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The Lord's Guidance on Goals
The Gospel of John
John 10:10-11
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Grayson Baptist Church - March 8, 2017
(Revised October 26, 2019)
MESSAGE:
*Tonight, we will take a closer vs. 10-11 because here God gives us some very important lessons about goals.
Goals are important in life.
A wise man once said, "If you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time."
And that is true.
On the other hand, Les Brown once said: "Shoot for the moon.
-- Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."
(1)
*Goals are important in life, and spiritual goals are the most important of all.
The Apostle Paul knew this very well.
After he had been a Christian for many years Paul still strived to keep going forward for Christ.
*In Philippians 3:12-14 from the New Living Translation, Paul wrote, 12.
I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection.
But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.
13.
No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14.
I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
*God wants us to have wisdom about goals for our lives: What matters, and what doesn't matter, what helps, and what hurts.
1. SO FIRST: JESUS TELLS US THAT SATAN HAS GOALS FOR OUR LIVES.
*We need to know, and we better believe that Satan has some goals for our lives.
The Lord tells us about Satan's goals in the first part of vs. 10, and here Jesus said, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy."
*Steal.
-- Kill.
-- Destroy: These are horrible goals for you and me.
But they are Satan's greatest desires for our lives.
And because we are born with a sinful nature, we are all susceptible to his goals.
*I was reminded of this truth in a story Jonathan Busch told.
It was about a preacher who was trying to teach children about honoring their father and mother, and the preacher used an example with money.
He started by talking about the things that money can't buy.
He said, "Money can't buy laughter, and it can't buy love."
*Then to drive his point home, the preacher asked, "What would you do if I offered you a thousand dollars to not love your mother and father?"
The children sat there in stunned silence.
But then a small voice asked, "How much would you give me to not love my big sister?"
(2)
*We are all subject to selfishness and sin, so, we need to guard our hearts and be on the lookout for Satan's goals in our lives.
And what are they again?
Jesus said: "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy."
[1] THE DEVIL'S FIRST GOAL IN OUR LIVES HAS TO DO WITH DECEPTION
*That's the main way Satan steals from us.
Jesus called the devil "the father of lies."
In John 8:44, Jesus spoke to the Pharisees who hated Him and wanted to kill Him.
There the Lord told them, "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.
He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.
When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."
*Oh, how the devil loves to lie! Revelation 12:9 speaks of him deceiving the whole world.
And the devil will always try to lie to us about who we are, about what we should do, about what's good for us, and what's not good for us.
[2] SATAN'S GOALS FOR US INCLUDE DECEPTION.
THEY ALSO INCLUDE DEATH.
*Death is the devil's second goal for our lives.
As Jesus said in vs. 10, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill."
The devil wants to kill people, yes, physically, but most of all, he wants to kill people spiritually.
*Well, if we are Christians, if we have trusted in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, thank God, Satan can't kill us spiritually!
But he still wants to kill our hopes, our dreams, and our potential in life.
[3] THE DEVIL'S GOALS FOR US INCLUDE DEATH.
THEY ALSO INCLUDE DESTRUCTION.
*Again in vs. 10, Jesus said, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy."
The devil wants to destroy our homes, our trust, and our happiness.
He wants to destroy our children, our church and our country.
*Satan is like the innocent looking butterfly Michael Green described.
It's the "Maculinea Arion."
This creature lays its eggs on a plant.
Then after feeding on the plant for several weeks the young caterpillars make their way to the ground.
There the caterpillars meet a certain kind of ant.
And the caterpillars begin to produce a sweet fluid from a special gland.
The ant likes the taste, and it carries a caterpillar home to its nest.
There the ants drink the sweet fluid produced by the caterpillar.
And, what does the caterpillar eat? -- The baby ants.
(3)
*That's how the devil likes to operate in our lives.
He puts something very tempting in front of us.
It's sweet and seems harmless.
But just like the caterpillar, Satan always takes more than he gives!
He steals, kills, and destroys.
2. JESUS TELLS US ABOUT SATAN'S GOALS FOR OUR LIVES.
BUT THANK GOD! -- THE SAVIOR ALSO HAS GOALS FOR OUR LIVES.
*And Jesus tells us His goals at the end of vs. 10, where He said, "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."
[1] THE LORD'S FIRST GOAL IS TO GIVE US LIFE, EVERLASTING LIFE!
*When Jesus said: "I have come that they may have life," He was talking about spiritual life, everlasting life, eternal life!
*Multiple verses of Scripture confirm this truth.
For example, John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
John 3:36 says, "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
*Then, in John 4:14 Jesus said this to a lost Samaritan woman, "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.
But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.''
And in John 5:21, Jesus said, "As the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will."
*The Lord's first goal is to give us everlasting life!
But there was only one way our everlasting life could have ever been possible, and that was through the cross of Jesus Christ!
The cross was Jesus' ultimate purpose in coming.
And the Lord talked about this in vs. 11, where Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep."
*Hebrews 2:9-15, explains it to us this way:
9.
But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.
10.
For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
11.
For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,
12. saying: "I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the congregation I will sing praise to You.''
13.
And again: "I will put My trust in Him.''
And again: "Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.''
14. Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
15. and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
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