Excellence Matters
“… fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.” — Philippians 2:2 (NIV)
The disciples whom Jesus chose to have around Him were an imperfect bunch of people to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth. But all of them (most of them) loved Jesus more than life. Most agree that loving Christ more then life is a basic premise to our faith, but we easily get caught up in being busy with our lives, and this foundational need to love Jesus more than all else isn’t everyone’s reality. But giving the Lord first place in our lives is absolutely necessary in our worship of Him. We need to continually review our priorities all the time and understand the sovereignty of God on our lives.
What a story Job had to tell about priorities in life! Everything that belonged to him was taken away and yet he said, “I know that my Redeemer lives” (Job 19:25). Amen! May we all be able to proclaim, “I know that my Redeemer lives!”
Where would you be without Jesus Christ? You need to know the answer to this question before you bring your gift of worship to the altar. Know God. Trust in Him. Know that He lives and know that His heart for you is greater than even your own ambitions for yourself.
The worship that you bring to the Lord is fueled by your testimony. Be assured that your testimony matters. Your testimony and your personal experiences with God will bring passion to your gift of worship. If you play an instrument, remembering what God has done for you will cause you to play like you have never played before. If you act, remembering your testimony will enable you to do a drama and communicate with unsaved people like never before. A personal encounter with God brings a powerful conviction on others, because they can see what God has done in you. Your testimony matters.
We are to serve God with excellence because we know an excellent God. To give Him anything but our best would be demeaning. Offer Him your finest, at whatever stage your finest is. Not what you want your finest to be or what you wish it was, but offer your finest for today. The testimony and impact of serving with excellence is like watching the ripple effect over the ocean—excellence sends out waves, touching lives in ways that you may never see.
The Word says, “Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy” (Psalm 33:3 NIV). When unsaved people walk into a church where believers have developed skill in their gifted areas for service, when the music is superb, when the givers are giving, the servers are serving, singers are singing, and everyone is worshiping God with his or her unique gift, then visitors stand in awe and say, “Are you serious? Is this church? This is fantastic!”
Incorrect perceptions of what the church is has kept people out of the house of God. We are the people to change that poor image of church. We are to bring excellence back in to the sanctuary. We are to put reverence back in the church.