Goals that honor God

1. Pursue Goals that Honor God – 2nd
March2017
“Even if I shouldchooseto boast,I wouldnot be a fool,becauseI wouldbe speakingthe truth. But I
refrain,so no one will think more of me thanis warranted by what I do or say…”(2Corinthians12:6).
All of us needgoalstowhichwe aspire.Goalsinour livesare extremelyhelpful,inthattheyendowus
witha sense of directionandpurpose;give usamark at whichto aim;and a level of accomplishmentfor
whichto strive.Verylittle real satisfactioncan be obtainedinlifethroughmere happenstance…Among
others,as a Childof God we have to fulfillthree basicgoals.ThoughI’ve neverformallywrittenthem
down,these goals thatI bearin mind have nonethelessguided me,aswell asmyactions.I can’t saythat
I’ve alwaysgivenequal time toeachgoal;butI’ve beenevercognizantof the necessityandimportance
of eachone.
Thoughwe can’t foresee the future, itshouldnotpreventusfromsettingsome godlygoalsforourlives
that will honorGod each dayin our lives.Whetheryoudoor don’tsetgoalsis yourbusiness.However,I
wantto share withyouthree basicgoals,pertainingtomylife,bywhichIseektohonorGod, each day
to the bestof myability.These GoalsthatI have setfor myself are as follows:
The First Goal that I have set formyself istopreach the gospel of salvation.Whenone sayspreachit
seemsthatone needstobe a preacher…Onthe contrary we don’tneedtobecome qualifiedasPastors.
We needtolearnto “share”the GoodNewsof salvationthatJesusbroughttous. The twelve disciples
were fishermen,one Tax collectorand otherveryordinarypeople.Itisthroughthemthatwe have
learnedtobelieve inChristandthe reasonas to why He came… to save us frometernal damnation!We
are blessedtohave the bible whichisGod’sWord and we also have beengiventhe HolySpirittoassist
us inmany ways. We can learn where Jesussaid fromJohn14:26, “But the Advocate,the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send inmy name, will teach you all thingsand will remindyou of everythingI
have saidto you.” The HolySpiritisthe thirdPersonof the Trinity andundoubtedlythe least
understoodmemberof the Godhead.Christianscaneasilyidentifywith Godthe Father(Jehovahor
Yahweh) andhisSon, JesusChrist.The HolySpirit,however,withoutabodyand a personal name,seems
distantto many,yethe dwellsinside everytrue believerandisa constantcompanioninthe walkof
faith.
Therefore asstatedabove Ihave set forpreaching- sharing- the gospel of salvationasone of my main
prioritiesamongthe three GoalsthatI have setfor myself.AsChristianswe muststeadfastlybearin
mindthat our CallingasChristiansdemandsit. Thiscallingtoshare God’sfree giftof salvation isfrom
the Savior. We can learnfrom Psalm37:39, “The salvationofthe righteouscomes from the LORD; he is
their strongholdintime of trouble.” Therefore we needtoshare thisGodgivenmessage of Salvation
withothers. One maysay “Oh I am notqualifiedtodothat…” We can learnwhere the apostle Paul says
in2 Corinthians3:5, “Notthat we are competent in ourselvesto claimanythingfor ourselves,but our
competence comes from God.” Paul furtherexplainsin Ephesians 3:7, “I became a servant of this
gospel by the gift of God’sgracegiven me through the workingof hispower.” Therefore we needto
share the Good news of salvation withas“many as we can...”
The secondGoal that I have setfor myself istobe a faithful steward.Jesusexpectsme tobe faithful
stewards.A faithful stewardissomeone whoisdoingthe besthe orshe can withthe thingsthat God
has given them.The Lordcallsus to be faithful stewardsineverythingwe do.Thisiswhyitis so
important,amongmanythings,tohonor God withourtime,gifts,money,health,andrelationships. We

2. mustunderstandthatChristiansare calledtobe faithful stewards ALLTHE TIME, notjust onSabbath
morningwhenthe deaconspassthe offeringplate.Ibelieve itmeanstreatingotherswithrespectand
not takinganyone forgranted,especiallythoseclose tousand those withwhomwe interactinthe
workplace.
We can learn that as a faithful stewardwe needtoconstantlyelicit“trustandprove faithful”aswe can
learnfromI Corinthians4:2 “Nowit isrequired that those who have been givena trust mustprove
faithful.”We canalsolearnthatas a faithful stewardwe needto: “Preachthe word; be prepared in
seasonand out ofseason; correct, rebuke and encourage—withgreat patience andcareful
instruction.” (2Timothy 4: 2).Wemust note: Whetherone isa preacherof the Gospel,the ownerof a
business,orthe presidentof the UnitedStates,the childof Godis expectedtoserve faithfully.
The Third Goal I setformyself istobe a livingexample of whatIsay and what I do…Itake greateffortin
orderto be truthful inwhatI doand say because Jesusexpectsmylife tobackupwhatI say. We have to
be trustworthyandabsolutelydependableonwhatI sayto othersand inadditionlive alife thatclearly
displaysGod’steachingcontainedinwhateverIsay.We can learnfrom 1Corinthians9: 27, “No, I strike
a blowto my bodyand make it my slaveso that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be
disqualifiedfortheprize.”Thisway My Convictions dictate whatIsay anddo. My convictionsof Jesus
Christare so stronginmy mindthat I like toboastabout Himto as many othersas I can. EventhenI will
NOT sayuntruthful thingssothat no one will thinkmore of me than iswarrantedbywhat I do or say.
The priorityisNOT me but God. We can learnfrom 2 Corinthians12:6, “Evenif I shouldchoose to
boast,I would notbe a fool,becauseI wouldbe speakingthe truth. But I refrain,so no one will think
more of me than is warrantedby what I do or say…”
Whenwe Preachor share the gospel of salvationwithothers,we needtobe a Faithful stewardforGod
and consciouslylivealife asan example forotherswhoseekGod. We canlearnthisfrom1 Timothy 3: 2-
5, “Nowthe overseer is to be abovereproach, faithful tohis wife,temperate, self-controlled,
respectable, hospitable,abletoteach, 3
not given to drunkenness,not violentbut gentle,not
quarrelsome,not a lover of money. 4
He must managehis own familywell and see that his children
obey him,and he must doso in a manner worthy offull respect.5
(If anyonedoes not know howto
managehis ownfamily,how canhe take care ofGod’schurch?).