No Weekly Goal Means You Just Live Out the Week Any Old How

Sermon outline

A thriver shapes his destiny by the Word rather than living life as it comes: like Joseph, Nehemiah and Habakkuk, write the vision down, attach it to the kingdom, measure it, pray it through and speak it aloud.

1. Don't form a new gospel around what happened

   When life gets spicy and there is no clear vision, we start to function on what happened instead of what God said, and look at everything through the lenses of trauma. Then we form our own gospel, such as "the Lord helps those who help themselves", which is not in the Bible, or "nobody does anything for me". Every man and woman of God in the Bible went through something, so stop feeling sorry for yourself; the believer's response matters more than the thing that happened.

   Illustration: Someone who has had twelve jobs in a year says every job was wrong, but the common denominator is them. Another reminds a friend at a birthday party, years later, of the gift they gave on a 27th birthday in 2001.

   “The response of the believer is more important than the thing that happened.”

   • Ephesians 4:4-5

2. Joseph: a dream that outlasted the pit

   At seventeen Joseph was already a worker, honest enough to report his brothers' wrongdoing, and reliable enough to be sent to bring back a report. Not every dream should be public knowledge, but you should still function in it. His father pondered the dream, and there will be people who recognise your gift and help disciple it. Through the pit, Potiphar's house and prison he held on to the dream, and he was made responsible for everything because the same character was there from the beginning.

   Illustration: Most of us walk past a banana on the floor at Pick n Pay because we do not work there. It takes a special character to stand in a place where you do not belong and still be the answer.

   “Not every bad thing in your life was sent by the devil.”

   • Genesis 37:1-14
   • Genesis 39

3. Nehemiah: a burden turned into a blueprint

   Nehemiah was a worker who had never brought his troubles to the office, so the king noticed when he was sad and asked how he could help. He already had a timeline, a list of materials and letters for safe passage, because where God sends you He has already provided the resources, though they come only when you move. He inspected the walls quietly at night and then came to the leaders with the problem, the fix and the resources, and they said, "Let us rebuild."

   Illustration: Nehemiah did not like a post on Instagram and say "if only I had the money"; he went and did it.

   “Where God has sent you, he's already provided the resources. But the resources will not be available until you move.”

   • Nehemiah 2:1-18

4. Principle one: write it down

   God told Habakkuk the vision was for the tablets, not just the mind, so that a runner could carry it, and that it would not be delayed. Write a plan for the day, the week, the month, the year, five years and the long term, and a vision for your marriage and your children. Your spouse is attached to the destiny God has for you, so do not marry because the biological clock is running.

   Illustration: You may not even agree on chicken curry or beans curry right now, but your partner is still attached to where you are going.

   “The head is for processing. The paper is for a permanent record of what God is going to do.”

   • Habakkuk 2:2-3
   • Psalm 92:12-13
   • Genesis 2:24

5. Principle two: a kingdom initiative

   Plans attached to your comfort are not godly plans, because God always calls you beyond yourself. A car bought on hire purchase with all the features is not necessarily the blessing of the Lord. The car, the house and the family are in the plan, but they are not the main thing; seek first the kingdom.

   “If God can't move through your goal, he won't move for your goal.”

   • Jeremiah 29:11
   • Matthew 6:33

6. Principle three: bypass the intellect

   God speaks above your head and to your heart, so you will not have the natural capacity for His calling. Do not limit your five-year plan to today's budget; your budget can handle your day to day, but not your destiny.

   “If you can afford it, it's a task that you need to fulfill. If you need God for it, then it's a vision.”

   • Hebrews 11:6

7. Principle four: rhythmic review

   You cannot manage what you cannot measure. Know exactly what you owe and what you pay each month, and keep a monthly "vision Sabbath" for reflection and inspection. Be faithful with what you have, tithe in full, and know which money is seed and which is bread, because if you keep eating your seed no bread will come.

   Illustration: A greedy man handed a million rand while owing a hundred thousand does not pay the debt, because then he would only have nine hundred thousand, so he goes to the casino. He says his own tithe is linked not to what he has but to where he is going, so he pays it forward.

   “You cannot manage what you cannot measure.”

   • Luke 16:10
   • Malachi 3:10
   • James 1:5
   • 2 Corinthians 9:10

8. Principles five and six: pray it through and say it aloud

   Pray to the same God who gave you the goal, and ask in your quiet time for prophetic downloads for your business, family and work. You are the prophet of your own life, so align your words with where you are going, not where you came from: not "I'm just hustling" but "all the works of my hands are blessed". Do not join the gossip at work, and when you are sick, do the natural but declare the supernatural.

   Illustration: As a child he had eczema so bad he bandaged his hands, asthma that had him gasping over the basin at night, and sinus trouble. His mother reminded him that healing began the night he looked at her in the mirror and said he was tired of being sick. He later did what a pastor on a tape had done, praising God on a long drive until the sinus trouble went, and anointed his skin until it healed.

   “You are the prophet of your own life.”

In this message