Karen Doan Jacob Meng Karlyn Meng Honoring Graduates Bethany Gonzalez Katelyn Fogarty Deanna Boss — James 4

0:00 Also enlighten the hearts of the people around us and and bless us. Ray, come on up and start the program.

0:16 Well, good morning. Once again, we're glad you are all here. Welcome those who are watching via Zoom. We hope it's clear and you can hear us clearly. This morning, we wanna recognize three three of our people who are gonna graduate, our young people.

0:32 It's Katie, Deanna. Where's Deanna? Yeah. Deanna and Bethany. Bethany over there.

0:39 So we're we're so grateful that you've come this far. So what we're gonna do is we're gonna have Karen then Caitlin share something for these young ladies. And after that, Roger is going to pray for them. It's gonna be a little different than normal because of this COVID thing and the separation and all that. So just bear with us.

1:02 So without further ado, Karen.

1:19 Deanna, I have written you a letter. Dear Deanna, as I reflect on having known you your entire life and before I met you, prayed, no offense to the Boss boys, that you were a girl, it is difficult to comprehend that you are now a high school graduate. I must admit that the task of honoring you is easy for me as I have much to say about you. The hard part is to keep it short and to avoid making your dad cry.

1:55 The

1:59 gifts the Lord has given you, the adventures and experiences you've had, and the rich blessings of friends and family in your life are known at different extents to most people in this room. You are gifted in so many ways, academically, creatively, organizationally, etcetera, just to mention a few. But within each of those giftings, you have found a way to put serving others above yourself. Your growth in the Lord over the years, I would describe as steady, thoughtful, and intentional. You seek out opportunities to learn and grow and are consistently respectful of those around you and their aspiration and goals as well.

2:43 I've had the privilege of teaching you high school art, one of BBS, and serving with you in some of those same areas. You are a leader and an example to those around you, and you model to others how to continue to smile through challenging times, how to even at a young age be a person that is true to the Lord and themselves even though the world pulls in different directions. And more recently, making commitment with us in ministry to serve the Lord joyfully in whatever task is asked of you. And you've been asked some unique things. I pray that God's gift of Jesus Christ would be in the forefront of your thoughts each day.

3:26 For by grace, you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works that no man should boast. Ephesians two eight and nine. And at this truth of God's sovereign work in Jesus would preface each of your future days and that you might remember the words of Elizabeth Elliot. If my life is surrendered to God, all is well. Let me not grab it back.

3:57 Obviously, I struggle with this sometimes. If my life is surrendered to God, all is well. Let me not grab it back as though it were in peril in his hand, but would be safer in mine.

4:38 Your decision to follow god in junior high after realizing that the world has nothing to offer is powerful. One way we all saw your genuineness was how you consistently came to church even if that meant walking in the cold. I'm thankful for the times we've had to study the Bible and serve together. Whether studying the doctrine of angels or sending sympathy cards to grieving friends, we're always out for whatever. I'm glad that you were able to be a regular alive for many summers.

5:09 When you started counseling, you told me that you realized that coffee was a necessity so that you could have enough energy to be all there for your campers. You also took every opportunity you could to reconnect with fellow CITs and other friends at youth conferences. You love to sing and had quite the career with the singing angels, singing solos, and touring Europe. The gift of music to share the love of Jesus Christ is a powerful one. As you move forward with your plans, I pray that you decide to diligently seek God each day knowing that he is able to keep what you have committed to him until Christ appears.

5:51 As you do so, God will use you to show the world what Jesus looks like. Bethany, dear Bethany, you love to make things beautiful starting with your smile. From decorating tables for the marriage conference or walls for VBS, you faithfully share your creativity for the cause of the gospel and building up of God's people. Thank you for using your gifts to encourage the body of Christ, Playing piano on Sunday morning and for bright lights has been a blessing to many. Never underestimate the ministry of music and keep using the gift for the Lord.

6:33 You are patient with children and are willing to help them grow in making things beautiful, starting with coloring in the lines. Your artistic ability has definitely helped work that out the kinks in my craft ideas for bright lights. The artwork you create is lovely and reminds me that God is the author of beauty. Using and developing this gift is one of the many ways that you can reflect who God is to those around you. As long for a day of completing high school becomes history, I pray that you will daily enjoy beholding the beauty of the Lord and that how you live your life will adorn or beautify god's word.

7:25 I also wanna remind you to note that Chase Chase Doringer has graduated as well. So when you see Chase, give him some congratulations. Let's pray. Father, we are so glad that we can address you as father because you are our loving heavenly father. I pray for these graduates that they'll always remember that you are there for them as a loving heavenly father.

7:50 Father, as as one who's graduated many years ago, the temptation is to pray for all the for all the things that they will face in this difficult life. But I thank you for the reminders that have already been given, that you are all they need And whatever circumstance they encounter or trial or challenge or or joy, it's... We most fulfilled when they when they bring you into it for for the need that you will provide in that moment. Father, we do pray that you'll guide them in their in their next steps for education, for jobs they will someday prepare for and acquire for possible marriages, that you would, protect them from error and help them to, desire and seek and experience your blessing. We just commit them all to you now in our Lord Jesus' name.

8:47 Amen.

9:27 Another question you might ask is, who can I trust? In the media today, we've stooped to a level where we call social activity media. We've... We have a very partisan news gathering source where you might select one new source and then ignore another because it's biased. We have professionals who are flip flopping on large health issues, and we even have unconventional news sources because the official ones just aren't reliable.

10:06 There's also uncertainty in faiths. The many historical faiths out there. If you took a class in world religion at a college, you'd know that. Well, you'd be taught that they're all valid. They're all equally valid even though some of them are mutually exclusive.

10:25 You'd be... You're going to be, have atheism and agnosticism pushed on you and made very, prevalent in the ideologies you'll be facing. So worldview is very important and each of us have a worldview. We might think that, oh, I'm gonna be super unbiased and just not have a worldview and just take everything in, analyze all of it. But no, we each have a worldview.

10:53 And so this morning, I'd like to share with you a proper worldview from the word of God. It's found in Psalm one thirty nine. Psalm one thirty nine, and I'm going to take it a little bit out of order. So the first worldview, the first point of the worldview I'd like to emphasize from the word of God is this question of our, our anatomical significance. Are we just a collection of cells, or were we integrate...

11:27 We creatively and carefully designed? The world will tell you. The atheist will tell you. The agnostic will tell you that you are a result of disorder coming to more order, and finally, you arrived. That is a worldview.

11:43 Here's a different worldview found in Psalm one thirty nine verse 13. For you... Again, backing up. This is a psalm written by David to God, and we read this. For you formed my inward parts.

12:01 You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in secret and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. God purposefully made mankind, and each of you are designed by God.

12:34 Each of you are special and have a purpose. That's the worldview from the word of God. Secondly, we're gonna look at verse one. And this question here is, does God care about my life? Is he interested in me personally?

12:49 Again, lots of worldviews out there will say he's just a he's just a cosmic force. He kind of maybe set it into motion and then just let it to unravel. But the word of God states that God is personally interested in each of us. And as graduates, this is important to keep in mind that you are special and that God is not just out there, but he's interested in you. Verse one, oh lord, you have searched me and known me.

13:25 You know my sitting down and my rising up. You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, o lord, you know it together. He knows our location.

13:48 He knows our position. He knows every word we speak, and he knows our thoughts before we think them. This is a personal god. The third point, the third lens, the third worldview, or the third part, I would say, a portion of this worldview that we get from the word of god is found in verse 17. You might hear out there that if there is a God, he's not interested in loving you.

14:21 He might know about you, but maybe he's a vengeful god. He's just out there to do his will, and he doesn't care about you. Let's read verse 17. This is incredible. Again, this is David, the second king of Israel writing about God.

14:40 He says, how precious are your thoughts to me, oh God, and great is the sum of them. If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand. God's thoughts for each of us are precious, and they're bountiful. So here are three worldviews that will be fervently opposed by the world as we go out. But the word of God establishes the correct worldview that we should follow.

15:15 And I presented to you as the word of God. And there are many ways that you can verify and show the authenticity, the veracity of the word of God. But this morning, isn't time. I'd be happy to talk to you later about that. But as we wrap up, we've seen that God made us, that he is interested in us, and that he loves us.

15:39 And this brings up, as I wrap up, a very important point that God knows and he loves us. And this is the pinnacle of relational intimacy to know and to love. It's one thing to know somebody and say, wow. I could never love that person. It's another thing to love somebody so much that you really don't want to know the deep recesses of their heart, of their actions.

16:09 And so here we have a god that knows our very thoughts. Thoughts that we would never dream of putting on a screen, and yet he he loves us. This is only possible through Jesus Christ. In the scripture, again, we note that god not just loves us in an altruistic sense. He demonstrates.

16:31 He acts on it. He demonstrates his love toward us, and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. That is truly the pinnacle of love. So what is our response, graduates?

17:23 He says, search me, oh God, and know my heart. Try me and know my anxieties and see if there's any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. God knows us. He loves us. And so our response should be to open ourself up and to say, lord, lead me.

17:55 Again, graduates, congratulations, and remember that worldview is dreadfully important. Praise god.

18:11 Thank you, Jacob. What a wonderful, address to the graduates. And and, again, I congratulate you. We're very happy for you, and we're asking God to guide you and and bless your future thoughts. Believe it or not, I'm gonna be done in ten minutes.

18:32 So what I wanna talk about quickly is the will of God for your life. As as I go to different camps and different churches to speak, the number one question that is asked of me is how do I know God's will? And so right now, you just... You're finishing high school. You're looking for your next adventure, the next thing God has for you.

18:57 And the question has to be there. What is God's will for my life? So I would like to address that quickly. This is actually part of a four four series, four four messages, but I'm, know, cutting it down to just one, and we're gonna try to keep it short. Right.

19:16 So let's look at it this way. How do I know God's will for my life? There's one thing that we know for sure. So here's the first thing about God's will, the first thing that he wants, and it's found in John chapter six and verse 37 through 40. So if you look there quickly, John six thirty seven through 40.

19:41 All that the father gives me shall come to me and the one who comes to me, I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven to do my own... I'm sorry, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will. There it is.

20:00 What is God's will? This is the will of him who sent me. This is God the father's will who sent Jesus that of all that he has given me, I lose nothing but raise it up on the third day. For this is the will of my father. This is God's will that everyone who beholds the son, the Lord Jesus, and believes in him may have eternal life, and I myself will raise him up on the third day.

20:29 So we can say clearly that God's will for any person, not just all of us here or the graduates, for any human being, the first thing he wants from you is that you would believe in the Lord Jesus Christ so that you would be saved. Because it doesn't matter if you have success and accomplish many things, if you're not saved, if you have not said, Lord, I have sin in my life. I need you. I need to be saved. I need to be forgiven.

20:56 I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And when you trust him, he promises this, that he's gonna resurrect you. This is God's will. It's right there. It's clear as can be.

21:07 The number one thing that God wants is for you to be saved. He put it another way in another text. What does it matter if you gain the world and lose your soul? Lose your soul. So I praise God, Katie, that you know the Lord Jesus.

21:26 Bethany, that you know Christ as your savior. Deanna, that you know him and you love him. That's the number one thing. The the the number one thing that we establish here is that I have turned to Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, salvation of my soul, and he has given me eternal life, and he promised that he's going to give me... Resurrect my body.

22:12 Alright. And we're gonna talk about plans. Now as as you're... When you're young, you have all these plans, all these dreams, all these... You're you're envisioning what you're gonna be, who you're gonna marry, where where you're gonna be, and all of those things.

22:27 Everyone does it. And even as you're going through life, even the older people still have vision and dreams and plans. Notice what it says in Proverbs 16 and verse one. The plans of the heart belong to man. So everybody has plans.

22:43 Everybody has dreams. Everybody thinks about their their life. But the answer of the tongue is from the lord. So I like to have the New Living Translation puts it. We we we can make our own plans, but the Lord gives the right answer.

23:03 And then notice the verse two, all the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the Lord weighs the motives. So in other words, we have plans, we make all these plans, but the lord says, that's... I see your plan. I see your dream, but I'm looking at your motives behind that, and it's either good or not good. I'm looking beyond your plan to to your your motive behind it, and you gotta make sure those plans of yours are in line with what I want.

23:36 And so then he goes on to say in verse three, commit your works to the Lord and your plans, there it is again, your plans will be established. So in other words, what it's saying is commit your ways to the Lord. It's like an action of your decisions. Here's what it's saying. You come to the Lord and you say, Lord, here's my plan.

24:02 Here's my dream. Here's my vision. Here's what I would like, my desire. I commit it to you. It's to to roll it over from you and put it on the Lord's shoulders.

24:15 Say, there it is, Lord. There's my plan. What do you think? What do you think? And so notice what it says in verse nine, Proverbs sixteen nine.

24:28 The mind of a man plans his way. There's... There it is again. So man is thinking and planning and and dreaming and looking to the future. But notice the answer, but the Lord directs his steps, his ways.

24:46 The sovereign God overrules the plans of man to fulfill his purpose. Let me put it this way. Just picture yourself in a small boat, and you're in that boat and then you're in this Mississippi River. I don't know if you've ever seen the Mississippi River. But if you're in that small boat, the the current's gonna take you where it wants.

25:09 And so we we we make plans, and we're in in the little boat. This is your individual life making our plans, and then God moves the current of your boat to where he wants you to end up. So you may be thinking right now, how in the world did I end up here? Well, it wasn't by accident. God leads you or moved the little boat, the current, to get you where you're at right now.

25:41 Now this includes young couples making their plans, dreaming about the future, college students planning their career and their future spouse, parents planning the future for their children, adults planning their retirement. Isaiah forty six ten, my purposes will be established, and I will accomplish all my good pleasure. Now notice, Proverbs sixteen and thirty three. The whole chapter has to do with that. Right?

26:13 Now notice, the lot is cast into the lap, but it's every decision is from the Lord. Don't miss that. Don't miss that. The lot is cast into the lap, but it's every decision, it's from the Lord. Again, the New Living Translation, I love it because it speaks so practically.

26:32 We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall. The Lord determines how they fall. Now notice chapter 19 and verse 21. Nineteen and twenty one. Many are the plans in a man's heart.

26:52 Right? Ever since you're young, you start having these plans and these dreams and these visions of what you are, what you're gonna be, what you want to accomplish. Many are the plans in a man's heart, but the counsel of the Lord, it will stand. See, overriding all of our planning is God's sovereign will, and we know that God is a loving God who has the best in mind for us. His plan is is better than ours.

27:21 And so as we're making all these plans, gotta say, I like those plans that you're making, making, but that's not gonna be the best thing for you. Eventually, I'm gonna have you over here. And see, so so the man man... Many are the plans in a man's heart, but the counsel of the Lord, it's going to stand. Again, the New Living Translation, you can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail.

27:51 The lord's purpose will prevail. Vince Havner, I like what he says. I thank god for the unseen hand, sometimes urging me onward, sometimes holding me back, sometimes with the caress of approval, sometimes with a stroke of reproof, sometimes correcting, sometimes comforting. My times are in his hand. Now look at Proverbs twenty and twenty four.

28:22 Man's steps are ordained by the lord. How then can a man understand his way? In other words, the lord directs our steps. So why try to understand everything along the way? Because as Denzel, my dear brother here said it one day, I can't figure God out.

28:44 We make plans. We think this is what God wants, and suddenly God has you somewhere else. And so we we make these plans, and we can understand the overall plan of God. But, eventually, again, he's gonna move the currents of our little boat and get us where he wants us because his plans are always the best. Amen?

29:27 The unseen hand may be obscured at the times by the fogs of circumstances, but just because we can't see the sun on a cloudy day doesn't mean that it isn't there. Wow. And so so notice Proverbs twenty one and thirty. Proverbs twenty one and thirty. There is no wisdom and no understanding and no counsel against the Lord.

30:01 And sometimes we get very frustrated. We make plans. We make decisions. We make choices. But we don't realize that sometimes it's against the Lord.

30:12 We get frustrated, But his plan is going to prevail. Notice, no human wisdom or understanding or plan can stand against the Lord. And to follow-up and give us an illustration of that, he says in verse 31, so Proverbs twenty twenty one thirty one, The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord. I'm a history buff. I love documentaries, especially war documentaries.

30:54 Just ask my wife and daughter. I'm always watching war documentaries. And there was a a a tremendous battle that went out. It was a battle of Midway during the second world war in The Pacific. It's a little bitty island.

31:06 The the Japanese basically sent out their whole entire navy against The US. The US only had a couple of boats, and one of them was damaged, and it got there late, barely surviving. And when you looked at it, it's like the Japanese are gonna annihilate The US, and they're gonna have free passage to the to the Pacific Coast and and into The US. There was no way on earth that The US should have won that battle. It was a a David and Goliath type of thing.

31:40 Right? A few boats against this massive navy. And guess what? The The US won. Even today, the the the the navy guys say, how did that happen?

31:55 And I've heard many a man of God say, that was the hand of God. And so the horse is prepared for battle, for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord. You have to know that the plans of God were different there.

32:13 The battle belongs... Or the victory belongs to the Lord. Whoever he says is going to win

32:18 the war is going to win the war. Proverbs fifteen twenty two, without consultation, plans are frustrated, but with many counselors, they succeed. Now here's the thing that's very difficult for young people. Hopefully, the older ones have learned already that before you make plans, you need to seek advice and counsel. Amen?

32:42 Alright? And so all of you young ladies, seek counsel from your parents. Alright. Do I have to... Alright.

32:53 Seek counsel from the leaders of the church. Seek counsel from many of these wise women that we have here. We're blessed with women that are godly. I can give you good counsel. Seek counsel for them.

33:05 Look, haven't... I had an uncle. He passed away already. This man was not a man of God. He never acknowledged God.

33:12 But he was a very, very great businessman. And I remember every time we would go to Mexico to visit my grandparents, he would come and he would bring his brother along and he would sit with my dad and my grandfather and he would say, look, I wanna make this business move, but I don't wanna do it without your counsel. Give me some advice. This is what what it is. And every time we would go to Mexico, he would come and he would ask for counsel.

33:37 I never forgot that. Well, how much more we as people of God should seek counsel from godly people and from the word of God. So without consultation, plans are frustrated, but with many counselors, they succeed. Alright. Proverbs eighteen one, he who separates himself seeks his own desire.

34:02 He quarrels against awesome wisdom. So in other words, Proverbs eighteen one is saying, the person who doesn't seek a counsel, just separate, does his own thing. I don't care what you have to say to me. I'm gonna do my own thing. This person is quarreling against sound wisdom.

34:45 And finally, let me close out with this. James four fifteen. We ought to say if the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that. In other words, Lord, is it your will, the will of God which is perfect and acceptable and good? Is this your will?

35:07 I I have this plan. How many of y'all knew there was gonna be this COVID thing and we're gonna have to be sitting separate like this and half the people are on Zoom watching us because they're compromising. They can't be here. We... I had all these plans myself, and the Lord just scratched them off.

35:22 I have something else in mind. I I didn't even know the way things are laying out for me that the Lord had that that in mind. So we always say if the Lord wills. If the Lord wills. So what are your plans, young ladies?

35:40 Lay it before God. God, these are my plans. These are my dreams. Is this your will? If it is, then you're gonna bless it.

35:49 If it is, then it's gonna be for my for my good. Amen? So what is God's will? That you be saved. What is God's will?

36:01 That you lay out your plans, the plans of your heart, those deep secrets in there. Put them before the Lord. Say, Lord, is this your will? Is this your plan? Then bless it.

36:14 If not, he's gonna remove it from your heart, and he's gonna end... Eventually, you're gonna land where he wants you anyway. So how much better to bow and say, Lord, your will be done. The Lord bless you as you do make your plans. May you seek the Lord and his wisdom, and he will direct your path.

36:55 Guide their dreams and their plans. We thank you for them. We thank you that each one of them love you. They have trusted the Lord Jesus as their savior. We pray that you'll be glorified through their lives.

37:08 And now, father, bless our time of fellowship and and bless us as we go back home later. We commit everything that was said before you. In Jesus' name. Amen. We'd like...

37:23 Just like to remind you, outside, there's a coffee stand. And and if you can, please fellowship out there. The weather's beautiful. Praise the Lord for that. Let's try not to be in here too long.

37:33 So for our own health and safety. Thank you.