Class of 2022

Introduction

Good morning and welcome to those of you who are watching online. I am so grateful to be here with you this morning as we celebrate our graduates. For the past 12 years, they have worked hard to receive their diploma’s. There have been amazing memories with friends, significant achievements, challenging days, confusing situations, and at times hard losses. Yet, today we look to celebrate you. Because you have have not only overcome these challenges and put in the hard work, but you have in many ways excelled. We as a community want you to know that we are so proud of you! We are proud of the ways you have handled adversity. Receiving a diploma is no small feet, it is a life altering accomplishment that will help set you up to succeed in your life. We are so proud of you! Can we give our graduates a round of applause?

For me, this is a day that is full of joy over wanting to celebrate our graduates. But it is also a challenging day. This is the first full class that I have had in my time here. I came when you were nervous little freshman. I have had a chance to watch you grow and develop into strong leaders, men and women who are positioned to make a difference in this world. Personally, I am going to miss each of you. I am going to miss your friendship, your leadership, and getting to see spend time with you and getting to worship alongside you.

In this class of graduates, we as a church are losing several strong leaders. Students who have demonstrated character, discipline, had significant influence in their peer groups, and who have been leaders even when nobody is watching. Now they are leaving for college - stepping into the next season of life. But their moving on has implications.

- The 1st is that we as a body need to continue to build and support them from afar. We can pray, send letters, care packages, and an encouraging text. When they are home we can spend quality time with them and continue to make deposits. Their stepping into the next season of life does not mean that we the church simply wave good bye. It means we find new ways to remind them that they are loved and have a community here that will always love them, receive them, and seek to build them up in the faith.

- Secondly, when leaders move on, someone needs to step up to take their place. For the underclassman, for those who have not finished their schooling yet, who is going to step up? Who is going to lead? For the adults, how will you bring stability to our students who remain? How will you lead, support, and encourage to help us continue to move forward well?

Today, we will be taking a look at Ephesians 4. If you have your Bibles, please turn there now. Lets pray as we prepare ourselves to listen to the Spirit through the teaching of God’s word.

Called

Ephesians 4:1 “1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,”

I Therefore:

What is the therefore, there for?

The foundation of everything Paul is about to say in chapters 4-6 hinges on the foundation of the gospel for all people that is given in chapters 1-3.

In the book of Ephesians there are 41 imperatives - commands. 40 of the 41 come in chapters 4-6, meaning that in the foundational stages, Paul’s goal was not to offer simple rules and guidelines to being a christian. Instead, Paul chose to clearly speak to the new life that we can find through the restorative work of a good and holy God. A God who brings transformation to the heart and soul of anyone who would surrender this life and choose God. What this tells us is that Paul’s posture and understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ is this - it is not about the do’s and don’ts. It is not about following the rules.

If Christianity were about the do’s and don’ts and following the rules then the Bible would simply say this “Do these things, don't do these things and you will be saved.” That would be it - the message of the Bible could be contained in a single sentence.

Parents in the room - its the same thing with our kids. You can give them a list of rules to follow, but if they have no understanding of why those rules matter they become pointless. Roman our son is 5 years old and he thinks through a lot of things. If we tell him not to do something, what is the first thing he says “Why?” Rules and lists can be good, they can posture us to move in the right direction but we can also fall into a pit or a habit where it becomes about following the rules instead of worshiping God.

The Bible is so much more than rules - the foundation that we see God lay throughout the history of the Bible is the same approach Paul brings the the church in Ephesians. He spends the first three chapters on the gospel story. The story of God, who He is, what He has done, what He is doing.

He speaks to God’s plan for mankind

To God’s abundant Love and sufficient Grace

He speaks about how the Father, Son, and Spirit are active

How God gave life to the spiritually dead - inviting them into God’s covenant family - giving them a new purpose and tasks.

Paul also shares about how God has allowed him to participate in this life-giving mission that would draw people from all around the world into a relationship with the living God.

Paul’s foundation is the the gospel. He is describing how it is the act of God that the dead can live. His goal is to get us to stop looking at the rules and the commands and instead to focus on the person and character of God. This is a relationship - not a religion. We are the people of God - not people who simply do enough to look like a Christian.

As we look at the “therefore,” we see it is there to help us understand that we live the way we do because we are deeply in love and deeply grateful for our God who went out of His way to breath new life into us, restore and heal what was broken, give us a new mission, and step into a new life. So as we look at these imperatives, they come from understanding the foundation of the gospel message and having responded to the gospel with a heart, soul, and mind that is all in and all out for Jesus the Christ.

Ephesians 4:1 “1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,”

A prisoner for the Lord:

Because Paul has been invited into participating in the mission of God - he has seen and experienced the power of God at work in his own life and the people around him and as a result Paul finds himself all in and all out for Jesus. A willing prisoner for the Lord.

It is worth being a prisoner of God

If I am a prisoner, you may also become a prisoner

Paul is demonstrating how to live in surrender by leading the way.

urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,”

He is talking about how you live. I urge you to live your life in such a way. I urge you to , make decisions that reflect your surrender to God. That reflect the foundation of the gospel hope that you have inside of you.

You cannot claim to be a christian and do whatever you want. If the Holy Spirit is inside you and transforming you - then you are also a prisoner of Christ. Which means that as you grow and mature in your faith you reflect the image of God more and more.

Which means..... (SLOW) you learn how to naturally step into the commands in the Bible about how your life should be lived. It is when we are in this place that we are living in a manner worthy of the calling.

But the issue is this. We have a propensity to get fixated on the do’s and dont’s. We focus on the rule of the law without working on the condition of our heart and our relationship to God. Therefore, we bypass God and live in our own form of religion.

Believers are called to live in surrender to God, in such a way that we willingly step into whatever God has for us. We learn how to be molded and shaped by the teaching of the word, time in prayer, and the words God shares with us through others. Stop reading your bible and asking the question “God what does this mean for me?” Read the Bible asking “What does this tell me about God?” Seek Him - allow Him to transform your heart - and in time you will naturally find yourself living out the commands of the Bible.

worthy of the calling to which you have been called,”

Worthy is what is right and appropriate before God. It is looking at the decisions you have to make in your life and choosing what most honors God. Looking at options and possibilities of how you should respond and choosing what is biblically most appropriate. So, your walking and your worthiness go hand and hand. In order to walk a life that is worthy you must am to live your life as worthy. To live your life as worthy is to seek God each and every day, to surrender to Him and make decisions in your life that are most appropriate in regards to the foundation of the gospel. We do need to be intentional about living according to God’s commands - but it needs to be done out of the depths of our love for Him and our desire to worship Him with our lives.

worthy of the calling to which you have been called,”

The Promise of the calling - “is eternity in heaven with Christ, where we will see Him pour out His immeasurable riches and kindness toward us.”

The Act of God Calling - “God raises spiritually dead people to life and faith through the gospel.”

Piper - “This is an act of God, by which in verse 5 of chapter 2, we were raised from the dead and it happened through the word of God preached in the gospel. Which is why it can be called a calling, even though it is a massive act of supernatural life being given.”

As believers, we rest in the fact that God has given us a new life and gives promises of piece, security, and blessing for all eternity. We strive to be more like Him every day, opening our hands up in surrender - praying that God would open up our eyes to see His glory and word carried forward. We labor, we give, we make sacrifices. We take time to pray and thank God for saving us from our sins, to protect us from evil and help us be transformed from the inside out. We enter into the hurts and pains of others, sometimes, people we don’t even know and we walk alongside them to the best of our ability.

Why do we do all of this - because we are called. If you have put your trust and faith in Jesus, turned from your sin and put your hope in Him for eternity than you are a believer. You are someone who was dead that God called to life - Just like Lazarus.

We do all this because the high king of heaven, the creator and sustainer of life has personally, affectionately called us to Himself; drawing us into His holy presence where we can experience the fulness of God.

This is where stop and simply say “Praise God!”

Graduates - you have been called to receive the gospel and move from death to life. From the moment you said yes to Jesus, God has been doing a supernatural work in your life where He has not only given you life, but He is continuing to work in and through you. Drawing you closer, making your look more and more like Jesus. As He draws you, He uses you, to accomplish His kingdom work and to help others who are dead to find life. This is a calling that is worth becoming a prisoner.

“I want deliberately to encourage this mighty longing after God. The lack of it has brought us to our present low estate. The stiff and wooden quality about our religious lives is a result of our lack of holy desire. Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth. Acute desire must be present or there will be no manifestation of Christ to His people. He waits to be wanted. Too bad that with many of us, He waits so long, so very long in vain.”

A.W. Tozer

Don’t keep God waiting. He wants to have a deep and personal connection with you. He has made Himself available and the question is “Are you willing to seek Him?” To really, truly seek after His heart?

Gifted

Ephesians 4:7-11 “7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” 9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,”

Christs Gift/gave gifts to men

like calling and called, gift has more than one meaning here.

First and foremost, Jesus extends the gift of salvation to anyone who should choose Him over this world.

Secondly, for those who have believed - He has gifted you with special abilities that are designed to be used for His kingdom. These gifts are further alluded to in verse 11, “and he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers.” These are all groups of people who have been gifted in a specific way.

In the bible we find several places where spiritual gifts are mentioned and discussed. A prime example would be 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 “4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.”

gifts are an interesting study. We have several lists of them and instructions around them. But we never hear that these are the only gifts. Rather, the way gifts are portrayed in the Bible it seems as though there are other types of gifts that are not mentioned.

This past week, we took a group of students to Niagara Falls for a mission trip. Throughout the week, it was a blessing to watch them work. As the week went on, it was clear to see some gifting shining through. We had people like

Aleyna, who is task oriented, works to completion and ensures her work to be of the highest quality.

We had people like Damyn, who is a natural coach to the people around him and has the ability to make anyone laugh.

Tacey revealed her wisdom and discernment.

Chase’s work ethic, Jenna’s tender heart towards others, Eadi’s focus and drive.

As our students started being asked to work for the kingdom, their spiritual gifts become more and more evident. There was no attempt to draw out a special gift or to manufacture anything. These are gifting that became apparent as they made themselves available to God and served His kingdom.

Spiritual gifts are a blessing from God to us and we are to steward them well. We are to use them to encourage, to serve, to build up the church!

Graduates, you have been called by God and He has gifted you according to the call He has put on your life. Wherever you go, whatever you do for work, use the gifts you have been given to serve the Lord.

Ephesians 4:12 “12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,”

Your gift is to be used - so find a church where you can use it.

Built

Your gift is to be stewarded, so find a church that will help you practice it, develop it, and help your grow. Because if your foundation is built on the gospel of Jesus, your aim is to personally know Him, love Him, and build His kingdom - the strength of your gift will grow. As it grows, your faith will grow with it and your maturity in the Lord will bring you to deeper, more intimate places where God will use you for the building of His church.

Ephesians 4:11-13 “11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,”

The call of the believer is to lean into God, to lean into the work He has given them by participating in the building of His kingdom until we have become mature in the faith. He uses the illustration of a man. A man was once a child - immature, weak, and unaware. A child has no guiding principles, they have not developed their character - they are nowhere near true manhood. But once they reach it, their life looks vastly different. They can see beyond what is right in front of them, they can work hard and accomplish significant tasks, they can relate to other people and motivate them. There is a completeness and beauty in maturity.

The same is true in our spiritual maturity. That as we grow, we are transformed to the point where we do not look that same as we used to. We think different, act different, serve different, and recognize solutions differently. Maturity in Christ helps us know how to respond to the shifting sand of this world along with the turmoil and suffering that you are likely to experience.

But even if it gets hard, even if it seems as though the world around you is collapsing. Maturity allows you to handle the weight by leaning hard into whatever God wants you to learn or do. Immaturity throws a tantrum - maturity learns how to resolve or begin working through the issues.

Graduates, you have been called, you have been gifted, and you have been built up in the faith. Over the years you have been given opportunity to use and cultivate your gifts. You have been trained how to read and rightly handle the word of God. You have hours upon hours discussing biblical principles and how to respond to hard realities.

Keep growing. Keep seeking. Keep being built up. Find a gospel oriented church and serve the Lord there. You will always be welcome here and whenever you are home please come worship the Lord with us. We would love to catch up, say hi, and take you out to lunch. We love you and have loved having you here with us.

Sent

I have one last point for you this morning. We have considered that through the gospel, God has called each of you individually. Not only did God call you but He has uniquely gifted to serve His kingdom in specific ways. With that gifting you are to use it to the best of your ability, to seek to grow and mature in your faith through study, prayer, outreach, and whatever way God prompts you to move. You are to grow, to be built up into maturity in Christ so that you can build up and encourage the church.

With all that in mind, we now choose to send you. We recognize that all of you have experienced growth and maturing in Christ. That you have found some of your gifting and that you have responded to the personal invitation to have a personal relationship with God. So we want to send you on mission. We want to challenge you to be intentional and focused on building up the church as you reach out to the lost. We want to remind you that no matter what profession or town you live in, you are called to spread the gospel to all people, in all places. Teaching them about the love of Christ and the salvation He offers to them freely. Coaching and building up younger people in the faith, and serving your community with the love of Christ.

Matthew 28:16-20 “16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

Graduates - This is your call - this is the mission that God has asked you to step into as you love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

So we want to invite you to stand up where you are. You don't need to say anything except receive this prayer of blessing. For those of you who have a graduate standing nearby - would you reach out your hands toward them.

Pray

Gift for the Graduates