Excellence, Love, and People are inter-related.
- You cannot get away from the three of these
- All are included as part of serving, loving the Lord, and operating in excellence

Rev 2:4 (Jesus speaking – talking to the church at Ephesus)
4 But I have this [one charge to make] against you: that you have left (abandoned) the love that you had at first [you have deserted Me, your first love].

- first love, stopped loving Jesus

Matt 22:34
34 Now when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced (muzzled) the Sadducees, they gathered together.

35 And one of their number, a lawyer, asked Him a question to test Him.

36 Teacher, which kind of commandment is great and important (the principal kind) in the Law? [Some commandments are light--which are heavy?]

37 And He replied to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect).

38 This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment.

39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself.

- starts with AND, joins something else to the first thing

What was the question Jesus was answering?
- “What is the greatest commandment?”

What does “greatest” mean in this statement?
- most important, of highest importance

The second commandment is of the same importance as the first! So the second was as important as loving God.
- Loving your neighbor, in the sight and value of Jesus, is the same as loving God
- Jesus places just as much importance on loving our neighbors as he does on loving God.

John 13:34 (Jesus speaking)
34 I give you a new commandment: that you should love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too should love one another.

35 By this shall all [men] know that you are My disciples, if you love one another [if you keep on showing love among yourselves].

Commandment = no option

Let’s talk about the love of Jesus…

John 3:16
16 For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.

Isa 53:3-5
3 He was despised and rejected and forsaken by men, a Man of sorrows and pains, and acquainted with grief and sickness; and like One from Whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we did not appreciate His worth or have any esteem for Him.

4 Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God [as if with leprosy].

5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guiltand iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace andwell-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.

This is the love of Jesus – for each and every one of us…

Read something very interesting (from an archaeologist) recently…

In the days of Jesus, public restrooms were in the open, there were no stalls, walls, no barriers. These public restrooms could accommodate about 40 people at a time – sounds like fun, right? You would basically just sit and take care of business, maybe shoot the breeze, talk about camels, who knows. In this public restroom, there was also no toilet paper. Fresh water was delivered through a water trough that ran in front of each toilet. The people would take the fresh water to “clean” themselves after they had finished their business.

At this time, some of the poorest slaves realized that there was a business opportunity here. A way that they could have an income stream… These slaves would take a long stick, and would place a sea sponge on the end. They would dip this sea sponge in the water in the trough, stick it through the hole, and scrub the person that was using the restroom.

After a while, they realized that using one sponge on hundreds of people caused some of them to get infections. So, they started cleansing the sponge with vinegar or sour wine as a disinfectant.

John 19:29 (Jesus is on the cross, God – who came to earth, and we murdered Him)
29 A vessel (jar) full of sour wine (vinegar) was placed there, so they put a sponge soaked in the sour wine on [a stalk, reed of] hyssop, and held it to [His] mouth.

30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, It is finished! And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

Jesus was hanging on the cross, having done nothing wrong, had been beaten beyond recognition, mocked, and humiliated. Do you think that this was an act of compassion – or was it further humiliation?

That means THAT was the last smell in Jesus’ nose, the last taste on His lips when He said “It is finished”. What was finished was our forgiveness, the atonement of sin, the forgiveness of the atrocity to God that is your life and mine. And Jesus loved each of us that much – to forgive those that shoved that sponge in His mouth, while He still had the taste on His lips.

Now – let’s go back to John 13:34…

John 13:34 (Jesus speaking)
34 I give you a new commandment: that you should love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too should love one another.

35 By this shall all [men] know that you are My disciples, if you love one another [if you keep on showing love among yourselves].

How are we to love other people? The same as Jesus loved us…

Jesus said, in Luke 4:18:
18 The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity],

Why was the Spirit of the Lord upon Him? To preach the Good News to who?
- Jesus #1 concern was ministering
- to the poor
- to the captive
- to the blind
- to the oppressed

Jesus Himself came to minister to mortal human beings – the Creator came to minister to the creation – He came to LOVE people and to GIVE to people…
- Can we begin to see the importance of ministering to others?

When we volunteer, when we serve, when we minister to people in excellence – that is showing love like Jesus did.

Read John 13:34-35 again
- 3 times Jesus says “love one another”
- Is this important to Jesus?

Ok, how do we do it?
- Jesus said loving one another is as important as loving God…
- Jesus said it three times to the disciples – just to make sure they got it…

According to Jesus, when we keep on showing love among ourselves, we show the world that we are disciples of Jesus.

Did Jesus tell us this is an option or a commandment? Do we have a choice in the matter?

John 14:15
15 If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands.

Jesus says that loving one another is NOT an option. He also says that we cannot show love to Him if we don’t obey that commandment.

How does this relate to excellence?

Excellence is not just doing things the right way, it’s doing things the right way with the right motive – love. Without love for people, without the right motive, we can turn the spirit of excellence into legalism, into bondage.

Striving for excellence is a good thing, and we should strive for excellence in all that we do – but not at the sacrifice of love.
- The misbalance of excellence is perfection
- Excellence is not judging other people’s perfection, it is judging our own.

If we truly love Jesus, we will keep His commandments. If we truly love Jesus, we will love other people. When we have the love of God, his commands are not burdens…

1 John 5:3
3 For the [true] love of God is this: that we do His commands [keep His ordinances and are mindful of His precepts and teaching]. And these orders of His are not irksome (burdensome, oppressive, or grievous).

©2012 New Life Church. All Rights Reserved.

We are going to be talking about what is, by far, the number one obstacle or hindrance to excellence in our lives.

Matt 28:18
19 Go then and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 Teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you,…

Jesus is speaking… He doesn’t say go then and make believers of all the nations, He also doesn’t say go then and get all the nations saved. He says to make disciples. MAKE disciples.

MAKING a disciple takes time and effort. You can’t become a disciple overnight.

What is a disciple? A disciple is a disciplined one.

Inside that statement is the answer to most problems – disciplined one…

Disciples are not BORN. He did not say “Go and give birth to disciples…”. We can get people born again, but we cannot give birth to disciples. There is a process involved in someone becoming a disciplined one, a disciple.

If you cannot be a disciplined one, you cannot flow in the spirit of excellence. Being disciplined is the number one obstacle to the spirit of excellence.

Jesus wants you and I to be disciples, and He wants you and I to be disciplined ones.

There is a constant, continuous battle going on inside of each of us. It is a battle between the spirit and the flesh. The spirit, where Jesus lives, will always want to flow in excellence. The spirit in you will always want to do it right. The spirit in you will always want to do it to the best of your ability. The spirit in you will not want to do a mediocre job. Why? Because that’s where Jesus lives.

The flesh in you, however, will cut corners. The flesh in you will rush through. The flesh in you will not double check to see if it’s done right. The flesh in you is where the problem is. This is why Jesus said “Don’t just get people saved, teach them to walk in discipline.” Why? It takes discipline to walk in the fullness of God. It takes discipline to walk in the victory of God. It will take discipline to walk in the promises of God, and it will take discipline to flow with the Holy Ghost, and to flow in excellence.

Does Jesus want you and I to be disciplined? Yes.

Is Jesus looking for ones that will be discipled, or disciplined ones? Yes.

Heb 12:5
5 And have you [completely] forgotten the divine word of appealand encouragement in which you are reasoned with andaddressed as sons? My son, do not think lightly or scorn to submit to the correction and discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage and give up and faint when you are reproved or corrected by Him;

NOTE: God does NOT discipline by putting cancer on someone, He disciplines through the Word.

If you are not disciplined in one area, you are likely not disciplined in any area. Discipline is a character, a lifestyle choice, that affects every area of our life.

6 For the Lord corrects and disciplines everyone whom He loves, and He punishes, even scourges, every son whom He accepts and welcomes to His heart and cherishes.

Why does God discpline us? To take us higher, so we can reach our maximum potential!

7 You must submit to and endure [correction] for discipline; God is dealing with you as with sons. For what son is there whom his father does not [thus] train and correct and discipline?

We can’t rip this page out – we have to endure correction from the Word to be able to grow. Otherwise, we will be what Paul called “carnal Christians”, like those in the church in Corinth. They had the gifts, but no discipline.

God is dealing with us as sons. I correct and discipline my children because I love them. That is the reason that I do it. That is the reason that I discipline and correct the kids in kids church, because I love them. I’ll go as far as saying that if you don’t discipline and correct your children, then you don’t love your kids. What good are you doing for them, by not correcting them?

If they cannot take correction and discipline from me, their natural father, how will they learn to take correction from their heavenly Father?

Why do we need the correction? So that we do it God’s way, not our way.

8 Now if you are exempt from correction and left without discipline in which all [of God’s children] share, then you are illegitimate offspring and not true sons [at all].

We need to be open to discipline all the time. Discipline starts with self-judgement, judging ourselves and changing. It does no good to judge ourselves, but never change.

We need to be open to discipline and correction at all times. God will correct us at different times, for different things. We are to strive to be disciplined in EVERY area of our lives. This includes our bodies. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost, and as such, God can only give us the anointing that our bodies can handle. If we are not taking care of our bodies, we limit their usefulness and effectiveness for God.

Remember, we are spirits that are in possession of a body and a mind. Our spirit should be telling our body how to respond, act, so on, and tell our mind how to think, what to think, and so on. When our flesh says “I want”, our spirit needs to tell the flesh what it can have.

The devil tries to come against us in small things and get us off track. Introducing un-discipline in an area opens it to other areas.

We have to remember that being a Christian is easy – walking in the fullness and promises of God is not easy. It takes work, effort, and discipline.

9 Moreover, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we yielded [to them] and respected [them for training us]. Shall we not much more cheerfully submit to the Father of spirits and so [truly] live?

Earthly fathers have given discipline, and were yielded to and respected by their children. What is the result of children that are not disciplined? Who is in charge in those families, and are the parents respected?

Look at the attitude when correction comes from God. It is received “cheerfully”, with excitement and appreciation. This is the God of the universe caring enough about me or you to actually take the time to correct us of something that we are doing or have done.

When we are corrected by God, and we receive His correction, we begin to “truly live”. Live, as used here, is the word “zoe”, which means the “life of God”. Jesus did not just come to give us life. He wasn’t satisfied with that. He came to give us LIFE (zoe) and it more abundantly. He came to give us the abundant life of God!

Why is it that the children of God do not experience the “zoe” life of God? Jesus came, not only for us to have life, to live, but to live ABUNDANTLY!
Eph 4:18 says:
Their moral understanding is darkened and their reasoning is beclouded. [They are] alienated (estranged, self-banished) from the life of God [with no share in it; this is] because of the ignorance (the want of knowledge and perception, the willful blindness) that is deep-seated in them, due to their hardness of heart [to the insensitiveness of their moral nature].

It’s one thing to quote a scripture, but it’s quite another to live a scripture. Jesus is not concerned with how many scriptures we can quote. He is concerned with how many we LIVE

Back to Heb 12
10 For [our earthly fathers] disciplined us for only a short period of time and chastised us as seemed proper and good to them; but He disciplines us for our certain good, that we may become sharers in His own holiness.

Sharers of His ANOINTING. How can we have more of His anointing? DISCIPLINE.

11 For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it [a harvest of fruit which consists in righteousness--in conformity to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action, resulting in right living and right standing with God].

12 So then, brace up and reinvigorate and set right your slackened and weakened and drooping hands and strengthen your feeble and palsied and tottering knees,

Man up!

13 And cut through and make firm and plain and smooth, straight paths for your feet [yes, make them safe and upright and happy paths that go in the right direction], so that the lame and halting [limbs] may not be put out of joint, but rather may be cured.

This takes effort and work. This is not something that just occurs.

14 Strive to live in peace with everybody and pursue that consecration and holiness without which no one will [ever] see the Lord.

Striving requires discipline.

Matt 6:33
But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.

What does it take to read the Bible every morning, or pray every morning? Discipline.

Romans 8:4
4 So that the righteous and just requirement of the Law might be fully met in us who live and move not in the ways of the flesh but in the ways of the Spirit [our lives governed not by the standards and according to the dictates of the flesh, but controlled by the Holy Spirit].

Everything that we do must be governed by the spirit, and not by the flesh. When we flow in excellence, we stand out.

Romans 8:8
8 So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him.

God is very serious about discipline. We should be also.

Matt 26:41 (Jesus is speaking)
40 And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and He said to Peter, What! Are you so utterly unable to stay awake and keep watch with Me for one hour?

41 All of you must keep awake (give strict attention, be cautious and active) and watch and pray, that you may not come into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

When we are mediocre, we are submitting to the temptation of our flesh.

When Jesus says the flesh is weak, He actually means the flesh is strong – the flesh is dominating. The spirit is willing to flow and operate in excellence, to do what it takes to be excellent. However, the flesh is in control, or is stronger than the spirit.

We have to remember that we are a spirit, created in the image of God. God created us perfect and with excellence. We are a spirit, and as such, we are in possession of a body and a mind (flesh and soul). When the spirit is in dominance, we can tell the flesh to line up and obey the Word of God. When disease comes against us, we, as a spirit, feel great. It is the body that needs to align to the Word of God, healed and whole.

David even said “Bless the Lord, O my soul”. This was spirit-man David taking control, and speaking to the soul-David (or the mind), and saying, “Line up, and bless the Lord – I’m in control and telling you what to do”.

1 Cor 9:24-27
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but [only] one receives the prize? So run [your race] that you may lay hold [of the prize] and make it yours.

We are in a race right now, whether we know it or not, and whether we acknowledge it or not. Just because we don’t know or realize, doesn’t mean that it is not happening.

25 Now every athlete who goes into training conducts himself temperately and restricts himself in all things. They do it to win a wreath that will soon wither, but we [do it to receive a crown of eternal blessedness] that cannot wither.

An athlete trains and disciplines his body harshly, restricting himself in ALL things. What he does, what he doesn’t do, what he eats, when and how long he trains, when and how long he sleeps… These things are done for a crown that will wither, or a gold medal that will tarnish, scratch, and fade.

We, however, should do the same, but even more so, as we are after an eternal reward, that does not wither, tarnish, scratch, or fade.

26 Therefore I do not run uncertainly (without definite aim). I do not box like one beating the air and striking without an adversary.

Paul has focus. He knows where he is going, and what he has to do to arrive at his destination.

27 But [like a boxer] I buffet my body [handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships] and subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel and things pertaining to it, I myself should become unfit [not stand the test, be unapproved and rejected as a counterfeit].

He disciplines his body, his flesh, roughly, in an effort to subdue it. By subduing his flesh, he does not cave to the temptations that present themselves. He is able to focus on the race at hand, and on the prize at the end. We must do the same, roughly disciplining our flesh and our minds, lining them up with the Word of God, so that we too can remain focused on the race at hand and on the prize at the end.

The prize that we long to hear are the words of Jesus, saying “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master!”

©2012 New Life Church. All Rights Reserved.

When we get saved, when we become a follower of Christ, our Spirit is made new. It is a new creation – the old things are gone, and all things are new.

Two other parts of us that don’t change just because we are saved:

Our flesh

Our soul (mind, intellect)

How do we get our mind change, in the same way that our spirit has? By the renewing of our minds (Rom 12:1-2).

We are spirit, soul, and body

If we have a decision to make, and the spirit says “go this way”, and the flesh says “go that way” – the mind (or soul) makes the final decision. There is a democracy happening inside of us at every decision and choice that we have to make. The result of our choices is directly reflective of the “party” that is in control – just like politics…

The spirit of excellence is when the Spirit is in dominance, not the flesh.

The opposite of excellence is mediocre, which is defined as halfway, or even below half. We have already established in this class that God is not mediocre – He is not halfway. God is a god of Excellence.

God’s very name is Excellent – Ps. 8:1.

The nature of God can be found in the names of God:

El-Olam: The Everlasting God
El Shaddai: The God Who Is Sufficient For The Needs Of His People
Jehovah-Elohim: The Eternal Creator
Jehovah-Jireh: The Lord our Provider
Jehovah-Nissi: The Lord our Banner
Jehovah-Ropheka: The Lord our Healer
Jehovah-Shalom: The Lord our Peace
Jehovah-Tsidkenu: The Lord our Righteousness

How do we know He is our healer? Because His very name says He is the God that healeth thee.

How do we know He is our provider? Because His very name says He is the God that provides for all of your needs.

We can get the nature of God from the names of God – Prince of Peace, the Peace-giver…

If we are going to conform to the image of God, we need to understand what that image is. What would God do in this situation? How would God act in this situation, or react? If we react and respond the way He would, then we are conforming to His image. If we react or respond differently than He would, how are we conforming to His image?

If we are doing something that is mediocre, we are allowing our flesh to dominate.

When we operate in excellence, not only are we conforming to the image of Christ, but excellence is also part of character development.

While charisma or favor may get us where we are, or want to be – it is character that will keep us there. One of the building blocks of character is excellence.

The Bible teaches that we are to be IN this world, not OF this world. If we act, think, talk, and walk the way that the WORLD does – then we have a PROBLEM.

If the world does not see God in us, that is a problem. It affects our ability to witness to them. If the world cannot see Jesus in us, we are not conforming to His image.

REMEMBER: The measure of God, the Glory of God in what we are doing is in direct proportion to the excellence that we do it in. If we do something mediocre, sloppy, the world is not seeing Jesus at all. When we do things in excellence, we stand out.

Men and women of excellence stand out in a crowd because there are so few of them.

We have to be different than the world – we must be men and women of excellence. We must CATCH the spirit of excellence, because it is CAUGHT, not TAUGHT. When we catch the spirit of excellence, God is able to put us in higher places, before men and kings. They will take notice, because there is something different about us.

How do we catch the spirit of excellence? We must pursue it, just like anything from God.

How do you get the Promised Land? God has given it, but we must pursue and possess it. Until we possess it, we don’t have it.

How do you receive health and healing? Jesus is not coming down from heaven to take a few more stripes for you – He already did His part. We must pursue and receive the healing that has already been given to us.

What about finances? The promised land has already been given. We are no longer under the curse of poverty any more. We must pursue and possess it.

The battle between spirit and flesh is the same battle between excellence and mediocrity. We must pursue excellence. Excellence is the refining fire that builds character.

Romans 8:1-9
1 THEREFORE, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.

dictates = controlled by, who are we controlled by?

No condemnation when we walk by the Spirit – there is condemnation when we walk by the flesh.

2 For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has freed me from the law of sin and of death.

3 For God has done what the Law could not do, [its power] being weakened by the flesh [the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit]. Sending His own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, [God] condemned sin in the flesh [subdued, overcame, deprived it of its power over all who accept that sacrifice],

4 So that the righteous and just requirement of the Law might be fully met in us who live and move not in the ways of the flesh but in the ways of the Spirit [our lives governed not by the standards and according to the dictates of the flesh, but controlled by the Holy Spirit].

5 For those who are according to the flesh and are controlled by its unholy desires set their minds on and pursue those things which gratify the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and seek those things which gratify the [Holy] Spirit.

6 Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever].

7 [That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God’s Law; indeed it cannot.

8 So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him.

9 But you are not living the life of the flesh, you are living the life of the Spirit, if the [Holy] Spirit of God [really] dwells within you [directs and controls you]. But if anyone does not possess the [Holy] Spirit of Christ, he is none of His [he does not belong to Christ, is not truly a child of God].

Excellence = going above and beyond, even when we don’t feel like it / Making sure everything is done to the best of our ability, even when we don’t want to, or nobody will give us credit

Excellence = doing things when you don’t feel like doing them

Excellence = getting there early when you don’t feel like getting there early

Excellence = staying in the back, behind the scenes, when you wish you were getting some attention and credit

Excellence = doing it as unto the Lord

It doesn’t matter if you do LESS – as long as you do it with EXCELLENCE! God’s presence is in direct proportion to the EXCELLENCE you operate in.

Excellence is not perfection, nor is it based on talent or ability. It is based on doing what you are doing to the best of YOUR ability, using the gifts, talents, skills, and abilities that God has given you!!!

Excellence is at attitude, a condition of the heart. God looks at the heart long before He looks at the act itself. God is focused and concerned with our hearts. The Bible tells us that “God loves a CHEERFUL giver”, He is more concerned with the attitude, and looks for that before He looks at what was given. He cares about the cheerfulness of your heart before He cares about your seed.

We must hunger for excellence before we will ever catch it! we must go after it with everything that we’ve got. It will cause you to stand out in church, in a ministry, in your job, in everything that you do! God will CAUSE YOU to stand out!

Excellence has to be something that you want, that you decide that you will go after. Someone can’t give it to you, or make you do it. You must do it on your own!

How do we stop catering to the appetites and impulses of the flesh, of the carnal nature? verse 8 above

What will cause you to inherit the promises of God?
What will cause you to walk in divine health?
What will cause you to walk in propsperity?
What will cause you to when you have done all, to continue to stand?
What will cause you to walk in excellence?
What will cause you to pursue the things of God?
What will cause you to have your spirit totally dominate your flesh in every single area?
DISCIPLINE

Discipline is a building block of character. You cannot have Godly character without discipline. Paul talks about how he disciplines his body in 1 Cor 9:27:
27 But [like a boxer] I buffet my body [handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships] and subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel and things pertaining to it, I myself should become unfit [not stand the test, be unapproved and rejected as a counterfeit].

Learning to control the flesh is discipline, discipline to dominate our flesh. That will help us in every area of our life!

There is a battle going on between our spirit and our flesh, and only our spirit is made new when we get saved. It’s a democracy, and just like politics, the ruling party usually gets their way. We have to make sure that our spirit is able to dominate and becomes that ruling party.

When we operate in excellence, our spirit is in dominance. When we operate in mediocrity, our flesh is in dominance.

We must discipline our flesh so that our spirit can be in dominance. This is a daily requirement and journey.

©2012 New Life Church. All Rights Reserved.

Heb 10:23
So let us seize and hold fast and retain without wavering the hope we cherish and confess and our acknowledgement of it, for He Who promised is reliable (sure) and faithful to His word.

What is faithfulness?
Faithfulness = being so full of faith that you will do the same thing over and over again, diligently, consistently, with no recognition from men, knowing that God rewards. Faithfulness is FULL OF FAITH.

People quit before they get to the end of the race because they don’t have a recognition that it is God that rewards. He is the rewarder.

Faithfulness, or sticking with it, even when you are not getting recognition from Man, is a sign of greater faith, because your trust is in God.

God looks for faithfulness in an individual long before He looks for talent or giftings or any other abilities. When God finds somebody with faithfulness, He can and will deposit into them the talent and abilities that they will need to accomplish what He has for them.

When God only finds somebody with talent or ability, and no faithfulness, He will not use them.

Faith comes by hearing…

As we hear, our faith is built, our Spirit is built. When we speak words, and don’t keep our words, our Spirit gets to the point that it doesn’t believe us.

James: Let not the man who doubts think he’s going to receive anything

* wavering wounds our faith, back and forth hurts our faith
* our Spirit does not know what words we mean and what words we don’t mean

If you are speaking words, make them the right words. We hear those words, and our beliefs are being established by our words. If we give our word to do something, and don’t do it, our Spirit does not know what words to believe.

The same words that we speak, that release our faith and cause changes and promises of God to come forward, are coming from the same mouth.

If we commit to do something – we must do it. God watches over His words to perform them. He keeps His word, all the time.

Faithfulness is a characteristic of the Spirit of Excellence

Proverbs 28:20
A faithful man shall abound with blessings, but he who makes haste to be rich [at any cost] shall not go unpunished.

Faithfulness is connected to blessings. Direct connection to being blessed for being faithful.

Luke 16:10
He who is faithful in a very little [thing] is faithful also in much, and he who is dishonest and unjust in a very little [thing] is dishonest and unjust also in much.

Read it like this: He who is FULL OF FAITH when he has little, will be FULL OF FAITH when he has much,…

Being FULL OF FAITH has nothing to do with material things – it is all about your trust in God.

Your level of trust in God does not change because you have more things. Having a lot doesn’t mean that you are full of faith – you have to have been full of faith with little before you can move to more.

You can have absolutely nothing in your pocket and be FULL OF FAITH, it is your level of trust in God.

It is the FAITHFUL (FULL OF FAITH) man that abounds with blessings.

There is an exchange happening between us and God. We show Him faithfulness, and He shows us blessings. There is a man-ward part and a God-ward part of the promises of God, and the man-ward part comes FIRST.

Luke 16:11
Therefore if you have not been faithful in the [case of] unrighteous mammon (deceitful riches, money, possessions), who will entrust to you the true riches?

The Spirit of Excellence is not just on you in certain things, when it’s on you, it’s on you at all times. Faithfulness is the same way. When it’s on you, you are faithful in all things.

If we are not faithful in money, God cannot be faithful to trust us with TRUE RICHES. What are God’s ideas of TRUE RICHES?

* True revelation of His word?
* The Power of the Anointing?

We have to be faithful in all areas of our lives, even with our money, to access the true riches of God. This is part of the exchange happening with us and God. When we keep our word, He keeps His. When we are faithful to Him, He is faithful to us.

©2012 New Life Church. All Rights Reserved.

Each plant brought seed according to its own kind – 3 Laws of Sowing and Reaping

* Every seed reproduces its own kind.
* Plant mediocrity, sow mediocrity.
* Do as unto the Lord (Jesus is standing there with you…)
* Becomes the harvest we create in our lives

* Don’t base your diligence and hard work on the money, do it as unto the Lord, what we are supposed to do. God is a rewarder.
* Will always reap more than you sow
* Can be good and bad
* Good seed – good harvest
* Mediocre seed – flood of mediocre in our lives
* If we are going to reap more than we sow, need to be careful of the quality of the seed being sown.
* 100:1 harvest?
* Reap in a different season than you sow
* People TRY excellence for 2 days, then are upset that they haven’t seen a return – excellence doesn’t work
* Consistently do more
* Some people won’t like that – makes them look bad
* We have to do things as unto the Lord, and decide if we are more afraid of God, or more afraid of men.
* The more you do, the more you’ll stand out, be noticed
* Somebody will notice, somebody will like

To shine in this world, all you have to do is put in 40 hours of work for 40 hours of pay. The 40 hours has to be YOUR BEST!

Business world – works on least / least principle:

* Employee works the least possible to get by
* Employer pays the least possible to keep the employee

Back to our scripture:
Gen 1:12:
God saw it was good, and He approved it.
Gen 1:31
And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good (suitable, pleasant) and He approved it completely. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.

Chapter 1:31 comes just before chapter 2:1 – originally there was no chapter and verse. Let’s read them together.

Gen 2:1
THUS THE heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

God is not only a starter – but He doesn’t stop there – He finishes what He starts!

* never see one winged butterfly
* never see one-legged dog
Isn’t it good He didn’t stop in the middle?

For us to conform to the image of God, we must not only start… we must finish what we start.

We cannot just start projects, we must also complete the things that we start – to the satisfaction of those involved. We can’t complete the task if we can’t see the BIG PICTURE.

Story: Men filling holes

If we can’t see the whole picture, we haven’t finished the job. What was required to be able to call this job, project, or task completed?

Starting a job, but not finishing – does not help your boss.
Starting a job, but not finishing – does not help God.
Starting a job, but not understanding the big picture, and finishing wrong – does not help.

Starting something new is exciting – carrying through to the end can be hard.
We want to be remembered as someone what finishes what we start – as a finisher, not a starter only.

We have to discipline ourselves to be finishers, not because it is exciting or fun, but because that’s what God did, and we want to conform to His image.

God is a finisher, Jesus is a finisher.

Hebrews 12:1-2
1 THEREFORE THEN, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us,

2 Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

To conform to the image of Christ, we have to finish what we start.

How great is it that Jesus will finish our faith, not humans. Humans don’t finish what they start, unless they are driven and determined, striving to conform.

We must look away from distractions. Look away, and TO Jesus.
Finishing MUST be a priority in our life.

John 19:28 (Jesus on the cross)
After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished (ended), said in fulfillment of the Scripture, I thirst.

Jesus was tempted in the Garden. He said “Lord, take this cup from me”
“I don’t want to finish this project – take this away from me!”

Thank God Jesus did not yield to that temptation – did not give in! He has to be our example, we can’t look at people that don’t finish and use them as an example.

Jesus said “It is finished” – He overcame the temptation and the distraction to not finish. We have to do that also.

When we start something without finishing – the world sees us as they are, as non-finishers. We don’t stand out or shine.

John 19:30
When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, It is finished! And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

Jesus took his call, his project to the finish.
What if Jesus didn’t finish our salvation?
What if Jesus only healed one of the blind man’s eyes?
What if he only fed part of the crowd of 5000?
What is he only made it so the lame man could hop on one leg?

Jesus was so meticulous in finishing…
In the tomb – the head napkin – neatly folded up. Jesus took the time to fold the napkin neatly.

John 20:7
But the burial napkin (kerchief) which had been around Jesus’ head, was not lying with the other linen cloths, but was [still] rolled up (wrapped round and round) in a place by itself.

Jesus is a FINISHER

Acts 20:24 (Paul speaking)
But none of these things move me; neither do I esteem my life dear to myself, if only I may finish my course with joy and the ministry which I have obtained from [which was entrusted to me by] the Lord Jesus, faithfully to attest to the good news (Gospel) of God’s grace (His unmerited favor, spiritual blessing, and mercy).

Paul was interested in finishing!

2 Tim 4:7
I have fought the good (worthy, honorable, and noble) fight, I have finished the race, I have kept (firmly held) the faith.

Paul was a FINISHER.

* Went on three missionary journeys
* Back to the same cities and towns where he was stoned and left for dead
* To help those churches and believers grow – concerned about not only his finish, but theirs, and strengthening them in their belief that Jesus is Lord
If you are going to take on a project or task, finish it.

If you can’t meet the deadline, talk to somebody – tell them you can’t meet the deadline, and work out something else, or MEET IT!

If you have to be constantly hounded to finish something – you aren’t a finisher. God wants His children to finish, not because they get bugged all the time, but because it is their NATURE.

We all need to improve – this is striving to conform, striving for the spirit of excellence.

Titus 1:5
5 For this reason I left you [behind] in Crete, that you might set right what was defective and finish what was left undone, and that you might appoint elders and set them over the churches (assemblies) in every city as I directed you.

This is how concerned Paul was about finishing. He wanted every job to be finished, so he sent Titus to manage that.

Finishing is a habit, just like being late. We have to purpose in our heart that we WILL BE A FINISHER.

Imagine inviting friends over for dinner, but not finishing? Serve half of a dish, or only half-cooked? We will not tolerate others not finishing, but we don’t mind us not finishing. We expect things finished around us, but we don’t expect us to be FINISHERS.

1 Cor 9:24
Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but [only] one receives the prize? So run [your race] that you may lay hold [of the prize] and make it yours.

This is all so that we can finish the call on our lives.

What good is a call on your life, if you don’t finish?

Jesus says, to the one that finishes, “Well done, good and faithful servant…”

When we are faithful to FINISH the things that God gives us, He will be faithful to give us more.

God is not only a STARTER, but He’s also a FINISHER. He finishes what He starts.

Jesus is not only the AUTHOR, or STARTER of our faith, but He is also the FINISHER. He finished His work, even though He was tempted not to. He finished the healings and miracles that He performed.

Paul followed Jesus’ example, and was a FINISHER as well. His life was devoted to finishing the call of God that was placed on his life.

We cannot operate in the Spirit of Excellence if we are not finishing the things that we start. We must be FINISHERS, which is another way that we stand apart from the world.

©2012 New Life Church. All Rights Reserved.

The Spirit of Excellence – Class 2 (01/13/2010)

We are going to continue to talk about excellence, because we want the world to see excellence in us. We strive to conform to the image of Christ, and the image of Christ is not mediocre. It is excellent. So if we are to conform to His image, we need to have excellence seen in us, in all that we say, in all that we do – there should be excellence.

Excellence that causes your gifts to shine (talents, gifts inside)

Corinthians – Paul is writing to believers in church of Corinth. They had many spiritual gifts flowing in the church, but they still needed to be taught about excellence. Even if you are covered in anointing, and the gifts of the Spirit flow through you, they still needed to be taught about excellence… We all need to grow in excellence – it is a journey, and we will never arrive. This is a journey that only we can control. Nobody can cause us to flow in excellence, because excellence is caught, not taught.

1 Cor 10:31
So then, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you may do, do all for the honor and glory of God.

* What is “whatever”? Example of “whatever”?
* What is “all”? Example of “all”?
Why am I doing this? For the honor and glory of God.
I’m doing it for something. I “work” for a “paycheck”.
What is the return on what I am doing?
You would not go to work if there was no paycheck.
We do something FOR something. Whatever we are doing produces something that goes to God.
What should it produce – honor and glory.

What if it is done with mediocrity, or in a mediocre manner? Does it produce honor and glory for God? No.

There is an exchange happening – everything we are doing is being exchanged for honor and glory. I’m not working for a paycheck, I’m doing this for honor and glory.

How much honor and glory goes to God for what I just did? The amount is in proportion to the excellence that it is done with.

If you did it totally mediocre, it’s fair to say that DIShonor is going to God – not honor.

This is an exchange going on here – whatever we are doing. The exchange is the excellence that we do this with determining the amount of honor and glory that goes to God.

God, I do this so YOU can get that.

There are times that we do things where God gets absolutely no honor and no glory.

We as children of God MUST be DIFFERENT than the world in the workplace. This does not mean you wear a button, or listen to Christian radio, or have a Bible on your desk… this is about the manner in which we function at work – must be different than the world. This is one reason that our light isn’t shining, why we aren’t the salt… when the world sees us, they don’t see anything different.

Everything that we do is done for honor and glory to God.

Now, the world cannot see God. Since they cannot see God, the only God they will see is in you and I. We are the example of God to them. The measure that they see God in us is directly proportionate to the excellence that we operate in.

Honor and glory to God – I don’t do something for Heather, and then Heather turns around and gives honor and glory to God. The world does not even know God. This covers everything we do for everybody. If they can’t see God, they can only see us – the world has to measure the amount of honor ad glory against something. What is that? Our performance. The world looks at our performance and gives honor and glory.

When we operate in excellence, the world will notice, and will try to give the honor and glory to us. That’s not bad – actually good for them to give. It’s not good for us to do the taking. We have to ask ourselves, “When was the last time the world was giving honor and glory to me?”

Honor and Glory = compliments

There is an exchange in everything that we do. We are exchanging what we do for something for God. When we operate in excellence, we receive honor and glory from the world. That honor and glory is passed on to God. We can’t give to God something that we don’t have.

Can’t show up on time for two days and expect the floodgates of praise and compliments to open. Have to stick with it and make this a lifestyle.

We also cannot operate in excellence just for recognition. We are to do things as “unto the Lord”, and whether we are recognized or not, God sees what we do, and He will reward and recognize us. The Bible tells us that if we seek the honor of men, we’ve received all of the reward we will get.

We have two functions:
1.) To do what we do with in a manner that gives honor and glory to God
2.) To give the honor and glory that is received from what we did to God

In EVERYTHING we do, there should be honor and glory coming to us.
Excellence = Honor & Glory

If we are ambassadors of Christ, then Christ should be seen in everything that we do!

Excellence is NOT perfection – Excellence is doing all you can do. All you can do is all you can do, and all you can do is enough. The problem in many cases is that people are not doing All You Can Do.

1 Cor 10:32
Do not let yourselves be [hindrances by giving] an offense to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God [do not lead others into sin by your mode of life];

Back then, there were Jews, Greeks, and the church of God = that was everybody

If you are offending people, if you are creating an offense, there is no honor and glory being given to God.

We have to be balanced – the Bible has absolutes. We do not compromise the Bible.

When we offend others, there is no exchange of honor and glory.

…[do not lead others into sin by your mode of life]…

This is your lifestyle. The way we act, talk, behave, do anything – this is now an example for others to follow.

World is quick to point out a hypocrite. When we life our life like the world, but then speak of Jesus, the world is not seeing the light of God in us. If our lifestyle is that of the world, but we are telling them about Jesus, they are not getting saved.

What you do speaks louder than what you say.

As a Christian, we are always being watched. Everything that we do is looked at, is evaluated against what we should stand for.

Example: telling off-color jokes at the water cooler; gossiping about people

We are to live the example of Christ. We are to be calm, cool, and collected – at all times. When we are, our lifestyle shows the Prince of Peace who lives inside of us.

Does that mean I have to be good all the time? Yes.
Can’t ever get angry and lose my temper? Yes.
Be worried or fretful, screaming and shouting? Yes.
Can’t ever be screaming and shouting at my staff? Yes.
Can’t ever be screaming or shouting at my wife, my kids? Yes.

We are being watched, not only for how we act, but how we REACT. That is part of excellence, and flowing with the Spirit of Excellence. When we realize this, have this revelation – we are much more careful of what we do, how we act, how we speak, and how we react.

We have to remember that God is the source of our joy – so when did He leave us? If Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and He lives inside of us, and He said He will never leave us or forsake us – when did He leave us?

If we have the revelation that the Spirit of God has not left us, why are we acting different? Is there any pressure too big for God? Is there any problem too big for God? If it isn’t too big for God, and God is with us, then it is not too big for us.

The Bible tells us that we will never be tested and tried beyond what we can handle.

So – do not lead others into sin by our mode of life…

1 Cor 10:33
Just as I myself strive to please [to accommodate myself to the opinions, desires, and interests of others, adapting myself to] all men in everything I do, not aiming at or considering my own profit and advantage, but that of the many in order that they may be saved.

Just as I myself…

Paul is doing this too, not asking us to do something he’s not working on.

Was 1 Corinthians intended just for the Pastor of the Corinthian church, or for the church as a whole? Timothy / Titus – examples written to church leadership.

… strive to please…

We need to be flexible – we won’t be broken. When things don’t go your way – be flexible. When plans change – be flexible.

Strive means that it will not come easy. Our flesh does not want to please others, just please itself. The flesh is not you – it is an it. It is a possession of you. You are created as a spirit. God is a spirit, and you are created in His image. We are spirits and we can control our body and mind.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:27 – But [like a boxer] I buffet my body [handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships] and subdue it,

We control our flesh. We can tell IT what to do. When it wants to get angry, we can tell it to stop. To stop worrying, wallowing…

… all men in everything I do…

Who do we strive to please?
What does “all” mean?
What is “everything” we do?

Paul was not a respecter of men. He did not put on a Spirit of Excellence for a select few. We have to operate and flow in a Spirit of Excellence at all times, for everyone. Not just our boss that can give us a raise. Not just the pastor or leader…

… not aiming at or considering my own profit and advantage …

We don’t look for the WIIFM. Paul was not thinking of himself.

We strive to please others because that’s the image of Christ and the Spirit of Excellence.
Do our functions to the best of our ability, without thinking of ourself.
Do everything to the best of our ability, not looking for how it will benefit you.
If we do anything as unto men, then we have already received our reward.
Do we want our reward from men or God?

We must keep our motives right and pure. What we sow, so shall we reap. If we have wrong motives, we’ll be reaping a bad harvest. It all depends on us. All of God’s promises depend on us. We have to act first, then God. But God does not look just at actions, but He seeks out the heart, the motives.

… but that of the many in order that they may be saved. …

Operating in the Spirit of Excellence, the Spirit of Excellence flowing in us can directly influence the salvation of lives. Salvation of people is what it is all about…

When we flow in mediocrity, we actually stop people from coming to Christ.

1 Cor 11:1
Pattern yourselves after me, as I imitate and follow Christ.

Everything he just finished teaching on was how Jesus operated and flowed. And that’s how we are to operate, in the image of Christ.

Paul isn’t saying do what I say, he’s saying do what I do, which is what Jesus did also.

©2012 New Life Church. All Rights Reserved.

Where are we at today?

State of the Country:

* Only 5% of Christian men have a best friend (Promise Keepers)
* Average amount of time a child spends in front of media = 38 hours per week (Kaiser Family Foundation)
* Average daily time a father spends one-on-one with a preschooler = 37 seconds per day (Focus on the Family)
* Total time a father works in his lifetime (accumulative hours) = 12 years (National Center for Fathering)
* Total time a dad talks with his child in his lifetime (accumulative hours) = 11 days (National Center for Fathering)
* 24 million children live absent their biological father (National Fatherhood Initiative)
* 40% of those have not seen their father at all in the past year (National Fatherhood Initiative)

State of the Church:

* Over 350,000 churches in America (George Barma)
* 80% of youth active in evangelical churches believe that truth is relative, not absolute (Josh McDowell)
* 85% of lay leadership in the churches in America are women (George Barma)
* 75% of bible study leaders are women (George Barma)

Impact of Men in the Church:

* 93% of families will join a church if the dad/husband is first to connect to the church
* 1 out of 1,152 marriages end in divorce when the couple pray together daily
* Church Attendance:
* If mother and father attend regularly
* 33% of children will attend regularly
* 41% of children will attend sporadically
* 25% of children will NOT attend at all
* Mother attends regularly, Father attends sporadically
* 3% of children will attend regularly
* 59% f children will attend sporadically
* 38% of children will NOT attend at all
* Mother attends regularly, Father does NOT attend
* 2% of children will attend regularly
* 37% f children will attend sporadically
* 60% of children will NOT attend at all
* If Father attends regularly, Mother sporadically
* 38% of children will attend regularly
* 37%f children will attend sporadically
* 26% of children will NOT attend at all
* If Father attends regularly, Mother does NOT attend
* 44% of children will attend regularly
* 22% f children will attend sporadically
* 34% of children will NOT attend at all

We are called to be Men of God:

1.) We must build ourselves to be Men of God! We must get into the Word!

God has a lot to say about why we should get into the Word, and the benefits that are available to us by staying in the Word of God.

Joshua 1:8 – This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.

Proverbs 4:20-22 – My son, attend to my words; consent and submit to my sayings. 21 Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart. 22 For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh.

John 15:3 – You are cleansed andpruned already, because of the word which I have given you [the teachings I have discussed with you].

Psalm 119:9 – How shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed and keeping watch [on himself] according to Your word [conforming his life to it].

John 15:7 – If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.

Acts 20:32 – And now [brethren], I commit you to God [I deposit you in His charge, entrusting you to His protection and care]. And I commend you to the Word of His grace [to the commands and counsels and promises of His unmerited favor]. It is able to build you up and to give you [your rightful] inheritance among all God’s set-apart ones (those consecrated, purified, and transformed of soul).

1 Peter 1:23 – You have been regenerated (born again), not from a mortal origin (seed, sperm), but from one that is immortal by theever living and lasting Word of God.

Matthew 4:1-11 – Jesus himself spoke of the importance of the Word of God when He was being tempted by the devil.

1 Peter 2:2 – Like newborn babies you should crave (thirst for, earnestly desire) the pure (unadulterated) spiritual milk, that by it you may be nurturedand grow unto [completed] salvation,

Psalm 119:98-100, 102-103 – You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies, for [Your words] are ever before me.99 I have better understanding and deeper insight than all my teachers, because Your testimonies are my meditation. 100 I understand more than the aged, because I keep Your precepts [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying them].102 I have not turned aside from Your ordinances, for You Yourself have taught me.103 How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Acts 17:11 – Now these [Jews] were better disposed and more noble than those in Thessalonica, for they were entirely ready and accepted andwelcomed the message [concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God] with inclination of mindand eagerness, searching and examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

John 15:10-11 – If you keep My commandments [if you continue to obey My instructions], you will abide in My love and live on in it, just as I have obeyed My Father’s commandments and live on in His love.11 I have told you these things, that My joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy and gladness may be of full measure and completeand overflowing.

1.) Hearing the Word

Romans 10:17 – Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

Amplified (Rom 10:17) – So faith comes by hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the preaching [of the message that came from the lips] of Christ (the Messiah Himself).

* Most ofte happens on Sunday morning
* Provides insight into another person’s study of the Word
* Can also be through teaching CDs, podcasts, TV, etc.
2.) Reading the Word

* Develop a broad understanding of scripture
* Get acquainted with the Bible

3.) Studying the Word

* Makes it personal
* Personal discovery of God’s truths and principles
* Studying in a small group can lead to personal application and life change

4.) Memorizing the Word

Psalm 119: I have hidden your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
* Gives the tools needed for battle and for mission
* God has missions for each of us – we need to be equipped for those
*

5.) Meditating on the Word

Hebrews 4:12: The Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

* We must think about the meaning of the passage
* What does it mean for me?
* How does it relate to my life?
* What is God saying to ME?
* Meditating on scripture in this way allows us to apply the principles and truths found to our lives.

2.) We must discipline the flesh:

1 Corinthians 9:27 – But [like a boxer] I buffet my body [handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships] and subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel and things pertaining to it, I myself should become unfit [not stand the test, be unapproved and rejected as a counterfeit].

* We must learn to tell our flesh “NO”
* Athletes discipline their bodies, not because it feels good, but because they have a goal that they want to attain. This is what drives them on.
* We need to see the goal – conforming to the image of Christ – and staying in the Word will help us to see that goal clearly.
AMP: 2 Cor 3:18 – And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit.

©2012 New Life Church. All Rights Reserved.

excellence = the quality of being excellent
excellent = superior; very good of its kind, eminently good
Is the Spirit of Excellence important today in the church? Yes.

Is the Spirit of Excellence important today in the body of Christ? Yes.

Is the Spirit of Excellence important today with all of the different ministries of Helps? Yes.

What about in the work force? Is the Spirit of Excellence important today in the work force? Yes.

Foundational Scripture: 2 Cor 3:18

AMP: 18 And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit.

We are going from glory to glory, but what took us there? It did not happen on its own.
… all of us continued to behold…

behold = 1). to perceive through sight or apprehension, 2.) to gaze upon

“all of us” “continued to behold” or continued to look – in the word of God, as in a mirror. When we look in the wrod of God, we are looking in a mirror. We see ourselves in the word, we see ourselves conforming to the image of God in the word of God. The word of God is a mirror of ourselves. We see ourselves AS THE WORD DESCRIBES YOU!

The word of God tells us that “by His stripes, I am healed”, so what do I do when I am in need of healing and reading in the word? I begin to see myself, as in a mirror through the word, being healed.

For us to continue to see this image of what we look like in the word, we have to continue to look in the word. We cannot just take a quick peek, then walk away, and expect to continue to know how we look according to the word. James tells us (v. 1:22) to be “doers of the Word [obeying the message], and merely listeners only”.

How does God see you? When God sees you, he sees you:

* conforming to the Word.
* washed in the Blood
* not as a defeated one, but as a conqueror
* not as barely making it, but living an abundant life
* He sees you walking in the glory of the Lord, as we walk in the fullness of God

… constantly being transfigured into His very own image…
transfigured = to give a new and typically exalted or spiritual appearance to; transform outwardly and usually for the better

The more we get into the Word, the more we study the Word, the more we meditate on the Word, the more we let the Word soak into our hearts, our spirits, and really get inside of us – the more we are transformed into the image of Christ. Changed into His image.

Now, if we want to conform to His image, and the Bible says that the more we are in the Word, the more we conform to His image – it is probably a good idea for us to find out what is His image?

If the image of God is mediocre, the more we get into the Word, the more mediocre we would become.

What is the image of Christ? The image of Christ is “excellence”, it is the Spirit of Excellence. The Father did nothing that was mediocre. As He made the Earth, and the stars, and the planets, and the solar system, and the billions of galaxies, there was nothing that was mediocre. There was nothing that the Father did that He did not complete. The Father not only created, and completed what He created, but He also took time to examine His creation. What was He looking for? Excellence. How do we know that? When He examined His work, His creation, He stepped back, looked it over, and said “this is good…”. He was pleased with what He saw. Would the Father have been pleased if He had done a mediocre job? No, I don’t think so. Everything that He created was in excellence.

Jesus is not only a starter, but He is also a finisher. The Bible says that Jesus is the “author of our faith”, but He is also the “Finisher” of our faith. He came here to finish a work. Did he do it? Yes, he did.

Why are we talking about starting, and finishing, and examining what’s been done? These are all attributes of the Spirit of Excellence.

Ps. 8:1 – How excellent is thy name.

His very name is excellent, and the very nature of God is hidden in the names of God, and His very nature is Excellence. Looking through the Word of God, everything that He created was Excellent. He made us excellent, and we are conforming to His image.

We’ll keep talking about how to do that, but before we can conform to His image, we have to know what it is…

Daniel is a man in the Bible that had this Spirit of Excellence.

How do we know Daniel was a man of excellence?

Daniel 5:12 Because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, clarify riddles, and solve knotty problems were found in this same Daniel…

What was found in Daniel? An excellent spirit – the Spirit of Excellence…

We know Daniel had the Spirit of Excellence. Many things happen once you catch the Spirit of Excellence. Once you have caught the Spirit of Excellence, or when you are striving for the Spirit of Excellence in all that you do:

1.) You must acknowledge that it exists. If it doesn’t exist, why are we striving for it?

2.) You must acknowledge that you don’t have it. If you already have it, why are you striving for it? The Spirit of Excellence is not taught, it’s caught. You have to catch it.

Once you realize that the Spirit of Excellence is real, that it exists, and that you don’t have it, you will want to catch it. You will seek it out. You will hunt for it. You will be with others that have it so that you might be able to catch it also!

One of the results of having the Spirit of Excellence can be found in Daniel 1:20

Daniel 1:17-20 17 As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all [kinds of] visions and dreams.

18 Now at the end of the time which the king had set for bringing [all the young men in], the chief of the eunuchs brought them before Nebuchadnezzar.

19 And the king conversed with them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they were assigned to stand before the king.

20 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding concerning which the king asked them, he found them ten times better than all the [learned] magicians and enchanters who were in his whole realm.

When you have the Spirit of Excellence, it is not hidden. The world can see it. It is seen by the world.

Look at Daniel 1:20 – In ALL matters, they were found 10 X better.

What made these guys 10X better? They were flowing in the Spirit of Excellence. When you catch the Spirit of Excellence, you will stand out in your job. You will be noticed by your bosses – I don’t know what they are doing, but it’s different. Their work ethic is different, their results are different, I don’t know what it is, but I like it…

There is a lot of teaching in the body of Christ, but one thing that is missing is the Spirit of Excellence. It’s really hard for your light to shine when you are blending in with everyone else… We have to be better.

Here is the definition of how to get a guaranteed pay increase at work: When you are willing to do MORE than you get paid for, you will get MORE than you are being paid now.

The world says “if they want me to do more, they better pay me more, and until they pay me more, I’m not doing any more…”. The Spirit of Excellence says to do more now. And when you do more now, you will end up making more. A secular article wrote that you should dress for the position you want to have, not the position that you currently have. This is excellence.

So, what is the Spirit of Excellence, and how do I get it?

The Spirit of Excellence is the image of God. God is NOT mediocre.

mediocre = of moderate or low quality, value, ability, or performance

God is the very top, the very definition of excellence. Any area of our lives, anything that we do, if it is done mediocre, we are not conforming to the image of Christ. Whether it is our job, an area that we volunteer to help the church, any area. If this is mediocre, we are not conforming to the Spirit of Excellence.

If you make a commitment to be somewhere or do something, and you don’t do it, you are not conforming to the Spirit of Excellence. We should do things as “unto the Lord”. As we do things “unto the Lord”, we should do those things with excellence. Defining “unto the Lord” could be “Spirit of Excellence”.

If you had an appointment with the Lord, would you show up? Would you be on time? How would you dress? If you were going to be late, and it was unavoidable, would you call Him?

We can’t say that we are doing something “unto the Lord”, unless we are really doing it “unto the Lord”. If Jesus was sitting here, would we still be doing it the same way?

God is not mediocre, He is not half way.

Excellence is a Spirit

It is not taught, it is caught. You have to want to catch the Spirit of Excellence. You have to predetermine in your heart that you want to catch it, or you won’t.

How do I predetermine that? How can I catch the Spirit of Excellence?

The Spirit of Excellence can be applied to your work, to your ministry, to anything that you put your hand to do.

If we are not doing it with the Spirit of Excellence – God is not in it.

Powerful statement: God is in what you do in the same measure as the excellence you do it with…

If you want more of His glory in your life, this is one way to see His glory. Do it with excellence.

God doesn’t do anything, unless it is with excellence. Nothing in creation was created without excellence.

Excellence is Leadership

Leadership is not a title on a business card, it is a characteristic, a quality. If you do things with excellence, people will follow you.

Excellence stands out in a crowd

Always -

People flowing in excellence will stand out in a crowd – they will shine.

Leaders will always duplicate themselves in their followers – mediocre leaders create mediocre followers, excellent leaders create followers that flow in excellence

Anyone looking for leaders will be looking for those that stand out from the rest of the mediocre crowd.

Excellence is a Destination, not a State of Being:

It is where we are heading.

Nobody has arrived at excellence, except for God.

We are striving for more excellence in what we do.

Excellence is a Direction:

It is where we are moving toward.

Excellence does not work from the outside-in, but from the inside-out:

Excellence is a battle between your Spirit and your flesh:

Your flesh will keep you in mediocrity every time, but your Spirit was created by the Lord, and is already an excellent Spirit. The problem is that it does not have dominance.

How do you deal with the battle between the Spirit and the flesh? If you are flowing in excellence, it is right in the middle of the battle.

If you are mediocre in what you do, your flesh is ruling – not your Spirit-man.

Excellence starts with the Core, in your Heart:

The first question we should ask ourselves is “who am I doing this unto?”

If we are doing it unto the Lord, we have to ask:

* “what does He want me to do?
* “in what manner does He want me to do it?
This may step on toes, but we have to acknowledge this, as it impacts the amount of glory, of God’s anointing and God’s hand in our lives. If we want to see the glory of God, we’ve got to flow in Excellence.

It doesn’t matter if you have to do less, what matters is that we do it RIGHT.

It’s not the amount that matters, but the attitude of the heart in which it is done.

* ex. Mary & Martha

Excellence makes us judge ourselves:

We have to judge ourselves to determine if we are operating in Excellence. The Bible tells us that we don’t have the right to judge anyone else, but we do have the right to judge ourselves.

Flesh will tell you “I want to judge others and not me…”
The Spirit will tell you “I’m only allowed to judge me, and I won’t say anything about anybody else…”

Excellence is a Habit:

It does not come by accident. We don’t stumble upon it. We have to strive for it.

We have to do it consistently, constantly striving for more and better, until it becomes second nature.

The Spirit of Excellence does not become second nature, but the striving for better becomes second nature, and that’s where we need to be.

Until we get the striving as a habit, we won’t get the Spirit of Excellence.

Excellence is an attitude of Striving:

Excellence is a Reputation:

So is mediocrity. Mediocrity is a reputation.

What is your reputation?

You have to predetermine that you will catch the Spirit of Excellence. It will not come by itself. You have to hunt for it, search for it, and seek it out.

How do we start?

Whatever we are doing, begin to judge yourself.

* Am I doing what I am supposed to be?
* Am I doing it as though Jesus is standing with me?
* Am I doing it to the best of my ability?
* How can I interact with people better?
* How can I be more friendly?
* How can I smile more or better?
* How can I serve the people better?
* How can I serve my employer better?
If you don’t judge yourself, you will never improve.

Others should not have to always tell us what we are doing wrong. We should be judging ourselves, looking for how we can do it BETTER.

Excellence cannot be given to someone by someone else – it has to be caught. And we have to do the catching. Pastor can’t pray for you to get it, it can’t be imparted to you, Santa won’t even bring it…

If we aren’t willing to look at ourselves and pick out the faults, it becomes a pride issue.

If we say, I do everything with Excellence, I don’t need to improve, there is either an issue with pride or you are just delusional (and we can pray for you…)

God stays afar from the proud, so He’s not even in what you are doing…

We have to judge ourselves. We don’t want to go our entire lives living a mediocre life, when we could have had the fullness of God and His glory by operating in excellence.

Excellence starts when we learn to examine ourselves, it is an attitude of self-examination or self-judgement.

Excellence is a judgement of comparison.

Comparison of the way we are doing it, to the way we COULD be doing it.

Comparison of your present standard to your potential

Striving for excellence helps us fulfill the potential that God already has on the inside. God already has a plan for us, but most of the time, we don’t fulfill the plan because we never reach the true potential that we have inside.

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