My First Awesome Sermon

Shalom, it is an honor to be speaking to you today! I wouldn’t be up here right now if it was not for God Bringing me here to you 3 years ago on a Wednesday night in the parking lot. I wouldn’t be up here if it Wasn’t for David St. Martin baptizing me at Delano Bay. I wouldn’t be up here if it wasn’t for Arlene Crow handing me the book The 7 habits of highly Effective people and telling me “if I don’t see you Preaching between now and 20 years we have a Problem” something like that I can’t remember exactly What she said. I wouldn’t be up here if it wasn’t for Mark Gilman saying “Hutch I can see you on CNN, You need to have a brand name” I thought he was joking at First and maybe he is still but I took it Serious. These past four months I have been on this Positive self confidant streak it has been totally awesome! I got great positive feedback with the Hutch Tribune which got this whole Encouragement cycle going. I wouldn’t be nation wide if it wasn’t for Rhea and Michele Griffith saying I Should have a blog. You get where I’m going with this…We influence One another! , we encourage one Another! “As Iron sharpens Iron so one man sharpens another” That Comes from Proverbs 27:17.

Let’s go for a walk together.
I don’t care who you are, where you come from, your education background, your position in the workforce. You can’t make it in this life without God, family, friends and prayer. There is no way, if someone can prove me wrong I would like to hear about it. But I have proof that these 4 work, I lived it. Galatians 6:2 says this “Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ”.
I looked up burdens in the dictionary to be a official and it says a source of great worry or stress. February of last year. I went to truck driving school it was a 6 month course. When the 6 month came around it was time for my test. It was a bright Saturday morning I was sitting in my truck I was all alone in a vast open parking lot waiting for the instructor to show up. I was so nervous I could feel my truck shaking. The test was made up of 3 parts, pre trip inspection, the driving test, and backing. If I failed at any one of these I had to take the whole test over. I failed the pre trip inspection I was doing well until I got in the cab and messed up on my air brakes. I had to get a 100 percent on this. I called my parking brake my trailer brake I got my colors messed up… stupid red button. I had to wait another week. I wasn’t a happy camper that day. I told myself I’m giving up. Thursday came along and I went to Bob and Theresa’s for bible study. No one showed up it was just Bob and I. It was a good conversation between friends. I told him can we pray for my test on Saturday. I felt better after we prayed. When I was driving home that night I was motivated, I looked back on my life on how I got to school in the first place. I landed a 5000 dollar scholarship working for the Washington State Conversation Corps for a year. I was put on a crew of 6 working for the Olympic National Park in the mountains. I wanted to quit during the first 3 months but I stuck with it. In the end it taught me character, a better work ethic and what the American Dream is. I worked in the snow, rain, and hiked long miles, almost cut my foot off with a chainsaw. I almost went falling off a mountain, and a tree in Texas. I got lost for 11 hours in the mountains with nothing on me. I was thinking about all of this and I was going to give up just for naming a button wrong. On top of that I might have had to wait until July subtract 5 months from July you get February for you college people.



When I got home I sent out an email for prayers. I showed up Saturday and aced my test. When I felt my license in my hand it was one the coolest days of my life!
At the beginning of this month I took my HAZMAT endorsement for my CDL. In my opinion it is the most intense out of all the other endorsements. There is a lot of boring stuff that I had to study. I finally got focused after putting it off for almost 8 months. I studied everyday for a week and prayed to my Maker. Thursday night I sent out a prayer request for more support for my test. I showed up Sat morning confidant, with a positive attitude and aced it. When I was studying and when I was at work I got my self motivated, I pictured in my mind me passing my HAZMAT and driving a tanker. The test was easy, it was not that hard, actually it was common sense. Almost every question repeated itself. Positive attitude and positive thinking along with God and friends does go along way.
Mark told me that church is like a hospital for our spiritual health I never thought it like that. That’s awesome. These past 3 years I have learned what friendship is all about. I don’t come from a Christian family you guys are my family. Families stick together. It says in Proverbs 28:13. “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” I was living and telling you a lie for the past 3 years. Most of you know of my confession I’m not going to repeat it because I’m still not at peace with myself. It was eating my soul and I was tired of running. The night before my confession I was having a war with my conscious. I’m going to be talking in the third person I’m not a skitsofrentic. The good Hutch and the bad Hutch were trading jabs. The good Hutch was saying their not going to stone you. I think that they wouldn’t be that upset. Then the bad Hutch started talking mess you need to find another church or leave town. I was looking online at churches… I was a moron. Then the good Hutch said if they are truly your friends they would show compassion and not leave you. So I wrote my confession and went to sleep. I rolled up to church turned my engine off and sat their for a couple of minutes. The Hutch’s were still fighting, the bad Hutch said “you can leave now, or don’t say anything and pretend nothing happen”. I looked out my window and stared at our church steeple the sun was reflecting its rays off of it. I told myself I’m going for it. I got out and walked slowly I handed my note to Mark. Then I broke down in front of a couple of guys. I came back in sat between Bob and Dee my “grandparents”. As Mark was reading my confession I held onto Dees hand actually I think I was squeezing it. I was waiting for people to start jumping like monkeys and start tossing chairs around. They didn’t they gave me hugs. They never left.

I believe it’s a good idea to share goals with your friends and family. I found out that Goals means Godly objectives assure lasting success. In January I read this book called Over The Top by Zig Ziglar. It changed my life. It got me more motivated at my faith, work and relationships. Basically it was the groundwork for the Hutch Tribune. It talks about being content in what you have. It defines what you think about success not a worldly one. It talks about helping and encouraging people. In January I told my fellowship group and other people that I was going to quit drinking. That I was taking a break. When I say drinking I mean partying. I still have a beer once in awhile. I quit hanging out with my friends who were partying. People checked up on me and asked me how I was doing. They encouraged me. I found out that achieving goals is hard but it is also easy if you have support. Anyways that month I had no alcohol. God, the spirit took over my body, and every thing changed. This wave of positive self confidant energy came over me. I have been riding it ever since. There are days that I stumble and I get negative vibes. God has been blessing me. I got offered a promotion at my work but I turned it down because I would have to transfer stores and I like working with the crew I have now. Plus I’m not going to be at West Bay forever. I moved into a bigger place, I’m no longer living in a 25 foot villa on wheels. I can walk to my bathroom. I have cool friends, an awesome family, clothes on my back and a meal to eat every night. I believe that when I changed things changed for the better. A lot of doors have been opening and God willing I’m looking for the journey ahead.

I will leave you with this awesome poem.

We need each other...
In times of private pain, of fear and stress

We need each other...
to share our joys, our times of happiness

We need each other...
to hold on and be strong, and encourage when things are going wrong

We need each other...
to keep the faith and love, and remind each other of all the things we're dreaming of

We need each other... now and always.
Thank you God Bless you I love you.