Onward and Upward!

Graduation is upon us. High schools and colleges all across the country will hold graduation ceremonies from now through June. In May, 2008, when my son Tim graduated from Okeene High School, in Okeene, Oklahoma, I preached the Baccalaureate Message. Yes, it was that long ago; nine years to be exact. Anyway, what follows is the bulk of the message I delivered that night, nine years ago. But I encourage all of you to read it, because there are many things that will speak to you, even if you aren't the one graduating.

There seems to be no end to the increase in knowledge. New discoveries are made every day, or new ideas are founded that lead to great new discoveries that make life in this world a little better than it was just a few years before. All of this in an attempt to find true peace and happiness. All of this to try to fill a void in our lives, a void that seems to be telling us that there is more to life.

To the graduates let me say this: Each of you has reached an incredible milestone in your life. You have gone through a lot over the years while growing up. You have all gone through various struggles in the process; some similar to what everyone else has experienced and some unique to yourself. Yet, in the process of growing up, you have come through those struggles and have learned from them, becoming who you are today.

You have all come a long way. You have successfully completed many courses in school over the years, bringing you to this point of transition known as graduation or commencement. Supposedly you are now prepared to ride off into the sunset and begin the rest of your life. But are you? Many of you, I am sure, are still asking questions. Some of you may know what you will major in at college, and some of you may not. Some of you may be planning to get a job and begin working instead of going to college. Yet many of you are still asking yourself what you truly plan to do with your life. You may have a general sense of direction and yet not really know exactly where you want to head with your career. Let me tell you this: There is still a lot more knowledge out there for you to gain.

But the question to ask is this: What will you do with that knowledge once you attain it? Great opportunities lie ahead, but only God knows the purposes He has for your life. In Jeremiah 29:11-13 God says, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (NIV).

Questions and uncertainty abound for many of you. The biggest question of all has to do with life in general. What is life all about? Surely there is more to life than this! When you can answer that question, everything else will begin to fall in place. In making decisions on work or college, you experience doubt and uncertainty. Life’s struggles continue. What you would like to experience, however, is peace and happiness; a sense of fulfillment in the direction you are heading.

What you need to truly find peace and happiness in life and to gain that sense of fulfillment is one more course, the result of which can be phenomenal. You see the real answer to all of life’s struggles is Jesus Christ. In Christ you will make good and right decisions and find fulfillment in life, both in what you do and where you go from here. The course you need to take is a course in knowing Christ. This course lasts a lifetime, but the reward is great. It will result in spending eternity in God’s presence. A diploma will be passed out in glory. If you haven’t started this course, now is the time to start.

In Philippians 3:7-14, Paul gives three principles to live by. When you learn to follow these three life principles, in God’s eyes, you will be a success in whatever endeavor you pursue, because you will be in a position to accomplish the plans He has for you.

First, you must know Christ. Let me begin by relating for you the story of a man who had a tremendous education and yet discovered that, as valuable as it was, without Jesus in his life, it was worth nothing. This man was the Apostle Paul. Philippians 3 is his story. Paul tells us he had it all, yet he had nothing! He says, “If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless” (vs. 4-6).

For a person in his day, he had everything. He had a great education, a position of leadership in his nation, and a life of plenty. But one day, while heading for Damascus in pursuit of the Christians whom he was persecuting, he met Christ. His original name was Saul, and Acts 9 tells us that he was suddenly struck down by a light from heaven and Jesus stood before him, asking, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (v. 4). He was blinded by the light, so he was led into the city, as Jesus instructed, and there a Christian named Ananias came to him, healed him of his blindness, and led him to faith in Christ. Suddenly everything changed! He had a new understanding of life. For the first time he realized that all of the knowledge God had given him was for one purpose; to accomplish the plans God had for him!

Paul sums up his change in perspective like this: “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ” (Phil. 3:7). Speaking in accounting terms, Paul says that he had accumulated many things in his life which he thought were “gain” to him, or of profit. These were the great accomplishments of his life that he listed in verses 4-6. Now, however, he has come to realize that they all belong in the “loss” column instead. The only thing that really counts is to know Christ.

In verse 8 he adds, “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” The value of knowing Christ surpasses all else. All the things of this world are “rubbish,” or completely worthless, compared to knowing Christ. Only when you trust Christ by faith as your Lord and Savior are you in a position to gain the knowledge God has for you and to accomplish the plans God has for you. It all begins by knowing Christ.

Second, you must be controlled by Christ. In Philippians 3:9, Paul adds: “that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.” To “gain Christ” (v. 8) and to “be found in Him” (v. 9) requires a righteousness that comes from and through Christ. Only by knowing Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior can we begin to experience His righteousness in our lives. Only as we give control of our lives over to Him can we begin to understand the knowledge He has for us to learn. Only as we learn to walk with Jesus on a daily basis can we begin to discover the special plans God has for us. Only then can we begin to accomplish the things He has for us to accomplish in life.

It’s all about control, or more accurately, who is in control of your life. Only as you learn to live by faith can you truly “know Him and the power of His resurrection” (v. 10a). When you live by faith and let Christ control you, you will experience “the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” (v. 10b). In other words, you will experience Christ in such a way that He will enable you to survive all of life’s difficulties. He will bring you through everything and into His plans for you, the end result being eternity with Him according to verse 11.

Third, you must seek after Christ. If you truly want to accomplish God’s plans, there is a third life principle you must follow. You see, to walk by faith and to let Christ control your life is a daily struggle. Paul understood this well. That is why he goes on to encourage you to continue to seek after Christ on a daily basis.

In verses 12-14, Paul confesses, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Paul hadn’t fully reached the goal, but he seeks daily to keep Christ first in his life and he continues “to press on” in order to “lay hold of” the plans God has for him (v. 12).

Like Paul, you haven’t yet fully discovered the plans God has for you. Like Paul, you need “to press on” in life so that you may “lay hold of” God’s plans for you (v. 12). Like Paul, there is “one thing” you must do: You must forget “those things which are behind” and reach “forward to those things which are ahead,” always pressing on “toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (vs. 13-14). And remember, it is God’s “upward call… in Christ Jesus” for you. It is His plan that you seek and that He wants to give you.

God has great plans for you. Trust in Christ as your Savior, draw daily upon Him, and let Him be the Lord of your life. When you know Christ, when you are controlled by Christ, and when you continually seek after Christ, you will discover the plans that God has for you. Amen.