Reaching Goals

I usually preach a goal sermon on this Sunday night, and I’m not going to do that this year, so I’ll write a brief message about it here. The word “goal” isn’t in the King James Version, but the concept is in many places, and normally I point to Philippians 3, because the concepts are there. The idea is within the content of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, when in Matthew 6:33, He proclaims the goal to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. How do we seek first the kingdom of righteousness? “First” communicates priorities. If someone is seeking the kingdom of God first, then He is putting the kingdom of God above other things, which means His goals revolve around the kingdom of God. In Ephesians 5:16 says, “Redeeming the time, for the days are evil.” We are trading in our time for something, redeeming it. The goal would be to trade in something temporal for something eternal, which gets a higher value out of life. In Philippians 3:14, Paul instructs to press toward the mark for the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The mark is the goal. The high calling of God is when believers are called up to the platform, like at the end of the race, to receive their reward, which is in Christ Jesus. Our goals should revolve around Jesus Christ.