Welcome to Covenant of Hope Ministries and our sermon or midweek study. You will normally see us posted on Sunday. I am Rev. Laura A. Neff. Our ministry was built on the truth of God’s love. It doesn’t conform to society’s wishes. This ministry shares the Word of God, the Spirit of Christ Jesus. Those who know me well will recognize that there are definitive differences in the creation of every sermon from this point forward. 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
Prayer List: We have many on our prayer list. Some wish to remain anonymous, and others only wish to have their first names mentioned. Our prayer list grows or changes every week. This is our current list.
- Please continue to pray for Elder Cal Jennings and his health issues, which are numerous. He has been having issues with his pain, vision, and memory. Add to the prayers with a need for new housing as the family is in dire straits there at this point in time.
- We are ever watchful in regard to the weather, the unrest, and the virus and response to that virus. Let us pray for calm skies and seas, calm voices and spirits, and also healthy outcomes for those who are affected.
- We pray that the upcoming school year is filled with progress for our children who are attending and for the teachers and staff that must adapt to what is considered the “new normal” around this world.
- Pray for five of my family members as they go through some dramatic changes in some cases. They asked not to be mentioned by name, but God knows who they are.
- Be thankful for each day we live as we do not know what tomorrow brings.
- Pray for 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 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.
Birthday Greeting: Sending a belated birthday greeting to my sister, Emilie Newman. Her birthday was Friday.
Prayer: Father in heaven, this is our prayer for today. We bring our sick and wounded up in prayer, whether family, friends, or colleagues. We pray for answers to mysteries for health issues and money issues with several members and family members. We pray for our poor and desolate, our brothers and sisters who have been brought devastation due to the terrors around this world and all of the natural disasters, storms, and so forth this past weeks. We pray for those in our outreach ministries that their reach gains momentum and all their immediate needs are met. 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: Grace ~ Michael W. Smith https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLLj_xo2Jkc
Sermon: We are working through Chapter 4 in Ephesians. Truthfully we have learned quite a lot regarding how Paul took it upon himself to teach as Jesus had once taught him, and as Jesus had instructed all of His faithful Apostles, disciples, and followers to do. Ephesus and the Ephesians who lived there turned out to be a very receptive citizenry.
Ephesians 4:8 KJV – Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
Now, some might have issues understanding the traditional King James translation of this. This is the view of the New International translation.
NIV- This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.
We have to work through Scripture, sometimes over and over again, in order to understand the work Jesus wishes us to manage during our lifetimes on this earth. Every path is different, and every lesson holds many other lessons within it. This allows us to discern more and more when it comes to our part in life through the gift of God’s Word. The verse in Ephesians returns us to the Old Testament here.
Psalm 68:18 KJV – Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them.
David, sharing the Word of God in this psalm shows us that even if we feel held back, perhaps shackled to the worldly chaos we see around us, there is something we can do to push that all aside and bring God’s unconditional love toward us. It’s an absolute gift to manage learning this lesson and sharing it with those willing to listen and hear. We see here an inner thought from Paul sharing what occurred when Christ died on the cross and was buried in His earthly tomb.
Ephesians 4:9 KJV – (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
A good while ago I shared with you a sermon on what seeing, and hearing, should be considered as when it comes to God’s Word. Well, here we see the reference toward that very thought in what Jesus shares with His disciples.
Matthew 13:17 KJV – For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
All of the Apostles and Disciples took the lessons Jesus taught and carried them to as many as would listen and hear and apply God’s Word to life as they lived it. They went wherever they were welcomed, and often far distances from Jerusalem. Here we see Paul’s thoughts in Rome, which simply repeats the words Jesus shared, without being a direct quote.
Romans 16:25 KJV – Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
The secret of Jesus and His future existence in the timeline of God’s choosing was only known as the Salvation of Mankind. None of them truly knew who would bring this opportunity to the ordinary citizens. Nor did they know how, or why they would be redeemed and again accepted as citizens of heaven upon the end of this world we know now. Today we know that our history is just that, history, when we accept Jesus in our hearts and share the fact with everyone willing to listen and hear. It is our work, even in the worst of circumstances, sharing Christ’s love for us, that will offer redemption and freedom of voice, freedom of choice, in eternal life. Peter shares this here.
1 Peter 1:10-12 KJV – Of
which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who
prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them
did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the
glory that should follow.
Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did
minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached
the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the
angels desire to look into.
Peter and Paul did a lot of teaching and preaching, as John the Beloved and others did the same. They just chose different places to share that knowledge and wisdom with others. Here we are with Paul in Ephesus sharing what it was like to understand the death and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 4:10-11 KJV – He
that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he
might fill all things.)
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some
pastors and teachers;
Now, this one is easily remembered as the moment when Jesus gave us all the Great Commission as it is known. Jesus wanted everyone to be taught, the way He had taught the Apostles and disciples that had followed Him in His life here on earth.
Matthew
28:16-20 KJV – Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with
you always, to the very end of the age.”
This also relates to this next verse shared. However, in order to give you more context in which to figure out the best way to understand what gifts God gives each of us through the Holy Spirit, though not equally, these gifts are something that help us stay together as Christians. They create within our spirits a sense of family, of belonging, and being one with Christ.
1
Corinthians 12:27-31 KJV – Now you are the body of Christ, and
each one of you is a part of it.
And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets,
third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance,
and of different kinds of tongues.
Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all
work miracles?
Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all
interpret?
Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.
These gifts of the Holy Spirit are never equally the same in any one person. It is for this reason that they are gifts. No one is 100% identical to someone else. Even identical twins have their differences, even though they might look and sound the same. Every one of us has an individual spirit, and the freedom of choice, a God-given gift from the very beginning. It is that choice that makes each of us different, even when we pursue the same things. We all go through these sort of proving grounds where we test our faith and our commitment to sharing God’s word. That’s what is shared in the next verse here.
Ephesians 4:12 KJV – For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Each and every person who believes in God’s Word, and the truth of Jesus Christ and His existence and the reason for it, would be part of the Body of Christ, or the Christian Church as many call it these days. All of us who believe even without seeing Him in person here and now, learn well what the grace of God has brought to our lives individually and collectively. That’s why we attend church, have prayer meetings or Scripture studies. We need to hear our voices combine in the glory of God and the grace of Jesus our Savior. This is to remind us that God is as He was, and as He always will be. Just as this verse shares in the Scroll of Isaiah.
Isaiah 43:13 KJV – Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?
The Word is as it was and as it will always be, world without end. We need to remember that. 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: Grace Will Lead Me Home https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3WeqqTKqhU
~ 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 © 2020 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.
