Grafted Into The Promise

Hello Everybody,
 
Well, if you thought the highlight of this service was when Brother Norman Crowder walked in, Praise God! This was truly special. But wait! Did you hear his testimony at the end of the service? Praise God in heaven! Did you hear the Spirit of the Lord in His voice? This man of God is a preacher, no if, ands, or buts about it! He is chosen by God and nothing will stop God's plan for his life. He cried out, "Lord, I thank you! Lord, I thank you! Lord, I thank you!...The devil tried to take me out not just once but twice, but God said No! Lord, I thank you for my life..." He shouted it out in a voice that only the Spirit of God could have given him. There was greatness in His cry and God is to be praised for this. He preached to all of us! Praise God now everybody. This was enough to bring the "dead to life" in the church. This was true praise and thanksgiving coming from his whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. I'm sure you all could hear the Spirit of the Lord in his voice. We praise God for Brother Norman and how God is doing the miraculous in his life. 
 

Another one that God is using so mightily is little Logan. She praises the Lord with her whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. Her praise is by the Spirit of the Lord, it is not taught to her by humans, although it is "steered" (like a ship's rudder) by Elder Lane and Co Pastor Lane. If you are stuck in tradition, just watch this little one praise the Lord. Everything she does is given by the Lord and unique to her. I praise God for how He uses His little child. As she was praising her big heart out for a long time, she then turned to Elder Lane with her arms held high. He picked her up and held her in his right arm, she was still praising God tucked safely in Elder Lane's right arm, with her hands held high. I immediately saw in the Spirit how this is an example of our Father's love for us. She just wanted to be held for a moment, in the Father's arms. She was under the protection of His right arm and God was blessing her. Elder Lane then put her down and she continued to praise God with all of her might. What a blessing she is to all of us. May God continue to bless her mother and father and draw them close to Him. Pray for all of our children (and their parents), that God would use them mightily throughout their whole lives. When they reach the age of accountability, we want to see them continue in His goodness: saved, sanctified, and doing His work.  
 
Now to the Sunday School lesson! We began with prayer and then a powerful praise as Elder Sorrell prophesied, "Jesus said it..., it is by what God says and not by what we see. See through the eyes of God." Speaking more of Jesus, he then took us to Hebrews 1:4-6, "Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. 5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? 6 And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him." Go ahead and praise Him!
 
We then went into Romans 11:11-24. Here it is below, please read it again and let God minister to you personally, in the way that only He can do:
 
Romans 11:11-24 "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. 12 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? 13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: 14 If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. 15 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? 16 For if the first fruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; 18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. 19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. 20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. 23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?" Wow, praise God everybody and thank Him for His goodness.
 
Minister Cynthia fervently brought the teaching to us. She started by singing and declaring these words, "Jesus, You never fail. Declare it and say it, you must believe it. We will make it because Jesus never fails. We have been grafted into His promise." She pointed out that the majority of Israelites rejected Jesus and said, "Crucify Him." Because of their fall, this opened the way for the believing Gentiles to come in. All of this shows the goodness and severity of God. But God is able to graft them in again. She pointed out the difference between stumbling and falling. "In stumbling you miss your step, but you are still standing! When you fall, you are on the ground and it will take you longer to get up. So hear the voice of God and have a personal relationship with Him, only He can save you. Pray, 'Lord stretch out in Me,' and let Him destroy every yolk."
 
Minister Cynthia continued, "God wanted to use His people but they rejected Him, so God allowed another people to come in, a people not looking like them, and God began to use these believing Gentiles to provoke the Israelites to jealousy." She had some pictures of olive trees to explain the cutting off of the branches of unbelieving Israelites and the grafting in of the wild branches of the believing Gentiles. Grafting takes a shoot from one tree and puts it on another tree. We were branches on a wild olive tree, but now God has grafted us into His olive tree and we have open access to Him. We now have the same benefits that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had. She began to sing, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but Jesus never fails." She reminded us to sing psalms, hymns, and Spiritual songs to God in our hearts. "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" Ephesians 5:18-20.
 
She expressed, "The Israelites started off in holiness with God by following the law, but they did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. They had to fall so that we could come in." Definition of promise: a declaration that one will do or refrain from doing something specified; a legally binding declaration that gives the person to whom it is made a right to expect or to claim the performance or forbearance of a specified act; an undertaking or assurance given by one person to another agreeing or guaranteeing to do or give something, or not to do or give something, in the future. She ended by saying that we must believe. It is by grace through faith that we are saved.
 
May I say that Jesus is the Promise and we now have the Promise living in us (Christ in us) when we are filled with the Holy Ghost. Wow, bow before Him and thank Him. Then get up and jump for joy and continue in His goodness. Read and meditate on the blessing and the warning once again, "For if the first fruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; 18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. 19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. 20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. 23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?"
 
Many testified of God's Promise in their lives and how they were grafted in through others prayers, dreams, spoken instructions to them, etc. Some were strengthened and renewed by their own dreams and by their child's dream, confirming the Word of God spoken over each of their lives. This all works together, but as Elder Lane pointed out, "God is the one that grafts us in. Don't run from God. Where is your faith? Whom do you believe? Yourself? Believe in the Creator of everything, He is in you and you in Him." He pointed out that when grafting peaches and plums, the graft has to be sealed and then it will produce fruit on the tree.
 
Deaconess Kathy said that she is aware of being grafted in and looking like the tree, Jesus! May I say that this statement reminds all of us to be fed by Jesus and to look like Him. We will not look like an imitation of someone else (for instance our leader), but we will be unique and look like Jesus. Also we will not look like those in the world as Deacon George pointed out. 
 
Elder Sorrell stressed that one cannot just do what they want and when they want to do it. He said that the Israelites were rejected because of unbelief. They were blinded. We too have to believe and continue in the goodness of the Lord. Sometimes we are blinded to the Scriptures and to what Apostle Crowder is saying to us.
 
Co Pastor McCarty talked about the grafting of pecan trees and brought out the stark reality that we don't like to be cut, but we have to be cut to fit. "Jesus stood alone and grafted an unrighteous people into Him. They slit Him in His side on the cross. We have been grafted in."
 
Minister Lucretia spoke of being grafted in with hope. We have hope and are free of condemnation. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" Romans 8:1-2.
 
Minister Cynthia had a one page list of some wonderful promises from Scripture. May I boldly say once again that Jesus is our Promise. He is the fulfillment of the law of the Old Covenant and He is the mediator of the New Covenant. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. He is the Word. So every Word of the Bible speaks of both the goodness and the severity of God, and also the belief and unbelief of mankind, meaning God will either do or give something, or not do or give something based on His plan for our lives and His righteousness, grace, and mercy; and our faith, belief, trust, and obedience in Jesus plays a huge role. God is Sovereign over all. "Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. 23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again" Romans 11:22-23. 
 

So don't be highminded because you have been grafted in, but fear God! We must obey God and follow His leading. He is both the tree and the grafter; and we are the branches! He is able to graft us in or cut us off. Are you filled with the Holy Ghost? There is no other way. We must seek Him like never before. We must lay prostrate before Him and learn of Him. We must obey Him and continue in His goodness to the end. "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved" Matthew 24:13.
 
I will leave you with this truth, "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" Philippians 1:6. We cannot make it to heaven on our own, nor can we produce fruit on our own. This is why we have to be grafted in (born again/filled with the Holy Ghost) and continue in His goodness. Read John 15:1-27 and be blessed. Believe in Jesus, trust and obey God by faith, and let Him perform His work in and through you by the Holy Ghost. Amen.
 
Love,
 
Sis. Jane