Do You Believe? EP 357
Speak Life Church
Romans 10: 13 for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? 15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who [a]bring good news of good things!” Do you believe in God? Do you trust Him Have you confused traditions and our culture over faith in God? Then Change For believers, another way to think of it is...
info_outline
Do You Feel Like a Fake? - Ep 356
Speak Life Church
Imposter Syndrome When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. Matthew 16:13-17 Imposter syndrome...
info_outline
Watch Your Mouth - Episode 355
Speak Life Church
1 Thessalonians 5:18 Proverbs 18:21 James 3: 6-12 A curse is when you look out and judge current circumstances as they presently are. A blessing is when you view the same circumstance in the future, taking into consideration the passage of time and the insights it has brought you. While in this very moment, things may be sad or feel bad.
info_outline
Restoration - episode 354
Speak Life Church
Jeremiah 30:17: "But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds..." 1 Peter 5:10, 2 Chronicles 7:14, James 1:5 Restoration can be defined as the act of returning something to its former condition. Making something new again. Restoring can also make things better than their current state. The Bible says a lot about this. Our Heavenly Father's restoring power is one of the greatest promises from Scripture.
info_outline
You don’t want this smoke. (to be Called)
Speak Life Church
"For many are called, but few are chosen." 1. Mark 10:45"For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many"¹. 2. Galatians 5:13 - "For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another"¹. Many of us are Called but not to preach or pastor.
info_outline
Trusting God is a Process.
Speak Life Church
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you." John 15:16 KJV We all go through things that don't make sense: A friend walked out of a relationship. The company is downsizing. They don't need you anymore. Sometimes, it feels like we're going backward. It's easy to live frustrated and think, "God, why is this happening"? God's ways are not ours; He can see things we can't see. And just because it's unfair...
info_outline
351- El Shammah
Speak Life Church
The God that hears El Shammah Elohim Shama: The God Who Hears But He doesn't merely hear our words; He is also moved by the unvoiced groanings of our hearts (Romans 8:26) “God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.”–Exodus 2:24 Genesis Hagar and Ishmael 16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; 2 so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.” Abram agreed to...
info_outline
350 - Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.
Speak Life Church
Proverbs 16:3 Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established. Isaiah 55:8-9 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 16 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord. 2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits. 3 Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall...
info_outline
Luke 17:21 - The Kingdom of God... (episode 348)
Speak Life Church
What does the Kingdom of God is within you,mean? Beware of the worldview. love you, Kenn
info_outline
Stop Wasting Your Time
Speak Life Church
Proverbs 16:3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. Solomon said Psalm 127 1-2: Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. Ephesians 5:16-17 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be...
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