Welcome to Covenant of Hope Ministries and our sermon or midweek study. You will normally see us posted on Sunday. 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
Rev. Laura’s other sites: Facebook & Blogspot & Twitter
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. He’s been having a lot of issues with his eyesight and reading, as well as his many other health issues which have plagued him for many years.
- Please pray for continued calm and peace for Sister Theresa Bogard who is going through a lot right now.
- We continue to be ever watchful in regard to the weather, the unrest, and the virus and response to that virus. Let us continue to pray for calm skies and seas, calm voices and spirits, and also healthy outcomes for those who are affected.
- Continue to pray for four of my family members as they go through some dramatic changes in some cases.
- 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 all the citizens in all the countries experiencing elections this year, that they are able to separate truth from fallacy, and learn to discern one from the other.
- 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 pray for those who have suffered illness of any and all kinds. We pray for those who are suffering increasing pain and less ability to treat that pain. We pray for our poor and desolate, our homeless, especially as we get nearer to the holiday season, our brothers and sisters who have been brought devastation due to the terrors around this world and all of the natural disasters, storms, and so forth this past week. We pray for those in our outreach ministries that their reach gains momentum and their needs are met. 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: Matt Redman ~ 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord Oh My Soul) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSxocnIaN0A
Sermon: We are going to complete our journey through Chapter 4 in Ephesians today. Listening to what Paul experienced in Ephesus has been a study in humanity and the need to have reminders of all sorts. So we’re getting to see more of that psychology of the citizenry today. Let’s begin today with this verse.
Ephesians 4:27 KJV – Neither give place to the devil.
This is like a caution sign on the road as you’re heading to whatever destination you might head toward. In life, don’t give that old Satan, the devil, a handhold or foothold. Once you do, it’s not always easy to realize you’ve done just that, and hurt your spirit, your godly essence as a result. This is the same warning you hear in all the gospels and all the New Testament writings. We see this in James, younger brother of Jesus, as he speaks to the Jews and Christians.
James 4:7 KJV – Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
We all know it is near impossible to lose sight of the devil, because, like God, he can be everywhere and anywhere. Unlike God, he is seeking ways to destroy, diminish our faith, our unconditional love one to another and toward God and the Savior, through the Holy Spirit. That’s why we all know we are weak, but with Jesus, we are strong. Our love for God gets a boost if we just remember to thank Him for existing, and for His capacity toward forgiveness. Paul is sharing this fact with the citizens of Ephesus and we see more proof of that here.
Ephesians 4:28 KJV – Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
Paul is of course speaking of Satan, the thief that can still steal so much from us in life. While Paul lived, he saw all forms of the seven troubles, vanity, envy, enmity, lust, wrath, shame, and doubt in just about every form there is possible to include those trials and tribulations within. Protecting ourselves from suffering those seven is a prayer away. Jesus and the Twelve Apostles did all they could to show the true path of God and where it would be, how to follow it, and reach the ultimate eternal home in heaven. One of those reminders is here in this verse.
Acts 20:35 KJV – I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Now, remember when we were young, and our elders would say “watch your mouth or I’ll wash it out with soap”? Granted, this was in an era where discipline was far different than it is today. Basically, that premise of watching your words and thoughts began long, long before we were thought about. This is what Paul is again sharing with the citizens of Ephesus.
Ephesians 4:29 KJV – Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
Corruption is everywhere. We know that if we pay attention. That’s why we have to watch our words and thoughts always. You never know when you will end up saying or doing the wrong thing in front of someone, known or unknown. And we’ll follow this with a supporting verse I have long had people ask me if Peter was being prejudiced toward women.
1 Peter 3:1 KJV – Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;
When we marry, each of us has a role in that marriage. We should be equals and support each other. That support extends toward children, parents, siblings, and so forth. Peter is reminding the women in this particular community that they can’t just go wherever they want to go without a thought toward their husbands and families. It’s not meant to be prejudice, or putting women behind men as some people might consider. This verse is followed by another that is very similar.
Colossians 3:18 KJV – Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.
Note this one difference, when women submit, that submission should not end up being against God. You see, this is proving that both men and women can make mistakes in marriage, both can suffer from what my grandmother called cauliflower ear, or blindness without it having anything to do with our eyesight. All of us have a role to play in Christianity, in faith of any form or formula. God and Jesus through the Holy Spirit have given us that ability, to see and hear, feel and know, the Gospel Truth. That’s where we come to this next verse from Paul’s ministering to the citizens of Ephesus.
Ephesians 4:30 KJV – And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
We are sealed in with the Holy Spirit, and shouldn’t cause grief toward the greatest gift Jesus brought to us. It’s easier to do than we might realize. Jesus proved that in His short lifetime on this earth. Remember that gift, that eternal gift, Jesus brought to us when He gave up the ghost on the cross after thirty-three short years on earth. The redemption of all mankind is within reach if we remember how much it cost for God and Jesus to make that ultimate sacrifice. Isaiah shares something that connects quite well to this realization.
Isaiah 63:10 KJV – But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.
The ultimate foe, ourselves. We’ve heard that said more than once. Fighting our brothers and sisters for any reason, and yes, it’s often spoken about in Scripture. Finding truth in seven oceans full of lies and misdeeds is no simple thing. That’s why we have to throw those seven troubles out of our lives so often as Paul teaches in Ephesus here.
Ephesians 4:31 KJV – Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
Whether we are old or young, newly Christian or have been such for our lifetimes, there are always possibilities for the seven troubles to torture us in our daily lives. Paul speaks of two of those troubles, enmity, and wrath, here in this verse. We hear it from other sermons for many places, including this one.
Colossians 3:8 KJV –But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
This is where we see that same sentence from our parents, grandparents, and other elders in our families. “Watch that mouth” I’m sure is something everyone has experienced in their lifetimes from one relative, teacher, mentor, or another. This is why you will hear it from all the siblings, friends, and family members of Jesus during the years of His life and on into the first years of Christianity. We hear this from Paul’s son as well.
Titus 3:2 KJV – To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
Paul and his sons and daughters are just some of those who fought to keep the Word of God in life as they knew it, and taught that unconditional love even at the risks of their very lives. Paul and the rest of the twelve wanted to ensure that the gift of God’s Unconditional Love wasn’t lost forever in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Being kind and sharing kindness is a gift of God, for both the one giving and the one receiving. That’s what this verse shares.
Ephesians 4:32 KJV – And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
One thing we have to understand as Christians, it’s more than teaching others. It’s more than preaching God’s Word. It’s a whole lot more. I’m certain you’ve experienced the thought of “all talk and no action”. If we are not willing to share that unconditional love, then what right do we have to preach and teach that? It’s something I’ve noted over the five decades of my life, some people can talk that talk and forget to walk that walk.
Titus 3:5 KJV – Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Righteousness, and the act of being righteous take practice, and lots of it. Peace is a gift, so long as you share it with others. Eternal peace is a gift of God through the sacrifice made by Jesus Christ and helped along through the Holy Spirit. Remember this fact when you study, when you meditate, and when you pray and live life each and every day, just as Jesus taught here in this the gospel of Mark.
Mark 11:25-26 KJV – And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
Forgiveness is as much our responsibility as it is our destiny with God and Jesus, because if we can’t forgive, then God and Jesus won’t forgive either. That is not an easy thought for anyone in this world. We cannot carry grudges, angst, between us, because when we do we lose that ability to share and understand Unconditional Love. Remember that. 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)
Closing Song: Jaci Velasquez ~ God Loves You https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzUqlTKdqlk
~ 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 © 2020 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.
