MILL VALLEY, Calif. (BP) — Ministers must work hard but realize that God alone opens and closes doors for serving Christ, Jeff Iorg, president of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, said in spring commencement.
"Work hard, stay humble, hold to the Word of God and talk a lot about Jesus Christ," Iorg said.
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Photo by Adam Covington Jeff Iorg, president of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, Calif., instructed recent graduates to “place confidence in Christ” because He “creates your future and holds it securely.” |
The 139 graduates receiving degrees from Golden Gate's Northern California Campus represented about 60 percent of the total graduates from the entire Golden Gate Seminary system.
Iorg's sermon, titled "Moving into the Future," was an exposition of Revelation 3:7-13. He instructed graduates to "place confidence in Christ" because He "creates your future and holds it securely." Iorg continued, "The Bible says that Jesus is holy, true and holds the keys of David. This means that the same Jesus who has access to the throne room and treasure house of God also holds all of our futures in His hands. And He alone opens and closes the doors of ministry opportunities."
Iorg identified several ways graduates can move forward into the future Christ provides.
"Your classes are over but your work is not. God expects us to toil, give effort and to work," Iorg said.
Human efforts to build God's Kingdom always include an element of weakness since "the Bible tells us that we have 'little power and strength.' This should serve as a reminder to all of us to remain humble and not place confidence in ourselves. But our confidence needs to be in the Word of God and in Jesus, who is faithful and true," Iorg said at the May 23 ceremony.
He concluded, "In ministry, you will get to celebrate victories you did not win, find strength you did not achieve, do what you never thought you could do and become a person you did not think you could become. Do the work of the Great Commission and make us proud as you take the Gospel to the ends of the earth."
The William O. Crews Leadership Award, the seminary's highest honor, was presented to Pedro Ramirez. Ryan Rindels received the Lifeway Pastoral Leadership Award and Ikaika Higa received the Broadman and Holman Seminarian Award.
(EDITOR’S NOTE – Tyler Sanders is communications coordinator for Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary.)