SOMEBODY, BEFORE THIS YEAR IS OVER, YOU MUST ENDEAVOR TO MAKE AND LEAVE YOUR MARK ON IT. The Spirit of God has impressed on me to speak to you concerning THE SUBJECT OF EXCELLENCE because, yes, He said to me that now He is calling His people into EXCELLENCE. Before I take you deeper into it, let me define the word ‘excellence’ to you. EXCELLENCE is defined by the dictionary as ‘AN EXTREMELY HIGH QUALITY’. It is the quality of being ‘EXCEPTIONALLY GOOD’, ‘of EXTREME MERIT’, and ‘SUPERIOR TO ALL OTHERS’. Excellence speaks of: BEING IN THE FOREMOST POSITION; TAKING THE LEAD; BEING THE BEST; AND, ENTERING THE FIRST CLASS. It is a word that is ascribed to those who have accomplished such great feats that many others can only dream of achieving.

WHEN SOMEONE IS EXCELLENT, THEY STAND OUT; WHEN SOMETHING IS EXCELLENT, IT STANDS OUT. They do not conform to the rest. Now, listen to me: those who will take over the charge of what must happen on this earth, are those whose lives will be committed to excellence. EXCELLENCE OF ITSELF IS NOT AN ACT, NO, IT IS A HABIT. It is a lifestyle. It proceeds out of those who are committed to SET THE PACE no matter the cost it will demand of them. The Lord our God is an excellent God, and because of that, He is calling for excellence out of His people. Ask of anyone who has been anywhere near the portals of heaven, and they will tell you of the excellence of the King. The whole of heaven is too breathtaking, but even with all of that an experience of the King Himself is on a standard that is without comparison. AH, HOW EXCELLENT IS YOUR NAME, O LORD!

Now, consider this verse from the Bible: “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,” Daniel. 6:3. There are several things from the life of Daniel of which if you can learn them at this time, you will be separated from the rest of the pack. FIRST, YOU MUST KNOW HOW TO DEMONSTRATE AN ABILITY TO STAND OUT. The Word says of Daniel that HE, ‘SOON SHOWED’. When you are seeking excellence, you will not be waiting for everyone else to ‘rise up and do something’ before you also act; no, you will be the first one in taking the required action. You cannot be waiting for next year so that you can start to manifest greatness out of your life. You will be too late for your destiny! No, you must act now. DETERMINE TODAY TO ‘BE SWIFT’ IN YOUR FORWARD MOVEMENT.

Secondly, the Bible says that DANIEL ‘SHOWED’. I will ask you a question beloved: what are you showing to your fellow men? HOW ARE YOU DISTINGUISHING YOURSELF FROM THOSE WHO ARE AROUND YOU? Are you simply sitting relaxed and waiting for things to work out, or are you rising to work them out yourself? YOUR WORK MUST BE ABLE TO SPEAK FOR YOU. Tell me, after you have done something, what do the people who come afterwards says concerning you? Is there anything that stands out from your work? Or do you only do things in a sloppy way, and only on the minimum of what is required of you? FOR YOU TO GO UP IN THIS SEASON, YOUR WORK MUST STAND OUT.

After everyone else has done the same task, yours must be counted as golden and of greater merit. Stand out from the pack. LIKE IT IS TO EVERY GOOD THING, THERE IS A COST TO EXCELLENCE – AND THAT COST IS GOING THE EXTRA MILE.

EXCELLENCE IS ACHIEVED FROM A MIND THAT IS SET TO SUPERSEDE WHAT IS REQUIRED. If you want God to lift you up, you cannot be a mediocre child. There are already too many ‘mediocre’ people in today’s society, satisfied with the bare minimum of the set standards; and THE TRUTH IS: THEY ARE GOING NOWHERE.

So, the question to you is: WHAT MAKES YOU STAND OUT? WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP? HOW MUCH OF GOD’S TRUTH ARE YOU COMMITTED TO LIVING OUT? Third, there are many people on the earth, but God is only drawn to those who will do that which is impressive in His sight. YES, GOD IS WATCHING AND GRADING ALL OF US – YOU INCLUDED. Some people have such POOR GRADES before God that there is NOTHING He can use them for. When you begin to show yourself a workman who is well learned and prepared, full of faith and good works, committed to excellence, God will not hesitate to pick you and begin to use you, but until then, you will have to wait. This is why there is something called, ‘Divine Preparation’. God does not work with those who are satisfied to be mediocre. If God picks average, and ordinary, as He often does, He will have to change it into extraordinary, and if it proves impossible, then that one goes back to the shelf.

The Word says ‘DANIEL WAS BETTER THAN THE OTHER GOVERNORS’. Remember, that there are many people who are lining up to be noticed. Therefore, FOR YOU TO BE SEEN, YOU MUST DETERMINE TO DO THINGS ON THE NEXT LEVEL. When everyone else is contented with level 5, you must focus on level 10. When they arrive at 10, you must go to 20. You must keep on working to be better; not better than others, but better than your previous self; better than you were yesterday, better than you were last week, and last year.

This is how you will stand out from the pack. Seek to do better than anyone who has ever done the task that is presently assigned to you. Break every record in your family, organization, church, city, and nation. THEN YOU WILL BE SPOTTED. When David acquired excellence, God spotted him and anointed him. Soon after a man spotted him and recommended him to Saul as his ‘harp-player’. Then he went to battle and everyone else spotted him, and before long the man became King. How now? He had excelled them all, doing better than everyone else. This is how he rose to the top.

STAND OUT. Now this is a risk, because no one else is be doing what you are doing. If they are doing it, it should not be with the level of skill you are applying to do it. WHEN YOU ARE ON A JOURNEY TO THE TOP, YOU CANNOT HANG OUT WITH THE BANDWAGON. When others are doing ‘illegal’ things because they know they can get away with it, determine to do it right, even if it will cost you being branded a traitor and the like. People like to be supported in their errors, so if you will choose to stand out you better get ready to be castigated. IT IS THE COST OF BEING DIFFERENT. That is what happened to Daniel. They hated him because he was not corrupt. Do what is required of you to the best possible standards. The Word says that DANIEL WAS ‘SO OUTSTANDING’. That means that he was of such an excellent spirit that you could not ignore him even if you wanted. NOW, THE POWER OF BEING NOTICED IS FOUND IN THIS: PERFECTING WHAT YOU DO BEYOND EVERY CONCEIVED EXPECTATION. Let your work speak on your behalf.

The Word of God says of Daniel that WHEN HE STOOD OUT UNDER THE SPIRIT OF EXCELLENCE, THE KING TOOK NOTE OF HIM. Many of us, there is no one who has ever been bothered with us because we have never set out to do anything note-worthy. No, yelling out to the king does not help. EXCELLENCE DISTINGUISHES. WHEN YOU RAISE THE BAR, YOU BECOME A STAR; WHEN YOU LOWER IT, YOU ARE TREATED LIKE A SCAR.

Some of us even pray very hard to be elevated, but when God looks upon us to now do it, He sees NOTHING TO QUALIFY US for the same. We are not faithful in our service to Him, not faithful in our giving; not faithful in obeying His Word or following divine instructions or anything else that is required; we go to church late and leave early, and do God’s work half-heartedly, yet we expect to be elevated. There will be a very long wait for such a person before the elevation arrives. Daniel was able to capture the attention of the King because of the excellence that was found in him. My question to you is: WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO CAPTURE THE ATTENTION OF GOD [AND YES, MEN]? Why God? Because, if you can stand out in the eyes of God, you will automatically be excellent in the eyes of men; for His standards are way much higher than those of the men that you see.

Of course, Daniel was elevated by the King to being in-charge of the entire empire BECAUSE THERE WAS NO ONE ELSE WHO WAS LIKE HIM IN THE ENTIRE OF BABYLON. He alone was best fitting for the task. Now, my question to you is: AS YOU REALLY DESIRE ELEVATION, HAVE YOU SUPERSEDED THE LEVELS OF THOSE WHO ARE AROUND YOU? Have you really distinguished yourself? Or are you at the same level, or even worse, below them? How would you rate your work? How is your prayer life-like? How do you relate to those who are below you, or above you? If you are seeking for promotion in this season, you will have to cultivate the habit of excellence in your life. You cannot be a complainer and a gossip, like the rest. AN EXCELLENT PERSON IS ALWAYS READY TO DO WHAT JESUS TAUGHT US TO DO: GO THE EXTRA MILE. To somebody who is ready to follow in the direction of these words: I want to let you know that you will enter a season in which you will shine more than you could have ever imagined.

If you are reading this and saying, ‘IT IS TIME TO UP MY GAME’, then I wish to make this simple but powerful prayer over you:

MAY THE SPIRIT OF EXCELLENCE FALL UPON YOU AND MAY YOU BE DISTINGUISHED IN THIS YEAR MORE THAN ALL THE PREVIOUS YEARS OF YOUR LIFE; AH, ACTIVATE YOUR FAITH AND RECEIVE THIS POWER IN YOUR LIFE TODAY, IN JESUS NAME!

Blessings!
~ Apostle Paul A Williams

Apostle Paul A Williams
Apostolic Revival Church International, Nairobi