
Think back to a time when you were the most excited you have ever been. Why were you excited and did it live up to your expectations?
Darts is exciting because of the incredible skill that is involved. It would be of no interest if there were no numbers on the board! Many of us are not clear on our goals in life. We are bored, devoted to what is unworthy, suffer the spiritual, mental and physical effects of misplaced attention, all because we are not clear on our goals. Paul is clear on his goal. He tells us,
‘Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.’ (Philippians 3:12)
Many set resolutions each year without any reference to God’s will for them. All goals, I believe, can be boiled down to the pursuit of joy and peace. God wants you to know that He has a goal for you. It will involve hard work and suffering, however, it is of the greatest value and leads to the greatest joy and peace - the goal is knowing Jesus. Paul’s goal is defined by God. He is aiming at God’s goal for him, let’s learn to do the same.
Having a goal means that we can see if we are progressing. Having a goal means that we can audit what we do as to whether it helps us toward our goal.
RESPONSE
Our goals are often implicit rather than explicit; our lives are aiming at things that are not clearly defined.
Take a moment to prayerfully audit your life. Look at what you have been doing, thinking, feeling and try to make explicit and be honest about what your actual goals are.
For example, over the last weeks, you realise that you have spent a lot of time on Instagram. In fact, you feel successful when people respond well to your posts. As you consider your posts and your responses, you realise that your goal has been to be perceived and feel successful - this is not an uncommon goal is it! In light of your actual goal of knowing Jesus, you remember that your worth comes from God’s grace. Your relationship with Instagram needs to change.
Do you have a goal for growth in knowing Jesus? What will you do to make this a reality?
COMMUNITY GROUP STUDY - KNOWING LEADS TO LIKENESS
Notices
It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News.
Suggested opener/Ice-breaker
Have you ever ‘idolised’ someone, a group, a team…? Why were you drawn to these people and how did it affect your life?
Introduction - please share in your group
Our message on Sunday was an encouragement to ‘take hold of that for which you’ve been taken hold of’.
We can do many things and miss what’s of true value. For example, one can go for a beautiful walk only to be so caught up with our thinking or our phone, that we miss the beauty of the place - fail to ‘take hold’ of what is of true worth.
Likewise, as Christians, are called to pursue knowing Jesus, yet we can fail to ‘take hold of that for which you’ve been taken hold of’ as we should. Paul writes,
‘Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.’ (Philippians 3:12)
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