Didn't think I had anything to share - Episode 337
Speak Life Church
I thought I didn't have anything to share with you this week but I do. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 God is faithful. Prayer for you. Love you, Rev. Kenn Blanchard
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Put a little spring in your step
Speak Life Church
Spring revival Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. This means that our knowledge of men can no longer be based on their outward lives (indeed, even though we knew Christ as a man we do not know him like that any longer). For if a man is in Christ he becomes a new person altogether—the past is finished and gone, everything has become fresh and new. All this is God’s doing, for he has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ; and he has made us agents of the reconciliation. God was in...
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Are You Waiting for a Sign? (Episode 335)
Speak Life Church
Signs and Wonders. Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. - John 4:48 Supernatural Signs: The Bible narrative also includes supernatural events following Jesus’s death: Earthquakes: The ground shook, breaking open tombs (Matthew 27:51). Torn Veil: The veil in the temple tore from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51), signifying access to God through Jesus. Resurrection of Saints: Dead saints briefly returned to life, testifying further to Jesus’s divine identity3. Presence of false christs and false prophets (Matt. 24:5, 11)...
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Why Did He Come? (Episode 334)
Speak Life Church
Going heavy on this Resurrection Sunday. Why did He come? For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Luke 19:10 A challenge to do better. J.O.Y. Great Commission: Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Greatest Commandments: But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the...
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He Sees You. (ep. 333)
Speak Life Church
El Roi. God sees what you have overcome and dealing with still. He loves you. Psalm 56:8, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” (NLT) Proverbs 15:3, “The LORD is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good.” (NLT) After Lot had gone, the Lord said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction—north and south, east and west.15 I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession.16...
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Thou Shalt Not Kill?
Speak Life Church
God says, “You shall not kill,” but He kills. Does He contradict Himself? No.
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Don't Cuss (episode 331)
Speak Life Church
Exodus 20:7 speaks about cursing God. (Don't do it) But what about our language to everyone else? 7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. We honor God’s name (v. 7). The command to not take God’s name in vain is more than simply a prohibition of cursing Him. Profanity not only reflects a heart darkened with hate, but it shows an utter disrespect for a holy God. The commandment also means that we are not to take God’s name and talk in a way that dishonors us as His reps....
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Put Jehovah First
Speak Life Church
Exodus 20: 3-6 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Watch out there now. Love you,...
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A look at the Book of Job (episode 329)
Speak Life Church
Giving Links Thank you for listening, downloading and supporting the Speak Life Church and this podcast. Zelle - [email protected] 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 202-437-1972
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There is no normal life, it’s just life.
Speak Life Church
“There's no normal life Wyatt, It's just life. Get on with it.” ― Val Kilmer as "Doc" Holliday To give them hope, dig them out of a funk or to help them heal from some shame or regret they may be experiencing. You cannot ever judge someones journey and experiences against another's for no two are exactly the same from conception to death. So stop looking to the next guy to gauge what you have or where you are in life because you can't compare the two as they are not the same things. There is no normal life, there's just life. the Bible reminds us that all...
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]
https://www.patreon.com/speaklifechurchpodcast
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