Categories
Evergreen Midweek

Moving Forward: The Right Goals

Introduction

For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few and meaningless days they pass through like a shadow? (Ecclesiastes 6:12).

If we were living our life as God wanted it to be lived, what would it look like? Sometimes we think in terms of Bible reading, prayer, and evangelism. These are all good things, but they begin with salvation. We forget that salvation is salvation unto something. It is meant to restore us to what we were created to do. So, we need to ask, what did God create us to do? To answer that, we need to go back to Genesis 1–3. Here is a responsive reading that highlights the key elements of what God made humans to do and how it is reflected in the rest of the Scriptures.

A quote on the goal of creation from a philosopher: “And this is the task that I’ve laid down for myself, to set you free from every obstacle, compulsion, and restraint to make you free, prosperous, and happy, as one who looks to God in everything, great or small” (Epictetus, Discourses, 2.19).

Scripture Reading

Creation: By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done (Gen. 2:2–3).
Response: Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness (Psalm 29:2).
Creation: Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground” (Gen. 1:26).
Response: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight (Prov 3:5–6).
Creation: God blessed them . . . and the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food (Gen. 1:28, 2:8–9).
Response: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts (Deuteronomy 6:4–6).
Creation: The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
Response: How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore (Psalm 133:1–3).
Creation: God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Genesis 1:28).
Response: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving (Col. 3:23–24).
Creation: God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. . . . I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food (Gen. 1:31, 29).
Response: God created [these foods] to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer (1 Tim. 4:3–5).

What has the church heard in the Word? Some Confessional References

Westminster Larger Catechism, Q/A 1 What is the chief and highest end of man? A. Man’s Chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.

Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 6 – Q. Did God create people so wicked and perverse? A. No. God created them good1 and in his own image, that is, in true righteousness and holiness, so that they might truly know God their creator, love him with all their heart, and live with God in eternal happiness, to praise and glorify him.

Westminster Confession of Faith, 4.2 – After God had made all other creatures, He created man, male and female, with reasonable and immortal souls, endued with knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness, after His own image, having the law of God written in their hearts, and power to fulfill it; and yet under a possibility of transgressing, being left to the liberty of their own will, which was subject unto change. Beside this law written in their hearts, they received a command not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil; which while they kept, they were happy in their communion with God, and had dominion over the creatures.

The Four Areas: Brief Summation

  1. We are created for communion with God
  2. We are created for communion with people
  3. We are created for consequential labor
  4. We are created for creational enjoyment

Some Diagnostic Questions

  1. How is my relationship with God? Where do I stand with Him?
  2. Am I taking time to develop my relationship with God? If so, how?
  3. What is the state of human relationships in my life?
  4. What is my relationship with the important people in my life like?
  5. Do I have friends and people in my life who encourage and challenge me?
  6. How am I being productive in service to God and others?
  7. What are my gifts and how am I using them?
  8. What are my opportunities to serve, and am I taking advantage of them?
  9. What do I enjoy doing? Am I taking time to enjoy doing good things?
  10. Do I take time to enjoy the good things God has given me, or do I rush through them? Do I ever go outside and just enjoy the beauty of God’s creation?
Categories
Evergreen Midweek

Moving Forward to Joyful Service

A Prayer for Joy
O God of Infinite Joy, Our Shield and Portion, fill us with all joy and peace as we trust in you so that we may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit and be empowered to serve your church and the world, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Scripture
Reader: Sing to him, sing praise to him;
People: Tell of all his wonderful acts.
Reader: Glory in his holy name;
People: Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice
Reader: Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
People: Let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
Response: Let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
People: Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!
Reader: The righteous will rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him;
People: All the upright in heart will glory in him!
Reader: Light shines on the righteous
People: And joy on the upright in heart.
Reader: Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous,
People: And praise his holy name.
Reader: Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
People: Let the people of Zion be glad in their King.
Reader: Let them praise his name with dancing
People: And make music to him with timbrel and harp.
Reader: Rejoice in the Lord always.
People: I will say it again: Rejoice!
Reader: Though you have not seen him,
People: You love him;
Reader: And even though you do not see him now,
People: you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.
Reader: Jesus said to His Father, “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world,
People: So that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.
Reader: For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking,
People: But of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,
Reader: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him
People: So that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Confessional References

Heidelberg Catechism

Q & A 1 – Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death? A. That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.

He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.

Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

Q & A 2, Q. What must you know to live and die in the joy of this comfort?
A. Three things: first, how great my sin and misery are; second, how I am set free from all my sins and misery; third, how I am to thank God for such deliverance.

Q&A 90, Q. What is the rising-to-life of the new self? A. Wholehearted joy in God through Christ and a love and delight to live according to the will of God by doing every kind of good work.

Westminster Standards
WLC 1 What is the chief and highest end of man?
A. Man’s Chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.

WCF 18.3 And therefore it is the duty of everyone to give all diligence to make his calling and election sure; that thereby his heart may be enlarged in peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, in love and thankfulness to God, and in strength and cheerfulness in the duties of obedience, the proper fruits of this assurance: so far is it from inclining men to looseness.

WSC 36 What are the benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification? A. The benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification, are, assurance of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end.

Outline of Discussion

1. Introduction – joy in the midst of hard and difficult experiences. Introduction to the idea of moving forward.

2. Scripture Reading

3. What are we saved for?

4. How I learned to look for joy

5. The Scriptures on joy

6. The Confessions on joy

7. Developing joy

  • Do we make it a goal?
  • Do we see it as a process?
  • Are we re-thinking all of life from God’s perspective?
  • Do we look at suffering as an unmitigated evil or also as an opportunity for growth?
  • Do we get other people involved?

8. Lacie Shingleton on joy

9. Common objections/questions to the pursuit and priority of joy

  • My life is and has been rough, how can I have joy?
  • How can I add developing joy to my already very busy schedule?
  • I don’t have a bubbly personality.

Note: this lesson will be interactive. You can feel free to ask questions at any time. Read a thorough discussion of this subject here.

Overview of the Moving Forward Series

1. The Goal — What We Were Created for
2. What Keeps Us from It — The complexity of sin
3. What God Does to Restore Us — God’s Work of Redemption and Restoration
4. Accepting God’s Redemption and Applying it to Our Lives
5. Means of Growth in Grace
6. Maximizing Our Service
7. Hope: Prospects for Moving Forward

See a more extensive outline here.