Faith Helps You Focus Your Goals

 

Current Teaching Series Transformed

Faith Helps You Focus Your Goals By Rick Warren — December 31, 2018 "God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!" (Ephesians 3:20 The Message). We know that setting goals is important because the Bible tells us that Jesus set goals. In fact, he often announced publicly what his goal was for the next phase of his ministry. So why should you set goals? Today we're going to talk about three reasons to set goals, and tomorrow we'll talk about three more. You need to set goals because it is a spiritual responsibility. If you don't have goals for your life, you have already decided to let other people run your life. When you don't decide in advance what's important, you're letting other people decide. You end up wasting your life, because you haven't clarified how you want to grow as a follower of Christ. The Bible says that to be spiritually mature, you have to set your goals and move toward them as you keep your eyes focused on them. "I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize . . . I run toward the goal, so that I can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize that God offers because of what Christ Jesus has done. All of us who are mature should think in this same way" (Philippians 3:12, 14-15 CEV). You need to set goals because they are statements of faith. If you're a believer in Jesus Christ and you set a goal, you're saying, "I believe that God wants me to accomplish this by this time. This is what I believe God is going to do in my life." Goals aren't just a statement of faith. They stretch your faith. The bigger your goal, the more your faith will be stretched. And that pleases God. Ephesians 3:20 says, "God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!" (The Message). You need to set goals because they focus your energy. Focus is the key to an effective life. If you spread your energy out and diffuse it over a whole bunch of things, you'll make no impact at all. But if you focus your life, it's going to be powerful, and it will change the world. You don't have time to do everything. But here's the good news: God doesn't expect you to do everything! The key to being effective in life as a follower of Jesus is to do what matters most and forget everything else. Goals help you maintain that kind of focus. "I do not run without a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something—not just the air" (1 Corinthians 9:26 NCV).PLAY today's audio teaching from Pastor Rick >> Talk About It How do your goals reflect what you believe about God? Does your family set goals together? Why is it important to do this as a family? What things do you spend your time and energy on that may not really matter?

Our Gift: Daily Hope 2018 Prayer Journal Do you sometimes struggle with how to talk and listen to God? The good news is he longs to hear your prayers, whether it's a bold cry or a whisper. And your words don't need to be perfect. He delights in you when you come before him—in thanksgiving and petition. Jesus says in John 15:7 . . . "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." So the key to praying with hope and expectation is abiding in Christ—and we want to help you do that with the all-new Daily Hope Prayer Journal. Your faith will be strengthened and you will be blessed as you look back on your written prayers and see how God has faithfully answered them. It has a soft cork-like cover on the outside, while inside you'll find . . . • Bible verses and suggestions to help you pray for specific people and situations • Practical encouragement for your prayer life from Pastor Rick • Plenty of space to write out your prayer requests and how God answers them LEARN MORE

Complete Audio Series (Purchase) Includes 8 full-length teaching CDs from Pastor Rick's series Transformed. LEARN MORE

Series Summary Message 1: Setting Personal Goals by Faith Message 2: How to Get Closer to God Message 3: From Stressed to Blessed Message 4: Change Your Life by Changing Your Mind Message 5: How to Deal with How You Feel Message 6: Facing the Fears that Ruin Relationships Message 7: Transforming How I See and Use Money Message 8: Facing Giants in Life and Work PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST

Pastor Rick Warren

Enjoy today's Devotional? Listen instantly to the full radio message at Daily Hope Radio. Did someone forward this devotional to you? Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional. This devotional is based on the current Daily Hope radio series at pastorrick.com. Rick Warren has helped people live with hope and on purpose for more than 40 years. He's the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California and author of several books, including The Purpose Driven Church and The Purpose Driven Life, which has been translated into 137 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in all formats. He created the PEACE Plan (plant churches of reconciliation, equip servant leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, educate the next generation), which is used by churches in 196 countries. His radio teaching and daily devotional, Daily Hope, is offered around the world. This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe at any time by changing your e-mail preferences. Update your preferences | Unsubscribe

 

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