Vision of Life Purpose and Goals

The one who aims at nothing will hit it every time, or as the Bible puts it, where there is not vision, the people perish (Proverbs 29:18). Vision and goals help us to accomplish great things for God. This session will help you…

1. Explain the relationship between life purposes and life goals.
2. List three life purposes given in Mark 12:29-31.
3. List three characteristics of life goals.
4. Evaluate your own life purposes and life goals.

A CHRISTIAN’S PURPOSE FOR LIVING:

1. Most of life seems to be meaningless. We live some 70-80 years just to die at some point. For what? What is the meaning of life?
   • For the disciple, our purpose is to conform to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29)
   • For the disciple, we find meaning in a life that goes beyond our earthly death.
   • For the disciple, God uses us to build his kingdom (John 4:31-34)
2. We can adjust our life around the purpose of God (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
   • How can we summarize the whole duty of mankind? (Mark 12:29-31)
     • How can we love God? (worship, prayer, devotion)
     • How can we love others? (evangelism, discipleship, service)
     • How can we love ourselves? (Ephesians 5:29)
       • How is this difference than in the end times (2 Timothy 3:1-3)
       • Proper self-love will cause you to develop yourself to your full potential and becoming all that God designed you to be.
       • What are some good reasons to love yourself? (Romans 8:15-17)
       • Since God loves us, we should also love what he has created.
   • How can we boil this down to even one thing? (Matthew 6:33)
   • How do you want to be remembered after you are gone? (2 Timothy 4:7-8)
   • How can we love God, how can we not want to be more like him and strive to achieve his purposes?

GOALS IN YOUR LIFE:

1. Discovering God’s will for your life: his will is to bring the world to himself.
   • Salvation (2 Peter 3:9), 1 Timothy 2:4)
   • Sanctification (1 Thessalonians 4:3)
2. Purposes versus Goals:
   • Purposes are overarching objectives that you can bank your life on.
   • Goals are needed to achieve those godly purposes; what he would have you do to move in faith to accomplish his purposes.
3. Jesus had Life Purposes: to bring reconciliation between God and mankind.
4. Jesus had Life goals:
   • Characteristics:
     • They were God-revealed rather than man-conceived (Mark 8:31-33).
     • They were large enough to be unattainable without God’s power (Colossians 1:28-29).
     • They make possible the achievement of life purposes.
       • Reorder one’s priorities.
       • Choose between good and evil.
   • Specifics:
     • Train disciples to carry on his mission.
     • Suffer and die on the cross.
     • Return to life on the third day.

APPLICATION:

1. Primary question: will this choice help me to achieve God’s purposes in my life?
   • The person to marry.
   • The vocation in life.
   • The status in life.
   • The possession of life.
2. An Old Testament example (Joshua 14:6-14)
   • What was Caleb’s life purpose? (Joshua 14:8)
   • What was Caleb’s specific goal? (Joshua 14:14)
   • How do we know his goal was God-ordained? (Joshua 14:9-10)
   • Was the goal attainable without God? (Joshua 14:12)
   • How did the goal fit in with the life purpose? (Joshua 14:14)
3. What evidence do you have that your present active goals will lead to accomplishing your life purposes?