RSS

Tag Archives: profitable

Excellence – From the “Musts” to the “Oughts”

How far into the realm of the excellent are you venturing? In my last post I looked at a sobering statement that Jesus made to His disciples.

“So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.”
Luke 17:10

If all you’re doing in your life and ministry are the things you’re supposed to do, then you’re unprofitable in the kingdom of God, according to the Lord. There are always things that we must do or that we’re expected to do.

The word unworthy is derived from a Greek word that means, not ought. The thought is that you are not what you ought to be. To break into the realm of the excellent you must break through the “musts” and enter into the “oughts.”

Those who are not only doing what they have to do, but have found a way to do what they ought to do, are considered to be walking in the excellent. When a person goes beyond the expected in his or her walk with the Lord we marvel at their spirit of excellence.

What does that mean to me? I must stop saying, “I ought to have…”, “I ought to do…”, or “I ought to be…” then with the next breath say, “But I have so much I need to do; I can’t.” When you develop the spirit of excellence, the Holy Spirit is now free to work in you to accomplish what wasn’t expected.

As excellence starts its work in you, you can tap into God’s “excellent power,” His “excellent grace,” and His “excellent love.” You’ll find out that God has all the resources you need to fulfill the call to excellence that He’s placed inside of you.

In II Corinthians 12:7, Paul talks about being the recipient of excellent revelations. He would not have received these had he not been walking in excellence. Galatians 1:13 says that before he was saved, Paul excelled at persecuting the church.

Everyone else was persecuting Christians in the normal way. Paul, however, went above and beyond the call of duty. He dragged people out of their homes, and if they tried to move away, he even tracked them to other towns. Once saved, He carried over this same spirit of excellence into his work for Christ. That’s why the Holy Spirit entrusted him with all the revelation that he received from the Lord.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
II Corinthians 4:7

The word all-surpassing is the Greek word hyperballo – excellent. This excellent power does not come from our own strength. Don’t ever take the credit for the excellence in your ministry. The glory belongs to God.

Walking in the spirit of excellence is one of the earmarks of the power of God in your life, showing that you hear from God and are obeying His voice.

Question: What are some of the marks of God’s excellence in your life and ministry?

Are You Profitable in the Kingdom?

03 May

Many Christians want to hear Christ say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” But do we really know what Jesus looks for in a servant? Listen to what He tells His disciples.

“Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Would he not rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.”
Luke 17:7-10

Christ shows us a servant, working in the fields. He comes home tired and hungry. Just as he sits down to eat with his family, he hears the master arrive.

Does he have the luxury of finishing his meal first? Of course not. He must immediately get up and tend to the needs of his master. That’s the life of a servant.

After he has served, he can go back to his meal. After all he did, does he now expect a bonus? No, he’s only done what’s normally expected of a person in his position.

God expects more from us than we expect from ourselves. In the verse above, the Lord asks a very fearful question. As a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I tremble at the implications.

Should you, as a servant, do as you’re told and then expect to be thanked? The word thanked means to be blessed, tipped or given a special reward. Actually, a servant is supposed to do what he or she is told.

If all we do in your ministry is what’s expected or normal for our kind of ministry, then we’re not operating in the excellent. As a matter of fact, Jesus calls us unworthy servants, meaning unprofitable.

In a business, profit is that which goes beyond the “break even” mark. Therefore, by definition, profit is in the realm of the excellent.

Many believers are content to sit in a pew. They feel secure that they’re just like everyone else. They’re comfortable in their mediocrity. I find that even in ministry, many pastors and evangelists are content to plug along doing what’s expected of someone with their title.

They do all the necessary things – preaching, praying for the sick, visiting, etc. Then they pray and expect God to increase their level of anointing based upon the principle that they’re breaking even. They never realize that their work doesn’t impress God. More than that, He considers it unprofitable and unworthy of His excellent Name.

Christ is looking for excellence in His servants. We need to raise our vision of what we’re doing for the Lord.

Question: How should we be “profiting” the kingdom of God?

The Spirit and the Word

Tag Archives: profitable

Excellence – From the “Musts” to the “Oughts”

Are You Profitable in the Kingdom?

Follow on Twitter

Follow Blog via Email

Follow via RSS Feed

Recent Posts

Archives

Categories