7 Things That Will Lead To Excellence 2

5. Obtain excellence through discipline —2 Pet. 1:2–8

• Christianity is a walk of discipline because there is work for us to do.

• Christianity is grace because we enter into the life of God, which is a gift—we can never earn it.

There are three Greek words for “discipline.” They outline the three things needed to obtain discipline in any area of our lives:

            sõphrõn—to be of sound mind—2 Tim. 1:7

            enkrateia—power over oneself, self-control—Gal. 5:23; 2 Pet. 1:6

            gymnazõ—to train, exercise—1 Tim. 4:7; Heb. 5:14

We can come to excellence in the same way that an athlete trains for a sporting event. We have to train our minds as well as our actions and reactions to everything life (and the devil) throws our way.

6. Abide in Christ—John 15:1–11

Abiding: the continual act of laying aside everything that I might derive from my own wisdom and merit, in order to draw all this from Christ. To abide means to remain and endure; to be unshakable and permanent in our position in Christ. It means to live in Him and through Him.

Abiding is not simply a passive waiting, it is an active placement of all areas of our being under His care and direction, and a constant drawing upon His life and goodness—just as a plant draws from its stem. Just as it takes time for plants to grow as a result of abiding, it also takes a long time to bring excellence to maturity. If you abide:

            You will bear fruit

            You can ask what you will and it will be done for you

            You will be known as a disciple of God

            God will be glorified

            God will fill you with  great joy

Abiding involves prayer—

Prayer—secret, fervent, believing prayer

lies at the root of all personal godliness.

--William Carey

When we abide in Him, He will abide in us—we will become people who live in the presence of the Lord.

Look at 2Pet. 1:3-4—there are secrets for abiding in Christ in this verse.

7. Obey the Word—

The Scriptures were given not to increase our knowledge,

but to change our lives.

D. L. Moody

In order to obey the word, we must confront ourselves with practical changes that must be made. After we read the Word we still have work to do—we must put it into practice. Obedience is submission, habitually yielding to authority—motivated by a heart of love.

Obedience to the standards God sets for our lives

Obedience to the requests God has for our lives

Obedience to the direction God appoints for our lives

Obedience to the people God places over our lives

Obedience to the timing God arranges for our lives

Obedience to the Word God proclaims over our lives

Obedience to the wisdom God reveals for our lives—Jas. 1:5

Your delight and readiness in the paths of obedience

is the very measure of your sanctification

John Flavell

as quoted in The Treasury of David, by C. H. Spurgeon, p. 248.

Obedience means fulfilling God’s request of us immediately and exactly.

Obedience—willingly submission to the process God has chosen for us to be conformed to the image of Christ.

We learn obedience through:

   Testings—Deut. 8:2; Jud. 3:4 and Suffering—Ps. 119:71; Heb. 5:8

Trials, temptations, disappointments—

all these are helps instead of hindrances,

if one uses them rightly.

They not only test the fiber of a character,

but strengthen it.

Every conquered temptation represents a new fund

of moral energy.

Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit

makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.

--James Buckham

Part One: HERE
Excellent Ones: HERE