Graduation
June 9, 2013
2 Timothy 4:7-8
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
This is graduation week. My granddaughter, Bre, graduated from the eighth grade this week, along with one of my adopted granddaughters, Kylee. Kids are graduating from preschool, kindergarten, grade school, high school and college. We had a fun graduation party for Bre. Barbecue, giant Junga game that Julie made; lights, fire pit, Smores – it was lots of fun!
Graduation is a lot like life. The Scripture we just read is of Paul’s testimony to the young preacher, Timothy, and it could very well be a graduation speech. He is talking about his graduation from this life. And life is all about learning. We all go through the “School of Hard Knocks”. It IS our best teacher. So as we go through life – we get ‘schooled’, if you know what I mean!
Do you remember when you graduated from school? When you graduate from high school, one of the questions that you get asked over and over is – 1. “Well, what are you going to do with your life?”
That’s a good question. Most of us probably really have no idea of how to answer that question. I know I didn’t. I probably gave some sappy answer – but it was pipe dreams; just saying things I thought people wanted to hear. But it IS something each graduate ought to think about and pray about and work toward. It would be a good thing to know what we are going to do with our life and what God’s will is for us. We ought to prepare to be the best we can be for the Lord as soon as we possibly can.
That is also true of this earthly life and it is even truer of our spiritual life. We ought to think about what we are going to do with our life – spiritually! We ought to know God’s will. We, each one of us, ought to prepare to be the best we can be for God.
But so few in Christianity know what God wants them to do with their life. They are just bouncing around life like a ping pong ball. I remember after High School graduation that there weren’t too many people thinking about what they wanted to do with their life. They were thinking of the graduation party. They were laughing and giddy and rejoicing in the fact that they received their little piece of paper that said they met all the requirements necessary to graduate.
Very few were serious enough to plan their future and set goals and plan on how to achieve them. And that is the way it is spiritually, too. Very few Christians are serious and selfless enough to set down and seek God’s will for their lives. We blindly and aimlessly wander through life, going this way and that way without any real direction; without any real planning. Consequently, we don’t have much of a real impact of life either. We don’t make as much of an effect on our world as we could have.
What I am saying is that we ought to know where we are going. We ought to know God’s will for our lives. Graduation from Bible college was far different than graduation from High School for me. I KNEW God had called me to preach. I just didn’t know where. I KNEW what I was going to do with my life – I just hadn’t figured out how to do it yet.
So how do we get to know where we are going in life and what we are going to do with it and what God’s will is for us? That’s an easy question to answer. You learn God’s will by asking Him. Jesus said, “Ask, and you will receive.” Jesus said, “You have not because you ask not.”
Most Christians do not know God’s will for their lives because they don’t ask Him. They don’t seek the answer. They have not earnestly and seriously sought His will. We just drift to and fro. Our spiritual growth is just kind of happenstance. If we get training in a certain area it is just kind of by accident. It just sort of happens.
What we need to do FIRST, is to pray and seek and ask. We need to search our heart to see where our desires lie. Are we really open to God’s leading. If we aren’t open to what God may ask us to do – He knows that. He can see into our heart. He can see the future. And if He sees that we will say ‘no’ He probably won’t ask until we are open and willing to say yes –unconditionally. We need to be willing to do whatever God asks of us – then we need to purposely seek His will – and KEEP seeking it until we find it.
But let’s be honest. Most of us are like those high school graduates that are too concerned about the party tonight and the freedom to do what they want tomorrow – to get serious about our life’s work. That is heavy stuff to be thinking about.
Another thing I have noticed about graduation is that 2. Most students think that learning was over when you pushed that tassel to the other side of your cap. It isn’t. Learning has just begun. School only prepares you to learn. School teaches you how to study and gives you the equipment to learn. The big difference is that you change teachers. Now the two biggest teachers – for Christians anyway – are life experience and the Holy Spirit. We should never stop growing. If we do – we are dead. When any living thing stops growing – it is dead; either physically dead or intellectually dead or spiritually dead. Never stop growing. 2 Peter 3:18 says,
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
The Lord is quite clear that He wants us to be living, growing, BECOMING, people. We should always be ‘becoming’; becoming more knowledgeable; becoming more disciplined; becoming more mature; becoming more sensitive to the Lord’s leading. Our mental state should be one of not having arrived – but seeking to be better tomorrow that we are today. We need to grow in grace. We need to grow in the knowledge of the Lord. It doesn’t matter how many times you have read the Bible; it doesn’t matter how many prayers you have said. You still haven’t learned enough about God. We need to grow in knowledge of Him through His Word. We need to grow in Him through church services and small group Bible studies. You just can’t get enough of those things. We need to grow in experience with God. We should learn more about God each time He answers a prayer for us or when He doesn’t answer a prayer for us. We should be growing in these things.
Folks, the learning is not over just because we are out of school; and the learning isn’t over just because we have been a Christian a few years – or a few decades. We need to continue to seek growth. We must continue to hunger and thirst after righteousness. We must continue to strive to bring glory and pleasure to the Master with our lives and with our actions. It is only as we grow that we prove that we aren’t dead. The only one who doesn’t grow physically is the one who is dead. Likewise, the one who doesn’t grow spiritually is spiritually dead.
Another thing I see when I see a graduation is 3, the great potential represented under those square hats and long gowns. What potential those people have! They could change the world if they lived up to their potential. But the sad fact is that so very, very few DO live up to their potential.
Do you remember those “most likely to succeed” in the yearbook? Most of them never succeed like we thought they would. Most never live up to the expectations. Maybe they had too much natural ability; maybe they had too much natural talent and when they got into the cold hard world they got discouraged and gave up because they learned it wasn’t enough. Maybe they got side tracked by some harmful addiction. Time and time again it is the “least likely to succeed” that succeed. Why? Because they had to fight and work for everything they got.
In the spiritual realm we can look around us and see such great potential for the Lord. Every one of us has a special gift; a special talent – a talent from the Lord. The Bible tells us that. But how few are living up to their potential?
It takes WORK to live up to your potential. It takes dedication. It takes sacrifice. Frankly, most of us just aren’t willing to pay the price.
The problem with us today is that we are lazy. We aren’t willing to go that extra mile. We get tired and weak and we just aren’t disciplined enough to push ourselves beyond what is comfortable or easy to come by.
Think about it. How much preparation do we put into our Sunday school lessons? A few read it during the week – but very few. How much time do we put into daily devotions? How much time do we put into witnessing and evangelism? How much effort do we put into living for Jesus?
If the truth were known- I’m afraid that it isn’t much above what is easy and comfortable or pleasurable to most of us. Sacrifice? We don’t know what that word means in this land of plenty. How much leisure time do we give up to the Lord for His Work? How much pleasure or joy or happiness do we sacrifice for Jesus?
One of the great battles of life is with the giant ‘apathy’. Apathy is defined as the ‘absence of feeling’. It means to be sleepy, inert, numb, half-hearted, or comatose. I’m afraid those words pretty much describe how most of us go through life. That is why so many of the great evils of our day have gotten into power. Someone said that Doesn’t that pretty much describe the state of our world? Look at what is happening around us. The humanist have taken control of our government, our schools, our churches, and brainwash us through their control of the media.
It’s OUR fault! We have been apathetic. We have been uncaring. We have been the silent majority. And evil is triumphing. Same sex marriage; abortion on demand; the state putting itself over the church; it has already happened and we are going for the one world government through United Nations Agenda for the 21st century –also known as ‘agenda 21’.
Evil IS triumphing. We call ourselves ‘Christian soldiers’ – but what have we fought? What battles have we been in? For most people it is only those we can fight comfortably from our living room couches.
We need to wake up today! We are either FOR God or against Him. We are either soldiers – or we aren’t. If we ARE – then we ought to be doing something. We ought to be trying to make a difference – to accomplish some good. I would rather try and fail than do nothing and succeed.
Paul said, “I have fought the good fight!” If we had to stand before God right now – how many of us could say that?
Notice that the Scripture doesn’t say anything about winning. All we need to do is fight a good fight – GOD is the one who gives the victory. We just need to try. In the boxing ring a man may lose a fight – but if he tried; if he got knocked down and kept doing his best – the people will say “He fought a good fight.” He is respected. He is honored. He is admired.
But the one who just gets by – doesn’t impress anyone. We, like Paul, need to give it our best shot. The results are inconsequential. It really doesn’t matter. That’s up to God. WE need to give it our best.
Paul said, “I have finished my course.” God has a course for each one of us. He has a will for each of our lives. We need to find out what that course is and we need to get on it. Maybe someone will get to the goal ahead of us. That isn’t important. Maybe someone will do way more that us. Maybe they will do much bigger things than us. That isn’t important. What IS important is that we didn’t give up. What IS important is that we weren’t one of those who quit because the pain was too great. What IS important is that we weren’t one of those who gave up because someone else was going to win the trophy. What IS important is that we did our best and we finished the course.
Let’s be that kind of people. Let’s determine we are going to win. We are going to try! We are going to struggle through – no matter what! It WILL be painful. We will have to fight our own flesh. We WILL have to fight apathy and laziness.
But when it is all said and done – let’s be able to look back on our life and with Paul, say “I have fought a good fight! I have finished my course! I have kept the faith!
SONG
