Pursuing Excellence
1 Thessalonians 4:1
January 17, 2016
Well, this week was SOTU, given by POTUS. I think the older I get, not that I’m old, the more I dislike all of the abbreviations and short hand writing.
For those who are AC, better known as Abbreviation Challenged, this week was the State of the Union Address. Given by the President of the United States.
Well, I’m going to kind of do the same. This week on Wednesday night is our Annual Meeting. Different committees will read their reports about what happened in the church in the past year, with a look forward to this year.
My sermon will actually be my Annual Report. I tend not to look to much at the past and say I did this or did that, but it’s a focus on who we are and who I believe God is calling us to be. The good thing is that while there are Republicans and Democrats here, we are all one people, called by God the Father to be a people of ONE faith, faith in Jesus Christ. So, when you applaud (everyone applauds).
Without back tracking too much, the last 4 months of 2015 were not necessarily easy. There were issues which were dealt with — which were not fun, they were not pleasant, yet we did what we believed we needed to do and I commend this church for standing up for the mission of the church and who Christ has uniquely called First Baptist Church to be.
Without your presence, without your participation, without your promise . . . this church would be nothing more than a vacant building. The church is built on Christ and nothing other than Christ. He is the foundation . . . He is the lifeline, he is the root . . . and we are the branches, extending to the world as an extension of His grace, love, mercy, power and strength. Without Christ . . . we are nothing and we have nothing!
Now, over the past 2 weeks I have been talking about EXCELLENCE. I believe we are called be God to be excellent. My greatest concern and fear for the church is that we have compromised our faith and chosen the road most traveled because it affords the most comfort. Not that we always have to do things the hard way, but often times, without realizing it, we take the easier road.
I truly believe that when we are comfortable, we are less effective in ministry. Yes, we need breaks, we need to be refreshed and cannot be on the ministry trail 24 / 7. I believe God understood this and this is why we have a Sabbath. We have a day to worship and be refreshed in the Lord.
Yet, when I look at the church, ours and the universal church I am just too struck at how comfortable we are. Sometimes, we find it too easy not to be involved in anything church related. You don’t have to live here. I don’t want you to live here. I don’t want you to be here everyday. When we leave here . . . I suppose my question is “what ministry are you involved in between the Sunday’s?”
It would be great if it was at a church related ministry, but it does not have to be – not at all. How are you making a difference in the world because of the difference Christ made in your life?
You see, that’s the crux of the issue when we talk about excellence. I’ve been reading about excellence and trying to wrap my heart and brain around what it means to be excellent. What does it mean to be an excellent Christian? I see Paul’s words to the church at Thessalonica. In 1 Thessalonians 4:1, Paul wrote ~
1 Finally, then, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.
This is the basis of my message and Annual Report. Let’s look at what Paul was saying and what that means for you and I.
He’s coming to the end of his first letter to the church at Thessalonica. Everyone loves it when the preacher says finally. This is what Paul wanted the people to understand and it’s totally 100% relevant for you and I today . . .
I’m going to break this verse down a little. When Paul said “we,” he is referring to himself, Timothy and Silas. They were with Paul in writing this letter and in bringing the message of Christ to the people in Thessalonica.
Next, they ask and urge the people. He’s really using stronger words here than to ask and urge. The word ASK really means ~
to make an earnest request. To beg someone or beseech. The request comes because you have a special relationship with that person and you expect special consideration because of that relationship.
It’s like a parent strongly encouraging their child to do something. You really expect them to do it, and you believe they should because of the special relationship you have with them. We could also say, because of the special relationship we should have with Christ, when He makes a request to us, He expects us to be obedient because of the relationship.
Next Paul writes we URGE you. It means
To summon, entreat, send for, invite, beseech, entreat, beg, exhort. It’s a personal calling to another person due to your relationship.
This is a powerful calling by God to you and I. And it is very similar to the meaning of the word ASK.
So, we could rewrite this section and say it this way . . .
Because of the special relationship we have with you, we highly encourage you, in fact, we beg and bessech you and we do it in the name of the Lord Jesus . . .
This is the power of the request they are making to the people. But Paul doesn’t stop there. He’s wanting more and more from these new Christians. And also understand this - - - - this is commonly believed to be Paul’s first letter that he wrote to a church.
And this is so cool about this one verse . . . Paul now tells the people how they ought to walk and please God. That as they received from Paul, Timothy and Silas they should live their lives in an ethical God honoring manner.
And to please God means ~ To willingly serving others, it’s winning someone's approval because you’ve met their expectations for the way you conduct your life.
Isn’t Greek so much fun?! It spells out the way we really need to live our lives.
So, we can stop and rewrite the passage again with Paul saying . . .
Because of the special relationship we have with you, we highly encourage you, in fact, we beg and beseech you and we do it in the name of the Lord Jesus, that just as you learned from us by the way we walked with you that you need to willing serve God in a manner which pleases Him . . .
And we’re still not done yet. Can you imagine how long the Bible would really be if we spelled out the Greek into English?
It gets better. This really had me all excited as I was writing this. I hope this is coming through ~ because we are moving to the excellence part. Ha! You thought I forgot.
Remember, here’s the verse, so you can see where we are - - -
1 Finally, then, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.
So, the people are being encouraged to continue to please God and walk in a God honoring manner, just as they had been doing . . . but look at what Paul adds at the end of the sentence. They need to do so more and more.
Literally this is what it means — to do so more and more ~
TO EXCEL STILL MORE, TO INCREASE IN EXCELLENCE. TO EXCEL MORE THAN. It means we go above and beyond what was expected. We go beyond the expected measure. We seek excellence!!
So, is that where we are in our individual lives? We are not perfect people and we will never attain perfection. We may have a moment or two, but we can strive for excellence. That’s what’s expected of us from God. I didn’t originate it. God did and that’s what God wants from us. Are we doing that? Or have we settled for our comfort zone . . . which leads us back to mediocrity.
If God sent us His Son, who is most excellent. He’s the highest form of excellence, then can we make the effort to keep moving towards excellence?
I recently read this quote from Maya Angelou. She wrote ~ Do the best you can until you know better, then when you know better, do better!
It’s pretty simple, but isn’t that what we are called to do. Do our best in everything, then when we learn more and we understand better, then . . . go and do better. Don’t say, ‘well, I knew better, but I was pretty comfy on my lazy-boy or lazy-girl.’
God sent the best He had in Jesus. We have to do the same.
That means when I get ready to preach, I’m ready to preach. It means on a week when I’ve had 5 funerals, 4 weddings, 3 surgeries, 2 Bible studies, and 7 meetings . . . I still have to do the most excellent job I can on the sermon. There are no excuses.
God demands excellence. It means when I walk into the office, my attention has to be on work.
That applies to all staff. We work towards excellence in all we do. We don’t compromise it, because not only have we let you down, but we have let God down on what we are called to do.
In all of our ministries we have to strive for excellence. In the music ministry, in children’s ministry, in Sunday School, in youth ministry, in worship, in committee meetings, when we answer the phone, when we do anything and everything . . . we seek excellence.
Being mediocre just doesn’t cut it. It’s not what God expects from us, it’s not what we expect from others, as well. I want and I believe God calls us to be excellent. To do better and better all the time.
I told some of the committees that less is more. Sometimes we can’t do all that we’ve done in the past - - - just because we’ve done it in the past. We can’t always do the same ministries in the same ways, especially when they didn’t work in the past and we expect different and better results.
I believe there are times when we need to do less, but to do less with excellence, with greater planning and greater effort and intensity so that we receive God’s seal of approval. And when we do I believe we will know it. We will experience His blessings!
This is why we are moving committee meetings to the first Monday of each month. We will provide child care, we will work together and seek more communication with one another so we can do what God has called us to do and meet the needs of the people in the church and in this community.
I believe great times are ahead. Next week, I’m going to talk about some of the steps to achieve excellence. Then I’ll get more into the nuts and bolts.
Finally, I want to thank you for the privilege of serving as your pastor. You are wonderful, grace-filled people who have extended a powerful grace and love, strength and encouragement to me along our journey. We are a blessed people!
