NORTH YORK CHURCH OF CHRIST

Pastor Roger C. Marcos
June 5, 2015

My Ministerial Code of Ethics

I am a minister of Christ, called to God to the NYCC in order to proclaim the unsearchable riches of His amazing love to humankind. Therefore, I voluntarily adopt some principles in order that through dedication and self-discipline I may set a more worthy example for those to lead and SERVE whom I SEEK.

MY PERSONAL CONDUCT:

• I will cultivate my devotional life, continuing steadfastly in Reading the Bible meditation and Prayer.
• I will endeavor to keep physically and emotionally fit for my work.
• I will be fair to my family and will endeavor to give them the time and consideration to which they are entitled.

MY RELATIONSHIP TO THE CHURCH WHICH I SERVE:

• I will dedicate my time and energy to my Christian ministry and will maintain strict standard of discipline.
• In my preaching I will exalt the BIBLE and will be true to my conviction.

MY RELATIONSHIP TO FELLOW MINISTER, ELDERS AND DEACONS:

• I will maintain love and respects to the leadership of the CHURCH OF CHRIST Sake.
• I will be willing to listen and accept suggestion and comments. For the glory of Christ and for the benefit of the entire body.

MY PRAYER:

Lord, help me for a possible way to IMPROVE my Ministry dealing with people and telling your Great love to the World.

Dear NYCC, people, GOD IS NOT CALLING US TO GO TO CHURCH. HE’S CALLING US TO BE HIS CHURCH. Craig Grueschel

Yes, God desiring His church, His redeemed people committing themselves to Christ excellence. We need to remember that Jesus has never done or made anything that was not characterized by the superlative goodness and excellent quality.

But in the Lord’s work, of all things, it should constantly be our aim to do the very best we are capable of.

Should we not be motivated by a commitment to excellence in the work of the Lord?

2 Tim. 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

There Are Two Basic Attitudes Possible:

I. Mediocrity.(tagalog Kapangkaraniwan) : the quality of something that is not very good : the quality or state of being mediocre.

A person who does not have the special ability to do something well.

A. A Certain Disposition that is Concerned with Nothing Higher than “Getting By.”

• This attitude is content with a relatively low level of quality.
• Nothing is aspired to beyond what is “good enough.”

B. With this attitude, we offer work and service to the Lord that are inferior even by human standards.

Haggai 1:4-9 Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?" NKJV

Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins? NIV

The art of living wisely is largely a matter of spending your coins on the things that really matter in light of eternity and not frivolously wasting them. Living wisely is difficult because often the choice is not between the bad and the good, but between the good and the best.

It tells us to put first things first in our lives. It was written to people, like us, who would have told you that God must be first. They believed that; we believe that. But, they had drifted into a way of life where their intellectual belief in the supremacy of God was not reflected in the way they were living.

They gave lip service to the priority of God, but in fact they lived with other priorities. God sent this prophet to help His people get their priorities in line with what they knew they should be.

⁵ Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. ⁶ You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”
⁷ This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. ⁸ Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord. ⁹ “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.

Malachi 1:8 NIV When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty.

What lesson was God teaching by requiring Israel to offer the first and best of what they had physically - if not that we ought in all things to “give of our best to the Master”?

Proverbs 3:9 Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the first-fruits of all your increase.

“Mediocre” = of moderate to low quality; average or inferior.

In our work, when we take the course of least resistance and do only what is easy, mediocrity increases - without a conscious effort to rise above it, we are left with a “lowest common denominator” quality of thinking and living.

In regard to less-than-excellent work in the church, people have been overheard to say, “Oh well, it’s only the church.”

• What kind of attitude is reflected in such a statement?
• What would be the results of such an attitude in the Lord’s work?

This is the mentality of a mediocre people who doesn’t care the work of the church and they don’t care if the church struggle financially. So often, saying these there are three kinds of people in the church: Those who makes things happen. Those who don’t care what happening, and Those who watch what happening. (IMPACT TEXT need help)

In one church somewhere: a young pastor, saying to his congregation on Sunday worship IT IS TIME FOR ME TO SAY GOODBYE! Time for me to leave.. It hard and it’s hurt but? The church was shocked, on their meeting they found out that they could not afford to support their minister and behind their payment for three month.

II. Serving God with Excellence. Each one of us is given only a limited time to serve God. That limited time is called “Day.” We say limited because the “Night” is coming when no one can work.

Decide to serve God today. Do not delay. Do not deny God of your service. Do not waste or squander your time.

A. Rather than a contentment with mediocrity, we should have a commitment to excellence in whatever we do.

• 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. ¹⁰ Work hard at whatever you do, because there will be no action, no thought, no knowledge, no wisdom in the world of the dead-and that is where you are going.
• Colossians 3:23-24 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord an not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance for you serve the Lord Christ.

WHAT EXCELLENCE MEANS:

• Excellence means giving or doing the maximum. Many people give their minimum to God.
• Excellence is NOT perfection.
• Excellence is a reflection of the God we serve.
• Excellence does not happen by accident. Excellence is a deliberate effort or action. It is well-thought out, it well-planned, and it is well-executed.
• Excellence is a lifestyle (habit): Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do.” Excellence is not an act. It is a habit.”

B. Should have higher standards of excellence in the Lord’s work than in our own endeavors?

• 1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
• 2 Corinthians 9:6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

C. A commitment to excellence often shows up most clearly in the way we do the “little” things.

D. A commitment to excellence requires extra effort - carefulness and hard work are required.

• Ephesians 5:15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise.
• Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

SERVING GOD WITH EXCELLENCE.

ILLUSTRATION: Paul Harvey one time told the story of a woman who called up the Butterball Turkey Company’s consumer hotline and asked about the advisability of cooking a turkey that had been in her freezer for 23 years.

The customer service representative told her that it would be o.k. to eat if the freezer had maintained below zero temperature the entire time, but even so, the flavor would have deteriorated so much it wouldn’t taste very good. Then the caller said, “Oh, that’s what we thought. We’ll just donate it to the church. To be fit for this current Century we need to pay attention to the quality of what we do. The Church is not the place for the bad leftovers. It’s not the place to do the minimum required. It is surely not the place for mediocrity. It is the place for Excellence!

Quality and Quantity.

Doing your best over doing your good. Continually becoming better.

Giving your maximum compared with doing the minimum. Giving God more than what is required.

Giving God the second mile. Don’t just attend the service, do something for God! Don’t just do something for God, get trained to do it! Don’t just get trained to do it, do it! NIKE: JUST DO IT!

There’s always more. Excellence means giving God more! THOSE WHO PUT THEIR PROSPERITY ABOVE GOD’S HOUSE ARE OFTEN COMMITTED BELIEVERS.

Conclusion:

What are some ways a commitment to excellence would impact your personal walk with Christ? Your life with your family? Your home and possessions? Your relationships with others? Your job? Your ministry?

A. We should always strive to “give of our best to the Master.”

Make a commitment to excellence today! Lord, I will never give you my second best, I will never do the minimum for you, I will never give you my leftovers. I will give you my best every day.

We should aim to go “beyond ordinary”.