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.
- Pray for my friend Jeff and his family as they say farewell to his father this weekend.
- We are ever watchful in regard to the battle for Ukraine on the other side of the world. We pray for all those who are affected by the terrible things going on there. We mourn for the families and the massive loss of life. We also pray for everything that is affected as a result of the economic issues that are affecting all of us.
- Pray for two of my siblings as they navigate injuries, recoveries, and financial stressors.
- Pray for the refugees that are trying to get out of chaos all around.
- Pray for a friend of a friend whose daughter Everleigh is still fighting Leukemia.
- Pray that another friend gets good news in two weeks regarding their healing process is going well.
- 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 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 for the citizens of Ukraine who are fighting for their sovereignty and their freedom. We pray for those who have lost their lives on all sides of this chaos. We pray for those who have been sick, recovering from various illnesses, including Rev. Lisa Tyler’s family, several of my family members as well. We continue to keep Elder Cal Jennings in our prayers as well. 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, including our family members who have been driving through the southern USA. 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: Lauren Daigle ~ Remember https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nThnLyjQgbA
Sermon: We will complete the last bit of Peter’s second epistle today. Let’s start here where we left off last week. Peter, in these last few verses, is saying farewell to those who he has been working with to bring the truth of Jesus to them.
2 Peter 3:14 KJV – Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
NIV – So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
Peter is reminding them to stay on the path that Jesus created for His followers. It’s not easy, but we all must continue toward eternal life with our Savior, Jesus Christ. Peter references Paul’s work in the cities of Corinth, Philippi, and Thessaly as shared here.
1 Corinthians 15:58 KJV – Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
NIV – Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Philippians 2:15 KJV – That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
NIV – so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky
1 Thessalonians 5:23 KJV – And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
NIV – May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Peter adds to the words of his colleague and brother in Christ with another of the brothers, Timothy, as well as James the Just, younger mortal brother of Jesus Christ.
1 Timothy 6:14 KJV – That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:
NIV – to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
James 1:27 KJV – Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
NIV – Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Faith in God and Jesus through the Holy Spirit should be pure religion, not in the format and formula we see religion becoming so often, but in its purest state, without fault, fully holy truth. This is something we have to work toward, because, as we all know, humans are only perfect when they accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and accept that God does indeed exist in everything and everyone around us. Patience, as we have often heard, is a virtue that is very difficult to hang on to. Peter shares this fact here.
2 Peter 3:15 KJV – And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
NIV – Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.
Patience, that’s something we hear a lot about when it comes to Jesus and the preparation for the Second Coming. Jesus wants our peace to rest in the Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That’s what Peter is pointing out to the church congregation. Isaiah foretold this as shared here.
Isaiah 30:18 KJV – And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.
NIV – Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!
The gospel writer, Luke spoke to colleagues Ananias and Saul blessing them with gifts from the Holy Spirit. This is something that all the gospel writers, and the Apostles and Disciples wished to receive, a gift from the Holy Spirit, which is a gift of God and Jesus.
Acts 9:17 KJV – And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
NIV – Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 15:25 KJV – It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
NIV – So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul—
We all remember what Jesus said about friendship in His name. Paul is also reminding people here while in Rome.
Romans 2:4 KJV – Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
NIV – Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
Peter speaks fondly of the great gifts that his Brother, Paul, shared with others and what he, Peter, was working to manage for the church in his travels. This is what he shares next.
2 Peter 3:16 KJV – As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
NIV – He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
The path to righteousness is not an easy one. If it were, Jesus would not have had to make the ultimate sacrifice in 33 AD. This is something that David knew intimately well. He shares that fact here. Evil exists everywhere we look and especially in those places we don’t look. This is how David put it.
Psalm 56:5 KJV – Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil.
NIV – All day long they twist my words; all their schemes are for my ruin.
Evil has many disguises, far greater than the wolf in sheep’s clothing. It can disguise itself as friends, colleagues, and more. That’s why we have to be so vigilant in this lifetime we live, no matter the length. We must prepare our hearts, our minds, our spirits and souls for the moment of the Second Coming, as though it would be tomorrow. If we don’t, we’ll miss the boat entirely. Jeremiah and the lesser prophets in the scroll of Hebrews all knew this.
Jeremiah 23:36 KJV – And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man's word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God.
NIV – But you must not mention ‘a message from the LORD’ again, because each one’s word becomes their own message. So you distort the words of the living God, the LORD Almighty, our God.
Hebrews 5:11 KJV – Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
NIV – We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand.
Patience is more than an art form, it is a necessary element of a Christian psyche. It is necessary to exercise patience, using it for any and all events in our lives. This is what the Hebrew prophets and Peter were all saying to those around them, and to all of us this far into the future and beyond. Patience is an incredibly difficult art to master. Satan and his devils will eat away at patience inconspicuously, and often without our ever realizing it. This is Peter’s warning about that.
2 Peter 3:17 KJV – Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
NIV – Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position.
Paul added to that insistence, to the importance of discernment, patience, and the suppression of the seven troubles of vanity, envy, wrath, enmity, lust, shame and doubt. Pay attention and weed those troubles out of your life, something we all have to do on a daily basis. Paul shares this in Corinth and Galatia.
1 Corinthians 10:12 KJV – Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
NIV – So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!
Galatians 5:4 KJV – Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
NIV – You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.
John the Beloved offered this final warning to the church just before his death while in exile on Patmos.
Revelation 2:5 KJV – Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
NIV – Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
Peter offers this to the people in the churches as he closes out his letter.
2 Peter 3:18 KJV – But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
NIV – But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
Grace, something Jesus has in abundance. This is something Jesus worked hard to share with those who were surrounding Him. It is what Peter and the rest of the twelve all worked hard to emphasize as part of growing our Christian faith. Grace is a blessing given to us through Christ, who died for us in one of the most torturous ways. He did so to ensure God’s glory could be alive and active and transformational to this world filled with vanity, envy, lust, enmity, wrath, shame and doubt. These are the sentiments shared in Rome with Paul and also with Timothy.
Romans 11:36 KJV – For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
NIV – For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
2 Timothy 4:18 KJV – And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
NIV – The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Have faith, believe, express that faith and belief in the form of unconditional love and we’ll all be walking in the same footsteps of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Be aware and wary, as we step closer to the Passover and celebration of Easter in these next few weeks. It’s important to prepare ourselves for that moment when time will no longer matter. It’s also important to recognize the traditions that our Heavenly Father put in place all those years ago 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: Jesus Remember Me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGB2E0NzO2A
~ 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 © 2022 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.
