https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-lgvjtioIs
Welcome to Covenant of Hope Ministries and our Sunday sermon. You will normally see us posted in written and live form on Sunday. I am Rev. Laura A. Neff. Our ministry was built on the truth of God’s love and sharing the Word of God, the Spirit of Christ Jesus in a way that we believe embraces the ways Jesus taught us to manage. We bring His Word to the many as opposed to the few, in order to continue the legacy created by the ministry of Jesus Christ. 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 & Linkedin
Wedding officiant page: Wedfolio
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 Evangelist Cal Jennings who has been suffering greatly with his health. May the Lord bring his spirits up and help heal him. This week he has been suffering from his seasonal allergies.
- Please pray for Evangelist Cal Jennings’ sister who has a malignant meningioma and has been undergoing treatment.
- Please keep several friends and other family members in prayer for their trials and tribulations. They have each requested to remain anonymous for the time being.
- Pray for the economy around this world as inflation and supply chains suffer from extremely high prices for fuel and overly high demand.
- Pray for those who have suffered from violent events, that they heal and do not have scarred psyches and that those who have lost their loved ones to violence find peace in the face of fear.
- Pray for comfort and solace to be shared with those who have said farewell to a loved one this week, known or unknown.
- 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 healing to each of our bodies, minds, spirits, and souls. We pray for a great recovery for Evangelist Cal’s sister. We pray also for Cal’s allergies to reduce in severity. We pray for healing in my employer and also in my friend’s husband’s pains after surgery and also a bad fall. We pray for recovery and rehabilitation for my father-in-law, Raymond. We pray for Hunter and Luke who suffered multiple fractures last week. We pray for Mary’s entire family as they have contracted COVID 19 this past week or more. We pray for those who have suffered unjustly for things they could not control. We pray for those who have lost faith and live in fear and sorrow. We pray for the homeless and the jobless in this world. We pray for the hungry and the malnourished. We pray for the poor, weak, and sorrowful people in this world. We pray in thanksgiving for all the great gifts that You have given us, even if we don’t always realize they are there. We pray in hope and patience for those things that are worrying us in our hearts and minds. 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: Go Rest High on That Mountain ~ Vince Gill https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jXrmAKBBTU
Sermon: This week we are beginning the study of the second chapter in Romans. One of the most common sayings in today’s Christian circles is “What Would Jesus Do”. This brings a lot of issues to light in this world. Many times over the years, even before I was a full-fledged minister I have argued about judging others with many people surrounding me. This is one subject that is very touchy around this world. Too often we are rushing to judgment. God reminds us in many ways that we are not to be judgmental about the lives of others. Without some form of experience, we cannot understand what that other person might manage. This is what Paul is sharing with the church at Rome.
Romans 2:1 KJV –Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.
NIV –You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
Now, remember, there are seven troubles, including vanity, envy, lust, enmity, wrath, shame and doubt. These seven troubles can cloud our judgment. This is one of many reasons that proves that Jesus, through God, is the ONLY judge with power He actually doesn’t want to have. Our judgment for our lives must reflect what Jesus would do. This is the warning that Paul references through the eyes of King David, and the Word according to Jesus our Lord and Savior. We see this through the writing of the prophet Samuel, and the gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John the Beloved.
2 Samuel 12:5 KJV –And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:
NIV –David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this must die!
Matthew 7:1-3 KJV – Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
NIV – “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
Luke 6:37 KJV – Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
NIV – “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Luke 12:14 KJV – And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?
NIV – Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?”
John 8:7 KJV – So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
NIV – When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
How often are we reminded that we are human and have many mistakes in life? How often do we listen to the LORD as we should in place of those who belittle and demean us in life? We need to pay attention to God’s Word through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He has the ultimate in discernment, to the very marrow of our bones, the last hair on our heads, Jesus Christ and God our Father know us to the elemental point of our very existence. This is why we cannot condemn our neighbors, our enemies, because we then will end up proving that we are no better than those who condemn us without knowledge, understanding, and building the wisdom that Jesus warned us to amass all those centuries ago. We see that in these words from Paul to the church at Rome.
Romans 2:2-3 KJV –But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
NIV –Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?
Paul again references both Old Testament and New Testament writings. Each voyage into these verses brings more and more insight into what we should be living for in this world, and how we are to portray our faith, love, and understanding of God. Suspicion in the world is something we see portrayed in every culture and on every continent in this world. Here we see this through the eyes of the prophet Samuel, the unfortunate Job, King David, the gospel writer Luke, and the letter Paul wrote to Galatia.
2 Samuel 10:3 KJV –And the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? hath not David rather sent his servants unto thee, to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it?
NIV –the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think David is honoring your father by sending envoys to you to express sympathy? Hasn’t David sent them to you only to explore the city and spy it out and overthrow it?”
Job 35:2 KJV – Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God's?
NIV – “Do you think this is just? You say, ‘I am in the right, not God.’
Psalm 50:21 KJV – These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
NIV – When you did these things and I kept silent, you thought I was exactly like you. But I now arraign you and set my accusations before you.
Acts 26:6 KJV – And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers:
NIV – And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our ancestors that I am on trial today.
Galatians 3:8 KJV – And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
NIV – Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”
There’s a lot to think about in these verses.
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?
Paul points something out that we often will overlook in our lives as we live in this world today. We often see that the worship and understanding of the sacrifices God and Jesus managed throughout the ages are not seen equally by every set of eyes. We see this even in our own versions of knowledge, wisdom, and worship. As His ministers, teachers of His Word, His followers, His faithful believers, we the citizens of the greater church of God and Jesus have a lot of work to do to share this faith, this belief, this love for the seen and the unseen Lord God our Heavenly Father, and our Savior Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit as it fills each of us with the inspiration and hope of reaching heaven’s gates and being welcomed in. We see this back and forth quite often throughout Scripture. We see it in these Old Testament references of Moses, King David, King Solomon, the prophet Ezekiel, and Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth.
Exodus 34:6 KJV – And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
NIV – And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,
Psalm 31:19 KJV – Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!
NIV – How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you.
Ecclesiastes 8:11 KJV – Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
NIV – When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong.
Ezekiel 11:19 KJV – And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
NIV – I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.
2 Corinthians 8:2 KJV –How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.
NIV –In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.
In this world we see many movies, documentaries, other shows on television, on the internet, in the newspapers, that share the darkness that can be found in this world far more than the inspirational, the best moments of life here on earth. With it, the not so unusual aftereffects of these influences are an unfortunate mental, physical, spiritual, change in our viewpoints. All the negativity transforms people into hard-hearted, contentious personalities. This is something Paul points out, and calls us out, just as he did the church at Rome.
Romans 2:5 KJV –But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
NIV –But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
There is a good view of being stubborn, and a bad one. It is the bad one that Paul is referring to. He pulls his thoughts together through the influences of the Torah in the writings of Moses, added to by the writings of King David and King Solomon.
Exodus 32:34 KJV – Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.
NIV – Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”
Deuteronomy 32:34 KJV – Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?
NIV – “Have I not kept this in reserve and sealed it in my vaults?
Psalm 110:5 KJV – The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.
NIV – The Lord is at your right hand; he will crush kings on the day of his wrath.
Proverbs 1:18 KJV – And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.
NIV – These men lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush only themselves!
Proverbs 28:14 KJV – Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.
NIV – Blessed is the one who always trembles before God, but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble.
Paul adds to these with the prophet Jeremiah, it’s a warning to all of us, to watch what we do, say, think about, and react to. There are consequences that are not easily realized while in the heat of the moment. This is why we hear the words “leap before you look” so often.
Jeremiah 40:3 KJV – Now the LORD hath brought it, and done according as he hath said: because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed his voice, therefore this thing is come upon you.
NIV – And now the LORD has brought it about; he has done just as he said he would. All this happened because you people sinned against the LORD and did not obey him.
Let’s not be those blind leapers in this world. Let’s focus on what God wants us to do in this lifetime. Let’s focus on following the path that Jesus blazed two thousand years ago and more at this point. This is one of many reasons that Paul points toward here in this next verse.
Romans 2:6 KJV –Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
NIV – God “will repay each person according to what they have done.”
We have heard a lot about works and how they can lead to good things. Yet, in truth, faith is the foundation, building that faith within ourselves is the most important element in our exploration of Scripture. Faith allows those words we read and study to become part of us in more ways than words on a page. Job is foretelling the method toward transformation in foreshadowing the life of our Savior and Salvation, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ.
Job 34:11 KJV – For the work of a man shall he render unto him, and cause every man to find according to his ways.
NIV – He repays everyone for what they have done; he brings on them what their conduct deserves.
We have many others who add to the thoughts Job has, and those include King David, King Solomon, and the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel. We see this in their words here.
Psalm 62:12 KJV – Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work.
NIV – and with you, Lord, is unfailing love"; and, “You reward everyone according to what they have done.”
Proverbs 24:12 KJV – If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?
NIV – If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?
Ecclesiastes 3:17 KJV – I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.
NIV – I said to myself, “God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time to judge every deed.”
Jeremiah 17:10 KJV – I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
NIV – “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”
Ezekiel 18:20 KJV – The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
NIV – The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.
We are all sinners. God gave us Jesus because He knows we cannot achieve salvation without Him in our hearts, and minds, our spirits, and souls. God gave the promise of this far, far, back in Scripture, all the way back to the beginning with Adam and Eve. Paul reflects on this in these next words to the church at Rome.
Romans 2:7 KJV –To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
NIV –To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.
Again, Paul is reflecting on the words of the Prophet Ezekiel. Again, these words are a foretelling of what would be to come in the future. In these words Ezekiel was providing a foundation that could back then give them hope, and to manage to continue that thought even to this moment in time. Ezekiel is remembered as a prophetic teacher of the truth of God. We see that reflected in these words.
Ezekiel 18:17 KJV – That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.
NIV – He withholds his hand from mistreating the poor and takes no interest or profit from them. He keeps my laws and follows my decrees. He will not die for his father’s sin; he will surely live.
Ezekiel wasn’t just doing this to comfort those around him, to warn them that they had best pay attention, he was foretelling what Jesus Himself would soon say, as we see in these words Jesus conveyed to the Apostles, Disciples, and other followers through the gospels of Matthew, Luke and John the Beloved.
Matthew 25:46 KJV – And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
NIV – “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Luke 8:15 KJV – But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
NIV – But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
Luke 21:19 KJV – In your patience possess ye your souls.
NIV – Stand firm, and you will win life.
John 4:36 KJV – And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
NIV – Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.
Paul again references another of his letters. This being the letter to the church at Corinth in Greece.
1 Corinthians 15:42 KJV –So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
NIV –So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;
Our last verse from the letter Paul wrote to Rome shows the elements of our minds and hearts that would not reflect well on God and Jesus. These are the traits that we, as Christians, want to purge from our minds, hearts, spirits, actions, and more.
Romans 2:8 KJV –But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
NIV –But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
Again, Paul references the writings of the kings of the Jews, including King Solomon. He also references the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
2 Chronicles 6:23 KJV –Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness.
NIV –then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, condemning the guilty and bringing down on their heads what they have done, and vindicating the innocent by treating them in accordance with their innocence.
Proverbs 11:23 KJV – The desire of the righteous is only good: but the expectation of the wicked is wrath.
NIV – The desire of the righteous ends only in good, but the hope of the wicked only in wrath.
Jeremiah 34:18 KJV – And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof,
NIV – Those who have violated my covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two and then walked between its pieces.
Ezekiel 22:31 KJV – Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.
NIV – So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD.”
Paul also adds to the references with his letters to Corinth, Galatia, and Philippi. We see the prominence of the seven troubles and the havoc they can cause in life as we know it.
2 Corinthians 12:20 KJV –For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults:
NIV –For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder.
Galatians 5:20 KJV – Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
NIV – idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
Philippians 1:17 KJV – But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.
NIV – The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.
Selfishness is something we all have to challenge our faith and belief. 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: How Great Thou Art ~ Home Free
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXQpDDcrN-w
~ Shalom ~
Rev. Laura A. Neff
Facebook & Blogspot & Twitter & Linkedin
Evangelist 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 © 2023 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.
