Greater Purpose

WELCOME

“As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” — John 17:18

When things aren’t going as planned, it might be hard to stay motivated to push through it all. But when you compete for God, you play for a greater purpose.

WARM-UP

WHAT MATTERS MOST?

Purpose is a complicated word. Usually, your purpose is dependent on what matters most to you.

To illustrate, let’s take a few minutes to walk around our nearby surroundings and search for one object you can bring back [piece of nature, sports equipment, etc.] that represents something important in your life.

Q: What did you bring back, and what important thing in your life does it represent?

Q: What aspect of your athletic life matters to you the most and why?

WORKOUT

WHY DO I COMPETE?

At some point in their life, all athletes ask themselves: Why do I compete?

Usually, that question comes up when dealing with adversity. When you face adversity, tangible results like personal achievement, team goals, physical benefits, and long-term dreams (such as scholarships or career opportunities) tend to be the default motivation.

Q: How often do you ask yourself the question, “Why do I compete?”

Q: What tangible results help you stay motivated as an athlete?

WHO IS IT ALL FOR?

In John 17, Jesus was a few days away from being crucified, buried in a tomb, and raised from the dead. He knew that He had limited time with His followers. That’s why Jesus spent much of His remaining time on Earth praying for the disciples and all people who would one day believe and commit their lives to telling the world about Him.

Jesus wanted to make sure they had no question about their greater purpose:

“They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” — John 17:16–18

Jesus also wanted to redefine what success and winning are all about. Life’s greater purpose has much more to do with God and others than it does with you:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” — Matthew 22:37–39

Part of loving God is giving Him the glory for anything good you do, and part of loving others is to tell them about Jesus and remind them how to live like Christ:

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” — Matthew 28:19–20

Q: How often are you tempted to compete or live for yourself?

Q: How do the above passages challenge you to compete for a greater purpose?

WRAP-UP

GREATER PURPOSE

You have been called to compete and live for someone and something greater than yourself. Here are three ways that your greater purpose will manifest itself in your life:

1. Greater Glory. Understanding your greater purpose reminds you that the glory goes first and foremost to God!

“Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in him.” — John 13:31

2. Greater Team. Understanding your greater purpose means you will look for ways to share God’s love with others.

“This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.” — John 15:12–13

3. Greater Things. Understanding your greater purpose will launch you into a new mission and will exceed your wildest expectations.

“Truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.” — John 14:12

As you begin to understand your greater purpose, God will continue to cultivate and activate inside of you a desire to live out a powerful truth found in our daily theme verse:

“He must increase, but I must decrease.” — John 3:30

OVERTIME

Write down some specific ways that you might fulfill God’s greater purpose for your life through sports and through your everyday life:

1. Glorify God

2. Love God

3. Love Others

4. Make Disciples