Excellence with Love

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• By Rev. Devadosan Sugirtharaj
• Posted 01/03/2021
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DNA of Our Church: Epiphany Sermon Series

Excellence with Love

Revelation.2:1-7

Rev Dr Devadosan Sugirtharaj

Introduction

• DNA is essential in every living being to decide its nature, feature and function. So DNA of the church means that the core element of the church which constitutes our church’s purpose, vision and mission.
• DNA means who we are. If we don’t understand who we are, then, it never fully is understoodhow unique, creative or profound ways to express ourselves.
• In Christ Washington Church’s DNA is rooted in the Holy Scriptures and God reveals it through his word to us to understand what kind of church we are called to be,

Word Study

• The Hebrew word for excellence is Addir. It means honourable, great, and chiefly.
• The Greek word for excellence is diaphoroteros. It means excellent , better, greater, things that differ..
• In the bible, it is noted as someone or something to be done with greatness.

Context of the text

• The Lord reveals his message to all seven churches in Asia Minor area ( modern - day Turkey). Ephesus is one of the seven churches. Ephesus was a city on the western coast of Asia Minor, near the mouth of the Cayster River. The city was famous for its temple of Diana. Lot of pilgrims came to Ephesus from all over the Mediterranean world to worship the goddess.

1. The DNA of the Church is to live and work everything with excellence in order to please God. Revelation. 2:1-3, 6

• “To the [a]angel of the church of Ephesus write,‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: 2 “I know your works, your labor, your [b]patience, and that you cannot [c]bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; 3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. 6 But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
• The Lord affirms the Ephesians’ positive and excellent lives of faith. He knew their deed, handwork and perseverance. They did not tolerate lies or false teachings. They were gate-keepers of the truth. They did not compromise with evildoers. They showed patient endurance in bearing up under hardship. The practices of the Nicolaitans were fornication, eating food sacrificed to idols and many immoral and unethical practices..
• God has called us as the Church to be excellent in our faith lives. God wants us to show our deeds, to be stand against compromises with lies or false teachings and to keep patience in the hardships and challenges and trust God.  We are called to show our excellence in our lives and ministries.
• Philippians.4:8:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these thing
• 2 Corinthians.8:7:7 But as you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see that you abound in this grace also
• Biblical Example: In the exile, Daniel did everything excellent for the Lord in Babylon and so everyone including the King approached him for guidance and advice. He brought the honour to the Lord by doing everything excellent. Daniel.5:12:12 Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and [a]explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation
• Sermon Illustration: Henry Kissinger, in his book The Whitehouse Years, tells of a Harvard professor who had given an assignment and now was collecting the papers. He handed them back the next day and at the bottom of one was written, "Is this the best you can do?" The student thought, "no," and redid the paper. It was handed in again, and received the same comment. This went on ten times, till finally the student said, "Yes, this is the best I can do." The professor replied, "Fine, now I'll read it.”

2. The DNA of the Church is to love the Lord with excellence in order to please God. Revelation. 2:4-5,7

• 4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. 7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”
• In the midst of their excellence in works, Ephesians fell short of their love to the Lord. They had forsaken their first love for God. They were hard working but they no longer had the same love for Christ as they first believed. Their work was no longer motivated by love. Jesus called them to repent. If they do not repent, he warns them to remove their lampstand from its place. If they repent and listen to the Spirit of God, then he will give them tree of life and paradise of God.
• In the midst of all our excellence in everything we do for the Lord, all must be motivated by our first love to Jesus. If our love is fallen short, God wants us to repent and give back to his first love. If we do, God will honour us to shine more and more and at the same time we will be blessed to enjoy to eat from  the tree of life in the kingdom of God. Doing many things with excellence should not put our first love in the back seat and Jesus warns us to be careful about it.
• Mark.12:30:30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ [l]This is the first commandment.
• 1 John.4:16:16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
• Bible example:  When the people of God forsake the Lord and fall short of their first love to God, God sent Azariah to King Asa and all Judah and Benjamin and warned them: 2 Chronicles, 15:1-2 Now the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded. 2 And he went out [a]to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. .
• Sermon illustration: A pastor met one of his members and they went for a lunch together. The member was a successful business man. The pastor sensed that the business man was growing cold in his relationship with the Lord. The pastor began to probe and ask him questions. Finally it came around to the subject of loving God and the man confessed that it was much harder for him to love God now that he was wealthy than when he first started and was struggling. The pastor told the man that he was going to start praying for him: I am going to pray that God takes away all that is keeping you from serving and loving God and that he will bring you back in the place of where you need him and also you can love him with your first love.

Conclusion

God has called to be his church with His DNA. Through the message to the Church in Ephesus,in Revelations 2:1-7,  Jesus speaks to us to be the church of excellence and first love to God 

• The DNA of the Church is to live and work everything with excellence in order to please God. Revelation. 2:1-3, 6
• The DNA of the Church is to love the Lord with excellence in order to please God. Revelation. 2:4-5,7

Questions for Discussion

1. The DNA of the church is to do everything with excellence for the Lord; How do you evaluate your life and work from God’s presence? Excellence or less than it? What are the areas in your life to be excellent and what do you do with those areas?
2. As the Church, we are called to do everyone with excellence. We should show our worship, serving, evangelism, mission, faith education, prayer, preaching and giving to be excellent. How do you show your excellence in your gifts, giving, ministries and prayer in our church?
3. The DNA of the church is to love the Lord with our First love. Have you lost your first love to God? What is your present state of relationship with God now compared with your first love for God long ago? What is one thing you can do to show the Lord your first love?
4. As the Church, we are called to show our first love to God. We should show it as it motivates us. In what are the areas do we continue to show our first love to God?