Good
afternoon, and welcome to this Sunday Sermon for Covenant of Hope Ministries. I
am Rev. Laura A. Neff, and the ministry knows me as the Rainbow Minister. You
can find us posted on Sundays. These are our locations online only:
We have
email and Instant Messenger through Facebook available Tuesday, Wednesday, and
Sunday 10AM to 2PM ET US. We’re still working this out between the two of us as
to what will happen, our Elder, Cal Jennings and I. I will be informing you
further in regard to changes being made. These changes were made due to health
reasons. There will be live sermons, and the sermon length will be shortened
dramatically, but we are unsure as to when that might be.
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.
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.
Continue your prayers for family and friends of Mary Cathryn
Michel-Lynch who passed away Thursday, January 31, 2013. Her memorial is
posted. I am working to see about everything that’s going on in regard to
issues up north where she was at the time of her death. Some of those issues
need a lot of prayer.
Little Phoebe Fair is going through her final round of
chemotherapy, it will be this week! Pray that she comes through and her cancer
goes into remission. Give her family faith and hope.
Pray for our family. There are several things weighing us down.
There are family members who continue to need prayer. Claim that God knows and
will be there. Pray that an equitable consideration can be had for one of our
many financial issues. There has been a solution given, just needs
clarification, and it can be complete. In God’s name we claim that it can be
done. Your prayers are very much appreciated. Praise the LORD some of those
have been solved over this past week.
Pray for Elder Cal, as he has still been feeling pretty rotten.
He also has had some technical issues. May God provide him wellness, a method
toward better communication, and bring that flicker of hope into a bright and
roaring flame.
Pray for friends Karen, Christie, her son Calvin, Art, Heather,
Chris and his family, Jackie and her father, Debby, Tom, Teresa, Hope, during
the start of the year for their issues of many forms.
Pray for Thomas, as he is having a lot of chaos in his life. He
is mourning the loss of his former wife, Mary Cathryn Michel-Lynch, as his
father is doing the same.
Pray for Dawna who has been in a lot of pain.
Pray for Fran who is suffering a lot of pain and other issues.
Pray for Karen’s grandaughter Cyndal.
Pray for Marie’s Aunt Connie.
Pray that the Lord will find a way for my family to reach the
ability to solutions that are necessary for health, shelter, and more.
Pray for our outreach ministries, and all on their separate
prayer lists, no matter where in this world they would be.
Pray for all the members of Covenant of Hope and all those who
they reach out to. May each of the members find grace and peace in His love.
Pray for our leaders, local, state, federal and around the
world. That they make good decisions for the many.
May the LORD allow us to claim His truth and His healing hands.
May we listen and hear and understand what those things we listen to and hear
as well.
Prayer: Father in heaven, we
thank You for this day and for these who are here to share it with us. We thank
You for answering so many of our prayers. We pray that You would protect those
who have suffered so much with the winter storms. We send up the prayers of
all, whether friend or foe, known or unknown.
We ask these blessings in Your Holy Name through the gift of Jesus our
Savior and the Holy Spirit, Amen and so it shall be.
Sermon: We get into the history of Scripture in these verses, they connect both earlier in the Old Testament and on through the New Testament. It shows interesting and amazing things in regard to hope, to understanding the gift of Christ Jesus, because He is a gift, as He was a gift and as He will always be a gift for us. We start with an interesting view as to Jesus’s book of judgment. Everyone wonders about that book. The Psalms help to prove that, along with many others. Here we start with Psalm 40:7 KJV – Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me.
You’ll
notice something interesting in this supporting verse. Jesus Himself mentions
the Psalms. Not only that, He speaks of the prophets and the law of Moses. Luke 24:44 KJV – And
he said unto them, These are the words which
I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled,
which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms,
concerning me.
Jesus
doesn’t just want us to simply listen to Him and His words. He wants us to
think and draw from the Old testament to bring understanding, because knowledge
and understanding lead us to wisdom. You will see it here in this verse. John 5:39 KJV – Search
the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they
which testify of me.
Testifying
Jesus. Many have said a lot about testifying Jesus. There are many clues as to
this testifying, and even praising and more in the Old Testament that lead us
toward places in the New Testament like this one here in Acts 10:43 KJV – To
him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in
him shall receive remission of sins.
Whosoever
believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. Now, remission means to
pardon our sins or offer forgiveness. Now, we’ve also heard much of this very
thought throughout Scripture. It isn’t easy to “not” sin. We must live with the
belief and faith that Jesus our Savior sees us in that book. Here is yet
another view of that book in Hebrews 10:7 KJV – Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is
written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
We come
to a verse that says so much, even just in the first part of it. ‘I delight to
do thy will’. In other words, I’m glad to both listen and hear, and do. That’s
what it means to have Him in our minds, hearts and spirits and souls.
Psalm 40:8 KJV – I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy
law is within my heart.
We follow
it up with another view of delight in the Lord. Job
23:12 KJV – Neither have I gone back from the
commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my
necessary food.
It isn’t
easy to not just listen and hear, but also do. We have to remember what we do,
however we react to things. It’s hard to not be angry over things. It’s also
hard not to be frustrated and more. Many of us could testify to that. Yet, when
we think before we act, which isn’t always easy, we see what Job would be
saying, and also what this Psalm would be saying.
Jeremiah 15:16 KJV – Thy words were found, and I did eat them;
and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called
by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.
One time
long ago someone asked me why the words eat thy words. Many think of that in a
bad way, as in I ate my words, which could be both bad or good. In this case,
Jeremiah is speaking of absorbing through our thoughts, our understanding, to
bring the Word into our hearts and souls is, in essence, eating. The reason is
that we would be feeding our souls, in place of our stomachs.
John 4:34 KJV – Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that
sent me, and to finish his work.
Jesus is
talking about spiritual food, the ability to strive for health, spirit and
soul, would be the aim Jesus would share. It is something we all should share.
Yet again, it’s no easy task. But then nothing that does the best thing would
be very easy. We tend to be stubborn or would worry, and we know what God said
about both. That’s why He gave us methods to absorb from the Holy Spirit, which
was given to us through Jesus during His death and resurrection. We see a
sample of that here in Romans 7:22 KJV – For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Notice it
speaks of the ‘inward man’. That is our conscience, our soul, our spirit. To
hold the love of God there is to understand and be able to share that
understanding. The words of David share just that here in this next verse Psalm 40:9 KJV – I
have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained
my lips. O LORD, thou knowest.
Righteousness,
that contains a whole lot of learning points, including understanding and
wisdom. Patience is also part of it, and it can be difficult to hold onto
patience. We all have seen that, heard that, and done that. We want to be able
to be good, and do good things, that is what we see here in Nehemiah 5:19 KJV – Think
upon me, my God for good, according to all that I have done for this people.
When you
think about giving good things to others, what would that include? For some it
is donating time, sharing, and more. For others it is listening and hearing.
Still we see those who would tutor and teach even outside the classroom. It
also gives us a clue as to what David is sharing, support, protection, love,
all things promised by God. This would also be shared here in Jonah 1:6 KJV – So the
shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise,
call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
You
should remember when the storm shook the waters and the disciples shared fear.
Jesus gave them a path to walk, and still the fear took over. So Peter started
to sink into the water. This was all after Jesus had calmed the storm. That is
what this shipmaster was asking of Jonah, to have God help them have safe
voyage. Notice we always say stay safe, have a safe journey, good luck, and
more. All of those are included in these verses today. Now, that’s something to
think about as we pray in the prayer Jesus taught us saying: After this manner therefore pray ye: 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 KJV)
~Shalom~
Covenant
of Hope Ministries
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 © 2012 http://covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com/
Our mission for Covenant of Hope Ministries and
Poetic-Expressions is not to exploit fear, but to conquer it, and overcome all
that is created through fear together as the rainbow in the darkness.
