Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one 25

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1 SERMON SERIES (3) GOAL SETTING 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Jeffrey S. Carlson (with material adapted from Rick Warren and used by permission) February 21, 2016 SCRIPTURE 24 Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one 25 receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, 26 but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as 27 though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NRSV). INTRODUCTION The Bible uses an illustration from sports to convey the importance of goal setting. 24 Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it (1 Cor 9:24). In order to do that the runner has had to set a number of personal goals along the way goals regarding training, diet, preparation, and mental focus. The athlete set these goals in order to obtain the final goal of winning the contest. If successful, the athlete would be rewarded with a crown made of vegetation what Paul refers to as a perishable wreath. Paul s point is this: If an athlete sets goals to receive a perishable wreath, how much more the person of faith needs to set goals to receive an imperishable one. So let s talk about the importance of personal goals. Why Set Personal Goals 1. GOAL SETTING IS A SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE. Setting personal goals is a spiritual discipline. It is like prayer, or memorizing Scripture, or meeting with other Christians, or any of the other disciplines from the Daniel Plan we are employing this Lenten season. It is a practice that helps you grow in your faith. It is an act of stewardship where you say, "God, I want to make the most of what I've been 1

2 given." It is an act of worship where you say, God, I give you my life. Use me for your glory. Some Christians think that planning is unspiritual. They say, I ll just trust in God. I ll just go with the flow. But I ve got news for you God is a planning God. God sets goals. "God plans to bring all of history to its goal in Christ. Then Christ will be the head of everything in heaven and on earth!" (Eph.1:10 GW). If God is a planning God then we need to be people who make plans according to God s plans. It has been said that there are four kinds of people in the world. There are people who make things happen. There are people who watch things happen. There are people who have no idea what's happening. Then there's a fourth group who complain and criticize no matter what s happening. That's the worst group of all because they're just sitting around taking pot shots at people who are at least trying to do something with their lives. Life has purpose. History has a goal. There are seasons in life no doubt about that winter, spring, summer and fall ( all you gotta do is call!) We have a lot of seasons in life. But you are moving toward a goal. God is a goal setter and goal setting is a spiritual discipline. 2. GOALS FOCUS MY ENERGY. Setting personal goals focuses my energy. Energy that is not focused is diffused and it doesn't have much power. Energy that is focused has enormous power. Paul models this in 1 Corinthians 9. He says: "I do not run without a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something - not just the air" (9:26). In other words, he s not just out there running around in circles. A lot of people you know are running around in circles. Paul says I'm running toward a goal. I run to win. I don't want you running around in circles. I don't want you just boxing in the air and not hitting anything. Having goals helps you focus. The reason that's important is because you don't have time for everything. Would you agree with that? You don't have time for everything. The good news is God doesn't expect you to do everything because not everything is worth doing in the first place. 2

3 3. GOALS STRETCH MY FAITH. Setting personal goals is a spiritual discipline, it focuses my energy, and it stretches my faith. Godly goals are statements of faith. They affirm your trust in God. When you say, I believe God wants me to accomplish this by this date, that's a statement in faith. Dreams are good, but dreams don't do anything unless you wake up and go to work. There are dreams and then there are resolutions and then there are goals. The best of all is goals. A lot of people have dreams and don't do anything about it. They just keep on dreaming. Then other people set resolutions and there's nothing wrong with resolutions, but you've got to have the other things behind it like a team, accountability, the power of the Lord, and so on. A goal is a dream with a deadline. A goal says by the end of 2016, I'm going to have finished this project, I'm going to weigh this amount; I'm going to have read this number of books; I m going to be involved in this activity or ministry. It's specific, it's measurable. The Bible tells us that God wants us to set goals because it stretches our faith. That's so important because the Bible says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God" (Heb 11:6). 4. GOALS BUILD MY CHARACTER. Goals are a spiritual discipline. Goals focus my energy. Goals stretch my faith. And goals build my character. The power of faith goal setting is not just so you can accomplish a bunch of things. That s great if that happens. I'm happy for you. But I'm more interested in what happens to you and your character along the way. The greatest benefit of setting goals in faith is not that you reach your goal and accomplish what that is. It's what happens to you on the journey. What you become on the journey. Life is a course in character development. God wants you to grow up. Because when you get to heaven, you're not taking any of your accomplishments. You're not taking your awards and your bowling trophies. You re not taking your money or possessions. You're not taking any of that to heaven. But you are taking you. You're taking the character that you've developed here on earth. Paul is honest about this, about growing in character, becoming more and more like 3

4 Christ, maturing and the struggle that it is, that it's not a quick process. Paul says: "I do not claim that I've already succeeded [In other words, reached my goal] or have already become perfect. [That my character is fully developed.] I keep striving toward the goal for which Christ Jesus has won me to himself" (Phil 3:12). 5. GOALS GIVE ME HOPE. And fifthly, setting personal goals gives me hope. You must have hope to cope. You can go without water for a day or so. You can go without food for many days. But you must have hope in your life. It's essential to life. Life has many challenges. This is not heaven on earth. Life is full of losses, illness, and accidents. I don't know what's going to happen in my life. I do know this: there will be problems. I do know there will be pain. We will all lose people that we love. That's life. But what happens is, if you've got goals, goals give you the hope to keep moving forward even in the losses of life. Goals keep you moving forward when you feel like giving up. They're like magnets that draw you forward, that pull you forward. Without a goal you don't have any reason to go on. You don't have any reason to get out of bed in the morning. You need a goal. If you aim at nothing you're going to hit it. Long term goals keep us from being discouraged by short term setbacks. Everybody has setbacks. I have setbacks all the time. But if you have a long term goal, you're looking at that then short term setbacks are easier to overcome. We need personal goals. It's important to realize that not every goal is a good goal. Not every goal is a goal that gets God's blessing. You obviously want God's blessing on your goals, so what kind of goals does God bless. WHAT KIND OF GOALS 1. GODLY GOALS, THE KIND THAT GOD BLESSES, BRING GLORY TO GOD. First of all, goals that bring glory to God. 4

5 Many years ago, scholars in our Presbyterian tradition were trying to figure out how to teach children what it means to glorify God. Their answer is just as suitable for adults. In every situation we are to ask - Am I loving God, giving him the credit he deserves and following his will for my life? Children s Catechism - Qs 1-5. So if your goals promote the love of God, give God the credit, and are consistent with God s will for your life then indeed those goals will glorify God. 2. GODLY GOALS, THE KIND OF GOALS GOD BLESSES ARE MOTIVATED BY LOVE. The second is related to the first. God blesses goals that are motivated by love. God is not going to bless a goal that is motivated by fear, or guilt, or pride, or jealousy or greed. God blesses goals that are motivated by love. The Bible says: "Everything you do must be done with love" (1 Cor 16:14). We must love God. We must also love other people. The Bible says: "No one has ever seen God. But if we love one another, if we love one another God lives in us and his love is made complete in us" (1 Jn 4:12). If you set goals in your life without love then people become projects. You will use them to get to your goal. Then you miss the whole point of it. Because the whole point is learning how to love. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 14:1, "Let love be your highest goal." 3. GODLY GOALS FULFILL ONE OF GOD'S PURPOSES FOR YOUR LIFE. Thirdly, Godly goals fulfill one of God's purposes for your life. In other words, does your goal help you in some way to do one of the following: a. You were planned for God's pleasure, so your purpose is to love God through worship. b. You were shaped for serving, so your purpose is to show love for others through ministry. c. You were made for a mission, so your purpose is to share [the Good News of Jesus Christ] through evangelism. d. You were formed for God's family, so your purpose is to identify with his 5

6 church through fellowship. e. You were created to become like Christ, so your purpose is to grow to maturity through discipleship. 4. GODLY GOALS ARE SET IN FAITH. Fourthly, God blesses goals set in faith. If your goal is too small then it become merely an item on a to-do list. Not that there is anything wrong with a to-do list I use them all the time. Rather a goal is set knowing that at least on some level it cannot be fulfilled without relying upon God. 5. THEY ARE ACHIEVED WITH GOD'S POWER. Which leads us to the fifth kind of goal God blesses those that are achieved by God s power. If everything you do in life you can do in your own power, then you don't need God. We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it (Prov 16:9 MSG). There are close to 100,000 self-help books available on Amazon. Some of them may even be worth reading. But few of them will tell you where to get the power to do what is right. The Bible, on the other hand, does tell us. Godly goals are achieved with God s power. CONCLUSION Goals are important. Let me suggest a new one. I want to challenge you, for the glory of God, to consider what might happen in your life if you would believe that you could be, at the end of this year, spiritually or physically or mentally or relationally healthier than you were ten years ago because you did it God's way, with God's power, and God's people. 6