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It's Part of the Plan
8 Plays8 months ago
Vernon provides a quick thought on the crisis in the middle east and reminds us that all of this is part of the plan. So what should I be doing in the midst of all of this? I think you will be encouraged with the answer. Also, don't forget to register now for the Network220 Convention that will be held at The Hope Center in Dallas, Tx on May 3-5, 2024. My team and I will be there, so stop by and say hello! Register at https://network220.org
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Transcript
Introduction to Walking Free Show
00:00:02
Speaker
This is your host Vernon Terrell with Grace Ministries International and it's time for Walking Free. And welcome back this is Vernon Terrell and
00:00:24
Speaker
Man, there's so much going on in there.
Global Events and Prophecy Discussion
00:00:27
Speaker
You look around the world and all the stuff going on in the Middle East, it is just, it's crazy. But it's, one might say predictable. One might say even prophetic.
Grace Ministries Events and Activities
00:00:44
Speaker
But before I jump into that, with all the stuff going on, man, we got so much going on at Grace Ministries. It's making our heads spin.
00:00:55
Speaker
But we love it. Love just impacting people with the truth of their identity in Christ, whether it's through our encounter. We've got some encounter class that's graduating. Congrats to them. We've got another EDC equipping the discipleship counselor class starting up very soon. Some of those folks who graduated from the encounter
00:01:23
Speaker
That's like phase one, if you will, of our training path for discipleship counselors. Well, they're going to be moving to EDC. So that's coming up.
Network 220 Convention Details
00:01:38
Speaker
And then something else coming up, if you don't know or you haven't heard, is the Network 220 Convention. And that's the 2024 Convention.
00:01:52
Speaker
at the Hope Center in Dallas, Texas. That's going to be May 3rd, 4th, and 5th. I think there's still time to register. If you want to register, you can check out network220.org and check it out. It's called Anchored.
00:02:10
Speaker
knowing God's truth in the storms of life. And a lot of cool speakers will be there. Of course, Andrew Farley and Ralph Harris, John Lynch, and a lot more folks will be there. Our team's going to be there. A lot of our team will be at the convention. We'll have a table there as well. And we would love for you to stop by. I'm hoping to be at the table a lot and some of our staff. So come on by.
00:02:40
Speaker
A flag is down. We love to meet and greet and, uh, and see you in Dallas, Texas. Wow. That's coming soon. So, uh, if you haven't registered, register, if you have, please stop by and say hello, that you listen to the podcast or that you, uh, uh, you just enjoy, um, what's happening and, uh, through grace ministries and through network 220.
00:03:08
Speaker
at large. So come on by.
Theological Views on End Times
00:03:10
Speaker
But again, so much is going on in this culture today and specifically in the Middle East. And, you know, I don't know if you're, if you happen to have a theology of, of a rapture of God just taking away his bride before this prophetic tribulation comes about.
00:03:38
Speaker
that Jesus talked about in Matthew 24 and of course in the book of Revelation. If you're one who believes that there's gonna be this rapture event or maybe you might hold to a belief that it's gonna kind of be midway through this tribulation or maybe for you, no, it's just Jesus is just gonna
00:04:08
Speaker
You know, come on down, uh, for the final battle, wherever you land and all that, it's fine. But stuff is moving. Wouldn't you agree? It just seems and feels like, and I'm sure our generation has or past generations have felt that like, Oh my goodness, the Lord's gotta be coming soon. It's ramping up. And, uh, uh, it just feels that way even more so.
00:04:37
Speaker
right now that the birth pangs are here, things are just moving in place, and what do you do? I mean, how do you respond? Well, we continue loving.
00:04:54
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We continue sharing. We continue living. We continue enjoying what God has given us. He's given us everything to enjoy. And He wants us to share the truth, to share the message that sets people free, to share Christ, to share that
00:05:19
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you can have that relationship with Jesus Christ by faith in Him, by receiving that free gift of forgiveness and eternal life, and be radically transformed and changed.
Gentiles and Israel in Salvation Plan
00:05:35
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And Israel, as a whole, missed it, didn't they?
00:05:40
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That opened up this whole opportunity for the Gentiles. Paul talked about it in Romans chapter 11. Verse 11, talking about Israel, he said, I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be. But by their transgression, Israel's, salvation has come to the Gentiles.
00:06:10
Speaker
That's anyone who is a non-Jew. You're a Gentile, I'm a Gentile. Salvation has come to the Gentiles to make them Israel jealous. How about that? Now, if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be
00:06:36
Speaker
God hasn't left Israel. This is just part of the plan. Israel is God's chosen nation through whom the Messiah has come and is coming again. And Paul's telling the Gentiles, hey, don't get cocky. He says, look, I'm speaking to you who are Gentiles in verse 13. And as much then as I'm an apostle,
00:07:06
Speaker
of Gentiles. I magnify my ministry if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. Paul was a Jew and God came down and Jesus just said, hey, yeah, it's me you're hurting. And Paul saw and all the dots connected and he believed.
00:07:37
Speaker
He continued in verse 15 of Romans chapter 11 and said, for if Israel's rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be? But life from the dead. If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also, if the root is holy, the branches are too. And this idea of the root in the branches is what
00:08:07
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Paul continues with this picture. And he said in verse 17, if some of the branches were broken off, how are they broken off? Through unbelief. And you, pointing the finger at me and at you, Gentile, he says, and you being a wild olive,
00:08:32
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were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree. Don't be arrogant toward the branches. We don't need to be arrogant toward Israel. But if you are arrogant, remember,
00:08:55
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It's not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. It was through Israel that all of this happened. That was the plan that through Israel, through the lineage of David, King David, that the Messiah would be born and that all nations would be blessed. It's all part of the plan.
00:09:22
Speaker
God's not surprised at what's going on. It's part of the plan. And he says, hey, in verse 19, you'll say then that the branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in quite right. They were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Don't be conceited, but fear.
00:09:49
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If God did not spare the natural branches, He's not gonna spare you either, Gentile. It's all by belief. You believe or you don't believe. And if you're a Gentile, if you're a non-Jew and you haven't believed and received Christ, believe. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He's not gonna spare you either. It's all by faith.
00:10:18
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Behold the kindness and the severity of God to those who fell severity, but to you, believer, God's kindness. And he's talking to these Gentiles, if you continue in his kindness, otherwise you will be cut off.
00:10:38
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Gentiles, if you don't believe, well, that unbelief cuts you off. Believe and faith is what gets you in. And they also, if they do not continue in, their unbelief will be grafted in. That's the pivot point. For God is able to graft them in again. Isn't that a beautiful picture?
00:11:04
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You say, is Israel just lost? Are they just kind of cut off from God's plan? No, the plan is working. And Paul says, look, if they don't continue in their unbelief, of course God's able to graft them in. I mean, if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more those who are the natural branches
00:11:33
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to be grafted into their own olive tree. Of course, if God can take you as a Gentile and me as a Gentile and radically transform us and put us in the tree, he can do the same for Israel and for those who come to faith. So we pray for our Jewish brethren
00:12:02
Speaker
That's our history. We pray for them. We pray for the Middle East. And we pray that the Lord Jesus will come quickly and said all of this right. I don't have the answer. Most likely you don't have the answer. God is the answer. He knows what's going on. It's all part of the plan.
Role of Israel in God's Plan
00:12:32
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And he says, look, I don't want your brethren to be uninformed of this mystery, so that you will not be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so, all Israel will be saved, just as it's written that the deliverer will come from Zion, he will remove ungodliness from Jacob,
00:13:01
Speaker
This is my covenant with them when I take away their sins. From the standpoint of the gospel, they're enemies for your sake. And from where they were standing, when Paul is writing this, the Jews were coming after the Christians. They were coming after them, killing them. Paul was among them until
00:13:30
Speaker
He received Christ and God just radically changed his direction. Paul writes in Romans 11.28, you know from the standpoint of God's choice, they are beloved for the sake of the fathers, for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
00:13:56
Speaker
It's the plan. Israel is still in the middle of God's plan. And you know what? Their eyes are going to be opened. And there are many in Israel. There's many Jewish that are coming to faith. There are messianic congregations that have come to faith. The Lord is still for Israel.
00:14:29
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And the Lord is for you, believer, and as such, because of your faith in Christ, you are in, you're in the tree. And that's why I love that illustration in John 15, where Jesus said, abide, abide in the vine.
00:14:56
Speaker
You know, that's just another call to salvation. It's not a work. It's a choice to abide in the vine or don't abide in the vine. Those branches that don't abide, withered up, burned up, but those who abide in the vine, those who by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, those who receive his forgiveness in life abide in the vine. They're in,
Abiding in Christ During Challenges
00:15:26
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you're in.
00:15:29
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And your job as a branch in the vine is to rest and to receive the life-giving sap that's coming from the vine, the nutrients and life of Christ flowing in you and flowing through you. And in this crazy time that we're living in, your responsibility
00:16:00
Speaker
is to abide, is to rest, and is to allow Christ to touch lives through you, through your words, through your encouragement, through the truth that you share, through the love that you show,
00:16:23
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That's what you need to do. Now, some folks are really smart and they're going through every verse from Old Testament to New Testament and parsing out what's going on. Man, if you're gifted that way, more power to you. Praise the Lord. I'm not. I know what I can do right now.
00:16:50
Speaker
is I can love, and I can love well, and I can share the truth, and I can encourage, and like we do at Grace Ministries every day, I can help people walk free. That's the mission, that's our mission, is in everything we do is to help people walk free. It may be in counseling, it may be mentoring, it may be in podcasting, it may be
00:17:21
Speaker
in groups, it may be in training, it may be in the resources that we create. Our singular focus is to help people walk free in Christ. That's my desire for you. That's what this podcast is all about.
00:17:45
Speaker
I want you to know how free you are. I want you to know that with all the craziness going on right now, that you are free in Christ, that you are loved in Christ, that you abide in him, and you don't need to strive and stress and worry. The plan's in motion, and you're part of the plan. You're touching people that no one else can touch except you, and you can encourage and you can love.
00:18:17
Speaker
So I want to encourage you today to do that, to do what you can do, to allow Christ to touch others through you, to allow Christ to just settle you and to give you his peace, to experience his peace and his joy and the abundance of everything that he's giving you in Christ. Would you do that today?
00:18:46
Speaker
Would you just allow Christ to be who he is? Allow him to be your life and your power and your strength right now. Let me encourage you that in something that we see at Grace Ministries through our counseling ministry, we see a lot of folks struggling with codependence, this codependent cycle.
Session on Codependency at Network 220
00:19:14
Speaker
And in fact, Michelle, my wife, is going to be teaching on a session on co-dependence at the Network 220 convention in Dallas. And she'll be teaching a breakout session on co-dependence and she's going to have a follow-up. And that follow-up is going to be an online session.
00:19:40
Speaker
It's gonna be at the end of May the 24th, I'll get that wrong, but the end of May, and we'll send out some information and I'll promote that. But that is so important. So many people struggle with this cycle of codependency. And how do you break out? How do you define it? How do you know you're in it?
00:20:06
Speaker
She's going to talk about that. In fact, I think, and I'm going to do my best to get her on the podcast before and after the convention, kind of leading up to the, to the webinar that we're going to do and have her give some, just some sound bites a little bit and then maybe some intro.
00:20:31
Speaker
on this idea of codependence. So I hope that will be helpful to you. I'm going to do that. I'm going to talk to her, get her on the podcast. I love it when she's on the podcast. She is a brilliant lady and yes, I'm a little biased, but she is brilliant and just an encourager and a heart for folks who are struggling. So stay tuned for that.
00:21:01
Speaker
And again, I don't know what the Lord will have for you with this podcast, but as I say often and I encourage you right now, just ask God to show you what step you can take to walk free in the midst of the crisis going on, because he's with you and he's for you. And I don't want you just to talk about it. I want you today to start walking.
00:21:29
Speaker
You've been listening to Walking Free, a production of Grace Ministries International in Marietta, Georgia. For more information, go to our website at gment.org. That's gminc.org.