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: http://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 relief in the trials and tribulations for
Sister Theresa and myself as we have had a great many over the past year and
more.
- 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 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.
Prayer: Father in heaven, our prayer today is
to have the Spirit bring clarity to each of our decisions. We thank You for
that gift 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 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: Without Him
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEqCEawCiH4
Sermon:There are times in everyone’s life where it gets to the point we ask, and wonder if God hears. In the case of David, he shows that God does listen, and hear. He starts this portrayal here.
Psalm 40:1 KJV - I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
There is a change in the wording that could be in waiting I waited replacing waiting patiently. Our biggest problem in this world is we are never patient enough. There are some from my past who would call it having ants in our pants. Patience is something it takes a lot of control to manage. We don’t often have that much control over our emotions. You can remember that this was mentioned many times, bridling the tongue comes to mind. Tolerance is a form of patience, and again not an easy thing to manage. When God listens, there are many things that can happen. David shares one of those here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEqCEawCiH4
Sermon:There are times in everyone’s life where it gets to the point we ask, and wonder if God hears. In the case of David, he shows that God does listen, and hear. He starts this portrayal here.
Psalm 40:1 KJV - I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
There is a change in the wording that could be in waiting I waited replacing waiting patiently. Our biggest problem in this world is we are never patient enough. There are some from my past who would call it having ants in our pants. Patience is something it takes a lot of control to manage. We don’t often have that much control over our emotions. You can remember that this was mentioned many times, bridling the tongue comes to mind. Tolerance is a form of patience, and again not an easy thing to manage. When God listens, there are many things that can happen. David shares one of those here.
Psalm 40:2 KJV - He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
The pit David speaks of, the miry clay, it is the emotions, the vices, the troubles we allow to consume our lives. Yes, we allow them their freedom. Imagine, each of us has our emotions, our fears, our pains and sorrows, so much all in a bottle, and if you uncork that bottle everything spills out, from tears to fury. Note, these are the bad things, not the good ones. David shares the way he celebrates the freedom from that miry clay, the horrible pit here.
Psalm 40:3-4 KJV - And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
What a
wonderful thing to bring joy and gladness into life after horrible things we
suffer and survive in our lives. It doesn’t matter what leads us to those bad
times in our lives, it matters how we find a path thanks to God and His gifts
of patience and understanding.
Psalm 2:12 KJV – Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye
perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are they
that put their trust in him.
What we see in this supporting verse is that we must remember to thank God and Jesus through the Spirit, in prayers of thanksgiving. If we forget to do that, our hearts will be heavy with the forgetfulness. This is what the verse warns us about. There is so much to be thankful for in this world, no matter its chaos, the trials and tribulations, there are so many things to be thankful for. Remember, Scripture says to live for today, tomorrow will take care of its self. That isn’t as easy as it sounds, but it’s true, if you just live in the day, one at a time, you’ll find the miracles are around you. You will also see that there is so much you would miss if you always think of tomorrow and bring those troubles, the trials and tribulations to the surface of your thoughts. That’s what David shares again with us again here.
Psalm 40:5 KJV - Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
What we see in this supporting verse is that we must remember to thank God and Jesus through the Spirit, in prayers of thanksgiving. If we forget to do that, our hearts will be heavy with the forgetfulness. This is what the verse warns us about. There is so much to be thankful for in this world, no matter its chaos, the trials and tribulations, there are so many things to be thankful for. Remember, Scripture says to live for today, tomorrow will take care of its self. That isn’t as easy as it sounds, but it’s true, if you just live in the day, one at a time, you’ll find the miracles are around you. You will also see that there is so much you would miss if you always think of tomorrow and bring those troubles, the trials and tribulations to the surface of your thoughts. That’s what David shares again with us again here.
Psalm 40:5 KJV - Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
There is
a word change here from they cannot be
reckoned up in order unto thee to none
can order them unto thee. Do you remember what ‘reckoned’ means? It means
to consider something, or rely on something or someone. We often forget how many
wonderful works God can manage. We cannot manage to count them all, there are
so many. This is what David is sharing.
Psalm 40:6 KJV - Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering thou hast not required.
Psalm 40:6 KJV - Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering thou hast not required.
David
proves a point made often in Scripture, listen and hear to open our ears. It is
one thing to listen, and another to hear. When we connect them, we gain
understanding, which then leads to wisdom, all steps in reaching the ideal of
righteousness. Often we don’t realize when we listen and hear we gain something
huge in return, yet, again, here is another who proves just that.
Hosea 6:6 KJV - For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
Hosea 6:6 KJV - For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
What are all these verses related to? They relate to penance, to repentance. What does that mean? It means we have to learn to regret our past actions. Perhaps we were too hasty. Or we suffer from what I call leap before you look syndrome. We aren’t immune to this potential, and it doesn’t matter stature of any sort. All of us can leap before we look, hurry when we should take our time, and so forth. This is shared in the words of our Savior found here.
Matthew 9:13 KJV – But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Mercy is
a gift. Repentance is a way to pave a path not just to righteousness, but to
everlasting life, the promise Jesus gave us. David asks not just for mercy, he
asks for hope, All of us ask for hope, just about every day we live. In many
ways, asking God to help us find that hope is a method of seeking repentance. 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)
Closing Song: From A Distance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLPj2h0N3bU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLPj2h0N3bU
~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 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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