Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021
Pastor Troy Brewer, OpenDoor Church, Burleson, TX
Matthew 11:7-23 – So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations. (Christ Born of Mary) 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” 22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
The problem with the Gnostics: The letter emphasizes the supremacy of Christ and what that means for everyday living. It offers specific ways to develop attitudes and actions that honor the Lord.
Colossians 1:15-18 – He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge
Psalms 46:7– He is with us, He is among us, He is like us, yet He is perfect
More than five centuries ago, Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci produced a now-famous image of what he considered the perfectly proportioned male body: the “Vitruvian Man.”
The drawing was inspired by even earlier pondering on the perfect human form by first-century A.D. Roman architect Vitruvius.
The drawing, which is in ink on paper, depicts a man in two superimposed positions with his arms and legs apart and inscribed in a circle and square.
The drawing represents Leonardo’s concept of the ideal human body proportions. Its inscription in a square and a circle comes from a description by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise De Architectura.
Man’s idea of a perfect man has to do with perfect body portions and though I’ve been asked many times, I have rejected the likes of GQ magazine to pose for such a photograph.
Obviously that’s not true but what is true is that after the fall of Adam, every beautiful human that ever lived was beautiful flawed in a hideous way.
NOAH, who believed God when no one else on the planet did and remained motivated to preach for 120 years and never saw a single convert, walked with God and saved all of us by building the ark and preserving humanity and the creation of God. The first chance he got, he built a vineyard, made wine and got so drunk it caused some kind of a crazy mess in his preserved family that they never recovered from.
Noah had a chance. I mean a real chance to be the architect of a brand new people called the human race.
See he wasn’t just on the ark the ark for 40 days and 40 nights. It rained for 40 days and 40 nights. He was on the ark for for what the Bible describes as 377 days or what can be argued as one solar year minus 1 day!
Genesis 8:14-20 – In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth had dried out. 15 Then God said to Noah, 16 “Go out from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. 17 Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—that they may swarm on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” 18 So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. 19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by families from the ark.
God’s Covenant with Noah: 20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
He’s in the Hebrews 11 hall of fame.
Hebrews 11:7 – By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
He was awesome but he was nowhere near perfect.
So, how did the perfect architect human being as a father perform as soon as he landed. He committed to building a vineyard and a moonshine still and he got drunk! Being locked up with your family can do such a thing to less than perfect humans
You can read all about in Genesis chapter 9 and it is big big mess.
Abraham is the father of Faith: ABRAHAM was another that was a candidate to be the perfect human. The perfection of what a father should look like
Hebrews 11:8-10 – By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Oh my goodness he was amazing!!! 4,000 years ago this guy heard God speak and dared to believe the voice of a God that he didn’t know his name.
- He believed in ways all of us want to.
- He pioneered walking with God.
- He was extraordinary.
But he wasn’t perfect. He was far, far less than perfect.
Abraham’s life reminds us that we don’t have to be perfect people to be faithful people.
King David: David is as close of a perfect human being as anybody has ever imagined.
Warrior, prophet, lover, king, musician, writer, friend, enemy, overcomer
Humanity loves him. Jesus loves him so much and thinks so highly of him that even calls himself the son of David!
Despite his glaring flaws, David is described as a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22).
David was far from perfect, but his faith and zeal made him the standard against which all Israel’s future kings would be measured.
So the conclusion is that there is no perfect man.
Matthew 5:48 – “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”
There are a couple of things we need to understand about this statement. In the first place, the word that is translated “perfect” literally means “be complete.” So often, the New Testament and the Old Testament will describe people as being upright and righteous—not in the sense that they have achieved total moral perfection, but rather that they have reached a singular level of maturity in their growth in terms of spiritual integrity. However, in this statement, it’s certainly legitimate to translate it using the English word perfect. For example, “Be ye complete as your heavenly Father is complete.” Now remember that your heavenly Father is perfectly complete!
Matthew 5:48 (Weymouth New Testament) – You however are to be complete in goodness, as your Heavenly Father is complete.
Jesus truly is the perfect man.
Brother Paul’s perspective was that the first time God created a perfect man, Adam became sinful and flawed. The 2nd time God created the perfect man, not only did he not become sinful and flawed but he redeemed the rest of sinful and flawed humanity.
1 Corinthians 15:21-22 – For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
1 Corinthians 15:45 – And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening (life giving) spirit.
God wanted someone to show the world what he was really like and he needed to be perfect. A perfect representation of the Father.
Colossians 1:15-17 – He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation…
Hebrews 1:3 – He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
John 5:19 – So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
2 Corinthians 4:4 – In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
John 10:30 – “I and the Father are one.”
John 14:9 – Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”
God is with us.
Over the next month as you and I revise the reality and the possibilities of what it means that God would literally be with us through Christ being born, we need to consider the perfection of Jesus.