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Take your Bibles tonight and
turn with me, please, to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians chapter
number 15. And I have a message that there's
no way I can preach all in one setting, and so I'm not going
to try. But I'm going to give you enough
that you'll want to come back next week and you'll feel like
you're going out with something to hang your hat on. I'm not
going to shortchange you tonight, but I want to Bring a message
that I believe will help you to understand a little bit of
the of the philosophy of ministry, because I want everything that
we do to be rooted in the truth of God's Word, don't you? If
we can't find a basis for the things that we do in the Word
of God, then maybe we ought to question whether we should be
doing that at all. And so not only Can we find from
God's word what we should be doing, but we can find there
how we should be doing it. And I'm grateful that God didn't
just ascend up into the heavens and as he was going up into the
clouds, shout back down, do the best you can. I'll be back someday. You know, he gave us clear instructions. Right. And so I want us to look
in God's word tonight. We're going to look in some a
number of passages, but we're going to begin here in First
Corinthians, chapter 15. And I want you to see in verse number
fifty four. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption
and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be
brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed
up in victory. Oh, death, where is thy sting? Oh, grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin and
the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved
brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work
of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in
vain in the Lord. Heavenly Father, I pray that
tonight you would open the eyes of our spiritual understanding.
Help us to have a biblically based way that we do the things
that we do. Not only ascertain what we should
do, but from your word, how we should do it. And Lord, we pray
that we might see it clearly from your word revealed tonight.
We pray this in Jesus name. Amen. I want to bring a message
titled Overcoming Mediocrity. Overcoming Mediocrity. I believe
that God is calling His people to abundant Christian living. The Lord said in John chapter
10 and verse number 10, the second part, I am come that they might
have life and that they might have it more abundantly. Here the Bible says, because
of the victory that is ours, therefore, my beloved brethren,
be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the
Lord. For as much as you know that your labor is not in vain
in the Lord, as I talk to many people that have made a profession
of faith over time, so many of them will settle into a place
in. In their Christian experience, that
is not the best, it's not really the worst, they just found a
comfortable place. And they're quite happy in their
comfort zone. You know, by definition, mediocre
is not really great. It's not really bad. It's just
stuck on average. It's just. It's not super abundant. The Lord has called us to abundant
Christian living. Now, what does the word abundant
mean? more than the minimum, more than
the least requirement. You recall when Zacchaeus accepted
the Lord as his savior and he was saved, the Lord said, the
Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost. He
went to Zacchaeus's house and Zacchaeus got saved. And he said,
if I've taken from anyone falsely, I restore to him fourfold. Now, what was the requirement
of the law? Restitution was twofold if you take him from someone
falsely. And he said, I want to restore
fourfold. You know what he said? I want
because I've received mercy and grace to then turn around and
give mercy and grace. I want to give more than the
law requires of me. Some people are trying to figure
out what the Bible says about what we should do, and they're
sinking to the lowest common denominator. They just want to
go along to get along. They want to do the least that
they can do and still feel comfortable. And friends, my desire tonight
is not to place a burden of guilt on you, but if anything, It would
be to challenge you in your spirit to become all and and to understand
all that God has in store for you. And I believe it's much
more than what we're laying hold of. I believe that God has things
in mind for us. And I'm not talking about a prosperity
doctrine. I'm not talking about a name
it, claim it. What I'm talking about is that I think that every
day in our lives, there are things that the Lord could be using
us to do. That because we have settled
into a spirit of mediocrity, and I'm saying myself included,
I'm not trying to stand up on the perch and talk down. We're
not seizing those opportunities. To become all and to do all that
God is putting in our pathway to do, you know, my heart for
you, my heart for you is for you to be blessed beyond your
wildest expectations. I'm like John, who wrote in was
it third John that he desired above all things that that they
might prosper and be in health, even as their soul prospered,
you know. And he had that desire of it. And not just financially,
but in every way that they would have spiritual abundance in their
heart and that they would have the supply of every need at the
hand of God. And that's my desire for you. I want for your homes to be blessed
I want for your homes to be places where Christ is taught and where
the Christian life is modeled and where you have the joy of
the Lord. I sometimes think, man, if I
could just somehow do something and just planted in your in your
homes, I would do that. You know, occasionally I talk
to people, I think I. I feel like I want them to have the
joy of the Lord more than they want it for themselves. Have
you ever felt that way for your children or your grandchildren
or people that you know? And I tell you this, the Lord
wants it for you way worse than we could ever imagine. He wants
our homes to be places of joy. He wants our lives to be filled
with good fruit in abundance. And yet I find that there are
so many believers that they're just settling for We're kind
of the least. And God has called us to be heirs
of God and joiners with Jesus Christ. And he's called us to
be steadfast, unmovable and always abounding in the work of the
Lord, not just not just doing the least that we can do so that
we can save our conscience. Right. It's talking about abounding
in the work of the Lord, and I wonder if we can truly look
ourselves in the face and say, am I really abounding in God's
work? I'm not talking about stressing
myself out to the max by getting spread out so thin that I'm doing
more than I ought to be doing that's reasonably good for me
and my family, because I recognize that our ministry begins and
ends at the home. But friends, if it's all at the
home, then that's not a healthy arrangement, because we've got
to teach our families to not just become self-centered, But
to consider others, because that is the very spirit of Jesus Christ.
Now, I want us to consider some things as we. Seek to overcome
a spirit of mediocrity that pervades many churches in our country
today. Turn back in your Bible of Romans,
chapter eight, and we're going to focus in on Jesus for a few
minutes. And in Romans, chapter eight,
I want you to see something from a very familiar passage of Scripture,
but maybe you've never quite looked at it from this angle
and maybe it'll make sense to you as we read it. In verse 28,
this is a verse that we can quote perhaps by memory, and we know
that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are called according to His purpose. For whom He did
foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Moreover, whom He did predestinate, then He also called And whom
He called, them He also justified. And whom He justified, them He
also glorified. What shall we then say to these
things? If God before us, who can be
against us, He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him
up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us
all things. Now, folks, we have a list given
to us here of all those things that Christ has done for us.
And if we read one or two things off that list, any of those things
alone are better than what any of us deserves, are they not?
The Lord foreknew us, and then the Lord predestined us, and
then the Lord called us, and then the Lord justified us. And
then the Lord glorified us. And then he said, I'm going to
be their advocate. I'm going to be for them. And
then he said, I'll not withhold any good thing from them. Now,
friends, the Lord did all of these things and he continues
to super abound in grace toward us. If all he did was justify
you, wouldn't that be great? That would be wonderful. But
whom he justified, guess what he also did? He didn't stop right
there. He didn't say, hey, that's a
great gift. That's a good enough gift to give you justification
by faith. That would be wonderful. But
you know what? He also gave us glory, the hope of glory. that we have a glorified position
with Christ. One day we'll have a glorified
body. So the Lord didn't just stop
and say, well, you know, that's way better than what they deserve.
I think I'll just leave off there. He said, I'm going to glorify
you. And then he didn't just do that. He said, why While you're
on this side of heaven, I'm going to be your advocate. If God be
for us, who can be against us? I'm going to be on their side.
I'm going to fight for them. I'm going to advocate for them.
I'll be the propitiation for their sins throughout the endless
ages of eternity. And then not only that, he said,
I'm not going to withhold anything from them. I'm going to freely
give them everything in the world that they would ever need. Now,
folks, the Lord didn't just go the second mile. He said, look,
I knew you and then I predestined you and then I called you and
then I justified you and then I glorified you. Then I advocated
for you. And then I said, I'll give you
anything on top of that that you ever might have need of.
You know what the Lord did? He didn't just find the least
common denominator to get you up to glory by the skin of your
teeth. He said, I want to give you glory while you're on the
road to heaven. I want to give you everything
that you need. I want to have a relationship with you. I want to advocate
for you. I am going to abound in my grace towards you, not
just manifested when you get up to heaven. But from here to
heaven, I want you to sense and know that my grace is in super
abundance towards you. The Bible says where sin abounded,
there did grace much more abound. And so the Lord has within him
a spirit of abundance. Right. He gives us out of the
riches of his grace and the riches of Christ Jesus. And that's how
he gives to us. It's an inexhaustible supply
of God's grace and kindness to man. And so that God who has
a spirit of abundance lives in me. He didn't do the least for
me. He did the most for me, not only
because he gave his very life for me, but friends, he glorified
me. He advocates for me. You see
this? And then if we read on down the
chapter, guess what? He loves me to boot on all of
that. My friends, He didn't just do
the least. He did the most. And He keeps
on doing the most and abounding in His love and His mercy and
grace toward us. And so as we consider overcoming
mediocrity in our own lives, I want us to see the authority.
And it is Jesus. Jesus is the final authority
on the subject of overcoming mediocrity or settling into that
which is acceptable, average, just getting by. He didn't just
get us by. He gave us glory. Amen. Now,
folks, this is not a message that says God wants you to drive,
you know, a Maserati or a Ferrari and live in a big mansion and
have a big bank account. That's not what I'm talking about.
What I am talking about is that the Lord abounded in his grace. The Bible calls it his liberality
towards us. God is liberally giving to us. He is not doing the least. He's
doing the most. Now, I think in the view of that
and in light of the fact that we have that kind of a savior,
I wonder, how is it that we're doing the work of the Lord? Are
we just trying to do the least we can? Are we just trying to
get by? Are we just trying to do enough so that we don't feel
guilty? Are we just trying to, you know, be a Christian that
cannot bring aught against the cause of Jesus Christ? You know,
where Paul said of the Corinthian believers, giving no offense
in anything, that the ministry be not blamed. And we're thinking
that, you know, success for me is not getting involved in bad
sin and bringing reproach upon the name of Christ. You see,
that's the spirit of mediocrity within the body, because we shouldn't
just say success for me is not doing terrible bad sin so that
I bring reproach upon Christ success for the believer that
has victory over mediocrity in their life would be, look, I
want to do more than the least requirement. I don't want to
just abstain from fleshly lust at war against my soul, but I
also want to invest meaningfully and abundantly with my hands,
with my heart, with my feet, with my lips, with all that is
in me by laying my life upon the altar of sacrifice, because
I've been called to offer my life, a living sacrifice, holy
and acceptable unto God. Right. And the Bible says that
is my reasonable service. Some people think, oh, that's
so much to ask. Man, that's going second, third,
fourth file. No, the Lord said it's reasonable. That's the least you can do.
Right. That's a reasonable request of
the Lord. So can we say in view of that? I'm abounding in the work of
the Lord, therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord. You know, I find
that Jesus Christ willingly humbled himself and became obedient of
the will of the Father. He came in accordance with the
will of the Father. And guess whose will it was also? It was His will. It was Jesus'
will. You see, It was his will as much as it was the will of
the father. There's no divine pecking order in heaven, but
we find an illustration, an example of humility in the person and
work of Jesus Christ who became obedient unto death. And not
just come down here and and be, you know, get some sodium penethyl
put in his veins so that he could go to sleep and never wake up
again. No, he suffered the most inhumane death that anyone's
ever suffered, even the death of the cross. He he went further
for us. If you go to the. teaching in the Gospels concerning
the Lord praying in the Garden of Gethsemane in the hour of
his agony as he began his passion. We discover there that he went
with Peter, James and John, his inner circle, and he he left
him at a place to pray. And there's a verse in the Bible
that says, and he went a little further. And he went a little
further. You know, every time you look
at the life of Jesus, you know what you can find about him.
He's doing just a little bit more for you. He's going just
a little further. And sometimes I'm afraid that
Christianity is not looking for an opportunity just to go a little
further. We're looking for a place to
stop. You know, sometimes it's, you
know, hey, I'm limited means or limited
time or whatever. And so we begin parsing it out. I'm so glad that God didn't parse
out his grace to me. Because I would exhaust it before
the next parsing of grace was given. And so the authority concerning
abounding and rising above the level of mediocrity is Jesus
himself, because He did more for us than we could ever imagine.
He did more than he had to do. And the reason why he did it
was because he loves us. And the primary reason why we
would determine in our hearts to be abundant Christians is
because we love him. When we look at what he's done
for us, how can we not love him? And if we do love him, How can
we settle into a comfort level and do the least? And do the
least. You know, folks, when someone
has been kind to you, when someone has been generous to you, and
then at a point later on, they come and say, hey, can you give
me a hand? Do you know what we often say
to them? That's the least I can do. And
all you've done for it's the least I can do for you. Right. And when we consider all
that God's done for us. Sometimes, folks. Consider the
fact that your very life is the least you can give. For all he's done for us. And
so when we understand that Jesus is the example, that He's not
asked us to do something that He has not done for us and that
He doesn't continue to do for us, He continues to be the authority
on rising above the level of the least or the average or just
getting by. You see, He foreknew us. He predestined us. He called
us. He justified us. He glorified
us. He advocates for us. He gives us all that we may have
need of. And He loves us to boot. And nothing in the world will
ever separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus,
our Lord. He's the authority on the subject
of overcoming the level of mediocrity. I want you to see that we're
called as well to serve as he has served, to love as he has
loved. And that's an abundant love.
That's an abundant service. I think about what the Bible
says in John chapter 13, that in the last days of Jesus earthly
ministry, he washed the feet of the disciples. And there's
a verse in there in John 13 that says, having loved his own that
were in the world, he loved them to the end. He loved them to
the end. He didn't stop short on any level. After He had clearly, for three
and a half years, showered patience and grace and love upon these
twelve men. He girded Himself with a towel
and He washed their dirty feet. You see, He went a little further. He didn't just say, well, I've
been the leader and I've been working as hard as they have.
I've walked as far as they have in the in the dusty soil of Galilee. And so let somebody else wash
my feet for a change. No. He went a little further
for them. I wonder what is our spirit when
it comes to service to the Lord? And I'm not trying to put anybody
under a weight of guilt. I'm just trying to call to your
mind some thoughts from the Word of God to stir you up in your
spirit to say, have I found a place of mediocrity that I'm comfortable
with? Or is God calling me to live
an abundant life? to be more abundant in my love
and in my service to Him than what I'm demonstrating. And it's
all because of love. Because of love. Take for a moment
and go to Luke 17, if you would. I want you to not only consider
our authority, Jesus, but I want you to consider our allegiance,
our commitment, if you would, or our allegiance to Jesus Christ. In Luke chapter 17, I find one
of the most difficult passages of Scripture to deal with personally. And upon reading it in just a
few verses of Scripture, maybe you'll feel the exact same way
that I do whenever you read it. Verse 7, which of you having
a servant plowing or feeding cattle will say unto him, by
and by, when he has come from the field, Go and sit down and
eat. And will not rather say unto
him, make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself and serve
me, till I have eaten and drunken, and afterward thou shalt eat
and drink. Does he thank that servant because
he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. I don't think so. So likewise
ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded
you, say, we are unprofitable servants. We have done that which
was our duty to do." We did the things that we were supposed
to do. And the Lord said, count yourself an unprofitable servant.
Let's apply this to the workplace for just a moment so we can maybe
have some understanding. I'm talking to some people that
have, through the years, demonstrated a tremendous work ethic. I know that some of you have
a profound work ethic. I'm going to pick on Brother
Bill for a minute because Brother Bill managed the largest bank
or largest volume business bank branch in the valley for years.
Now, what was it that you think made that bank branch so successful? Do you think it was location,
location, location? Now, I think probably there were
other banks in the valley that might have had a more prime location.
Maybe you would have had bigger investors. You see, they provided
all the same services that every other bank in the valley provided,
didn't they? All the same investments, all the same products. They had
the same brand, the same rates of interest, correct? So, they
could have showed up for business. Bill could have showed up for
business on Monday morning, opened the bank, put his people out
there, sat down at the desk and said, we're going to do the same
thing that everybody else is doing. And you know what? At
the end of the month, he would count himself an unprofitable
servant if that was all he did. You see, he went the extra mile.
You know what he did? He got acquainted with all of
his customers. He learned their names. He found
out where they were. He helped them with their paperwork.
He would work a teller line if it was too long. He would make
sure that everything worked and that he had a personal relationship
with those people. So people that moved across town still
drove across the town to do their banking there. Why? He did more
than the least requirement of him. And as a consequence, he
had a profitable branch. That's why. Now, folks, That
application is made here in this passage of Scripture, that if
we just do the simple things that we know we ought to do,
and that's all we do, the Lord will say, count yourself an unprofitable
servant, because you've just done that which was your duty
to do. Right? If you want to be profitable,
you know what you do? You do more than the least required.
You have to add some value in business. You have to have value
added service. Do you not? Occasionally to those
clients that are struggling, say, hey, look, I know the bank's
not open. If you're having trouble with
this, here's my number. You call me on my cell phone.
If you need me in an emergency, I'm there to help you. You know
what you did? You added some value to the service. Now they're
dealing with a person, not a corporation. And people want to do business
with people, not with a corporation. People weren't doing business
with Bank of America. They were doing business with Bill Wings. Now,
in the same token, friends, when people come to Freeway Baptist
Church, they want someone to show an active, vital interest
in them. And yet there are a lot of people that show up and they
think victory for me is being here on time. Right. How many of you know what I'm
talking about? That's the victory for them. But friends, God wants
us to go a little further, not just say, hey, I made it. But
to them, Make a meaningful investment in the life of someone else because
we have a love for God. And the compassion for them,
because the love of God is being shed abroad in our heart to them.
You see that. And so a commitment to God is
not going to just do the least. It's not just going to do your
duty. But because of love, it's going to go the next mile. It's
going to cause you to go a little further and say, I'm going to
rise above the level of average status quo acceptability. I'm going to do all that I can
for the Lord, not the least that I can for the Lord. And so we
start by looking at Jesus, who is our authority, and then we
examine our allegiance. Where is my commitment? And I'm
going to leave off right here because that's enough for our
brains to ponder for a little while tonight. But I want you
to reread these passages of Scripture and see if there's some rich
truth there that would stimulate your heart into a greater love
for the Lord. And might that love produce a
level of devotion within you that would cause you to just
ascend from mediocrity into a love relationship with the Lord that's
characterized by abundant Christian living. It's got to begin and
end with Jesus, folks. It can't be all about you. It
can't be about what you want, what you're doing, what you're
thinking. It's got to begin with Jesus. He's got to be the authority.
Amen. And the Lord, who is abundant, lives in you and wants to produce
in you an abundant Christian life. And so as we consider the
parable of our Lord in Luke chapter 17, and as we consider how the
Lord went a little further for us in Romans chapter 8, may we
be stirred in our spirit to perhaps consider going a little further
for him. And I don't know what that means
for you, but I believe the Lord will make it clear in time to
come. And I think you believe that as well. And some of you
already have an idea what it means. And maybe this will give
you the courage to just step out. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for giving
us your word, and I pray that you would encourage us from it
And Lord, that we would not be hearers only, but cause that
we would be doers of Your Word. Lord, we love You. We pray for
each one that's here tonight, that You would bless them for
their faithfulness. And Lord, I pray that they might truly
abound in this Christian life. And may they experience the joy
of the Lord, I pray, in the wonderful name of Jesus. Amen. God bless
you. You're dismissed.
Overcoming Mediocrity
| Sermon ID | 310102218487 |
| Duration | 32:07 |
| Date | |
| Category | Midweek Service |
| Bible Text | 1 Corinthians 15:54-58 |
| Language | English |
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