SETTING GOALS IN FAITH
The Daniel Plan #3
Pastor Dennis Clanton
Woodland Church
Sunday, March 12, 2023
WHY I NEED TO SET PERSONAL GOALS?
1. GOAL SETTING IS A SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE.
(Ephesians 1:10, GW) “He planned to bring all of history to its goal in Christ. Then Christ would be the head of everything in heaven and on earth.”
2. GOALS FOCUS MY ENERGY.
(1 Corinthians 9:26, NCV) “So I do not run without a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something—not just the air.”
(Ephesians 5:16, NLT) “Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.”
3. GOALS STRETCH MY FAITH.
(Matthew 9:29, NIV) “According to your faith let it be done to you.”
(Romans 14:23, NIV) “Everything that does not come from faith is sin.”
4. GOALS BUILD MY CHARACTER.
(Philippians 3:12, TEV) “…I do not claim that I have already succeeded or have already become perfect. I keep striving toward the goal for which Christ Jesus has already won me to himself.”
(Ephesians 4:13, CEV) “Then we will be mature, just as Christ is, and we will be completely like him.”
5. GOALS GIVE ME HOPE.
(Job 6:11, NLT) “But I don’t have the strength to endure. I do not have a goal that encourages me to carry on.”
(Jeremiah 29:11, NIV) “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
WHAT KIND OF GOAL DOES GOD BLESS?
1. GOD BLESSES GOALS THAT GLORIFY HIM.
(1 Corinthians 10:31, NIV) “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
(2 Corinthians 5:9, NIV) “So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.”
2. GOD BLESSES GOALS THAT ARE MOTIVATED BY LOVE.
(1 Corinthians 16:14, NLT) “And do everything with love.”
(Galatians 2:20, NLT) “I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
(1 John 4:12, NLT) “No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.”
(1 Corinthians 14:1, NLT) “Let love be your highest goal!”
3. GODLY GOALS FULFILL ONE OF GOD’S PURPOSES FOR MY LIFE.
(Romans 6:13, GN) “Do not use any part of yourselves to sin or to be used for wicked purposes. Instead, give yourselves to God, … and surrender your whole being to him to be used for righteous purposes.”
(1 Corinthians 9:26, NLT) “I run straight toward the goal with purpose in every step.”
4. GODLY GOALS ARE SET IN FAITH.
(Hebrews 11:6, NIV) “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
5. GODLY GOALS ARE ACHIEVED WITH GOD’S POWER.
(Proverbs 16:9, Message) “We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it.”
(Zechariah 4:6, NCV) “You will not succeed by your own strength or by your own power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord.”
(Proverbs 3:5–6, NLT) “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”