Goals – how do we attain them?

Sermon Topic 6/9/13 3pm Priest Martin Addie
We were BLESSED this morning to witness a young man accept his calling and be ordained.
Martin touched briefly on his life … that he had sinned … and so have we all.
1 Nephi 3 … Laman and Lemuel seemed to be worthless sons; they did not want to listen to anything right, especially from their younger brother. They eventually tried to kill him. Let us think a little differently….
Goals – how do we attain them? In order to attain, we have to know that they exist … having an imaginary goal is useless.
Consider target shooting
1 Nephi 3:37-69 … Nephi asked the Spirit to see the vision that his father Lehi had seen. The Spirit asked him “believest thou that thy father saw….?” And Nephi’s prompt response was an emphatic yes.
Do we believe ALL the Words of our Father? Our calling, to ministry and all brothers and sisters in the Church, is to TESTIFY of Jesus Christ.
If you point your gun somewhere else besides the target, you will not hit the target!
What’s on the other side of what we’re shooting at? Is it safe to shoot?
Our aim must be precise … we must hold steady and know that the target is right.
When you fire, the bullet will go wherever the barrel points when fired.
The Holy Spirit may be trying to guide us … we must be listening. Song #137 in our hymnals is titled “Speak My Lord”. In the chorus we sing “Speak, and i’ll be quick to answer Thee”. We must listen or we won’t hear.
If we miss the goal – where does the fault lie? With God? NOOOOO …it’s on us. My salvation is dependent on me … it’s my responsibility. The path has not changed nor wavered.
1 Nephi 3:70-87 … several times, the angel’s command to Nephi is “LOOK!” ….He was lifted up and slain for the sins of the world. Who are those sinners? Each one of us has sinned.
vv. 124-125 … the fountain of filthy waters … If our eyes are blinded, we will lose sight of the target. Is there a way to re-aim? Yes … the path of repentance.
210-216 … Thou hast beheld that if the Gentiles repent, it shall be well with them; and if not … then comes destruction, by way of “the devil of which i have spoken”.
1 Nephi 4:1-4 … Nephi’s brothers were disputing over what their father had told them … those things were hard to understand, unless we inquire of the Lord; and because their hearts were hard, they had not inquired. (their comment “we have not [inquired], FOR the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us” is telling msl) Laman and Lemuel did not inquire … they did not follow the path. Later in verse 34, after Nephi’s exhortation and explanation, they did humble themselves and ask the meaning of the rest of the vision.
Sometimes the things the Lord asks us to do aren’t comfortable.
v. 43 … the enemy is the king of distraction. He tempts us, makes it easy for us to leave the path.
v. 46 … it represents also the gulf of separation between the righteous and the wicked.
Right now, we are in those days of probation. When we put our trash out, we expect the trash haulers to pick it up and put it in a place of filth and bury it … there is a place prepared for the filthy.
5:1-5 … the brothers complained that Nephi had spoken “hard things” to them. Nephi explained to them that those things wouldn’t be hard, if they were righteous. The brothers again humbled themselves before God.
vv. 10-12 … the ball (director) given to Lehi and his party.
v. 20 … they followed the directions given by the ball. It’s a good thing to follow directions when traveling … we don’t want to wander without water and food.
v. 25 … Laman, Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael began to murmur … and even Lehi murmured.
v. 33 … all of them trembled when they read the writing on the ball. Wonder what He wrote on that ball … “quit whining”?
vv.37-38 Nephi followed the directions on the ball, and found food.
vv. 46-48 … murmuring AGAIN, to the extent of plotting to kill both Nephi and their father Lehi … this time the voice of the Lord spoke to them, and they again humbled themselves. The cycle is repeated at Bountiful, over the building of the ship, and on the sea, and in the new land; until soon after the death of Lehi, Nephi and those who would go with him were forced to flee.
I used to think they were worthless characters … but what about us? The difference between us and Laman and Lemuel, is if we repent and come back. We have the same things happening in our families … some have departed … it’s their choice. What about our lives? Do we look at what effect we have on the lives of others?
J. O. Dutton converted my paternal grandfather, leading to 3 generations of ministry. My Dad was called in 1979.
I’ve thought, “what if?” If i had decided or acted differently, what would have happened? but thinking about “what if” isn’t helpful … we can’t know, and we can’t go back.
We like to whine about our troubles and trials, but do we ever thank the Lord for them?
If it weren’t for our own trials, would we have compassion for others in theirs? Would we be fit for ministry in the Church?
Sometimes we find blessings in things that don’t seem like a blessing at the time (like car trouble keeping me off the road when i would have been involved in a serious pile-up).
Do we enable our children? Our Father enables us to do His will; satan tried to distract us.
Matthew 13:10-23 … the parable of the sower. V. 10 … the disciples asked Him why He spoke in parables. His reason is, to separate those who want to understand from those who don’t.
Where do we fit in this parable and interpretation? Are we stony ground? Thorny? Hard roadside? Or are we good ground, staying on target, bearing fruit; staying on the path.
That path has not and will not change … He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
The Scriptures are our guidance – the Rod of Iron.
READY! … prepare.
AIM! … focus on the goal.
FIRE! … send the bullet off … fire toward your target!