Covenant of Hope Ministries Wednesday
Sermon_11_27_2013
Good afternoon, and
welcome to this Sunday Sermon for Covenant of Hope Ministries. I am Rev. Laura
A. Neff. The ministry knows me as the Rainbow Minister. Find us posted on Sundays
and studies on Wednesday. Our locations are online only:
Our Main Video Feed: Covenant_of_Hope
We have email (instant
messenger if you need me) through Facebook every day. These are now extremely
variable. We’re still working this out between the two of us as to what will
happen, our Elder, Cal Jennings and I. I will inform you further regarding
changes. These changes were made due to health reasons. The sermon length has shortened
dramatically. We are unsure as to when there might be video presentations.
Prayer List: We have many on our prayer list. Some wish to remain anonymous, and others only wish to have their first names mentioned. Our prayer list has grown from last week. This is our current prayer list for this week.
- Please
keep a close friend of my youngest brother up in prayer. His name is
Eric. His wife was beaten and is in intensive care bleeding internally. They
have a very young son. She is not expected to live and needs a miracle through
prayer.
- Please
pray for a family who lost three children in a terrible accident when a tanker
truck rolled over theirs. They were eighteen, sixteen, and four. The tragedy
happened just an hour away from my home.
- Please keep
Elder Cal Jennings in your prayers as he is still not well. They are
going to do some tests and possibly go back in to adjust the stent which they
are afraid may cause death.
- Please
pray for my friend Teresa’s sister who is in stage four cancer.
- Please
keep others known by any of us up in prayer for whatever they might need.
- Please
keep my friend Heather in prayer for patience and safe haven.
- Let us
keep another friend, Jeff, and his family in prayer after a disappointment that
has them searching for answers.
- Please
keep my whole family in prayer for the pain, suffering, and chaos we are going
through.
- Pray that
the adversity and the pain we have seen around the world would be relieved, and
swept away. May we find common ground in many ways, even if we start with just
one step.
- Remember
those who have been lost either violently or peacefully this week.
- Keep the
ministry in your thoughts, each member, no matter their location, their
circumstances, because a group of friends, a ministry, should support one
another.
- There are
many in our ministry who are searching for more in regard to our presence with
my health, and with the health of others. We pray that there would be health
found once more, and that we have answers to all and for all.
- Pray that
all those traveling this week stay safe during the Thanksgiving holiday here in
the US.
Prayer: Father in heaven,
we thank You for this day and for these who are here to share it with us. We
bring thanks to You Lord, for all of the gifts you have given to each of us. We
are thankful for Grace, and Hope, and Peace and what they can bring. We pray
that those in our hearts who are hurting, sick, or in any form of sorrow that
they be lifted into Your embrace for comfort and solace. We pray that each of
us, friends, family, unknown and more would be built up in Your love. We pray
all of this in Your Holy Name through the Savior Jesus Christ and the gift of
the Holy Spirit, Amen and so it shall be.
The following was written by Elder Cal Jennings:
We all know that Jesus
told us to feed and clothe the poor as in Matthew.
Matthew 25:35-40
New International Version
(NIV)
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something
to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and
you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and
you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the
righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or
thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger
and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see
you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The
King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of
these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
But did you know that
during their ministries, several of the prophets and at least one of the
apostles were commanded to go naked? I was curious about why, so I read these
passages.
There are many passages
about nakedness in the Bible. A search on Bible Gateway reveals 87 passages on
a search of “naked” in which “nakedness” also comes up. Here are a few of them
specifically regarding the prophets and Apostles. These are a little long, but
bear with me.
Isaiah 20:1-4
20 In the year that
Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought
against Ashdod, and took it;
2 At
the same time spake the Lord by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose
the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he
did so, walking naked and barefoot.
3 And
the Lord said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three
years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;
4 So shall the king of Assyria lead away the
Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and
barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.
Micah 1
King James Version (KJV)
1 The
word of the Lord that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz,
and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
2 Hear,
all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord God
be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.
3 For,
behold, the Lord cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread
upon the high places of the earth.
4 And
the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax
before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place.
5 For
the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of
Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the
high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem?
6 Therefore
I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard:
and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover
the foundations thereof.
7 And
all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires
thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay
desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return
to the hire of an harlot.
8 Therefore
I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like
the dragons, and mourning as the owls.
9 For
her wound is incurable; for it is come unto Judah; he is come unto the gate of
my people, even to Jerusalem.
1 Samuel 19:18-24
18 So David fled, and escaped, and came to
Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel
went and dwelt in Naioth.
20 And Saul sent
messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets
prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was
upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.
21 And
when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise.
And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also.
22 Then
went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he asked
and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at Naioth
in Ramah.
23 And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and
the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he
came to Naioth in Ramah.
24 And he stripped off his clothes also, and
prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and
all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?
Job 1:20-21
20 Then Job
arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground,
and worshipped,
21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother's
womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken
away; blessed be the name of the Lord.
Ecclesiastes 5:13-15
13 There is a sore evil which I have seen
under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.
14 But those riches perish by evil travail:
and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.
15 As he came forth of his mother's womb,
naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour,
which he may carry away in his hand.
Isaiah 58:5-7
5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day
for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to
spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an
acceptable day to the Lord?
6 Is
not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo
the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every
yoke?
7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry,
and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest
the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own
flesh?
2 Corinthians 11:21-27
21 I speak as concerning reproach, as though
we had been weak. Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly,) I am
bold also.
23 Are
they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more
abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I
stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters,
in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the
heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the
sea, in perils among false brethren;
27 In
weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in
fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
Job was in distress being
tormented by Satan as allowed by God to prove that Job would remain true to
God. Sometimes it's a suffering soul such as Job's: Sometimes it's heartfelt pain:
Sometimes it's because they were commanded to prophesy.
It seems that God called
most of them to go naked to prophesy or to go naked for the sins of others. It
doesn't specify in Paul's case, but it seems that in the verses he was in fear
of robbers... or was it to prophesy or to pay for the sins of others? Job was
in distress being tormented by Satan as allowed by God to prove that Job would
remain true to God. Sometimes it's a suffering soul such as Job's: Sometimes
it's heartfelt pain: Sometimes it's because they were commanded to prophesy.
Why would God ask for nakedness? We are all naked before the Lord.
Hebrews 4:13
King James Version (KJV)
13 Neither
is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are
naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
Paul exhorted us to
prophesy.
1 Corinthians 14
King James Version (KJV)
2 For
he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for
no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
4 He
that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth
edifieth the church.
5 I
would that ye all spake with tongues but rather that ye prophesied: for greater
is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret,
that the church may receive edifying.
Paul does not ask us to go
naked, but will God ask those who prophesy to go naked for the sins of others
as some point in their ministry? Even after reading all of this, I can't say
for sure, but I will do what I feel God wants me to do in order to try to bring
salvation to others. Sometimes, to reach those on the bottom as Jesus did, you
have to step down pretty low to reach them in order to converse with them about
God. Not all of us are called to do these things as Jesus and the Holy Spirit
have given us each different gifts and different callings. As a young
Christian, I asked God to let me witness to Satan. I didn't realize what dark
paths I might have to tread to do so, but I did witness to many Satan
worshipers and at least one turned from Satan to Christ. Saving just one was
worth the effort.
I have since talked with
atheists and agnostics, respecting them as long as they respect me. They have
learned from me and I have learned some things from them. You might be
surprised that many of them know the Bible more than Christians do. What
agitates them most is that Christians don't act much like Christ. Rather than
love their neighbors and love their enemies, many waste time condemning and
hating those whom they don't feel fit the Christian image. Paul didn't condemn
the Athens for worshiping multiple gods. Instead he started out like this.
Acts 17:22-23
New International Version
(NIV)
22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the
Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very
religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects
of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So
you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to
proclaim to you.
He complemented them on
being very religious and then proceeded to tell them about the “UNKNOWN GOD” by
telling them about Jesus. Some listened and some did not. That is to be
expected. If you prophesy, you may be ridiculed or called crazy. Most of the
prophets were. It's not for them to judge their actions. God will judge them
for theirs toward us.
Romans 12:19
King James Version (KJV)
19 Dearly
beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is
written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Who knows? Jesus may even
forgive them.
Luke 23:34
King James Version (KJV)
34 Then
said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they
parted his raiment, and cast lots.
That's something to think
about.
Prophesy Song
Love, Hope, Peace, &
Christ Be With You,
Cal-el
http://www.spaceeagleproductions.org
http://www.pureheartvideo.net
http://spaceeagle.multiply.com
http://www.myspace.com/music_man1701
http://www.myspace.com/woodstock40th2008
Cal-el
http://www.spaceeagleproductions.org
http://www.pureheartvideo.net
http://spaceeagle.multiply.com
http://www.myspace.com/music_man1701
http://www.myspace.com/woodstock40th2008
Note from Rev. Laura: Elder Cal has given us an exceptional view of how
ministry works. The idea of nakedness
when it comes to ministry and working with God’s Word, is seen in thousands of
different ways in Scripture alone. There are also ministers who preach ‘the
naked truth’. Truth doesn’t need to be dressed up. That’s one of the things
that these verses are teaching us. Sometimes it takes ripping everything out of
the way to see that truth, stripping naked, as it were. These verses are only a
few sharing that view. Yet, if you look very closely, you’ll see there would
have to be things that every person should see. For example, truth doesn’t need
clothes. Knowledge and wisdom are its
clothes. They are the components of
love. ~Rainbow Hugs~ Rev. Laura
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