GOALS: The Road Map To Your Destination Pastor David Crank, October 2013

________________________________ I believe in logical goals. I also believe in totally unrealistic, unattainable, wild, goals that make us dream so far out of our reach that only God can make it happen. ~ David Crank ________________________________

The Road Map To Your Destination Do you allow life to “just happen” to you? Sometimes we live as if we don’t really have a choice. At times, we have no direction and no definite destination. We have desires, but haven’t mapped out how to get from where we are to where our desired destination resides. Why do we see people drift like leaves on the wind allowing life to carry them wherever it happens to drop them? Many times they haven't spent enough time visualizing and thinking about exactly what they want for their life. When we plan a vacation a few states away, we grab a map and then map out how to get from point A to point B. We put more effort into planning a vacation than planning our lives. Just like a vacation, we can plan out our journey with great detail so that we arrive at our desired destination on time and with a plan.

1. Set Goals To Know Where We’re Going

This is a powerful process for thinking about the

future we want. It keeps us motivated and can help

turn our vision into reality.

- WE CHOOSE where we want to be in life - WE CHOOSE when we want to be there - WE KNOW exactly what we want to achieve - WE FOCUS our efforts - We don’t get led astray by conflicting agendas

“…Let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance

(unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly

and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with

patient endurance… steady and active persistence the

appointed course of the race that is set before us…. Look

away [from all that will distract] to Jesus…” (Hebrews

12:1-2)

2. Set Goals to Stay Motivated

Why set goals? People who set goals are successful: - Top athletes - Successful business people - High achievers in the world What does it do for us? - Gives us long-term vision - Gives us short-term motivation My five-year goals and ten-year goals keep me excited and drive me through the pain of self-discipline that is needed to see that big payoff at the end!

3. Milestones help us see progress

Goals are exciting! Passing milestones helps us feel accomplished. They help us see how far we’ve come! IMPORTANT: Goals must be measureable - Wall of pictures - Reaching past goals fuel my passion for the future - Self-confidence helps me recognize that if I stick with the goal I will arrive at my destination - The 10-year goal that happened in 4 years Samuel put a milestone in place to recognize how far God had brought them.

“Samuel then took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah…for he said, “Up to this point the Lord has helped us!” (1 Samuel 7:12)

4. Get Determined – WANT IT

Do we have the fortitude and strong enough desire to go after our dreams? Can we visualize ourselves arriving there? We can’t stroll towards our goals! PICTURE IT, MAP A PATH TO IT, SET A TIMELINE GOAL = Go All In To reach our goals we must Go All In.

“…One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and

straining forward to what lies ahead…” (Philippians

3:13)

5. Do we have ONE goal and cut out everything else? - Goals should be balanced - Are they all about us and what we can get? - Have goals for all areas of life:

- Finance - Education - Family - Attitude

- Physical - Pleasure - Helping others - Spirituality / prayer time

Well-rounded goals = well-balanced mindset A selfish mindset holds us back, affects our behavior and slows progress towards our goal.

______________________________________ A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight. (Proverbs 11:1) Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. (Psalm 119:16) An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends; he defies all sound judgment. (Proverbs 18:1)

6. Imagination: We have to BELIEVE Our imagination conceives, carries a thought to term and gives birth to it. It is the most powerful thing we possess. - Walt Disney kept his imagination active and it revolutionized America - As kids we flip back and forth between reality and our imaginary world - Children learn to think logically and then grow up to become adults with no imagination God wants us to use our child-like no-limits imagination to create our desired goals in life. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. (Matthew 21:22) Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11:24)

7. Think Big! Easy goals are nice, but we need to have some audacious goals that require God’s help. God saw nothing, had a goal, and said let there be light. (Gen 1:1-3) He used his imagination to see something he could not see and then used words to create what he saw in his imagination. A woman with no child, a clear goal, and the help of God, will create a huge vision. (Isaiah 54:1-2) I don't think the way you think. The way you work isn't the way I work. (Isaiah 55:8) God thinks BIG! We are created in His image and He is disappointed when we set small goals that we can accomplish without Him. What might we imagine if we KNEW God would help us co-create it?

8. We are what we IMAGINE The results we receive are based on the positive or negative things we imagine. - People imagine being in an affair and it happens - People imagine their marriage being saved and it is Cast down negative imagination. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

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God KNOWS the power of our imagination to create reality.

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- Did Dr. Martin Luther King visualize racial equality? - Did Rosa Parks visualize how she was going to sit on the front seat of the bus that day? - Did Noah have a goal to build an ark when no one had ever even seen rain? - Did Abraham imagine he could be the father of many nations at nearly 100 years old? God has used ordinary people with challenging circumstances to accomplish His will. God can do more through us than we ask or think. (Ephesians 3:20)

9. Expect It

Expect super abundantly. Be cheerfully expectant. (Romans 12:12) Being hopeful can be a challenge, but when the dream is fulfilled it fills us with life. (Proverbs 13:12)

10. Write it God will co-create our life when we have a written goal and vision to help ourselves and others. Write the vision; make it plain… (Habakkuk 2:2) Listing goals will help build us up. We begin to develop the traits that will help facilitate our goals as we begin to see ourselves worthy of them.

SUMMARY

1. Map your destination 2. Know where you’re going 3. Stay motivated 4. Set milestones to see progress 5. Get determined – Want it 6. Balance your goals 7. Imagine and Believe 8. Think Big 9. You are what you imagine 10. Expect it 11. Write it 12. Get WILD and CRAZY with it!

I believe in logical goals. I also believe in totally unrealistic, unattainable, WILD goals that make us dream so far out of our reach that only God can make it happen.