Welcome to Covenant of Hope Ministries and our combined written and live Sunday sermon. You will normally see us posted in written and live form every 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.
You will find us in the following location: http://www.covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com
Rev. Laura’s other sites: Facebook & Blogspot & Twitter & Linkedin & USAlife & YouTube
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 in his own apartment for a couple months now and enjoying it immensely. He’s been having issues with pain and pain relief of late and other respiratory and circulatory issues.
- Please continue praying for Evangelist Cal Jennings’ sister who has been in rehabilitation after having her benign brain tumor removed.
- Please pray for the citizens of Israel who have had more upheaval with the dangerous attacks managed yesterday.
- 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.
Several who are having money issues of varying degrees.
There are a few who are having chronic ongoing health issues, and diseases including cancer for several of them.
One who is continually suffering from loneliness that keeps them from peace and patience.
One cousin is having a great many issues in their family include several diagnoses that are a lot to process for them.
Our uncle has been in the hospital in ICU and other places suffering from cancer and having issues with his lungs, breathing, and more.
- 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 those who have lost their lives in the pursuit of faith and hope.
- Pray for our sick and wounded that they may heal.
* Happy Belated Birthday to my brother-in-law, whose birthday was early this past week.
* Happy Birthday to my youngest brother, Tony, whose birthday is today.
* Happy Birthday to Rev. Lisa Tyler, one of my mentors, her birthday is today.
Prayer: Father in heaven, our prayer here today on this beautiful and blessed Sunday is to have Your Holy Spirit bring the sense of soul deep patience, heartfelt peace, unending faith, bountiful hope, and unconditional love to hearts, minds, spirits, and souls of friends, family, and colleagues in this world. We pray for patience for several who are on personal prayer lists lately. We pray for relief from natural disasters around this world. We pray for our hungry and homeless in this world, that they find housing and healthy food to eat. We pray for those who are suffering the devastation of war and the destruction that follows it. We pray for honesty and humility to be heard from our leading officials around this world. 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: Casting Crowns ~ In the Hands of the Potter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88X4aVTk2rA
Sermon: Today we are continuing our study of the ninth chapter in the scroll of Romans. There is so much to cover today in this sermon. Paul is doing a whole lot of teaching in this chapter, as noted in previous sermons. We’ll start here today.
Romans 9:20 KJV – Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
NIV – But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’”
Paul recognizes that there is a lot of work to do in Rome regarding switching the mindset of a pantheon of gods and reducing it to God the Father of everything and all, the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last. There are still issues, to this very day, regarding myth and truth. The Bible is more than a book filled with historical stories. Think about it this way. The Bible is one of the eight oldest historical and religious books to actually exist. The first published Bible, the Codex Sinaiticus or Sinai Bible, was actually recorded on paper between 330 and 360 AD. Before that, it was most often orally shared from generation to generation. So, sharing the history of the many generations of the Jews needs to continue for as long as humanly possible. There are many reasons for this. One, hope exists because we continue to hold these traditions with an importance in our lives, for stability, growth, constancy, and more. We see this in the words of the prophet Samuel, and Job.
2 Samuel 16:10 KJV –And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the Lord hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so?
NIV –But the king said, “What does this have to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who can ask, ‘Why do you do this?’”
Job 9:32 KJV – For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment.
NIV – “He is not a mere mortal like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court.
Job 33:13 KJV – Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters.
NIV – Why do you complain to him that he responds to no one’s words?
Adding to these two men in Biblical history is the prophet Isaiah. In the case of Isaiah, he puts a view of reality, common sense, which is still something humanity needs to do more in developing. These four excerpts prove the fact.
Isaiah 10:15 KJV – Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.
NIV – Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it, or the saw boast against the one who uses it? As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up, or a club brandish the one who is not wood!
Isaiah 29:16 KJV – Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?
NIV – You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, “You did not make me”? Can the pot say to the potter, “You know nothing”?
Isaiah 45:9 KJV – Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
NIV – Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘The potter has no hands’?
Isaiah 64:8 KJV – But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
NIV – Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.
Paul adds to these excerpts with a reference to the prophet Micah and also to his first letter to the church at Corinth and to Timothy as well.
Micah 6:8 KJV – He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
NIV – He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
1 Corinthians 1:20 KJV –He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
NIV –He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
1 Timothy 6:5 KJV –Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.
NIV –and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.
Paul points out something here, watch what you are portraying in your ministry, in your attendance at church. Remember, keep Him Holy, because that is the TRUTH of God’s existence. That’s the TRUTH of our Savior Jesus Christ’s very existence. Keep your faith on the path of TRUTH, HONORING GOD, and focus purely on the things that Jesus taught us to stick to. In order to do that, everything else needs to fall to the wayside. Paul wastes no words in this regard. We see that here.
Romans 9:21 KJV – Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
NIV – Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?
In a movie created years ago titled Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade the Nazis were on the hunt for the treasures written about in Scripture, the Ark of the Covenant being one of them, and the Holy Grail being another. In the movie Indiana had a series of tests to get through to retrieve the Holy Grail and had to put his own education to the test, including spelling, grammar, and recognizing that Jesus was the son of a carpenter while here on this earth. It’s important to keep things in context, and the Bible is no different.
We cannot raise our pedestals too high, or we’ll end up like the rich man who was disheartened by the instruction of Jesus to leave his riches behind and follow Him. Paul wants to point out that there’s more to life than money and means. There’s more to spirituality than books written by theologians. Paul adds to his thoughts with references to the poetic and prophetic books of the Old Testament.
Proverbs 16:4 KJV – The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
NIV – The Lord works out everything to its proper end— even the wicked for a day of disaster.
Jeremiah 18:6 KJV – O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
NIV – He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.
Jeremiah 22:28 KJV – Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not?
NIV – Is this man Jehoiachin a despised, broken pot, an object no one wants? Why will he and his children be hurled out, cast into a land they do not know?
Hosea 8:8 KJV – Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure.
NIV – Israel is swallowed up; now she is among the nations like something no one wants.
Paul shares something interesting in his next verse. He points to things that could have happened when Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried. Though this could have happened long, long, before that epic moment in history. For God a promise is something He will never neglect. He proved that in the fact that this earth is still here despite the epic storms, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, world wars and more that have happened since the days of Noah. This is what Paul points out here.
Romans 9:22 KJV – What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
NIV – What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction?
What is Paul reflecting on? He’s again focused on the Torah and the poetic books of the Old Testament. Here are excerpts connecting to his words regarding the trouble known as wrath, power, and the development of patience in life.
Numbers 14:11 KJV – And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?
NIV – The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them?
Numbers 14:18 KJV – The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.
NIV – ‘The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’
Psalm 50:21-22 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. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.
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. “Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:
Proverbs 16:4 KJV – The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
NIV – The Lord works out everything to its proper end— even the wicked for a day of disaster.
Ecclesiastes 8:11-12 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. Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:
NIV – When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong. Although a wicked person who commits a hundred crimes may live a long time, I know that it will go better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him.
Paul adds this reference from Peter’s first book and something we often hear in relation to staying on the path Jesus is leading us down. Those are stumbling stones. This is what the Apostle Peter shares here.
1 Peter 2:8 KJV –And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
NIV –and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.
Something we often dislike a lot in churches around the world is the outlandish amount of wealth on display in the creation of the churches and cathedrals. Jesus was in a synagogue many times in His life. However, even the buildings known as synagogues in His day were nothing in comparison to what is seen today. What was a church then? In many cases, it was an open arena, a hillside covered in wheat or oats, or a forest meadow filled with flowers. There were many reasons Jesus didn’t always preach in a synagogue. Most of them had to do with the fact the Pharisees and Sadducees were actually afraid of Him. Paul points out that riches in the case of Jesus were hardly relative to gold, silver, expensive spices, or any of that. In the case of Jesus, riches consisted of faith, hope, peace, and all the benefits of unconditional love. One of the main components of unconditional love is mercy, which is what Paul points out next.
Romans 9:23 KJV – And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
NIV – What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory—
How many times have we heard the words “Have mercy”? Often we hear this in sarcastic tones. Yet, in the case of our Savior, there is no sarcastic humor involved. Mercy, like humility, is one of the most difficult states of being for humanity. Paul reflects on this as he references the gospel writer Luke and his letter to Ephesus.
Luke 1:17 KJV – 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.
NIV – And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Acts 9:15 KJV – But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
NIV – But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.
Ephesians 3:16 KJV – That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
NIV – I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
One thing I have seen often in this world is a series of “isms”. One of those is racism, and so many others that have existed for a very, very long time. People have to understand, even in those days, and in the here and now, there is only ONE RACE on this planet. That is the HUMAN RACE. Every single person on this earth is, somewhere in their history, related to the very first man and woman ever created. They are, as they were, Adam and Eve.
Romans 9:24 KJV – Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
NIV – even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?
All of us have been called to participate in the sharing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Past, present, and future, everyone has a job to do in sharing faith and growing that faith to fill life as we know it. In doing so we will transform ourselves, and our loved ones, friends, colleagues, and even our enemies, to see what the truth of Scripture holds for every person in existence. Paul shares three connections portraying these sentiments here from the prophet Isaiah, and Paul’s first letter to Corinth and the writings of the Hebrew prophets.
Isaiah 65:1 KJV – I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.
NIV – “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’
1 Corinthians 1:9 KJV –God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
NIV –God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Hebrews 3:1 KJV – Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
NIV – Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.
Now, in this next verse we are exploring today, there is a name that doesn’t ring a bell unless you recognize the many methods the fledgling Christians had to utilize while teaching about Jesus and Scripture of the Old and New Testaments, such as they were then. One of them is by using abbreviations or stand-in names and such. This was done to disguise their work but still to do everything for the greater good. Osee is an abbreviation for the prophet Hosea. This is what Paul shares next.
Romans 9:25 KJV – As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
NIV – As he says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people; and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,”
Here are the verses from the prophets Ezekiel and Hosea that are referenced by Paul’s letter to Rome.
Ezekiel 16:8 KJV – Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest mine.
NIV – “‘Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.
Hosea 1:1 KJV – The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
NIV – The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel:
Paul also references the words of our Savior Jesus Christ from the gospel of John the Beloved. He adds to this with Peter’s first letter.
John 16:27 KJV – For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.
NIV – No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.
1 Peter 2:10 KJV –Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
NIV –Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Now Paul is referencing something interesting in this next verse. He is referencing the reverence we should all possess while in the midst of worshipping Jesus Christ and God the Father who sent Him to us and to the Holy Spirit sent by Jesus to those of us in this world who believe with all of our hearts, minds, spirits, and souls.
Romans 9:26 KJV – And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.
NIV – and, “In the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’”
There were a lot of things commanded in the Old Testament that are largely ignored in today’s world. The foods we eat. The clothes we wear. The piercings, tattoos and more that we see surrounding us. Did you know that most of this was forbidden in the Torah, the Mishnah and the Gemarah, and all the other segments of Scripture were forbidden to be taught to the Gentiles. Jesus broke this tradition, this “law” of the Jews. He did so at the direction of God our Father, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the Father of every human being on this earth, even those who were “Gentiles”.
Remember, there are those who were separated from “God’s People”. Cain, the slayer of his brother Abel, was one of them. The twin sons of Isaac, Jacob and Esau, and on and on through Scripture. There are reasons to learn Scripture, to study it, and be able to reflect on it in the here and now to prevent us from repeating the bad things that ended up causing so much chaos in the world then, only to continue on in the here and now. We see reasons for learning God’s Word in all of these excerpts.
Deuteronomy 14:1 KJV – Ye are the children of the Lord your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.
NIV – You are the children of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave the front of your heads for the dead,
Psalm 42:2 KJV – My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?
NIV – My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
Daniel 6:26 KJV – I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end.
NIV – “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. “For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end.
Hosea 1:10 KJV – Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
NIV – “Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘children of the living God.’
The reasons to learn these are reflected upon through the Apostles and their own words. We see this in the words of Simon Peter, and John the Beloved.
Matthew 16:16 KJV – And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
NIV – Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
John 11:52 KJV – And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.
NIV – and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.
We, as Christians, have a lot to work on in our personal pursuits of true Christian faith. There are many ways to do so. One of those is really and truly, willingly, studying God’s Word as it was written. Keep it in His context and the truth that exists within His Word. If this sermon has you wanting to learn more, please feel free to leave me a message in the comments or sending me a message and I’ll respond in a timely manner. If you would like to accept Jesus Christ as Your Lord and Savior today, please feel free to reach out to us. 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: Michael W. Smith ~ Above All https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7EPZV56PuA
~ Shalom ~
Rev. Laura A. Neff
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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
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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