Remember These Things

Good morning and welcome! Today is an exciting day because we are celebrating our graduates Samuel Vierling and Michael Measley. It has been a pleasure having both of these young men in our young adult small group. And, it is a real privilege to lead us this morning as we recognize their accomplishments and commission them to their new mission field. We thought it would be nice to hear from Samuel and Michael so each of them made a short video for us to watch so we can be informed about what is going on in their lives, and how we can be praying for them. Those videos were very helpful in giving us a snapshot into your life. We better understand how God is leading you and how we can be praying for you. It would be good for us as a church body to pray for Samuel and Michael right now. At this time I want to invite Samuel and Michael to come forward so we can pray for them and present them with a few helpful resources.

Life is Good…?

You all probably are aware of the huge marketing slogan “Life is Good” that you see on the back of Jeeps tire covers and many other places. Well that phrase is bothersome to me, because it is a half-truth. The whole truth is Life is Good and Hard, maybe that’s too much to fit on a tire cover or t-shirt. Or maybe that is too brutally honest and it just won't sell, I don’t know. But my point is, life is both good and hard, and as you begin to settle into adulthood the potential for more good and hard things to happen to you compounds. This is why we must remember these words from Jesus,

John 16:33 (NIV)

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

What Jesus is saying here is, remember me when life is hard. Don’t be all consumed by your circumstance instead, remember what my finished work on the Cross has done for you! Remember that I have promised to

Matthew 28:20 (NIV)

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Remember that

John 10:10 (NIV)

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Remember Life is Good and Hard

Samuel, Michael, please hear this, and this is an important reminder to the rest of us as well. Life is good and hard, but the hardships you will face are not random irrational troubles; no, they are transformative opportunities. We know that God uses all things for the good of those who love Him, and I am persuaded that God will use every opportunity in both good and hard circumstances to transform you more and more into the likeness of Christ. My charge to you is this. Always remember the Lord is near, the Lord is good, and He has your very best at heart. Therefore, keep on joining Him in His work of remaking you into the image of Christ. Additionally…

Ephesians 6:2 (NIV)

Honor your father and mother—which is the first commandment with a promise—

Remember Your Father and Mother

Continue to honor your father and mother. Both of you are extremely blessed to have parents that love and follow the Lord. Take full advantage of their experiential knowledge and Godly wisdom. Include them in your life as you face new challenges. With all humility be teachable, ask them to speak into your life, then honor them by listening and considering their counsel.

Remember Your Church Family

Remember too that you have a church family that stands ready to serve you in this way as well. Guard against the temptation to be a lone ranger. Don’t be ruled by pride that says, “I will show them that I can make it on my own.”

Proverbs 16:18 (NIV)

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

A haughty spirit, a spirit of superiority. God did not create us to be autonomous, instead we are to be fully dependent on the Lord, while serving and being served by other trustworthy servants of the Lord. God often does His best work in community, and believe me, you will want to be a part of that work.

I also felt compelled to share this with you this morning. Whatever you do, hold on loosely to the things of this world.

Psalm 24:1 NIV

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;

All you have and everything you will have, all belongs to the Lord. You are granted stewardship over the things He gives you, but ultimately He owns it all. The Lord has the right to give and to take away. We must hold on loosely to all He has given us, and at the same time be good stewards of everything the Lord has placed in our care.

1 Peter 4:10 NIV

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

Remember to be Good Stewards

As good stewards, we should use all that God gives us to serve others and advance the Kingdom. This is one area the world’s wisdom clashes with biblical wisdom. The world’s wisdom says: “Get all you can.” “Look out for number one.” “You deserve it.” “You only live once.” You can easily recognize the self-seeking worldly wisdom in these statements, but don’t think that Christ followers are unaffected by the ways of this world. We must not only fight against the world’s ways, but we also need to guard against our fleshly desires to live for self instead of living for God.

Remember to Guard Against Fleshly Desires

A helpful question to ask periodically is, who or what am I living for? You will likely answer that question by drilling down and answering a series of other questions:

Is my time and money managed in ways that pleases the Lord? How do I know if the Lord is pleased or not? Well, the Lord is pleased when we spend our time and resources to help advance His Kingdom, instead of focusing only on our little kingdom of one. Another question is, who or what has your heart’s allegiance? What do you spend your time thinking about? Talking about? What are you Investing your time and money in? It is important to seek the Lord in every one of these questions, because we are good at giving the right answers, but not always the truthful answers.

John 16:13 (NIV)

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.

We need the Holy Spirit to confirm and convict us in these areas of the heart. Our hearts are deceitful and left to ourselves, we persuade ourselves to believe in the desires of our heart. Paul Tripp says, we are “self swindlers.” I believe that is an accurate description of what our hearts cause us to be and do.

Samuel and Michael, you are beginning your adult life and will be facing more of life’s complexities. As you do, hold on loosely to the things of this world, while holding fast to your faith in Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 10:23 NIV

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

Remember to Grow in Your Faith

When in Scripture, be reminded of your identity in Christ, His covenants and promises to you, and His unfailing love for you. Remember that the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it belongs to Him. Be good stewards of all the Lord gives you by serving others and advancing the Kingdom. Guard against worldly wisdom, and live out Biblical wisdom. May your life reflect what you say you believe about God. Spend time with the Lord asking Him to reveal your heart to you. This will help you to live in ways that advance the Kingdom of God instead of the kingdom of self. Continue to grow in your knowledge of, love for, and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ.

My final reminder to you Samuel and Michael, and to us all, is to be on mission. When Jesus gave us the great commission He said,

Matthew 28:19–20 NIV

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Remember to Be on Mission

Continue being a disciple of Christ, who is making other disciples. I know that you both are already faithfully doing this. One of the greatest joys I experience is when I hear stories about how the great commission is being lived out in people's lives. Samuel and Michael have shared stories in our young adult group that have excited my heart in this way. I remember Samuel sharing how he had a friend who was really struggling and needed our prayers. It was this same friend that Samuel pursued in very intentional ways, by asking about, contacting, and visiting with him in order to show him the love of Christ. And Michael shared with us that while studying the Ephesians passage we were to discuss for that week, he sensed the Holy Spirit leading him to share his faith. Trusting that God would open up an opportunity for him to share Christ, he waited for his chance. That opportunity came later that same week while he was at work. He shared his faith with another young man who seemed to be seeking God.

These are only a couple examples of how the Lord is using Samuel and Michael. Believe me there are more ways they are living on mission for the glory of God. So how do you keep living on mission now that you are entering this new stage of life? By the way, like it or not, we are all in process of entering different stages of life, so this applies to us all.

I believe, no matter the stage of life, where we live, or what we do, we must remember our calling by considering this question.

Remember Your Calling

Do you see yourself as one God has sent into your sphere of influence with the gospel? Hopefully your answer is yes! (exclamation point). We first make disciples by speaking the gospel to them,

Romans 10:17 NIV

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

Then we disciple them using the Word of God since,

2 Timothy 3:16–17 NIV

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Remember to Be a Light

It is also essential that we live out our faith so others may see Christ in us. This will both attract the lost and encourage the saved. It will attract the lost, because those who are seeking hope and joy will find it in the beautiful message of the gospel that is spoken and lived out. It will encourage the saved because believers will be edified by your Godly example.

Being on mission means sharing your greatest gift with others who desperately need to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

1 Peter 3:15 NIV

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

Finally, in order to remain on mission you will need to be connected to a local church.

Remember to Be a Member

Samuel and Michael, I selfishly hope you can remain in our church body; however, if you can’t, then it will be imperative that you join another church body. You have been given particular gifts and given to the Church as a gift to serve,

Romans 12:4–6 (NASB95)

For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function,

so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly...

And your service helps the body grow in the fullness of Christ,

Ephesians 4:14–16 NIV

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

You both will likely experience more and more things coming into your life that will compete for your time and attention. If allowed, these things can steal your heart’s allegiance to the Lord, and interfere with His plan and purpose for you in His Church and in His world. Therefore,

Hebrews 10:23–25 NIV

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

We have heard Samuel and Michael share their future plans with great enthusiasm and excitement, and as their church family we are sharing in their excitement today. And as their church family we must keep Samuel and Michael in prayer during their upcoming transitions. Ask them how things are going when you see them, and find ways to serve and encourage them in the coming months.

I speak on behalf of us all here in the EFBC family when I say, we are proud of you and we love you. It is going to be amazing to watch and see all that God will do in and through each of your lives as you continue to follow the Lord.

Father, we commit this day and all of Samuel and Michael’s days to you, (Phil. 1:6) “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Now we are going to transition into our time of communion. Those of you at home this would be a good time for you to get the elements you will use for communion, and if there is anyone here who did not receive the cup of juice and wafer, please raise your hand and someone will walk around and be sure you get that now.

I would like us to take some time and quietly meet with the Lord personally before we partake in communion, remembering what Jesus’ sacrifice means to you, and thanking Him with all your heart. Let’s meet with the Lord right now...

1 Co 11:23–25 The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Lord we know that when we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your sacrifice for us until you come. I pray that every one of us will honor you with our whole heart today and everyday as we follow you. Thank you for giving everything for our salvation, we are forever grateful to you. Amen.