Think about your home. Does your home when you look around the grounds and look around, when someone stands outside your home do they see excellence? Not seeing rich, we're talking excellence, that things are kept tidy and sharp. Actually what you do, you present yourself well. It's almost certain that in those little things you will reveal certain aspects of your character, so are you known as someone that's chosen I'll never do anything half-hearted. Whatever I do I always do it well. That's a pathway to promotion and if people know that it's a pathway to promotion, how much more does God know it's the way for you to go forward in your destiny? I want to share with you a couple of examples from the Bible. We won't look them up but you do know them quite well.
In Revelations 3:14-16, there was a church in Laodicea and it was rejected or it lost its destiny. And Jesus Himself spoke why it lost its destiny; He said because of half-heartedness and lukewarmness. Lukewarmness costs you your destiny. That's why if you're a lukewarm Christian you're probably the most miserable of all people, because you haven't enough world to help you keep happy. You're sort of saying no to that most of the time, and you haven't got enough of God to actually inspire you and motivate and energise you, so you're in this energy-less place - whereas I know if I give my very best to God in worship, best to God in prayer; I give Him the best I find He gives also His best to me. See, that's why - for me to get up early and to come to be here today, whether I was preaching or not I still want to be in the presence of God. I can't stand the thought of three Sundays and missing what we have here. It's just a mentality you begin to develop.
My father-in-law told me, he said never be involved in anything that's mediocre, and I'm involved in something that's not mediocre. It's called the kingdom of God. It's an excellent kingdom - so you notice here the church in Laodicea, He says because you're half-hearted I'll spit you out, so even God doesn't like mediocrity. In Malachi He says half-hearted offerings, I'm not interested in those either. See, there's nothing about half-heartedness that draws God to honour our work, but when we do it well see, when we do it well; when it's done with a full heart and passion - maybe no one sees it but God who watches sees we're making good destiny decisions. Think about it. How could God trust you to be excellent with His work if you can't be excellent with what you already have, see? So let's say no to mediocrity, no to half-heartedness.
See and same in the worship. Half-hearted worship - you know one of the things I've noticed about half-hearted worship? God's presence never comes. So if we're cold and down and miserable and we can't be bothered, you know what happens? God can't be bothered either. His presence doesn't come into the church, and so I have to continually work with the musicians, also with the church, that when you come and the moment we get here we get here right on time. We're ready to start right on time. Why? You wouldn't miss a dentist appointment. You wouldn't miss a doctor's appointment. You wouldn't miss an appointment with your banker. You wouldn't miss these appointments, you'd be there on time - but with God, oh she'll be right. And then we wonder why if we're she'll be right with God, that we don't actually see and enjoy God's favour in our life. You can't treat Him that way, He's a person. And you know yourself if someone always treats you in a half-hearted way, you're not going to respond.