We are in our Annual Daniel’s fasting. We started a week ago and we have 2 weeks ahead of us still.
We were talking about fasting with our children, and they decided to give up sweets; all kinds of sweets, as well as video games and YouTube. Later on Ellen came to me and said: Dad, can I add 2 more things to my list? I said, Yes, I’m so proud of you! And she said, I decided to give up school and homework as well… Oh no, something is wrong here… But they got the meaning…rss
Now, during this time of fasting, it’s also time time to pray, to give up things, time to change, and I believe you need to make your goals very clear in your soul. You have to make it clear to yourself that a new time has come for you and your family! You are waking up to new things, you’re receiving a new vision from God, a new portion of faith, He is coming and giving you strength, new ideas, blessings… so it’s time to plan for a new life!
I believe that a life with no goals is pointless. We only have a few years of life on earth, and we have to live wisely, be smart, use our time and strength for something bigger, we have to live for Christ!
Do you have goals in your life? If yes, do you have a plan?
“A goal without a plan is only a dream”. If you have goals, you need a plan to reach it.
And the message today is: You need a Plan!
I like to make plans. I like to plan things ahead, set goals for myself, for my family, ministry…I learned it with my parents and in the job I used to work.
Someone once said: “If you fail to plan you plan to fail”.
I used to be a Bank manager, so I had a number of goals to reach daily. It used to be a crazy life, I had to sell many things, but I got something good from it.
When I was working, I had a life-plan for the next 10 years. Crazy isn’t it?
Half way through it God came and ruined all I had planned. He was working on me to work through me later…
So I understood that I would have to keep making plans, listening to God and giving it all up in his hands… I have a goal, so I will do everything to get there!
Jesus said something important about goals, plans and what we must do to follow him.
In Luke 14, we can see Jesus speaking about the cost of being a disciple. And this is the passage I want to read with you today. From there, we will learn how to set goals, make plans and follow Jesus. Amen?
Let’s read together in Luke 14.
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.” Luke
Jesus was with a large crowd. He started teaching them about the Kingdom of God and the cost of being a disciple of God. Just before this, Jesus had said that people who love their families more than they love God they could not be His disciple. Also, Jesus said that to follow Him we must carry our cross! There is a cost to being a disciple of God. We have to give up things of this earth, we have to change our behaviour, we have to Love God first and our family after!
And now, in the text Jesus said: “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower!
Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have e enough money to complete it?”
1st – Have a strong desire to build a tower!
Jesus said: Suppose one of you wants… He was not imposing something on them…
Why? Because following Jesus is not an obligation, you do it out of Love! You have to want it… you have to want God!
God has said:
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13
Also, Why Did Jesus use a tower as an example? Why didn’t he use the example of a chair, a house or a well? Because he was talking about something big! A tower!
Following Jesus is something bigger! It’s the best thing we could do! It’s the best decision any person can make.
Also, in following Jesus, you will be able to think bigger….you will start to have good desires for your life, for your family… you will think bigger! If you think small, you will only achieve small things…
If you Follow Jesus, you can have a great vision for your future! So, have this desire to follow Jesus and live something bigger. Start thinking of how you could build a tower, how you could build a strong relationship with God, how you could build a lovely family, how you could build up towards your dream…. how you could please God through your life. Long for it. This is the first lesson! Have a strong desire to follow Jesus.
2nd Sit down, Invite Jesus over and Make a plan
Jesus said: If you want to build a tower (follow Jesus, live something bigger), you have to sit down and estimate the cost.
That means, in order to live a good life, you have to first sit down, ask Jesus to come beside you, have a chat with him, let Him tell you what you need to plan…
You need a plan.
The bible says:
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.
Proverbs 16:3
Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21
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
Today we will do an exercise together. We will fulfil the word of God. I invite you to sit down, ask Jesus to be beside you and create a plan together! We are in the beginning of 2022 and many things can be made new through God. Dreams can become true. Your family can be saved, your friends can receive Jesus, the best gift ever…
So at the end we will write it all down. We will show Jesus our desire to live something bigger, and to follow him throughout our life. And this lesson should be applied to many other things.
- You want to be a good worker. What do you have to do? You need a plan. Sit down, invite Jesus and make a plan.
- To be a man of God. What do you have to do? Well, I tell you: You need a plan. Sit down, invite Jesus and make a plan. This year I will read the entire bible, I will pray, I will come to prayers meetings… I’ll do things differently than I did last year.
- To be a good husband or a good wife. What do you have to do? You need a plan. Yes. Sit down, invite Jesus and make a plan. I need to change my behaviour, I have to be patient, I will show my love…
Sit down, invite Jesus and make a plan!
3rd Finish what you’ve started
Jesus said: “Estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it…”
I like to always finish what I start. Do you like? When I was a teenager, I had a hard time with it, because I used to find it very hard to finish things I had started. But one day, I was changed by God and I got it. Now, I strive to always see things through the end, and end them well…
It’s so frustrating when we have to stop what we are doing for any reason…
Do you know anyone who never finishes what they started? I do! But don’t worry, they are not here today… it’s not you…
I have seen people who start a journey as a family, and suddenly they give up of their marriage….
I have seen people who start to work for God’s kingdom, and suddenly they give up on everything… they leave the church, they lose their friends, they cannot finish what they start.
I have seen people who have big dreams, good dream, but they never estimate the cost… They don’t consider if they will have energy to go to the end…
When I was 15, I took part in a race.
The stadium was full of people. When I started running, I was in the first place. I looked behind me and the others runners were slow… I thought: Why are they are so slow? Losers… I got this… It’s my race! Nobody here is as fast as me…
But what I didn’t realise is that we had a long away ahead of us. So at the first turn, everyone had already overtaken me and I was last. I had no more strength to run on. They had it planned. They started slow and half way through the race, they ran faster.
Conclusion: I got to the end of the race walking, in the last place, with no strength and asking for water! I didn’t estimate the cost…
Following Jesus is the same: We have to estimate the cost, we have to know that the way won’t be easy, because we have to go against the desires of our flesh… We have to keep up with daily changes in our lives… it’s hard.
Somebody once said: “You can’t finish what you don’t start, and you should never start what you are not committed to finish”.
Some people are afraid to start because they don’t know if they can ever see it through…
Others start a life with Christ, but they give up before the end…
You have to be committed to Christ, and go until the end of this race of faith!
Jesus said:
“…Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.”
If you are not able to do something, don’t start it. First, make up a plan! You need a plan.
Jesus said: If the King sees that he will lose the battle, try to ask for terms of peace. Make a deal. Make a plan.
You can apply this to many areas of your life.
If you fast, go until the end… Fulfil your commitment.
If you want to lose weight, start slow, because you have a big way ahead.
If you have an addiction, start to give up it up slowly, a little bit every day, and God will strengthen you to be totally free!
From now on, finish what you start! Don’t be afraid. God is with you and he is able to guide you through it. Amen?!
4th Give it up for love!
Jesus said at the very end the text:
“…those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.”
To follow Jesus, there is a price you must pay. You have to give up everything.
To follow our Master and Saviour, you need to give up of who you are, what you have, your positions, career, friends, desires….
And this is a difficult command.
You don’t need to win every argument… You don’t need to win every battle…
You don’t need to be right all the time…
You are not perfect, you don’t have to know everything all the time…
Give up being the first in everything…
Give up being the smart guy in the room…
Give up being the strongest woman of all women…
Give up of bad behaviours….
Give up being friends with evil people…
Give up evil desires… Give up evil things.
To follow Jesus we have to give up many things that we like to keep inside of us… Like evil character, thoughts, feelings…
Give it all up for love!
This fasting time is a time of changes! It will be so good when after this fasting, people can look at you and say: You’ve changed! You are a new person! I can feel God in you…this is our desire!
So:
-Have a strong desire to build a tower!
Live for something bigger, follow Jesus path!
-Sit down, invite Jesus and make a plan.
-Finish what you’ve start…
-Give up it for love.
And now, we will practice it.
You have a desire in your heart to live something new, bigger.
You will sit down, invite Jesus over and make plan.
You will get a piece of paper where you can write down your goals, what you want to give up in your life… and what you want to have… like any behaviour you want to improve, etc…
You have there…
Spiritual Goals
Family Goals
Professional Goals
I want to give up… (write down what you want to stop doing… Write down how you want to please God and live in harmony with your family and neighbours).
This paper is yours. You don’t have to give it back to me, it’s yours.
You can keep with you and at the end of the year you can look and check what has changed and what goals you have to achieve God’s help.