WHEN PERFECTION CALLS THE IMPERFECT

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SERMON TITLE = WHEN PERFECTION SEEKS THE IMPERFECT

I WAS RECENTLY IN A TEXT CONVERSATION WITH SOMEONE THAT I HAVE PERSONALLY WITNESSED TO FOR MANY YEARS ALONG WITH SHOWING THEM UNDESERVED LOVE.

THIS IS A PERSON WHO HAS SEEN UP CLOSE & PERSONAL, SOME OF THE GREATEST EVILS THE WORLD CAN OFFER , A PERSON WHO HAS SEEN INNOCENCE DESTROYED WITH NO GOOD EXPLANATION AND HAS DOUBTED GOD’S EXISTENCE BECAUSE OF IT.

IN OUR CONVERSATION , I LEARNED THAT THIS PERSON HAD “ GIVEN THERE LIFE TO GOD” BUT DIDN'T FEEL THEY WERE DOING THINGS RIGHT CAUSE LIFE WAS STILL HARD & AN UPHILL STRUGGLE. THEY FELT LIKE THEY WEREN'T GOOD ENOUGH , EVEN AFTER TURNING THEIR LIFE OVER TO GOD , LIFE WAS JUST AS MUCH A STRUGGLE AS BEFORE AND THEY SOMEHOW THOUGHT THAT LIFE WOULD BE EASIER. BUT ITS NOT!

THAT MADE ME THINK , I WONDER HOW MANY PEOPLE MAY FEEL THAT WAY? LIKE , EVEN AFTER THEY HAVE GIVEN THEIR HEART TO GOD THAT THEY ARE ON PROBATION UNTIL THEY CAN SOMEHOW EARN GOD’S FAVOR BY DOING GOOD DEEDS AND THEN LIFE GETS BETTER.

I HAVE HEARD PEOPLE SAY , SOME DAY WHEN I GET MY LIFE RIGHT , WHEN I QUIT MY CURRENT SIN , WHEN I CONQUER THE DEMONS IM FIGHTING RIGHT NOW ,, THEN I WILL COME TO GOD , THEN I’LL FEEL LIKE I CAN COME TO GOD & CHURCH ,, LIKE YOU HAVE TO BE PERFECT TO COME TO GOD . BUT YOU DON'T ,, HAVE TO BE PERFECT TO COME TO GOD !!!

GOD’S CHURCH IS FULL OF IMPERFECT PEOPLE !

I THINK SOME OF THE IDEAS MAY COME FROM MISUNDERSTOOD SCRIPTURES LIKE EPH 5:27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish.

OR PERHAPS SOME THEMES IN THE OLD TESTAMENT ABOUT THE PERFECT SACRIFICE FOR WORSHIP IN THE LEVITICAL SYSTEM - LIKE LEV 22:21 WHICH SAYS THAT OFFERINGS FOR WORSHIPING GOD MUST BE PERFECT WITH NO BLEMISHES TO BE EXCEPTED.

OR PERHAPS LEV 19:1,2 The LORD also said to Moses, 2 “Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.

MAYBE PEOPLE GET THIS MISS-CONCEPTION FROM CHRISTIANS WHO MISREPRESENT THE CLEAR CALL FROM GOD TO HUMANITY..... I’M NOT SURE , MAYBE ITS A COMBINATION OF MANY THINGS .

BUT I WANT TO PRESENT MY CASE TO YOU TODAY- THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A GOOD PERSON TO COME TO GOD ! YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE HOLY OR RIGHTEOUS TO COME TO GOD!

YOU CAN COME TO GOD AS A DRUG ADDICT , OR ALCOHOLIC, OR LIE ER , OR A THIEF OR WHATEVER OTHER SIN YOU STRUGGLE WITH AND BE ACCEPTED RIGHT THERE ON THE SPOT, NO PROBATION PERIOD , NO QUOTA OF GOOD WORKS BEFORE GOD WILL LET YOU INTO THE FOLD , IF, YOU WANT TO LAY THAT OLD LIFE DOWN , IF YOU WANT TO STOP CARRYING THE BURDEN OF THAT SIN, IF YOU DIDN'T START OFF THAT WELL BUT WANT A CHANCE TO FINISH WELL , IF YOU WANT TO BE RIGHT WITH GOD & BE FORGIVEN FOR ALL THE SHAMEFUL & UNHOLY THINGS YOU HAVE EVER DONE AND RELEASE THAT BURDEN OF GUILT ...

YOU CAN , HAVE IT WITHOUT ANY GREAT ORDEAL , WITHOUT ANY BIG TO DO.

I AM GOING TO SHARE SOME PARABLES FROM SCRIPTURE THAT WILL GIVE US INSIGHT INTO THESE TRUTHS AND WE WILL PULL LESSONS FROM THEM.

1ST LOOK WITH ME AT - LUKE 15:1-32 NLT Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2 This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!

3 So Jesus told them this story: 4 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

Parable of the Lost Coin

8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

Parable of the Lost Son

11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

17 “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19 and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.” ’ REPENTANCE

20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’

22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.

25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’

28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, 29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’

31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found.

GOD IS LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE TIRED OF THEIR CURRENT STATUS & WANT TO BE RECONCILED TO HIM & HE REJOICES WHEN THEY COME TO HIM !

BECAUSE WE WERE MADE BY HIS HANDS THERE IS A JESUS SHAPED HOLE IN EVERY HUMAN HEART & WE WILL NEVER FIND TRUE PEACE , CONTENTMENT , JOY OR LOVE UNTIL YOU KNOW HIM & EXPERIENCE HIS LOVE…

OUR SIN HAS SEPARATED US FROM HIM BUT HE NEVER WROTE US OFF, INSTEAD HE IS WORKING TIRELESSLY TO RESTORE OUR RELATIONSHIP…

LUKE 5: 31,32 31 Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. 32 I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”

LUKE 18:9-14

9 Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: 10 “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! 12 I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ 14 I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

THERE IS NO PROBATION PERIOD, NO WORKING TO EARN GOD’S LOVE , NON OF THAT…

GOD LOVES YOU RIGHT NOW ! AND IS WAITING ON YOU TO COME TO HIM !!!

2ND LETS LOOK AT THE DEATH OF JESUS ON THE CROSS - NOT A PARABLE… LUKE 23:32-43

32 Two others, both criminals, were led out to be executed with him. 33 When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified—one on his right and one on his left.

34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.

35 The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. “He saved others,” they said, “let him save himself if he is really God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” 36 The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine. 37 They called out to him, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 A sign was fastened above him with these words: “This is the King of the Jews.”

39 One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!”

40 But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? 41 We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”

43 And Jesus replied, “I assure you today, you will be with me in paradise.”

ONE MAN DIDN'T SEEM TO HAVE ANY REMORSE FOR HIS WRONGDOING IN LIFE BUT DESPERATELY WANTED TO ESCAPE THE CONSEQUENCES OF HIS CHOICES WHILE THE OTHER MAN ; HEARING ALL THE THINGS THE CROWD HAD TO SAY ABOUT JESUS BEING THE MESSIAH ; AND REFLECTING ON HIS LIFE AS HE WAS BEING TORTURED TO DEATH SEEMED CONTENT TO RECEIVE PUNISHMENT FOR HIS WRONGDOING IN LIFE AND PLEADED FOR MERCY FROM THE MESSIAH AND IT WAS GRANTED.

NO PROBATION , NO BAPTISM , NO GOOD WORKS , NO HESITATION ON THE PART OF JESUS , JUST A PROMISE THAT HE WOULD BE WITH CHRIST IN PARADISE !!!

I DON'T WANT YOU TO OVERLOOK THE FACT THAT IN THE PARABLE & THE RECORD OF THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST BOTH MEN HAD TO LOOK OVER THE RECORD OF THEIR LIFE & COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THEY WERE HEADED IN THE WRONG DIRECTION & DESIRED TO MAKE A TURN AROUND (REPENTANCE) AND WHEN THEY DID GRACE WAS GIVEN & THEY JOINED THE FAMILY OF GOD IMMEDIATELY !!!

NOW AFTER YOU COME TO GOD & ACCEPT WHAT CHRIST HAS DONE TO PAY FOR ALL OUR WRONGDOING YOU ARE BORN INTO GODS FAMILY BY FAITH , BUT YOU ARE BORN A BABE & DON'T KNOW ALL THAT PLEASES GOD YET ,, SO THE NEXT THING TO DO AFTER TRUSTING CHRIST FOR YOUR SALVATION IS TO LEARN OF CHRIST BY READING HIS WORD & SURRENDERING TO HIS WILL IN EVERYTHING.

WHEN YOU ARE BORN INTO GODS FAMILY , THE SPIRIT OF GOD IS GIVEN TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND TRUTH & WHAT SIN IS . THE SPIRIT PROMPTS YOU LIKE YOUR CONSCIENCE TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT & SHUN WHAT IS WRONG ACCORDING TO GOD…

THE LONGER YOU LEARN OF CHRIST THE MORE YOU BECOME LIKE HIM . WE ARE CHANGED BY BEHOLDING ! AND WHATEVER YOU ARE BEHOLDING IS WHAT YOU WILL BE CHANGED INTO !!! SO SEEK CHRIST ABOVE ALL !!!

BECOMING PERFECT OR HOLY IS A LIFELONG PROCESS CALLED SANCTIFICATION WHERE YOU WILL ALWAYS BE LEARNING MORE ABOUT OUR WONDERFUL GOD , AND WHEN WE LEARN NEW THINGS THAT GOD WANTS US TO DO , WE DO IT … BECAUSE WE LOVE HIM SO MUCH…

THE MAIN THING GOD WANTS FROM US IS TO TRUST IN JESUS JOHN 6:26-40 - Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. 27 But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”

28 They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”

29 Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”

30 They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? 31 After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

32 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. 33 The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”

35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me. 37 However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. 38 For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. 39 And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. 40 For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.

John 17:3 “And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.”

THERE IS NO PROBATION , NO TRIAL PERIOD , NO EARNING GOD’S APPROVAL THROUGH WORKS , WHAT GOD WANT’S IS FOR YOU TO GET TO KNOW HIM BY LEARNING OF HIS SON , THE ONE HE SENT TO SHOW HIS LOVE TO THE WORLD & ITS A LIFELONG PROCESS OF GETTING TO KNOW OUR GOD, THE 1 WHO HAS GONE TO SUCH GREAT LENGTHS TO SAVE & FORGIVE US !!!

FATHER FORGIVE US WHEN WE MISREPRESENT HOW EASY IT IS TO COME TO YOU IN REPENTANCE . AND HELP US GROW IN YOU & ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER IN THE LORD!!!

CLOSING PRAYER

CLOSING SONG -

DISMISSAL PRAYER