Where We Are Going

God has a goal.

The first thing I would like to note is the fact that the Apostle Paul says that God has a plan or a goal for His people. He writes, "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." God has a goal and a place where He wants His people to be. It is a place of great prestige and we are humbly honored to be seated there.

God's plan involves taking a group of rebels whom Paul calls "children of wrath," who are dead in trespasses and sins and who walk according to the course of this world, and saving them. He regenerates them or "makes them alive" by the Holy Spirit and sets them in a place of great honor. And He does all this because Paul says that He is rich in mercy. There are a lot of rich people in this world. There are those who have a lot of money, jewelry, cars, and houses. But God is rich in mercy. And that is what we need from God. We don't want justice. Justice would demand that each and every one of us should be sent to @#!*% for our rebellion against our Creator. What we want is mercy, where God takes wretched sinners and saves them.

Individuals should have goals.

Just as God has a goal, each one of us should have a goal as well. I've heard some people say that a believer should not plan ahead because the Bible teaches that we are to live one day at a time. Well, that is a misquote of the Bible. When the Lord says to live each day one at a time He is teaching us not to worry. The whole context of that quote is about worrying. Yes, we are to live each day one day at a time when it comes to worrying about the future, but the Lord also taught His people to plan ahead. Jesus said that a man does not start to build a tower unless he first sees if he has enough material to finish the job or that a king does not go into battle unless he knows if he can win (Luke 14:28-32). The Proverbs are full of exhortations to plan ahead. We are told to go to the ant and see how she stores up her food for the winter. The Apostle Paul tells the original recipients of his letter to the Romans that he was planning on going to Spain. So planning or setting goals is not wrong.

What kind of goals should we have for ourselves? Well, there are all sorts of goals that a person could set for himself. He could have financial goals for the year. That is, he could determine to set aside a certain amount each week or month for a rainy day. Or, maybe someone wants to lose a certain amount of weight in the coming year. If so, one would need to plan a diet and probably some sort of exercise program.

But I would like to offer some spiritual goals for your consideration. For example, have you ever read the Bible straight through? If you haven't, I would like to challenge you to do that. Start in Genesis and read right through to Revelation. It would mean reading about three chapters per day which can easily be done in about twenty minutes. Maybe another goal would be to pray more, especially family prayer. If you are not already doing it, I would like to challenge you to have family devotions. I'm speaking especially to the young fathers who should lead their families in worship.

Congregations should have goals.

So God has a goal and individuals should set goals for themselves. But congregations should have goals as well. One goal a congregation could have is to add new families. Take some time to think about families in your area who are not involved in a local church. Consider inviting them. According to studies, a big percentage of people who join a congregation came to that congregation because they were personally asked to visit by a member.

Another way this is accomplished is for the congregation to follow the Acts 2:42 model. That verse says,

"And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved."

In this passage we see the early church gathering for Bible study and, as they did, the Lord added to the congregation. Does your congregation have opportunities for Bible study? A Sunday School program or men's and women's Bible studies? If you have not already done it, consider being a part of one of those Bible studies. Another thing the early church did was fellowship. They ate together. It can be a very rewarding experience for congregations to have periodic fellowship meals together. However, when you go to one, intentionally speak to someone that you don't really know. Take advantage of that opportunity to make a new friend.

Why We Are Going

God wants to display His Glory.

This brings us to our second point which is why we are going where we are going. The motivation for our destination should always be the glory of God. In verses 6 and 7 we read that God "raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."

This idea of all things being done for the glory of God is a major theme in the Bible. All things, even our sanctification, are for God's glory. The beloved Psalm 23 tells us that He leads us in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake (emphasis added). Election and reprobation are also for God's glory. Paul asks the Romans in Rom. 9:22-23, " What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory?" Here the apostle says that God took a big chunk of clay and made two pots. One pot was for the purpose of holding trash and the other pot was for holding gold. But both were for the purpose of showing God's attributes. God wanted to display two things. He wanted to display His justice and His mercy. The way He does this is by judging sinners to @#!*% to satisfy justice. He displays His mercy by forgiving others through the great sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Again, it's all about God and His glory.

We should bring glory to God.

This means that everything we do should glorify God. This notion dictates to us that we are to pursue God's glory without compromise. One of the biggest mistakes that many church leaders are making today is that they have placed man at the center. Man's entertainment, man's enjoyment, man's fulfillment is what the modern church is all about. I read once that a church in Dallas has placed some big screen TVs in their fellowship hall so that people can watch the Dallas Cowboys play football during church. This is essentially what the Israelites of old did. They did not have big screen TVs, but they would take elements from the world and incorporate them into the worship of God. Over the course of years, they eventually abandoned the truth of God and exchanged it for a lie. Apostasy and idolatry was the result. If the modern church continues in this path of trying to be "seeker friendly," placing man's needs and entertainment at the center, Christianity as we know it will vanish from this country. God's glory must be the central theme of the church.

How We Are Going

God's program is Grace.

Our third and final point deals with how we are going to reach our goals. God's program for getting from here to there is and always has been grace. Paul says in verse 8 of our text that we are saved by grace. Grace is defined as unmerited favor. And unmerited favor is just that: it is unmerited. You cannot earn grace. You cannot buy it. You cannot work for it. There is no amount of good deeds that can be done to achieve grace. If you are a recipient of grace it is only because God, in His infinite mercy, looked down upon you and decided to bless you. It was not because you're smart, good-looking, or likable. It is solely because God shed his grace on you. Every believer should be very thankful for God's grace.

We must realize that any goal we achieve is by God's grace.

If you are a farmer and you had a good crop this year, it is not simply because you are smarter or a better farmer than your neighbor. It is because God graced you to have a good crop this year. If you are a Christian, it is not because you are wiser or holier than anyone else. It is solely due to God's grace. If our families are going to achieve any goals this year, it will be by God's grace. If we achieve any of our personal goals this year it will be by God's grace. If a congregation reaches its corporate goals this year it will be by God's grace. Just as God's glory is the central theme of the church, God's grace is the principal program of achieving anything for God.

In conclusion, we all should have goals. We should have financial goals, physical goals, and spiritual goals. We should have individual goals as well as corporate goals. But our ultimate goal is to glorify God. As Paul says in our text, God saved us "that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." So let us thank God for His grace. Let us live lives which demonstrate our thankfulness. And may the Name of the Lord be glorified by us.