Ep 140: Walking Worthy - How Your Life Should Balance With Your Faith

"Have you ever wondered if your faith journey has produced visible evidence of transformation? Would there be enough evidence to "convict" you of being a Christian if your life was put on trial? We will explore this today!"

Pastor Teddy, a.k.a. Fred D. Kenney, Jr., explores the concept of authentic faith and what it means to "walk worthy" of our calling as Christians. Drawing from personal experiences and Scripture, he challenges listeners to examine whether their lives show evidence of spiritual transformation or merely religious formality.

• Upcoming "harvest tour" with performances scheduled throughout the Northeast including Virginia, DC area, New York and New Jersey
• Story of how Reverend Mike Morgan from Shiloh Baptist Church provided spiritual guidance about fasting at a crucial time
• Announcement of Louise Cole's presentation on family stewardship at Shiloh Baptist Church
• Exploration of Ephesians' teaching on walking worthily of our calling in Christ
• Discussion about how many people claim Christianity without showing evidence of transformation
• Examination of what it means to be God's "workmanship" (poíēma; ποίημα; poy'-ay-mah) and how our lives should reflect His ongoing work

The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. ~ Numbers 6:24-26

Event at Shiloh Baptist Church, Manasquan, NJ

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Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Plays on Word Radio
• 2:09 Upcoming Harvest Tour Announcement
• 3:42 Pastor Mike and the Power of Fasting
• 10:18 Shiloh Baptist Event and Early Days
• 17:42 Louise Cole's Financial Stewardship Talk
• 22:16 Walking Worthy: Evidence of Faith
• 27:13 Final Thoughts and Benediction

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:00

Lord, you know! You now listen to the mess is the mess. I was having a hard time. He was working for uh UPS. And he wasn't pressing a travel at the time, but he was working for UPS. And I was having a hard time. And um he didn't know it. He didn't even know what I was dealing with. And he just he rumbled up to me in his UPS truck and just said, brother, you you need to you need to be fast. And then he kind of tried, X, and welcome to Plays on the World Radio.

SPEAKER_00: 1:07

Thank you for joining us on the 630 today. Let's join Pastor Teddy, also known as Fred David Kenny Jr., the founder of Plays on the Word Theater, as he gets a deep dive into the Word of God.

SPEAKER_01: 1:17

Amen. Amen, amen. Thank you very much, Mr. Josh Taylor and Katie Kenny. Thank you for that intro. Welcome to all of you listening to Plays on Word Radio. We are moving right along. We will be in the Northeast, and I don't know, is Virginia considered the Northeast? It's kind of like mid-Atlantic. We have some plays coming up in the Virginia, DC area. Then we will be heading back up to New York State near Albany. And we will also be in New Jersey for some plays. Our fall tour, I guess you could call it. Our harvest tour. I might have to get my graphics department to create a graphic for that, our harvest department. I mean, not our harvest, our graphic department to make a harvest graphic. I will see if I can reach out to the uh concierge uh there at that at the graphics building where we have um all our graphic designers and artists. Uh they have their own building, their own campus. And of course, most of you know that I'm fibbing right now. Please forgive me. Those of you that don't know, well, forgive me. The biggest forgiveness I need is probably for my wife. She's like, what are you talking about? Yes, my wife is the graphics department. Uh, among other departments, other hats that she wears. That if she did not wear those hats, I don't think I'd be doing what I'm doing. Or be able to do what I'm doing. So I thank God for my wife, a godly wife that God has given me. And please pray for her. She does a lot of work. Okay, so uh one of the places that plays on where it goes way back to is Shiloh Baptist in Manasquan, New Jersey, where the good Reverend Michael Morgan, oh help me, Holy Ghost, my brother. That's right. The good Reverend Mike, man, this guy is like my spiritual brother, man. This guy is like, I mean, we go back, and um man, I can't tell you how important this guy is just to my overall walk in Christ. One time I was having a hard time, and he was working for uh UPS, also pastoring, but he was working for UPS, and he wasn't pastoring Shiloh at the time, but he was working for UPS. I was having a hard time, man. And uh he didn't know it, he didn't even know what I was dealing with, and he just he rolled up to me in his UPS truck and and just said, brother, God shared with me, you you need to you need to be fasting, and then he kind of drove off. I was like, what do you know what though? He was right, he was right because the the the amount of power that the flesh had over me at that time was unacceptable for a believer in Christ. I'd get angry if I was hungry, uh, and you know, I just stupid things like the flesh wanted what it wanted. And the discipline of fasting is so important, like the discipline that you when you lock your your desires down, your desire for food, and that's a pretty powerful desire. When you lock that down, man, and and you submit that will to God and say, you know what? I know what my flesh wants, but I don't care what my flesh wants. The spirit man's in charge today. I'm pursuing God, and you eat the word of God. Man, that's something special to that. Well, anyway, Mike, Mike would fast on Tuesdays and Thursdays while doing his route for UPS. How crazy is that? Some of you guys don't know. You might be like, oh, what's the big deal? Let me tell you something, man. This is like straight marathon. These dudes are athletes, these guys are pro-athletes, these UPS guys. And the and even the FedEx guys, too. You can even throw the male people up in there a little bit. But really, the UPS, if you don't believe what I'm saying, it's coming up. You just watch outside from uh middle of November to the end of December or to December 25th. Just you just make a note. Make a note. You'll you will notice that many of the UPS trucks that you're gonna see all of a sudden have two people in them. Yeah. Because it's the these dudes are non-stop with the stuff they're moving. And now with people ordering stuff from Amazon and nobody even goes to the store anymore, it's just the DoorDash and all that other stuff. Uh well, DoorDash isn't the same, but people just you know ordering, ordering things from Amazon, you could order everything from Amazon, everything, and guess where that it comes from comes through Amazon's drivers too, now because UPS was so overloaded. But it back when Mike was doing his thing, it was him, it was just UPS. So, anyway, I say this. We're gonna be at uh listen to me, we're gonna be at uh my dear brother Mike Morgan at Shiloh Baptist Church in Manasquan. I'm gonna say it again, Shiloh Baptist Church in Manasquan on Saturday, the 27th of September this month here, which is coming up. Well, I I should say it's actually tomorrow. Listen to me. Tomorrow, and I'm just getting the exact time, tomorrow there at 11 a.m. Uh they're they're gonna have a breakfast at in the sanctuary. Uh well, they're gonna have a breakfast there, 11 a.m. And then at 12 noon, tomorrow, Saturday, they're gonna have a 45-minute to an hour program that is hosted by another dear saint, Louise Cole. Now, it's interesting, Mike, the good Reverend Mike from Shiloh Baptist Church in Manisquan, help me, Holy Ghost. Mike is a supporter of plays on word. He is one of the he's one of the original supporters. In fact, the very first play we did was at an event that Mike Morgan hosted, and Mike basically ran it. It was uh First Friday, but it was actually even before it was called First Friday. We just got together on Fridays, and we were meeting down in Joe Santucci's the basement where uh Hope Community Church, the good Reverend Santucci, my dear brother. Hello, Joe, if you're listening. Uh, Joe Santucci, uh, he he let us use the basement, the the um, you know, where they met, where where his church meets. And on Fridays, he let us get go down there. We and so a bunch of different churches met down there. Anyway, many of you heard the story, but I'm telling it again, just for those that might not have heard it. I the Lord put on my heart what you know that to do this play. I didn't know what it was gonna be like or what how it was gonna come out. And I went to Mike, I said, Mike, man, God put something on my heart, man. Um, I got this, like, I don't know how to describe it, man. I don't even know what to say. It is. Uh, it's it's a it's like a drama presentation. And Mike said to me, I'll never forget, brother. Anything you need, you got it. That's the exactly how he said it. Anything you need. And I said, Well, he said, you can you could take the whole night if you want. And I looked at him, I said, it might take the whole night, man. I yeah, it's uh and you should have seen his face after the after I did the play there. He was trying to pro he said, What did I just see? You gotta know Mike, man. He was scratching his head, scratching his eyes, going, What what what what just happened? He was so blown away and amazed by uh the Genesis Joe play that we did. Even the the drummer Andy who played with me, Andy Puzicki, my man Andy, he uh he was like, yo man, you had snot coming out your nose, eyes, water, and you were those are real tears. He was like, he was blown away. He didn't know what to expect. He just knew he just knew the music, the songs, because I rehearsed with him on it, but I didn't tell him what I was gonna do. So he was like, What? What did I just say? Everybody was just like, What did I just see? My man Eddie Marichanian. What's up, Ed? He came up to me. He said, Yo, hey man. He didn't say yo. Ed's a very refined, um, uh a very refined lawyer, a very refined counselor, I should say, yes. And if anyone, let's do a free ad for Ed. If anyone um is in need of legal services, um, contact the law offices of Edward V. Merichanian, 74 Brick Boulevard, suite 112 in Brick, New Jersey, and the number is 732-477-3030. 732-477-3030. Ed Merichanian, a dear brother of mine, and on top of that, he's besides being a Christian, okay, and a guy that loves Jesus, and a redeemed saint, who we're gonna spend eternity with. I don't think he's gonna, I don't think he's gonna have a law office in eternity, but you never know. Um, he's a dear brother, uh, he's a good lawyer too. So, yeah. Tell him uh plays on word sent you, okay? So reach out to him. I I can't all I can't guarantee a discount because uh legally my lawyer tells me that uh if I do that, then I'll be in trouble. So and ironically, Eddie, Edd is my lawyer. So um anyway, Eddie came up to me. This is the long version. Ed came up to me after, and he was like, Man, this um this was incredible. I could see this on Broadway. This should be you you should be on Broadway. And let me tell you something. Ed came out, Jim McCombs came out, he um he's a dear brother also, and we didn't have a large crowd, it was a small group of people, maybe 14, 15 people, that came out. Uh Joe Gradzel came out, and um and it was a small group of people that came out because it was like 11 degrees outside, man. It was January 4th, I think. Third or fourth, it was a Friday of 2004. Wait, is it 2004? No, 2014, sorry, I'm 10 years off. Okay, 2014. It was um yeah, January 4th or 3rd. It was a Friday. I want to say the fourth. And yeah, he came out. So bottom line is you know, we're Mike goes way back, Ed goes way back, and so Louise is gonna be doing a presentation at Shiloh, and her presentation, we're gonna talk about it on an upcoming podcast, but you know, if you're in the Matasquan, Briel, Point Pleasant, Brick, um anywhere, Jersey Shore-ish area, Tom's River, Neptune, um uh Leonardo, uh, anywhere, yeah, basically anywhere in New Jersey. Hey, I'm traveling all the way up the East Coast, so traveling's not that not that big of a deal. You should roll out to this. And what is it? Well, what is it, Pastor? What is it? What are you talking about? Well, Louise Cole is presenting a book by Rod Zeb. Okay, so Louise Cole, she is a financial certified financial advisor. Certified, yes, she's legit. She's not like, you know, if if I told you I was a financial advisor, um I would be suspect, but she is the real deal. And she's presenting this book and this uh, I don't want to call it a seminar, but she's giving a talk basically on family uh stewardship. Okay, now just hear me out. Listen to this quote: family stewardship delivers exactly what families, comma, churches, and people of faith have been looking for practical, proven, Christ-centered instruction that will help them grow stronger today and stay that way for generations. And the idea is um, as far as uh some of the things I guess she's going to be talking about, because I have not seen this exact presentation, but I have talked at length to Louise about this topic and she's passionate about it. Um, as long as historical records have been kept, 90% of families have failed when it comes to passing what matters most to them to succeeding generations. To thrive across generations, family must families must create an internal culture of communication, trust, and mentoring. For Christians, the process of creating that culture begins with the development of a common Christ-centered vision. And um, she's gonna talk about and and map out a path for families to follow on the journey. And you know, hey, let me tell you something. When God prospers people, he's prospered. I know many people that he has prospered that have gone on to help and assist ministries, plays on word is one of them that has benefited from people that have been wise with what God has given them. So, yeah, and this is free. So, I mean, come on now. She's not charging for this. This, this, I don't want to call it a seminar, but this this um presentation. So if you can go to it, you just you really should go out to it, man. They're gonna have food at 11 a.m. and then at 12 noon, uh Louise will be in the sanctuary at Shiloh. And hey man, I don't know anywhere you could go and get free financial advice. Like free financial advice from an actual financial advisor. You know, no strings attached here. So go check it out. I just wanted to, this is not supposed to be a commercial, a whole commercial for that. We did one for Eddie Marichanian, but Louise Cole is a dear sister. Um, she is a also one of the supporters of plays on word. She's helped to make many of the um the opportunities that we have the touring opportunities, everything. She has uh her and her husband Bill have uh been supporters for a long time, where they, you know, a lot of you have seen plays, and we have been at events that they have come out to and manned the table and been part of. Absolutely, and Bill's uh even played on the worship side of things with uh our Christmas Joe play. Bill plays guitar, and um, so yeah. Anyway, I just wanted to share that with you guys. I wanted to also share something with you that has kind of been on my heart before we head up to on our Northeast tour. We're really looking forward to it, and we'll report back. God willing, we'll I will I look forward to reporting back. But I was having a conversation with some folks from my church. We do a Wednesday morning fellowship, coffee fellowship, and you are more than welcome to join us if you want. You just have to drive to North Carolina to come be part of it. But there's an open invitation if you want to come. It's at Crossroads Gathering Place in Oak Island, New Jersey. Uh well, not did I say that? Oak Island, North Carolina. Ay, ay, yay. And um, yeah, I'm gonna get messages. I know, I know, I know. You're all everybody's texting me right now. You said okay, okay, I corrected it. Thank you. You can still text me though. It'll bless my heart and let me know you're listening. Um, but yeah, we talk about all kinds of things, and we were talking yesterday about people that you know make a uh say a prayer to become a Christian, but after a long period of time, is there's no fruit unto repentance. There's no no fruit that is evidence um I forget who it was who said asked a question, but you know, people that say they're that they're a Christian, is there enough evidence to convict you of being a Christian? Evidence in your life of being a Christian? Is there an ev is there evidence of change? Is there evidence of becoming more and more like Christ, more like Jesus? And that's a pretty heavy question, pretty heavy thing. And one of the problems is, you know, there have been people, uh, you know, well-meaning Sunday school teachers, ask a kid ask a group of kids, who wants to be, who wants to be, who wants to go to heaven? And so, you know, what kid's not gonna raise his hand to that? Well, just say this prayer with me. You know, and so they say this prayer, Jesus, please come into my life and uh fill me with your Holy Spirit. And um, and amen. And then they go through their whole life thinking that they're good, right? But there's there's no evidence, there's no desire for the word of God, there's no desire for the things of God. There's just there's this, I got my insurance policy punched, I got my ticket punched, type thing, because I just said this prayer. But there's no I gotta get real here, there's no relationship, there's no evidence of a relationship in in your in that person's life. So over and over the scripture encourages us as believers to walk by walk in the spirit, you know. Don't don't walk in the flesh, we don't wage war according to the flesh. Paul says in Galatians 5, he says, walk by the spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Doesn't mean you're not gonna make mistakes, you know. In Ephesians, uh Paul says in in Ephesians 2, he says, You once walked following the course of this, and he's not talking about just putting one foot in front of the other and just a locomotion type thing. No, this is more than that. This is this is lived, desired. You once walked following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air and the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. Um in in the same chapter in Ephesians, Paul says, talking about God, we are his workmanship. Uh I believe in in the Greek, I believe it's poema. It's where the where we get our word poem, poetry. We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. That word that is used for walk over and over. It's in Philippians, it's in Ephesians, uh parapeteo in the Greek, right? This word it's it's often used in, especially in Ephesians, with another word, axios, which means worthily, walk worthily, uh or a manner worthy. Uh he says that in Ephesians 4. He says, Therefore, a prisoner of the Lord, uh, as a prisoner of the Lord, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy, axios, of the calling. Meaning, and that's where we get our our word axis from, kind of the the idea of like an uh an equal sign, or with it with the scales, right? Um, like when they weigh things, the measurement scales, uh, the center being the the axis or the axios and the or the axle. You think about that? And basically let your life balance out according to who you are and what you have been called by God and what he's done for you and your faith in him. The whole book of Ephesians, man. The first half of it is about in Christ and the and and and the um the riches we have in him. And then the second half is how do we how does this way balance, how do we balance, how does life balance out according to what we have been declared and what has been done for us. And so there are uh unfortunately there are a lot of folks that had the scale's all out of balance. Unfortunately, some people have been bamboozled, not intentionally, they've bamboozled themselves, thinking that they're good because they just prayed a prayer one time, but there's there's no evidence, no evidence of the spirit where and I'm not talking about doing a good deed here and there or doing something nice for somebody, no, evidence unto righteousness, man, unto the Lord working in somebody's life, changing the things of the flesh. Okay, Pastor, whatever. That's enough preaching. Let me tell you something. Hold on, man. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, wait a second. Wait a second now. In Ephesians 429, I I I gotta step on a couple toes here. I'm gonna step on my own toes. Well, I how can I do that? That might be a little tricky. I would stumble and fall, but you understand my point. Um I'm throwing myself in the mix here. 429, listen to what he says, listen to what Paul says in Ephesians 429. And if anybody's convicted, can I get an amen? He says, Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as is fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Do you hear what he said? Don't let nothing corrupt come, no corrupting talk. Hey. I mean, it's uh right. Right. Can I get an amen? Listen. Fruit unto repent. Listen, I'm not saying we need to make ourselves perfect because guess what? Nobody can make our themselves perfect. I can't make myself perfect, but I know somebody who is perfect who is making me into his image. And I can look back and say, wait a second, man. Wow, you know, back before when the good Reverend Mike, oh, help me, holy ghost. When the Reverend Mike came up to me and he said, The Spirit told me you you need to be fasting, you need to fast. Back then, I can see I can see the Lord, there is fruit unto repentance. I can see the Lord continuing to work and sanctify me from even before then, but that specifically that and up to now, God's working. Let him do the work. You are his workmanship, poema, you're his poem, his poetry. Let him work in you. If you are redeemed of the Lord, you better go ahead and say so. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so in our actions. Hallelujah. Amen. All right, hey, we're gonna check you. Please go to Shiloh tomorrow if you're in New Jersey. All right, somebody go out there and uh we'll update you on the tour until uh we kick it off again. The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

SPEAKER_00: 29:16

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