Marcus Mecum - Escaping the Prison of Perfection
Acts 16:16, "Once when we were going to a place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, 'these men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved". So, she's saying the right thing, with the wrong spirit. "And she kept this up for many days. And finally, Paul became so annoyed," aren't you glad that the apostle Paul got annoyed? Anybody just feel appreciative of that? "So, he turned around and said to the spirit, 'in the name of Jesus Christ I command you come out of her'! And at that moment, the spirit left her".
Verse 22, "The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet to stocks. About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them," someone is listening to you, by the way. "And suddenly, there was such a violent earthquake that the foundation of the prison were shaken. And at once the prison doors flew open, and everyone's chains came loose".
I wanna talk to you about breaking out of the prison of perfectionism. Breaking out of the prison of perfectionism. And specifically, just learning to love the imperfections of life. If you've ever studied art in any way, there is a fascination surrounding the incompleteness of art. But surprisingly, there is a high number of incomplete pieces of art. Yet, though they're incomplete, they're still considered a masterpiece. Artist from all eras have initiated works, they started works, but then abandoned them for whatever reason.
For some, it's a historical circumstance, maybe the artist's sudden demise, maybe just a lack of inspiration or interest in the project. But yet, these unfinished arts of work, are riveting and even intriguing because of their incompleteness. They actually tell a story that would have otherwise never been revealed. We begin to know something about the artist that we're not supposed to know because of the unfinished work of that artist. Renaissance master, Leonardo da Vinci, it said that his perfectionism cause him to jump from one project to another, leaving an impressive number of works undone.
In 1550, Giorgio Vasari wrote about Leonardo saying, "It is clear through his comprehension of art, he began many things and never finished one of them, since it seemed to him that his hand was not able to attain the perfection of art in carrying out the things in which he imagined. The incompleteness of the art," he went on to say, "Renders the artist relatable, vulnerable, ultimately making the unfinished work more intimate as a result". And so, in breaking free from the prison of perfectionism, we read from acts 16. And there's a great story here, the Bible says that, "They had just delivered a woman from a spirit, a demonic spirit, she was supernaturally set free. She was loose from the demonic attack on her life". And the Bible says that "Immediately, they were thrown into a prison as a result of what was happening".
So, notice that though this girl was helped, though this girl was set free, the world at large was not fixed, nothing had really changed, in the world at large. As a matter of fact, personally, things got worse for these two men. "They were severely beaten, thrown into the Mamertine prison, surrounded by the most vile outcast, locked behind prison doors. Their feet were fastened to stocks, they were forced to lay on their backs," is what many of the commentary say. "Making their suffering and the beatings that they had endured even more severe". Yet they didn't focus on that.
Somehow, in the middle of all that was going on, they praised God in the middle of that prison, in the middle of their beatings and sufferings. In spite of all they went through they found the one bright spot, and that was that God used them to help one girl get set free. And they locked on to that one bright spot, and they celebrated it because they learned how to be fascinated by the unfinished, they learned how to be fascinated by the incomplete. And as a result, those prison doors open, the chains fell off and they walked out set free and delivered.
And so, I'm gonna give you five keys to break out of the prison of perfectionism. First, we'll look at how you celebrate before the victory. You celebrate before the victory. Next, we'll enjoy the relationship more than the results. Third, we'll learn that vision is the womb of the mind. That hell is after our faith, and then finally, we'll take inventory. And I believe many will leave here less frustrated with the unfinished. Maybe a little bit less sad, or mad, or angry, and maybe even fascinated by the areas of your life you thought would be different by now, but yet they are what they are. And somehow in the middle of it, you can learn to celebrate it.
So, let's look at this real quick, first God says, "Celebrate before the victory". The world says, "Celebrate after the victory". But frustration shows up when we learn, and when we get obsessed with the fact that we thought things would be different. But they are a way that they are and we get frustrated because it's just not finished, it's not complete, it's not done, and then we get heartburn over the unfinished. We get undone over the undone. But God says, "Celebrate the victory". Learn how to throw a party over the partial. Learn how to get excited about a little bit of progress. Maybe a few things are going right. Well, dance over those few things and get fascinated with the unfinished because the way God does things is he gives you a promise before the performance.
"The harvest," the Bible says, "Is in the seed". Or even nature tells us, "The harvest is in the seed". And we want wonder, we want something spectacular, we want something awe and jaw-dropping, but God gives us a promise, and he gives us a word, and he gives us a seed. And inside of that, if it's taken care of, God gives the harvest, God ultimately brings the wonder and God ultimately performs what he said he would do. In numbers 21:16, Moses is in the desert with the children of Israel and God says, "I'm going to give you water, but what I want you to do first is, I want you to go tell the children of Israel to sing and to celebrate about water. I want you to tell 'em to sing, about the promise, the idea, the vision that I'm giving you that water is on its way".
And so, they start singing to the desert floor. How ridiculous must they have looked, singing to a desert floor. There's no cloud, there's no rain, they've not taken a drink, but yet they're singing to the desert floor. They're celebrating, they're clapping, they're shouting about water, about being refreshed, about how there's a well that's going to spring up out of the middle of nowhere. And the reason we sometimes can't do this is, we're so reputation-focused. We're so busy trying to protect our image, we're so busy thinking that God's job is to make us look good. So, we kinda add the church thing unto our repertoire, right? 'cause we think if we just show up and then the God thing's right here, it just makes us look better. But sometimes God will make you look bad, so he can look good.
And the question is, are you willing to allow God to make you look bad, so he can look good? God tells the children of Israel, "I want you to walk around the walls of Jericho". Well, nothing about that makes them look good. They don't look like a mighty army, just sitting there quiet and silent, walking around walls. The Jericho army mocking them, laughing at them. Slurs about what a joke they are, just walking, not looking good. But they had to be willing to look bad, so God could look good. Sometimes, we have to be willing to look bad, so God can look good. Think about the guy who's blind, Jesus spits in the mud, takes the mud, puts it on the guy's face. He's blind, it's already not going good. Now, his face is covered with spit and mud.
Now, how many of us would say, "I don't mind you giving me a miracle, but let's leave that spit and mud out of the process, because it makes us look bad". But here's a guy who's willing to look bad so, God can look good and bring a miracle into his life. Remember the commander of the army, Naaman, this mighty warrior, and he has leprosy. And he rides with his whole company of warriors to see Elisha. And Elisha doesn't even come out and meet the guy, even though he's famous. Sends a messenger out, and the Bible says that he gets angry, and he gets mad because Elisha didn't come out and pray for him. And he says, "I'm not gonna do what that guys said". Because he said to, "Go wash in the river Jordan seven times". "Doesn't he know who I am? Doesn't he know my reputation? Doesn't he know what I'm about"?
And he's angry and he's leaving, and finally, someone stops him and says, "What do you have to lose by doing what the prophet said"? So, he goes out to the river Jordan. He dips down once comes back up, he says, "This is foolishness. This is the dumbest thing I've ever seen". I'm just adding some stuff here. And he gets up the second times, nothing's changed, still got leprosy. Now, he looks like even more of an idiot. Dips down the third time, the fourth time, the fifth time. Every single time he dips, he comes back up, no change at all, but he's simply willing to look bad. But the seventh time he comes up, he's healed, the miracle comes and God ultimately looks good.
So, the Bible is all about celebrating before the victory. Isaiah 54:1, "Sing, oh, barren one". Think about it, he wants the barren to sing. He wants those who have nothing to sing. He wants the person that has very little, he wants the person that's struggle to sing. He's not asking for those who are multiplying in life, those who are walking in the blessing, those who are in the happiest season, and they're growing and they're thriving, he's not asking them to sing. He's not asking for those who have it all together to sing. They have a worldly reason to sing. He said, "I want there to be some people who have some unfinished work, who are willing to party over the partial". God knows you're barren, God knows you're hurting, God knows you're disappointed, God knows you're confused, God knows you're scared to death, but don't get frustrated with the unfinished. Anyone can shout when things are good, God's looking for someone to sing when things are bad. God's looking for someone to get fascinated with the unfinished.
Next, we should enjoy our relationship with God, more than the results he can give us. Isaiah 54 goes on to say, "More are the children of the desolate," huh. So, there's a promise, that more are the children of the desolate. Not pregnant, desolate. They're desolate in the result, but that doesn't mean they have to be desolate in the activity. Now, follow with me for a minute. Many Christians don't enjoy the activity of intimacy, the activity of closeness. That's what worship is, singing, prayer, opening God's word. It's all about loving and Romancing God, and letting him Romance you, being filled with new wine and joy, and strength.
And if you get too focused on the results, you miss out on enjoying the activity of intimacy, and you become someone that's obligatory in your relationships, you become someone that's drudgery, everything with God is a chore as a result. And you say, "I'm not gonna be intimate because everything isn't what I thought it would be. But God if you'll do things the way I think you should, the way you did it with someone else, then maybe I'll lean in a little bit more intimate with you". And you shut down, and love dies, and love grows cold. Christians do this all the time, "Do I have to go to church"? They let their mood swings determine whether they're intimate with God. "Do I have to pray? Do I have to do these things".
And they're, literally no longer pursuing their intimacy with God, and they're struggling because they're just focused on the results. You might be desolate in your womb, but you don't have to be desolate in your mind. You don't have to be desolate in your heart. And eventually, if you'll get your heart to say, "You know what, I'm enjoying the activity of intimacy. I'm enjoying the activity of being close to God, even if my womb is empty, and barren, and desolate. And I'm just gonna keep enjoying the process". And one day what's gonna happen is, you're gonna wake up, and you're gonna be pregnant with revival, and you're gonna be pregnant with hope. And you're gonna be pregnant with faith, and somebody will say, "How did that happen? You look like everything just worked out for you. You look like everything just kinda easy for you".
And you can look back at them and say, "That's like saying there's an ice-cream parlor in hell. It wasn't easy, I learned to celebrate before the victory. I learned how to enjoy the activity of intimacy. I learned how to enjoy my relationship with God, even if I never get results". So, can you worship when you don't see the miracle? When you don't see the results? When your body is not healed? When you stand beside the people that look like they have it all together, can you sing, and worship, and shout? And how does this happen? It's because your relationship is not about what God can create for you.
I give him the love he deserves when I don't see it. I give him the activity of worship, and longing for him, and desiring to be close to him when I don't feel it. I grow in the activity, and my desire for the activity of intimacy, more than I should be growing in my demand that God do something for me. I love this, because when life does not look the way you think and you continue just to draw close to God, sometimes it's the hardest time to grow, you start to get curious.
"Huh? I wonder how God's gonna work this thing out. I wonder how God's gonna pull this one off". 'Cause you're looking at it, and it looks like there's no possible way it's gonna turn around. But eventually, you get close to God, you start to say, "I'm gonna watch this one play out. I'mma sit back and watch how he's gonna work this. I don't see no good in it. I don't see anything glorious about it. I don't see anything wonderful, I don't see anything beautiful, but I'm just curious, how the God of the universe is gonna somehow turn this around for my good, and for his glory". Relationship is more important than the results.
Number three, vision is the womb of the mind. The Bible says, "As a man thinketh in his heart so is he". Another way to say that, if you can envision it, and live like God is working it... Envision it and live like it's happening, this is magnifying God, before it's manifest. This is praying for rain, not a cloud in sight, but you're carrying around an umbrella. So, how do we do this? We praise God over every little, minute, small, insignificant, beautiful, wonderful thing he does.
Is it complete? No. Is it fulfilled, what I saw in my heart? No way. Is it absolutely finished, and tightened together, and perfect, and pristine? No, it's not. But partial is good enough to get me out of the bed in the morning, and I look at a day, and I think to myself, "This is not a day I would've chose. This is not a day I would have created. This is not a day I would've made". But this is the day that the Lord has made and my job is to simply rejoice and be glad somehow, in this and throw a party over the partial. Because the alternative is frustrated and frustration over every unfinished area of my life.
So, I wanna be fascinated with the unfinished, I wanna get a vision in my mind for what could be and how God's going to work it out. And put the full confidence and trust that he's sovereign, and that he's prepared everything ahead of time, and I don't have to control it. And I don't have to manipulate it, I can just simply rest and settle into the fact that somehow, destiny is at work, even though this is not the way I would have a sort the plan and it's unfinished. But I'm fascinated by the unfinished.
Number four, hell is after your faith. Remember Jesus goes to Simon Peter, and he says, "Satan desires to sift you, but I'm praying for you. That your faith will not fail". He does not pray that Simon Peter's flesh will not fail, because he tells him, his flesh is going to fail three times before the rooster crows. And for the rest of his life, he wakes up in the morning, hears that rooster crowing and it reminds him for the rest of his life how weak his flesh is. The spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. So, God does not pray for his flesh to not fail, he prays for his faith to not fail because faith is what gets you back up when your flesh fail.
Faith is what tells you, "There's resurrection in front of you". Faith is what says, "You don't have to stay in the pig pen". Faith is the thing that allows you to tell the devil, "You might get my flesh every now and then, but you cannot have my faith". But the frustration comes when we fail, the frustration comes when it's unfinished. We get discouraged by our weakness, but Jesus says, "I'm praying for you that at the end of the day, you'll come to terms with the fact that you're going to have a lot of unfinished, imperfect areas of your life. But you can get out of the prison of perfectionism, you can be delivered from that by knowing the devil is going to try to discourage you and go after your faith in times when things are not looking like they should in a finished, perfect way".
So, take inventory, in closing. Has anything good happened? Man, I can think about some dark times in my life when the only prophesy I could hear was doom and gloom. I'm not there today. And all it took sometimes is just a little bit of light. Just a little bit of movement. Just a decision to say, "I'm not going to be held hostage over the unfinished. I can't just stop because everything isn't the way I think it should be". Think about God, in Genesis, he's introduced as a Creator. There's several things we see about God, but one of the things that we see is six times in the creation account, he stops and throws a party. He doesn't wait 'til things are finished to celebrate, he actually stops along the way, each step of the way and takes every small thing that is progress, and he says, "Wow, this is good".
We stop when things aren't finished, get upset, suck our thumbs, 'cause this isn't how I think it should be yet. But God says, "Let there be light". And then, he stops and says, "This is good," and he throws a party. No land, no vegetations, no animals, no little fishes swimming in the sea. And then, he gets all the way to the end, the very end when it's all finished and he says, "This is very good," and he celebrates again. We think we have to wait for the very good to celebrate, but God teaches us, "No, you need to party around the partial. You have to be fascinated around the unfinished". You have to party over the minor blessing if you want God to do some major blessings in your life.
I love the verse that says, "All of heaven rejoices when one sinner repents". They're not complete, they've not been water baptized, they've not been discipled, they don't know what it looks like to use their gifts and serve the kingdom. They've never tithed, they've never witnessed or invited someone to church. And people say it to me all the time, "Pastor, why do you celebrate the number of people that get saved? How do you know they really got it? Did they really get saved? Where's the fruit"? Well, let's be clear, I'm not sure anyone has it. The Bible says, "Many will come to him and say that they called, 'him Lord, Lord,' but he'll say, 'depart from me, I didn't know you". So, at some point, we're all responsible for working out our own salvation with fear and trembling, right?
So, I'm not sure about when things begin, but what I am sure of is the person sitting in the judgement seat, saying others don't have what they have, is probably the person that's the furthest from what heaven sees. Because what heaven sees is somehow, this sinner got up, on a Sunday morning, and drove to church. And people who love God, can't even do that, sometimes.
Can I talk about it for just a minute? Then they made their way through the parking lot with a bunch of half backslidden Christians that act like jerks, trying to run over the parking people. Hey, relax, you can come up to the altar and we'll fight later, but right now, just let me preach my sermon. They get over that, then they come into a church service and they sing songs they don't know, they listen to a sermon they probably half understand. But somewhere in their heart they're crying out, "God, do you have anything for me"? Is there anything in all of this for me? And in the middle of all that somehow, at the end, maybe they throw their hand up. You know how many Christians been saved 30 years, and won't do that to God? Then, hold on, then they might even walk down an altar, and aisle to an altar.
You know how many people, "I will not. I refuse. There's no way". They pray a prayer, they repent, they profess the Lordship of Jesus Christ over their life, and then they walk out of the service, go into the parking lot and light up a cigarette. And what we don't understand is we're spending so much time focused on the cigarette, but heaven spends all of its time looking at the one sinner who repented. Undone, imperfect, not complete, unfinished, but heaven is fascinated. Fascinated by that they got up, they came, they lifted their hands, they prayed a prayer. There's something in that that heaven says, "I want you to look at how I am fascinated with the unfinished".