Excellence Part 1
Living at 212 degrees!
Introduction
A. Today we are going to start a new sermon series about “being excellent”. I believe
that as the people of God we need to make sure we understand that God is an
excellent God.
1. Psalm 8:1, “O Lord our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth! Who
has set Your glory above the heavens.”
2. Psalm 148:13, “Let them praise the name of the Lord: for His name alone is
excellent; His glory is above the earth and heaven.”
3. Psalm 36:7, “How excellent is Your loving-kindness, O God! Therefore the
children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.”
4. 2 Samuel 22:31, “As for God, His way is excellent (perfect): the word of the Lord
is tried: He is a buckler to all them that trust in Him.”
5. Isa 12:5 “Sing unto the Lord for He has done excellent things.”
6. In Mark 7:37 the people when speaking about Jesus they said, “He has done
ALL things well or excellently.”
B. Whatever God does, He does it excellently. He does not cut corners.
C. The title for today’s sermon is 212 degrees!
1. Who knows at what temperature water boils? (212 degrees F, depending on
what altitude, but assuming we are at ground level water boils at 212 degree)
So then at 211° water is hot but not boiling. At 212° F, it boils, and with boiling
water, comes steam. And steam can power a locomotive. The one extra degree
makes the entire difference.
2. Think about it. A steam engine full of 211° water is completely useless. It
doesn’t move an inch. Raise the temperature 1° and that steam engine can
move tons of cargo. One degree and we’ve gone from doing nothing to doing
something.
3. Excellence is the one extra degree
D. When we talk about excellence we are referring to that one degree difference
between something being good and something being excellent! Because it's the
one extra degree of effort, in business and life, that can separate the good from the
great.
E. We are going to start in the book of Ecclesiastes but before we do…
Honor God’s Word
Proverbs 4:4 “Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will
live.”
A. The Bible is not a science book, yet it is scientifically accurate. To date NO ONE,
and I mean NO ONE has been able to show any scientific evidence that contradicts
the Bible. When the Bible speaks about science, astronomy, biology, history it has
always been correct and usually thousands of years ahead of its time. Far from
being outdated it is a book not only about the past but also about the future.
B. Here is another example of the scientific accuracy of the Bible.
C. The bible taught that air has weight, Job 28:25. Almost four thousand years before
scientist discovered this truth.
1. “When He imparted weight to the wind and meted out the water by measure.”
2. Does air have weight? It was not until 1643 that a mathematician Evagelista
Torricelli performed an experiment to learn if air has weight. When experimenting
with measuring mercury, he discovered that air put pressure on the mercury. This
lead the making of our current day barometer.
D. So here again we see that the discovery that air has weight was not until the 1600’s
yet we read in God’s Word this accurate scientific fact almost 4,000 years ago! This
is why we study it every Sunday.
Living at 212 degrees requires 101% effort Ecclesiastes 9:10 “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or
knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.”
A. Excellence here means to do it with ‘all your might.”
B. We all appreciate excellent service, excellent workmanship, excellent products, etc.
We appreciate excellent service when we go to a restaurant and we are willing to
pay a little extra to get it. We appreciate excellent or quality products like clothing or
furniture. We are willing to pay for it and we respect it more.
C. The topic of excellence has been of interest to mankind for thousands of years.
Everyone has an opinion on excellence. I have found hundreds of quotes on
excellence spanning thousands of years. Here are just a few. Some from thousands
of years ago.
1. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit. Aristotle
2. A superior man is modest in his speech, but excellent in his actions. Confucius.
3. The sad truth is that excellence makes people nervous.
4. Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way Booker T Washington
was an African American political leader, educator and author. He was one of
the dominant figures in African American history from 1890 to 1915.
D. Excellence means that the work you do is your best. This does not mean it has to be
the best compared to everyone else. It means that whatever you do you will commit
to doing it excellently, to YOUR very best ability.
E. To do something with ‘all your might’ requires more than just your strength it requires
‘soul effort.’ It means you ‘get into it’ that we become part of what we are doing. To
do something with all your might you cannot be detached from what we are doing.
The only way this works is if we believe that what we are currently doing right at that
moment is exactly what God wants us to be doing. Too many of us, are not
convinced of this. Too many of us are living for tomorrow; we think that someday we
will be where we are supposed to be. Let me help you out with a very important life
truth. If you are not where you are supposed to be at RIGHT now, you won’t be there
tomorrow! <SAY AGAIN> When you know that what you are doing right now is what
God wants you to be doing, then you ‘do it with all your might.’
F. Paul mentions this in Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, do it heartily as unto the
Lord and not unto men.” To do something with ‘all our might’ requires our soul effort.
G. We need to believe that what we are doing with our lives right now is making a
difference. If we think we are not making a difference, apathy sets in and apathy kills
enthusiasm and the ability to do whatever you are doing ‘with all your might.’
H. Excellence means that whatever you do, you do with all your might!
The 1st step to living at 212 “Do all to glory of God” I Cor 10:31
“Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
A. Do you think that it matters to GOD whether or not you strive for perfection or have a
spirit of excellence? Does excellence matter to God? Does God care about quality?
Is He concerned with how well things are done? Does it make any difference to God
whether: the instruments are in tune; the worship team has rehearsed the songs,
etc.? Some would say, "no." All God cares about is our hearts. It’s the thought that
counts. God is not impressed with a slick program or flashy audio-visuals; what
matters to Him are internal things like love, compassion, and humility.
B. And that’s right, partially. It’s also partially wrong. God doesn’t care about those
things in and of themselves. God is primarily concerned with our hearts. But God
does care about those things as an expression of our hearts. Because the way we
serve God, in the church, in our homes, in our workplaces, in our families; the way
we live out our faith; the level of commitment we have to doing things well, to
honoring God in every area of our lives, that reveals what is in our hearts. It’s not the
things themselves God cares about. It’s what those things say about our hearts.
<say again>
C. Paul was obviously addressing a core issue of why we should do everything with
excellence. One of the great hindrances to living a life of excellence is the common
habit of dividing our lives into two areas: the sacred and the secular. We think there
are some things that we do that are pleasing to God so we might be more inclined to
do them better and then we think there are things that we do that are not really
spiritual, sort of worldly. Yet we read here that Paul says we can do “all things to the
glory of God.”
D. What he is saying is that when we are doing something the question to ask is “Can
this be done to the glory of God?” Can’t sin to the glory of God? No, we can’t steal,
lie, commit adultery, or get drunk to the glory of God. But can you play basketball to
the glory of God? Can you cook a meal to the glory of God? Can you cut your lawn
to the glory of God? Can you fix computers, cars, do accounting work, or whatever
your Monday through Friday job is, to the glory of God? Yes.
E. Some people have difficulty bringing the spiritual and the secular together. When we
live lives that are compartmental, sacred and secular we live unbalanced lives.
F. In Psalm 86:11 we read, “Unite my heart to fear thy name.” We need to get the
revelation that ALL of our lives can be spiritual if we dedicate ourselves to Him. This
does not mean that we have to always be reading, praying, talking to people about
Jesus. It means that whatever we do we do to His glory.
G. Most people understand that when they are praying, fasting, reading the Bible, going
to church they get a feeling of satisfaction. They are sure that they are pleasing God.
But when they are working, or running errands, playing some kind of sport or
pursuing some interest that they have, or taking a nap, or whatever; they have a
feeling like they should apologize to God for wasting their time. They feel that this
might be sort of “fleshly” or “worldly” behavior. But here we read that we can eat or
drink to the glory of God. As far as I know, eating and drinking are fleshy or worldly.
Our spirits don’t need the food!
H. This not only produces a DIVIDED life but uneasiness about ourselves, frustration,
lack fulfillment and joy. This produces an unbalanced life. Trying to stay in the
middle, walk the tight rope brings no satisfaction either. Paul’s exhortation “do all to
the glory” is the claim to freedom from the sacred/secular. It is the key to living a
balanced life. It opens the possibility making every act of life, contribute to glory of
God.
I. Quality is part of God. Do well with whatever you have. Be sure you are doing your
work unto the Lord. Does this improve His image or disgrace it? Does it represent
God’s ways? If you are doing it just to get paid, please men or pass the time, you will
lose your enthusiasm and desire. How would your work differ if you knew He was
going to inspect it?
Living at 212 degrees means you run to win I Cor 9:24
Vs. 24 “Run in such a way so that you can get the prize.”
A. Excellence means you run to win. Excellence is never an accident, it is always the
result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it
represents the wise choice of many alternatives.
B. Excellence is a race with no finish line. Competitive excellence requires 100 per cent
all of the time. If you doubt that, try maintaining excellence by setting your standards
at 92 percent. Or even 95 percent. What happens? Excellence gets reduced to
acceptable, and before long acceptable doesn’t seem worth the sweat if you can get
by with adequate. After that, mediocrity is only a breath away. If people figure they’re
doing fine so long as they get somewhere near it, excellence will never be a part of
their lives.
C. Four attitudes of people that focus on excellence
1. Attention to details. They believe that everything counts.
a) The difference between something good and something great is attention to
detail. That is true of a delicious meal, a musical production, a play a new
automobile, a well-kept home, a church, our attire, a business, or a nice
garden.
b) This is about ‘quality control.” People who value excellence have an internal
interest in quality control. Everything matters to them.
c) Excellence Is Evidenced in the Details. A commitment to excellence (or the
lack of it) often shows up most clearly in the way we do the “little” things.
Jesus taught us that we have to be faithful in the small things before we can
receive the bigger blessings.
d) Be faithful in the little things Luke 16:10-13 “He that is faithful in that which is
least, is faithful also in much. He that is unjust, unfaithful in the least, is unjust
also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous
mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not
been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is
your own? No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one,
and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye
cannot serve God and mammon.”
e) There is a difference between doing your best and someone else doing their
best and his best being much better than your best because he is much more
skilled than you, the question is did you do your best?
f) Excellence is in the details. Give attention to the details and excellence will
come.
2. Daily Self discipline. I have never known a person of excellence who did not have
self discipline.
a) Excellence Takes Daily Diligence.
b) Suppose you build a new house. When the house is finished, you plant a
flower garden and
landscape your yard. You might do all those things with excellence, then step
back and say,
“That’s beautiful.” But it’s not long before your work begins to deteriorate. The
walls need repainting, the grass has to be cut, the weeds have to be pulled
from the flower bed. You can’t relax for long. If your home is going to maintain
that look of excellence, the work must be ongoing. You can lose the edge
really fast. The same thing is true in our lives and our churches. We can get
used to just getting by.
c) Someone once said, “Mediocrity is excellence in the mind of the mediocre.”
d) People often ask me how I study. I always write out all of my sermons. It
prevents rambling. It is a discipline. It makes you think clearly. I usually spend
about 12 to 18 hours a week preparing for each sermon. I’ve discovered the
difference between a good sermon and an excellent sermon is about six
hours. I could be satisfied after 12 hours with a pretty good sermon; but if I
want it to be excellent, I’ve got to work harder. Excellence takes time and
effort.
3. Personal high standards. What are you own standards?
a) I expect a lot out of myself, but I also expect a lot out of others. One church
has a slogan that I think sums up this thought: If it bears His name, it
deserves our best.
b) 1 Cor. 10:31 – “: “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for
the glory of God.” 1 Cor. 15:58b – “Always give yourselves fully to the work of
the Lord…”
c) Excellence” doesn’t mean perfection or superiority. Excellence is a difficult
concept to communicate because it can easily be misread as neurotic
perfectionism or snooty sophistication. But it is neither. On the contrary, it is
the stuff of which greatness is made. It is the difference between just getting
by and soaring – that which sets apart the significant from the superficial, the
lasting from the temporary.”
4. Continual improvement. Not satisfied where they are at, in finances, in study, in
work, in building.
a) Studies have shown that the most important way to achieve excellent
performance in fields such as sport, music, professions and scholarship is to
practice. Achievement of excellence in such fields commonly requires
approximately 10 years of dedication, comprising about 10,000 hours of effort
before excellence is achieved.
D. Excellence is NOT PERFECTION! Excellence is the gradual result of always
striving to do better. The road to excellence is always under construction
Summary
A. So, how does 212° apply to VCC? Let me explain. I am challenging all of you to live
up to the 212° philosophy. Give a little more effort than you’ve given in the past. Set
goals for yourself, and then be willing to do things you’ve never done before to reach
those goals. Push yourself beyond your comfort zone, and remember that one small
change can make the difference between being good and excellent. Make a
commitment every day to give what you think is your best, and then give a little
more.
B. Striving for excellence is recognizing the difference between 211 degree and 212
degree. One degree can make all the difference between getting somewhere and
sitting still in life!
C. Living at 212 requires ‘all your effort’ but to be able to give all our effort we need to
give ‘soul effort.’ Do it from our hearts.
D. When we are convinced we are doing our labors unto God we are more likely to do it
excellently.
E. Living at 212 is never an accident. It is the result of intentional living
1. Attention to details, self discipline, setting high standards, and continual
improvement.
F. Excellence is NOT PERFECTION! Excellence is the gradual result of always
striving to do better. Let’s move out of the thick ranks of the mediocre... and join the
thin ranks of excellence. Let’s live at 212.