RESOLUTION OR PURPOSE? (Setting Goals)

By Pastor Richard Minet

RESOLUTION OR PURPOSE?
(Setting Goals)

Contents:

• Setting goals this year 2018.
• No day, month or year is new without God.
• Resolution without God, can actually become a Revolution against God.
• What makes a year new or old.

Exo. 12:1,12,14
And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment:I am the Lord. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.

2018 is here now, and now this is the time that several people start thinking about New Year’s resolutions. Things to do or not to do, who to see and who to avoid, where to go and where not to, what to give more attention to and what not, the kind of things you'll tolerate or disallow, and the list goes on.

We set personal goals, fitness goals, organizational goals and more. But what about goals to meet the purpose of the one who both made the year new as well as brought us through into the new year?

By itself, no day, month or year is new without God. Ask yourself, what really makes today, Sunday January 1st different from yesterday Saturday 31st December, is it because it is fairer, cloudier, cooler or what?. Did all your debts suddenly disappear, will the day make the last exam you failed a success suddenly, will it make the guy who dumped you return suddenly, does it suddenly turn a tenant into a landlord, all of these answers are no. In fact do you know some people lost their loved ones today, while you are shouting happy new year, someone is crying bitterly because their marriage just broke this morning. So what's the thing about the year being new when it doesn't really offer anything different apart from maybe the excitement, screams and shouts of "Happy New Year".


Friends, what makes a year new or old is not our shootings or resolutions which we most times only fall away from few days, weeks and for those who are dogged, maybe months after. So what makes a year new or old, there are three things according to our text.

First is; WHAT GOD SAYS:
Exo. 12:1, And the LORD SPAKE unto Moses..., saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. So a year is only new on grounds of WHAT GOD SAYS; hence failure to receive word from God, leaves your year as good as old.

Secondly: THE THINGS THAT GOD WILL DO: Exo. 12:12, For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. A year will be new or remain old not because of the things you purpose or plan to do but because of what God will do.

And thirdly, HIS INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT WHAT YOU SHOULD DO: Exo. 12:14, And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. What God alone does, cannot determine the condition of a year without your input.

Do you know a Resolution without God, can actually become a Revolution against God? Peter was saying; Not so Lord, when God was actually saying; Peter arise kill and eat. (Acts 10:13-16) What if like Peter, your resolution is to travel less when God wants you to travel more? Supposing you are promising to do more work when God is wanting you to rest more or spend more time with family. While it's good to have resolutions, what should be paramount in our hearts should not just be what we want or don't want, who we wish to be or not be, etc, but what God has designed for us this year.

Jer. 29:11
For I know the thoughts (plans) that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

You see, your destiny (God's purpose and plans for you) is what determined your DESIGN, (the way you were created) your talents and abilities and you can't function this new year differently without it. Purpose helps discipline your energies. It protects you from doing good things. Note there's a difference between GOOD THINGS and RIGHT THINGS, doing the right thing is more important than doing a good thing. Aside this, who, what, how, where and your how, are all tied to God's plans and design for you this year. Stop trying to do or be, without first trying to see. He told Jeremiah; thou hast well seen, for I will hasten my word to perform it. Jer. 1:12.

Like Jeremiah, God cannot and will not do anything for you outside his plans and purpose. He is not obligated to finance your plans, he only provides for PURPOSE. According to Dr. Myles Munroe, whatever God calls for, he first provides for, whatever He demands, he first supplies, whatever He expects, he first injects. Whatever God assigns, he first designs and whatever God calls out, he first puts in.

You must therefore resolve to spend time with God as the year begins to find out what his plans for you and your marriage or relationships are. This should be your greatest resolution. Try discover issues like; whether you should travel this year or not, when exactly that marriage of yours should hold, ask him; "Lord, is it in your plans this year or not", this will help direct your prayers, instead of just pitching yourself against God's plans which will only amount to effort in futility. Instead of coming up with all manner of strategies to humble, break or win your spouse over, ask God, what's your plan and strategy for me to make a better love life and home.

You see, again, destiny and purpose preserves you, it protects you from waste, it defines you, it'll save you the trouble of struggling passionately or spending aimlessly to change your physical self, it'll help you realise you are the WAY you are because of WHY you are. Suddenly, you'll receive light that'll help you stop complaining about your Body, Nails, Shape, Looks, your Heights, etc, when you discover all of these were designed to suit your destiny, you'll not only reduce the kind of attention you give to your nails, hair, shape, clothes or any of these but believe more in yourself. This revelation will help the real God purposed and designed you to begin to migrate to the man, woman and the world that is waiting for your destiny.

POINT OF MEDITATION:
1. In what ways do you think purpose can preserve your energy this year?
2. State 7 kinds of resolution haven known this, that you think you should make this year.
 
Kindly Drop your answers below.

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