“WHY PERFECTIONISTS DESPISE CHRISTMAS AND  IMPERFECT SINNERS WHO TRUST GOD’S GRACE LOVE IT! ”

 

Pastor Mike Barnett ~ December 23, 2007

 

Micah 5:1-5 says:

 

 Marshal your troops, O city of troops,n

    for a siege is laid against us.

  They will strike Israel's ruler

    on the cheek with a rod.

 

  MIC 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

    though you are small among the clansn of Judah,

  out of you will come for me

    one who will be ruler over Israel,

  whose originsn are from of old,

    from ancient times.n "

 

  MIC 5:3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned

    until the time when she who is in labor gives birth

  and the rest of his brothers return

    to join the Israelites.

 

  MIC 5:4 He will stand and shepherd his flock

    in the strength of the LORD,

    in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.

  And they will live securely, for then his greatness

    will reach to the ends of the earth.

 MIC 5:5 And he will be their peace.  Micah 5:1-5

 

·        This Old Testament prophecy reveals that God had chosen Bethlehem to be the birth place of Christ.

 

·        Before the birth of Christ nobody heard of Bethlehem – it was an obscure and unknown town.

 

ILLUSTRATION #4

 

·        There was an interesting article in MONEY magazine a couple of years ago.  It seems that MONEY ranked the area around Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, dead last among 300 cities surveyed in which to live. 

 

·        Mayor Joseph Daddona of Allentown which is part of the region MONEY panned – said, “Lee Iacocca’s mother lives here.  Do you think that Lee Iaccoca would let his mother stay in a place that wasn’t fit to live in?” 

 

·        Dick Strain, executive director of the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce, referring to cities that finished much higher in rank, said, “I don’t know too many people here who would rather live in Philadelphia or New York.”

 

·        An editorial in the Bethlehem Globe Times newspaper, said, “What a remarkable coincidence!  At the same time as their survey, we were concluding that MONEY is the worst magazine in the nation.”

 

·        If Bethlehem, Pennsylvania was rated number 300, I would hate to think where Bethlehem of Judea would rank in MONEY’S listings.

 

·        In fact, if a committee were appointed to recommend favorable places for the birth of the king of kings, I doubt Bethlehem would even make the list.

 

·        Bethlehem was a little town removed from the centers of influence and power in the world of its day. 

 

·        There was little to recommend Bethlehem for the birthplace of the Messiah.  Yet it was God’s choice. 

 

·        The prophet Micah foretold of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem and said in V. 2 of Micah 5:

 

“But you, Bethlehem Ephratha, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel whose origins are from old, from ancient times.”

 

·        In God’s wisdom, Bethlehem was the perfect place for the Messiah to be born. 

 

·        It is a humble place, and God blesses those with humble beginnings. 

 

·        But from a human perspective, when you look at the details of Jesus’ birth, many of the circumstances were far from perfect. 

 

·        Caesar was imposing taxes for his own interest.

 

·        Herod violently protected his throne, motivated by fear, greed, and insecurity.

 

·        Joseph and Mary were not married, yet she was pregnant.

 

·        Though Joseph was a man of faith and obedience to God, I am sure that this situation created tremendous concern among the members of their families. 

 

·        And now, days before giving birth, Joseph and Mary find themselves on a journey to a little town called Bethlehem, where there will be no adequate place for them to stay.

 

·        The king of kings was to be born, not in a major metropolis, not in luxury and comfort, but in a stable in a seemingly insignificant town.

 

·        He was born in a cave that was used as a stable for animals of all places!

 

Stables are for animals not for kings and saviors!

 

·        From a human perspective, Bethlehem was not considered a perfect location to be the birth place of the Christ child.

 

·        Obviously God is not a perfectionist or he would have never had his son born in a stable in an obscure, unknown town like Bethlehem.

 

·        Have you ever known anyone who was a perfectionist?  They are impossible to live with. 

 

·         I don’t mean someone who strives for excellence.  That’s an admirable quality; perfectionism isn’t.

 

·        All of us have had critical people say mean-spirited words to us.

 

·        The fact is, perfectionism breaks a person’s spirit.

 

·        Perfectionism does not come from God – it comes from the world we live in.

 

·        Perfectionism is a paradigm made by human beings.

 

·        Perfectionism is man’s attempt to control external circumstances.

 

·        Perfectionism is a human illusion that does not exist in God’s economy.

 

  • Only insecure people are perfectionists.

 

  • GOD IS NOT A PERFECTIONIST – GOD IS PERFECT!

 

  • THERE IS A DIFFERENCE!

 

  • GOD IS PERFECT – NOT A PERFECTIONIST!

 

  • WHAT GOD CREATES IS PERFECT!

 

  • WHAT GOD USES TO CREATE OFTEN TIMES COMES OUT OF WHAT WE CONSIDER IMPERFECT MATERIAL!

 

  • GOD CREATED HIS MOST PRIZED POSSESSION - MAN OUT OF DIRT!

 

  • GOD CREATED THE KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS OUT OF A BABY BORN IN A MANGER!

 

 ILLUSTRATION #2

 

·        In the British, Museum in London you can see the final draft of Thomas Gray’s masterpiece Elegy Written in a country churchyard.  Lovers of English literature marvel at how every word seems so carefully chosen. This display proves that they, in fact, were.  Gray wasn’t satisfied with his first draft, so he rewrote it.  Then he improved the poem a third time.  This continued for eight years.  With all that persistent polishing, Grey never considered his poem complete.  In the museum display you can see each successive copy carefully penned by hand – all seventy-five drafts!  This is a commitment to excellence, and it is a good quality.  A perfectionist, on the other hand, isn’t one who rewrites a poem 75 times; it is one who would never begin a poem in the first place because they know that it could never be as perfect as they would want it to be.

 

·        Perfectionists are people who strain compulsively toward impossible goals and measure their self worth entirely in terms of their achievements. 

 

·        As a result…

 

·        Perfectionists are terrified by the potential of failure because their identity is directly connected to their performance.

 

·        Perfectionists do not start projects because they fear failing and when a perfectionist does muster up the courage to finish a project, often times they feel unrewarded by their accomplishments - they are the most unhappy people.

 

·        Sadly, many people confuse such compulsiveness with Christianity.

 

·        They take Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:48 – “Be perfect, even as your heavenly father is perfect” – to mean that we are to be perfect without a flaw.

 

·        When Jesus made this statement he undoubtedly meant we are to be perfect in our love – even as God’s very nature is love.

 

·        I dislike a lot of bumper stickers with cute religious expressions, but there is one that is right on target.  It says “Christians are not perfect, just forgiven.”

 

·        Christians are not perfect – even the best of us.  But we can be forgiven.

 

·        THE FORGIVENESS AND GRACE ARE GOD’S GIFTS TO THE SINNER THAT EMPOWERS HIM/HER TO REPENT FROM “MISSING THE MARK”AND THEREBY BECOME MORE LIKE JESUS AND LESS LIKE THE WORLD!

 

Romans 2:1-4 says:

 

4Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?

 

·        That is the reason for Christmas!

 

·        This is why Jesus came into the world to free us from our sins...

 

·        Jesus would have no reason to come into a perfect world where people were sinless, spotless and whole!

 

·        JESUS DID NOT COME FOR THE RIGHTEOUS, BUT FOR THE UNRIGHTEOUS!

 

·        JESUS CAME TO RESCUE IMPERFECT SINNERS FROM SPIRITUAL DEATH!

 

·        Jesus has a knack but turning imperfect circumstances around.

 

 

 

·        THIS WAS LESS THAN A PERFECT SCENARIO

 

·        Bethlehem was the home town of King David, who was far from perfect who sinned in numerous ways, most notably by committing adultery and murder….Yet he was called a man after God’s own heart.

 

THE PRAYER DAVID PRAYED AFTER HE WAS CONVICTED OF HIS SIN:

 

PSALM 51:1-19 SAYS:

 

1 Have mercy on me, O God,

    according to your unfailing love;

  according to your great compassion

    blot out my transgressions.

 

  PS 51:2 Wash away all my iniquity

    and cleanse me from my sin.

 

  PS 51:3 For I know my transgressions,

    and my sin is always before me.

 

  PS 51:4 Against you, you only, have I sinned

    and done what is evil in your sight,

  so that you are proved right when you speak

    and justified when you judge.

 

  PS 51:5 Surely I was sinful at birth,

    sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

 

  PS 51:6 Surely you desire truth in the inner partsn;

    you teachn me wisdom in the inmost place.

 

  PS 51:7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;

    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

 

  PS 51:8 Let me hear joy and gladness;

    let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

 

  PS 51:9 Hide your face from my sins

    and blot out all my iniquity.

 

  PS 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,

    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

 

  PS 51:11 Do not cast me from your presence

    or take your Holy Spirit from me.

 

  PS 51:12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation

    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

 

  PS 51:13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

    and sinners will turn back to you.

 

  PS 51:14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God,

    the God who saves me,

    and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

 

  PS 51:15 O Lord, open my lips,

    and my mouth will declare your praise.

 

  PS 51:16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;

    you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

 

  PS 51:17 The sacrifices of God aren a broken spirit;

    a broken and contrite heart,

    O God, you will not despise.

 

  PS 51:18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;

    build up the walls of Jerusalem.

 

  PS 51:19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices,

    whole burnt offerings to delight you;

    then bulls will be offered on your altar.  Psalm 51:1-19

 

·        God is looking for something more than perfection from us –  He is looking for our HEARTS!

 

·        That is the whole point of the Christmas story.

 

·        God didn’t come to us at Christmas because we are perfect and good - He came to us because we were imperfect and needed him.

 

·        He came because our hearts were hardened by sin.

 

·        He came because we, as a human race, made a mess of our lives.

 

·        He came BECAUSE HE LOVED US SO MUCH!

 

John 3:16 says: “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son. So that He who believes in Him shall not perish, but have ever lasting life”.

 

·        Have you ever tried to keep a perfect house when a baby is in residence? It doesn’t work.