"The Power of A Goal"
Philippians 3:12-16
Sunday, July 22, 2012

Introduction: (Illustration: “Crucial Decisions,” Illus. Unlimited, p. 153)- On the top of a hill, in a Midwestern state stands a courthouse. The interesting thing about this courthouse, is the way it is situated. It is situated in such a way that when it rains, if the raindrops fall on one side of the roof they travel down to one of the Great Lakes and on into the Atlantic ocean. If the raindrops fall to the other side of the roof, they fall into the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and on into the gulf. Just a slight bit of wind can push the raindrop to one side or the other; the Gulf, or the Atlantic.

            So it is with decisions we make in life! They can push us to follow the will of God, or not. What we believe, and the values that we hold, will determine what decisions we make and the goals we set for our lives. And goals are so important for us to set, because they give us the destination of where we are headed.

            How do we ultimately know what our values and goals are? All we have to do is to look at our calendar; our calendar, what we do in our lives, will help us to see what our goals are. You may want to argue that this is not true, but in the end, you spend your time and your energy on those areas of your life that you feel are most important at this time!

I.                   Roles To Goals-

The following words were written on the tomb of an Anglican Bishop in the Crypts of the Westminster Abbey: (It says) “When I was young and free my imagination had no limits; I dreamed of changing the world. As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not change, so I shortened my sights somewhat, and decided to change only my country. But it too seemed immovable. As I grew into my twilight years, in one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only my family, those closest to me, but alas, they would have none of it. And now as I lie on my deathbed, I suddenly realize: If I had only changed myself first, then by example I would have changed my family. From their inspiration and encouragement, I would then have been able to better my country, and who knows, I may have even changed the world.”

We need to understand that we can only change ourselves, and by changing ourselves, through our life and example, we can impact others. So we must understand what role we play if we are going to set worthy goals. There are two main roles in life: life roles, and ministry roles.

a.      Life roles- Each of us is called to fulfill significant life roles in

relationship to the people who mean the most to us. It is in our life issues that God most often fashions our character. So we need to ask ourselves: what are my most significant life roles? We play many roles, but what are the most significant roles we play? For me it would be disciple, husband, father, and friend. Other possible roles for you could be: grandparent, parent, student, neighbor, spouse, son, daughter, and worshiper.

Now this is not an exhaustive list by any means, but hopefully it gets you going in the right direction. It gets you to think about the roles that are most meaningful to you. So I encourage you to take your outline, and under letter (a) of Roman numeral I, write down 2 or 3 life roles. Remember, that this distinction will help you as we move to developing and living out our goals. Again some possibilities are… disciple, husband, parent, friend, grandparent, student, neighbor, spouse, son, daughter, and worshiper.

b.      Ministry roles- The second role we play in life is a ministry role.

Whether or not you are active in a particular ministry in church is irrelevant, because as a Christian you have a ministry role. Ministry roles describe the functional roles that fit a leader’s calling and enable him or her to make the greatest contribution. And when I speak of a “leader’s calling” I am using the term leader in regards to “anyone who has influence over another.” So when you are determining what your ministry roles are, remember that these are not “positional titles,” but rather a function that you serve for the Lord. So identifying these roles will not only help you pursue the right goals in your life, it will help you say “no” to those roles which detract you from living a focused life for God.

            Before I list the goals, let me say something about the word “NO.” This can be a very good word. And when we know our values, and our purpose, and our goals, then we can know when to say “yes” and when to say “no.” You should learn to say “no” when something doesn’t fit with how God has gifted you, or when saying yes would take you away from something else God is calling you to do. You shouldn’t say no just because you are feeling unmotivated or lazy. You shouldn’t say “no” just because it might not be in your comfort zone. You should seek the Lord in prayer when opportunities arise to see if this is something God is leading you to do!

            So what are your ministry roles? Well, let me share mine with you first, and then give you a list of other possible roles. My ministry roles are: teacher, team leader, encourager, and developer./  Some other possible roles are: evangelist, administrator, small group leader, coach, catalyzer, care-giver, facilitator, problem solver, helper, and writer.

II.                Developing Goals- (Philippians 3:12-16; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

Goal setting can be extremely valuable throughout our lifetime. Goals give us a timeline and a roadmap to help us determine 4 important things:

1.      What do you want in life?

2.      Why do you want it?

3.      When do you want it by?

4.      What do you choose to do in order to achieve it?

Numbers 1 and 2 we will focus on here, & 3 and 4 we will talk about in our third point.

The amazing thing is, that in the United States, less than 95% of all Americans have a written set of goals, which cover these four areas. One reason that so few peoplehave written goals is that they have never really been taught how to set them by putting them down in writing. Another reason, is that they may have set ambitious goals in the past, but have failed to achieve them and have given up.  A goal is to be memorable, achievable, and time oriented. Remember, while reaching the goal has its importance, the most important thing is to enjoy the journey forward.

            The apostle Paul said in Philipians 3:12-14, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to talk hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." 
            a. What do you want in life?- So what do you want in life? This question helps you to determine what is important in life. It helps you to think through what you value. Now the challenge here may be that you might not like the answer you give, in which case you should seek to change yourself (remember we talked about this in point 1), changing yourself so that you can be more in line with God's purpose for your life. Be careful here not to set selfish goals, because they will not bring fulfillment.
            The other part of this, is to set goals for both your life roles and your ministry roles. And my encouragement to you here is to not set more than one or two in each area. For example, as a father I have set a goal to spend time with Tyler and Tiffany each month one-on-one. This is memorable, (it is about spending time with my children), it is achievable, and it is time oriented (it happens at least two days in each month).
            b. Why do you want it?- The second question is why do you want it? This is an important question because it forces you to evaluate the values behind your goals. This question allows you to understand why you want to do the things you are doing. Are these goals that you are setting
intentional ways for you to grow into the calling and purpose God has for your life? OR, are they goals that are selfish and worldly?

Because as I said last week, until we believe fully in Jesus, and believe that God’s call on our lives is important, and live as such, we won’t live fulfilling and purposeful lives. Making sure we are moving forward in godly goals will help us to live out the faith we express in God. Setting forth these godly goals will allow us to impact not only our own life, but the lives of others.

The apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave…” Knowing why we are setting our goals helps us to be self-controlled in our life. Paul knew that his prize was to live a life for God. He knew that like an athlete, he had to train his body to be diligent in seeking to do those things that would help him to attain this goal. He knew that to not have goals would cause him to run aimlessly, or to be like a person who beats the air with no purpose.

      It is easy to go through life without having any self-evaluation. I believe we might even be afraid to take the time to evaluate our lives, our values, our goals. We might not want to know exactly how we are living and why. But the truth is, it is far better to spend this time on ourselves: so that we can live the life God has set for us; so that we can seek the prize God has for us; so that we can fulfill the calling God has for us!

III.             Living Our Goals- (Philippians 3:12-14)

a.      Press on- Another important phrase that the apostle Paul states in

Philippians 3, was that he would press on to take hold of the goal. So what does it mean to press on?            [Example- “Dangerous Waters” Illus. Unlimited, p. 385]

            There is a story of a rich businessman who was hosting a spectacular party in which he filled his swimming pool with sharks, barracuda, and other assorted dangerous fish. It was quite the site! At one point in the party he announced a challenge to all his guests. The challenge was this: anyone who could successfully swim across the pool would receive a prize. The winner would have the choice between a new home in the mountains, a trip around the world for two, or a piece of his business. No sooner had he made the announcement a splash was heard and a man was seen swimming rapidly across the infested waters, successfully making it to the other side! The businessman was quite impressed as he said: “That was a stunning performance. What prize do you want?” The man answered with anger in his voice: “Before I claim my prize I want to know the name of the person who pushed me in!”

            You might feel like you have been pushed into life, and you are just swimming to save your life. Or you may feel like you have a great life. Either way, goals help to direct us to live (or continue to live) in God’s will and by God’s ways.

But the problem with setting goals, and I have to confess that this has happened to me many times as well, is that we set them, but then we don’t follow through. This usually happens because we don’t keep our goals visible enough. Either we don’t write them down, or we write them down and put them in a drawer where we forget about them. OR, we start to live them out, they get too hard, and we stop. We must make sure that we have incentive and help to make sure that we will achieve our goals. We set these goals for a purpose, so let’s find a way to succeed.

b.      Live it out- So if goals are so important, how can we not only set them,

but find a way to live them out?/  This is the million dollar question, isn’t it? Because if we can find a way to live out our goals, then we will be able to make huge strides in living focused, purposeful lives for God, in line with His will for us!!!

            The answer is this: to live out our goals we must get them into our calendar.

Let me say that again: to live out our goals we must get them into our calendar. Now for me, that means actually opening up my day timer and writing my goals into my schedule. So I have a list of my goals in my calendar, and at the beginning of each month I schedule my goals into my calendar. This has been monumental for me in being able to actually live out my goals! So I have a goal to memorize a psalm each month: at the beginning of each month I look at how many verses there on in that psalm and come up with a plan of how much I need to memorize each day. Some days I may have to memorize one full verse. Other verses I may be able to spend two or three days learning it. Because I get it into my schedule, I don’t have to worry about it. Each day I look at the psalm and work through the verse or portion of the verse. It is always before me, and because of this strategy I can then carry it out. I have been doing this now for almost 3 years, and I am currently working on psalm 39!

            Now for those goals that are longer term, say a year, it is good to break those down into monthly goals that will help you to achieve your overall yearly goal. These monthly goals then are the “pressing on” that the apostle Paul is talking about. By having specific goals like this, and having these goals in our calendar, we are able to follow the advice of Hebrews 12:1-2, “…let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus…who for the sake of joy that was set before him endured the cross…”

Even the most difficult goals can be achieved when we look to Jesus, because we know the joy that comes from succeeding in our goals, especially when they come out of the values that God wants us to have.

Conclusion: Since we do not have time to set these goals here in worship, I encourage you to go home today and write out one goal for each role you play. If you don't do it today, you will forget and time will go by, and you will not set the goals you need to set to be growing and living as God would have you to do. And then keep that list of goals with your calendar or the schedule that you keep. and most importantly, make sure that you write them into your schedule so that you will live them out. Make sure they are very visible to you, or you will forget about them! Maybe even tell them to someone else so they can help you stay on track.
             I guarantee you, that once you start living out God valued goals, it will be so exciting for you. You will begin to see great things happen in your life, role, and your ministry role. You will be able to experience the joy of living a focused, purposeful life. You will be blessed as God is doing wonderful things in and through your life. And most importantly, you will experience the power of a goal. Let us "press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." Amen.