G.O.A.L. 2015

It’s January of a brand new year! With a new year comes new year resolutions, goals and challenges. The local gyms fill up with new memberships with clients that believe this is finally the year they will get in shape. Budgets are readjusted with promises of spending less and saving more. People are filled with hope of achieving their dreams.

But what is fuelling their goals? Just taking a moment to glance over the covers of 2015 magazine covers you find the source of many people’s motivations. Here are just a sampling:

“Reboot Your Life: the wardrobe, gadgets, cars and extreme diet every man needs” – Loaded

“Wake up hotter” – Cosmopolitan

“Insta-glam your best skin, hair and makeup ever” – Teen Vogue

“Parrrty! The modern man’s guide to throwing a legendary bash!” – GQ

“Crazy cool confidence: crush it at school, on insta, with guys” - Seventeen

This is the message that the magazines, media and entertainment world are pushing. The focus is on the external, the toys, and the clothes. It’s superficial and temporal. They sell the lie that you will be happy if you look like this celebrity, or if you have this brand, or if you do your hair and makeup this way. These things look good, but they are empty. Paul describes their true nature of these promises 2 Timothy 3:2-4, summarized in the last phrase as “lovers of pleasures rather then lovers of God.”

And so people begin their year with high aspirations of becoming the celebrity they worship. Yet within a month or two the gyms are empty again, the credit cards have been max out and people have fallen back into the ruts from which they came. Their expectations, hopes and dreams have been shattered or were so unrealistic that they gave up on them.

It doesn’t have to be this way!

When Jesus came, He came to set us free of the worldly passions and the meaningless of these temporal pursuits. The hope we have in Christ is to see the lies for what they are, fix our focus on Christ and train to reach the GOAL He has for us.

Jesus desire for our life is that it is Gospel Oriented Abundant Life. If we want a life full of purpose, meaning and joy we will only find it in living a Gospel Oriented Abundant Life. But what does that look like?

Read 1 Timothy 4:6-10

Step one is “Don’t Believe the Lies!” Paul says to “have nothing to do with irreverent and silly myths.” Everything this world throws at you is an attractive lie to deceive you and cause you to get caught up in a meaningless cycle. The enemy wants to destroy you with these lies, but Jesus wants to give you life (John 10:10).

Although loosing 10 pounds isn’t a bad thing, it won’t give you the joy and happiness you are craving. Thin people can be just as miserable as fat people. Pretty people can be just as lost and lonely as ugly people. These lies tell you that if you fix the temporal superficial stuff you will finally arrive. Don’t believe the lies!

Step two is to “Fix Your Focus!” The author of Hebrews tells us to firmly fix our eyes on Jesus Christ because He is the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). And Paul says that our motivation is found in the hope we have in the living God, who is the Savior (1 Timothy 4:10). When we look to Jesus we begin to understand what the Gospel is all about and how we can become Gospel oriented people.

The lies tell you that you need to improve yourself to find favor. The enemy has crafted intricate lies to get you to think you can earn God’s favor and be liked by man if you just become something that you are not. Jesus says that you can do nothing to earn God’s favor, but He will freely give it to you. You cannot be perfect, but Jesus is perfect for you. You will fail, but Jesus did not. He loves you so much that He provided a free gift for you. The lies lead to guilt and shame, the Gospel speaks grace and freedom into our lives.

Step three is to “Train for Godliness!” Anything you want to develop in requires a great deal of training. You identify what you need to become and strive to become that. As believers Jesus is our GOAL, we are to become more like Him everyday (Ephesians 5:1-2). 

If we are going to imitate Jesus we need to learn about Him by reading the Scriptures. One verse that patterns a healthy GOAL style is found in Luke 2:52 describing Jesus as a youth. He matured in wisdom, stature, favor with God and favor with man. Training for godliness is to become more like Christ. These are four great areas to set goals to develop in each year.

1.     Wisdom – God has given you the capacity to learn and to think. You need to always be learning, seeking to understand and growing in discernment. Being eager to learn, keeping a humble and teachable spirit is the attitude we need to continue to grow in wisdom. We should study and grow continually (2 Timothy 2:15).

2.     Stature – God as given you your body, you need to take care of it. Paul says that bodily exercise does have some profit (1 Timothy 4:8). We care for our bodies because it is a gift from God and the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19).

3.     Favor with God – God wants to have a vibrant relationship with you. He doesn’t want to just be some concept you believe in, but part of your life. He wants you to be friends with Him. Unlike physical exercise, which is only good in this life, training for godliness impacts this life and the next (1 Timothy 4:8).

4.     Favor with Man – God wants you to know how to be friendly and make friends with others (Proverbs 18:24).

A Gospel Oriented Abundant Life is a life that follows Jesus. It prioritizes the Jesus over the world. It is life that recognizes the lies of the enemy and refuses to fall into their grip. It is a life that looks to Jesus everyday. It is a life that strives for godliness in all areas. The promise given by God Himself is this kind of life is Abundant with meaning, purpose and joy. A GOAL is for your ultimate joy and God’s glory!