The Holiness Project – Spiritual Goals

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14 NIV).

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans” (Proverbs 16:3)

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps” (Proverbs 16:9)

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:2)

The Holiness Project – Spiritual Goals

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We have been talking about Spiritual Drift and the reality that most people (and most Christians) “drift” through life with only a hazy, half-formed idea of where they are going.  We have made the bold claim that the normal (but uncommon) Christian life is one with purpose and direction and self-discipline towards a goal.

We have also been talking about Christian Hedonism and the fact that joy is not optional in the Christian life.  If your life is “joyless” there is a fundamental problem that needs to be addressed.  Again, the normal (but uncommon) Christian life is excited about the future.  We have hope because God has a wonderful plan for our lives (Jeremiah 3:14).  Our bold claim here is that our deepest held dreams and our purest desires have been put there by God and that His Kingdom purpose for our lives will include and enhance those natural, creational gifts, talents and abilities.

With those two bold claims, we as a Christian fellowship should be able to take the gates of hell by storm.  But alas, it is not so.  Something else needs to be said.  For some reason, a suspicious fear has arisen among the people of God that if they strive too hard for anything, they would offend God.  We want to be super careful not to build our own kingdoms and end up defeated, living life in our fleshly selves without the anointing of God.

Actually, I have to agree.

We need to be careful.  I already pointed out in the previous post that sin also needs to be taken into account.  Some of our felt needs are rooted in unbelief and fear.  Sometimes we want full control over our lives and our situations and we leave no room for God to be our provider and take care of our needs.  Sometimes our deepest desires are really secondary dreams that are rooted in trauma or need or scarcity and do not reflect our true selves in Christ.  Sometimes our dreams of the future have to do with luxury and self-aggrandizement and personal status.  This is not our true self in Christ.

The goal of Christian self-actualization is to become all that we can become in Christ.  Not without Christ.  To the degree that we practice our unity with God and others, to the degree that we are rooted in the finished work of Christ on the cross, to the degree that we develop our relationship with Him and His bride, the church, to that degree we are in Christ.  A Christian who is fully alive in Christ is the glory of God.  God is revealing His glory in us and that has to do with everyday reality and not just with the heavenly realities we love to talk about in church.  Everything is spiritual.

But still….

When you listen to motivational speeches on YouTube, you get the distinct impression that these people are building a fortress of flesh with a focus on self and the strengthening of pride in one’s own accomplishments that should put the fear of God into all of us.  Rightly so.

But it isn’t the process of setting goals, learning self-discipline, encouraging one another to stay focused and working hard towards a goal that is the problem.  It is the foundation that is weak and rotting, no matter what your accomplishments are in life.

I am reminded that after all of my hard work to accomplish my goals, if I don’t take care of my health, I have nothing.  I am a diabetic (type 2) and I need to take my health seriously.

I am reminded that after all of my hard work to accomplish my goals AND take care of my health, if I don’t take care of my relationships with the people closest to me, I have nothing.  No one ever lies on their deathbed wishing they had made more money or had accomplished more.  It’s always about their relationships.  That’s what matters.

I am reminded that after all of my hard work to accomplish my goals AND take care of my health AND protect and develop all of my relationships with my family and friends, if I don’t have a relationship with God in Christ, I have nothing.  Jesus put it quite well.  “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Mark 8:36 NIV).

Point taken.

On the other hand, if you are a new creature in Christ and you are growing in spiritual and relational maturity and you are taking care of your health (since your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit – 1 Cor. 6:19), then what about your purpose, your goals and your ministry.  Your life is your ministry.  You have influence in many different ways and you must use that influence to promote the Kingdom of God.  No doubt.

But still, most Christians fall short right at this point.  Being too ambitious is bad, they say.  But I say, ambition for the Lord, rooted in the cross and your relationship with God in Christ, brings glory to God.

It’s a question of getting the foundation right and establishing your spiritual goals.  But what are spiritual goals?  Are they goals about spiritual things, about ministry ideas, about church development or are they about your career, your business, your finances?  Perhaps both?

Definitely both.

One expert suggests that we have goals in the areas of our FINANCES, our FAITH, our FAMILY and our FITNESS.  I like that breakdown.  In each area of our life, we can have goals and work towards those goals.  We figure out what our spiritual and creational gifts are and what we believe is our Life Purpose (which includes a true assessment of what we want to do, what we are motivated to accomplish and what we “dream” about doing).  So far so good.  But we need to go further.  Those general directions need to be broken down into specific goals (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) that we can only hope to accomplish.

Why BHAG goals?  Because we can’t do them without God’s help.  That’s the whole point.  Once you understand that it is literally impossible for you to change the human heart, impossible to transform anyone into a new creature, even impossible to get someone to agree with you about the message of the Bible, you realize that without God, and His intervention, no one will every be saved and all of our efforts at evangelism are useless.  That is when you discover the power of prayer.  The point of trying to do the impossible is to do it in the strength of God and with His anointing.  Of course.

But BHAG goals that are not part of the church?  What about those?

Like what, for example?

Well, like making a million bucks.

Yes, well, why do you want the million bucks?

I suppose to live in a big house and have a secure income for the rest of my life.

Well, everything is spiritual but I think, in this case, it isn’t very pleasing to God.  God sets the overall agenda.  We are here to build the Kingdom of God.  We need a tentmaking business or job, of course, and there is no reason not to excel at it.  But the above discussion simply demonstrates that we don’t know our purpose as a child of God, yet.

On the other hand, someone might say that they want a million bucks because that is what it will take to fund up a foundation in which they can make their living as the director with a normal salary and use the foundation to care for street people in San Francisco.  Well, now.  That is alot better.

And you seem to have a passion for this work.

Yes, I am out there every weekend working with the Salvation Army trying to bring some relief to the homeless but we need more resources.  I know something about business and I have this business idea that may work and it would provide ongoing funding for this cause.

Great.  Get to work.  Everything is spiritual.

In this case, we can certainly pray with open hearts for God’s blessing and increase because the purpose of the resources is to benefit the Kingdom of God while taking care of our own needs in the process.  Well done, thou good and faithful servant.

What makes a spiritual goal “spiritual” is that it is rooted in your Life Purpose which is determined by your new identity in Christ.  There is a lot of leeway that God gives you, but looking at what you are good at and what you dream of doing is a great place to start.

But…..and this is key…..your heart must always be right with God.  Your motives must always be pure.  Your intentions must always be to please God.  But don’t be so heavenly minded that you are of no earthly use.  That doesn’t please God at all.

If your foundation, your relationship with God, is strong the rest will be built up in the right way.  It isn’t about your ego but about glorifying God and building His Kingdom.  It isn’t about your security, since God is your provider.  It isn’t about your enjoyment of all the best things in life (leave that for heaven), rather it is about the stewardship of God’s resources (which includes taking reasonable care of yourself and your family).

I always liked what John Wesley said about Stewardship.

Make as much money as you can.

Save as much money as you can.

Give as much money as you can.

Stewardship is about living a simple lifestyle (Saving) but still being wise as serpents and innocent as doves in business (Make) with a focus on building the Kingdom of God (Give).  Makes sense to me.

I have spiritual goals.  I believe that my life purpose is to please God and take joy in my relationship with Him and using everything at my disposal to promote the Kingdom of God and live a decent, but simple, lifestyle in the meantime.  I believe that making as much money as I can in business (if that is my gift) is an honorable endeavor.  I have some freedom to pick and choose which kind of business, always thinking about working to my strengths, and able to pray for and expect increase and blessing from God.

I believe that my mission is to write, publish and sell my books, seminars and movies and influence my generation as an international speaker, spiritual life coach and podcaster.

That mission is the expression of my Life Purpose and fits within the overall vision of God for me and my integration into His church.  As part of the church, which has a key role to play in the Kingdom of God, evangelism and discipleship is the primary goal.  But as part of the broader Kingdom of God, each of us must fulfill our individual roles and responsibilities in a way that influences their generation to take the rule of God in this world seriously.

I also have spiritual goals that have to do with my health.  If my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, then I am responsible to take care of it.  Enough said.

Still, as Paul points out, physical training is good but spiritual training is better (I Timothy 4:8).  So, the ultimate foundation for my spiritual goals is my relationship with God.

Here is how I express that most important aspect of my life.

Created for His Pleasure

The joy of the Lord is my strength.
Getting rid of all my small ambitions
to make this one thing the hallmark of my life.
To please God.
Whether I get what I pray for or not,
whether my circumstances change or not,
whether I am healed or not.
To consider every sacrifice a small price to pay
to obtain the pearl of great price.
His pleasure. 

The Desert Warrior

Let’s talk to God….

Lord, I know that my relationship with you is fundamental but I also know that you expect me to work on all the levels of my life.  Relationships.  Health. Stewardship.  Sometimes I like to blame a lot of things, situations, people, even You, for why I can’t seem to get much traction in the practical things of life.  But I know that isn’t fair.  The truth is the problem is me.  I am often unwilling to pay the price to become the kind of person who is worthy of the resources to do effective ministry.  I don’t want to become an unworthy servant.  Teach me to be like you.  Worthy of your trust.  In your name I pray.  Amen

“For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” I Corinthians 9:16 NIV

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

The Holiness Project – Christian Hedonism

Joy is Not Optional.  That is the declaration of Pastor John Piper from Desiring God.  He coined the term Christian Hedonism and it certainly puts a spin on things.  Listen to what he says….

Christian Hedonism is the conviction that God’s ultimate goal in the world (his glory) and our deepest desire (to be happy) are one and the same, because God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. Not only is God the supreme source of satisfaction for the human soul, but God himself is glorified by our being satisfied in him. Therefore, our pursuit of joy in him is essential.

This is a truth that many (if not most) modern Christians simply do not understand or experience. I want to take a closer look at it precisely because I did’t get it either for a long time. Now I have a glimpse of that far country, that beautiful vision, and I want to share it with you.

The problem with most of us (myself included) is that having joy in my relationship with God is not that common. Certainly there are moments of joy but it is not a common experience. Certainly I can compare it with my relationship with my family and understand that there are moments of joy and, in other moments, there is anger and pain and depression as well. Not necessarily because of my family. Just because of life.

Is an abiding joy in God even possible? And, if so, what are the necessary conditions that would make that happen? I’m not sure how to arrive at that heady place going in a straight line, so I will attempt a slight detour that may act as a roadmap to that beautiful country.

Sometimes it is good to take a detour. What I propose is that we talk about God’s purpose for our lives and start there. If we cannot find joy in God’s plans for our life, we will fight Him or ignore Him and, certainly, we will find no joy in our relationship with Him. But if we discover that God’s plans for us are full of joy beyond belief, then we may begin to understand that joy is, indeed, essential, and moreover, practical in ways that I am only just now beginning to understand.

Yes, this is a Hedonistic approach to my relationship with God. What’s In It For Me is not something we are used to saying (or admitting) in church circles but, in this case, I think it is allowed. After all, even someone like C.S. Lewis was a Christian Hedonist. He claimed that there were natural benefits to a relationship and that, even though we may not have gotten into the relationship for the benefits, we still expect that they are part of the package.

Love goes beyond the benefits. Love is about the other, not about what I get out of it. Still, we need to be convinced that this relationship is good for us, brings natural benefits and, ultimately, is a source of joy. In other words, we may love someone who does not love us back. Not a good basis for marriage. But when the love is mutual, the relationship is natural and the result is joy. Of course.

In the passages I quoted at the beginning of this post, on the one hand we have Paul saying “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel…” and on the other hand, we have God declaring through Jeremiah that He has good plans for us and a future. So which one is it? Is Paul telling us that he is under obligation to preach the gospel, that it brings no joy, that he is not in agreement with God’s plan and future for him? Not at all. We know better.

Yes, there is a deep passionate need for Paul to preach the Gospel but it was because he had accepted God’s plans for him so deeply into his heart that his hunger and thirst to please God could only be expressed by fulfilling God’s desire to preach the Gospel through him.

What am I trying to say? Just this. For many of us, we simply don’t believe that God’s plans for us will bring us the benefits we want, the relationships we want, the joy we want. God’s plans are “heavy” and difficult and often painful and takes great spiritual maturity to accept and carry out. No doubt. But that doesn’t sound like much joy. I think we are missing something.

Sometimes I hear people say that they always had a dream to be a great musician but they knew God wanted them to be a missionary and so that is what they did. Now they are back 30 or 40 years later, ready to retire and full of regret that they never pursued their dreams. What a tragedy!

Yes, God wants us all to build the Kingdom of heaven and bring people to God for salvation to become disciples. If you have read anything that I have written over the past number of years, I believe that evangelism is the key focus of the church that all of us need to be involved in. The question is how?

The mistake to avoid is thinking that God’s plans for your life are somehow different from the dreams you have in your heart to do. After all, I remind them, who do you think put those dreams in your heart in the first place? Where do you think you got your musical skill? Your job on this earth is self-actualization. Period.

Self-actualization? What in the world are you talking about? I’m talking about become the best, real YOU that you can possibly become. The glory of God is man fully alive to Him in Christ. Yes, you need to be in Christ. We are not talking about the process of salvation here. But when you become a Christian you don’t need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Who you are is no accident. Now that you are in Christ, you need to come fully alive to God. What does that mean?

Yes, we can talk about the spiritual fruit and gifts, the spiritual armour and disciplines, but let’s also talk about the creational side of things as well. The spiritual and the creational have come together now that you are in Christ. Everything is spiritual. Nothing is left out of your relationship to God. Even sin is spiritual in the negative sense. Everything has to do with our relationship with God. If we are good at music before being a Christian, we are still good at music afterwards. That music was put in you by God who knew you before the foundations of the world.

The music in you is spiritual by definition. The music in you, the dreams that you have, the abilities, skills, talents you have are part of what it means to come totally alive in Him. You have been living like a zombie in sin but now you are in Christ and learning to come fully alive in (and through) your relationship with God. That concept of coming fully alive is what I mean by self-actualization. Becoming everything that God planned for you to become with the spiritual and the creational integrated into one beautiful whole.

What that means is that God’s plans for you include your dreams, include your deepest desires and plans. God is not working at cross purposes with you. He wants to empower you. He wants you to become a powerful influencer in your realm of relationships as a child of God. Yes, a powerful influencer. That doesn’t mean you have to be an extrovert or a celebrity or a famous speaker (unless of course that is the dream and ability that God put in you). It means that you need to become everything that God has in store for you, that He put in you in the first place. That is your unique way of becoming fully alive in Him.

Now a few cautions are in order.

If we are convinced that God’s plans for us integrate perfectly with our dreams and abilities, we have a great starting point and I think we can assume that if there is a problem, it is probably on our side, not His.

What I mean to say is that many people don’t know what their dreams are or they are unclear about what they really want. We aren’t used to talking in those terms in the church. What do you really, really want? What are your dreams? If you had one year to live and you could not fail, what would you do? Take stock of your life and ask some hard questions.

The question about what you want is a bit dangerous because we still have sin within us and that sin can still mess up the process but if we are convinced that we need to do some work to find that plan and future that God has for us, at least we can agree that it will bring us great joy.

So, be careful to recognize that sin may blind us to our real dreams and abilities. Fear will try to cut us off at the very start of the process. A lack of resources and support from family and friends are easy excuses not to do anything. The amount of work that it involves can get us a bit depressed right off the start.

Furthermore, we often have secondary desires that are rooted in sin and fear and a low self-esteem. Saying that we just want a million bucks is not very helpful. What would you do with those resources? Focusing on a luxurious lifestyle may be nice for a while but also not very helpful. You don’t have to be a Christian to know that money can’t buy you happiness (or love).

To the degree that your desires are rooted in your ego, your necessities, your primeval desire to control your world, they are not your true dreams. Remember that we are talking about coming fully alive in God through Christ. Your identity has changed. You are a child of God. Part of the royal household. You don’t have to play in the mudpuddles of life. It isn’t about trying to control your world, or protect yourself from the dangers and difficulties of this life. God is your provider, your protector. You are in Him. You are part of the family already.

So what do you want? Most people don’t really know. They have stopped dreaming and need to be woken up. Then they need to be challenged to come up with dreams, dig deep for their best self, and focus on that.

Whatever we come up with, one thing is for sure. What we need to be convinced of is that God’s plans and future for us will bring us great joy and therefore it is worth the effort and risk to make it real, to come fully alive in Him.

The Desert Warrior

Let’s talk to God…..

Lord, we want to come fully alive in You. Thank you for saving us and thank you for teaching us that you saved us for joy and peace and a life full of purpose and adventure. Yes, it will be difficult and that isn’t a surprise. We know that the kind of people we become as we fight for our dreams is the real prize at the end of the fight. Thank you for giving us life and giving it to us in abundance. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.