“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
on the
cheek with a rod.
MIC 5:2
"But you,
though
you are small among the clansn of
out of you will
come for me
one
who will be ruler over
whose originsn
are from of old,
from
ancient times.n "
MIC 5:3
Therefore
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
·
Before the birth
of Christ nobody heard of
ILLUSTRATION #4
·
There was an
interesting article in MONEY magazine a couple of years ago. It seems
that MONEY ranked the area around
·
Mayor Joseph
Daddona of
·
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
·
An editorial
in the
·
If
·
In fact, if a
committee were appointed to recommend favorable places for the birth of the
king of kings, I doubt
·
·
There was
little to recommend
·
The prophet
Micah foretold of the birth of Jesus in
“But you,
·
In God’s
wisdom,
·
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
·
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,
·
Obviously God
is not a perfectionist or he would have never had his son born in a stable in
an obscure, unknown town like
·
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.
ILLUSTRATION #2
·
In the
British, Museum in
·
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
·
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
build
up the walls of
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.
·
When there is
a baby in the house you have to forget about perfection and think about love…
·
That’s the
message of Christmas. It is not about perfection, it’s about God’s perfect
love for sinners!
·
This
·
Our church
may seem less than perfect to you.
·
After all,
look at all the empty pews.
·
Look at all
the people that should be here, but are missing.
·
HOW COME WE
DO NOT HAVE MORE PEOPLE HERE TODAY TO HEAR ABOUT JESUS!
·
IF THIS WERE
A PERFECT WORLD THE PEWS WOULD BE PACKED WITH EAGER LISTENERS READY TO
SURRENDER THEIR HEARTS, MINDS, AND SOULS TO CHRIST!
·
BUT I WOULD
ARGUE THAT GOD’S PERFECT LOVE IS HERE IN A SEEMINGLY IMPERFECT SITUATION.
·
JESUS SAID,
WHERE THERE ARE TWO OR THREE GATHERED IN MY NAME, THERE I AM ALSO.
·
WE HAVE GOD’S
LOVE IN OUR HEARTS, MINDS AND SOULS!
·
WE HAVE THE
LOVE AND FELLOWSHIP OF OUR CHURCH FAMILY…
·
WE HAVE THE
HOLY SPIRIT DWELLING WITHIN US.
·
WE ARE SONS
AND DAUGHTERS OF GOD!
·
WE ARE
PERFECTLY CONNECTED TO OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN THROUGH JESUS CHRIST HIS SON FOR
THOSE WHO HAVE RECEIVED HIM AS LORD AND SAVIOR, THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON.
·
OUR SINS ARE
FORGIVEN
·
WE ARE
REDEEMED
·
WE HAVE NEW
LIFE IN CHIRST
·
ALL BECAUSE
GOD SENT HIS PERFECT SON JESUS CHRIST TO AN
·
AND WHEN “WE
LESS THAN PERFECT SINNERS” RECEIVE JESUS CHRIST AS OUR LORD AND SAVIOR AND
WORSHIP HIM AS THE MESSIAH….OUR LESS THAN PERFECT LIVES ARE INFUSED AND
PERMEATED WITH GOD’S PERFECT LOVE AND HIS PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR OF THE
IMPERFECT!
1 John 4:16-18 says:
16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God
is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17 In
this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the
day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18 There is
no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with
punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
1 John 4:16-18
1 John
Proverbs 3:25-26 says:
Have
no fear of sudden disaster
or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,
26 for the LORD will be your confidence
and will keep your foot from being snared.
·
LIFE DOESN'T
HAVE TO BE PERFECT ANYMORE FOR ME TO BE JOYFUL.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
says
16Be
joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give
thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 19Do not put out the Spirit's fire; 20do
not treat prophecies with contempt. 21Test everything.
Hold on to the good. 22Avoid every kind of evil. 23May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and
through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24The one who calls you is
faithful and he will do it.
·
AS A
CHRISTIAN I CAN BE JOYFUL IN THE MIDST OF THESE LESS THAN PERFECT CIRCUMSTANCES
BECAUSE PERFECT GOD LIVES IN ME AND I LIVE IN HIM THROUGH CHRIST!
Jesus said in Luke
17:20-21:
The
John 14:5-31 says”
5Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where
you are going, so how can we know the way?"
6Jesus
answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through me. 7If you really knew me, you
would know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know
him and have seen him."
8Philip
said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
9Jesus
answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you
such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say,
'Show us the Father'? 10Don't you believe that I am in
the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just
my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father
is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do
what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am
going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in
my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You
may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
15"If
you love me, you will obey what I command. 16And I will
ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it
neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and
will be[c] in you. 18I will not
leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19Before long,
the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you
also will live. 20On that day you will realize that I am
in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21Whoever
has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me
will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to
him."
22Then Judas
(not Judas Iscariot) said, "But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself
to us and not to the world?"
23Jesus
replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will
love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24He
who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my
own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”
25"All
this I have spoken while still with you. 26But the
Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach
you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give
to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be
afraid.”
28"You
heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me,
you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than
·
I CAN BE
JOYFUL KNOWING THAT I LIVE IN GOD AND GOD LIVES IN ME – THERE IS NO SEPARATION
BETWEEN US THANKS TO JESUS!
John 10:34-36 says:
34Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your
Law, 'I have said you are gods'[a]? 35If he called them
'gods,' to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken— 36what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own
and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said,
'I am God's Son'?”
·
I CAN BE
JOYFUL KNOWING THAT GOD’S PERFECT SPIRIT IS SANCTIFYING MY IMPERFECT LIFE AND THEREBY
MAKING ME MORE LIKE JESUS (GOD)THANKS TO THE HOLY SPIRIT!
Hebrews 2:8-13 says:
In putting everything under him, God left
nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything
subject to him. 9But we see Jesus, who was made a little
lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered
death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
10In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that
God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of
their salvation perfect through suffering. 11Both the
one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So
Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. 12He says,
"I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the presence of the congregation I will
sing your praises."[c] 13And again,
"I will put my trust in him."[d] And again he says,
"Here am I, and the children
God has given me."[e]
·
THE PROCESS
OF BECOMING MORE LIKE JESUS AND LESS LIKE THE WORLD HAS ALREADY BEGUN AT
CONVERSION AND GOD IS FAITHFUL TO FINISH THE WORK HE STARTED IN YOU!
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
says:
23May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you
through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24The
one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.
Jude 24 says:
24To him who is able to keep you from falling and to
present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—
Philippians 1:3-6 says:
3I thank my God every time I remember you. 4In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day
until now, 6being confident of this, that he who began a
good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
·
GOD IS LOVE
AND HE NOW LIVES IN YOU AND YOU LIVE IN HIM!
·
LOVE HAS A
NAME!
·
AND HIS NAME
IS JESUS CHRIST THE MESSIAH…
·
WHO WAS BORN
IN AN IMPERFECT BARN.
·
WHO RODE TO
·
WHO DIED ON
AN IMPERFECT CROSS TO DIE FOR IMPERFECT PEOPLE LIKE ME AND YOU…
·
SO THAT WE COULD
HAVE PERFECT LOVE IN OUR HEARTS, MINDS AND SOULS AND LIVE FOR ETERNITY WITH THE
FATHER IN HEAVEN FOREVER AND EVER!
·
PRAISE HIS
NAME – JESUS THE MESSIAH WAS BORN IN A BARN!
Romans 8:28-39
28And we know that in all
things God works for the good of those who love him,[j]
who[k] have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he
also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be
the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called;
those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
31What, then, shall we say in response to
this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own
Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him,
graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any charge against those whom
God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at
the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall
separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution
or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day
long;
we are
considered as sheep to be slaughtered."[l] 37No,
in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For
I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[m]
neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of
God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
ILLUSTRATION #5
·
Years ago,
Harry Reasoner wrote a piece about Christmas for the show 60 minutes. He
said: “The basis for this tremendous burst of buying things and gift giving and
parties near hysteria, is a quiet event that happened a long time ago.
You can say that in all societies there has always been a midwinter festival,
and that many trappings of our Christmas are almost violently pagan, but you
come back to the central fact of the day…the birth of God on earth. It
leaves you only three ways of accepting Christmas.”
·
“One is
cynically, as a time to make money or to endorse the making of it. One is
graciously, the attitude for non-Christians, who wish their fellow citizens all
the joys their beliefs entitle them. And the third, of course, is
reverently. If this is the anniversary of the appearance of the Lord of
the universe as a helpless babe – it is a very important day. It’s a
startling idea that a virgin was selected by God to bear his son as a way of
showing his love and concern. The story has a magnificent appeal. Almost
nobody has seen God, and almost nobody has any idea of what he is like.
But everyone has seen babies, and most people like them. If God wanted to
be loved…if God wanted to be intimately a part of our life, he moved correctly,
for the experience of birth and family is our most intimate and precious
experience. So, if a Christian is touched only once a year, the touching
is still worth it. Maybe on some given Christmas, some final quiet
morning, the touch will take.”
·
Maybe this
Christmas will “take” for someone here today, maybe you won’t have a perfect
Christmas. Perhaps it will be far better than that.
·
I hope that
you will see right into the heart of the sacred event – to the God who is
looking not for perfection, but for love and worship from his creation!
·
God is
looking for another King David – a man or woman who is after his heart in the
midst of less than perfect circumstances.
·
GIVE YOUR HEART
TO HIM AND IT WILL BE A PERFECT CHRISTMAS FOR YOU!