Graduation - Dave Eddinger - 6/7/26

Thank you for taking the time to listen to the Well Church Satterton's podcast.

We pray that you enjoy this message and that it creates a well of hope in your life today.

I was going to share something about I went on a hike recently,

but during worship, I feel like the Lord wasn't done yet when it came to fear.

So I just want to obey the Lord, even if it's for this one person,

but the Lord, I feel like his jealousy.

And I know that this gets a bad rep, but the wrath of God, not towards you,

but towards the very things that are hindering you.

And fear is on his heart this morning.

And I see that it's been hindering you from living fully in the grace of God.

Because that's what we're made for. To live fully, to have life and life abundantly.

Not to settle. And fear causes us to settle.

And the Lord wants to liberate you this morning, individually.

He wants to liberate you this morning. You are on His heart.

He wants to liberate you this morning.

From the fears that are holding you bound, whether it be your children,

your parents, your siblings. I feel it strongly that it's for other people.

That is like you're carrying the weight that you fear for them.

And it's tormenting your mind, the imaginations of the what ifs and the,

oh my gosh, and it's fear.

He wants you to fully picture them alive in the grace of God.

Your kids are fully alive in the grace of God I don't care where they are right

now I see them alive in the grace of God walking in everything that the Lord has for them

peace righteousness joy the kingdom of God

that's what I envision and that's what I see,

and so Lord we say let it be done you are walking in the grace of God you are

liberated whom the son sets free is free indeed Indeed,

how the Lord sees you is how he sees Jesus.

And he loves Jesus. He says that you are his beloved son in whom he is well pleased.

He's well pleased with you. Well pleased.

Well pleased. Delighted.

Delighted in you. When he sees you, his heart skips beats. He's dancing over you.

Perichoresis, the circle dance of the Trinity. You're invited into it.

And so run, run into that dance.

With the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, and just dance away in your dreams,

in your life, in your secret place. Just enjoy His presence.

There's fullness of joy in His presence. His presence is everything,

and it's not just in worship.

We've boxed Him into worship, but worship is our life.

It's our life. So I just bless everyone to just live a life of worship in his

presence, aware tangibly that we never leave his presence. He's always with us.

Within us, all around us, upon us, there's no escaping him. Where can we go,

right? Where can we go from his spirit?

It's always around us, inside of us. The same spirit that rose him from the

dead lives in us right now.

He's in us and he's at work within us and he's not done.

It's a process, a beautiful process.

Each and every one of us, wherever we are in the process, he meets us there.

He meets us exactly where we are.

There's no one-step program. It's exactly what we need.

He's there, and he's giving us everything we need.

Caterpillars don't need anything to become butterflies. What they have is what

they need to become the butterfly. It's inside of them.

Everything that pertains to life and godliness is already in you.

You're just being invigorated. The seeds that are planted in you are being invigorated

by atmospheres like this, by being around the body.

By encouragement and fellowship, it's invigorating everything inside of you to become like Jesus.

That's what we're here to do. So bless you with that. We got,

amen. Lord, thank you. Oh, Lord.

Thank you for all that you've done and all that you're still to do.

Thank you for the time of worship we've had. Thank you for the powerful testimony

and the prophetic words.

Thank you for it all. And we just ask that you would be in this word that you've

laid on my heart to encourage your people and to give them courage and strength in Jesus name.

So, an unusual situation for me. I wasn't real clear on what I was going to share today.

I'm usually pretty well locked in.

Last Friday night, I attended my grandson's high school graduation.

They're the class of 2026, the 250th year of our nation.

It struck me that it was 50 years ago that I attended my own graduation ceremony,

the class of 1976, the bicentennial class.

I can't say that I remember very much of what was said on that night Much of what the speaker said,

I don't know if I just wasn't paying attention Or if it's just all the years

that have kind of faded it away But at my grandson's graduation,

I heard a lot of words Encouraging the graduates to not be afraid of what's to come,

To use what they've learned and who they've become Over these last years to

move forward And to meet the challenges of what lies ahead,

Like those graduates,

we all face new challenges as we walk into our futures.

So today I want to look at some graduations that we see in Scripture.

Moses graduated from being born as a slave who was destined to die because all

the Hebrew babies, the male babies, were to be killed.

But instead, he graduated to become a prince in the household of Pharaoh.

Then he graduated again to be the one who would lead God's people from Egypt into freedom.

David graduated from being a lowly shepherd to being a mighty warrior when he defeated Goliath.

And just as the high school graduates were encouraged to use what they've learned,

David defeated Goliath not as a strong warrior, but by the training he received

as a shepherd with a sling and a stone.

Then he graduated again to become king over his people and a forefather to Jesus himself.

Ruth graduated from being a widow, and she was also included in the line of

Christ as David's great-grandmother.

All of these and many more were elevated to their positions and their purposes

according to God's plan, not only for themselves, but for all the people,

for all the world, for all of mankind.

Today, I want to look at a few other examples of people who graduated to a higher

call and purpose. We're going to begin in Acts 2.

And it's a pretty long section of scripture. I'll probably skip some of it to

not get too overcome by it. But it's Acts 2, 1 through 42. It says.

Spirit, and began to speak in different tongues as the Spirit was giving them ability to speak.

Now there were Jews residing in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven.

And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together and they were bewildered

because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language.

They were amazed and astonished, saying, Why are not all these who are speaking Galileans?

And how is it that we hear each of them in our own language to which we were born?

Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea,

Cappadocia, and Pontus, and Asia, and Phyregea, and Pamphila,

Egypt, and parts of Libya, and Cyrene,

and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans, and Arabs.

We hear them speaking our own language of the mighty deeds of God.

And I have to think sometimes when I read this, it says that the Spirit was

giving them the ability to speak in these languages. But sometimes I wonder

if it was the gift of speaking in tongues or was it the gift of hearing in tongues?

Were the people really just maybe speaking their own language and the people

who were hearing it were able to hear in their language?

I digress. And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity,

saying to one another, What does this mean?

But the others were jeering and saying they were full of sweet wine.

But Peter, taking his stand with the other eleven, raised his voice and declared

to them, Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, know this and pay attention to my words.

For these people are not drunk, as you assume, since it is only the third hour of the day.

But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel, and it shall be in the last days, God says,

that I will pour out my spirit on all mankind, and your sons and daughters will prophesy,

and your young men will see visions, and your old men will have dreams,

and even on my male and female servants I will pour out my spirit in these days.

And they will prophesy, and I will display wonders in the sky and above and

signs on the earth below, blood, fire, vapor of smoke.

The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great

and glorious day of the Lord comes, and it shall be that everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Men of Israel, listen to these words. Jesus, the Nazarene, a man attested to

you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through him

in your midst, just as you yourselves know, this man delivered over to by predetermined

plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross

by the hands of godless men and put him to death.

But God raised him from the dead, putting an end to the agony of death.

Since it was impossible for him to be held in its power.

I'm going to skip down a little bit then.

Peter delivers a powerful sermon. He says, let all the house of Israel know

for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ. This Jesus whom you crucified.

Now, when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter

and the rest of the apostles, brothers, what are we to do?

Peter said to them, repent and each of you be baptized in the name of Christ

for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far away.

We heard a word today that the promise is for our children.

Promise is for our children.

As many as the Lord our God will call to himself. And with many other words,

he solemnly testified and kept urging them, saying, be saved from this perverse generation.

So then those who had received his word were baptized. and that day they were

added about 3,000 souls, and they were continually devoting themselves to the

apostles, teaching, and to fellowship, and to the breaking of bread and prayer.

Now keep in mind that this powerful sermon was spoken by somebody that only

a short time before Peter had denied even knowing Jesus.

He denied knowing Jesus three times on the night he was arrested.

So we can ask what changed Peter that caused him to graduate from this fearful

denier to a bold and faithful witness.

And the obvious answer is the power of the Holy Spirit.

In Acts 1.8, Jesus said, You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come

upon you, and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and

Samaria and as far as the remotest part of the earth.

But the other equally important factor in Peter's transformation,

in his graduation, was that he was now, at that time of Pentecost,

living on the other side of the cross and the resurrection.

You see, we heard those words from John 19.30 that when Jesus was on the cross, he said, it is finished.

So Jesus had already fully accomplished all that he came to do.

His sacrifice for the forgiveness and redemption of sin.

Peter need only to be a witness and testify of what Jesus had already done.

And we too live on this side of the cross and of the resurrection.

We too have been given the power of the Holy Spirit.

And we too are to be witnesses of what Jesus has already done.

You know, we might not see the same results when we speak to people.

We might not see 3,000 souls added to the church because of our testimony.

But in Luke 15, 7, Jesus says, There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner

who repents than over 99 righteous people who have no need of repentance.

We can be part of causing a celebration in heaven if we'll be witnesses for Christ.

Mark 16, 15 to 20 says, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

The one who has believed and been baptized will be saved, but the one who has

not believed will be condemned.

These signs will accompany those who have believed. In my name they will cast

out demons, they will speak with new tongues, and they will pick up serpents,

and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them.

They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.

So then, when the Lord had spoken to them, he was received up into heaven,

and sat down at the right hand of God.

And they went out and preached everywhere while the Lord worked with them and

confirmed the words by the signs that followed.

If we will be faithful to God's call, he will be faithful to work with us and

through us. Let's look at Acts 6.

Acts 6, it says, In those days when a number of disciples was increasing,

the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because

their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.

So the twelve gathered and all the disciples together and said,

It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.

Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full

of the spirit and wisdom, and we will return this responsibility over to them.

And we will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.

This proposal pleased the whole group and they chose Stephen,

a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit.

Also Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor,

Teman, Parmenas, and Nicholas from the Antioch, a convert to Judaism.

They presented these men to the apostles who prayed and laid their hands on them.

So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly,

and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, performed great signs and

wonders among the people.

Opposition arose, however, from the members of the synagogue of the freedmen,

Jews, Cyrene, and Alexandria, as well as the provinces of.

Cilicia and Asia, who began to argue with Stephen. But they could not stand

up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.

Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, We've heard Stephen speak of blasphemous

words against Moses and against God.

So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law,

and they seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin.

And they produced false witnesses who testified, This fellow never stopped speaking

against the holy place and against the law.

For yet we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this

place and change the customs Moses handed down to.

All who were sitting in a Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen,

and they saw his face like the face of an angel.

You know, Stephen's graduation to a position of waiting on tables didn't seem

like a real big deal. It didn't seem like some great thing.

He, though, took his position in God's purpose seriously, and he used it as

an opportunity in that place, in that role, in that humble place to perform

signs and wonders among the people.

In Acts 7, Stephen delivered a power testimony as a witness of the gospel.

Verses 55 to 60, we see the result.

Of his powerful testimony. Now, when they heard this, they were infuriated and

they began gnashing their teeth at him.

But he being full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven and saw the

glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said,

behold, I see the heavens opened and the son of man standing at the right hand of God.

But they shouted with loud voices and covered their ears and they rushed him with one mind.

When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him,

and the witnesses laid aside their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.

They went on stoning Stephen, and he called on the Lord and said,

Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

Then he fell on his knees and cried out with a loud voice, Lord,

do not hold this sin against us.

Having said this, he fell asleep.

Stephen graduated to be a great evangelist for Christ. And then he graduated to be with the Lord.

And that brings us to the final graduation I want to look at today.

It follows the story of Stephen.

Acts 8, 1-3 says, Now Saul approved of putting Stephen to death.

And on that day, a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem.

And they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea,

Samaria, except for the apostles.

Some devout men buried Stephen and they mourned loudly for him.

But Saul began ravaging the church and entering the house, house after house.

He would drag away And then Acts.

1-22 says.

Acts 9, 1 through 22. Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord,

went to the high priest and asked for letters from him to the synagogues in

Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the way, whether men or women,

he might bring them in shackles to Jerusalem.

Now he was traveling. It happened that he was approaching Damascus,

and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him, and he fell to the ground.

And he heard a voice saying to him, And Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting

me? And he said, Who are you, Lord?

And he said, I am Jesus, whom you're persecuting. But get up and enter the city,

and it will be told to you what you must do.

The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice,

but seeing no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing.

And leading him by the hand, they brought him to Damascus.

For three days he was without sight, and neither ate or drank.

Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. And the Lord said to him

in a vision, Ananias, he said, Here I am.

And the Lord said, Get up and go to the street called Straight.

And inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul,

for he is praying. And he has seen a vision. And a man named Ananias come to

him and lay hands on him so that he will regain his sight.

But Ananias answered, Lord, I've heard from many people about this man.

How much harm he did to the saints in Jerusalem.

And here he has authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.

But the Lord said to him, Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to bear

the name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel.

For I will show him how much he must suffer in behalf of my name.

So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying hands on him,

he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which

you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

And immediately something like fish scales fell from his eyes,

and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized, and he took food and was strengthened.

Now for several days he was with the disciples who were in Damascus,

and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogue,

saying, He is the Son of God.

And all those hearing him continued to be amazed and were saying,

is this not the one who in Jerusalem destroyed those who call,

this name and had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the

chief priest but Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who

lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.

Saul graduated according to God's plan and purpose to become Paul,

a chosen instrument of God to bear his name before Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel.

Graduated to become perhaps the greatest and most influential evangelist and

apostle the world has ever known, from a persecutor to a great preacher.

As we close today and I look around the room, I don't know the plans and purposes

that God has for each of us here to death.

We've heard some words of encouragement, some prophetic words that God wants

to do something with us the way we are, that we don't have to do anything.

I don't know what calling we'll graduate to, but I do believe very strongly

that there's at least one more graduation for every one of us before our final

graduation to be with him.

You know, in our education system, people graduate because they fulfilled certain requirements.

Sometimes those requirements aren't all that much, but they do have to fulfill some requirements.

For us, though, we don't earn our graduation because of what we've done.

Instead, God elevates us and he allows us to graduate.

And then he enables and empowers us to do what's necessary to fulfill what he calls us to do.

In Matthew 25, 23, in the parable of the talents, the master says,

well done, good and faithful servant.

You've been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things.

Enter into the joy of your master. The greatest thing we can do,

the greatest criteria that we can do to prepare for our next graduation is to

be faithful in the things,

God has given us to do right now. Congratulations.

Class of 2026, be encouraged.

Take courage. Go and change the world. Amen.

Thanks for taking the time to listen. We're glad that what the Lord is doing

among us encourages you.

For more info about the church, follow us on Facebook or connect with us on Instagram.

Visit dwellatthewell.com.

Or come out and see us on a Sunday morning, 228 Ridge Avenue,

Southerton, Pennsylvania.