Excellence and Integrity (part 3)

This week, I have been studying the topic “Excellence and Integrity.” I have been following Joyce Meyer’s study on this topic from her DVD series entitled, “Living with Excellence and Integrity.” In the first part of this four part series, Joyce discussed “A Commitment to Excellence and Integrity.” Her message of bearing good fruit and being the light of the world, by making a decision to come up higher and live a life of excellence was inspiring. In part two, she discussed “Character Traits of an Excellent Man.” Joyce encouraged us to be the kind of people who make a commitment to follow the Lord, no matter what the cost. If you would like to read the summary on each of these sermon’s, as well as my commentary, then please refer to my previous blog’s.

Part three of Joyce Meyer’s four part series is entitled, “Be All You Can Be.” In this sermon, Joyce discusses what it takes to be a real man or woman of God. We begin to understand that it takes a real man or woman of God to bring things to completion. In other words, if we want to be people of excellence, then we have to be the kind of people who will finish what we start. We have to be a body of believers who will not give up.

In 1 Kings 18, we see an example of a godly man who refused to give up. Elijah was in fellowship with God, and he believed by faith that God would bring rain upon the land. “Go and look toward the sea," he told his servant. And he went up and looked. ‘There is nothing there,’ he said. Seven times Elijah said, ‘Go back (1 Kings 18:43).’” What does this show us? This shows us that Elijah was a man of faith. Did he give up the first time that there was no rain in sight? No, he didn’t. Elijah pressed on and believed in what he could not see, because he trusted God to bring it to pass. Sure enough, we see that at the end of 1 Kings 18, God brings a heavy ran on the land.

God does not want us to give up on anyone or anything. He wants us to press on. This is why it is so important to be faithful in the little things. When God sees that we are making the choice to be faithful in little things, then He will trust us with greater things. We need to do the right thing, even though it can be difficult at times. “The more we do the right thing, the easier it will become for us to do the right thing (Joyce Meyer).” It’s important to remain diligent, be responsible and have discipline in our lives, if we want to be successful. “When you know what God wants you to do, pray that He will help you press through and finish what you start (Joyce Meyer).”

In Genesis 11:31 we read how Terah made a decision to settle between where he was and where he was supposed to be. How many of us choose to settle and miss out on God’s best, not to mention missing out on completing His will and plan for our lives? Too many people settle for less and end up living lukewarm lives. Why? People settle because it’s easy. “Doing what’s easy is popular in our culture (Joyce Meyer).” We want the latest trend that will make our lives easier and more comfortable. In my opinion, when we choose to live our lives in this way, we miss out on living abundantly. From the perspective of the world, this idea makes little sense, but when you begin to see things through the eyes of the Spirit, then you will understand truth behind this statement. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with having nice things. However, if people allow “things” or possessions to be the focus of their lives, instead of walking with Christ, then they become easy targets for temptation, sin, falling away from God and often complete destruction.

Personally, I think that getting out of our comfort zone can hurt. That’s why so many people choose to stay in their comfort zones. I have been out of my comfort zone on many occasions, since I started walking with the Lord, and I know how painful that can be. However, these moments in our spiritual life are beautiful and priceless, because it is in these moments that we are stretched and we grow in our walk and relationship with God. I want to challenge you that if you have not grown spiritually since you gave your heart to Jesus, then you should start asking yourself why? I personally believe that we are not meant to stay at one level in our spiritual walk. God wants us to grow and mature. “Sometimes when you wonder why God could make it easier for you and He isn’t, trust Him that He is building the faith in you that you’re going to need later on (Joyce Meyer).”

God has given all of us gift’s to use in this life, but Joyce made a great point when she stated, “There is more to being successful than your gift.” In other words, it takes more than having a gift or talent, in order to please God and live a life of excellence. We need to press through and make a choice not to float downstream or live a mediocre life. We can do this by staying in faith, trusting God, living our lives worthy of God’s calling, and getting out of our comfort zone when we need to. In Genesis 12:1, “The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.’” Abraham had to leave his comfort zone, but he pressed through and obeyed God, and God blessed the nations through him.

In Joyce’s message, “Be All You Can Be,” she concludes by saying that some Christian’s need to shake off a lazy, apathetic attitude. “God wants us to go all the way through with Him!” When we have fully performed the will of God, we’ll carry away to the full what was promised (Hebrews 10:36). We need to maintain diligence in our lives, in order to live with excellence (Hebrews 11:6). Let’s run the race and finish the course with joy! Don’t be discouraged. Look at how far that you have come, and not at how far you have to go. Don’t forget to be faithful in the little things. You can be all that you can if you put your trust in the Lord and choose to follow Him and glorify Him in every area of your life.