Daniel 6:3, “Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.”
I don't just want to be an average Christian, I want to dare to be a Daniel,
having AN EXCELLENT SPIRIT! I like Daniel's attitude of excellence, going
above and beyond, going the second mile for the Lord. Pastor Jack Hyles
always taught us preachers boys that it is a sin to be average (mediocre),
if God has given to us the ability to do and to be more. Daniel had an
excellent spirit and I love that! I decided years ago that I also want an
excellent spirit.
You know, I can tell a lot about a person by the way
they use a broom to sweep. When I see a young woman diligently sweeping the
ground with a broom, I know she is a hard worker. She's a woman after my own
heart, because if you ever were to watch me use a broom, I am an aggressive
sweeper too. I get all the corners, and I put some elbow grease into my
sweeps! I like to get the job done! Work first, play later! That is an
excellent spirit.
And might I add, when I see a young woman dressed modestly, it also tells me
a lot about her, that she has honor and virtue. What a beautiful thing it is
to see a woman modestly dressed in culottes, skorts or a long dress. I find
modesty so attractive! Any decent, godly and noble man would appreciate the
virtues of a modestly-clothed woman. Any man who doesn't is not a good man.
A Christian woman who dresses modestly has an excellent spirit.
When someone deliberately hurts someone else's feelings, that is cruel and mean, and far from having an excellent spirit. Jesus got His feelings hurt all the time. Like when He healed ten lepers, but only one thanked Him. Like when He arrived at Lazarus' grave, and heard people doubting Him, and Jesus cried. John 11:35, “Jesus wept.” When you give love to someone, but they hurt you, then you know exactly how the dear Savior felt. I know how the Lord felt. People can be so cruel and insensitive with the feelings of others. Love is a precious gift from God, that ought not be trampled upon. I just give my hurt feelings to Jesus, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities...” (Hebrews 4:15a).
When I frequently go walking at sunsets and sunrises, I often see garbage that other people have carelessly tossed on the ground in the park. That tells me a lot about such people, that they are selfish, expecting someone else to clean up after them, and that they cannot be trusted because of a lack of good character. I went walking behind Chamorro Village last night and saw dozens of booze bottles and cartons dumped onto the ground. If there is a garbage pail nearby, I pick up other people's garbage and put it where it belongs. That is an excellent spirit. It doesn't matter who put the garbage there, it is my island too, and God's planet, and I want to keep it clean. 1st Corinthians 10:26, “For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof.”
I have been doing something for several years now, that I like doing; every time I go shopping at a store, I grab a shopping cart or two from the parking lot, to bring with me into the store, since I am going that direction anyway! It makes sense to me, because I CARE! People are so selfish nowadays, leaving their shopping cart for someone else to return to the store. Hey, if I brought the cart out, then I have a responsibility to return it! That is an excellent spirit. If everyone simply cared about others, think how wonderful our society could be? I could merely logic that it is the store's cart, so let them come get it. I could also logic that I am the customer, so they ought to come get my cart. What saith the Scripture? Philippians 2:3-5, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” May I say—TO HAVE A SERVANT'S HEART IS AN EXCELLENT SPIRIT!!! Matthew 23:11, “But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.”
Jesus had an excellent spirit. Even though the Lord knew Judas was a liar, thief and about to betray Him, Jesus called Judas “FRIEND.” That is love! Matthew 26:50, “And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.” I want to exemplify my dear Savior's excellent spirit! It doesn't matter who put the garbage on the ground, I want to pick it up for Jesus. It doesn't matter who left their shopping cart in the parking lot, I want to return it for Jesus. It doesn't matter who made it wrong, I want to make it right for Jesus. If other's hate me, I am going to love them with God's unconditional love—the very same love that sent Christ to the cross to die for the sins of all mankind—the very same love that compelled Jesus to heal ten leper's, knowing that only one would be grateful—the very same love of God that Stephen expressed, when he asked God to forgive the unbelievers who were stoning him to death. God is love, and they who know and walk with God love everyone!
Since I began my website ministry in 2002, I have never received a single penny for my earnest labors for Christ. I could make all kinds of money. I have had countless people offer me donations, but I always kindly decline their kindness. One dear pastor even sent me a check for $200, which I didn't cash and humbly returned to him with a friendly letter of gratitude. I want the world to know that I am not doing this for the money. Biblically, there is nothing wrong with a man of God living off the Gospel, but I won't do it. 1st Corinthians 9:14, “Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.” The Lord graciously takes care of me with my disability for my neck injury, so I don't need anyone's money, nor do I want it, but I am thankful to those who offer. God bless you! It is an excellent spirit to labor for the Lord, and not desire to receive any money for doing so. We sure need more of that kind of excellent spirit today, because it seems like everybody and their dog wants money! The Lord never intended for Christianity to become a money-making business! Let him that hath ears to hear hear!
Kindly, when I attended the Mission's Conference in 2014 at
the Harvest Baptist Church on Guam, which was held in their Family Living
Center (FLC) building, I was appalled by the filthy condition of their men's
room. It wreaked! I kindly went and asked a custodian if I could help out,
and he gave me permission to go into their janitorial supply closet, so I
did. I took some cleaning supplies and a mop and wiped everything down,
mopped the floor, and made it all smell and look clean. Why did I do that? I
did that because first impressions are lasting impressions, and I really
wanted to make the church look good. I did it because, as Pastor Jack Hyles
taught us: “The most important job is the one that doesn't get done!”
Boy, that's a great statement!!! I simply cleaned the men's restroom because
it needed to be done, and I saw a perfect opportunity to be A SERVANT! That
is an excellent spirit.
Having An Excellent Spirit of Love and Forgiveness Toward All Humanity
And
may I say, lovingly, a believer with an excellent spirit gives OTHERS a
second chance. The ungodly attitude that says “once feelings are hurt and
people are offended, it's over” (a pulpit quote verbatim from the former
pastor of Harvest Baptist Church on Guam in 2014) is of the Devil. That is
as wicked as Hell. Even the world forgives one another. The drummer for
AC/DC, Phil Rudd, tried to hire an assassin in 2014 to murder his record
producer, when his solo drum album flopped horribly. The band justly
distanced themselves from him for awhile in 2014, but then
they
purportedly took him back in 2018! Isn't that something? I've been
trying to return to Harvest Baptist Church since 2017, but they won't take
me back, but AC/DC took Phil Rudd back! Isn't that terrible? I mean, the
infamous band who popularized the song, “HIGHWAY
TO HELL,” loves their own more than the local church does their own. Go
figure! Brother Hyles was so right: “The Christian army is the only army in
the world that kills its wounded!”
- THE SECOND MILE CHRISTIAN | MP3 (awesome sermon by Brother David Gibbs Jr.)
- Please Listen To This Beautiful Story: The Type Of Christianity That Is Rarely Seen Anymore
I love doing things for others. I was in a Payless grocery store one day, and a homeless man stood behind me in the checkout line with a Coke and bag of Doritos. The woman working the register recognized him and said: “No, get out!” I reached in my wallet and pulled out $20 and handed it to him. She said to me: “Are you sure?” I smiled and said I was sure, and I wanted to buy him those things; and now he had his own money to pay for them! I saw a sincere homeless man who was hungry, and I felt compassion on him, as the Lord would. Proverbs 19:17, “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.” Granted, begging for money has definitely become a big racket across America, so I am not a fool who goes around giving away what little money I have. Giving money to beggars enables them not to better themselves, so we need to use wisdom. I always think in my heart—“This person has a mother and father who beget them, and this person was made in the image of God (just like me), and Jesus died for their sins (just like mine), and that could be me begging on the street corner!” Albeit, we need to use good judgment when deciding who to give money to. Charity starts at home!
Ultimately, it is God's money, because the moment we got saved we became God's property. 1st Corinthians 6:20, “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.” It cheers my heart to know that GOD OWNS ME! That makes me feel loved. When you get married, your spouse has control over your body, and they have a right to claim you (1st Corinthians 7:3-4). I love that! I so much want to be claimed by a wife, but first I have to find her, with God's prayerful help. Your soul belongs to God alone. 1st Corinthians 7:3, “The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.” Marriage is a beautiful gift from God! By the way, the reason why I always wear my colorful ukulele strap is because it reminds me that I am special to God, like Joseph's coat of many colors from his father. You are special to God too dear reader. There is a place in God's heavenly choir that only you can fill. God needs your love and praise, and if you don't reciprocate His love for you, no one else in the world can fill that spot. When God made you, He broke the mold.
Our God notices little things. I notice little things. I am always keeping an eye out for what is going on around me. Our great omnipotent God even knows how many hairs are on our head. I think that is a beautiful thing that God said in the Bible. Jesus wanted us to know that God notices even the smallest, most seemingly insignificant things. And may I say, kindly, if I pick up garbage on the ground in local parks, why wouldn't I expose the garbage theology at Harvest Baptist Church (who promote counterfeit Bible versions, multiple plans of salvation, and devil-dog preachers like Ravi Zacharias, Martin Luther and John MacArthur)? Garbage is garbage! A young religious woman in my neighbourhood that attends church, drives her car with a boy her age inside. She'll be pregnant one of these days. They aren't married, so they ought not be riding alone together. That's the amorality in today's apostate Baptist churches. Who cares, right? I oftentimes wonder if anybody cares about anything anymore in the churches! GOD CARES!!! To abstain from all appearance of evil is an excellent spirit. 1st Thessalonians 5:22, “Abstain from all appearance of evil.”
And may I say, kindly, that to be King James Bible ONLY is an excellent spirit. There is something VERY wrong with today's pastors, churches and Bible colleges, who are okay with a dozen different Bible “versions”! It is ludicrous!!! There is nothing “excellent” about the spirit of a man, who embraces the false idea that God's inspired Words have been preserved in 900 different English Bible versions! Common sense ought to tell any sane person that there is ONE GOD, Who authored ONE SACRED BOOK! The Devil is the author of confusion, not God (1st Corinthians 14:33).
We ought to have an excellent spirit toward OTHER believers. So many churches today are structured like private country clubs, and occult organizations, where you have to be liked and voted-in to be a part of their social club. That is as wicked as Hell. I'll never forget when the former pastor of Harvest Baptist Church went to baptize a woman on a particular Sunday morning. At Harvest they make a short video of the person's profession of faith, to show the church on large overheard projection screens, before the person is baptized. This woman said to hundreds of people watching: “I'm not just a member, I am voted-in member!” The senior pastor replied: “You make this sound like a Secret Society!” I wanted to stand up and shout: “And whose fault is that?”
There is nothing in the inspired Word of God about having to be “VOTED” into a local church to become a member. Acts 2:41 and 47, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. ...Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” Do you see? In the Bible, if you got saved (i.e., born-again) you were automatically ADDED to the church. That is how you get saved, by gladly receiving the Gospel by faith. Galatians 3:2, “This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”
When
I saw the disturbing photo to the right of this poor creature made by God,
it reminded me of the
spiritual condition of most churches today, who lack the joy of the Lord
that comes only from having a Spirit-filled, soulwinning, people-loving,
forgiving, second and third chance-giving, legitimate New Testament church!
Everybody is afraid today of everything. 2nd
Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power,
and of love, and of a sound mind.” The Bible says that 1st John 4:18,
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out
fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made
perfect in love.” These truly are perilous times. Having an excellent
spirit means to prioritize our love for God and our neighbour (all humanity)
more than our fears and selfish feelings. That aforementioned pastor was Oh
so wrong, when he said: “Once feelings are hurt and people are offended,
it's over!” That is the Devil talking. GET THEE BEHIND ME SATAN!!! Just like
that poor dog needs to be loved and nourished back to good health, so also
do our Baptist churches across America NEED REVIVAL!!!
How tragic it is that a very member of God's heavenly family, would be turned away and rejected by a so-called local “church,” refused membership unless the pompous snobs in their private social club grant you permission, to have the privilege of being “voted in.” Heck, they won't even let me attend church services at Harvest. I am thankful that God is not a respecter of persons. James 2:1, “My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.” I love what Pastor Jack Hyles used to often say: “We don't have any bigshots around here at First Baptist Church of Hammond, we've just got a bunch of little shots!” Amen and amen! That is an excellent spirit!!!
Also, it is an excellent spirit to expose the abundance of corrupt gospels which have entered into the churches today. Satan is no longer creeping into the churches, he has full-blown taken them over!!! I cannot think of anything more exemplary of an excellent spirit than to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 1:3b). There is nothing “excellent” about a shameful ecumenical pastor, who promotes popular ministers that propagate a vast array of doctrines of devils in the name of Christ. Satan uses such horrible pastors to further BLIND “the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2nd Corinthians 4:b). I mean, something is very wrong with a pastor who is okay with the plans of salvation of both Pastor Curtis Hutson and Dr. John MacArthur! Dr. Hutson is 100% correct, but John MacArthur is 100% wrong in the Gospel! Both men cannot be right! Ecumenical ministers are indifferent! It is an excellent spirit to discern THE TRUTH and preach it, as I am doing for the Lord Jesus Christ to honor Him!!!
We need to have an excellent spirit toward forgiving OTHERS who have sinned...
“The dear old
man passed on, and I watched him turning the corner out of sight
forever. I never saw him again. But when I reach the gloryland, I will
find out that dear old man, and while angels shout and applaud, and the
multitudes who have been brought to Christ through the gypsy boy sing
for joy, I will thank that grand old saint for his shake of the hand and
for his 'God bless you!' For he made me feel that somebody outside the
tent really cared for a gypsy boy's soul. His kindness did me more good
than a thousand sermons would have done just then. It was an inspiration
that has never left me, and has done more for me than I can describe.
Many a young convert has been lost to the Church of God, who would have
been preserved and kept for it, and made useful in it, all for the want
of some such kindness as that which fell to my lot that day.” —
My friend, just FIVE
MINUTES OF PRAISE
will do more for a person than a LIFETIME OF CRITICISM!!! Gypsy Smith went
on to become one of history's most prominent preachers of the Gospel. One
elderly Christian man's three words: “GOD BLESS YOU!,” did more to inspire
Gypsy to live for God than 1,000 SERMONS! Please don't miss that!!!
Proverbs 25:11, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of
silver.” 
