THE BASICS OF CHRISTIAN GOAL SETTING
By: Reverend R. McCreight
I. INTRODUCTION
Success or failure in the work of God, or any work, begins right here with having goals. Goal setting is a must in the work of God. AIM AT NOTHING AND YOU’LL “SUCCEED”
Here is a simple formula for success:
ROLE—GOAL + TOLL = SUCCESS
A. DEFINE YOUR ROLE
Then and then only, get set to establish your goal. When a man prays and finds the role God has for his life, then is the time to set goals. One must be prepared to pay the price in terms of time, money, energy, and credit-sharing, and you’ll succeed. Webster’s dictionary says that a goal is an object or end that one strives to attain; aim.
B. BE OBSESSED BY A VISION
Again, Mr. Webster says that a vision is a mental image, an imaginative contemplation. A vision is a mental picture or direction. The Bible is very plain on goal setting Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is NO VISION (or NO GOAL) the people perish.”
Success or failure starts with goals. Set low goals, and achievements will be low. Your goal setting, perhaps more than any other factor in life, will determine whether or not you do the work God has for you.
C. DON’T BE A CAPTIVE OF THE PAST
Do not be held back by past failures. When the sun rises tomorrow, the light of the new day will illuminate an open door that beckons you to enter a new world called The Land of Beginning Again. Prepare for that fantastic experience by being ready to review, reevaluate, revise, and redesign your life’s goals. Goal Setting – -That’s where success or failure begins.
II. CONSIDER WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU
As one begins in setting his goals, he must examine his God-given talents, Make a list of all the things you think you do well and then make a list of those things you would like to do well. Check both lists. Discover the unknown talents within you. Think realistically, They are there! Look for them and you will find them.
Jim Poppen was an underachiever in high school, No teacher would put any stock in his below average intelligence and talent. I was not that he lacked talent-he only lacked motivation which was the result of an absence of challenging goals. His farmer father sent him to medical school. One night while home, his father heard sounds in the dark kitchen. He went in, flipped on a light, and saw his son sprawled on the floor, enmeshed in a network or ropes tied to legs of the old kitchen chairs. He told his dad to turn off the lights. “In school last month I discovered the human brain. I’m going to be a brain surgeon. So I’ve got to learn to tie knots in the dark.” Well, he did, Some years later when presidential candidate Robert Kennedy had been shot through the head, the Kennedy family summoned a world-famous brain surgeon from Boston, Massachusetts, to fly to the West Coast—it was Dr. James Poppen.
Only God knows today what slumbering talents are waiting to be aroused within your undiscovered self. These talents are not being used simply because you have not set the right goals, Setting the right goals is very important to the man of God. Therefore, it is important to the future of the work of God.
How many people are waiting to be saved?
How many churches are waiting to be built?
How many cities are waiting to be won for the Kingdom of God?
What are they waiting for?
They are waiting for the man of God to set a goal and reach for that goal.
III. A CLEARLY DEFINED GOAL IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN TALENT
Whatever you do, always let future desires, never past defeats, set you goals for you! In setting your goals, you must remember this fact: there are more “talented” people who are failures than “untalented people” who are successes in the work of God,
A. A GOAL HELD STEADFAST IN OUR MINDS GIVES COURAGE
There is a man in out church in Lubbocd who, years ago, the Social Security Administration and the Veterans Administration declared to be disabled. They said that he would never be able to work due to leg and feet problems. So he set a goal in life. Today he is a very accomplished interior designer. He spends many hours on his feet–walks many a mile in a day. There were times when, instead of standing, he was on his knees. But because he set a goal, God brought him to this day. In our city, he is the most asked-for painter. Where would he be if it were not for a goal? Goals help us win or lose in this life and most certainly, in the life to come.
B. OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE BEGINS WITH A GOAL
When we desired to live for God, the first thing that came to us was a goal–receiving the Holy Ghost. You would never have received the Holy Ghost had there not been a goal.
Again and again first prizes don’t go to the most talented man. The man who wins is the one who thinks he can!! A wonderful and powerful fact is this:
A GREAT DRIVE, A POWERFUL DETERMINATION, A CONSUMING DESIRE WILL EASILY COMPENSATE FOR LITTLE OR LIMITED TALENT.
IV. MEN OF THE WORLD HAVE BEEN GUIDED TO SUCCESS BY A FIRMLY HELD GOAL
One of the stories that has meant a great deal to me is the story of Tom Demsey. He was the man who booted the longest field goal in the history of pro football. The pros said he was not professional material, He refused to accept that. Tom Demsey said that he had a goal, and he learned never to give up until he reached the goal that he had set, Born with only half a right foot and a deformed right arm and hand, he kept working until the pros accepted him. From the “back” to the “front”, because of a goal. Then came the day the Detroit Lions and the New Orleans Saints were playing with two seconds left in the game. Detroit 17, New Orleans 16. Tom kicked the ball 63 yards for a field goal. Unbelievable? Not for a man with a goal!
A. MINISTERS WHO MANAGE GOD’S WORK SHOULD BE OBJECTIVE IN OUR PLANNING
Men of the world set goals and live by them for earthly rewards. Many a man will put his all into reaching his goal. How much more should the preacher put his all into reaching his God-given goal. Paul wrote these do it to obtain earthly prizes, but we a Heavenly prize.
Do you need help in setting personal goals? Consider the challenging spot you’re in right now.
INCH BY INCH, ANYTHING’S A CINCH!
V. WE MUST BEGIN WITH THE RIGHT BASE FOR PROPER GOAL SETTING
A. RIGHT ATTITUDE
Remember this: – In setting your goals, bloom where you are planted. Your mental attitude toward the spot you’re in at any moment is all-important. If you think it’s impossible, then your biggest problem is YOU: If you “think possibilities”, you’ll realize that every difficulty is a call to some personal triumph. Every problem can become a personal triumph, making life a real adventure from beginning to end! If you never challenge personal problems, you’ll never be able to taste the exhilaration of a personal triumph!
REMEMBER: TRIUMPH IS MADE UP OF TWO WORDS – TRY + UMPH. What is all-
important in setting goals is to consider the value system you choose to live by. If money or material objects are your highest, then the questions are:
How much will it cost? (To the man of God the cost can’t be too great).
If Christ’s Spirit lives within you, then you’ll live by the Service Value System, which is placing enormous value on unselfishly serving your fellow man. Then in setting your goal, you will raise the following questions:
Will this help people who are hurting?
Will this make me into a more beautiful person?
Will this bring the best out of me–or the worst?
Will this be a chance to prove my faith in my big God?
MAN MAY NOT ALWAYS MAKE HIS GOALS, BUT HIS GOALS WILL ALWAYS MAKE THE MAN.
B. THINK OF GOD’S RESOURCES, NOT YOURS
When considering a goal to set, please consider the resources that are available in the Kingdom of God. Do not consider the resources you have on hand. Consider the resources that are available to you, Because you do not have the time, talent, money, brains, skill, energy, or organization is no excuse for not trying, if your cause is right.
C. THINK IN TERMS OF GROWTH AND SUCCESS FOR THE CHURCH
One thing that is important to remember is that most people fail only because they never really planned to succeed. Plan your future because you have to live there. IF YOU FAIL TO PLAN, YOU ARE PLANNING TO FAIL. Your greatest danger will not be failure to reach your goal. The greatest danger is making it and stopping. You must first understand that goal setting is never-ending. set one goal and reach it, then set another. Never be without a goal.
There is a life principle that is universal. It is when a person or institution stops growing, the seeds of decline, decay, and death are planted. How many of our churches through the years have had such experiences? How many preachers have been in such places? Oh God, don’t let this 1976 Church die. Let us see the need to grow, grow and never stop. All our churches must have a growth. We cannot just maintain ourselves. We must have a goal and grow or we will die. Minister, you personally must grow or you will die.
A.N. Whitehead, the great English philosopher taught, “Most great dreams of great dreamers are not fulfilled–they’re transcended.”
VI. ALL OF GOD’S GREAT MEN HAVE BEEN GOAL CONSCIOUS
As it was in one of my favorite chapters in the great Word of God, Hebrews 11: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham sojourned in the land with a goal, dwelling wherever they could. They looked for a city which had foundations, whose Builder and Maker was God. THEY HAD A GOAL. Not only the preacher, but his wife. These all died in faith not reaching the goal, but having seen them afar off, embraced them (goals), persuaded of them (goals).
They could have stopped, but they did not. The goals they had kept them moving forward. They reached after the goal before them. Because they set a goal, they reached for it. Even though they didn’t reach it in this life, they did in the life after. For this reason the GOD of the whole world is NOT ASHAMED TO BE CALLED THEIR GOD. What more could be said of you, preacher, than for the great, wonderful Creator of this earth andheaven, sun, moon, and stars to be called your God. Don’t let God be ashamed of you. Set a goal–live by it–give all to make it” Then let God be called your God.
He will be proud of you, whether you reach your goal or not, if you have a goal and are reaching for it when you leave this world. You will reach it– He will help you, either in this world or the world to come.
SO SET EXCITING GOALS AND COME ALIVE!!! THE LOST ARE WAITING—–CAN YOU HEAR THEM??
(The original publisher of the above material is unknown.)
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