A Commencement Address

Well, happy Sabbath again, brethren! Great to have all of you with us today. It's that time of year when people think of graduations. High schools and universities have been graduating their senior classes. This year, we're also proud to have a few high school graduates. Again, we'd like to acknowledge Madeline Lee and Marissa Horton on their high school graduations. Also, congratulations to all of the YEP students who completed another year. Well, today, I would like to give a commencement address to God's senior class.

It's been over 40 years ago that I witnessed my own high school commencement. There were hundreds of people there. Of course, at Collinwood, many students brought their parole officers with them. So, it was 40 years ago that I witnessed my high school commencement and 16 years ago that I received my master's degree from Bellevue University. But I don't remember much, if anything, about those commencement addresses. As I look back, I'd like to discuss some of the things that I wish, especially my high school graduation, that I wish they would have mentioned.

Some of these things I had to learn the hard way. Things about life that I was never told at my high school graduation. So, today, in honor of our high school seniors, I would like to give a commencement address to God's senior class here in Cleveland, Ohio. This sermon is also for everyone who views each day as a new beginning and a fresh start to the rest of your life.

We've all been called to be ambassadors of a brave new world that is soon to be established on earth. As God's senior class at this end time, we have an awesome task ahead of us, and we need to be prepared for it. There will be many diversions and distractions along the path of your life. There will be many joys and sorrows along the way. That is what our lives are composed of. But as you continue in your journey from this day forward, I hope that you will remember some of life's principles that I have learned along the way that are taught in God's word.

Some of them are explicitly taught and some of them are implied. Some of these things I was taught by observing others, and that's actually the best way, seniors, to learn things. It's not to make the mistakes yourself, but to learn by seeing the mistakes that other people make and making the connection and saying, hmm, that doesn't work. That obviously backfires. When you do that, that causes hurt and problems. That causes pain for others. So that's actually the best way to learn is to be observant of what's going on around you.

Some of these things I also had to learn the hard way on my own. I hope and pray that what I'm about to say today will make your path straighter and truer. First, turn with me with Matthew chapter 19 and verse 16. Matthew chapter 19 and verse 16, the first principle I want to emphasize is don't compromise on right values.

These are values that are taught to us by Jesus Christ in God's Word. Don't ever compromise on right values. Matthew chapter 19 verse 16, it says, Now, behold, one came to him and said, Good Teacher, what good things shall I do that I may have eternal life so that all will go well with my life so that I can live life abundantly so I can get the most out of my existence? Verse 17, so he said to him, Why do you call me good? No one is good but one that is God. That was Jesus warning the young man to be careful about using religious titles.

He said, But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments. And he said to him, Which ones? Jesus didn't say everything written in the book of Leviticus. He didn't say everything written in the book of Numbers. He didn't say the Pentateuch. Jesus said, and he begins to quote, those eternal values and laws that we know of as the Ten Commandments. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. Honor your father and your mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

So we have to begin by emphasizing to you seniors, seek and respect the presence of God in your life. He wants to be your silent partner. He wants to guide you every step of the way. Honor his values and his silent guidance. These values are the beliefs and principles you have been taught for years in God's Church. The values you were taught as you sat here in the Sabbath day.

The values you were taught as you sat in the youth education program. The values you were taught as you were part of the Teen Bible Studies. The values we are taught Sabbath after Sabbath through the messages that God provides for us. Because they are values, the kind that Jesus just mentioned, that are absolutely true. Your values should not be established by the news media or public opinion. Values are not determined by courts or by a majority vote.

Values are not determined by religious leaders. Values are eternal principles established by the great God. Because everyone else does something, doesn't make it right. The values that you live by should be the unchanging principles of your Creator. And they're composed in two segments. Loving God with all your heart and all your soul. And loving your neighbor as yourself.

Because your neighbor was also created in the image of God. Part of these values include inviting God to be a major part of your life. He wants to, he desires to, he hopes that you will ask him to become a part of your life, a major part of your life. Have you ever seen a bumper sticker, God is my co-pilot? Have you ever seen that, God is my co-pilot? Well, I've got news for you. If God is your co-pilot, you need to change seats.

Because God should be our pilot, not our co-pilot. The second principle I want to mention is face the realities of life, don't hide from them. This is such a common human problem that plagues humanity. Let's go to Genesis way back to the beginning. Genesis chapter 3 and verse 6. Face the realities of your life, don't hide from them. Genesis chapter 3 and verse 6. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she tooketh a fruit and ate.

She made a mistake, she sinned. She also gave it to her husband, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves covering. They felt a sense of shame. They wanted to cover it up. Cover themselves. Verse 8. And when they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and Eve and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

My friends, far too many people attempt to cover up their problems rather than deal with them. Your family knows you have those problems. Your friends know you have those problems, and most likely they love you in spite of it. So why not deal with the important issues, personal issues, and problems that we have? The fact that Adam and Eve hid from God is a metaphor for avoiding their problem and hiding their shame. Young people, I want to encourage you to realize that most people suffer the same decades-old problems because they refuse to confront them. And when you have an issue that you're struggling with, you literally need to confront it.

Not to avoid it. Not to pretend it away. You need to confront yourself, confront the problem. Every day, billions of folks go through life pretending they will never die and never be held responsible by their lives to a higher power. Intellectually, they know they'll someday die, but consciously and emotionally they go day by day and they deny it. Harboring the same old problems, the same old dysfunctions until the day they drop. Here is what your perspective should be.

I'm going to give you a secret how to get the most out of life. Each day is a gift, and tomorrow isn't promised to any one of us. Make each day count for something good. And when you focus on each day, one at a time, and you focus on doing something good with it, something to help others, something to enrich your life, something to develop a closer relationship with God.

And you do that one day, and you do that another day, and those days turn into weeks, and those weeks turn into months, and those months turn into years. You know what you've done. You have built for yourself a rich and a fulfilling life, one day at a time. Please don't avoid reality or pretend problems will go away. Don't live in denial by blaming others for your personal issues.

Millions of people go nowhere in life because they hide from their problems, either through work or drugs or money or sex or power. When you realize you have a problem that you can't deal with alone, be humble enough to ask for help. Go to professionals, go to people who are skilled in those areas and be humble enough to seek the help that you need from a proven source.

Please don't give up on facing and confronting your personal issues, and please don't live in denial. Don't try to pretend your problems go away because they won't without some effort, without some work. James said in his epistle in chapter 1 verse 23, he said, if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror, for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets the kind of man that he was.

And that's so typical of the human race. We all are wired to look at ourselves occasionally, see something we don't like, and then turn around and deny it. Turn around and live like it's not there.

Turn around and live like it's not important when it is. But in contrast, he says in verse 25, but he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. Those commands that Jesus talked about earlier, they bring freedom. They bring us liberty. When I'm not consumed with having something that I don't need or don't deserve, then I'm living in liberty. When my passions aren't controlling what I'm doing, when my head is in control of my life, I'm living in liberty. When I'm not trying to steal something from someone, when I'm not sitting around jealous and coveting someone else's successes or wealth or bigger home or better job or whatever, I am liberated. I have a sense of freedom. Enslavement comes from sin. Enslavement comes from breaking the commandments.

A sign of maturity is your ability to laugh at yourself and to candidly acknowledge your own limitations. Learn to realize and accept your own personal strengths and to realize your own weaknesses. Build on your strengths for improvement and learn to compensate or depend on others to help with your limitations. That's where a great spouse comes in. If you marry a good person, they'll be strong where you are weak. They'll help you along the way and support you. Develop your talents and share them with others. No one can benefit from your talents if you hide them or if they remain undeveloped. Take time to look at your life and meditate on your purpose and your place in the universe. That's a great Sabbath activity. Take time each and every Sabbath and sit down in a quiet spot and say, I am a child of God. What is my role in this universe? How is God working with me? Determined to always be honest with yourself, our heart can be deceitful and it's uncomfortable to learn about our weaknesses. Yet this is so important in dealing with our issues that God even designated an annual Holy Day season to encourage honest self-reflection. We call those the days of unleavened bread, spring holy days. Never make your biggest decisions alone. Proverbs 11 and verse 14. Proverbs 11 and verse 14. Never make your biggest decisions alone.

The Proverbs say, where there is no counsel, in other words, where you're not getting advice, where you're not getting input from others, where there is no counsel, the people fail.

But in the multitude of counselors, there is safety. People who will give you their life experience, who will give you an alternate point of view, especially if you're leaning in the wrong direction, who will tell you the things that they've experienced, who will share their wisdom and their knowledge with you. The Believer's Study Bible says this about verse 14, only the foolish man depends entirely upon his own judgment. The wise man not only weighs a matter before God, but also invites counsel from those who spiritually and experientially can offer assistance. Why is this so important? It's important because every day, billions of impetuous, stupid decisions are made by people who are too proud or too ignorant to seek counsel or advice. And because they're too proud or too ignorant to seek advice, many people make life's biggest decisions alone. Many buy things they don't really need. Marry people they don't really know.

Choose careers they don't really like. And waste their time and talents on things that don't provide happiness or fulfillment. God is always waiting to provide guidance, but He's waiting for you to ask. He's waiting for you to knock and seek. James said in chapter 4 and verse 2, yet you do not have because you do not ask. God is there. He wants to be your partner. He wants to share your existence with Him and make your young life blossom and bloom and be fruitful in every way.

But we have to ask. We have to realize that we need that guidance from God. And we need to tap into the wisdom of counselors and professionals. I do need to make a few comments on this, though. When you seek advice from a friend or a professional counselor, choose someone whose personal lifestyle shows that they have the wisdom and experience to give sound advice. Why would I go to a financial counselor who's been bankrupt three times? It doesn't matter what their title is.

It doesn't matter if they attend church. They may be a very nice person. But that doesn't mean they have the ability to give me financial advice. Jesus said you shall know them by their fruits.

Get counsel from someone whose lifestyle. Look at the totality of their life, their lifestyle and their personal example proves that they know what they're talking about and that they can give you helpful advice. Too many people, including in the church, simply go to friends or relatives in order to reinforce what they already decided to do, rather than seeking genuine advice and counsel. But there comes a time in your life when you must decide. Jump on the opportunities that occur for you in your life.

You will never cross the ocean if you lack the courage to lose sight of the shore. There comes a time when you have to pull the trigger and make decisions. Faith means stepping out of your comfort zone to pursue your goals and your dreams. Achieving great things involves some risk, and it usually involves a lot of personal sacrifice. Be willing to do that. Be willing to take those chances. Never stop learning to understand God and his creation. Never stop learning to understand God and his creation. Proverbs 2 and verse 1. If you'll turn over there with me, please. Proverbs chapter 2 and verse 1.

My son, if you receive my words and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding. Yes, if you cry out for discernment and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom. From his mouth comes knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright. He is a shield to those who walk uprightly. He guards the paths of justice and preserves the way of his saints. And that's Proverbs chapter 2. Wisdom is the ability to apply sound knowledge to everyday situations, and that's what makes life work well. Don't ever think that you know enough. Don't ever think that you know it all. The truth is, is when your formal education ended, the real learning begins. And as you get older, I know at age 17, 18, 19, you may think that's not a true statement, but I can assure you, as you get older, you will realize that when you got out of high school and you got out of college and you began to live life on your own and fully, that's when the real education began. Make each day an opportunity to learn something new.

Read widely and learn about the world that we live in. Establish lifelong hobbies for recreation and expand your mind by thirsting for knowledge. Thirsting for knowledge about this world that God created, the nature of this world, the science of this world. Filter what you learn through the word of God and apply the good into your life. God is an educator. He's an achiever. He designed us to blossom in the same way He's designed us to desire to be educated and to achieve. Here's something that Thomas Jefferson once said. He wrote a famous letter called The Head versus the Heart. He was in love with a woman and he was debating within himself his emotions and his head.

And here's something that he said in the letter to this woman, talking about the importance of knowledge. He said, quote, hence the inestimable value of intellectual pleasures. He meant learning about life, studying science, reading, continuing ever in our power, always leading us to something new. We ride serene and sublime among the concerns of this mortal world, contemplating truth and nature, matter and motion, the laws which bind up their existence and that eternal being who made and bound them up by those laws. Let this be our employ. This is a man who loved wisdom, who loved understanding, who loved learning new things. If you say to me, Mr. Thomas, I'm retired, I'll say to you, no you're not. Your employment is to learn more about God and this universe in this world that he created. That's your assignment each and every day. Let that be your employment. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans chapter 15 and verse 4, he said, for whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. We have this book so that we can learn from it. It was written beforehand so that we can open it up and don't have to make the same mistakes as many of these individuals made in their lives. And the same is true of history. The reason we should be interested in history and science and the humanities is because mankind has worked very hard and made lots of mistakes that get us where we are today.

It's been a long, hard slog through carnality and through human civilizations. Those things were written before. Those people experienced those things for our learning and for our benefit.

So never stop learning to understand God and his creation. Embrace the fourth R, the one that is never taught in school. Fourth R, you say? Well, let's go to 1 Samuel 12 and verse 6.

And see where Samuel mentions this fourth R. We're understanding, of course, of reading, writing, and arithmetic. We call those the three Rs. We usually say reading, writing, and arithmetic, but those are the three Rs. What about the fourth R? 1 Samuel 12 and verse 6.

Then Samuel said to the people, It is the Lord who raised up Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. Now therefore, stand still. He's telling him, Therefore, shut up. Focus. Pay attention. This is what Samuel's saying, that I may reason with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord, which he did to you and your fathers. So the fourth R is reasoning. What he's saying here in context, he's saying, Be silent for a minute and consider all the wonderful things God did for your ancestors and for you to give you everything that you have today. Resisting the commandments of God and trying to do things our way is like hitting your head against a brick wall. It's unreasonable because if you break those commandments, eventually they break you. Modern education has been founded on teaching the three R's, reading, writing, arithmetic. But without the valuable fourth R, the first three only make you an educated fool. The fourth R, which is reasoning, is the capacity for logical, rational, and analytic thought that results in making good judgments and good sense.

Only now are some schools beginning to teach the importance of sound reasoning in making daily decisions because every cause does have an effect. There are serious consequences to the decisions that we make each and every day. Those decisions all add up, and if we add up and make enough poor decisions, they'll come back to haunt us. They will cause us a lot of pain, a lot of personal suffering.

Reasoning can't be taught in a book. It comes from patient reflection. It comes from teaching yourself to stop for a second before you pull the trigger and think something through before you do it. Reasoning helps you to understand and say to yourself, before I do this thing with this person or allow this person to do this to me, is that wise? What are the potential consequences of this action? What are the consequences of me making this decision or allowing someone else to make the decision for me? So reason comes from patient reflection, instruction, and pausing before every major decision you make to ponder the ultimate consequences. A reasoned perspective looks at the pros and cons, the positives and negatives, and it makes a decision for the benefits of the long term. Not how I feel now, not what I want now, but what is best for me and mine in the long term, rather than the short term. Isaiah said in chapter 1 and verse 18, he said, Come now and let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land. God is saying, be reasonable. If you break those commandments, if you're a person who lacks integrity and honesty, it will come back to haunt you. If you use people, it will come back to haunt you. Very important principle. When it comes time to decide, and we must all make decisions, certainly seek guidance, get the facts, and make a wise decision. And why is that important? Why is that so essential? Well, it's essential because time and chance will make the decisions that you refuse to make. Don't leave your life to time and chance. Neither time or chance cares about your goals or your dreams. If you sit there and do nothing long enough, you will wake up old.

Time and chance made that decision for you. They are cruel. They don't care about your dreams.

They will decide for you what you are unwilling to decide for yourself. To make those decisions.

Proverbs chapter 25 and verse 28. Proverbs chapter 25 and verse 28 allow your head to rule your heart. Isn't that kind of like the eternal human conflict? Our heads fighting against our hearts are emotions. Intellectually, we know what's right. We know what we should do. But our hearts say, yeah, but. However, yeah, I understand that. However, I already mentioned Thomas Jefferson's letter that's known as his head and his heart. He was discussing the situation that he was infatuated with what happened to be a married woman, by the way. He was struggling with his emotions and his head was talking to his heart.

Proverbs chapter 25 and verse 28. Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down without walls. I'm going to read this from the translation in the New Century version. Those who do not control themselves are like a city whose walls are broken down.

Those people, anyone who allow their emotions to do their thinking for them, are doomed to a life of frustration and sorrow. Our prisons are full of people who never learned to allow their heads to rule their hearts. They get angry, they strike out. They see something they want, they take it.

A foolish thought comes into their head and they blurt it out or they act on it. Not every feeling or emotion that comes into your head should come out of your mouth. And that's a particularly important thing to emphasize to the young people because if you're 17 and 18, your mind has not matured yet to fully understand this statement. What statement is this? All through your life, you're going to have self-talk. You're going to have lots and lots of thoughts come into your head.

And part of maturity and part of growing up is to realize that very seldom should anything that comes in here actually come out here. God has given us a great powerful spiritual filter called the human mind. And it should stop. It should filter things before they come out of our mouth.

Allow your mind to become a powerful spiritual filter and to mentally dispose of the emotional sewage it captures every day because every day our mind is loaded with negative thoughts about people, about ourselves, virtually about everything because the carnal mind is essentially negative and selfish. And the only way we can be healthy is if we actively, through prayer or studying God's Word, through meditation, learn the flush out that emotional sewage each and every day because if you don't, it gets backed up. And then over a period of time, it eats you from the inside out. Challenge your self-talk especially when your self-talk is negative. Understand that relationships are the most important thing in this physical human life, but they can either be healthy or they can be toxic. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 33. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 33.

Paul wrote, the Corinthian congregation do not be deceived evil company corrupts good habits.

From the translation, a new international version do not be misled bad company corrupts good character. One of my favorite motivational speakers is a gentleman named Les Brown, an African-American motivational speaker. Here's what he said, and I thought this was really good. He said there are people in the world who are toxic to you. They may not be toxic to everyone else, but they're toxic to you because of their character, attitude, or personality. They pull you down and bring out the worst in you. And what he said is absolutely true. Get smart and avoid toxic people as much as possible. Now, don't get me wrong. Treat all people with respect and dignity because everyone was created in the image of their creator. But who you allowed to influence you, who you allowed to be your pal and have a significant influence on your life is your choice. Avoid close association with people who have a negative effect on you and pull you down. I've seen that just not in the world. I've also seen that in the church where people became close friends with someone who was off in la-la land, was off with their own personal agenda, and they pulled them right out of the church of God because of a negative influence. If you feel your values are being compromised or ridiculed, if what you believe is being mocked, it's time to find a good friend, a new friend.

I've personally never seen a single, moral people pull up a group of immoral people.

I'm not saying it's not possible. I've just never personally seen it. However, I have seen negative peer pressure pull down very good people because they got too close.

They allowed themselves to be too influenced. Spend some time with your loved ones because that's really what life is all about. It's about relationship. Remember, tomorrow is promised to no one. Your loved ones, your siblings, your parents, your children, grandchildren, cousins, aunts, and uncles, they will someday be gone from this earth, probably when we least expect it.

Your parents are your heritage. Your children are your legacy. Savor and enjoy the time you spend together and make the most of all of these memories. It is true that most friendships are created as a result of time and circumstance. I'm friends with many of you only because of our faith. If it hadn't been of the connection of the Church of God, I'm sure we might have met and we might have had a lunch or whatever, but the friendship wouldn't be there. It's our common faith, that time and circumstance of God predestinating us and calling us into his Church at this time together.

That is the glue that bonds that friendship. But remember that to cultivate a friendship is like anything worthwhile. It requires an investment of time and love. That's why we come to Church. That's an investment of time with like-minded believers. Sharing our homes and doing things together is an investment of our love. Being a true friend also means caring enough.

To point out an occasional reality check to someone who is in danger of hurting themselves or hurting others. That's also what it means. Don't fall for the victimization mentality. Don't fall for the victimization mentality. This is something that our culture reinforces over and over again. Deuteronomy chapter 30 and verse 19. Deuteronomy chapter 30 and verse 19.

I call heaven and earth as a witness today against you, that I've set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life. Do something. Be active in your life. Make decisions.

Seize opportunities. Therefore, choose life that both you and your descendants may live, that you may love the Lord your God and may obey his voice, that you may cling to him, for he is your life in the length of your days, that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give to them. And here's the catch. Here's the big lie that our media wants to foster upon you. There are those who want you to believe that you are predisposed to failure. They want you to believe that you're a victim of the past or you're a victim of circumstances or you're an victim of your environment. If you accept this nonsense and believe it, you have created within yourself the expectation to fail or underachieve. You have begun a self-fulfilling prophecy. I'm here to tell you that you have the choice to do whatever you choose to do, whatever you choose to be. The greatest barriers to your success are your own fears and self-doubt created by a negative world. I want you to understand that throughout history, people of every skin color, every ethnic group, every religion, and every gender have been the victim of abuse by some other party or group of people. In spite of this, many have lived productive and fulfilled lives. We cannot change the past, but please don't allow yourself to become a slave to the past. Don't allow others to make you a victim and reinforce of self-fulfilling prophecy of underachievement and failure. Every day, thousands of people who are handicapped, were born in poverty, were raised without loving parents, make the right choices to pursue their peace of the American dream. These people have determined to become better than they were to value education, to work hard, and to honor their responsibilities. I'm very pleased at this time in history to have lived at a time when people like Helen Keller, General Colin Powell, Ronald Reagan, and Oprah Winfrey refused to believe that they were simply victims of their circumstances. Helen Keller, in spite of her rather profound handicaps, refused to believe she was a victim of her circumstances. General Colin Powell, the son of an immigrant family, living in Harlem in poverty, refused to believe he was simply a victim of his circumstances. Ronald Reagan, whose father was an alcoholic and who grew up in poverty, refused to believe he was a victim of circumstances. Oprah Winfrey, who was sexually abused numerous times as a child, refused to believe she was simply a victim of circumstances. They made choices, and the choices they made is that the past does not determine my future. And that's an important principle for all of us to understand and recognize.

Ecclesiastes chapter 3 and verse 9.

It says, What prophet has the worker from that in which he labors? I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. So why do you go to work every day? Why do you get up? Why the same old grind? If you're at home and you're a mom and a housewife, why is the same old same old? Perhaps you're also working outside of the home. If you're the husband or a father, why do you get up and go to the grind every day? He says, verse 11, He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from the beginning to the end. We all desire eternity. We all inside desire immortality, but most people can't find the connection. They don't understand God's plan. Verse 12, I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice and to do good in their lives. Verse 13, And also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of his labor, for it is the gift of God. This is the principle that simple pleasures are the best. Simple pleasures in life are the best. The greatest pleasures in life did not cost a lot of money.

Remember the meaning of real fun. Something is really fun when you can sit down and tell your grandchildren about it and not be ashamed or humiliated about what you said or what you did. That's what real fun is. Much of what today's society pawns off as fun is simply centered on using other people to have a good time or to make some money. Keep your pleasures simple.

It's simple pleasures that are the best. Take a walk while holding hands.

Grow some flowers. Talk freely over a simple meal. Laugh aloud with others.

Play some games. Share a movie with a friend. Enjoy a hobby. Brethren, what this world considers pleasurable is often quite distorted. In my career, I've stayed at five-star resorts and they were okay, but they didn't bring me pleasure.

I've had meals with clients that were over a thousand dollars for a meal. I've had wines that were hundreds and hundreds of dollars for a bottle of wine. A client would, oh yeah, this is, you know, Chateau Brion. This is 1953. Isn't it good? And I would sip it, and this tastes more like Chateau La Camode to me. It's like drinking lighter fluid. But what the world values and what the world thinks is pleasurable is oftentimes quite distorted. My wife and I learned when our children were real small that we could buy our children like a $25 or $50 gift. And in 15 minutes, they played with the toy and were bored with it, but for the next three days, they played with the box that had came in. And they had a ball with their creative minds doing things with that box. Why?

Because it's simple pleasures that are the best. Don't be snookered into thinking that you have to spend a lot of money or you have to do certain things in order to have fun or in order to be happy, in order to enjoy this life that God has given us. Smile and always expect the best from life. Psalm chapter 5 and verse 11. Psalms chapter 5 and verse 11.

The psalmist wrote, But let all those rejoice who put their trust in you.

Let them ever shout for joy, because you defend them. We have nothing to fear. We shouldn't let anxiety eat at us, because God is defending us. We should always, ever, shout for joy. It should radiate from our hearts and our minds. Let those also who love your name be joyful in you. For you, O Lord, will bless the righteous with favor. You will surround him as with a shield.

Smile. Always expect the best from life. In this world, there are many different people with odd and warped personalities, and you'll run into them all eventually. Some of them include constant whiners. Some of them are what I call one-uppers. No matter which you do, they did it first. They did it higher. They did it faster. They did it longer. Let's call what I call them one-uppers. There are the chronic complainers. There are the self-absorbed, egotistical, what I call the egotistical, what I call the egoholics. You'll run into them all eventually. But I encourage you to view life from a positive Christ-centered perspective. Don't evaluate your progress by the things that you lack.

Evaluate your progress by the things that you've changed or the ways that you have grown.

That is the positive Christ-centered perspective. When you stumble, when you fall flat on your face, on the floor, instead of thinking that you're a failure, get up and march down the road of life wiser and more experienced and determined not to make the same mistake over again.

As Jesus said in John 10, verse 10, the thief does not come except to steal, to kill, and to destroy, but I have come, said Jesus Christ, that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly. Young people, you need to understand that we live in a culture that wants to steal your time. It's got all kinds of toys and contraptions to steal the most precious thing you have, your time, in the blink of an eye, you will be old.

Don't waste your life on toys and on things that provide you no real benefit. We live in a culture that wants to steal your time. It wants to kill your dreams. It wants to destroy your soul. In contrast, Jesus Christ is offering you an abundant life filled with purpose and hope, joy and fulfillment. Jesus wasn't talking about an abundant life in some kingdom someday. He's talking about an abundant life that you can have here and now, even in this existence.

But part of it is having the right perspective, having the right values. The late Steve Jobs said once that being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me. Going to bed at night and saying, we've done something wonderful, that's what matters to me. See, it's not about wealth, it's not about acquiring material things. You who dies with the most toy wins, you still die.

As I've said before, even if you win the rat race, you're still a rat.

So finally, as we conclude this commencement address today, I encourage you to remember that for every problem you ever face in your life, you can either become part of the problem or part of the solution. You can view your personal troubles and you will have them in life as either great tragedies or trials, tests that are intended to teach you something. Don't ever forget that everything that happens to you, everything, the good, the tragic, is for a purpose. Because God's interested in your long-term growth and development. He's not so much interested in the pain that we suffer today or the next year or the next five years. He's interested in eternity. He's got a long-range plan for your life. Don't despise God's personal development plan for your life, whatever happens. Finally, to you, the children of God, I say to you that you are the bridge between the present world today and a brighter tomorrow. You can make a difference in our world today and in leading future generations to happier and more fulfilling lives. The very first step in solving the world's problems are in each of us solving our own problems. When we become saints in the kingdom of God, Jesus Christ wants to say, do you see that person over there? He was an alcoholic. Do you see that woman over there? She had sexual problems. Do you see that guy over there? That spirit over there? He was a thief. Do you see that person over there? He had this particular problem, but they all overcame them. I gave them my spirit and they all grew and shined and they're here to help you because they can look at you and what you're going through and say, been there, done that. Now let me help. Let me show you the way. Paul wrote, and we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose, for whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he predestined, these he also called, whom he called, these he also justified, and whom he justified, these he also glorified. What shall we say to these things?

If God is for us, who can be against us? So God's senior class, as you go through life, never lie, never break a promise, always remember your responsibilities, let the foundation of your life be faith in God, in his laws, faith in his promises. If you do, your faith will see you through a lifetime. Your faith will see you through joy, through sorrow, through gain, and through loss.

But if God is for you, who can be against you? You are God's senior class in this dying world.

Go forth in faith and confidence.