Turtles Unite

I thought I would post the graduation charge for those who might have been lulled to sleep that night.

Trees of Righteousnes

Pastor Mel, Principal Warfield, board members, faculty and staff, parents, relatives and friends …the stories I can tell about this class of 2008 … but I won’t … not here any way.
Oh, maybe just one…
Isaiah 61:3d woke me up out of a dead sleep the other day. Actually three words from that passage were crying out to me, “Trees of righteousness!” Isaiah 61:3d says, “… They will be called TREES of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, to display his glory.” Trees of righteousness – the planting of the LORD, to display His glory!
You need to understand that our Mexico mission group the first morning of prayer in Baja, saw a tree. God gave Tyler a vision of a tree, and we haven’t been the same since.
Each of these young men and young women on this stage are not what they seem. SURE! They look ordinary – but you would be wrong! They carry a weight of glory in their hearts – in their roots, in their trunks, in their branches, in their fruit. You see they will be called Trees of righteousness – planted by the LORD so that they might display – bear His GLORY! They are bearing fruits of righteousness the fruit of the Spirit.
My job tonight is to simply wake up these sleeping giants and remind them who they are. I feel like Lucy Pevensie in Prince Caspian, “Oh trees, trees, trees, Oh trees wake, wake, wake!”
My task tonight is to wake up these Trees of righteousness and give them a charge! But before I can do that we need to look closely at this word “charge.” Charge is a peculiar word, a word we must simply explore in an etymological way. In old Latin this word was “carrus” meaning “wagon or cart.” Later the meaning changed to “loading a wagon,” and finally morphed into “load or burden,” and that is the meaning it carries today (pun intended). Tonight when I charge NCA Class of ‘08, I am loading them up with a burden to carry! I am giving them a weighty responsibility, a mission they must carry with them to the world.
Last Thursday I blessed you, class of ‘08, tonight I am going to charge you! I’m going to burden you with some heavy tasks you must carry out. This world needs you! God needs the glory you hold in your hearts. Are we awake yet? I charge you – I burden you with the weight of remembering. You are about to leave a world you know (Northwest Christian Academy) and go into a land you do not know. Like Moses of Old I charge you – take care and watch yourselves closely so as neither to forget the things your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life…
Kelly, I charge you to remember where you’re from – You aren’t of this world. You’re in it, but not of it. Your real home is with God and that is where your comfort comes from.
Evan, I charge you to remember what you have learned – You must have the right attitude and passion for God’s work.
Jenna, I charge you to remember what God did through you - He strengthened and inspired you and He will continue.
Krista, I charge you to remember who you are in Christ – You are a saint, a royal priest, and you will be called a tree of righteouness.
Jonathan, I charge you to remember where you are – You’re in a battle. Wisely wield the sword of the Spirit and continue to say no to ungodliness.
Morgan, I charge you to remember how to hear from God – on your knees with mind focused on Him and His word. Boldly stand against the evil one
Linde, I charge you to remember how to love. Remember life without love is not worth living.
Tyler, I charge you to remember what kind of reputation you want - one who loves all the saints and who speaks up for those who can’t speak for themselves. I charge you class of ‘08, because you will be called Trees of Righteousness. You thought you were going to school all these days. You could not have been more mistaken! Wake up trees! Things were not what they seemed. Wake up Trees of Righteousness! You were in training all these years. You were training for battle! Your hearts are now awake and prepared for extraordinary battles — battles you are desperately needed to fight in.
I charge you Trees of Righteousness to be, well, to be tree-like. Stand tall. Be unmovable. When the currents of materialism and unbelief and persecution surround you. Stand strong and put your roots deep, deep down and remember the countless lessons you have learned at NCA. Then you can provide shelter and justice for the defenseless. You can be tree-like and restore the air around you - clean up the evil in your world! Bear fruit Trees of righteousness, bear the fruit of the Spirit! And something I just learned - -trees never stop growing. So, don’t ever stop growing Trees of righteousness! Grow stronger, grow wiser, grow humbler, grow taller (Linde- that would be you), grow bolder for God!
And now that you have your marching orders class of ‘08, there is just one more charge. This peculiar word, “charge” has another meaning. Wait for it … wait for it. Trees are you listening? Trees of righteousness are you awake? I don’t feel like little Lucy Pevensie now, in fact I feel much bigger and lion-like.
Picture all your troops out on the battle field surrounded and being over taken, falling all around, loosing hope, despairing and just when you think the battle is lost … wait for it … wait for it … you hear a distant roar. “The sound, deep and throbbing at first like a large church organ beginning on a low note, rises and becomes louder, and then far louder again, till the earth and air are shaking with it. The trees stir. Tough-looking warriors turn white, gaze in terror, and then fling down their weapons shrieking, ‘The Trees! The Trees! The end of the World!’”
High king Peter shouts the battle cry, “Charge! For
Aslan, for the Lion of Judah — Trees of righteousness! Charge! NCA class of ‘08 Charge! You will be called Trees of righteousness, Charge! And our world will never be the same.
The truth is NCA is not closing. We are not going quietly into the night. We are charging out into the world shining our lights and bearing the weight of God’s glory. “… They will be called TREES of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, to display his glory.”

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Now I really had intended to stop there, but I just could not resist reading the next verse - Isaiah 61:4. “They - (who is the they? Trees of righteousness) They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities., the devastations of many generations.” This is a glimpse of their future.
Sure, they look ordinary. You have seen them at their worst. Arguing about who is the greatest, calling fire down upon each other, never understanding what you mean even though you have clearly told them and showed them a million times. Forgetting their own heads if they weren’t attached. They make you so frustrated and mad sometimes that you could spit. I could go on, but…
But you haven’t seen them the way God sees them. They will be called Treesof Righteousness because God sees them digging trenches, sitting in the dirt, holding tight to lice-filled little girls and boys, swinging kids around that they don’t even know, eating stuff they would normally throw away, taking three minute showers, holding babies who might not live another year, weeding, weeding and more weeding, and I can’t forget these Trees of Righteousness cracking nuts at the Nuthouse. You want to see these kids the way God sees them - Read the journal Kim Coppens labored on in Baja — it’s on my blog.
These are no ordinary kids sitting on this stage, they will be called Trees of Righteousness. They are going to build up the ruins, raise up the devastations, repair the ruined cities. Isaiah 61:3d was just the prelude to Isaiah 61:4, and you have got to read the whole chapter now.
All year long I have taught these young men and women how to write and tell great stories. Now I charge them to live great stories! Live great stories by repairing ruined cities and displaying the glory of God! Making the Famous One all the more famous!
But don’t think they are the only ones who get to have all the fun. True, they will be called Trees of Righteousness on a mission for God, and they are going to build up the ruins of this world, and they are to repair the ruined cities, but they won’t… if we don’t come along side and help.
So, I charge all of us to come along side these trees and weed, weed, weed, water water, water, remove the branches that are not bearing fruit and pray, pray, pray!
I charge us all to carry and bear the weight of their glory!
I charge all of us to live great stories, because in reality we will all be called Trees of Righteousness. NCA isn’t closing we are moving on! We are displaying God’s glory wherever we go!
Now class there is one thing I never want you to forget. Living your great stories is communicating, right? And communication always has… eternal consequences! Your lives will always have enteral consequences! NCA class of ‘08 go display God’s glory and light your world.