BroKen & Believing | Rev. Kenn Blanchard

GUARD YOUR HEART

Protecting Your Peace Without Losing Your Love

Scripture: Proverbs 4:23 (KJV)

"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."

Supporting Scriptures: Philippians 4:6–8; Matthew 15:18–19; Romans 12:18; Ephesians 4:31–32; Luke 6:45

Sermon Theme: You cannot always control what enters your life, but with God's help, you can guard what takes residence in your heart.

introducing something for the men: The Man Ahead. email me if you are interested.

David says in Psalm 31:7: "You have seen my affliction; You have known the troubles of my soul."

"This message is about me, myself, and I AM.

Me — the man people think they know.

Myself — the battles nobody sees.

And I AM — the God who steps into both."

Because sometimes a man sits in a quiet room and says,

"Feels like I did this before."

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding." — Proverbs 3:5

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." — Psalm 119:105

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go." — Psalm 32:8

"For I am the Lord, I do not change." — Malachi 3:6

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." — Psalm 46:1

kennspodcast.com

When God sets you apart, He is not isolating you — He is initiating you.

Scripture shows that God does His deepest work in people when He gets them alone on purpose.

Takeaway: God does not rush His work, and He never abandons His people. The same hand that allows a season of struggle is the hand that lifts you in due time.

• 1 Peter 5:6 — "Humble yourselves… that He may exalt you in due time."

• Galatians 6:9 — "In due time we will reap, if we do not give up."

In the Bible, "other gods" refers to anything—spiritual, cultural, or man‑made—that people treat as divine, trust as ultimate, or obey as if it has the authority of God.

Every generation thinks idolatry is ancient history—stone statues, carved poles, temples in far‑off lands. But the Bible is wiser than we are. It knows the human heart never stops creating gods. Not with chisels and hammers, but with desires, fears, and misplaced trust.

When God says, "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3), He isn't just talking about Baal, Molech, or Asherah. He's talking about the subtle rivals that creep into our lives today.

This sermon explores what the Bible means by other gods—and how God calls us back to Himself.

The God who sees, slows, redirects, and teaches:

• Genesis 16:13 — El Roi, the God who sees

• Deuteronomy 8:2 — God leads the long way to teach

• Psalm 23 — He slows you to restore you

• Proverbs 16:9 — God directs your steps

• Psalm 37:23 — Ordered steps, not rushed steps

The World Is Loud, but Grace Is Stronger

Negativity has a way of filling the air like static.

It's on the news, in conversations, in the quiet corners of our own minds.

But the believer's hope is not built on the world's volume —

it's built on God's character.

Staying positive is not pretending everything is fine.

It's remembering Who holds you when everything is shaking.

Grace is not just a doctrine.

Grace is oxygen for the soul.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." — 2 Corinthians 12:9

The heart of this message is simple but sharp: the Christ you display publicly must match the Christ you embody privately. Jesus warned that some will say, "But didn't I heal in Your name?" and He will answer, "Away from Me… I never knew you."

The danger isn't in failing publicly — it's in performing publicly while failing privately.

Matthew 7:22–23

Family, if you live long enough, you learn something:

Life does not move in a straight line.

It moves in cycles — emotional cycles, spiritual cycles, generational cycles, historical cycles.

Solomon looked at the world and said:

"Generations come and generations go… the sun rises and the sun sets… the wind blows… the streams flow… what has been will be again." (Ecclesiastes 1:4‑9)

He wasn't being cynical.

He was being honest.

He was telling us that life repeats itself — and if we don't understand the cycles, we will misinterpret the seasons.

Some of you are in a season right now that feels unfamiliar, but it's not.

It's part of the rhythm of being human.

And God, in His wisdom, teaches us how to live inside the cycle without losing hope.