Listen And Obey

Listen & Obey - Character

Jenn Johnson

Ron (Jenn’s father) shares his journey of raising his family & encountering God.

If you are a parent, do you know where your children are headed?
* Ron met Jenn’s mom at a private Christian boarding school for high school in Oregon.
* Ron committed his heart to God during high school.
* They waited 7 years to start having kids, Jenn was the first.
* At home & church he felt like one kind of man, but at work, he was very different.
* Ron was riding the fence about really pursuing God.

Ron went out to go fishing one day and it changed his life.
* He was going fishing instead of church. As he drove God spoke clearly and plainly to him;
* “Ron what are you doing? I’ve got a lot invested in you. I have a big plan for you.”
* “Turn around and go home, get your wife and baby, and take them to church.”
* God told him to share with the whole church what He had been doing that wasn’t right.
* God used him to create safety for others who weren’t living right to change too.

Chase after the beat of God’s heart, wherever it is pulling you.
* Ron felt that “drumbeat” when they first visited Bethel.
* Judy Franklin inspired Ron to be open to the things of the Holy Spirit.
* God woke Ron up in the middle of the night & told him to move to Redding.
* This was a sacrifice for Ron: he loved the woods & owned land for the future there.
* It was a huge decision to quit his job with his brother.
* Ron was on staff from 2002–2006 in 1st year at Bethel Supernatural School of Ministry.
* Ron & his wife attended Bethel Supernatural School of Ministry the second year it existed.

Jenn shares her convictions about family, life with God, & ministry.

Listen and obey God’s voice over your life.
* One life choice can change everything.
* Decisions to do or not do something can alter your life and others that follow you.
* Don’t live your life for other people, but know they are watching your life.

Your life reflects the nature of God to other people. * We need to take our character seriously.
* God knows every detail of your life.
* You are accountable for the attitudes of your heart.

Character & integrity are of the highest importance.
* His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22–24).
* You have an invitation to set a standard of holiness.
* Take every emotion, action, attitude and thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Your actions represent your leaders & represent your family.
* Dr. Robbie Sonderegger offers a well of resources related to this.
* His job at one time was to teach the Royal Family in England to ski.
* One of them refused to ride the ski lift because he would fall & that would be dishonoring.
* At a very young age, he was aware of what his life reflected.

Take every action in accountability to God.
* Bill Johnson gives a good illustration of living life hosting God:
* How would you move, speak, or act if you had a dove on your shoulder (the Holy Spirit)?
* How would your attitudes & behavior change?
* What is your life like when no one is watching?
* Bethel’s worship community doesn’t put rules on their people.
* They go after the heart of their leaders.
* There is a sobering element to freedom and fun.

God has to tell you what is wrong or right for you.
* Other people can’t tell you where to stand on different choices.
* God told Jenn to look up the “grey scale.”
* The Grey Scale is “the color spectrum between white to black."
* Everything in between is a shade of grey.

Learn to rely on your personal relationship with the Holy Spirit to help you make choices.
* Colors on the grey scale are defined by how the light shines through it.
* All these shades of grey whether they are right or wrong, are determined by how I shine through.
* You need to hear from the Holy Spirit personally on small and large decisions.
* Sometimes simply telling you what to do is the easy way out & removes the need for relationship.

Present every decision and every choice before Him about what to do.
* Become accustomed to asking the Holy Spirit about everything until His mind becomes yours.
* Your experience of God’s presence changes when you still ask him even though He’s given you freedom or permission.
* Honor your leaders if they have certain requests of you.
* If you disagree, either bless them & bow out or honor them and stay there.

God doesn’t see us through time, He looks at your whole life.
* Jenn doesn’t remember when her kids make mistakes.
* She remembers how they clean up their mess & make an effort to restore.
* Even if you have fallen many times & gotten back up, He sees you with love.
* “Put people in your life that will come after you in Love when you are struggling or not at your best.”
* “Can I reach into your life & pull out "Truth" for you to see and be reminded of?”

Jenn & Ron’s prayer for you:
We anticipate what You have for us God, grow our longing for you. Cause hearts & ears to be wide open to you God. Deposit strength into people’s hearts about what you are working for the better, for the good. Bless the re-calibrating that is happening in people’s hearts during this school. Speak clearly God, mold us & craft us to know we carry you and represent.