We are living in a world that is full of competition. Life seems to be a course of survival. If you are caught in the tug-a-war for survival, you have a few options:

A) YOU CAN DO NOTHING

Unfortunately, we have too many people in this category. Some are afraid to dream, others don’t know how and then you always have a group of people who simply do not care.

B) YOU CAN WISH

Secondly, you can just wish. A large group of society prescribes to this medication to sooth the pain of a lack of Success. – WISHING!
There was a popular baby rhyme that sums this up perfectly.

When you wish upon a star,
makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires will come to you
If your heart is in your dreams,
no request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star as dreamers do
Like a bolt out of the blue, fate steps in and sees you thru
When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true

SOME OF OUR WISHES INCLUDE:

“I wish I could get a job.”
“I wish I had a life.”
“I wish I did not have to take so much time cleaning my house
“I wish I could travel the world.”

C) OR YOU CAN BEGIN TO SET GOALS

The third thing that you can do is to put your thoughts, dreams, and plans on paper and start setting goals.

TIPS FOR GOAL SETTING

1) YOU MUST HAVE A GOAL

Goals motivate us
Goals give us direction in our life
Goals give us purpose
Goals give us passion
Goals give us desire
Goals give us hope
Goals serve as a beacon
Goals serve as an anchor
WE MUST HAVE A GOAL!

Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish:

Without goals you are:

Aimless
Confused
Lost
Without purpose

Goal setting is not a new thing!

Many people in the Bible had goals.

David’s goal was to retrieve the ark of the covenant
Solomon’s Goal was to rebuild the temple
Jesus goal was to “rebuild the temple” in three days

NEHEMIAH HAD A GOAL

Nehemiah 2:17 Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.

Nehemiah had a goal to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem

It was a thing of past glory
The walls protected the city from past enemies

2) GOALS MUST BE WRITTEN DOWN

When you write your goals down it:

Gives you accountability
Keeps them in front of you
It serves as a contract with yourself
“Writing something down is the first step toward making it happen.” ~ Lee Iacocca

Habakkuk 2:2-3 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.

The Bible tells us to write our vision (goals) down and make it plain so that we can run with our goals!

John Goddard, the famous explorer, and adventurer, the man Reader’s Digest calls “the real Indiana Jones,” sat down at the tender age of 15 and made a list of 127 challenging lifetime goals he wanted to accomplish. Here are a few of them: Explore eight of the world’s major rivers including the Nile, the Amazon and the Congo; climb sixteen of the highest mountains including Mount Everest, Mount Kenya, and the Mounterhorn; learn to fly a plane, circumnavigate the globe, visit the North and South Poles; read the Bible from cover to cover; play the flute and violin; and study primitive cultures in twelve different countries including Borneo, the Sudan and Brazil. By the time he turned fifty, he had successfully completed more than one hundred of the goals on his list!

3) GOALS MUST BE MEASURED

If a goal is not measurable then you will never know when you have accomplished the goal. If Nehemiah would have just stated that he wanted to “build walls” then he would still be building. But instead, he stated he wanted to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. That way he knew when he had reached his goal. Some of the goals that we set that can not be measured are:

I want to be rich (How much money)
I want a job (where do you want to work)
I want to go to college (where do you want to go to college)
I want to get married (what type of person do you want to marry)
I want a good future (what equals a good future for you?)
I want to travel (where do you want to travel?)

Jeremiah had a purpose
He knew exactly what he was to do
When you know exactly what you are to do then you do not become easily distracted by detours from people or circumstances

4) GOALS MUST HAVE A TIME LIMIT

Goals should have a time limit.

There are two types of goals

Long-term goals
Short-term goals

TIME LIMITS:

Give you motivation
Give you a sense of accomplishment
Build Credibility

Nehemiah 2:6 And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.

Nehemiah set himself a time limit with the King.

5) GOALS MUST BE BALANCED

Eccl 3:1-8 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3. A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4. A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5. A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6. A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7. A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, an a time to speak; 8. A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

S. piritual (spiritual growth & ministry)
U. nderstanding (self improvement/education)
R. elationships (family, friends, mentors)
V. ision (personal goals)
I.nvestment (your contributions to others)
V. ocation (career)
A.ssets (financial goals)
L.eisure (fun, health, fitness)

6) GOALS MUST BE CHALLENGING YET REACHABLE

Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.

If you set the goals too high it can break your spirit if you do not achieve that goal.
If you set it too low you will lose interest in pursuing it.

7) WHO CAN HELP YOU REACH YOUR GOALS

Nehemiah 2:8 And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.

Remember no man is an island

YOU NEED ALLIES!

Don’t try to do it all on your own when there are plenty of people in your area of influence that can help you achieve your goals

LIFE SURVIVAL SERIES

SERMON ONE: THE ART OF SURVIVAL
SERMON TWO: S.PIRITUAL GOALS
SERMON THREE: U.NDERSTANDING GOALS
SERMON FOUR: R.ELATIONSHIP GOALS
SERMON FIVE: V.ISION GOALS
SERMON SIX: I.NVESTMENT GOALS
SERMON SEVEN: V.OCATION GOALS
SERMON EIGHT: A.SSET GOALS
SERMON NINE: L.EISURE GOALS

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