scars and the power of Jesus

Christ to change life. We have something to offer, We

have something to give. What is your garment with? What

are you clothed? Classians three ten, And have put on

the new Man, which is renewed in knowledge after the

image of Him that created him, not renewed in the

knowledge of who we have been for five hundred years.

Those things are good for us to know, not renewed

in the knowledge of what. Halsey's Church standards, say those

things are good to know, and you've committed yourselves to

follow them. Don't lay them aside, but renewed in the

knowledge of Jesus Christ. There is the power. There is

the power to walk a life of denial, a life

of surrender. Remember the lawyers, the Pharisees that had taken

away the key of knowledge because they were so focused

on that outer garment. Renewed in knowledge after the image

of Him that created him. It's so important for us

while working to reach goal, you know, we get to

the nitty gritty of the intermediate stages of fulfilling that goal,

and sometimes sometimes we get distracted of what it takes

to actually reach the end, and we get taken up

with the in between stuff, and we need to be

reminded it's so critical for us to ever be beholding

the glory of the Lord, if we will be changed

into His image, beholding the Lord. God bless you.