In Search of Excellence - David Ferrell

here i am this was uh this was fall of 1985. 1985 how many of you were born before 1985 a few of you here a couple i see some of you none of you were born then first year bible school as you can tell i was more interested in football this was leaf day the first year guys played football against the upperclassmen it was a brutal war but just look at the promise and the potential how many can feel the anointing coming off me man of god right there you look at that i want you to know i still have it i'll drop any one of you right now growing up i was growing up i was a decent student i i wasn't much of an academic in school wasn't really interested in school however i have always liked books i have every bible that is was ever given to me or that i've ever purchased and tonight i brought with me my bible school bible this is my bible school bible uh 1987. it was this was my second year of bible school 85 86 and 86 87. um it still has a picture taped on the inside cover i can show you afterward of my my bible school sweetheart and she's here tonight and i honor my family [Applause] she still makes my heart bitter better fact we're going to drive home tonight i'm going to hold hands with her now you're not allowed to do that yet uh picked her out on day four it's a truth i'm just gonna be honest and real with you tonight she walked by i said yep that's it that's the one right there day four held the door open for and uh the lord spoke to my heart and that there it is i'll tell you something else i have in my bible and it is just uncanny brother tracy that you're in this service tonight and i honor you and your wife on the second page of my abi bible i have some notes taped on the second cover page from brother tracy ministering and i had no idea you were going to be here tonight and i asked brother long i said is your father-in-law going to be here and he said i think and he came to abi it must have been in 86 or 87 and he preached to the student body ministering in the power of the spirit and we had lots of preachers come by abi and priest to us but i didn't tape their notes in my bible so something impacted me from what you said you said you said things like pakistan means holy land you you said seek not the blessings and signs and wonders you said seek the savior not the gifts but the giver and i mean he laid it out he told us in 1986 or 87 it's not your ability but it's your availability he told us the kingdom of god is within you he laid it out and the notes stopped there i don't know if he got done or i got slain out or what i have a i have a few books on my desk that go back um to when i was in grade five i i i'm not much of an academic like i say but i like books i've got some favorites on my desk something for joey i i have the scarlet letter it's a fictional work by nathaniel hawthorne i have where the red fern grows in 1984 my junior of high school our english lit teacher assigned our class to read george orwell's 1984. boy are we ever living in that prophetic hour when i was 17 my dad gave me augmentino's book the greatest salesman in the world when i was in high school i joined the book of the month club and as part of that introductory offer of 12 free books i probably still owe them money i selected a book called in search of excellence in search of excellence this book identified and described what successful companies were doing that less successful companies were not doing why at the age of 16 or 17 i picked that book out it's beyond me i i wasn't much interested in management or leadership but the title of that book has never left my spirit in search of excellence it has always been my conviction that god's people i uh i'm starting to feel something stir in my spirit right now hallelujah it has always been my conviction that god's people ought to exercise political social and spiritual influence in our world as long as it brings glory to god and has an end goal of saving souls it's not about our kingdom and about our deal but it is about me saying lord i'm here use me i give my heart my life and my soul i dedicate myself to you lord bring glory to your name hallelujah and if you can reach a soul then god use me or use your people to let it happen i've always been amazed that joseph had influence with pharaoh i've always been amazed that daniel and the hebrew boys had influence with nebuchadnezzar i have thought what it must be like to influence a world leader to declare that god is the only god he's the mighty god he's the king of kings and the lord of lords hallelujah i've always been in awe that esther could walk into the throne room and and influence the king it is always amazed me the prophets of old were sought out by kings and queens for a word from god i am forever impressed that paul could introduce an unknown god to some of the greatest minds and possibly hold court with caesar himself it seems to me that spirit-filled believers should be those that influence the preaching the worship the policy the attitude it ought to be that we're leading the charge in this untoward this untoward generation i was uh it was testified in the word of the lord that paul and silas turned the world upside down with this gospel i think it should be that young men and women of god much like brother stone king did before the united nations i think there ought to be an anointing there ought to be something that rests on you that god starts right now taking you from a gruffo football player to turn you into a man and a woman of god that can stand in the highest platforms and the largest realms and influence people for the kingdom i believe there ought to be spirit-filled believers in throne rooms courtrooms legislative assemblies classrooms surgical suites in every discipline and trade this isn't wild dreaming there is biblical precedence for what i'm saying proverbs said do you see a man who excels he will stand before kings and i'm hoping i'm hoping by the power of god and the anointing of the spirit to breathe something into you that's going to compel you and excel you to an excellency in your in your life i'm not talking about prestige and power and wealth and i'm not talking about that stuff i'm talking about an excellency in the calling of god that's going to be nurtured in your bible school experience so with that intention with that in mind my intention is to declare over you a spirit or a search for excellency i want to speak god's favor anointing protection and grace over the leadership the faculty the staff and the student body i'm going to speak into our spirits a passion for a search for excellency will durant a historian philosopher borrowed from aristotle and formulated the following thought we are what we repeatedly do excellent then is not an act but it is a habit so the first thing that i want to put in your spirit this evening is a search for excellency in learning the manifest function of college is the lay of foundation develop skills i would like to think that you're going to remember what i say but i know that you're not but i am going to breathe something into you the help of god if i have to keep you here all night i'm going to breathe something in you uh passion you go to college and yes you learn some things but what you really learn in college is you learn how to learn that certificate tells the world you've developed skills for learning not necessarily what you've learned but it tells the world you've learned discipline and habits and vision and goal and social skills and that you've got a no-quit attitude i don't want any quitters i want young people that have a vision and a search for knowledge that is hungry and they say come come come whatever come what may i started on this journey i'm going to see it through i'm going to have something developed i'm going to have a an excellency for learning in my heart it's going to require late nights it's going to require isolation it's going to require an attitude that says i i cannot others may but i got to go to the room i got to find a place to pray i got to go to the prayer room i got to go to the chapel yeah i'd like to go to tim hortons but i got homework to do my daughter she's here tonight she's earned and has accomplished some things academically it sort of irritates her when people say you're so smart to which she says i'm not smart i just worked hard i put the time in and while others are sleeping and sleeping in or they're out running around she was sitting in a brown chair at 5 00 a.m and later after working all day pounding out papers at 2 am people say to my wife oh it just it's just so natural for you to play the piano she wasn't born that way it started at the age of five with notes then scales and then chords and teachers wrapping her knuckles with rulers it involved being told you're wrong and that's wrong to do that in 2021 because everybody's always right no sometimes you're wrong you got to deal with it i'm not mad really i'm not excellency and learning excellency is learning is picking yourself up after falling short taking responsibility i have had some of the most dreadful professors in my life one professor walked in and sat down and read his lecture notes monotone for three hours not two hours and 59 minutes i'm talking 180 minutes i was slapping my face and biting my tongue pinching my fingers i'm going to stay awake but something got in my spirit i said i said everybody can't stand this professor but i'm going to get an a in his class and i worked and i sat there and my eyeballs would go cross and i would stare into the wall and the wall would go real deep but i and i worked and and at the end of it he gave me an a minus and i went and sat down and said what did i do wrong he said nothing your work was beyond exceptional i just don't give a's once one professor came in and sat down and he said i'm not going to say anything all semester and we came together and he gave the books and and the syllabus and he sat behind his desk for three hours all semester never said a word and he just sat there and and we just had to turn around start talking about what we were reading and and i i said and i was pastoring and trying to raise a family and trying to be a husband and a father and and work and do the things of god and drive over there and him stare at me like and and we had to do our own thing and i said but god i am going to get an a in this class and i did i don't even know how or why or what i did but i got an a one professor walked over and walked in the classroom and went over and he hugged the wall and while he was hugging the wall he looked at us and said is this wall really here he said oh god oh god i'm going to tell you get something in your spirit get something in your heart i'm declaring an excellency a search for excellency in learning i declare that we have prepared instructors instructors who bring into that classroom a commanding presence an anointing of god a holy ghost and feeling of the power of god walk into that classroom i got my notes i got my knowledge and now i'm going to empower it into these kids and then i declare over these students a curiosity i declare engaged students students are curious and study and do your homework and show up to class and pass your tests get hungry for god's word god's ways god's methods brother mangan was preaching years ago and he said right in the middle of his message god don't anoint empty heads i'm declaring over you an excellency in learning you got me all wound up sister pharaoh said to me she said so are you just going to get up there and give a speech are you going to preach i declare over you students as you begin this new year that you experience the presence this this starts your spiritual emphasis week i declare you experience the presence of god that you meet every new challenge with an open heart and an open mind and you develop lifelong friendships right out of the blue last night i got a text from brother ron patrick in arkansas he was our class president lifelong friends he just texted me out of the blue and said hey i just want you to know pharaoh i was thinking about you and hope you're doing all right my class president from from from 1985 and he's still a friend of mine and still thinking about me and still praying for me i declare over you guys and you ladies get ahold of this get a hold of this and build friendships and relationships about whatever you do desire and excellency search for an excellency in learning amen the second second point i want to make is a search for personal excellency the hebrew boy's purpose that they would not defile themselves abel offered a more proper sacrifice joseph fled from sin abraham drove the birds off the sacrifice i'm telling you i declare over you this year and next year and however long god keeps you here i declare over you that you guard your heart and guard your mind and keep yourself before the lord the popular culture says follow your heart the word of god says guard your heart get a get a search in you for an excellency to card the things that god placed in you the israelites believed the heart was the center of the whole person that's why solomon counseled in proverbs and said son attend to the words incline thine ear let them not depart keep them in thine heart they are life to thee guard them with all all diligence your heart will be assaulted this year i can assure you we you us they them all of us are human you will stumble i was getting ready to go off to bible college and brother james k stewart was a superintendent ohio at the time and uh he pulled me into his vehicle campground and he sat down and said look todd he said you're about to go off to abi he said not everybody there is going to be he was right he was he was right he was right oh man man alive it was it was it was something he laid it all out you know and he laid out there your heart's going to be assault you'll stumble you're going to lose your cool uh we we had a hockey player there one year and uh and kind of a another guy that wasn't a hockey player he he got mad and and went and shoved a an orange in the face of the hockey player and the anointing of the lord came on me and i tackled the hockey player and prayed a spirit of peace and calm over over him you're going to fight with your roommate your neighbor you're going to fight with your girlfriend your boyfriend and the whole school is going to get involved in it it's a wonderful experience it is the most wonderful thing oh you're going to be hungry and tired at abi we went to classes in the morning and then everybody went to work in the afternoon the evening there were no student loans we worked to pay our tuition we got a weekly bill in our mailbox for room and board if you worked in the evenings which i did you didn't get supper so they gave you a bag lunch a bag lunch it had a sandwich and an apple or an orange and a cookie it was awful and it was not nearly enough i was working one night i was so hungry so tired i was fighting with my girlfriend that god showed me was going to be my wife i vacuumed floors four hours and uh and i was hungry and the cookie was not enough i was 19. i was working and uh no money and there it stood all lit up the candy machine there were m ms and chips and crackers i shook that machine and i called on god to let something fall nothing god had forsaken me talking about a search for personal excellency before god but a search for excellency before each other grace mercy compassion with your fellow students given the benefit of the doubt titus said show yourself a pattern of good works timothy paul wrote to timothy but be an example in your speech and in your conduct and love and faith in purity uh titus wrote devote yourself to good things uh peter wrote be be an example to others as you excel in faith and speech and knowledge in your love the word of the lord said excel in grace be gracious i speak a spirit of graciousness over you i don't declare these things because i had them or even had them mastered i'm declaring from the wellspring of my mistakes and shortcomings philippians says and this i pray you that your love may abound yet more in knowledge and in judgment that you may approve things that are excellent i hope i'm not boring you if i am get used to it because you got three more months of it number three i declare over each of you and a search for an excellency in spirit first and foremost i want to declare over you we had some young people that came to abi that didn't have the holy ghost they just they came i declare over each and every one of you that you get filled with the anointing and the holy ghost i declare over you anointed chapel services anointed classrooms i declare over you anointed prayer meetings in the dorm i declare over you anointed times of fellowship get filled with the spirit of god whatever you do whatever you learn whatever whatever music and or theology or whatever you get in you you make sure that you walk out of that school haven't gotten a hold of the horns of the altar and said god whatever you do fill me fully your spirit fill me fully your power fill me fully your anointing fill me full of your your holy ghost god i want to be a tongue talker from the top of my head to the soul of my foot i want to have the spirit of god saturating every part of me i declare that over every student over every staff member every instructor i wouldn't leave here tonight i know you want to get back to the dorm and get them connecting with your friends and run the room and see who's got what and see who's got some food and steal stuff and all that stuff i know you want to get back there and try on each other's clothes and all that i wanna but i'm telling you i wouldn't leave this i wouldn't leave this service i wouldn't walk out that door they're in the hamburger in the world that's greater than making sure i'm leaving here tonight filled with the power and the anointing of god as i start my [Applause] in fact why don't you do it right now why don't you reach over and lay hands on your fellow classmates why don't you lay hands on one another oh god whatever you do in this service fill me full lord of the anointing of the spirit of almighty god hallelujah lord let your glory fall bless your anointing fall give me an excellency in spirit god i search for you lord i'm hungry for you god i'm hungry for an help pouring lord that your anointing fall as your anointing fall that's your anointing fall let the power of god fall on my heart jesus praise god hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah at the end of the day what's going to make the difference is not what you know but what's going to make the difference is that you have the anointing i'm talking about yoke breaking power breaking spirit breaking power of god in your life it's not going to be it's not going to be the sermonizing it's going to be like brother tracy said to us thus saith the word of the lord less preaching and then less sermonizing and more the preaching of the anointed word god that spirit of god that flows out of you i'm talking about some pulpit pounding oh praise god brother vincent walked into our pulpit there convention and and there was just a shekinah glory he hit that pulpit and the power of god fell and we had six people or seven people receive the baptism of the holy ghost sunday night it wasn't that he didn't preach he brought a spirit and a power that only comes from crawling into the prayer room and getting a hold of god saying touch me this spiritual weak i don't know what's going to start in you but i'm praying tonight i'm declaring over you an excellency a search for an excellency of god's anointing whoa i feel like a wild man here tonight praise god oh lord pour out your spirit on our school pour out your spirit on these students pour out your spirit in the offices pour out your spirit in the cafeteria how about it be some say you go down and sister mcnair's got that meal i would drive across canada for a meal with sister mcnair i know where she learned to cook because i had some meals there too how about someday you go in there for lunch and they're slopping the peas out on your plate and all of a sudden the anointing of god comes into that cafeteria and you turn around and start praying for somebody or some student is not well and all of a sudden the body just takes on and tackles that in prayer and god heals somebody and works a miracle and lays somebody out in the spirit in the old cafeteria and then and then when you're all done go back and eat you got to eat you got to eat the the the the body the mind can't work if the body don't have fuel so you gotta eat where'd that come from but i'm telling you anyway you get the point brother tracy god bless you for being here this was all here before i knew you brother tracy challenge us to seek the savior seek the savior along with all your learning and along with all your excellency and personal uh personal excellency whatever you do seek the savior seek the savior seek the savior make it a search before i leave the halls of ncc i'm going to go out of here i'm going to have some knowledge and all those things but one thing i'm going to go out of i'm going to go out here in the anointing and in the power and in the spirit of almighty god praise the lord hallelujah before the holy ghost fell on the day of pentecost it was said of daniel that he had an excellent spirit so not only do we need to be anointed with the spirit of god we also need to have an excellent spirit within us the king was that bell though was having a party and brought the vessels from the temple and let's start partying with the vessels of the temple and they did and and a hand appeared and began to etch some things on the wall it was so fearful that the king's accountants changed his thoughts troubled him his the joints and his hips gave way his knees started knocking together and they needed somebody to interpret the dream and and and the king's wife said there is a man in the kingdom that has an excellent spirit i'm going to challenge you and declare over you a search for excellency in the spirit of god but also an excellency in your spirit daniel 6 3 says daniel distinguish himself above the governors and all the others because he had an excellent spirit this anointing or this excellent spirit now i'm going to get very transparent here for the next few minutes and then we're going to close this this this excellent spirit that i'm talking about comes at the cost of brokenness iron sharpens iron brother scott graham preached here a few years ago at the camp meeting about the sand in your shoe the bible talks about thorns in the flesh the things that keep you off balance and you have to lean on the lord talking about the unreasonable rules the unreasonable workload the unreasonable staff the unreasonable peers it's the crushing i shouldn't point at you should i it's the crushing i recently read this on social media your calling is going to crush you if you're called to mend the brokenhearted you're going to wrestle with brokenheartedness if you're called to prophesy you're going to struggle to control your mouth if you're called to lay on hands you'll battle spiritual viruses if you're called to preach and teach the gospel you'll be sifted for wisdom that anoints your message if you are called to empower your self-esteem will be attacked your successes will be hard fought your calling will come with ups and and downs and cups and thorns and siftings that are necessary for your mantle to be authentic and humble and powerful your crushing will not be easy your assignment is not easy your oil is not cheap it's not cheap because you're searching for excellency in your calling i declare a prayer space in ncc that becomes the place where you search for excellency in spirit this is a picture of apostolic bible church in saint paul minnesota the alder space it hasn't changed since i left there over there underneath that exercise a set of steps that go through a door that leaves the back of the platform those steps those steps those steps became my personal prayer space for three years that is where i searched many times for excellency in spirit on those steps through on those steps i prayed through on my bad attitudes my bad spirits on those steps i prayed through my hurts on those steps i prayed through on my discouragements on those steps i prayed through on who and what i should marry you see the word of the lord says in all thy ways acknowledge him first don't don't just jump and go and then expect god okay god i'm over here. no god says acknowledge him first and then he will direct and it was on those it was on those steps over there those steps that became my prayer space my search for excellently took me from that goofy football player the iron began to grind away at my spirit and my attitude but on those steps i formed habits that have sustained me all these years when i have fallen my deepest or my darkest when i have gotten sideways i have returned to my search and sought god to renew a right spirit within me this search for excellency is a search for the spirit of christ to be formed in us it comes through prayer repentance submission dependence release trust and a struggle with your spirit and to surrender to god's spirit a search for excellency in spirit is embodied in what christianity is labeled the lord's prayer our father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not in temptation delivers from evil finds the kingdom the power and the glory forever and ever tonight i am blessed beyond words i'm a well person at the moment i'll talk to you after the service and tell you how things are going but i have been broken and i will continue to be broken i made a comment today and jest and conviction ripped through my heart i had to go and apologize it never it never stops you're human i have had my heart broken i've had my health broken i've had my dreams broken a little while ago a new pastor was moving to our community and they put up on facebook they were so excited they were so excited to come and my wife and i were watching the video on facebook and she looked over me and said they have dreams i've had i've had my dreams broken i've had my mind broken i've been tempted and tried i've been humiliated one guy in a public meeting compared my ministry style to that of jim jones you know jim jones he was a guy who led over 900 people to drink pools and poison kool-aid in a public meeting he compared me to jim jones and while he was ranting against me all i could think of was i can't get people to come to bible study let alone drink poison kool-aid ah i've been financially broken in a church i passed her during my ministry had a board member call me out for not dressing nice his words were that i dressed disgraceful but i was i was poor i didn't have money to buy a suit i didn't have nice suits i was so poor that one time a missionary came by our church and after he left he sent me a brand new pair of shoes in the mail i thought i'd won the lottery but i kept searching for excellency i'm still searching for excellency tonight i'm still pressing to learn and be a better person to be a man of god to be a christian to be a dad a husband a pastor it never ends you might as well develop the habits right now because it never ends you're always searching to be a man after god's own heart the reason i want to give is because i've been in need i want to see you healed because i've been sick why do i want preachers and saints restored because i've fallen short why do i want the battle the embattled refreshed because i have been wounded in war why do i want individuals to succeed is because i have failed why do i work to heal marriage is it because i know the times i should have been a better husband why do i want people to be happy and uplifted why do i want people to laugh it's because i have been sad and low and cried tears there's a lot that goes on behind this smile oh god in this service tonight i declare a search for excellency over our schools an excellent spirit is your money hole it's your 10x it's not formed by the hand clap or the pad on the back it's formed by the iron it's formed by the opposition the pruning in conclusion paul wrote to the church in philippi if anything is excellent or praiseworthy it is searching for whatever is true whatever is noble what is right pure lovely whatever is admirable the reason we search for excellency is because we are ambassadors of christ we are a chosen people a royal priesthood a holy nation we are god's own possession brother lewis's name is on that building over there you're going to walk through those doors you're going to walk through those doors and you're going to start your learning journey he didn't start out with his name on buildings he says it's one brick a day well the lewis has shared with me many times how in his first year bible school at upbi 1960 brother calvin prosser preached to him and his students fellow students and challenged them with the phrase what do ye more than others it became a motivating force in brother lewis's life and ministry all through bible school it pushed him toward a search for excellency he has broken attendance records kept his life clean many may not know this but louis has a master's degree in theology he wrote his master's thesis out by hand he had moments of frustration as a pastor when when things weren't going as planned he'd get in his car he would he would put preaching cassettes in his car and while he was driving up and down those roads visiting he was listening to preacher i want to be a better preacher i want to be a better preacher he would read the dictionary and memorize new words to increase his vocabulary he served in leadership roles he turned he prayed and the stress and pressure at times his body would have a physiological response to the challenge and those pressures and it he he would just pour it out on the altar he would just pour it out in the altar what are you doing brother louis i'm searching for excellency the mission statement for ncc reads northeast christian college exists to enlist and educate students for ministry to perfect edify and unite that ministry for revival world evangelism and discipleship would you stand with me it doesn't matter if god has called you to ncc or if you're here trying to find yourself i'm here trying to find myself whatever reason you're here you're trying to escape jail or whatever i don't know whatever reason you're here walk out of this place tonight pledging to search for excellency you're paying the money you're putting in the time you might as well make it count have fun search for search for mates fall in love fall out of love fall back in love i think sister fair and i broke up five times i but once the dorm got involved we got back together because one night i had five guys in my dorm room you gotta work this out it's gonna be all right you gotta work this out i ran right out and picked up the phone and put the quarter in and called her and let's let's let's get it's god's will as they they've told me it's called let's get back together yes let's get back together i'm so sorry she gave me back the teddy bear and i because i she'd praise sprayed perfume all over it it was beautiful i want you to go to the dorms and laugh and hang out and talk and cry pray for each other but above all else draw some lines guard your heart and form some habits of excellency that your faith and calling will stand as paul wrote in the power of god [Music] so tonight i have declared over you a search for excellency in learning in you as a person and in spirit now i place it in your hands i'm going to get in my vehicle and drive back to perth tomorrow morning i'm just going to hit the office and read my bible head out in the altar get on my face say god anoint me today lead me to a hurting heart lead me to an unsaved soul help me be excellent lord [Music] hallelujah i just want to be excellent for you lord [Music] i just want to be excellent for you amen all right that's it it's in your hands it's in your hands i'm all out of slides so i've got to stop thank you for letting me preach bible school board and staff thank you for letting me be myself and empty my heart how about it well somebody before you go and eat how many of you will come to this alder and begin tonight your search for excellency do i got any parents grandparents pastors preachers that'll come and stand behind these students and put a prayer hedge over them put a prayer hedge over them help them cover them god bless you i love you i'll see you next week in class where you're going to learn about human behavior but tonight start your search for excellency

Channel: Capital Community Church

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Keywords: capital, community, church, fredericton, nb, new, brunswick, canada, upc, upci, united, pentecostal, international, apostolic, sermon, preach, preaching, bible, study, teaching, bible study, ncc, northeast, christian, college, northeast christian college, in, search, of, excellence, in search of excellence, david, ferrell

Id: JcCIlpLh1Ks

Length: 44min 27sec (2667 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 07 2021