Baccalaureate Sermon
March 28, 2009
CLAA
GREETINGS
Good morning everyone. You all look good in your gowns. I could still remember the time when I also sat in that place where you are seated right now. Seven years ago, I also wore the same gown you are wearing right now. Well, that wasn’t long ago, meaning I’m not that old. (Laugh….)
I have a confession to make this morning. Seven years ago, seated at your place right now, I said to myself, someday, I will be speaking here, in the same occasion, but I never thought that it would happen this soon. I thought maybe it would happen just before I retire. Nevertheless, I thank God and this institution, my Alma Mater, for giving me an opportunity to share my thoughts and experiences to fellow CLAAnians, friends, and visitors.
Are you familiar with slogans? Slogans are usually phrases that a company or a person uses for public promotion. Ok, let’s have a short quiz. I’ll tell you the slogan and you’ll tell me what the brand is. (powerpoint)
These brands were known because of their slogans. Example… Well, I think you want your batch to be known as a batch that always moves forward. Right? Because that’s what your theme says.
You have chosen a wonderful theme. “Tojours Avant” which means Always Forward. I searched the internet to know more about this French phrase. I have learned that it is used in army drills. It is equivalent to when a cadet officers say “forward march”.
TOPIC INTRODUCTION
Moving forward involves stepping. We are all familiar in the saying “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”, and I know we all agree with that. Graduating seniors, I’m happy to share to you one of the greatest stories in the Bible that we all can learn from.
I’m sure that you are all familiar with Simon Peter, one of the greatest disciples of Jesus. But before He was considered one of the greatest, he went through a lot of tough and testing times.
Let me give you a bit of Peter’s Background. Christ is walking along the shores, of the Sea of Galilee and he sees two fishermen casting their nets into the sea. Seeing them, He says, "Come, follow me and I will make you fisher’s of men." And in Matthew 4:11 we read "At once they left their nets and followed him." One of those two fishermen is Simon Peter. Imagine those steps of faith Peter first made. A man, who Peter knows little about, asks him to follow him and he immediately dropped his nets; his livelihood, his job, and obeyed. But this step of faith is only the beginning, he took a lot more. In Matt. 8:14 Christ visits the house of Peter’s mother- in-law, who is lying in bed with a fever. Jesus reaches out his hand…and touches her, and immediately the fever leaves her and she rises up and begins to serve Jesus. In Matthew 8:23 Jesus is in a boat asleep while a furious storm heaps waves over the boat and Peter is among the disciples who fear for their lives. And Peter is amazed because Jesus rebukes the waves and the storm becomes completely calm. As Peter continues to follow Jesus, he sees Christ cast out demons, heal various diseases and illnesses, raise a young girl from the dead, and teach a great many truths about the Kingdom of God.
This morning we’ll look at Matthew 14, and find out how the thousand-mile journey of Peter began with a single-step and how he was able to answer Jesus’ question in Matthew 16:16 "Who do you say that I am?" , his answer was., "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God."
If you have your Bibles with you, open it to Matthew 14:22-33. Read….. Let’s Pray.
SCRIPTURE’S INTRODUCTION
Before moving on, let me give a little background of the story. News of Herod’s murder of John the Baptist reaches Jesus and his followers. (John is the cousin of Jesus remember) So it’s with this news that Jesus withdraws to a solitary place, but the crowds follow him. It’s late and the multitude was hungry, so with five loaves and two fish, he fed 5,000 people. Then after he fed the crowd, he sent the disciples away, dismissed the crowd, and went up into the hills, to pray.
But Jesus didn’t just send the disciples away, Christ commanded the disciples to cross the lake, at the exact time that a storm blew in and we find the disciples in the boat, struggling to reach their destination, buffeted by waves. Scared to death I’m sure. And then Jesus "went out to them walking on the lake." The disciples were terrified! It must be a ghost! But it’s not. Jesus identifies himself. Peter, seeing Christ walk on the water wants to draw near to him. So he asks Christ for permission to come to him across the water. Jesus says "Come on" and Peter steps out of the boat and begins to walk across the water. But the wind is howling and the waves are high, and for a brief moment, he takes his eyes off of Jesus and he begins to sink. "Lord, Save me" he cries out. And Jesus reaches out his hand and lifts him up.
It’s one of the most famous stories in the Bible, but one for which Peter gets a lot of criticism. But you have to see the picture of a man trying to get closer to Jesus and even in his best efforts he was still human when he took his eyes off of the Lord.
I. The Not-So-Good Points of the Story
Brothers and sisters let us look on what we can learn from this experience of Peter. First, let us look on the Not-So-Good Points of this story. Forgive me for using this term; I just want to be positive. (Laugh...)
a. Peter Doubted Jesus. The first not-so-good point is that, Peter, together with the other disciples doubted that the one walking on the water was Jesus. Well, this is a sad truth. Even though Peter had already seen a lot of Jesus’ miracles, He still could not believe that it was Jesus who was walking on the water.
b. Peter Became Anxious of His Situation. After being convinced that it was Jesus who’s walking on the water, he made his first step. But as He moves slowly, he began to worry about his situation. He started looking around, and noticed that there was a storm amidst them. Probably he started worrying, and this might have caused him to drown.
c. Peter Took His Eyes Off Jesus. If I will ask you why Peter drowned in the water, I’m sure you will all give this answer. Well, I cannot blame Peter, because Jesus was far from Him. I’m sure in one way or another we have been in Peter’s situation; we have felt that Jesus is far from us.
d. Peter Doubted Him self. Maybe this would be the not-so-good point that you never thought of. I know Jesus had faith on Peter and He believe that Peter can step out of the boat and finish the necessary steps he had to make to reach Jesus’ place. But Peter doubted him self. He doubted if he could make it to the end.
II. The Good Points of the Story
Ok. We’re done with the not-so-good points of this story. Let’s look on the brighter, positive side of the story.
a. Peter Stepped Out of the Boat. Maybe some of you haven’t thought of this point. Maybe because whenever a speaker preaches about this story, they only focus on Peter’s lack of faith. But the truth is, it wasn’t only Peter who did not have faith. We forgot that he was also with the other disciples, and among all of them, he was the only who took a risk and stepped out of the water. You have to keep in mind that they had no flashlights in those days, and it was very dark. In this darkness, they saw somebody walking across the water! No wonder they were scared; I think we would be, too! But what happened? Peter had the courage and faith to step out of the boat and walk on the water. He didn’t do that because he had the ‘knowledge’ that he could do it, but because he had the ’faith’ that he could do it.
(Challenge) Seniors, life is full of risks to take. After these challenging high school years, you will have to take risk for yourself. There will be decisions that you will have to make yourself. And you should be careful and ask God’s help as you take it. Tojours Avant!
b. Peter Continued to Step On. Stepping out of the boat is already a big thing, but taking another step is even more courageous. I could imagine how worried Peter was as he takes his next step. (Challenge) Graduating class, in this life you will face a lot of destruction. At times you will be anxious of your situation in life. You might not have money to continue college or you might fail many times. Well, when these times come, you just have to continue moving forward regardless of the circumstances you are in. Tojours Avant!
c. Peter Saw His Need for a Savior. The moment Peter felt his inadequacy to take further steps, he right away felt his need for help. And as he started sinking, he felt the need for a Savior. Jesus right away reached for Peter’s hand and saved him from being drowned.
(Challenge) Fellow young people, as you move forward always remember that you cannot make it on your own. You will need the help of God. At times, especially when you’re starting to succeed you will be tempted to forget God. When you become professionals and start earning a lot of money, I hope you won’t forget that you still need God. Tojours Avant!
d. Peter Walked With God. After reaching for Jesus’ hand, Peter walked together with Jesus back to the boat. He might have felt worried and anxious about his situation but as soon as he started walking with Jesus, he found himself fulfilled and in safety.
(Challenge) Taking the first step with God is a big responsibility but walking continually with Him takes full commitment. Seniors, continue walking with God as you move forward. Tojours Avant!
III. Challenges As You Move Forward
I know what we learned from Peter is already enough, but let me give you these challenges as you move forward.
a. Let Go of Your Fear. First, is the challenge to let go of your fear. Fear can keep you from moving on and stepping forward. Unless you let go of your fear, you will never reach your full potential. I used to have the fear of speaking before a big congregation like this, but through God’s help I was able to overcome that fear. I still have fears today, and I am still trying to overcome them for God’s glory. College life is a lot different from high school, challenges will be bigger, and competition will be tougher. So if you will be conquered by your fears, you will have a hard time dealing with these challenges. I would like to tell you, that I’m blessed to be an alumnus of CLAA, had it not been for CLAA’s unique way of training young people, I would not have reach the fullest of my potentials. (Iba kasi dito eh. There is something that CLAA has that other Adventist academies don’t have. Laugh..., ewan ko nga eh. Kaya siguro paglabas ng mga studyante dito wala ng mga fears. Wala na rin hiya.)
b. Live Beyond Life’s Convenience. Many of the successful people now went out of their comfort zones and faced the challenges ahead of them. You should not live in mediocrity but strive to be the best that you can be. A successful life is not instantly made, it undergoes in a process.
Illustration: Consider the life of a certain man. At ‘16, his family was forced out of their home. He had to work to support them as a young boy. At ‘32 he ran for State Legislature. He lost the election, then his job. At ‘33 he borrowed some money from a friend to begin a business and by the end of the year he went bankrupt. He spent the next seventeen years of his life paying off the debt. At ‘35 he became engaged to be married, but his sweetheart died. His heart was broken and he never got over it. At ‘36 he had a nervous breakdown and was in bed for six months. At ‘38 he sought to become Speaker of the State Legislature and was defeated. At ‘40 he sought to become an Elector and he was defeated. At ‘43 he ran for Congress and lost. At ‘54 he ran for the Senate of the United States; he lost. At ‘56 he sought the Vice-Presidential nomination at his party’s national convention and he got less than 100 votes. At 1860 he was finally elected President of the United States. Abraham Lincoln didn’t park by his setbacks; he had lived beyond life’s convenience.
c. Learn From Your Mistakes. Failures are part of this life. Seniors, we all believe that nobody’s perfect, no matter how you strive for perfection; along the line you will commit mistakes. But it will not be the end of the world. (Example:Break-ups, failing grade, wrong decisions) Again, it doesn’t matter what kind of failure you are in, what really matters is how you react or deal with those failures.
Illustration : Milk powder, potatoes, and egg. These three can be put in hot water, yet they react differently. What happens to the milk powder when you put it on hot water? It dissolves. How about the potato? It becomes soft. But when you boil the eggs, they become what? They become hard. When you are soaked in failures, I hope you all react positively. React the way the eggs react to boiling water. Failures should make you stronger. Because nobody becomes successful unless they overcome their failures.
d. Look Unto and Lean On Jesus. Peter took his eyes off Jesus, that’s why he sank. You want to be successful? You want to be fulfilled? You need to focus your eyes on Jesus and lean on His promises. He promised His disciples that “He will be with them even unto the end of the worlds.” He promised …….. (other promises) He also gives these promises to you. You only need to trust Him and believe that He will take care of your walk. You need not worry about your walk; instead pray for the first steps you will make. He’s only asking for the first step and He will take care of the rest of the walk. I’m sure you’re all familiar with the song footprints in the sand.
Illustration: One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to the Lord. When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why when I needed you most you would leave me." The Lord replied, "My son, my precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I Carried You."
How comforting it is to know that this is not actually our own walk, but it’s God’s instead.
Conclusion
Let me end this message with a short story. Who among you knows Albert Einstein? I guess you graduating seniors know him. The one who formulated the E=MC2 which led to the discovery of the atomic bomb. When he discovered the formula, a lot of institutions invited him to give lectures on his discovery. With him was his driver, who was with him wherever he went. No wonder the driver was able to memorize the way Albert Einstein conducts his lecture. One day, albert saw his driver in their garage, conducting the lecture by himself, the same way Albert conducts it. Albert applauded because he was so impressed. His driver saw him and was shocked that he was being watched by his boss. Albert asked his driver if he could replace him in his next lecture. The driver right away said yes, but he requested a favor. He requested to Albert that when they would go to their next appointment, Albert would drive for him. Albert, without any question nodded his head and said yes. To make the long story short, they went to their next appointment with Albert Einstein driving and the driver conducting the lecture. Everything went good and the lecture ended fine. But all of a sudden, somebody raised his hand and asked a question. The driver was shocked again because he didn’t expect that somebody would ask a question. The driver thought for a while, while everyone waited silently for his answer. The driver who imitated Einstein said, “your question is very easy, that even my driver can answer it.”
Tojours avant! Walk with God! For in the most difficult time He will take care of you!
