to our graduates. Congratulations. I want to, can we just give a hand of applause to these guys and their accomplishments and we appreciate the, appreciate Brother Blake stepping up and serving as our interim student minister and leading out in this. I appreciate his love and really proud though of you as graduates you have arrived at a milestone moment in life.
When I say you've arrived, you haven't come to the end. Matter of fact, you're moving into a new season and every, or in life there are these transition points, right? There are moments in life where one season closes and another begins and that's where you are today. You're at this milestone moment.
Can you have it arrived? You're somewhere that honestly you've got to, you've got to go, right? One chapter is ending, another chapter is beginning. Familiar routines are changing in the future.
Perhaps for you all of a sudden seems very real. You may be excited, you may be nervous, you may be confident, you may feel uncertain. And honestly, you can have all of those emotions in this moment because new seasons can feel both exciting and intimidating. The scenario that you find yourself in reminds me of Joshua.
Joshua, we're talking about the conqueror. Joshua, the one who led the children of Israel into the Promised Land there is a moment in his life and it's not just for him, it's for the entire nation where all of a sudden one season has ended and a new season is beginning. Moses, the great leader, has passed on. He's gone.
Joshua's standing at the edge of the Promised Land. He's got great responsibility of leading God's people now into an entirely new season. I mean, not only is it like, hey, we're leaving the wilderness, we're moving into the Promised Land, but we're also going without our leader, the one that we've always depended upon. Now, there's not only a new season of life in a new place, but we've got a new leader and all of a sudden, and this has some uncertainty to it.
But it's in this moment that God speaks to Joshua with words that I think that every graduate should hear. But can I just say this, that while this message is directed toward graduates, I promise you this is applicable to all of us because you may find yourself at the beginning of a new season of life right now. And you're going to walk away saying, you know what, I needed that message. And if you're not at a transition point yet, you will be because life is filled with transitions.
And so while these graduates have hit that milestone, all of us are going to have moments in life where hey, we're ending a chapter, we're beginning a chapter. We're beginning something new. And so this message is applicable. I want to share with you this morning a message entitled Stepping into your next season of every Bible's where in Joshua chapter one, Joshua chapter one, if you want to name one of the reading of God's Word, Joshua chapter one, we're going to read these verses.
And these are very familiar verses. You know when our Joshua was here, Joshua Crosswell, he quoted Joshua one verse nine all the time and how appropriate today on graduation day on senior Sunday that we find ourselves here. God's Word says now after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass the Lord's faken to Joshua, the son of none, Moses, minister saying, Moses, my servant is dead. Now therefore, Joshua arrives and go over this Jordan, you and all of this people unto a land which I do given to them, even to the children of Israel.
Every place that your soul or the soul of your foot shall tread upon I have given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river Euphrates and all the land of the Hittites and unto the great sea towards the going down of the sun shall be your coast. There shall not any man be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you, Joshua.
I will not fail you, I will not forsake you. Be strong and of a good courage for unto this people shall now divide and inherit into the land which I swear unto their fathers to give them. Only be you strong and very courageous that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you, turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper with us so ever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thou out but thou shall meditate there in day and night.
The thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein, for then shalt thou make thou wait prosperous and then shalt thou have good success, have not out commanded thee be strong and of a good courage. Be not afraid, need to be thou dismayed for the Lord thy God is with you wither so ever thou goest. God we thank you for your faithfulness and God you have been faithful. God you've been faithful in all the seasons of life and as we see today these graduates Lord transitioning into a new season, their family is transitioning into a new season perhaps Lord even us today though maybe there's something that has happened in our lives or within our families where we find ourselves stepping into a new season and I pray this Lord maybe never forget that the God who was faithful in the previous season is the God who is faithful in the next season help us to walk with you Lord help us Lord to be faithful.
Lord I pray your blessings Lord upon these graduates as they journey forward and I pray God that you would encourage them strengthen them protect them convict them and help them to make those wise choices that will make all the difference in the next season to come. And God I pray today if there be one here among us today who is standing on the brink of making a decision about a next season that is really the season of salvation is the season of knowing you is the season of reconciliation of redemption what I'm praying what today we the start of that journey is they receive freely the gift of salvation that has afforded us through the finished work of Jesus Christ I pray this in Jesus name amen amen hey this morning I'll fight things when you step into a new season you're stepping into a season they make feel uncertain the opening words of the chapter are heavy first to Moses, hey Joshua Moses my servant is dead and with that everything has changed Moses had been the leader the unquestioned the unparalleled the recognized the rarely challenged the 100 percent God indoors leader of the nation instead his voice is gone he had been the voice not a fact that children of Israel told Moses they mose as you go up there on that mountain you go up there you talk to God we can't talk to God we can't hear God you go up there you talk to God and whatever God tells you come down off the mountain you tell us and then we will do that he was he was the voice for the nation he had the stabilizing presence he had been the one constant from from Egypt all the way to the shores of the Jordan River but now he's gone and here's the children of Israel like hey we're about to cross over and praise God we've been wondering around for 40 years but we're about to cross over into the promised land it's awesome it's exciting it is it's fresh it's uncertain but not only are we going into a season of uncertain about where we're going but we're going without our man we're going without our leader and now Joshua and the nation have to move forward without what had always been familiar graduates that's where you are today you are stepping forward into a new season of life and you are going to step forward without those things that had always been familiar to you you're going to be leading behind familiar schedules perhaps familiar friends familiar routines familiar environments some of you are heading off to college could be closed could be far away make no difference you're about to move out the house or packing up the suitcase you're leaving you're walking out the door you're going to be in the dorm you're going to be in the apartment you're going to be somewhere doing the thing that you've always wanted to do being independent but all of a sudden in a new location in a new season of life you're going to be you're going to have some uncertainties about what's coming responsibilities an opportunity some of you moving straight into careers maybe you're going to move away you're going to go find that job you're going to live that life right again new opportunities some of you may go to trade school you want to get trained you want to get skilled you want to find that high skill maybe work in life Devin's going to the Marines there's going to be some uncertainties some of you may still be trying to figure it out like what what even does come next but I can assure you that the next season of different is coming and the next season of different is filled with some uncertainties okay here's the thing uncertainty can be frightening here's the thing when it comes to us and God and his plan for our life and all of us want this God if you if you just show me a to Z if you just show me the landing spot I feel a whole lot better about it so can you just tell me a to Z you know what God gives you a and he's not giving you B until you step up to a we all want a to Z here's why because if we like a to Z we'll do it and if we don't like a to Z we might try to avoid it God's not in the business of giving us a to Z he gives us a we do a he gives me we do be he gives see we do see every step is a step of faith that's the way God works I don't know how many have been through the the study experiencing God knowing doing the will of God but there's a student version of that I would say this to everyone of our graduates you ought to go down to the local bookstore you ought to purchase a copy of the student version of experiencing God knowing doing the will of God you get you get the full on version I was thinking this occurs like when we think about laying out our diamond you know some of the things that we want to do for second base growing we ought to offer experiencing God knowing doing the will of God because I'm telling a few studies I've ever done that allowed me to grow in my faith and how God works in my life and when I see how God works helps me to move forward in the seasons that may feel uncertain but I can assure you this that every new season will have its sense of uncertainty Joshua did not receive every detail about the future right we just read chapter one what he say across the river it's all I got across the river he simply received enough information about a direction to move forward in faith and that's what we have to do in a new season of uncertainty God calls us to move forward in faith God tells Joshua in verse two he says arise and go over this Jordan in other words Joshua it's time to move forward forward into the next season that is the next step in terms of the big picture that's true right he says I want you to move forward I got something new for your life Joshua I got something new for the nation of Israel but practically he had to literally take a step and cross over the Jordan River you see there comes a moment when you cannot save where you are and at the same time fulfill God's will you got to trust God enough to take the next step some people spend their entire lives standing still spiritually because fear keeps them from trusting God fully and I would tell you this that is probably more the norm than not we stand still spiritually because we get we get wrapped up in fear instead of trusting God we're all going to have moments when we're afraid the question is in the moments that you're afraid we trust God I told you a part of my surrender story and surrendering to God in 93 and it's raining preaching February of 94 and then I accepted my first pastorate in December of 1995 and I can remember going and preaching of you have a call at Waddle Grove Missionary Baptist Church in D.N. Arkansas and a week later they called right this is back in the day you didn't have a cell phone right they called my parents I was living I moved back into my parents house when I graduated school and that phone rang and Susan and I we were already dating and I picked up the phone it's Herbert Chambliss who's the chairman of the pulpit committee and he says brother Thompson Waddle Grove Missionary Baptist Church wants to extend the call to you to become our pastor I said I got to pray about this and I can remember when I hung that phone up I was like man I don't know who am I a cow what I don't know anything really about pasturing I don't know anything I'm not married I don't think about pasturing I don't know anything but Susan was with me that day and we sat there at the barstools at my parents house and we talked and then we prayed I think this is something you ought to do I called Brother Chambliss back and I told him I was take the church but I tell you man I was scared to death I was afraid I was afraid of all kinds of things number one I was afraid of giving up everything that I'd ever known and I mean I loved I'm gonna take something my home church County Avenue Baptist Church meant everything to me I love the people they invested in me I am who I am today because of the good people of County Avenue Baptist Church I mean who invested in me and I was about to walk away from that walk away from relationships people that I loved I mean I was walking into the unknown I was afraid I was about to leave a church that was pretty good sized church to go and take a church that had 17 people in Sunday school I was leaving a church that was in a city to go pastor church was out in the middle of the country in a small little community and I was leaving to go do something that I thought I was gonna fail at doing I thought that and I can remember when I told County Avenue I've accepted the call and everyone's celebrating and they're all saying congratulations we're proud of you man go do it I can remember being in my truck I'm about to start the engine in Greg Murphy the guy who shoots our fireworks could be here this year Greg Murphy came in knocking my wind up and I went to roll down and Greg said John I want you to know man I'm proud of you I'm excited for you and I think God's gonna do great things in your life and this is what I told him I said Greg I just hope I make it six months before I have to come back home because I didn't think there was any way that I was gonna make it pasturing a church and and leading people and leaving what everything that I had known and I left there in the first Sunday of December of 1995 and I've never not been in a pool pit as a pastor all of us when we step into a new season of life are going to find seasons of uncertainty but we have to be willing to trust God if we do not trust God we will not move forward. Faith's forward movement requires that we trust the Lord Noah built an ark he never seen rain he only made a flood that's I'm gonna destroy the world build an ark and the Bible says Hebrews 11 says that Noah was moved to the building of an ark to the saving of his family Abraham left his homeland God came to him in Genesis chapter 12 said Abraham follow me I'll show you a land and I bet Abraham was like just you don't have to show me just tell me where we're going just give me the invocation Lord and if I like it I'll go if I don't I'll stay God doesn't work that way he's like oh just come follow me and he takes this route that goes from earth counties up to her and down to Canaan land he didn't know where he was going but he knew he's following God trust just move forward by trusting the Lord Peter stepped out of the boat I wonder about that dude Lord if it be you bid me to come come and he swings the leg over the side of that boat and he steps out through the water and I don't know if he thought he was going to plunge to the water or stand on solid ground I don't know which one it was but he did it he trusted the Lord Joshua cross the Jordan River and go and Joshua crossed that river graduate you're stepping into a new season of life and as you go just know this that while the next step in life that will be practical right college career the marines whatever you choose to do right there's a practical sense right I got trust the Lord and where I'm going but there's also a spiritual sense that God is sending you somewhere and wherever that somewhere is it is to advance the kingdom of God trust him to use you in the next season of life it's going to change right the question is not whether life changes it does the question is whether we will trust God through the changes and it does require trust because God's will is not always the easiest path but I promise you this that God's will is the best path the next step requires trust and you can do it because God's presence is greater than your fear versus a five and ten God says be courageous but three times in this passage God tells Joshua be strong and courageous three times be strong and courageous twice he says I'm with you but three times he says be strong and courageous you know why?
because Joshua was afraid I tell you he was he was afraid and that's not a bad thing we will all have fears to overcome but you know how you overcome fear courage courage is not the absence of fear courage is trusting God in the midst of your fears and notice what God never says he doesn't say Joshua get up and cross that river because Joshua you're skilled enough Joshua you're good enough Joshua you're smart enough Joshua you got the right intellect Joshua you got the right education Joshua you're just equipped enough that you can do it that's not what he says he says Joshua get up and cross over that river why for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go and that changes everything you see God has made that promise to us he made that promise in Joshua 1 verse 9 but then the author of Hebrews picks it up in Hebrew chapter 13 it says hey that promise belongs to us he has promised to never leave us nor forsake us God is with us wherever we go like David we can walk through the valley of the shadow of death we can say I'll be your know evil why because you're with me and you're raw and your staff they do comfort me graduates listen there will be moments when you feel overwhelmed uncertain lonely pressured or even inadequate there will be days when the future feels unclear makes sense though right it is the uncertainty of the next season but your confidence isn't in the future your confidence is in God don't put your confidence in yourself but your confidence in God your future is secure not because you have every answer your future is secure because God walks with his people you see the same God who's been faithful in this season will remain faithful in the next season that was true for Joshua Joshua need to know that hey this God who has seen us for the last 40 years he's going to see me tomorrow he's going to walk with me the next day the next year or however many years I have left to leave God's been faithful in the past he'll be faithful in my future that's true for us too but here's the question how will Joshua in a very practical way keep the knowledge of God's presence in the forefront of his mind and how will we do it well God tells him how it's in verse number eight God tells him to remain for God's words remain central in his life to remain central in every season verse eight he says but this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth when you think about this before Joshua ever entered a battle before even crossed the river across the Jordan River or before he conquered a single city God emphasized his word why because success without obedience is failure in God's eyes graduates you're entering to a world full of voices competing for your attention and culture is going to try to shape you and reshape you and mold you and conform you you'll try to reshape your values your identity your morality your priorities two years ago I kicked off a sermon series about Daniel the very first message I shared with you that Nebuchadnezzar did this thing called Operation Baba-Lahun it's where he took some bright kids from from Israel and he put them into Babylonian University and he was seeking to reshape them reshape their faith change their faith heritage their faith identity change their faith change their values change their diet he tried to change their names he tried to change who they were and I'm telling you you're back to step into a world this one to do everything that it can to change who you are if you're not anchored in God's word the world will shape you and mold you Paul tells us in Romans 12 and to be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind how's our minds get renewed by the word of God graduates every person in this room don't drift away from scripture in your next season don't drift away from scripture in your next season this morning graduates you were presented a bible a copy of God's word and the student ministry did not go cheap on you and what I mean by that listen God's word is the most valuable thing that we can have it is our most valuable possession when you hear me on this it's even more valuable than our salvation here's what I mean by that you couldn't be saved if it wasn't for the revelation of God faith comes by hearing and hearing about the word of God God's revelation his word is the most valuable possession that we have of course it leads us to get other valuable possession salvation you've been presented a copy of God's word but this is not some nine dollar 95 cent paperback version you received a study bible it's the charles Stanley life principle study bible now listen I want to encourage you read God's word study God's word apply God's word and the reason you were given this particular bible is because number one it's God's word but secondly a stalwart a giant in the faith who has studied God's word and preached through God's word has taken into vise some principles of life and he's put him into the study notes and I'm telling you that this bible will help you if you read it if you'll study it'll help you apply God's word in your life and if you will apply God's word in your life you won't wait your way prosperous you'll find good success godly success listen success without obedience to God's word is actually failure I will encourage you today as graduates I'm telling to everyone of us in this room stay in the word stay in church stay close to God's people because spiritual drift rarely happens suddenly not spiritual drift happens little by little by little by little but a little over a long distance is a wide margin spiritual drift happens slowly it happens quietly it happens one compromise at a time and I'm sure that we can all think of someone today who not long ago was standing in this altar where we were celebrating them and saying congratulations you've crossed a milestone moment in life you're moving into a new season if you looked at their life today you'd say they completely drifted away they've drifted they disconnected from the very things that helped them to grow spiritually I'm teaching through the book of Hebrews right now on Wednesday nights they're five warnings in the book and the very first warning in the book is the author writes to these Hebrews he says this don't drift from the word you know how you do you know he says he says how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation he says don't drift from the word you know how you drift you just become unintentional you just lose focus just all you do you just get distracted and the world is filled with distractions the world is filled with things to get our to get us to get our eyes off of God's word to get away from what counts don't drift from God's word stay in church stay connected to God's people those are three simple easily executed choices stay in God's word stay in church stay with God's people if you'll do those things you will not drift but if you do not drift and can easily happen for those of you who are going off the college let me encourage you that wherever you land whatever campus you find yourself on find the Christian ministry on campus could be in BSF could be the BSM could be something else but on your campus there's going to be a college ministry there that is seeking to keep you plugged into God's word and around God's people find that ministry and if you can't find it I hope that it finds you but I can remember back in 1992 when I went to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock I'm sitting in a geology class got 250 people in it and one morning after class I'm you know class of dismiss and here's all these students are walking out the door there's this guy who stops me and says hey you're you're from Texas can't aren't you I didn't know who this kid was turns out his name is Mike Pierce Mike Pierce granddad is E.M. Pierce he had a large construction firm in Texarkana he happened to be a missionary back this though so somewhere along the way probably through youth rallies or something my shoulder head rub shoulders with Mike somehow he recognized me and he says hey I know who you are all right we got together we hung out then he invited me to his church Garris Springs Baptist Church in Little Rock Arkansas and their college ministry it was called focus I started attending focus on Tuesday nights and I would tell you this that focus was instrumental in shaping the trajectory of my faith and my walk with the Lord because what you do in the next four years of your life will do more to shape the direction of your life than any other period of life when you go off the school find that college ministry find that BSEM you find that MBSF group you find it and if you can't I hope they find you but listen stay in God's word stay in church and stay with God's people second if you're not going off the college you're not going straight to the workforce I'm leaving here man I got a job in Dallas I'm getting a job in Houston I'm leaving I'm going to the big city I'm gonna go live my life differently that's fine but wherever you go you find a church and don't listen to me I don't want to hear of this I hear it all the time people who leave here and they're like oh you know we just couldn't find another South Union which you know people think that sounds good to the preacher because like hey there's no church like South Union I couldn't find a South Union what they're really saying is I was too lazy to find another church there is another church you got to get in it you got to get plugged in you got to find it you got to be a part of it you got to be in a place where you're with God's people and if you don't leave danger field taxes it's okay don't graduate from your faith there are too many people who stand here in this altar on this day and within a matter of weeks they're gone they graduated youth ministry they graduate church they graduate their faith they graduate God drift you gotta stick with it stay in the word stay with God's people stay in church I'll tell you this to me again those are three easily executable decisions I'm gonna stay in God's word I'm gonna stay in church I'm gonna stay with God's people and if you execute on those three choices you will find success in your life success though not measured by the world standard success measured by God's standard you see God measures success by faith on us our culture measures success differently right the world says success is money what's your income level and the higher your income level the more successful you are that's what the world says it's not what God says the world says hey success is influenced the more people you hold influence over the more successful you are but that's not what God says the world says the more status you hold in the eyes of people the greater your status the more successful you are but that's not That's not what God says. The world was like, hey, the more popular you are, the more people know who you are, the more successful you are. That's not what God says.
The world says the more achievements you gain, the more successful you are. But that is not what God's word says. No God's word says success is measured in faithfulness. The more faithful you are to God, the more God says you're successful.
You see, faithful people do consistently what others do occasionally. That is, faithful people do consistently what unfaithful people do occasionally. If you wanna know who or what you're faithful to, just figure out what is it that I do consistently? Because whatever it is that you do consistently, and whoever you do that consistency for, that's who and what you're faithful to.
Joshua's greatest responsibility on this day, when God has commissioned him to be the leader, and said, I want you to get up, I want you to cross the Jordan River, Joshua's greatest responsibility was not becoming famous. His greatest responsibility was not becoming the greatest warrior in the history of Israel. His greatest responsibility was obeying God faithfully. Graduates, the greatest thing that you can do with your life is not simply to become faithful, I'm sorry, to become successful in the eyes of the world.
It is to be faithful in your relationship with Jesus. That's it, be faithful in your relationship with Jesus. Your job title will not matter in light of eternity, your salary will not matter in light of eternity, your trophies and accomplishments will not matter in light of eternity, but your relationship with Christ to will. So live for what matters most, live for what lasts forever.
Every year I write a letter to our graduates. So, cats out of the bag, I wrote you a letter. I'm also going to let you know this, I made it easy this year, I put a check in the letter. I'm shocked how many kids never find the check.
Never goes through the bank. I'm giving you a gift, never open the letter. Open the letter. I'm going to read a portion of the letter to you, okay?
I'm going to preach a portion of the letter to you. Because in the letter I get three words of advice. First, and this is about success. First, don't trade what you want most in life for what you want in the moment.
You need to figure that out. What is it that I want most? Because every day the enemy is going to put in front of you something that you want now. And you got to figure it out because it's a trade.
So, will I trade what I want now in the moment? For what I want most that's coming down the road. So, you got to figure that out. What is it that you want most and don't trade it for what you want in the moment?
To evaluate, I'm sorry, truly. I'm asking you, truly evaluate the decisions of life. Because when you make better decisions, you live as Andy Stanley says with fewer regrets. Secondly, to help make better decisions, ask the following question before every invitation to accept every opportunity to take every choice to make.
In light of my past history, my present situation, future hopes and dreams, what is the wise choice? Because this one question when answered honestly can truly steer you clear from trouble and toward golly success. Can I just tell you this is what we teach our kids in Club 2.5, 2. Hey, what's the wise choice?
What is the wise choice? And if we will answer that question honestly and move in the direction of wisdom, we'll move toward golly success. And then number three, life has neither a pause button nor a rewind button. So, make the most of the time that God has allotted to you.
In this next phase of life, you'll no doubt give much attention to making a living, earning money. And while money is very important from a practical standpoint, it is not however your most valuable asset time is. Time is infinitely more valuable than money. You know how I know that?
You cannot buy time. You cannot buy one second of time. There is no trade of money for time. Sue, so do not waste it, do not abuse it, do not abuse it.
Remember, you also cannot make it or save it. That as you can't make time, you can't save time. Actually, you can only spend it or invest it. So walk wisely in this world, making the most of your time.
Three words of advice. And I'm telling you that if you will make the wise choice, when it comes to what you want most, and how you deal with your time, you will find Godly success in this life. There are three things. Each of those things I share deal with wise choices.
And if you want to do wisely, if you want Godly success, here's my advice to you. Memorize verse eight. And then apply it. When I got out of college, and I had surrendered my life to the Lord, and I knew that I wanted to preach.
So I started doing some things that I had never done before. And one of them was memorizing scripture. I went down to the Baptist bookstore, and I looked there, and they had some tools. I went in, and they had a memorization kit.
64 verses that you could memorize. And they came on perforated tabs, and you tore them all out. They had a little binder that used to put business cards in. And you could carry them in your pocket.
You could pull it out, and you could read the verse, and you see if you're memorizing it. The very first verse I memorized, Joshua 1 in perseit. In this book of the law, shall not depart from thy mouth. But thou shalt meditate in therein day and night.
That thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein. For then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. And I'll tell you this, the prosperity that you want in life is the blessing hand of God. And as long as God's hand of blessing is upon you, we're not talking about money, we're not about status, we're not about popularity, we're talking about God's hand.
As long as God's hand is on you, you are prosperous. And he says, and then you will find good success. We're talking about godly success. The success that God says, now I count you to be successful.
Joshua stood at the edge of a brand new season. The future was uncertain, the responsibility was great, but here's the promise that God made to him. Joshua, I will be with you. And that same truth remains for every believer today.
Graduates, you're stepping into a new season. A season of uncertainty. A season that's going to bring changes and challenges. And there will be moments where you perhaps feel fear or uncertainty, but if you belong to Christ, you do not walk into your future alone.
So trust him, follow him, stay faithful to him. Here's the bottom line of the message. You can step confidently into your next season because God goes with you. So last thing to our graduates, I want to give you five challenges.
Number one, love Jesus deeply. Love him deeply. Number two, stay grounded in his word. Number three, remain faithful to his church.
Number four, choose godly friendships. This is perhaps one of the most important choices you'll make because the closest friends you'll ever have in life won't be your high school friends, it'll be your college friends. Choose them wisely. And lastly, stand firm when the culture presses you to compromise.
And wherever God leads you next, remember this. The safest place that you can be, smack dab in the middle of the will of God. The safest place that you can be is right in the middle of the will of God. Hey, and just a reminder to all of us in this room today, I want to tell you something about God's will for your life.
And I can say this with authority. God's will for your life is that you be saved. For some of you here today, the next season of your life needs to be a season where you step into that relationship with God. I'm telling you, God's will for your life is that you be saved.
Here's how Paul said it, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved and come into the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom. You know what God did for us? He wrote himself in flesh, deep into this world, and did for us what we could not do for ourselves.
Make a way for us to be reconciled to our heavenly Father. I'm telling you, that's his will. Peter said this, for God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. God's will for every person in this room is that you be saved.
What is it gift? You say, with God wills it, then will he just make it happen? No, it's a gift. Ephesians 2, verse 8 says, for God grace, for you save through faith, and that not of yourselves is the gift of God.
While God desires it, while God wants it, while it is the will of God, it's your choice. That's the way it is with any gift. Someone walks up to you and says, I've got a gift for you. I want to give it to you.
You've got two choices. What are they? You can accept it, or you can say no thanks. You've been in this situation though, where you received a gift from somebody.
You could be on Christmas, could be on your birthday. Whatever those days are where gifts come, and you open it up, and then you're like, you're disappointed with the gift. Almost like, what would I do with this? What?
I've been just as well off it, but I'd never received the gift. Can I tell you this? That's not how salvation is. You received the gift of salvation.
You'll never find a disappointment in the gift of salvation. I was at doctor's office two weeks ago, walking into some paperwork on the TV screen that had prices right going. And the prices right was from the 1970s. It was Bob Barker, and it was like, I got nostalgic.
I started watching all these things that were items up for bid, and I was like, I remember that. I had that in my house. We had one of those, and so forth, and you know how the prices right works. There's three contestants in the beginning, and then they spin the big wheel, who's going to go to the showcase showdown.
Then there's three contestants in the second half, and then they spin the big wheel, so you go to the showcase showdown. And in those two sections of three people, what contestant do you want to be who gets up on stage? The second one. You know why?
Because Rod Roddy says, it's a new car! And the crowd goes wild, and the contest is like, oh! And in this one, it was a 1978 Mazda. I mean, it was boxy.
It was like, oh my goodness. I mean, it was like, I had no bells and whistles whatsoever, but the crowd is going wild for what I thought was a $4,000 car turns out to 7,000. But the first woman, the one who won the next item up for bid, she won the first item up for bid, you know, and they win, they go up on stage, and they're all excited, and they're all excited, and they're all going to miss over. And then it's time for, we're going to play this game.
And you can win this, and Rod Roddy says, a new organ! The doors open up. I know we got some organ fans here, but listen, he was this little, he was this little bitty organ. Not like this!
A little organ, and my thought was like, how impractical in my house, I mean, what would I do with an organ? Oh my goodness, and can I tell you something? You can see the disappointment in the woman's face, because that's what she's thinking. And organ, I don't play the organ.
What would I do with it? I'll stick it in the corner, no one ever play. Like, do I even want to win this organ? But can I tell you this?
You'll never feel that way about God's salvation. It's a gift. And if salvation, let's just say this, if salvation were an item up for bids on the process, right? Again, you know how this works?
It's the closest one too without going over. No one would ever say a dollar. You know how it works? Like I think they all overbid.
I bid a dollar. It doesn't matter what you bid. You can never outbid the value of salvation, because the value of salvation is infinity. It's the infinite gift.
You can't win it. You can't earn it. You don't deserve it. You can't please God, you can't work for it, but you can receive it.
It's a gift. And it's a gift that will never, ever disappoint, because it is a gift that brings you eternal life, the forgiveness of sin, a forever home in heaven. It is a gift that reconciles you to your heavenly Father. It is a precious gift.
But as is the case with every gift, you have a choice. Receive it, reject it. It's your choice. I'm asking today, are you in this room today?
And could you say, hey, you know what, really the next season of my life is me walking in a relationship with God. Men, I've come to the brink, and God's calling me today. Move forward. Step forward.
But what he means by that is just receive the gift that God has for you. Not step forward and work for it, not step forward and earn it, not step forward and do something. So step forward and just receive the gift that God has for you. In John 1, verse 12, John writes, it says, as many as receive Jesus, to them gave you the power to become the sons of God.
When you receive Jesus, you get reconciled into the family of God, you become a child of God. It's nothing sweeter than that. Never disappoint today. Do you need to be saved?
Do you need to move forward and receive the gift of Jesus? Do it today. We're gonna say, and have a hymn of invitation today. It's God moves in your heart as he speaks to you about the next season of life.
Maybe it's not the season of salvation. Maybe it's the season of walking with God. Maybe it's a season of life that's gonna be different, much like these graduates. You see, what I'm gonna take these principles that Brother Chad preached about today, and I'm gonna put them and apply them in my life.
Maybe today, you heard me talk about stay in God's word, stay in church, stay close to God's people. And maybe there's something in you that says, you know what, I've been drifting. I've been on that slow drift. And it's time for me to get intentional and focused about doing those three things.
Why, because those three things can lead to Godly success. This author's open to you. Maybe there's somebody you wanna pray for. Maybe a loved one.
Maybe these graduates today. Maybe graduates in the future. Maybe graduates from yesterday. But someone who needs you to step up to the plate and offer a prayer over their life.
Whatever it is that God's speaking to your heart today. Follow us Holy Spirit as we sing you come.