Graduation Speech

I thought that I would share with you the speech I gave at Graduation on May 20th :)

Fellow graduates, have you ever wondered...

Why did God place us, the graduating class of 2012, into this generation in history?  Do you sometimes wonder why we were created and why does it mean anything at all, if we are just going to die?  Because, at some point, we will all die and stand before a terrifying beauty and give an account of how we spent our time on earth.  Did we learn to love? To give? To care? And To stand in awe of our fascinating Creator?

From the beginning of time, God has raised up young men and women, who would listen to His voice and open His commands.  

As a young adult, the shepherd David trusted God’s words to him and believed that God would fight for him. David became a superhero when he gathered five smooth stones and his slingshot and went out against the giant, Goliath, killing him and saving Israel.  

Then there was Esther, a young orphaned, jewish peasant, who was forcibly taken into King Xerxes home.  God hand picked her, out of the hundreds of contestants, to be queen of Persia.  When an evil plot was devised to wipe out the Jewish population, the Lord had positioned Esther as queen, so that she could save His people from genocide.  

Those are just two youth that God used to save a nation.  They were both part of a generation of those who sought Him.  But those two had a choice; they could have said, “I’m not qualified to do this tasks. ” But they trusted God and because of that, Israel was saved multiple times.    I once heard it said, “God doesn’t call the qualified, but qualifies the called.” 

According to recent research, 96% of our generation who grew up in the church, has or will abandon the faith of their family by the time they are 18 years old.  We here maybe a part of the surviving 4% who are still worshiping Jesus.  But we can no longer live off of our parent's faith. It is time to decide whom each of us will serve.

Psalm 24 says, 

"Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?

Or who may stand in His holy place?

He who has clean hands and a pure heart, 

Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, 

Nor sworn deceitfully.

He shall receive blessing from the Lord,

And righteousness from the God of his salvation. 

This  is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, 

Who seek Your face." 

So... my question for you today is this:  Are you allowing Jesus to direct your steps?  Do you trust Him enough to do whatever He asks you to? Do you want to be a part of the generation that sought out God?

Our generation has its own modern day giants, that that Lord has given us to slay; 

- At this very moment, over 27 million men, women and children are trapped in modern day slavery, worldwide.

- Every year, over 14,000 girls are trafficked into the United States, with thousands more enslaved within our borders.

- Roughly, 175,000 people die of hunger each week, globally. 

- And almost 4,000 pre-born babies are killed in America, every single day. 

Do you hear the call to our generation? Do you know the powerful and exciting one that made you for something extraordinary? We can be a generation that partners with the God of justice.  What if you were placed into this generation, for such a time as this?