Rabbi Schneider - What Do People See When They Look at You?
Today I want to talk about a spirit of excellency. Remember the spirit that was on Daniel. Daniel had a spirit of excellency on him. But isn't it a sad thing that so oftentimes people like they wave their Christianity in front of them as a big flag and then they don't leave lives that are lives that are committed to excellency and they don't value relationships as if they're committed to a spirit of excellency?
And unfortunately, I hope the Lord isn't mad at me for saying this. But to oftentimes businesses that label themselves as Christian businesses, you know, there used to be this guide that was put out by Christian businesses so that if you're a Christian and you want to hire a contractor, or a plumber, or electrician, whatever it might be and you'd rather use a Christian, you could go to these Christian business directories and look for businesses that are Christian to hire.
And unfortunately, beloved, too many times those businesses that were waving their Christianity out in front of them like a flag, their our services were less than excellent. God is calling us to excellency. None of us are perfect. I don't want to put shame or condemnation on anybody. But what I do want to do is call us to a standard of excellency and call us to a higher bar. Peter said this in first Peter 4:11. "Whoever speaks is to do as one who is speaking the utterances of God, whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies, so that an all things God may be glorified through Christ Jesus".
Beloved, let's not use our Christianity as an excuse to not do our best. Some people think, "Oh, Jesus forgives me. Jesus forgives sin". And they use that as an excuse almost to, you know, be lukewarm, to be almost spiritually lazy. God is a God of excellence. And He has given us the power by His Spirit to raise up, to operate in a spirit of excellency and fruitfulness so that Jesus can be glorified in our life. The Bible says that God's purpose is that people would look at you and I and what we do and that they would recognize that there's something powerful, beautiful, special, and godly upon us.
And as a result of that, that they would look up. That our lives would cause people to look up. That they would see that there's something on this woman, there's something on this man. So I just want to challenge us today as God's people. If you're serving in a church, don't do your job half-heartedly. Too many people the way they serve in the church, if they treated their secular employment the same way, they'd be fired on the spot. Let's give God our best, beloved. He deserves nothing less than our excellency. This is Rabbi Schneider saying to you, I love you. And by the power of the Holy Spirit, you can do it.