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Welcome to Covenant of Hope Ministries and our Sunday sermon. I am Rev. Laura A. Neff. This ministry shares the Word of God, the Spirit of Christ Jesus. Our ministry was created with twelve people around this world back in 2008. Each of us shares God’s Word in ways He guides us to utilize. 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: http://www.covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com
Rev. Laura’s other sites: Facebook & Blogspot & Twitter & LinkedIn
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 continue to pray for Elder Cal Jennings and his health issues, which are numerous. He has been having issues with his pain, vision, and memory.
- Please pray for my employer as he recovers from injuries sustained in an accident last weekend.
- Please pray for ministry friend Dena, as she continues with many issues for her health.
- Please pray for another colleague who has been having many setbacks for employment over the last few months. She has just managed to get a new job, may it prove to be a perfect fit for her.
- Please continue to pray for my brother and his wife as they suffer financial issues of all descriptions as a result of their collective medical and job related issues.
- We are ever watchful in regard to the battle for Ukraine on the other side of the world. We pray for all those who are affected by the terrible things going on there. We mourn for the families and the massive loss of life. We also pray for everything that is affected as a result of the economic issues that are plaguing so many.
- Please pray for my longtime friend Jeff Taylor and his family. His father passed away right before St. Patrick’s day.
- Pray for a friend of a friend whose daughter Everleigh is still fighting Leukemia.
- Pray that another friend gets more good news in a few weeks regarding their healing process is going well.
- Be thankful for each day we live as we do not know what tomorrow brings.
- Pray for all of our outreach ministries with Pastor Stephen Okoth, Pastor Robert Nganwa, Pastor Simon Peter Javaji, Rev. Lisa Tyler, and all the others who have joined us.
- 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 who are jobless, homeless, no matter what might have ended up causing either of those. Pray that providence would find them and ease the suffering.
- Pray for those suffering as a result of the terrors that have occurred just this past week around this world.
- Pray for our sick and wounded that they may heal.
- Pray that truth is revealed where falsehoods have been shared around this world.
Prayer: Father in heaven, this is our prayer for today. We continue to pray for the ones suffering as a result of shootings and unrest around this world, as there has been so much of that in this world. We pray for the citizens of Ukraine who are fighting for their sovereignty and their freedom. We pray for the victims of several vehicular accidents across this country. We pray for those who have lost their lives on all sides of this chaos. We pray for those who have been sick, including Rev. Lisa Tyler’s family, and our friend Dena. We continue to keep Elder Cal Jennings in our prayers as well. We bring my employer and his wife, as his wife has been quite ill. We pray that truth can be seen where too many lies have filled life as we know it. We pray for those whose jobs are in a scary position. We pray also for family members of colleagues and friends. We pray for those traveling back and forth across this country. We pray for the other travelers around this world so they remain healthy. 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: Living in the Promised Land ~ Willie Nelson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqIyIvL-gBs
Sermon: We continue to explore Peter’s second epistle today as we get closer to the end of the third chapter. Peter is issuing a command to keep their memories and thoughts on the truth of our great God’s abilities and capabilities. God knows all, sees all, not just some, but all from day one and up to the last day of what this world would be.
2 Peter 3:8 KJV – But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
NIV – But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
Where does this originate in the Scriptures? Well, King David shares that information here.
Psalm 90:4 KJV – For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
NIV – A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.
Peter is reminding us that it might be a day, week, month, year, or whatever time frame, but the moment that’s waiting for us will be here before we even realize it would be. It’s something we have to prepare for, in our hearts, our minds, and our spirits. There’s a song that says, “get ready” and another song that speaks about “standing room only”. On the day Jesus returns in all of His glory, it will be a moment where all who love Him and His Word will crowd around Him and shout His name. This is what Peter adds to that thought.
2 Peter 3:9 KJV – The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
NIV – The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Time has meaning here on this earth for humanity, for everyone and everything. For God, His Son, and the Holy Spirit, time is a creation, just as everything else would be. Love has no time limit, no end point. Unconditional love created this world and everything on it or in it. This is something we still have trouble understanding. God’s love contains so much, and King David shared some of that for us to see and understand.
Psalm 77:8 KJV – Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore?
NIV – Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time?
We hear this from the prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel and Habakkuk.
Isaiah 30:18 KJV – And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.
NIV – Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!
Ezekiel 33:11 KJV – Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
NIV – Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’
Habakkuk 2:3 KJV – For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
NIV – For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.
They all are speaking of the future. The time that has been foretold since the beginning. This leads us, of course, to the ministry of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ while He lived here on this earth. Jesus too is pointing out that those who are persecuted for their faith in God will be brought into glory.
Luke 18:7 KJV – And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
NIV – And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?
Peter wants us to remember the source of that truth, our Heavenly Father, God, as shared through the Savior Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Peter is insistent that the time would come and we’d not even realize it unless we would pay close attention to the signs and symbols foretold so long ago.
2 Peter 3:10 KJV – But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
NIV – But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
Again we return to David, king of the Jews, the prophets Isaiah and Micah. They each warn about the End of Days. They do so with vivid descriptions of that moment in time where the world will stand still, time would stop, and judgment will be meted out.
Psalm 102:26 KJV – They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
NIV – They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded.
Isaiah 24:19 KJV – The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
NIV – The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is violently shaken.
Isaiah 34:4 KJV – And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.
NIV – All the stars in the sky will be dissolved and the heavens rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree.
Isaiah 51:6 KJV – Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.
NIV – Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.
Micah 1:4 KJV – 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.
NIV – The mountains melt beneath him and the valleys split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope.
Jesus too brings a verbal warning about the End of Time when all will cease to be as it is to transform into what it should be. He says so in the Gospel of Matthew as shared here.
Matthew 24:35 KJV – Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
NIV – Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Matthew 24:43 KJV – But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
NIV – But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.
Now Peter reflects on the moment Jesus shared these words and relays how he and the other eleven Apostles felt upon learning this. It’s quite amazing to hear it from someone who saw and heard the words coming out of our Savior’s mouth. It adds a tangible note to the Word of Jesus Christ on that long ago day.
2 Peter 3:11 KJV – Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
NIV – Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives.
Paul, while he was ministering to the Romans, had this to share.
Romans 13:11-12 KJV – And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
NIV – And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
We hear a great deal from Peter, John the Beloved, and Paul, during the New Testament times after the resurrection. They traveled all over, spreading the Word as Jesus taught them. All of them promised that the day would come when we would want no more than to be in the presence of our Lord and Savior once again.
2 Peter 3:12 KJV – Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
NIV – as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.
Peter is referencing these words from our Lord and Savior as shared in the gospel of Matthew. It is a vision and view that all who truly believe in His Unconditional Love wait for with every ounce of their hearts, minds, spirits, and souls.
Matthew 16:27 KJV – For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
NIV – For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
Next we hear from Paul and Titus, his son, as they spread the Word of God to the far corners in Corinth and Rome and other places after Paul was released from prison in Rome. Titus, of course, followed his father as all the Apostles were sent out to teach about the Gospel and the life of our Savior Jesus Christ, teaching the Word as they had been commissioned to do.
1 Corinthians 1:7 KJV – So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
NIV – Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.
Titus 2:13-15 KJV – Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.
NIV – while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
Again we are returned to King David and the prophet Isaiah, as they spoke of the glory of God and the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ, the promise that had been carried from the days of Adam and Eve all the way through to that very moment in time.
Psalm 50:3 KJV – Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.
NIV – Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages.
Isaiah 24:19 KJV – The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
NIV – The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is violently shaken.
Peter now points to the future of humanity and the earth beneath our feet. A promise made, and one Jesus intends to fulfill one day. This is what we hear from Peter.
2 Peter 3:13 KJV – Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
NIV – But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
Of course, the prophet Isaiah foretold the even as if he could see it through his mind’s eye, a view of paradise as it was returned rightfully with the next level of a new Heaven and a new Earth. It’s a wonderful and amazing, awe inspiring thought to be able to do more than just describe it. That is why it is so important to bring it up as a visual thought in our minds, and not just words on paper or coming out of our mouths. It is of the utmost importance that we learn to listen and hear the truth of God’s Word and prepare ourselves for the outcome.
Isaiah 65:17 KJV – For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
NIV – “See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.
It’s not just a dream. It’s so much more than that. God wants us to always have hope in the moment of eternal life, eternal and unconditional love, from the final moment of this earth as we know it, to the first moment of a new heaven and a new earth. This is what we must prepare ourselves for now, so that, in the future our children and grandchildren on up into generations later will be looking forward to that same moment, when we are walking in the Promised Land. Now, that’s something to think about as we pray in the prayer that Jesus taught us.
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)
Closing Song: Jon Egan ~ Open the Gates https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiiQeGo4w4U
~ 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 © 2022 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.
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