Embrace WoW Moments

Today is a day we have set aside to honor our Grads. Completing your High School Education and taking the next step in your journey in life is a profound moment. Profound moments need profound truths in order to produce profound impacts!

Matthew 14:22–33 ESV

22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

1) Dare to Embrace WoW Moments

What is a WoW moment?

Walking on Water

It is a unique moment that has the opportunity to be life-shaping.

Graduation is a WoW moment.

When you graduate High School you have accomplished a major goal that you have been working towards the vast majority of your life.

You have grown as a person and developed character and responsibilities up to this point, largely based around your education.

At this point, from Kindergarten to Graduation, if you had a 90% attendance rate you have spent 14,742 hours in school (Not including extra-curricular activities).

You have been pushed harder than you wanted. You have been challenged in ways you didn’t understand at the time.

You have experienced a lot of firsts in your life and you’ve finally reached the milestone!

While we have a high graduation rate in culture, it is becoming a rarity that people are appreciating and building off of their graduation.

Do not neglect the fact that God has given you the capacity to learn and grow.

Peter accomplished something great but, in his experience, he realized that he still had a lot to learn.

Embrace your graduation as a moment of achievement but also as a realization that you must always be a student.

You will always be taught something.

Who will you embrace as your teacher?

Will you learn from and grow from experiences with Jesus or will you live being tossed around by shifting ideologies of culture?

There has never been a person I’ve encountered who hated following Jesus and learn from Him at an early age. Most everyone I’ve ever spoken with who were living a blessed life and started later rather than sooner wished they had made the choice earlier in life!

2) Dedicate Yourself to Step Out of the Boat

WoW Moments can be profoundly impactful because we dare to think outside of the box.

Watching Jesus walking on water would have a significant impact on the disciples. But walking on water with Jesus had a profound impact on Peter’s life.

Peter learned more about Jesus and experienced firsthand what life with Jesus could be because He dedicated himself to leave the safety of the boat and to leave the crowd behind.

Grads you face some incredible challenges as well when you choose to step out of the box to walk with Jesus.

The crowd also tells you to just admire Jesus from afar if you choose to admire Jesus at all.

Most certainly, the culture doesn’t approve of you if you try and engage with Jesus.

Our culture tells you that you will be considered brilliant if you will be mindless and embrace whatever fancified garbage philosophy is thrown at you.

You better think with a secular liberal mindset or they will shout you down, de-platform you, or cancel you.

The world will tell you to go ahead and dream big, but don’t let you dreams set you apart from anyone else.

The culture says to go ahead live as a victim who is owed something and demand that everything be handed to you. Remember, work and effort just get in the way of accomplishment and happiness.

Our culture fosters whiney babies who never grow up! It’s not just your generation. This has been happening for multiple generations. It’s not a particular generation issue. It’s a heart issue.

You were made for so much more than this world.

The God of all Creation, made you to know Him, to experience Him, and to have a profoundly impactful life in Him.

Get out of the boat and do something that very few are willing to do.

Be a daring, dedicated disciple of Jesus who will risk stepping out of the boat to walk on water with Him.

3) Devote Yourself to Focusing on Jesus

It is only when we are fascinated and fixated on Jesus that we do what the world says we cannot do.

Grads do not get distracted by the windy opinions of culture.

You will have all kinds of worldly, godless, or god-manipulating ideologies being hurled at you.

You will be pressured to accept social constructs that embrace everything opposite of God and some of those things may even done in the name of God. But in reality, they are all just a bunch of hot air blowing at you.

Don’t think for one moment that the world will accept you if you embrace their ideologies.

It will calm down for a while, but if there is anything we’ve seen in the last few years, it’s that the world’s hot air is subjective and wavering.

Our culture quickly turns on its own narrative when it no longer serves its purpose of godless distraction.

Do not get tossed about by the winds of culture. Fixate yourself on the solid rock of Jesus.

Reach out and grab hold of Him when you feel like it’s more than you can bare. He will take your hand, pull you up, pull you close and walk with you.

CLOSING

Grads, Dare to Embrace WoW Moments, Dedicate Yourselves to Stepping Out of the Boat, and Devote Your Life to Focusing on Jesus.

Trust in the Lord with all Your Heart and do not seek to lean on your own understanding or the understanding of culture. In everything you do, let Him be your standard and your guide and He will make your path straight. He will make your life profound and impactful.

Grads…your life will end up somewhere. The choices you make today matter. They matter here and now. They matter later in life. They will matter for all eternity.

Make each step of your journey count by making sure you walk with Jesus!