Personal Vision

Personal Vision

Big Idea:

In 2004 I want to be who God wants me to be.

January 11, 2004

Great Bend, Kansas

Introduction: My Father’s famous quote, which he used often around our house, I think, is very useful at the beginning of a New Year. He would say, matter-of- factly, and poignantly as well, “I’ll make you think.” I believe that is what we do often when we enter a new year, we think back on the previous year, reflect on the good and the bad and then give it a rating on a scale from 1 – 10.

What is your rating? 1 – poor, 10 – great

As I reflected on 2003 I was hit with this phrase, “2003 a year to renew.” That’s what we did in our family. We entered into several home improvement projects, one to put a new roof on our home, secondly to repair a damaged wall in the hallway, renovate our den completely and finally, I spent five days in Colorado skiing and rejuvenating my tired mind and body. No, seriously, I did. Sometimes we do stuff that we love to do and it rejuvenates us. Try it sometime. As a matter of fact, I even had a full body message from head to toe. Let me tell you, if you have never had one before, you must make it a New Years resolution to have one done soon. After the message, I felt like I could ski three or four more days. IT WAS GREAT!

Well, 2003 was the year to renew in our household. What about 2004? Last year I didn’t start the year off with the goal of renewing my house, however, as I reflect on the past 12 months, that is what happened.

2004 is here. We are 11 days into it and most of us have either forgotten about our New Years resolutions or haven’t even begun them yet. Either way, what will 2004 be for you?

Let me tell you what 2004 will be for me. It is simply this: “In 2004 I want to be who God wants me to be.” Let me explain. I want to be everything God has created me to be in 2004, nothing more, and nothing less. So how does one achieve such a high and lofty goal? In I Thessalonians 5:24, it says, “The one who calls you is faithful to do it.” In other words, I am not an island unto myself, but a child of God, a child who was made with a purpose and plan in the mind of Almighty God.

Now if I was made for a purpose, and I know that I was made for a purpose as we read in Jeremiah 29:11 which says, “For I know the plans that I have for you.” Declared the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” Then I was uniquely created in the mind of God to do something and something BIG. The Bible tells us that were saved to do good works for our father in heaven. Ephesians 2:10 says, “for we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” So if my Father in heaven has determined what I am to do and he created me for these things, then all I can be in 2004 is what God want me to be. Therefore, I know that which I do for Almighty God of heaven will be good and bear much fruit.

John 15:5 says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing.”

There is a qualifier to this however. We must understand that in order to be set apart to do good works, we must have a personal and growing faith in Jesus Christ. This all begins when we acknowledge our need for a savior, secondly, repent from our sins and thirdly, commit to follow Jesus Christ through obedience everyday. Once we have established a relationship with Jesus Christ, it is then that the plans for us in God can be revealed to us and we are able to bear “much fruit.”

So then as Christ-followers, we must come to a place where we know and can identify God’s good and perfect will for our lives. There are two ways this can happen. One, we can come to God with a list of gifts and passions, a job description and a list of demands and ask God to honor and bless it – which he will not, or we can begin as a blank sheet of paper (HOLD UP A SHEET OF PAPER HERE), and allow God to fill in the details.