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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 and his health issues, which are numerous. He has been having issues with his pain, vision, and memory. Add to the prayers with a need for new housing as the family is in dire straits there at this point in time.
- Please pray for calm and peace for Sister Theresa Bogard who is going through a lot right now.
- Please pray for Rebecca Ramsey who has had issues with her ear, a burst eardrum. She is now on medication for the issue, so please pray the medication helps soothe her pain and improve the health of that eardrum.
- We are ever watchful in regard to the weather, the unrest, and the virus and response to that virus. Let us pray for calm skies and seas, calm voices and spirits, and also healthy outcomes for those who are affected.
- We pray that the upcoming school year is filled with progress for our children who are attending and for the teachers and staff that must adapt to what is considered the “new normal” around this world.
- Continue to pray for four of my family members as they go through some dramatic changes in some cases. One of those four is recovering from surgery done this past week.
- 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 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 all those who are on our prayer lists, personal and public, that their issues be resolved, health improved, and any healing goes well. We pray for our poor and desolate, 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 all of 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: Mitchell Tenpenny ~ Bucket List https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMalroN-wzY
Sermon: We are working on the subject of when evil looks like it is good and vice versa where good is evil in disguise. It is quite easy, unfortunately, for something we think is very, very good for us to actually be very, very bad instead. Discernment is something that takes practice to learn and master. What is discernment? Discernment is the action of perceiving by the sight or some other sense or by the intellect; see, recognize, or apprehend. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Unfortunately it takes a lot of practice to continually be aware of the sneaky and unassuming ways evil and wickedness would have for appearing to be that very wolf in sheep’s clothing that we all have missed at least once in a lifetime. Let’s start here with Joshua’s view of good and evil.
Joshua 23:15 KJV - Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you, which the Lord your God promised you; so shall the Lord bring upon you all evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you.
This doesn’t sound like good versus evil, or evil disguised as good. In fact, it is something that people don’t realize are inherently evil. What does it mean to be inherently evil?
Inherent evil is not caused by nature but by environment. As you're born whatever you see you act upon that, if you're raised in a bad environment you'll act upon it.
We can be born perfectly innocent without any view of evil, but if we are raised by those who disguise evil without thinking about it, that evil will emerge into our psyches and often goes unrecognized, until something cataclysmic occurs. This is how occurrences like Sodom and Gomorrah, the plagues of Egypt, and other such moments in Scripture. Now we’re going to get to where we speak of King David and sharing what was seen during his time as King of the Jews.
1 Samuel 24:17 KJV - And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil.
It is Saul who is speaking to David at this moment. Now, we know from studying about these two men in Scripture, that they had quite a contentious relationship, swapping back and forth as to who gets mired in evil and corrupt dealings. This is why we have to continuously reflect upon Scripture in our own lives. Let’s see what we see next.
1 Samuel 25:3 KJV - Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.
In this world today we often can find people who are never one hundred percent honest about everything in their lives, even to themselves. However, there are a great many who are bluntly, consistently honest and above board all over this world. Yet, could you tell the difference between someone with a syrupy sweet personality who might be evil to the very core or someone who is decidedly a sourpuss but be the angel in disguise? It’s not easy, is it? That’s something we see throughout Scripture trying to teach us to see what is often unseen, hear what might be unheard, and so on. Here we get another verse in the times of David, King of the Jews.
1 Samuel 25:21 KJV - Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath requited me evil for good.
This shares that no matter how hard we try, we cannot always discern the evil that exists in this world. David was trying very hard in this moment to ensure that nothing “he” saw that could be evil, in “his” point of view, would be in his kingdom. However, evil is very good at the disguise game, much better than people may ever realize.
1 Samuel 29:6 KJV - Then Achish called David, and said unto him, Surely, as the Lord liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day: nevertheless the lords favour thee not.
David had a lot to live up to in his lifetime. Elected King by God Himself made it even harder to remain fully godly. It has been shown many times how easily someone can fall off the path of righteousness. For someone to see the good and faithfulness, righteousness, of David’s role in Jewish history, it is significant, because even in the best of intentions there can be traps we don’t see waiting for us. Now we’ll go into the second scroll of Samuel.
2 Samuel 17:14 KJV - And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the Lord had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the Lord might bring evil upon Absalom.
This is the art of deception, which is notorious for evildoers to manage. The fact that the ones conversing are seeing the counsel of these people as being evil over good, or good over evil, and saying that God will bring evil to them. To every good thing in this world, there is an equally bad one somewhere. This is what keeps balance, unfortunately, even those who strive to be perfectly good, have that point where there is enough hidden to keep pure goodness. We have seen this portrayed elsewhere without the Christian viewpoints. Discernment, and the ability to use it properly takes plenty of practice. That’s why there are 66 Scrolls of Scripture. It takes a lot of practice, and each of those scrolls shares how we should practice discernment and how we should not. Let’s see what this next verse portrays for that fact.
2 Samuel 19:35 KJV - I am this day fourscore years old: and can I discern between good and evil? can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink? can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women? wherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto my lord the king?
There are many things for which age and ability have no bearing. One of those is discerning good from evil. You can learn discernment early, and still have issues recognizing evil for exactly what it is. That’s why it is necessary to practice it often. This next verse adds to that factor as well.
1 Kings 22:8 KJV - And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the Lord: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.
God gives people gifts of discernment, but many will never put the effort in to hone this gift to help out in this world filled with blind alleys and wrong turns that bring evil into being. And, rightfully so, this king is wary of the innate ability of Micaiah to discern what is inherently evil and what is inherently good. See how the king reacts to the thought of speaking with Micaiah in that specific moment. Now, we see the reaction, just a few verses later, after the pair had gone to seek his counsel.
Before we get to our last verse on the subject of good looking like evil and evil as good, there is a short series of verses that are prior to this one to give us a bit of background on these men.
1
Kings 22:14-17 KJV – And Micaiah said, As the Lord
liveth, what the Lord saith unto
me, that will I speak.
So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go
against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go,
and prosper: for the Lord shall
deliver it into the hand of the king.
And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell
me nothing but that which is true in the name of the Lord?
And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not
a shepherd: and the Lord said,
These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace.
Sometimes it is difficult to face the truth about ourselves, whether it is our conscience, subconscious minds, or whatever that might be, it’s something we have to practice in order to see goodness or evil at face value. It doesn’t matter how rich or poor, how known or unknown, evil and good can be any and all and we might never realize it when face to face. That’s why the king of Israel says this to Jehoshaphat.
1 Kings 22:18 KJV - And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?
If we truly want to be the children of God that Jesus wants us all to perfect while we are here on this earth, we have to be willing to face the worst parts of ourselves and whittle them away to where those parts cannot cause issues for our faith, our work toward righteousness. It takes lots, and lots, of practice to manage. That’s why discernment is a process that can be lifelong. 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: We The Kingdom ~ Don’t Tread On Me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dowS2k2TS4
~ 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 © 2021 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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