Goals - Week 3

INTRO VIDEO

INTRODUCTION

3 MINUTES

Have you ever done something really stupid? You know, one of those decisions that seemed like a good idea at the time, but when it was all said and done, you realized it wasn’t as great of an idea as you thought? And you probably didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about the possible consequences of your decision before you made it, did you? I know I’ve done that!

PERSONAL STORY

· Challenging my little brother to jump the ramp on his bike to be a part of the “club”

· Really there was no club

· He took off full speed and the bike went straight up

· The petal cut the back of his head and he got 10 staples

· Got to keep the staple gun

You probably listened to this story and thought, “What?! How could you not have seen that coming?” And honestly, you’re probably right! If I’d taken the time to think about the choice I was making—and I mean really think about it—I probably would’ve realized it wasn’t the wisest choice to make.

TENSION

2 MINUTES

Here’s the thing: We all struggle with making wise choices. Every single day, we’re faced with decisions. And we can either make the wise choice—the one we probably know is best for us—or the unwise choice—the one that probably isn’t the best.

Maybe you stayed up all night playing Fortnite even though you knew you had a test the next morning. Or maybe you tried to show your friends that you could drink an entire gallon of milk without throwing up. Or maybe you lied to your parents about the guy you were texting or the party you were going to so you could see that girl. Whatever the choice, chances are you probably decided to do it without even considering the consequences. Maybe you knew it wasn’t wise, but you chose to do it anyway.

Why? Because the truth is, making wise choices just isn’t always easy!

Think about it! Everyday you have to decide whether you’re going to honor and respect your parents or talk back to them and break their rules. You have to decide if you’re going to try to do your best on that math assignment or just scribble something down at the last second. You have to decide if you’re going to stick up for that kid getting picked on during lunch or mock him like everyone else does.

And sometimes, we make the wise choice. We do the thing we know is right or best for us in the moment. And other times, we don’t. But here’s what I’ve found to be true any time we make the unwise choice: We don’t always consider the consequences.

Talking back to your parents or breaking their rules will eventually lead to a punishment or damaging the trust in your relationship. Breezing through your homework might get you by enough to complete the assignment, but it won’t help you pass the class at the end of the semester. Making fun of someone else might seem like the funny or popular thing to do at the time, but in the long run, it’s extremely hurtful to both you and the person you’re teasing.

See, every choice has a consequence. And sooner or later, the consequences of those unwise choices will catch up to you. Now you might be thinking, “Sure, that might be true, but why do I need to be worried about that right now? All I’m worried about right now is right now!”

And I get that! But whether we realize it or not, the choices we make today can have a major impact on our lives tomorrow. But that doesn’t change the fact that making wise choices right now is hard!

So what are we supposed to do? How can we start making wise choices, in big and small ways, even when it’s hard to do?

TRUTH

5 MINUTES

Luckily, we aren’t the first people who have dealt with having to make the choices. In fact, there’s a letter in the Bible that talks about this exact thing! It’s called Galatians, and it’s a letter that a guy known as the Apostle Paul wrote to a group of people that lived in Galatia.

Paul became a Christian a few years after Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead. And when he started following Jesus, Paul was all in! He eventually started several churches, including a few in Galatia. Paul really cared about the people in Galatia and wanted to make sure they were pursuing the right goals. That’s why he wrote them the letter we’re going to look at today!

In Galatians chapter 6, Paul talked to them specifically about making wise choices. Here’s what he said:

…You will always harvest what you plant (Galatians 6:7b NLT).

Okay let’s stop here. Paul wasn’t talking about actual planting here (because that would be weird advice, right?). He was using it as an illustration to teach the Galatians about the choices they were making. Now in case you haven’t spent much time in a garden lately, let me break this down for you.

INTERACTIVE: What Will Grow?

This is where you’ll put plant markers in pots to help students understand what it means to harvest what you plant. Check out the Communicator Guide for more details.

When it comes to gardening, you can only harvest—or produce—what you actually plant. So for example, if you plant corn [put the corn plant tag into a pot], that’s what’s going to grow in your garden. If you plant beans [put the bean plant tag into a pot], you’re going to eventually harvest beans. It wouldn’t make sense for someone to plant one thing and expect something different to grow from the ground. You have to plant the seeds now that you want to see grow later.

Now while we may not be expert gardeners, we’re all planting seeds in our lives every single day with our choices. Every decision we make today is going to grow or harvest something in our lives later. [Motion to the pots.] When we make wise choices, we’re planting seeds that have the potential to grow into something great in our lives. But when we make unwise choices, we’re planting seeds that have the potential to grow into things that aren’t so great.

That’s why making wise choices now is so important for our lives, not just today, but for tomorrow and beyond. If we want good things to grow in our lives later, we have to start planting the seeds for them by making wise choices now.

In other words, the goal is to live with the end in mind.

Why is this so important? Well, look at what Paul said next:

Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit (Galatians 6:8-9 NLT).

Harsh, right? That’s how serious Paul was about making sure the Galatians understood the consequences of their choices. When we plant seeds that are selfish [put the “selfish desires” plant tag into a pot], or sinful [put the “sin” plant tag into the same pot], or just unwise [put the “unwise choices” plant tag into the same pot], what will grow in our lives? According to Paul, nothing good! Eventually, it will harvest consequences that have the potential to destroy parts of our lives, our relationships, and our futures.

That’s why the next part is so important! Because Paul also pointed out that when we do good [put the “doing good” plant tag into the remaining empty pot] and make wise choices [put the “wise choices” plant tag into the same pot]—those that the Spirit of God leads us to make—we’ll harvest amazing things! When we believe in Jesus and dedicate our lives to following Him, we are planting seeds in our lives and others’ lives that will one day lead to the greatest gift: eternity with Jesus! The goal is to live with the end in mind, and if you ask me, this is a pretty great end to keep in mind!

Now let me just stop here and say that I realize simply knowing this is true doesn’t mean it’s suddenly going to be easy to make wise choices all the time. It doesn’t make caring about our futures more than we care about what’s happening right now any easier. And honestly, it doesn’t change the fact that we live in a world full of things like death, and sin, and heartbreak, and loss. Because of that, sometimes we can plant all the right things in our lives here on Earth and still experience the pain that comes with circumstances beyond our control. In other words, sometimes the harvest is going to be hard to see. But that’s what makes our belief in Jesus so much more important. Because when we believe in Him, we know that we’ll eventually see the harvest of all our wise choices one day in Heaven.

I really believe that’s true. It’s one of the reasons I keep trying to sow good things in my own life. I believe that no matter what, one day I’ll reap the benefit of it. I trust God in that. But I also know that it doesn’t make it easier to make wise choices right now.

And Paul knew that, too! That’s why he offered this encouragement:

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith (Galatians 6:9-10 NLT).

I love this part! Paul was basically saying, “Keep going! Don’t give up! Because the good stuff is coming!” We may not know exactly how it will show up or even when it will show up, but we can trust that when we’re sowing the right things, God will eventually reward us with a harvest either here on Earth or in Heaven.

Maybe you’re planting seeds in your life right now by making wise choices [motion to the “wise choices” pot], but you feel like you haven’t seen anything good come from it yet. You’re studying hard, you’re saying “no” to things you know you shouldn’t do, you’re choosing a new circle of friends who are better influences for your life. And right now, it just feels difficult. If that’s you, don’t give up! Just like Paul said, if you keep doing good and making wise choices now, your harvest is coming! And I promise you, even if you can’t see it now, it’s going to be worth it!

APPLICATION

2 MINUTES

Remember, the goal is to live with the end in mind. The goal is to make wise choices now that will lead to the growth of great things in our lives over time. And the goal is to remember that even if we don’t see the good things growing right now, God sees, He notices, and He’ll make everything right in the end.

But what does that mean for us today?

Well for starters, I think we all have to take a look at the seeds we’re planting in our lives right now. [Motion to the “unwise choices” pot.] Are you planting seeds of distrust by gossiping about people behind their backs? Are you planting seeds of laziness by skipping out on practice or not devoting time to your homework? Are you planting seeds of disrespect by lying to your parents or talking back to them? Are you planting seeds that are going to threaten the sexual integrity of your relationships by making unwise choices with your current boyfriend or girlfriend?

No matter who we are, we all can identify one area of our lives where the seeds we’re planting now may not be growing the best things in our lives. And once we know where we need help planting better seeds, we can ask God for the wisdom, strength, and encouragement to start making better choices.

Think of it this way. One day, you’re going to look back at the choices you made in this phase of your life and think one of two things:

1. “I’m glad I did...”

2. “I wish I had…”

So look at the things in your life right now—the choices you’re making—and ask yourself, Which ones will I put in the first category and which ones will I put in the second? My prayer for all of you is that you’ll start making wise choices now so you can look back and be proud of the things that have grown in your life as a result.

LANDING

1 MINUTE

Remember, the goal is to live with the end in mind. And the end I want for all of you is the life Jesus promises us!

So as we close this time, I want you to think about this question: What is one reason making wise choices is sometimes hard for me?

Let’s pray.