Many people do not give the idea of excellence much thought in the church. “Well as long as we do it for the glory of God.” Consider this real experience: You drive up to the church at 10:10 and the sign says the service starts at 10:15…perfect you are five minutes early. You walk through the door and are greeted with a melancholy “Good Morning.” You begin to look through a bulletin that has lines through it because the copier has not been serviced in awhile. Soon you discover the sign was wrong and the service doesn’t start till 10:30. In fact the sign still lists the past minister who left more than a year ago. As the service starts it proceeds in a very haphazard fashion. The participants in the service are ill prepared and seem to just be going through the motions. Paul wrote this to the Colossians, “Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.” (Colossians 3:17—The Message) Why would Paul be concerned that Christians give their best effort in every area? Probably the most obvious reason is that mediocrity breeds indifference. It is so easy to fall into the trap of settling for the status-quo instead of pouring the effort out to strive for excellence. In fact there is a big difference between doing a pretty good job and doing something with excellence. Excellence always requires much more work and sacrifice. Consider the sacrifice God made by letting His Son die in our place. Wouldn’t you agree that He deserves the very best we can give in return? Give some serious thought to the following statement: “If it bears His name, then it is worth our best.” Do you think this is a statement we should apply? Today as we continue to look at some of the foundational principles necessary for a church to grow, we want to take a close look at maintaining a commitment to excellence.
I. Gaining some understanding of God’s desire for us to have a commitment to excellence.
A. As Christians we need to come to grips with two terms: mediocre and excellence.
1. Webster defines excellent this way: superior, very good of its kind or superior. So excellence is the striving to be superior in your efforts.
2. Webster defines mediocre this way: of moderate or low quality, value, ability, or performance: ordinary, or so-so.
3. “I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit. (Revelation 3:15-16—The Message)
4. Mediocrity literally turns the Lord’s stomach, why would we want to be satisfied with the status-quo?
5. God is displeased with mediocre, less than excellent service; He desires the best we have to give.
B. When we give our best to God, we bring Him honor and glory.
1. In the Old Testament Jewish worshippers were commanded to sacrifice an ox or a lamb that was perfect, without spot or blemish.
2. God required worshippers to give back to Him the first fruits of their crops or flocks, the best portion.
3. You say, ‘It’s too hard to serve the Lord,’ and you turn up your noses at his commands,” says the Lord Almighty. “Think of it! Animals that are stolen and mutilated, crippled and sick—presented as offerings! Should I accept from you such offerings as these?” asks the Lord. “Cursed is the cheat who promises to give a fine ram from his flock but then sacrifices a defective one to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the Lord Almighty, “and my name is feared among the nations! (Malachi 1:13-14—New Living)
4. In our text Solomon shows that whatever a person is able to do, he should do it with all his might, that is, expend all his energies.
5. God is displeased when we give Him offerings of inferior quality; He considers it as us trying to cheat Him.
6. Ahhhh! My mistake that’s the Old Testament. There is no such prohibition in the New Testament.
7. What about Colossians 3:17 that we talked about earlier. However, a better reason is that Jesus gave His all for us; don’t you think He deserves our best in return?
II. Evidence that displays that you are maintaining a commitment to excellence.
A. Sure sign of excellence is always seen in the details.
1. Many times Christians are guilty of not paying attention to the details; we often do what we need to just get by.
2. For the Jewish worshipper it would have been a lot cheaper and easier to offer God a defective animal rather than a perfect one.
3. Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops. (Proverbs 3:9—NIV)
4. Consider the story of Cain and Abel, God blessed Abel’s sacrifice because he gave out of the best he had and gave it the way God had instructed.
5. Cain gave whatever and his desire was not to honor God but to get the offering over with and move on to something he considered to be more pressing.
6. Our attention to the details reveals the depth of our commitment to God.
7. Attention to details is the difference between doing a good job and an excellent job.
B. Excellence requires a daily commitment.
1. You begin a program with excellence, but it takes diligence to maintain that standard.
2. Mistakes are going to happen, when they do it is the leaders’ responsibility to hold people accountable and remind them why we are striving for excellence.
3. This by no means is a license to complain and bad mouth, it is an opportunity to encourage and continue to move the church forward.
4. The big issue is that our choice to give God less than our best reveals the priority of our relationship with Him.
5. Why in the world would we want to attach God’s name to an effort done very haphazardly.
6. Jesus taught us that we have to be faithful in the small things before we can receive the bigger blessings.
7. People are more likely to step up to the plate and maintain a commitment to excellence when they understand how important it is to God.
III. Do you think God deserves us to maintain a standard of excellence in our lives and the Church?
A. Striving for excellence simply means making every effort in preparation and execution to do the very best you can.
1. Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. (2 Corinthians 13:11—NIV)
2. Isn’t the goal of the Christian to become more like Jesus, isn’t that aiming for perfection?
3. “Excellence is a difficult concept to communicate because it can easily be misread as neurotic perfectionism or snooty sophistication. But it is neither. On the contrary, it is the stuff of which greatness is made. It is the difference between just getting by and soaring – that which sets apart the significant from the superficial, the lasting from the temporary.”—Chuck Swindoll
4. We need to realize that when we aim for perfection, we will miss the goal more often than we hit it. However this will always allow us to concentrate on putting forth our best effort.
5. Concentrate on doing your best for God, work you won’t be ashamed of, laying out the truth plain and simple. (2 Timothy 2:15—The Message)
6. Paul is encouraging Timothy to do his best and work in a way that if his work is inspected; he would have nothing to be ashamed of.
B. God deserves our best efforts because He gave us His very best.
1. He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32—NIV)
2. God gave the best He had – His own Son, Jesus Christ – to suffer and die in our place for our sins.
3. We need to be committed to stop giving God your last-minute, half-hearted, left-over, and warmed-up efforts.
4. Stop giving God what you wouldn’t give to your spouse, your boss, or anyone else.
5. “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” (Revelation 4:11—NIV)
6. Does God truly deserve our very best?
On October 13, 1962, a little boy was born in Starkville, Mississippi. His name was Jerry and his father was a bricklayer. As the young boy grew and matured, he and his brothers would go with their father to the job-site to help out. As he continued to grow, Jerry joined his father on the platform while his younger brothers would throw bricks up one-by-one for Jerry to stack for his dad. Jerry never dreamed that in catching brick after brick he was preparing for one of the most prolific football careers that any receiver would ever experience. The Jerry I’m speaking about is the great Jerry Rice, 19 year veteran of the NFL – 15 years with the San Francisco 49ers and now in his fourth season with the Oakland Raiders. Jerry Rice graduated from high school and attended tiny Mississippi Valley State on a football scholarship. Out of college he was drafted in the first round as the 16th overall pick of the 1985 draft by the S.F. 49ers. He wasn’t even the first receiver chosen. There were two other receivers drafted before him: the NY Jets drafted Al Toon and then the Cincinnati Bengals chose Eddie Brown before Jerry was ever given the nod. Anyone know where those guys are now? In his 19 years in professional football, Rice has always been known as the hardest worker in his chosen career. A good example of his dedication to excellence comes from several years ago while he was still with the S.F. 49ers. He arrived at training camp five days early – the time when the rookies were to report. Why would he do something like that? Jerry Rice is a champion who strives for excellence in what he does. The S.F. Chronicle reported this phenomenal work ethic. 49ers coach Steve Mariucci was quoted as saying, “Jerry Rice was not invited to the rookies and selected veteran camp. But he shows up anyway. He’s been here since Monday. Is there any wonder why the guy is the greatest. We’re going to have to tell him, ‘Jerry, get out of here. Let the other guys get some work, please..’”
