EXCELLENCE PRECEDES PERFECTION

“For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy” Heb. 10:14 (NLT).

“So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image” 2 Chor. 3:18 (NLT).

As a way of introduction, let me give us the dictionary definitions for perfection and excellence and we’ll move from there.

PERFECTION: A state or condition that cannot be improved (Merriam-Webster).

EXCELLENCE: The quality of being outstanding or extremely good (Oxford).

While perfection is the end point, excellence is the process. The passive verb “being” as used in the definition of excellence, and the introductory text above, is a present progressive tense. This means that it tells of an ongoing activity.

The man that God has made and redeemed is a perfect man. You cannot be any less or any more of a man than you already are. However, everything God has deposited in you does not show forth at once. You gradually begin to manifest all that God has deposited in you. This makes you a better man and not necessarily another kind of man as it were.

It will interest you to know that the point of perfection is the point where you have become all there is to become (you should either be dead or raptured). However, excellence is concerned with progressive improvements.

If that is the case, why did the Bible command us to be perfect? Thank you for asking, I will answer your question.

Look at the way The Amplified Bible puts Matthew 5:48; “You, therefore, must be perfect [growing into complete maturity of godliness in mind and character, having reached the proper height of virtue and integrity], as your heavenly Father is perfect”.

Perfection is something you grow into; it’s an end point. Jesus wanted us to focus on the goal which is “being like Him”. And the process that leads to perfection is Excellence.

 

MANIFEST!

Merry Christmas.

Yours truly,
Ibeh Uche Sam

© Transforming Words Series

 

 

 

TASTE OF EXCELLENCE

“And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good (suitable, pleasant) and He approved it completely. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day” Gen 1:31 (AMP).

In the last installment if this series, I ended by saying that God can only show off or manifest His glory through you if you meet His taste. “What then is God’s taste?”. Since you’ve asked, I’ll tell you. But like I said the last time, I am only sharing my revelation, you must not agree with me. I’ll also love to hear what your take is on this.

God’s taste is a taste of excellence. When he created us, he made is excellent and everything about us is supposed to radiate excellence.
Apostle Paul asked this question in 1 Corinthians 3:16; “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?” (NLT).

Just as he showed off His glory in the temple that Solomon built to His taste, He wants to make His glory manifest through you, His Temple that He built himself.

We must understand that God only shows up where excellent work is done. He is not shabby or crappy and so cannot be associated with shabby or crappy work.

“For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God” Rom. 8:19 (KJV).

To manifest God’s glory, you must be excellent in your dealing (both with God and men).

MANIFEST!

Merry Christmas.

Yours truly,
Ibeh Uche Sam

© Transforming Words Series

 

GOD’S TASTE

“When Solomon finished praying, fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple. The priests could not enter the Temple of the Lord because the glorious presence of the Lord filled it” 2 Chron. 7:1-2 (NLT).

Reading through the text above, a question dropped in my spirit; why did God decide to show up and show off like that?

Before I go on, I need to say this; whatever answer I give here is not an absolute answer, it is just my opinion as an author based on my personal revelation. As much as I would not want this to lead to an unhealthy theological argument, I am open to hear your thoughts on the issue.

If you took a few steps back to the third chapter of 2 Chronicles, you would discover that Solomon built the temple to God’s taste. He followed every detail to the latter. He didn’t just want to show off his architectural dexterity, he built the temple exactly the way God instructed and desired it. I think this is why God could not help but make such a glorious appearance.

This begins to suggest to me that God can only make his glory manifest through you if your life meets His taste.

MANIFEST!

Merry Christmas.

Yours truly,
Ibeh Uche Sam

© Transforming Words Series

 

WHEN THE GLORY IS RIPE

“As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.” Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!” John 9:1-7 (NLT).

We all love fruits, at least some. Some of us plant them in our yards so we do not have to buy from sellers. The thing about fruits is that you only enjoy them when they are mature and ripe. If you are in a hurry, you will not only miss the satisfaction of eating fruits, chances are that you will also lose out of some nutritional benefits from them.

It is this relationship that exists between God and our situations in life. The moment you begin to go through a process, it means that God has planted a tree that will give him a harvest of glory when the time is right.

When the glory is ripe, God will show up. From our anchor scripture, the blind man’s predicament was a tree planted by God when he was born that He purposed to harvest glory from. At the time Jesus showed up in the situation of that blind man, the glory was ripe and ready for harvest.

Maybe the reason you are still going through with no breakthrough is because the glory is not ripe yet. When the glory is ripe, God will show up in you and show off His glory through you.

I declare to you this season that your situation is ripe for God to harvest glory. It is not just your time, it is your turn.

 

MANIFEST!

Merry Christmas

Yours truly,
Ibeh Uche Sam

© Transforming Words Series

IT’S ALL ABOUT GOD’S GLORY (A PRELUDE)

“When Solomon had finished praying, the fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the house. The priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house. And when all the people of Israel saw how the fire came down and the glory of the Lord upon the house, they bowed with their faces upon the pavement and worshiped and praised the Lord, saying, For He is good, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever” 2 Chron. 7:1-3 (AMP).

I’ve followed God for quite some time now and one thing I’ve realized about Him is that He places premium on His glory. A good pastor once called him a glory scavenger. He is always looking for where to get glory.

God will only show up in a place where he is sure to get glory from. If a situation will not bring glory to him, God will distance himself from it.

In this season, God will show up in your situation to the end that His glory is manifested in you. This is just a prelude to this all new series that promises to be eye opening. Anticipate.

MANIFEST!

Merry Christmas.

Yours truly,
Ibeh Uche Sam

© Transforming Words Series