ECA Graduation 2023

Good evening, everyone. Thank you Pastor Cary for your kind words. Thanks, Jason, for the invitation to speak tonight I consider an honor and a privilege to be here with you and celebrating the students success as they culmination of the last four years of their hard work. I'm very thankful for the wonderful leadership team at Immanuel Baptist Church and Emanuel Krishna Academy, the wonderful staff, the teachers, support staff, you all are amazing. It's been a privilege of mine to work with you on a very limited basis this last year.

You made it a very enjoyable experience. And I'm grateful for you.

Parents, aren't you thankful for the staff? Aren't they amazing? Let's give them around applause. Just say thank you so much tonight.

parents, I want you to know, I'm grateful for you.

I'm grateful for your willingness to entrust your students education and development to Emmanual Christian Academy.

As a parent of ECA students myself, I understand. And I'm familiar with the investment that you have made into these young men and women to get to this point. Not only have you invested financially into this journey that they have been on, you have given up your time you have given of your talents, to the school and various volunteer opportunities and you have poured into your students academic journey for all of these years. And now it's a night, you get to celebrate their success with them.

I'm sure like me, you've prayed to God and pursued this path based on

Proverbs 22:6 train up a child in the way he should go. And when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Parents tonight, I want to assure you that that by putting your student into a Emmanual Christian Academy, whether for one year, four years or the last 13 years, you have done well in training your child.

Students, tonight is the night you've made it. Congratulations! Tonight we celebrate your success. We recognize the series of successes you have had over the last four years. You've spent time studying, doing homework, working on projects, Ta’ing, and helping others and maybe too much time staring at the screen on your phone.

But that is a story for another day.

You've dreamed you've wished and you've probably prayed for this moment, you've anxiously anticipated what life would be like not only this evening, but in the years to come.

You've been asked more times than you can probably count, what are you doing after high school? What school are you going to go to? Or maybe after you respond? Are you sure about that?

And now you have the opportunity to answer those questions. With the actions you take following this evening.

You have a wonderful journey ahead of you a journey that will be highlighted by successes and failures.

But a journey that can be beautiful. Depending on what your after. What is it you're pursuing? What are the goals that you have before you.

Whether you're someone that has a 50 year plan for your life and already knows where you're retiring,

or you're just trying to take it day by day, because you're not even sure what tomorrow holds.

Tonight I want to speak with you about a journey that we are all on.

And that is your journey with Jesus.

We're going to look at the Apostle Paul's writing and Philippians chapter three, a man who wrote from prison about joy to the church at Philippi.

And I want to share with you three principles from this passage that I wish someone had shared with me.

Now I must be completely honest with you.

I know who I was at your age. And maybe some of you are like me and to hear someone older than you talk about what they wish they knew is the last thing you're wanting to do. And celebration of your graduation.

You see someone could have told me what I'm going to tell you tonight and share with me from the Word of God what I needed to hear, but I may have chose not to listen.

Tonight I'm, I'm thankful to know many of you that I stand in front of his students.

And I know that you are ones that understand the wisdom, of hearing from those that have gone on before you have learning from their success, and from their failure.

Tonight, I hope to share both with you on my personal journey with Jesus and

I pray that it will bring understanding, maybe not now, but in the years to come. As you journey with Jesus.

In Philippians, chapter three, verses 12 through 14, the apostle Paul writes and says,

not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect, but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before I press toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

The first principle I'd like to share with you tonight is the growth principle. And I have written the growth principle to state that growth happens in the journey, not at the summit.

Here Paul is talking about his journey with Jesus and how he has not reached his goal he has not attained that which he is pursuing.

Peter said "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Now many of you tonight have goals that you're pursuing after you know what the next step for you is

whether that's you or whether you are one that is taking it day by day, there is one goal that each of us should have in the crosshairs of our lives. And that goal is Jesus.

How many of you have ever climbed a mountain? Maybe Mount Washington, as I've seen many bumper stickers, or Mount Rainier is that close by

Mountain climbing has one goal in it, to reach the summit.

That is one purpose, to get to the top and observe the beautiful view and relish the accomplishment of making it there.

The memory of that summit will be cemented in your mind for years to come. The memories of tonight of when you got your diploma will forever reside in your brain.

However, it is in your heart that you saw transformation along your journey.

Yes, tonight, each one of you will be able to call yourself a high school graduate.

However, you are not the same person as the person next to you and you are not the same person that began this journey four years or 13 years ago.

Along this journey, you have made decisions. You've developed friendships, you've lost friendships.

You've had life experiences that have molded you and shaped you into the person you are today. Yes, like high school graduate. However, the diploma is not what caused you growth.

It was your journey to the diploma that has grown you into who you are in the seats tonight

As you pursue Jesus, it will not be the end state, the glorified body you have in heaven that grows you.

It is the journey you take in this life with Jesus. You will forever be growing. If you choose to pursue Christ in your pursuit of Christ, you will, as you have done in high school, make decisions, develop relationships.

And with Jesus as the goal, he will also be the foundation upon which you make these decisions.

And as you make these decisions as to whether to stay faithful to the Lord, while you're in college,

whether to continue pursuing Jesus when you're on the job.

It is these decisions that will develop you into the man and woman that God made you to be.

Understanding the growth principle is understanding that your growth happens along the journey, not at the summit.

Enjoy the journey, for it may not always seem enjoyable. While I pray none of you experience prison as Paul did, some of you will encounter midterms and exams that you wished you never had. You will face situations in the workplace and in business that you wish you never had to go through. But it is in those tumultuous times.

As you choose to continue to pursue Jesus with your life, that he will mold you and shape you into the man or woman that he has made you to be.

Paul did this along his life and understood that he had not attained but he continued to pursue after applying this growth principle.

The second principle I would like to share with you this evening for you to take along your journey is

The success principle says

that success is not the opposite of failure. It is on the other side of it.

I want you to know in pursuit of your goals, whether it be academia, the corporate world or anything like that, you're going to encounter mistakes or failure.

Failure should not be the end of your journey is just a part of it. For Success is not determined by how perfect you are what you do. Success will be determined by how important the goal is to you.

When a marathon runner is running, there is something that happens at mile 18, they call it “a wall” . I ran the Marine Corps Marathon about 10 years ago now. I had two goals on that run. Don’t walk and beat Oprah. I was blessed enough to do both.

Now the Marine Corps Marathon has in it what is known as “the bridge” that bridge is where the crowds dissipate, people don’t walk out there and you are really on your own.

Guess what mile the bridge is at? Mile 18. So here I am running with my goals, hitting the wall and having to make the decision of whether or not quit.

When the goal is so important to you, you will choose to persevere to the end. Make Jesus so important to you that no matter what you go through, no matter what trials you face, you will remain faithful.

Don’t quit on Jesus, because He will never quit on you.

Does this mean you’ll never fail? No, because success is not the opposite of failure it is on the other side of it.

I'd like to share something from Charles Stanley, who said an

“unschooled man who knows how to meditate upon the Lord has learned far more than a man with the highest education who does not know how to meditate.”

To know Tonight, we celebrate your academic success. And for years, six years, eight years, we'll celebrate more of your academic successes should you choose to pursue them. But if you obtain all the degrees in the world, but neglect your relationship with Jesus, truly, you have succeeded at failing.

The last principle I want to hare with you is

the principle of serving

You are made to serve not to be served.

The biblical mandate of service rests upon the shoulders of each person who puts their faith in Jesus Christ.

For his by his example, we understand that we are here to minister to others and not be ministered to.

This starts with valuing people the way Jesus did. He valued them, more than He valued himself.

young men and young women that are receiving your diploma tonight you will look out upon the world and tick tock Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and whatever else social media is coming has come or you are using that we don't know about.

And you will see the purpose of many lives is to make enough income to where you never have to work again.

to reside on a beach somewhere or on a yacht with servants around you living a life of luxury and ease.

While I'm not telling you to forego any pursuits of financial success, I'm encouraging you and challenging you tonight to do so. With a heart of service.

Paul lived his life to serve others.

He was a tentmaker and he did so in order for him to pay for his ministry.

He did so in pursuit of Jesus.

The serving principle starts with the submission of your desires, wills and pursuits to the cause of Christ.

I encourage you to think of yourself as a candle.

Do you remember the song that you sang is young boys and girls in church and probably in Christian School at some point.

This little light of mine I'm going to let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

The candle

provides light to a room

no matter how big or how small the candle may be when the wick is lit and the flame burns bright. You can see more in the darkness than you could before it was lit.

I encourage you to be like the candle lighting the way for others to see Jesus in you and through you no matter what your pursuits are.

You may be here tonight and have different talents and abilities.

than those around you, and in fact, you most likely do.

For some of you the thoughts of standing here and speaking on a platform to a group of people are terrifying.

However, there are some of you out there who can draw a much better than I can I draw crooked stick figures.

There are some of you that love working with children, many of you that love building things.

No matter what your talents, and abilities are.

I ask you to apply the serving principle to them and submit them to the Lord Jesus Christ as you journey with him in life and serve others.

It does not matter if you're not a pastor or on a staff at a church or a Christian school.

It doesn't matter if you don't work for a Christian company, like Chick fil A, praise God for the Lord's chicken.

It matters who you are serving with your life.

If you're pursuing Jesus, you will be in service to Him and to others.

And your unique gifts, talents and abilities can be used in such a way to reach people with the light of Christ that others cannot

lean in to who God made you to be.

Take your talents, gifts and abilities and use them for the cause of Christ.

I want to leave you with this quote.

It was Billy Graham who said

“people are the stocks into which we are to invest our time. The best of all investments you can make is to help people come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. You can make a commitment right here now. I'm asking you today not to graduate, but commence a new life for God every step of the way.”