Jesus said it only takes a few believers to agree to trust him for great things and great things will happen (Mt 18:19-20; Jn 14:12). We can accomplish much for God’s kingdom if we apply faith to the needs we see around us.
The Christian’s call is to serve the LORD, fight for the truths of Scripture, and engage ministry for the glory of God. In doing so, we will encourage those around us to come out of hiding and engage with us in service to the King of Kings.
When applying faith to every situation we need to make that our agenda. Faith needs specific concrete goals as does any aspect of life. However, most people don’t set spiritual goals. And more importantly, they don’t think setting spiritual goals is necessary. Without goals, we drift not knowing where we are going, how we are going to get there, and we will never know if we reach our desired outcomes. Goal setting is important in all areas of life including our spiritual life.
Books on what makes people successful always include setting realistic goals. Goal setting is a skill that deters aiming low and for settling for mediocre outcomes. The late Pastor D. James Kennedy in his book Turn it to Gold points out five spiritual goals I think are worth considering. I commend them to you as you consider your calling to serve in Jesus’ name and seek to discover the goals that Jesus has for your spiritual life.
1) Set godly goals
Goals are godly attempts at reaching a noble objective. Jesus encouraged those who would follow him to first seek his Kingdom (Mt 6:33). In order to seek his kingdom, it is imperative to set priorities that align with his purposes. In other words, he is telling his disciples to set spiritual goals that align with his redemptive agenda. The noblest of all spiritual goals is to participate in the conversion experience of another person. This could include befriending them, praying for their salvation, meeting their physical needs, showing God’s love to them, or explaining who Jesus is and what he has accomplished for their salvation.
When we honor God’s priorities our earthly concerns fall more readily in place. Seeking the Kingdom first is a prioritizing of time, focusing one’s energies on the LORD, and aligning with the purposes of Jesus. Take time to prayerfully study the Scriptures to discover what it means to seek first his Kingdom. Then, write down practical things you can do every day to participate in Jesus’ ministry that is happening around you every day. Setting godly goals is participating in seeking the Kingdom of God above all other concerns.
2) Commit to reaching those goals
Talking about God and godly goals is a favorite past time for Christians. While I was in seminary, I met a lot of men who loved to talk about God. It was less common to find men and women who spent time talking with God. When we are committed to reaching godly goals we don’t simply talk about God, we talk to God about what he wants us to do.
Jerry Bridges in his book Trusting God wrote about a believer’s responsibility in light of God’s sovereignty. In that book, he mentioned two mistakes Christians often make when doing God’s will. They either drift into a divine fatalism that claims whatever God wants to do he will do or the belief that I am the captain of my own ship. God needs my involvement if anything is going to get done (to the point that I determine my own destiny).
There is a third extreme to avoid called quietism. Quietism is thinking we don’t need to do anything at all. We are to let go and let God do his thing without our participation. We become observers rather than team players. All three of these options are nothing more than excuses for not taking responsibility to exercise faith and take action on that faith. Jesus warned the man who hid his talent that he would receive no accolades from him for being disengaged (Mt 25:18-30).
There is a fourth option that is the biblical option when considering God’s full control of the universe and our responsibility to obey him. We are to pray for God’s will to be done and participate in doing his will. This is possible because he is in control. We pray because he uses our prayers to transform us into people who take on his agenda as our own. We trust him to guide us as we prudently and wisely seek to establish priorities that reflect his purposes and we implement strategies that will best accomplish those purposes.
A simple goal every believer can set for themselves is to make Jesus’ involvement in their lives a regular topic of conversation. Whether a person is a believer or an unbeliever we can speak up and let people know what God is doing in our lives. We can also regularly invite people to worship with us. Here are two ways many will hear the gospel for the first time. Talking about Jesus in normal conversations brings God into daily life experiences. And, experiencing worship on a regular basis helps to set the agenda for asking questions about who Jesus is, what he has done to secure salvation, and what our responsibilities are toward him.
One elderly woman took these goals to heart. She didn’t invite one or two people to church—she invited fifty-two people–and they all showed up on the same day! Unreached spiritual goals are often goals that lack commitment and follow through. Take a few minutes each morning to assess the degree to which you are committed to speaking about God and plan to invite people to worship. If we are committed to sharing our faith God will commit to making our efforts successful.
3) Expect great things from God
Psalm 62:5 reads, “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.” The Hebrew word for hope is “tikvaw,” which means to have an expectation. We often expect and trust in our own resources and energies to accomplish something for God. This can lead to an unhealthy attitude that God can’t accomplish his will unless we help him out. The Psalmist’s expectation was that God would make the difference; so he depended on the LORD and not himself (vs 7-8).
Spiritual goals require spiritual resources. And spiritual resources come from tapping into the riches found only in Jesus Christ (Eph 1:3-10). These verses are full of godly goals. Those goals are accomplished because Jesus “lavished upon us” every spiritual blessing and resource necessary to accomplish the purposes of Christ.
Godly goals require an expectation that God will show up. When you come to worship do you expect God to be there? Are you planning to meet with him and do spiritual business? Is your expectation that he is even more eager to see you succeed with the gospel than you are? The late Pastor John Miller once reminded me that God loved me more than I loved myself. If this is true then God will respond to our request. First, because it is what he has purposed to do; and secondly, because he loves us we can ask him to work through us (Jn 14:13-14).
4) Spiritually prepare to pay the price for reaching those goals
A number of Christians are never used by God because they don’t expect God to use them or they simply are not prepared to be used. They don’t study their Bibles so they don’t know how to practically apply it to life situations. Someone once mentioned it takes an aircraft carrier miles of ocean to turn around. This is true with Christians who aren’t in the habit of serving in their local church. They’re like a large ship trying to turn around so it can go in the right direction.
Start preparing for ministry now. Be willing to do whatever it takes to please the LORD now. Don’t waste another day being mediocre in your devotion to the LORD. The sooner you chose to activate your faith the sooner you will be moving in the right direction. When we aren’t involved in serving others we miss out on many of the daily activities of God’s Spirit. If we don’t begin now to develop our social skills we will remain uncomfortable talking about and relating God to others.
One pastor told his congregation that if a car had as many useless parts as the Church has useless members it would not even roll down the hill (Jm 2:14-17). Faith without works is a dead faith. Wow! What an inditement against Christians who don’t develop their faith and relationship with Christ. Our faith is to develop into a powerful influence for the betterment of others, thus bringing God the most glory possible through our ministries.
Be more than willing to pay the price to be Jesus’ disciple—actually pay that price (Lk 14:27-33). Bear the cross, which isn’t too much to ask if we are truly committed to God’s agenda (Mt 11:30). This means different things to different people, but it always means giving up of self at a cost designed to benefit another. Counting the cost and paying the price to follow Jesus is essential for reaching godly goals.
5) Attempt in faith to reach God’s goals for your life
To reach godly goals we must do more than dream, desire, expect, and prepare for those goals. We must expend energy trying (Jm 1:22-25). We must “be doers of the word, and not hearers only.” True saving faith produces actions and accomplishes God’s will (Jm 2:14-17). Good works don’t save or cause a person to deserve eternal life. But actively serving the LORD does indicate the quality of faith a person has. Serving distinguishes between having saving faith versus only having a mediocre mental acknowledgment of God’s existence.
Someone once said even a dead fish can float downstream. But God isn’t calling us to float through life unanimated. God is calling us to fight the cultural flow and swim upstream. Spiritual goals help point us in the right direction so we aren’t caught up in trends or permit our faith to be compromised allowing mediocrity to characterize our faith. Goals set our desires and dreams upon what God desires to achieve. This includes character development as well as acts of mercy to those in need. It means knowing God better and effectively making him known.
Godly goals require deliberate attention, a willingness to sacrifice, and necessitate everyone is involved in God’s agenda. Let’s start by setting up two simple, measurable, and obtainable goals for ourselves and our church.
First, personally grow in faith so you live a life pleasing before God. Take time to be with God and study his Word so you are knowledgeable about who he is and the content of his Word.
Second, talk about the LORD in daily conversations and deliberately invite those you know to Church, especially young couples and families with small children (the next generation). Serve those who need your help. I can’t think of anyone more needier of spiritual support than a single parent or parents who feel overwhelmed as they try to raise godly children.
These two goals are concrete, clearly obtainable, and focused our energies so we can quantify the difference we can make in other people’s lives. May the Lord give you insight, perseverance, and joy as you serve him and meet the needs of those around you. And remember to do this in partnership with others who also seek to realize godly goals.
Picture attributed to Pixabay, Unsplash, and Freerangestock
