Baccalaureate 2022 (Aucilla)

OPENING

JOKE

Pirate’s 80th Birthday

What did the pirate say on his 80th birthday? AYE MATEY

Group of 6 Dwarfs

Fox News Alert: The Seven Dwarfs have been advised that, as of today, they can only meet in groups of six.

Six of them are not Happy.

Then I Saw Her Face

My wife asked me to stop singing “I’m a Believer” by the Monkeys because she found it annoying.

At first I thought she was kidding....But then I saw her face...

Butt Quack

God gave ducks feathers to cover their butt QUACK.

__________________

I love to laugh, but there’s a time to laugh and a time to cry; a time to celebrate (as we do tonight), but also a time to mourn - as you have experienced this year…and will likely experience some more, even during your graduation.

This school year was very difficult, with to the passing of Dakota.

Suddenly, we were all reminded of the reality of eternity.

Dakota’s eternal destiny became a front-burner issue for all of us…and concerns about OUR OWN eternal destiny rose to the forefront. And some of you had some powerful spiritual experiences.

But over time even our most powerful spiritual experiences fade away.

But those every now and then experiences aren’t meant to fuel your faith, anymore than having one fantamtiv meal every so often would fuel your body.

So tonight I want to give you...

5 Daily Decisions for the Journey Ahead

Because the next couple of years will likely set the course for the rest of your life.

And, just in case you think it’s too late to change course…there’s a Greek word for that - BALONEY!

Several years ago Tonya and I had the difficult task of approaching a teenager who had pulled the wool over her parents eyes. They didn’t think she was dating anyone, but she was.…someone they would not approve of.

My wife and I confronted the teenager with our concerns. Instead of telling us the truth, she lied to us. Finally, we went to her parents, and told them what we knew. That night her world got turned upside-down.

They grabbed her phone and saw what was on it…and it was BAD stuff, humiliating stuff, sinful stuff. It broke their hearts & their trust. Phone was gone. Vehicle & driving privileges were taken away. She was deeply ashamed…but she was also DEARLY LOVED.

And now, a few years later - her countenance is BRIGHT, her dating habits are pure, AND…her relationship with God and her parents is deeper than ever!

She sent me this text :

My life changed the moment that I turned away from a continuing sin. When I trusted Jesus with my life after facing a “head on confrontation” with the sin I was living in, the guilt, regret, shame, and fear I lived with began to vanish.

At first I thought “my life was over” or “it’ll never get better” or “how will I ever be good with my family again” but in my reaction to what I got MYSELF into, I turned to God. He continued to show me through those He used in my life that I am still loved, I am worth it, and I am FORGIVEN. I chose to face that I was wrong and move forward in pursuing God again.

My relationships with people & God, that had previously been built on lies, eventually grew stronger - now built on truth. Sin wedges us from God, family, and good friends. In the end it is not worth losing that and it’s not worth us having to wait until we hit rock bottom to REFOCUS.

Since I have refocused on God my desires and plans have been centered around Him and following Him better day by day.

So tonigh, regardless of your past, let’s look at 5 daily decisions that can change the course of our lives, 5 daily decisions that are changing this young lady’s life too.

PRAY

Let’s launch from Psalm 1.

Psalm 1:1–2 (CSB)

How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway with sinners or sit in the company of mockers! Instead, his delight is in the LORD’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night.

Here is a picture of a person who is no longer putting themselves in the position to be influenced by CULTURE - including ungodly friends. It’s not that he’s a hermit and never is around these folks. Instead, he/she does not walk in the advice of these influences any longer. And this is the first daily decision I challenge you to make:

1. Limit ungodly Influences. You are bombarded by stuff all day long via social media apps, music & movie messages, and ungodly friends. You can’t live in the world without hearing some of it, but you CAN limit these influences.

How can we do THAT?

[PHONE] PUT DOWN this PERPETUAL GLOWING RECTANGLE. This little thing saturates our lives. One study way back in 2009 suggested that most people spend 90% of their day “interacting with, and deriving satisfaction from glowing rectangles.” So from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to sleep, “Americans are in near-constant visual contact” with these ‘perpetual glowing rectangles.’

QUESTION: When do you put this down and take a break from it and all the messages that it is sending you?

We need to LIMIT UNGODLY INFLUENCES and instead - VERSE 2 - fill that gap with Yahweh’s instruction, from the Scriptures.

This person reads, listens to, and marinates in who God is and what God says, all day long! This person...

2. Stay in the Scriptures. Read them, memorize them, marinate in them, and obey them! Take the 10 minute challenge!

You know what’s keeping us from that? 2 things:

Distractions like these perpetual glowing rectangles. And while these can be great tools to work, communicate, & enjoy watching, they can also be HUGE distractions from seeking the KINGdom above all else. Our sports, time with friends, & jobs are more distractions we could add to the list.

And then there is SIN in our lives. “THIS BOOK WILL KEEP ME FROM SIN, AND SIN WILL KEEP ME FROM THIS BOOK.” You don’t want to open the Scriptures when you know God is going to deal with your sin. You might claim, “I’m too BUSY”, but the truth is…you don’t want to get BUSTED!

So, what’s the contrast between those who seek God and those who allow ungodly influences to seep into their soul?

Psalm 1:3 (CSB) He [the one who seeks God] is like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

This person THRIVES, with roots that reach deep, bearing fruit and never drying up (leaf does not wither). But…

Psalm 1:4-6 (CSB) The wicked are not like this; instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand up in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.

Limit ungodly influences.

Stay in the Scriptures.

3. Pray throughout the Day. Your heavenly Father WANTS to hear from you!

Matthew 7:7–11 (CSB) Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him.

Do you spend any time talking to God, seeking Him in prayer? If you’re like me, you can get distracted, SO….write down your prayer needs and stay on track that way.

The worst day of my life so far was when Tonya came home and told me she had cancer. We stared at the walls for 10 minutes not knowing what to do. Later we prayed to our heavenly FATHER and asked for His Presence & provision. We later told our boys about it and prayed with them. Every day it was the 1st and last thing on my mind. We had no clue what the result would be. Since then we have spent many moments going to our heavenly Father in PRAYER. My wife is doing well, and God has graciously provided thousands and thousands of dollars to see us through so far. The other day I went to the mailbox and had a note that the radiation procedures cost $7,000 BUT noted it was paid in full. That was one more blessing…later I looked at it again and realized I had missed a ZERO on it…

I had NO CLUE how we would handle this, but “how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him.”!

don’t limit your prayer life to just calling on God when you’re in trouble. Talk to him throughout the day. Practice his presents and live like he is actually listening and walking with you.

Limit ungodly influences.

Stay in the Scriptures.

Pray throughout the Day.

Walk with the Wise. Make time to hang out with people you want to be like!

You show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future.

Andy Stanley once said it another way, “Your friends will determine the quality and direction of your life.”

The Scripture says it like this.

Proverbs 13:20 (CSB) The one who walks with the wise will become wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm.

This is why it’s VITAL that you are consistently involved in a church with friends and leaders who encourage you to love Jesus and love people, by serving others speaking the truth in love.

You’ll notice something interesting when you read through the New Testament. Even when Jesus wasn’t with His disciples in person, He never left His disciples alone.

Luke 10:1 (CSB) After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others, and he sent them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself was about to go.

Jesus sent the disciples out in pairs. WHY? They could have covered 2x more ground if they split up. Of course, it’s because we NEED each other. We aren’t supposed to be LONE RANGERS. (Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto!)

You need others to pick you up when you fall and cheer you on as you obey the Lord Jesus. So, in Acts 4, Peter & John do ministry TOGETHER…and get in trouble TOGETHER.

Turn to your neighbor and say: Sista & brotha, we need each otha!

The 1st thing you need to do if you go off to school or start to work is SEEK OUT some Christian friends, who will help you to walk with Jesus and have pure fun!

my buddies and me

Cause, if you want to THRIVE, you must…

Limit ungodly influences.

Stay in the Scriptures.

Pray throughout the Day.

Walk with the Wise.

Become a Disciple who Develops Disciples.

Of course, this is what Jesus commanded.

Matthew 28:19–20 (CSB) Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

you grow in Jesus, then help there.

Paul had the guts to tell the Corinthians…

1 Corinthians 11:1 (CSB) Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ.

Most people in our culture would think that is a prideful statement. NOPE.

You see, when my boys were young I would tell them. Just do what Daddy does…When you want that cookie late at night I’ll teach you how to sneak it.

Somebody had to teach them! I want them to watch how I treat their momma and follow my example. This all starts in the home.

But Paul wanted to continue developing disciples in obedience to Jesus.

2 Timothy 2:2 (CSB) What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

THIS IS 4 GENERATIONS DEEP! Paul to Timothy to faithful men to teach others…and discipleship keeps going!

It’s amazing how WE grow when we are trying to help others grow!

Andy Stanley and drunk

Imagine a friend has just put his/trust in Jesus and asked YOU to help him/her grow. Would that excite you or scare you?

Most people in here would experience a little bit of fear as you don’t want to steer that young believer wrong. But I wonder how many of us would be afraid because we aren’t very committed disciples ourselves, OR no one has taken the time to invest in OUR lives and show us HOW.

This is why it is VITAL that you seek out some WISE EXAMPLES who will invest in your life and show you how to BECOME a disciple who DEVELOPS DISCIPLES.

Students: Approach that same sex adult you look up to, and ask him/her to make some time for you.

Adults: approach the 2 same sex students and ask if they are willing to meet with you and another same sex student on a regular basis and then make a plan on when to meet and what to cover. Your all-knowing youth pastors will help you with that!

That young lady I told you about earlier…she is REFOCUSED on the Lord Jesus. She is choosing, every day, to

Limit ungodly influences

Stay in the Scriptures

Pray throughout the Day

Walk with the Wise

Become a Disciple who Develops Disciples.

WILL YOU?

i went running through a huge cemetery this week. Everyone in there used to live just like us. Everything and die. What are you gonna do with The time God has given you?