Spirit of Excellence

20 July 2016

Opening Prayer/Worship

Hymn: Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise

Theme: Spirit Divine

Topic: Spirit of Excellence

Reading: Amos 8:1-12

This is what the Lord God showed me—a basket of summer fruit. ²He said, ‘Amos, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘A basket of summer fruit.’ Then the Lord said to me, ‘The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass them by. ³ The songs of the temple shall become wailings on that day,’ says the Lord God; ‘the dead bodies shall be many, cast out in every place. Be silent!’ ⁴ Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land, ⁵ saying, ‘When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale? We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practise deceit with false balances, ⁶ buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat.’ ⁷ The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds. ⁸ Shall not the land tremble on this account, and everyone mourn who lives in it, and all of it rise like the Nile, and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt? ⁹ On that day, says the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at noon, and darken the earth in broad daylight. ¹⁰ I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head; I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day. ¹¹ The time is surely coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. ¹² They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it. 

Introduction

If we were accused of being Christians, would there be enough evidence to declare us guilty?  To be a follower of Christ requires living exemplary lives; lives that are above reproach, and are worthy of emulation.  We live in a world that has all manner of distractions and ungodliness; that is why the Scripture says that we should be light and salt of the earth.  Living the Christian life does not mean disassociation from unbelievers, but rather loving everyone just as Christ does, in purity and sincerity.  As Christians, our behaviour should be described as excellent at all times.  This is made possible only through the power of the Holy Spirit.  To possess an excellent spirit is an attribute that we should all desire.  When we possess the Spirit of excellence, we do not have to struggle to love, and to be the light and salt of the world.  We simply become who God wants us to be.

Questions/Discussion

1) What is your understanding of excellent spirit? 

Daniel 6:1-5

It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, stationed throughout the whole kingdom, ²and over them three presidents, including Daniel; to these the satraps gave account, so that the king might suffer no loss. ³Soon Daniel distinguished himself above all the other presidents and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king planned to appoint him over the whole kingdom. ⁴So the presidents and the satraps tried to find grounds for complaint against Daniel in connection with the kingdom. But they could find no grounds for complaint or any corruption, because he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption could be found in him. ⁵The men said, ‘We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.’

Philippians 4:4-9

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. ⁵Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. ⁶Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ⁸ Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

2 Peter 1:5-9

For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, ⁶and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness,⁷and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. ⁸For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹For anyone who lacks these things is short-sighted and blind, and is forgetful of the cleansing of past sins.

2) What are the lessons for us in Luke 10:38-42 regarding possessing an excellent spirit? 

Luke 10: 38-42

Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. ³⁹She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. ⁴⁰But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ ⁴¹But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things;⁴²there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’

3) How do we manifest spirit of excellence in our daily lives? 

Psalm 52:1-9

Refrain: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.

You tyrant, why do you boast of wickedness against the godly all day long? You plot ruin; your tongue is like a sharpened razor, O worker of deception. You love evil more than good and lying more than speaking the truth. You love all words that hurt, O you deceitful tongue. R Oh, that God would demolish you utterly, topple you, and snatch you from your dwelling, and root you out of the land of the living! R The righteous shall see and tremble, and they shall laugh at him, saying, "This is the one who did not take God for a refuge, but trusted in great wealth and relied upon wickedness." R But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. I will give you thanks for what you have done and declare the goodness of your Name in the presence of the godly. R

Colossians 1:15-28

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; ¹⁶for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. ¹⁹For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. ²¹ And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, ²²he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him—²³provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel. ²⁴ I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. ²⁵I became its servant according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, ²⁶the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. ²⁷To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. ²⁸It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

Colossians 4:2-6

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving. ³At the same time pray for us as well that God will open to us a door for the word, that we may declare the mystery of Christ, for which I am in prison, ⁴so that I may reveal it clearly, as I should. ⁵ Conduct yourselves wisely towards outsiders, making the most of the time. ⁶Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone. 

Intercession/Worship

Conclusion

When we possess the Spirit of excellence, we do not have to struggle to love, and to be the light and salt of the world.  We simply become who God wants us to be.

Closing Prayer (Collect for Ninth Sunday after Pentecost)

Almighty God, your Son has opened for us a new and living way into your presence. Give us pure hearts and constant wills to worship you in spirit and in truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.