Stumbling Stones Can Be Transformed to Cornerstones of Faith

 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPSjV3KqH0I

 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 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.

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 had an up and down week due to the circulatory and pulmonary issues he had last week, but thankfully he isn’t back in the hospital.

- Pray for the war torn countries of Israel, the West Bank, Kuwait, and Ukraine.

- Pray for the victims of the many shootings around this world this past week.

- One friend who has come to me with fear and worry in their life regarding serious health issues and more going on. Pray that they find a solution to the health issues and improve their life in many ways at long last (SGE).

- One cousin is having a great many issues in their family including several diagnoses that are a lot to process for them.

- One dear friend has been told they have cataracts which has caused massive migraine headaches that are quite debilitating. Pray that their new glasses and other things will assist in easing their pain.

- Continue praying for our aunt and the family and friends of our uncle who succumbed to cancer about ten days ago now.

- My daughter-in-law Tori’s grandfather will be having a mass removed soon and the family has asked for prayers that it is easily done, and everything is good afterwards.

- Please pray for my sister and brother-in-law, Donna and Tony Angeloff, who both suffered a fall and are in a great deal of pain as a result. They are both scheduled for an MRI to find out what’s going on.

- 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 who have lost their lives in the pursuit of faith and hope.

- Pray for our sick and wounded that they may heal.

- Pray for those who are serving our countries around this world.

- Pray for peace on earth and good will to men as Scripture shares.

 

Prayer: Father in heaven, we are here together today lifting up our voices to You in this quiet and solemn prayer. We pray for the friends and family who have lost loved ones this week. We pray for those who have suffered any form of illness or pain. We pray that their bodies and minds return to perfect health. We pray for those who have had any form of chaos in their lives this week and awaiting them as well, that they find calm and the patience to endure it. We pray for our leaders, worldwide, that they listen to Your voice over everything else and make good, beneficial decisions in all that they do. We pray that those who are facing winter’s chaos, including those who are not accustomed to the brutal cold, would find peace and sanity within it. We pray for those who need Your direction that they listen to You and hear Your wisdom for them. We pray for all of this in Your Holy Name, through our Savior Jesus Christ, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, Amen and so it shall be.

 

Opening Song: Stepping Stones ~ The Browders https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA5NE0KPNlI

 

Sermon: Today we are continuing our study of the scroll of Romans in the eleventh chapter. Paul is teaching a great lesson. It is a repeat of a lesson he learned through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. What Paul has done is to share it in similar fashion to the people in the church of Rome. The parable he is retelling is from John 15, in the parable of The Vine and Branches. Those who know me well know that this is one of my favorite teaching parables. Yet, with this telling, Paul adds other parts of Scripture to his version. With that, let’s begin here.

 

Romans 11:9 KJV –And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them:

NIV –And David says: “May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them.

 

Paul draws more references from the Torah in these three excerpts from Deuteronomy.

 

Deuteronomy 6:10-12 KJV – And it shall be, when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

NIV – When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

 

Deuteronomy 32:13-15 KJV – He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock; Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape. But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.

NIV – He made him ride on the heights of the land and fed him with the fruit of the fields.
He nourished him with honey from the rock, and with oil from the flinty crag, with curds and milk from herd and flock and with fattened lambs and goats, with choice rams of Bashan and the finest kernels of wheat. You drank the foaming blood of the grape. Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; filled with food, they became heavy and sleek. They abandoned the God who made them and rejected the Rock their Savior.

 

Deuteronomy 32:35 KJV – To me belongeth vengeance and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.

NIV – It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.”

 

He adds to this with words from the prophet Samuel.

 

1 Samuel 25:36-38 KJV –And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light. But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. And it came to pass about ten days after, that the Lord smote Nabal, that he died.

NIV –When Abigail went to Nabal, he was in the house holding a banquet like that of a king. He was in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing at all until daybreak. Then in the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things, and his heart failed him and he became like a stone. About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal and he died.

 

Paul then adds to this with the words of King David.

 

Psalm 28:4 KJV – Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert.

NIV – Repay them for their deeds and for their evil work; repay them for what their hands have done and bring back on them what they deserve.

 

Psalm 69:22-23 KJV – Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake.

NIV – May the table set before them become a snare; may it become retribution and a trap. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.

 

His last reference for this verse is from the prophet Isaiah.

 

Isaiah 59:18 KJV – According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence.

NIV – According to what they have done, so will he repay wrath to his enemies and retribution to his foes; he will repay the islands their due.

 

One thing Paul manages in his letter to Rome is to draw reference from just about every part of Scripture. In this section of his letter he focuses on something that was shared through Jesus and almost every prophet and king of ancient Israel. Here Paul is pointing toward a series of stumbling blocks every human being experiences at one time or another in their lifetimes.

 

Romans 11:10-11 KJV – Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway. I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

NIV – May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever. Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.

 

Did you notice that Paul references the seven troubles we have spoken of quite often since our exploration of the Scroll of James the Just? Those seven troubles are vanity, envy, lust, enmity, wrath, shame, and doubt. These seven ARE our stumbling blocks. They have proven to be stumbling blocks for billions of people since the beginning of time. Here we see some of this in the references Paul pulls from his memories.

 

Deuteronomy 28:64-68 KJV – And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.

NIV – Then the Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known. Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. In the morning you will say, “If only it were evening!” and in the evening, “If only it were morning!”—because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see. The Lord will send you back in ships to Egypt on a journey I said you should never make again. There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.

 

Ezekiel 18:23 KJV – Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?

NIV – Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?

 

Ezekiel 18:32 KJV – For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.

NIV – For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!

 

Ezekiel 33:11 KJV – Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

NIV – Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’

 

Paul again references a familiar set of words from our Savior Jesus and the reaction of those who heard from Him with theirs. Note, the others who respond to Jesus and His words would evoke the trouble known as doubt. Added to this would be the words Luke wrote in the Acts of the Apostles as well.

 

Luke 20:16 KJV – He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.

NIV – He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!”

 

Acts 28:28 KJV – Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.

NIV – “Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”

 

Knowing your personal faults is important, for a great many reasons. Paul wants us to focus on challenging each of us to correct our faults, one at a time, if need be. It is not easy, because we need to work on these issues in our lives every day. Do we know our faults? Sometimes we do, but there are others where we miss them entirely. This is why Paul is so cautious with how he teaches through these letters he wrote. He was no different with this letter to Rome as we see here.

 

Romans 11:12 KJV – Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?

NIV – But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!

 

One thing that Jesus taught was not to discriminate in any way. In heaven, in God’s realm there is no money. There are no social classes. There are no separations between genders, skin, eye, or hair colors. In God’s Unconditional Love we are a single race, the human race. Each of us needs to remember this. Paul pulls influence from the prophet Isaiah. This one describes this in detail.

 

Isaiah 11:11-16 KJV – And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

NIV – In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean. He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth. Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish, and Judah’s enemies will be destroyed; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim. They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west; together they will plunder the people to the east. They will subdue Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be subject to them. The Lord will dry up the gulf of the Egyptian sea; with a scorching wind he will sweep his hand over the Euphrates River. He will break it up into seven streams so that anyone can cross over in sandals. There will be a highway for the remnant of his people that is left from Assyria, as there was for Israel when they came up from Egypt.

 

Isaiah 12:1-6 KJV – And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

NIV – In that day you will say: “I will praise you, Lord.  Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. In that day you will say: “Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”

 

Paul again references his pupil, and the gospel writer, Luke as he wrote in the Acts of the Apostles.

 

Acts 3:21 KJV – Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

NIV – Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.

 

Jesus also taught that everyone was worthy of hearing the Word. It is why He taught the Gentiles of all shapes and descriptions wherever He went. The centurion, the woman at the well and many others listened to His teaching and witnessed His healings and miracles of all descriptions. Paul considers his work as a reflection of our Savior Jesus Christ, and worked very hard to transform the thoughts, minds, and spirits of those who read his letters then, and even to this very moment in time.

 

Romans 11:13-14 KJV – For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.

NIV – I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them.

 

 

Paul wants to help everyone achieve salvation, no matter how hard he must work to ensure it. Salvation and the achievement of it takes patience, perseverance, penitence, prudence, passion, purpose, and practice. He wants us to realize we are all part of God’s love as professed in the fact that Jesus called us to celebrate and embrace unconditional love and be friends, even with our enemies. This is shared in these excerpts from the Old and New Testament, including Paul’s letter to Corinth.

 

Genesis 29:14 KJV – And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space of a month.

NIV – Then Laban said to him, “You are my own flesh and blood.” After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month,

 

2 Samuel 19:12 KJV –Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh: wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king?

NIV –You are my relatives, my own flesh and blood. So why should you be the last to bring back the king?’

 

1 Corinthians 1:21 KJV –For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

NIV –For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

 

1 Corinthians 7:16 KJV –For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?

NIV –How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

 

One thing that people often fail to realize and recognize is that prejudice has been around since the beginning of time. It was first seen with the first two sons of Adam and Eve. It continued on with Jacob and Esau, and continues even to this day. Prejudice and jealousy are just two examples of the consequence of the seven troubles. They are combined vanity, envy, lust, enmity, shame, doubt, and often culminate in wrath, as it happened with Jacob and Esau, Caine and Abel, and many others in the millennia that have passed since them. Paul points out that these seven have no place in those who want to be accepted fully into heaven. We have to acknowledge that we are not perfect as human beings. However, with Jesus all of us are made perfect due to the sacrifice He made on that cross almost two thousand years ago. Here is how he shares it.

 

Romans 11:15 KJV – For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?

NIV – For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

 

Paul was able to point out that there is one accomplishment Jesus managed that no other human on this earth could do by themselves. That was the ability to rise from the dead. Jesus proved the potential not once, but twice. First in the resurrection of Lazarus and then in His resurrection three days after being crucified and buried. Our transgressions didn’t stop in the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. Our sins continue even now, and we often don’t pay attention enough to realize we would be sinning. That’s the reason we have Jesus in the first place. The prophets Daniel, Ezekiel, and the father of the prodigal son, each points out something regarding transgressions and reconciliation.

 

Daniel 9:24 KJV – Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

NIV – “Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.

 

Ezekiel 37:1-14 KJV – The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,
And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.
Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.
Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.
Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.

NIV – The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”

 

Luke 15:24 KJV – For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

NIV – For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

 

Luke 15:32 KJV – It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

NIV – But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

 

Our last verse from the scroll of Romans today is this one.

 

Romans 11:16 KJV – For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

NIV – If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

 

Why are the first fruits, first children, first animals of all types, more important to God? This goes all the way back to the Torah. It has a lot to do with the six days of creation. God created the heavens, the earth, and everything within, upon, and surrounding it in a miraculous six days. It is because of this that God considers the first born, of all species, plant, animal, insect, and so on, to be His alone. His instruction is shared in the Torah, through the prophetic and poetic books and on through the rest of Scripture for everyone to learn. Here are just a few of them.

 

Exodus 22:29 KJV – Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.

NIV – “Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats. “You must give me the firstborn of your sons.

 

Exodus 23:16 KJV – And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.

NIV – “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field. “Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.

 

Exodus 23:19 KJV – The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.

NIV – “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God. “Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.

 

Leviticus 23:10 KJV – Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:

NIV – “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest.

 

Nehemiah 10:37 KJV – And that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage.

NIV – “Moreover, we will bring to the storerooms of the house of our God, to the priests, the first of our ground meal, of our grain offerings, of the fruit of all our trees and of our new wine and olive oil. And we will bring a tithe of our crops to the Levites, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all the towns where we work.

 

Ezekiel 44:30 KJV – And the first of all the firstfruits of all things, and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest's: ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house.

NIV – The best of all the firstfruits and of all your special gifts will belong to the priests. You are to give them the first portion of your ground meal so that a blessing may rest on your household.

 

Finding our anchor in any storm takes all of those steppingstones. God wants us to develop them, one at a time, and Jesus taught us how. He did so by portraying just how important our faith and belief would be. All those stumbling stones you have faced are transformed to steppingstones the second we recognize our faith and pursue it honestly with all of our hearts, minds, spirits, and souls. Faith and belief in God go hand in hand, and all of us have the opportunity to walk in the faithful steps of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The ability to do this requires us to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. If you are willing to do so, please leave me a note in the comments and I’ll be in touch. 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: Home Free ~ How Great Thou Art https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXQpDDcrN-w

 

 

 

~ Shalom ~

Rev. Laura A. Neff

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Evangelist Calvin Jennings

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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

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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.