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. Add to the prayers with a need for new housing as the family is in dire straits there at this point in time.
- We are ever watchful in regard to the weather with tropical weather and with the high winds around many places. We continue to pray for those who suffer or have suffered from the COVID-19 chaos. Let us pray for calm skies and seas, calm voices and spirits, and also healthy outcomes for those who are affected.
- Pray for a friend of a friend whose daughter Everleigh is continuing her fight with Leukemia.
- Pray that another friend gets some very good news in two weeks regarding their healing process is going well.
- Pray for my friend Jeff’s father who is suffering from cancer.
- Pray for my daughter-in-law and her family as her father fights cancer a second time.
- Pray for my family members who are traveling to celebrate the Christmas holiday together.
- 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 those who are suffering from hunger, whether due to war or other terrors, or even just lacking resources, which is happening around this world even today.
- 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. 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 during the holidays. We pray for the other travelers around this world so they remain healthy. We pray for the medical scientists, and physicians who battle on the front lines of the COVID-19 virus and all the other terrible diseases in this world. We pray for all of those who are suffering the various types of cancer, and pray for a cure to be found for this and for all the others that have no method of curing. 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: It Came Upon A Midnight Clear https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgV3x7aNH7c
Sermon: We continue to explore the Gospel of Luke during Advent. There is quite a lot to get through. We start where we left off last Sunday.
Luke 1:8-9 KJV – And it came to pass, that while he
executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,
According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense
when he went into the temple of the Lord.
Luke speaks here of Zacharias, and what his duties were in the temple as a priest. Sweet smelling incense was what he worked with. He was there preparing for Shabbat, known to us as Sabbath, at that time. In the life of the early church, all positions in the temple performed by the various priests were done with well-practiced steps. Ministry, even then, took special attention to the smallest of details. We see this fact in the earlier Scriptures here.
Exodus 30:7-8 KJV – And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations.
Preparations at the time were in the hopes of the Savior, the Salvation of All, was very important to God and to the Jews. In this world today, the preparations make hope broader and stronger in hearts and minds today. That is something we all need, a broader and stronger sense of hope in human minds and hearts today. This especially with all the chaos around this earth. Whether it is weather related, nature related, or human related, there is chaos in just about every segment of existence here in this world today. The hope that is our salvation, in the birth of a tiny baby all those years ago would be something for us to explore even this far into the future. Those predecessors, prophets, priests, who knew the will of God well shared promises like this one.
Isaiah 7:14 KJV – Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
We hear this repeated in the Gospel of Matthew.
Matthew 1:21 KJV – And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.
And again in the Gospel of Luke.
Luke 1:10-11 KJV – And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
In the Hebrew Bible are three divisions. Those three include the Torah, the Nevi’im, and Ketuvim, or Law, Prophets, and Writings. The Torah has also been called the Pentateuch. The New Testament is divided into Gospels, Epistles or Letters, and the Book of Revelation. Understanding the reasons that there are segments helps us learn more of what God wants and needs us to know as we go through our daily journeys in Scripture. Here we go into the segment of Scripture known as the Torah, or the Law.
Leviticus 16:17 KJV – And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for the congregation of Israel.
Exodus 30:1 KJV – And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it.
We’ll go into the Word of Jesus through the Gospel of Matthew here to connect things up still more.
Matthew 12:42 KJV – The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
Jesus is foreshadowing as well as relaying history at the same time. In order for us to understand anything that may occur in the future by the will of God we must have threads that reach back into the past and carry through to the future. We all have heard the phrase everything in life and nature has a cause and a consequence and the outcomes would never be identical. We now will go and take a look at the Scroll of the Hebrew theologians.
Hebrews 1:2 KJV – Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Hebrews 1:8 KJV – But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
Let’s return to the story of Zacharias.
Luke 1:12 KJV – And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
Fear is a natural response to things we don’t understand or have never experienced before. All of us have had some form of fear over the years of our lives. Some of those fears have been overcome. Others may still nag at us in our subconscious minds, and sometimes even in our conscious ones. That’s why traditional methods to disperse those fears would be of benefit. What are those traditional methods? Prayer, petition, and routines are important. We see those here in these very different views of traditional thinking and practice.
Exodus 30:1 KJV – And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it.
Revelation 8:3-4 KJV – And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.
Judges 6:22 KJV – And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face.
Daniel 10:8 KJV – Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.
Fear is very real, and can be either of benefit, or a hindrance to our daily lives. We all know fears and phobias that can drag us backwards in place of forwards, and this is something that is seen in the priests, including Zacharias as shared here in Luke’s gospel.
Luke 1:13 KJV – But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
Seeing God was something many feared. Hearing an angel speaking must have been shocking to Zacharias, because he would never have heard or seen angels prior to this moment. His disbelief, unbelief, both of which hindered his ability to believe the idea that his wife would bear a child at their ages was beyond just a little shocking. Fear of the Lord can occur in a lot of forms, and is both good and bad. This next verse shares the bad type of fearing God.
Judges 13:22 KJV – And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.
How many times have we heard that phrase? “I’m afraid to stand before God and Jesus.”
How often have we thought this in our own minds? We all struggle with the questions “How?” and “Why?” This is something that is shared in so many ways in life, whether we see it with our very eyes, think it with our own minds, or whatever. The people of God in Scripture also go through those questions, and struggling with the meaning and the consequence. We see some of that here with Samuel and Isaiah.
2 Samuel 7:11-12 KJV – And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
Isaiah 9:6-7 KJV – For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
The prediction of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ was meant to stretch hope further than it had ever been before. This is a hope experienced by several people in Scripture, Adam, Noah, Abraham, Aaron, Isaiah, and many others would have recognized this gift from God for what it was, something to keep them working toward something. We see this hope in the eyes of Daniel here.
Daniel 7:14 KJV – And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
Daniel 7:27 KJV – And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
We add to that the words of Micah, the prophet. Here he speaks of New Jerusalem, prophetic knowledge of what the future would bring. This is very important for us to understand just how prophecy, tradition, faith, hope, and love can transform us from not understanding to understanding and on the brink of wisdom.
Micah 4:7 KJV – And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.
This specific verse alludes to the reign of our Heavenly Father and the Holy Trinity, with the Savior Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. The Gospel of Luke shows that there were and are reasons for everything. Knowing the reason for the story behind Elizabeth and Zacharias helps us prepare for all the amazing things to happen in the precursors of the birth of our Savior. That’s what we see here in the angel’s words for Zacharias.
Luke 1:14-15 KJV – And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
The birth of John the Baptist is something very, very important in the grand scheme of things when we think of the mission to bring humanity back from the brink of eternal death and destruction. We see more characteristics of what Jesus would be for us in the books of God’s law.
Numbers 6:3 KJV – He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.
Judges 13:4 KJV – Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:
We add to that the words of the prophet Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 1:5 KJV – Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
It continues to be important to understand the omniscience of our Heavenly Father, God’s very nature. Human beings do not have this capacity, and yet we can feel the omniscience of our Heavenly Father as we meditate, pray, and study His Word. We see how this combination is shared in the words of the Gospel writer, Luke.
Luke 1:16-17 KJV – And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
Preparation, we all know this is an important step in just about any endeavor. We have to plan ahead for things we don’t know might happen. It is best to be prepared, which is something we hear many times in Scripture. That is yet another reason to have prophecy and prediction, foreshadowing, and more. All of these provide us with the background to ensure that we can be prepared for whatever we might be facing in the present and in the future. Here is another premonition as seen through the prophet Malachi.
Malachi 4:5-6 KJV – Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Let’s go into the gospels and listen to the Word through the Savior Jesus, who, in these verses, provides the inkling that the prophecy of Elias, or Elijah, returning to lead us to the future, in the form of Jesus, the salvation of all.
Matthew 11:14 KJV – And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.
Mark 9:12-13 KJV – And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought. But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.
Believing takes practice, knowledge, understanding, and pursuing what those can do for us and for those around us as well. 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: The First Noel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u5UvnKlCTA
~ 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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