Message from the Apostle
The Lord has blessed us to witness the beginning of a brand New Year. As with every year, there is renewed hope, expectation, and anticipation as to how God will direct and lead His people. However this year, the year of fulfillment as the Lord has so designated, is the year the people of God must embrace the promise of God.
Apostle Peter wrote to the scattered saints, suffering through a myriad of difficult situations even as we are, reminding them of the "exceeding great and precious promises" given to them by God (2 Peter 1:4). The reminder came not to pacify the saints for the moment, but rather to motivate them to realize who they were in God, what God had done for them, and more important, the promises of God within their reach. During difficult times there is always the tendency to focus on the cloud of immediate circumstances failing to see the sunshine breaking through.
The promises (vision) of God have already been given to us. Not only to the Nation of NFCOG, but individually to you as God's pastors and even to the members of your various congregations. The promises of God are in us, around us and before us. We are indeed people of God's promise, fulfilling the purpose of God in the world!
The promises of God are at hand and we are the key as to whether the promise will be fulfilled or continue to lie dormant. Abraham would not have become the father of a nation if he had not sojourned in the land of Canaan. Joshua would not have been victorious if he never crossed the overflowing waters of the Jordan River. Elijah could not have gone to heaven on a fiery chariot if he remained despondent under a juniper tree. The price of our salvation would not have been paid if Christ lingered feeling sorry for Himself in the garden of Gethsemane.
Like the "great cloud of witnesses" gone before, the people of God face insurmountable obstacles and will overcome and be victorious as well. Only by a sincere reverential fear and an unyielding faith in God can all the promises be realized. With the revelation of these truths, look with anticipation to 2009 EMBRACING THE PROMISES OF GOD!
Apostle Ivan L. Grant, Sr.
The mission of the National Fellowship Churches of God, Inc. is to provide an environment that promotes spiritual growth through prayer, praise, worship, and training. The organization, as ordained by God, has been established to strengthen its Covenant Churches and Pastors with spiritual tools and resources as they lead others to Christ and build the Kingdom of God.