07.19.2009 Two for the price of one -

SermonAudio1HentschSermonAudio2Ference

07.19.2009 Grace Summit Sermon 1 - Ron Hentsch from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

07.19.2009 Grace Summit Sermon 2 - John Ference from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

Ron Hentsch:

Good morning, when Mike asked me to speak today I was a little shocked. I have taught Sunday school before and before I came here I was the “youth group leader at my old church. It was a very small youth group, and I have made speeches before, but mostly to managers who sell chicken for a living. I guess Mike wanted to make sure that you missed him.

Anyway, since I am fairly new to the church I decided I would share a little about my coming to Christ, a little about a man I came know because of coming to Christ, and some things God taught me along the way.

I grew up catholic, spent 12 years in catholic school. (Go Knights!)
It was the faith of my parents
(Barely) and that was as about as close as I got to God growing up.
I married when I was 25 and was married for 13 years.
I Have three children Gabrielle 21, Josh who just turned 20, and Nicole 16

The place where I met God happened in 1997, after I had separated from my wife.
I had some good friends who had been praying for me and during a discussion one night I made the mistake of saying “there has got to be more to life than this”. Which in Christian circles mean’s “he’s ready to hear the gospel?
Actually I had been thinking it for a while, but this was the first time I made the mistake of saying it out loud. The next thing I know they invite their Pastor over to meet me.
This is where I met the man I want to tell you a little about.
John Moosey
John Moosey lead me to the Lord on July 10, 1997 around 6:30.

Over the next year I would meet with John at least once a week.
I was really having a rough time trying to figure out what to do with dealing with my separation, my absence from, and missing my kids, and then my subsequent divorce.

A little about John:
It was this man John Moosey who by using the word of God helped me through probably the worst year of my life.
John was in his late 50’s and had been at Whipple Ave. Baptist Church for 23 years when I met him.
John was the type of Pastor who always took you to the word of God no matter what the issue. It is one of the many things that God showed me using this man…

That all our answers can be found in the bible.

His true love for our savior was evident to me, and to anyone who listened when he preached on the issue of grace.
He had a great sense of humor, and an infectious smile.
But the thing that always impressed me about John was his gentleness.
John possessed on of those demeanors that would calm a room.
I never saw him upset even when defending the word of God to someone who was.
I had read in the bible that others would know us by our “love for one another”.
John was one of the first persons I met who truly demonstrated the love of Christ.
He was the first person in a long while that I respected enough to want to be like.
It is true there are not enough hero’s today. But John Moosey is one of mine.

Some of What God taught me through John:

The first was when I was dealing with the issue of separation from my wife and the amount of child support I was paying.
It was a lot of money, but as much as it was I knew that it was not enough to cover Sue’s bills. She had yet to find a decent job.
I came to John considering what was best for my kids.
John said that if I wanted to stay away from being bitter about the money I should pay more than I was required. John said that if I did that I would never be bitter about the child support.
I thought he was a little crazy at the time, but not as crazy as Sue thought I was when I told her I would pay her an extra $200 a month for two years so she could find a decent job.

This is part of what Jesus was trying to teach us when he said in
Mathew 5:40-41 …it says

“If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also.
Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two”.

Think about it.
Jesus was telling us to do something that we wouldn’t normally do, (what a surprise God asking me to something I wouldn’t normally do) and when we do it we are blessed.

It worked, I never had any bitterness about the money.
If you think about it, how many times have you not wanted to do something and you grudging did it?

It was a labor.

But when you apply this principal you whole mindset changes.
It is no longer something that you must do, but something you have chosen to do.

As hard as it sometimes submission to God always brings with it blessing. This is another thing I learned through John.
Blessings:
People always want to be blessed by God.
You hear people praying all the time to bless this person or that.

Well put simply; the blessing is in the doing.
You will never meet anyone who upon stepping out of their comfort zone and doing has not been blessed.
If you want to be blessed, or be a blessing to others get off your butt and serve.
Blessings don’t come looking for you…that’s trouble’s job.

Another thing that John taught me is one of the most important things a Christian can understand, and something that brought me closer to God, as well as more peace in my walk.

It’s the difference between the Position and Practice of the Christian.

A Christian’s position is in his standing before God, or what he is in Christ.

His practice is what he is in himself or better, what he should be.
You may find this hard to believe but I still struggle with sin.
Ok maybe you won’t.

a couple of verses that state this are:


John 1:12
“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”
We are - Born again children of God
But Ephesians 5:1 says
“For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person--such a man is an idolater--has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God”.
-Gods children are expected to bear the family likeness, which is to be godly.
John was fond of saying
“We don’t become Christian by living the Christian life; rather we live the Christian life because we’ve become Christian”.
Really the difference is between doing and being.
I struggled a long time with the doing, trying to make myself better.
I am not sure, but I think at some point in each Christian’s walk you come to the point where you come face to face with your own humanity, or your lack of it. And if God has mercy on you he will bring you to the understanding that He knows your frame, your innermost parts, and He accepts you anyway.
Not only accepts you but shows you he knew all along what it would take.
The death of His Son.
Yeah I had heard it before.
“It is finished”.
We are “in Christ”.
Yet I continued to somehow feel unworthy and that if I only tried harder I would be able to “be worthy”.
Then one morning I was reading an article that a friend had sent me. I really wanted to bring it this morning and read it to you, but I can’t locate it.
Search as I might.
So you will have to rely on my faulty memory.
The article was about the covenant. The original covenant God made with Abraham.
I am sure most of you are familiar with it. This is in Genesis 15 it says:
1.After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great."
2.Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus ?"
3.And Abram said, "Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir."
4.Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This man will not be your heir ; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir."
5.And He took him outside and said, "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be."
6.Then he believed in the LORD ; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.
7.And He said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it."
8.He said, "O Lord GOD, how may I know that I will possess it?"
9.So He said to him, "Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon."
10.Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other ; but he did not cut the birds.
11.The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
12.Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram ; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him.
13.God said to Abram, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years.
14."But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions.
15."As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace ; you will be buried at a good old age.
16."Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete."
17.It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces.

Somehow this all clicked for me. It was the fact that Abraham was asleep.
Ok some are you are probably thinking, and rightly so what the heck does this have to do with my obsession with doing.
Well it became clear to me at this point that God was the one doing the promising.
For both parties. God promised for both parties
During this time if you made a covenant with someone you did it like this.
Seems a little strange to us I know.
Walking between pieces of animals. But the point was that both parties would walk between the pieces to commit to the covenant. Part of the significance of the animals being cut in two was the blood being spilled.
The commitment was that if one of the parties did not honor the covenant the other would spill the blood of the other.
You will notice that Abraham was asleep during this and God did all the committing.
I have a thick head.
As my kids will attest to.
Some of you probably are thinking duh I got that right away.
But it took till this event to make me realize how gracious God is to us.
To me.
He sent His Son to die, to spill His blood for me.
Because in this new covenant God did all the committing too.
And He knew His Son would have to die.
Because there was no other way. God is Holy, and he must have justice.
Nothing that I could do.
Not now…not in the future. And God knew it.
How gracious is our Lord.
One last thing I am thankful to John Moosey for.
He gave me this to remind me of who my Lord is and how to worship Him. I carry it with me, it says:
The long-range goal is the glory of Christ.
The whole of life is related to His lordship. Give thanks to God. Everything in life - every activity, every resistance to sin is an act of worship.

Father, I thank You that I am in Christ – that my position is secure, immovable. Thank you that in Him I have already won the victory over the sin that besets me. Thank You that I am free. Accept by faith the victory Christ won at the cross before you are tempted to sin.

John Ference:

Does anyone here have a verse that they would consider their “Life Verse?” A “Life Verse” is the one scripture that defines for you who you are, or who God is, or gives you day-by-day, moment-by-moment direction on how to live your life? It’s a really good idea to have a part of the scripture that we see in that light. God’s Word is true; and we can depend on it in any situation that may come up.

I have a verse like that. I have had a personal relationship with Jesus for thirty years and twelve days today. For almost every one of those days, I have looked to this verse in the good times and in the not-so-fun times. There are a lot of cool verses in the Bible, (Jeremiah 29:11, Jeremiah 33:3, 2 Corinthians 5:17), but to my memory, I have never veered from this one being my anchor.

My verse is Hosea 6:3

Let’s pray.

Summary of Hosea
The first section contains three poems illustrating how God’s children returned time after time to idolatry. God commands Hosea to marry Gomer, but after bearing him three children, she walks away from Hosea to her lovers. The symbolic emphasis can be seen clearly in the first chapter as Hosea compares Israel’s actions to turning from a marriage to life as a prostitute.

The last part of the book shows how God’s love restores His children. He forgets their sins when they turn back to Him with a repentant heart. Hosea then foretells the coming of Israel’s Messiah 700 years in the future.

Hosea 6:
1. Come, let us return to the LORD For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.
2. He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him.
3. So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth.

Rain
Before moving on, I would like to talk a little about rain. It seems to be the focus of this verse. Another translation says, “He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth”

Is rain good? Or is it bad? Depending on the context, most of us would probably say half-heartedly that rain is good. After all, we need it for life to continue on this planet. But if I were to tell you that it’s going to rain this afternoon, I may hear a groan about what you won’t be able to do if the weather doesn’t suit your expectations. The rain in Hosea 6:3 is a reference to God’s going forth to do His business. A way that God REVEALS HIMSELF to us through circumstances.

The winter rain freezes the ground and breaks up the soil to allow future roots to penetrate and future nutrients to be brought to the plants that will grow in the soil. God’s going forth in this way requires Him to “break things up” to make way for the new life He’s planning on bringing in soon. He could do that by allowing you to lose your job so that He can provide another one for you or provide for you in an entirely new way. He may do that with a relationship failure so that He can show you how to develop your relationships better – or so that He can make room in your heart for a new relationship … maybe even a relationship with Him. He may take away a loved one, allowing the separation through a move to another location, or even through a death. This one is definitely the hardest to deal with – a freezing rain that many of us never acknowledge as being from God or learn how to welcome as being good.

The spring rain waters the seeds and allows them to sprout to (eventually) bring us food from the corn, warmth from the cotton, or beauty from the roses. God’s going forth in this way is giving us the water of His Word that will allow us to grow up spiritually and provide food for the hungry, give clothing to the homeless, and give the unbelieving world a picture of the beauty of what God looks like based on the way we live.

Pressing on
Let’s talk about “Press On.” Hosea 6:3 seems, at first glance, to be a command. It’s telling us to “Press on.” Pressing on has a number of aspects that I would like to examine.

One aspect of “Pressing on” implies a degree of weariness.
Life is hard sometimes and it’s not that easy to take the next step. According to Chuck Swindoll, one of my favorite Bible teachers, “Growing weary is the consequence of many experiences – none of them bad, but all of them exhausting.”
We can be weary of fighting the enemy
2 Samuel 23:9-10 – (Eleazar) … one of the three mighty men … arose and struck the Philistines until his hand was weary and clung to the sword, and the LORD brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to strip the slain.
This one has been hitting me hard recently.
Many of you know that my sister died unexpectedly in March and that my family and I have been dealing with the aftermath ever since – and we will be dealing with it for the foreseen future. I’m really weary of that.
My extended family has dysfunctional way of handling relationships. I’ve been dealing with that for my nearly fifty years and trying to recover from it and be healed from its effects for the last 30 years. I’m really weary of that.
My extended family’s refusal to recognize God and the work He does in our lives. I am frequently being called on as the family’s “religious one” by those who don’t want to allow Jesus any involvement in their lives. I’m really weary of that.

We can be weary of criticism and persecution
Psalms 6:6-7 - I am weary with my sighing; Every night I make my bed swim, I dissolve my couch with my tears. My eye has wasted away with grief; It has become old because of all my adversaries.
Isn’t it interesting that if you’re a Christian and people around you know it, they tend to expect you to be just like Jesus. They don’t seem to need to hold themselves to the same standard, but the fact that you hold up a standard is reason enough for them to point out your every flaw.

This week I had a fellow worker approach me about a poster that I have hanging outside my cubicle. It’s a company poster promoting having “Courage in the face of change.” It’s a rhetorical way of saying, “We’re going to lay off a bunch of people – you may be one of them – but we want you to work hard and make us a lot of money any way.” I superimposed a verse from James on the poster. The verse says, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your strength produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

He told me that he had seen a quote on the internet. The quote said something like, “Some people say that faith can move mountains. … I don’t know about that, but I’ve seen what it can do to skyscrapers.”

I’m really weary of that. I responded well, but it’s really getting old.

We can be weary of waiting
Psalms 69:3 - I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched; My eyes fail while I wait for my God.
Have any of you ever asked Jesus, “How long before you come back? I’ve had enough. Surely you have, too.” If not waiting for Him to come and set things right, we all seem to be waiting for something “good” to happen that will change everything.
Waiting to win the lottery
Waiting to get that new, perfect job
Waiting to get that raise
Singles … Waiting for “The Right One” to come along
Couples … Waiting for your spouse to change that nasty habit
Parents … Waiting for your kids to change those nasty habits
Kids … Waiting for your parents to change those nasty habits
You get the idea

It seems as though I’m always waiting for something to change to make things just the way I think they ought to be.

We can be weary of studying and learning
Ecclesiastes 12:12 - But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.
This is more meaningful for students than for anyone else.
This one is a little harder for me to relate to since I have always loved learning and doing new things, but the idea is that there is no end to what can be learned. Even as much as I love learning, I would love to not have to wait for it. It would be nice to just know it all now.

God’s promise to the weary:
God promises something wonderful to those who are weary. He promises Himself”
Matthew 11:28-30 - Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
Hebrews 12:3 - For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Turning to Jesus when you get weary of the things life throws at you will give you new strength to press on.

Another aspect of “Pressing on” implies a motivation that seems to defy explanation.
This perspective of Pressing On is a little more Proactive than Reactive. Life can be full of meaning and motivation sometimes. Although we can never quite see the light at the end of the tunnel, we can sometimes get a taste of what things will be like once He returns to make things as they ought to be. In these cases, “pressing on to know him” can mean discovering new depths of God’s love in our lives.
We can be learning new things about
His joy and His peace
Philippians 1:2-11
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

His patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control
Each of these is good for another entire teaching by itself.

His power over circumstances
Matthew 8:23-27
When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing!" He said to them, "Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?" Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed, and said, "What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"

His power over sin and His power over death
I Corinthians 15:54-56
But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;

His ability to reconcile us to the Father
John 17:22-26
"The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. "Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. "O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."

His truth
John 8:31-32
So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

His freedom
Galatians 5:1
It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

I’m not telling anyone today that Hosea 6:3 is the answer to every issue that can ever come up in our walk with Jesus in this world. I AM saying that focusing on God’s word will have a profound effect on our lives. Whether its Jeremiah 33:3, Jeremiah 29:11, Lamentations 3:23, or John 11:35, focusing our thoughts, and faith on His word and His promises will always give us a fresh perspective on any circumstance than would seem to pull us down. That practice will cause changes in us that will give a clearer vision of Him. That has value in this world and the next.

Let’s pray.