Baccalaureate – Fort Supply 2010
God’s challenge to you
Text: Proverbs 3:5-6
By: Ken McKinley
(Read Text)
Well let me begin by saying that I am honored to stand before you this morning. I know that some of you I’ve never met, so I’ll introduce myself. My name is Ken McKinley. I’m the pastor here at FSBC, and again it is a real honor and privilege to me to be able to give the 2010 baccalaureate address this morning. So thank you all so much for allowing me to be able to do this, this morning.
Today marks a milestone in my life. It’s been almost 20 years to the day that I graduated from high school. To be honest with you, I don’t remember ever having a baccalaureate, but I do remember my high school graduation. Here’s what I remember about it: some old geezer stood up and rattled on for what seemed like forever, and again I don’t remember a thing he said.
I joined the U.S. Army in 1992, served six years with the Army Rangers, then I went to college in 2003 and graduated in 2007 and at that graduation, we had another old geezer stand up and rattle on for about 45 minutes and I can’t remember what he said either, and that was just three years ago. And so, when I was asked to do this, I was excited, but in all honesty I was also filled with dread, because I couldn’t help but think, “Oh man, I’m going to be THAT GUY. That guy who spoke at your Baccalaureate, that guy who none of your remember what I said in 20 years. And as I was thinking about it, I realized that most of you are 17, 18, or 19 years old. You were probably born in 1992, the same year I went into the Army. For us “old geezers” we can remember what the world was like back in 92. We can remember the Washington Redskins beating the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl. We probably remember the First President Bush, throwing up in the lap of the Prime Minister of Japan. That was the year that Jay Leno replaced Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show. It was also the year that 4 LAPD officers were acquitted for beating Rodney King and the LA riots broke out. And it was the year that Brett Favre made his first start for the Packers. To make it more relevant to our soon to be graduates who are here today; 1992 was also the year that Taylor Lautner – who plays Jacob from Twilight, and Miley Cyrus were born.
The reason I’m telling you all this, is because you may not remember what I say today, but throughout life, what we often remember, are events and occasions. For instance there are occasions of joy, or sadness, occasions of remembrance, and reflection. And believe it or not, today and the next few days, up until graduation, marks one of those types of occasions. This is a time in your life that you’ll never forget. You may not know it now, but your parents do. And I would bet that over the next few days your parents are going to be doing some of that remembering and reflecting. Remembering the day you were born, or your first loose tooth, or maybe your first day of school. They might be remembering how their hair began to show a bit more white or grey as you went from tween to teen and began to practice your independence more and more frequently.
Also, I understand that some of your teachers are here today, and they’re remembering as well… how over the last few years, they’ve poured their lives into you, and taught you, and hopefully inspired you to be life-long learners.
So this is a time of reflection. It is for them, and trust me… it will be for you. Some of you might reflect on what’s about to happen, and how your lives are going to be changing, some of you may not do that right now, but in the years to come you’ll look back at this time and reflect on it.
And so there’s three things I want to stress to you all today, and I hope and pray that you will remember them, and that I won’t just be THAT GUY who said something you don’t remember. Three things; and they come from that passage of Scripture that I just read to you, Proverbs 3:5-6, and these are three things that will help you succeed in life. They will help you thrive in life and not just “get by.”
You see; in just 5 short days you guys & gals are getting ready to go out into life and hopefully do something awesome! But the thing is; none of us know what the future holds. When I sat where you all are sitting, if someone would’ve told me that I was going to be a pastor, I would’ve laughed in their face and called em’ a liar. If someone would’ve told me that in 20 years that I would’ve traveled to 7 different countries and, survived 3 military engagements, been married with two daughters and living in Fort Supply Oklahoma, I would’ve told them they were crazy. WE don’t know what tomorrow holds. But listen… make sure you get this. God does. God knows your future. He knows what tomorrow holds. He knows where you’re going to be, not only Friday night after graduation, but in a year, and in 5 years, and in 10 years, and in 20 years. Trust Him with your future. With all of your heart, trust Him. That’s the 1st thing.
Secondly; you can trust God with your failures.
If one thing in life is constant, it’s that we’re all going to make mistakes. We’re all going to mess up. Sooner or later, we’re going to mess up. The Bible tells us in Romans 3:10 that there are none righteous, no not one. And what that means is that we are all sinners. Everyone of us here today, is a sinner. And 1st John 1:8 says, “If we say we have no sin, then the truth is not in us.” You see we have a sin nature, and because of that, we’re going to mess up from time to time. We’re going to blow it from time to time. We’re going to stumble and fall and make mistakes and sin and yes, even fail sometimes. But here’s the thing, God tells us that we can trust Him with our failures. In-fact that’s why Jesus came. We all like sheep had gone astray, we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ came to save sinners. You see; it’s because of this sin, that we are in direct rebellion against God, and because of our sin we all deserve to be punished. We’ve offended our perfectly holy and perfectly righteous God, and we deserve to be punished. But because of God’s great love for you, He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and Jesus took your punishment.
Let me tell you a story that might help you understand this a little better (about the girls).
So you can trust God with your future, you can trust Him with your failures, but also… you can trust Him with your fears.
Fear is a driving force in our world today. Everyone from Aesop’s Fables to Confucius, to Ben Franklin warn of those who don’t do what’s right and the consequences that they’ll face. We are familiar with fear. We feign cynicism to scary claims, but the real economic truth is that fear sells. If you want to be safe then you’ll buy “this” car. You want your health protected, so you’ll buy this particular brand of vitamins. You want your looks preserved so you’ll buy this abb machine. You want the world to be safe for previous generations so you’ll go green. Let me tell you, fear works. Don’t believe me? Watch a few political adds. Politicians especially know the value of fear.
Oh sure they’ll decry fear publically. No one who’s ever in power will be in favor of fear. “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself!” That’s what they say after they’ve been elected. But if you want to get elected, then you use fear like nobody’s business.
Think about those political ads for a moment. “Dark Screen; Grainy black and white photograph of your political opponent; scary voice – If John Doe gets into office, murderous zoo animals will be released. Jobs will evaporate. Old people will starve. The sun won’t rise. It will be winter always, and Christmas never!” Then it switches to a color photograph of your candidate, being greeted by mothers holding babies, warmly smiling and waving, with the American flag in the background and the score of Bambi playing softly, and “voice of confidence” affirms your candidate – END OF COMMERCIAL. (Adapted from a Mark Dever sermon) Fear works. But let me just tell you something. A little Bible trivia for you. The one command Jesus gives us in the Bible, more than any other command. More than loving your neighbors, or loving your enemies. More than being kind or showing compassion. The one command Jesus gave more than any other command was to “FEAR NOT!” He tells us over and over again, “Fear Not!” Don’t be afraid!
You see that’s the thing about God. He made it all! And He’s in control.
And so the thing is, Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to trust Him. Trust Him with all your heart. And then acknowledge Him in all your ways. What that means is… to pray… go to God for everything. Pray, and praise Him for who He is and for what He’s done.
And if you’re doing that – If you’re trusting in God, and going to Him in prayer, and seeking His will for your life, and for the decisions you have to make… you know what happens? Well look at the last part of that verse… He’ll show you where to go. He’ll show you what to do.
And so you can trust God with your future. You can trust Him with your failures, and you can trust Him with your fears. Because after all, He is God, and He is an ever present help in times of trouble.
And that’s what I want to leave you with this morning. And I hope I haven’t gone on too long, and that I haven’t said so much that it’s all become jumbled and in 3 years time you don’t remember anything I said. But if so, then just remember this. No matter what life brings your way, no matter what circumstances or situations you go through in life. No matter if it’s smooth sailing or stormy seas. Trust God
Let’s Pray
