Welcome to Covenant of Hope Ministries and our sermon or
midweek study. You will normally see us posted on Sunday and Wednesday. I am
Rev. Laura A. Neff. Our ministry was built on the truth of God’s love. It
doesn’t conform to society’s wishes. This ministry shares the Word of God, the
Spirit of Christ Jesus. Those who know me well will recognize that there are
definitive differences in the creation of every sermon from this point forward.
It is God’s will that has brought this to be. We wish only that God’s truth
will be shared within His words as brought to us by the Spirit as it fills my
heart, mind, and soul to be shared with my hands, but with His words alone.
You will find us in the following location: https://www.covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com
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 grows or changes every week. This is our current list.
- Please pray for Elder Cal Jennings who has been
suffering greatly with his health. At this time, he is just out of the hospital
once more. May the Lord bring his spirits up and help heal him.
- Please pray that the blessings received by our member
Joel Deji Ogar, continue in his life with his new wife.
- Please pray that my daughter’s pregnancy continues to
go well, this is her first child and our first grandchild.
- Please pray for relief in the trials and tribulations
for Sister Theresa due to pain from a terrible hit and run accident late last
year and surgeries and other procedures in the past month or two.
- Be thankful for each day we live as we do not know what
tomorrow brings.
- Pray for our nations that the voice of God be heard through the Spirit.
- Pray for our friends and families that their tomorrows bring blessings and pray our own be the same.
- Pray for our nations that the voice of God be heard through the Spirit.
- Pray for our friends and families that their tomorrows bring blessings and pray our own be the same.
- Pray for those suffering as a result of the terrors
that have occurred just this past few weeks around this world.
- Pray for our sick and wounded that they may heal.
- Pray for me as I start a new job in two weeks. It is a
serious change of pace for me after what I have been doing for three years.
- Pray for my husband, Ron, as he learns more and more
with his new job, started two weeks ago.
Prayer: Father in heaven,
our prayer today is to have the Holy Spirit bring healing to each of our bodies,
minds, spirits, and souls. We pray for enlightenment and understanding while
studying Your Word. We thank You for these gifts and the many more You have
brought us. May our fears be drawn out of us. Help us to see the many gifts
Your love brings and the unknown locations it might be found. May our pain and
sorrow be eased. May peace be brought from our hearts and shared with others.
May Your gifts of love shine through us toward others. We pray for the poor,
the sick, the sorrowful, the wounded, and the frightened. We pray for the
soldiers, the Samaritans, the children, and the rest. We pray in thanksgiving
for every gift brought us. We pray that every tomorrow would bring good things.
For each of these we pray in Your Holy Name, through our Savior Jesus Christ,
and the gift of the Holy Spirit, Amen and so it shall be.
Opening Song: This I Believe – Hillsong - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRzI_FbWTkg
Sermon: Today I was drawn to
a single chapter in the Scriptures, in the Gospel of John. Believing in
anything takes work and practice. God knows this, as Jesus knew while He lived
on this earth. Believing for many is seeing and experiencing things firsthand.
In many instances, Jesus proved the power of God through the Holy Spirit. One
of His most amazing and also one of his most dangerous, was in raising Lazarus
from the dead. I have been led to write out this entire section of Scripture to
help all understand just how dangerous it is to be Christian, even today, when
it is one of the largest bodies of faith on the earth. Let’s get started.
John 11:17-19 KJV – Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.
Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off:
And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.
Lazarus, one of those closest to Jesus in His circle of friends and believers, died believing fully in the power of Christ as the Son of God. Yet, his sisters, were not as certain as he had been. Nor were the Apostles and Disciples that followed Jesus throughout all of Jerusalem and Judea. That is one more reason Jesus performed so many miracles, more than were even described in Scripture. Here we see Martha and Mary as they learn that Jesus was coming to see Lazarus and his family.
John 11:20-30 KJV – Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.
Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.
Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.
As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him.
Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him.
See how hard it is for people then, even with in person views of the miracles of Christ, still yet they have so many difficulties understanding. This is something many even today wonder about and wish they could answer. Personally, I have seen many of His miracles and wondered on occasion if I was seeing things, or if it was real. I learned later in life that the miracles were right there, staring me in the eye. Since then, I have known miracles to exist in thousands of ways, in each new breath, and each new waking moment, Jesus is with us, and the more we know His Word, the better off we will be. That means learning from things He taught long ago, and bringing them forward into today’s learning, in order to apply the new knowledge into our own lives and live as Jesus lived, love as Jesus loved, and be like Jesus.
John 11:31-35 KJV – The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.
Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.
And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.
Jesus wept.
It was hard on Jesus, as it is often hard on all of us, when it came to others not believing in the power of God through Christ who proves salvation again and again is at hand. Jesus wanted them to understand that things happen in God’s time, not in that of mankind, for time is divine in itself. Jesus was constantly showing the men and women, and even children, that truth was right before them, and all they had to do was believe and they would see as He saw. But people tend to believe after they see it with their own eyes. Christians, those who truly believe, know that believing leads to sights as glorious as the Lord Jesus Christ. The Jews here show that view without realizing this as we continue with the Gospel of John the Beloved.
John 11:36-40 KJV – Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!
And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?
Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
Again you can see where Martha, a believer, cannot understand what Jesus is all about even as a devout follower. All of those around the pair of them at that time were the same. That’s why Jesus groaned and sighed in disappointment.
John 11:41-45 KJV – Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.
John 11:17-19 KJV – Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.
Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off:
And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.
Lazarus, one of those closest to Jesus in His circle of friends and believers, died believing fully in the power of Christ as the Son of God. Yet, his sisters, were not as certain as he had been. Nor were the Apostles and Disciples that followed Jesus throughout all of Jerusalem and Judea. That is one more reason Jesus performed so many miracles, more than were even described in Scripture. Here we see Martha and Mary as they learn that Jesus was coming to see Lazarus and his family.
John 11:20-30 KJV – Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.
Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.
Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.
As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him.
Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him.
See how hard it is for people then, even with in person views of the miracles of Christ, still yet they have so many difficulties understanding. This is something many even today wonder about and wish they could answer. Personally, I have seen many of His miracles and wondered on occasion if I was seeing things, or if it was real. I learned later in life that the miracles were right there, staring me in the eye. Since then, I have known miracles to exist in thousands of ways, in each new breath, and each new waking moment, Jesus is with us, and the more we know His Word, the better off we will be. That means learning from things He taught long ago, and bringing them forward into today’s learning, in order to apply the new knowledge into our own lives and live as Jesus lived, love as Jesus loved, and be like Jesus.
John 11:31-35 KJV – The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.
Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.
And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.
Jesus wept.
It was hard on Jesus, as it is often hard on all of us, when it came to others not believing in the power of God through Christ who proves salvation again and again is at hand. Jesus wanted them to understand that things happen in God’s time, not in that of mankind, for time is divine in itself. Jesus was constantly showing the men and women, and even children, that truth was right before them, and all they had to do was believe and they would see as He saw. But people tend to believe after they see it with their own eyes. Christians, those who truly believe, know that believing leads to sights as glorious as the Lord Jesus Christ. The Jews here show that view without realizing this as we continue with the Gospel of John the Beloved.
John 11:36-40 KJV – Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!
And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?
Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
Again you can see where Martha, a believer, cannot understand what Jesus is all about even as a devout follower. All of those around the pair of them at that time were the same. That’s why Jesus groaned and sighed in disappointment.
John 11:41-45 KJV – Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.
As you can see, it takes seeing for many to believe. Just
as it took the Jews, Mary, Martha, and even the Apostles, seeing what miracles
exist with their own eyes, as opposed to openly believing that anything is
possible through Christ who loves us even this far into the future. Believe in
the miracle of life as God created it. Once you do, the rest of the world will
fall away, and you’ll be at peace in your own walk with Him. Now that’s
something to think about as we pray in the prayer that Jesus taught us saying:
Our Father, which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (Matthew 6:9-13)
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (Matthew 6:9-13)
Closing Song: We Believe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjZ01FcK0yk
~ Shalom ~
Rev. Laura A. Neff
Elder Calvin Jennings
Covenant of Hope Ministries Main Site: http://www.covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com
Scripture Excerpts: The New Open Bible Study Edition:
Copyright © 1990: Thomas Nelson Publishers, Inc.
Scripture Excerpts: Holy Bible: Copyright © 1982: E. E.
Gaddy and Associates, Inc.
Scripture Excerpts: Holy Bible: Copyright ©circa
1890-1910: International Bible Press, The John C. Winston Co.; Philadelphia,
PA, USA
Sermon or Study Copyright © 2019 http://www.covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com
Our mission for Covenant of Hope Ministries is not to
exploit fear, but to conquer it, and overcome all that is created through fear
together as the bringers of the light of Jesus found in the midst of darkness.
This is relevent as well.
ReplyDeleteJohn 14:12 King James Version (KJV)
12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
An excellent addition there, Cal. Glad to see you dropping by.
DeleteI got it shared.
ReplyDelete