Hebron Christian Faith Church - Vision 2008
Vision 2008 "A Year of Excellence"
“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may be able to approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Christ Jesus, to the praise and glory of God” Phil 1:9-11
God has a vision for Coventry and if every local church accomplishes their unique, individual vision, revival will be the result! The devil wants us to think Coventry is unchangeable. It certainly is not, and without question God knows how His people can make a powerful impact in the city but it will require each member to use their God-given graces in which they excel to assist His vision. There are great things ahead for us this year & God will continue to develop, perfect & bring to full completion that which He has begun among us.
This year God is calling us to a ‘Year of Excellence’. In Philippians 1:9-11, Paul’s prayer, inspired by the Holy Spirit speaks of “approving the things that are excellent”. Thayer’s dictionary defines excellence as to distinguish between good & evil, lawful or unlawful, to approve things that excel, that differ, surpass. In other words excellence is not always as obvious as some think, we have to distinguish between things that differ to prove what excels, what is the best way of doing things, what is important & valuable. There is an excellent way, a best way of doing everything.
God is calling Hebron to discover a new level of excellence in every area. Both our church and individual lives must be distinguished by a Spirit of excellence - a ‘sign’ and an example that we are children of a God of excellence. Remember it is said of the prophet Daniel that he “distinguished himself above other governors and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him” (Dan 6:3). Excellence is a manifestation of the Spirit of God and cannot be separated from God, who is excellent in all His ways and now lives in us. We represent Jesus Christ to the world & we must represent Him the best way – with excellence! The world needs to see God (excellence) in our lives.
Quite rightly we expect excellence from God, we don’t expect Him to fail or break His word. We expect nothing less than total reliability, commitment & success. Therefore since we expect excellence of God, and He has set the standard of excellence as our ultimate example, we too should be imitators of God and demand the same standard from ourselves, always reaching for perfection and maturity in our service (Matt 5:8). Excellence will not tolerate unbelief, sloppiness, failure, taking the easy way out, etc. Excellence will pay whatever price it takes to get the job done the best way! Then, God says, we will be “filled with the fruits of righteousness”. Another way to say that is we will enjoy and display the evidences (fruit) of being right with God. Joy, peace, a blessed marriage, good relationships, divine protection, health and prosperity are all biblical evidences of this.
God wants us to identify what is the best way to please God so that we can live at the highest level of devotion. There is an excellent way to glorify God, to worship, to come to church, to do your job, to raise children, to be a father or mother. We must prove the things that are excellent from that which is simply nominal or perhaps even good. Someone has rightly said “the enemy of excellence is good”.
In one word, the best way to deal with anything is ‘love’. Love is the best way, the most excellent way (1 Cor 12:31). This should be obvious since God is love & whenever anything is done in love, it is done in God and everything that God does is excellent. He is excellence personified! Love is sacrificial, it does not seek its own but what’s best for others, it does no harm, it’s unselfish and puts others first. It is based on choice, a decision irrespective of feelings, merit or sentiment! That is why Paul prays “that our love will abound more & more in knowledge and all discernment”. Notice, there is a progression in this prayer: the purpose for abounding in love is to approve excellence but to approve excellence, love must also be based in (bible) knowledge & discernment. In other words, biblical love – or the way of excellence – is grounded in, and involves obedience to, God’s word. Thus in pursuing excellence, there is nothing more valuable than knowing, and acting on, God’s word. The quality of your life (fruits of righteousness) depends on this! Any other priority will cost you. Paul said it like this: “Indeed I count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord…” Phil 3:8.
