- JESUS
Jesus is the reason, motive, and motivation behind everything we do to/for God or men –
Col 3:23 – And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,
Eph 6:5 – 7 – Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; 6 not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men,
- SERVICE
Service out of love and rest. We do not serve to please God nor man, neither do we serve, give and worship to get anything from God, all we do in service to Him is in response/demonstration of our appreciation [in faith] to Him for all He has done for us in Christ Jesus
- Ro 12:11 – not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
- 1Jo 4:19 – We love Him because He first loved us.
- Col 3:17 – And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
- Lu 6:35 – “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.
- Heb 4:10 – 11 – For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.
We can be productive and effective on the outside because we have God’s peace and rest on the inside. Serving out of love and rest is not inactivity, but Spirit-directed activity. – Heb 4:11
- LOVE
We love people as Christ has loved us. We love and value every person because we believe each of us matters to the Lord. –
We do not treat people base on their sex, tribe, what they wear, what they drive, where they work, age etc.We treat each other and all men with love, respect, dignity and integrity
- Eph 5:2 – And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
- Joh 13:34 -“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. [no condition]
- 2Co 5:16 – Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.
- Ga 5:6 – For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love
- Ga 3:28 – There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
- 1Co 12:13 – For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free–and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.
- Jas 2:1 – 6 – My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes,3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,”4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts?
- HONOR
For their work’s sake, we esteem our Pastors and leaders very highly in love. We obey, honor and submit to them as unto the Lord
1Th 5:12 – 13 – And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.
Heb 13:7 – Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.
Heb 13:17 – Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
- EXCELLENCE
We believe we have the mind and Spirit of Christ therefore all we do is done in decency and in order
1Co 14:40 – Let all things be done decently and in order.
- Edification
When we gather, all things are do unto edification. All we do at all times must always Glorify God and Edify the church (the believer)
Its key to know why we gather.
1Co 14:17- For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified.
1 Corinthians 14:26 KJV – [26] How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.
Edify means to:
- Build up,
- Strengthen and
- Make effective.
Ephesians 4:12 KJV – [12] For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
- The primary reason we gather is to be edified
- In this the sick are healed, needs are met, the unsaved receive salvation (as in 1 Cor 14:24-25)
- The believer is improved upon in his walk- unto MATURITY
- Stewardship
We are stewards of all that we possess. We are care takers of God’s earth and all that is in it.
We daily seek to be faithful stewards of all of God’s resources
1Co 4:1 – Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.
1Pe 4:10 – As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
1Co 4:2 – Moreover it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful
- FAITH
We believe we are saved by grace through faith; this faith gives us access into God’s grace. We are not without faith; we have the faith of Jesus and the live we live in the flesh we live by the faith of Jesus – the son of God. We walk by faith and not by sight
Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
Ro 5:2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Ga 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
2Co 5:7 – For we walk by faith, not by sight.
