Excel Still More

Yesterday at Compass Pastor Bobby gave an exhorting message on 1 Thessalonians 4:1-2 in which we read, ":Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more. For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

Why is it that so many people who claim to be Christians think they can be just mediocre and that making Christ your life is only for those "sold-out" Christians, those "fanatical" ones or those Christians who are just over-achievers so to speak?! That is not what the truth of Scripture teaches at all! In fact, the Bible teaches the exact opposite. The Bible teaches us that unless you are "fanatical" and all out, unless you have counted the cost and picked up your cross to follow Christ you aren't a Christian at all!!! There is no in between, there is no luke-warm, there is no mediocre. You see to be a Christian obedience is expected...it is not a bonus.

Now for those of us who are sold-out we too fall prey to a terrible tragedy which 1 Thessalonians reminds us of...that as "Christians" we cannot become complacent with where we are even when we are doing well and obeying the Lord! In fact, here we read in 1 Thess that we are to EXCEL still more. As Christians we need to pursue excellence for Christ.

Understanding grace should motivate us to live lives that are pleasing to Him. In Titus 2:11-14 we read, "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good."

So what do we do to excel more in our faith you may ask? We first need to evaluate where we are with the Lord. We need to ask ourselves some honest questions and give honest answers about whether or not we are conducting ourselves in a way that pleases Him. Are we working our hardest for the Lord? Are we receiving the truth of His word with joy? Are we sharing the Gospel with the lost? We need to take it to the next level. We may be doing "well" in our eyes but our standard isn't the Christian sitting next to us it is perfection...Jesus Christ.

So what next? We need to set a goal, a tangible and reachable goal to grow. How can we abound further for the Lord? Bobby brought up some challenging questions:
1. How can we give more time? 1 Corinthians 15:58
2. How can we give more money? 2 Corinthians 8:1-8
3. How can we give more love? 1 Thess 3:12-13, 4:10
We need to put the Lord first, others second instead of always thinking of ourselves. Philippians 3 talks about straining forward towards the goal, are we doing that?

Lastly, we need to increase our intensity in regards to our growth. We need to excel more and more and more and never stop. We need to continue on strong with our eyes on the prize. The olympic athletes train for hundreds upon hundreds of hours to prep for the Olympics, we need to train harder than that for the eternal reward after all they are only getting a piece of gold. We need to be willing to do whatever it takes to please Him. What a joyous day it will be when we hear the words well done good and faithful servant enter into the joy of your Master.

Remember where you are right now in your walk is not where you are meant to be...EXCEL STILL MORE!