What Are You Fishing For?
Faith Journey | Rev. Kenn Blanchard
What Are You Fishing For? Men pleasers- Ephesians 6:6 Not with eye service, as men pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; Gold/wealth- Matthew 23:17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? Treasures-Proverbs 10:2 - Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death. Lust of the flesh- Galatians 5:16 - This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. Earthly accolades, wealth, something of value, women, men, Luke 12:20 But God...
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You ought to ALWAYS pray. (Episode 6)
Faith Journey | Rev. Kenn Blanchard
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; The sin of not praying. Prayer is communication with God. Jesus told us to always pray. You can tell a spiritual contender from a pretender by their prayer. The Spirit knows spirit. There are people that stand up in church and start TALKING but they are not praying. There are people that in their minds they are praying but their words are not going further than a few feet in front of their mouths. How do you NOT do that? Watch ye therefore, and pray always,...
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5- Why are we never satisfied?
Faith Journey | Rev. Kenn Blanchard
Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit Ecc 6:9 KJV It is better to be happy with what you have than to always want more and more. Always wanting more and more is useless. It is like trying to catch the wind. Ecclesiastes 6:9 Proverbs 13:25 The righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul, But the stomach of the wicked shall be in want. Proverbs 27:20 Hell and Destruction are never full; So the eyes of man are never satisfied. What's the deal on the quesiton of the week? ...
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Christmas is Forgiving
Faith Journey | Rev. Kenn Blanchard
Please forgive the audio on this episode. Colossians 3:13 "Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive". For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.” For God so loved the world that He gave His only...
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Testimony and Trust
Faith Journey | Rev. Kenn Blanchard
Answer for last week['s quesiton of the week: John 3. This week the question of the week is: What is the relationship between Paul's teaching and James' teaching about faith and works? This week, I want to help the helpers. You that have a testimony. You that have worked in ministry and you that has a desire to do so. Take it from me, sometimes we fail as disciples of Christ because even though our hearts are in the right place, our mouth is not connected. We say the wrong thing. I am just trying to help someone on your faith...
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What Did Jonah Learn? Episode 2
Faith Journey | Rev. Kenn Blanchard
Mother Teresa said, be faithful in small things because it is in that your strength lies. You are listening to Faith Journey and I am your host Kenn Blanchard. I hope I didn’t shock you too much with our change last week. It was all of a sudden for some. Missed a few episodes and then BAM what happened? I know. Its like that sometimes. What did you miss? If you don’t know I can’t call it. This week, I want to talk about the journey of a prophet that didn’t want to go to a big city and give bad news. It was kinda like when you are doing the right...
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Changing the podcast name and more to Faith Journey Podcast
Faith Journey | Rev. Kenn Blanchard
the answer to last weeks question of the week was John 2. This weeks question is :where would you find the story of Nicodemus? Faith Journey Podcast A faith journey can involve: Connecting with God: Some say that scripture is a place to encounter God and grow your faith. Defining faith: Some say that you must walk your own path to determine what faith means to you. Expressing faith: Some say that faith can be expressed in many different ways. Learning about faith: Some say that it's important to understand the multiple meanings of faith,...
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Don’t quit till you win.
Faith Journey | Rev. Kenn Blanchard
Frederick Douglass is quoted as saying without struggle there is no progress. Question of the Week: Where would you find the story of Jesus turning water into wine? You know that to get muscles you have to stress out the muscles so that they grow. Our faith is like that too. You will not know that you have any faith until you have been tested with the portion God has given you. As your faith grows, so does your work outs. Or trials. We would like to stay as kids with a Childs problems and concerns but we all have to adult, we all have to grow. We all have to...
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Hope in God is Different
Faith Journey | Rev. Kenn Blanchard
What is hope? What is it not, biblically. Real hope. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:23). 2 Corinthians 3:12 Psalm 46:10 Proverbs 13:12 1 Thessalonians 4:13 1 Corinthians 13:13 Ephesians 2:12 Romans 15: 13 Thank you for your prayers. Praying for you too. We are going to make it. Kenn
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“Be careful how you are talking to yourself because you are listening.” ― Lisa M. Hayes
Faith Journey | Rev. Kenn Blanchard
A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion. “Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles” (Proverbs 21:23). Most of our slanderous remarks are not made to others’ faces but rather behind their backs. We need to set guiding principles in our life so we can guard our self from being unkind to others, even when speaking about them in private conversation. The Bible tells us, “Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, Him I will destroy; The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, Him I will not endure…. Let not a...
info_outlineThis is a test.
James 1: 2- My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into diversE temptations
1 Peter 1:7-That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
1 Thessalonians 2:4-But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.
Matthew 8:10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
2 Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Being tested by God has been misunderstood by many. It is clear in the scriptures that God does test us. However, God does not send sickness, disease, or calamity into our lives to test us. Those things steal, kill, and destroy. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who came to give us abundant life.
Being tested by God is a matter of the heart and for a specific purpose. Understanding why God tests us will empower us not only to endure the tests but find joy in them.
What Is Testing
Testing can feel like a negative thing. Have you ever been nervous to take a test in school? But testing isn’t designed to be negative.
How the Cambridge Dictionary defines test is:
1. A way of discovering, by questions or practical activities, what someone knows, or what someone or something can do or is like.
2. A medical examination of part of your body in order to find out how healthy it is or what is happening with it.
3. An act of using something to find out if it is working correctly or how effective it is.
4. A situation that shows how good something is.
How the Bible Defines Test
The Hebrew word translated as “test” in the Old Testament is bachan. It means to “examine, investigate, prove, scrutinize.” “Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the LORD tests the heart” (Proverbs 17:3, NLT).
The Greek word translated as “test” in the New Testament is dokimazo. It means to “put to the test, prove, examine, and, by implication, to approve.”
In 1 Thessalonians 2:4, it says, “On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts,” The same Greek word is used for both “approved” and “tests.”
Why We Fear Testing
When we are nervous to be tested it reveals something about us. Either we are unprepared, or we are unaware of what we know. When we’re unprepared we shrink back expecting to fail the test, and fear is a natural response when we’re uncertain of the outcome.
We fear to be tested because we fear a negative outcome, and/or are afraid of why God is doing the testing.
Why God Tests Us
The objective of testing is to discover the truth. In school, it’s to see if we’ve learned what has been taught. There are teachers who make tests exceptionally difficult trying to fail students, and there are those who delight in the success of their students.
God is love and wants us to succeed. When he tests us, he wants to see if our faith in him is real. If we fall short, he takes pleasure in teaching us so we can pass the next time. When our faith proves genuine, he can reward us.
Our faith in God is precious to him. The Bible puts it this way in 1 Peter 1:7,
Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed. They will show that you will be given praise and honor and glory when Jesus Christ returns (CEV).
These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed (NIV).
God tests us because he loves us dearly and wants us to grow in grace and in the knowledge of him. This is why the Bible tells us we can rejoice when being tested.
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:1-2, ESV).
God will bless you, if you don't give up when your faith is being tested. He will reward you with a glorious life, just as he rewards everyone who loves him (James 1:12, CEV).
What Does This Mean?
Being tested by God is simply part of the process of becoming more like him. The more we lean into him, the more grace he can pour on us.
How do you know your faith is being tested?
1. Change requires sacrifice –something must die
2. Fear of the unknown
3. Tempted to go back to Egypt
4. Lose your comfort
5. Flesh vs spirit.
How do we pass the test of faith?
1. Seek the Lords guidance
2. Be strong and be of good courage
3. Praise and worship
4. Remember God
5. Trust God
Giving Links
Thank you for listening, downloading and supporting the Speak Life Church and this podcast.
Zelle - [email protected]
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You can support the ministry by check or money order by sending it to Speak Life Church, 14713 Kent Drive, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
Rev. Kenn Blanchard
240-200-0713