Faith Journey | Rev. Kenn Blanchard
New King James Version John 16 33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you []will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
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james 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. But as for me, it is good to draw near to God. I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may proclaim all Your works. let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. / Let the wicked man forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him...
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Matthew 14 Romans 12:15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Grieve with those who grieve” is a phrase from the Bible, Romans 12:15, which encourages Christians to be compassionate and share the grief of others. Grief is a very personal and complex emotion, and there's no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. However, here are some things to keep in mind that may help you continue to do good while you are grieving: Acknowledge your grief. It's important to allow yourself to feel your emotions and to grieve in your own way. Don't try to...
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Ephesians 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; An intentional Christian is someone who lives their life with purpose, in accordance with God's will, and with a focus on growing closer to God. This involves putting God at the center of their actions, and being intentional with their emotions and time.
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This is pt 2 of the series entitled the struggle is real. Ephesians 6:12 says For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Trusting the gospel: Christians may struggle to trust in the gospel and the promises of God.
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Episode 8 begins series that I will be sharing about the struggles we Christians face. You might be perfect and don’t have any of the problems, issues or challenges that I am going to talk about, but maybe someone close to you does, and then with this new understanding you will be able to minister to them. Christians face a variety of challenges, including maintaining their faith, dealing with sin, and coping with change. Part one: Maintaining your faith.
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Is your faith dead? What would you call a dead church? What is a church? What does God say about a dead church. Revelation 3:1. And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. A church building might be considered dead if it is abandoned or unused. Signs of a dead church* Decreased attendance: The number of people attending services consistently decreases Decreased tithes: The amount of money given in tithes...
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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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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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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? ...
info_outline- 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 thing and finally got your act together and the Lord wants you to testify, witness, preach, sing, visit, feed, basically work. And sometimes, you haven’t got yourself together yet, you are waiting for something and the Lord says move. You second guess Him. You pretend you didn’t hear Him. You hope you didn’t hear Him. You even convince yourself you didn’t hear HIM.
In your Faith journey your mileage may vary. God however does not change. He is the real deal. The only consistency in our lives. His values don’t change with the culture. He doesn’t deviate from his nature, His Word, or His Will for us.
At the time of the release of this episode I am Missouri. I got the opportunity to preach in at Union Grove Freewill Baptist Church in Norwood, Missouri. I believe I was sent there. I will find out why when I am there. How I got there was as sudden as the change of this podcast.
More on that later.
- The question of the week is Where would you find the story of Nicodemus?
- And the answer to last weeks question for those that found it in the show notes is John 2. I missed saying it on last weeks episode but posted it in the show notes. Ah haaaa. Bonus points if you saw it there.
Get your bible and find the Old Testament book of Jonah. While I was studying this minor prophet’s journey, I pictured that he was swallowed by a Grouper. They are pretty big fish that can gulp down their prey and 2000 years ago, it was probably as large as minivan.
The big city that Jonah had to go to was called Nineveh. It was somewhere near Mosul, in modern day Iraq.
This story is interesting. In far more ways that the fish story. Jonah, first didn’t want to go, then he basically wanted to commit suicide, the Lord wasn’t having it, then he got his mind right, did what he was supposed to do and then got mad at God when the people did right. He was hoping they would not and get destroyed. He wanted God to still slap them. I see a lot of Jonah in other people. But it doesn’t end there. God had to still talk to Jonah like a spoiled child later and show him something.
Jonah’s journey was more than spending three days and nights in the belly of great fish. Your journey is bigger than the predicament you are in. your situation, your sin, your short coming, your frustrations. God is not finished with you yet. IF He didn’t quit on you, why are you selling yourself short? Why are you giving up? Why are you settling? Why have you stopped praying? Why have you stopped believing in faith?
Voltaire said faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.
- Prayer
- Bad music.
- Love you,
Kenn