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written by Br. Samuel Philogene
�I was glad when they said unto me; Let us go into the house of the LORD� (Psalms 122:1). It was very good to go to Dallas, NC last weekend where once again God was talking to us to give us direction for the days ahead so we could get ready for His next return.
Br. Paul Brintley � Dallas, NC (Saturday Morning)
We started up strongly with Br. Paul Brintley on Saturday morning; he first was giving a little testimony of how they got there. The church started with him and his wife only but he never got discouraged, never quit, but believed that God will make a way for the church to grow and now we can say the Body of Jesus Christ is in Dallas. He was encouraging us to not give up the fight of our faith but to press on to the goal which is eternal life. Br. Brintley got very deep into the word of God by quoting the scripture in Revelation 3:14-15 about the church of Laodicea. This church thought that they were in God, they were rich but for God they were dead. He was telling us that we don�t have to have a form of Christianity but our profession has to be real because if we don�t do things right God will spew us out of His mouth. He was telling us that we have to be a live and not a dead church (Proverbs 9:17-18). The way we are going to be alive is to take the word because the word is living; he was saying that we need a tough word able to challenge our spirit and cause us to turn to God. Br. Brintley took the comparison of the pilot who landed the plane in the Hudson River; he wasn�t just a common pilot with a simple knowledge but had a knowledge beyond the average. So the man of God was telling us how today we need people with a knowledge of God beyond the average, people who can go deep in the word of God, he was saying that like a prayer: God send us individuals able to use the word where it can help. It was a very strong foundation laid by Br Brintley. He quoted other scriptures like 2 Kings 4:1-7,29 about that lady who received a blessing from the man of God, he emphasized how the woman had to go thru a process in order to get blessed, see also Hebrews 11:3, I Corinthians 9:1, Philippians 3:1-14.
Br. Johnny Miller - Rock Hill, SC (Saturday Morning)
He quoted Hebrews 5:1-14, where it says we have to be mature in the word of God not being children but rooted in planted in the truth. He went also to the same chapter in 2 Kings where he was showing a spiritual aspect in this story.
Br. Desmond Singh � Canada (Saturday Morning)
He followed the same path of Br. Brintley in Revelation 3:1 talking about the Sardis� church that God said they were a dead church, and went on with the Laodicea church. He was telling us that we should be effective not lukewarm. God wants a moving church that carries on the Gospel where the world can see the people of God. Our conversion must be real. He was talking about the Christians in the old times, how their conversion was so real. He gave a statement not to make us laugh but to make us understand how conversion in that time was true. He said, when a man was converted and saved even his dog knew that. Just to say we can�t keep saying, �I am the Body of Christ� and not bear the fruits thereof. Everybody has to see the difference not only in the heart of those who claim to be Christian but in their daily lives, how they associate themselves with the world, we must be real. That�s why he gave us the scripture is John 17:14, �I have given them Thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world�. (see also: Jeremiah 23:11).
Br. Roger Stevenson � Frankfort, KY (Saturday night)
He gave the testimony of how he grew up in this part of Dallas NC and how he is happy for this church to be in this area. He quoted a scripture in Numbers 14:34, �After the number of the days, in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise�. He quoted this scripture to let us know how bad it is to loss God�s presence, he said that he is so grateful for his family because he was raised in a Christian family and that helped him to carry the Gospel all his life.
Br. Richard Narian � Elmont, NY (Saturday night)
He was talking about the apostatizing of the Church. How early, after Jesus left, the people claiming themselves to be from God started to move away from the principles of the Bible. We saw in Galatians 1:6, �I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel�. Br. Richard told us that this letter was written only 17 years after the earthly ministry of Jesus. So he was asking what can cause a church established by Jesus in a strong foundation to fail and to apostate to a point where they move from the Gospel in which they were planted to �demons� doctrine and fables (2 Peter 1:15-16). We saw that when external influences like the things of the world can penetrate in the church or in the spirit of those that claim themselves of God they will gradually move from God to another gospel. Paul again says that in Galatians 1:7, �there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ�. So today, more than ever before, we have to be careful how we profess our Christianity, to not depart from God while we are in the church. He took the example of people (mostly among the youth) who are texting even inside of the church while the pastor is preaching. There are a lot of things we have to deal with today and expel in our mist if we really want to be the Church of Jesus. (see also: 1Corinthians 2:1-5, 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 9, Titus 1:9, Romans 4:1).
Br. John Githinji � Manchester, CT (Sunday Morning)
He was talking about the law of God. It lets us know how evil we are before God. He quoted scriptures like Romans 3:19, �Now we know that what things so ever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and the entire world may become guilty before God�. For us today, the law is the word of God that lets us know what we need to change to draw closer to God. (see also: Galatians 3:24, Ephesians 1:3, Galatians 3:24, Romans 2:1, Matthew 13:57, Mark 6:4-6)
Br. Ivan Geary � Tampa, FL (Sunday Morning)
Br. Geary made it clear how when we come into a meeting like this we have to be led by the Spirit of God and not by a carnal mind so our predication will be useful for the body. It is not the time to reveal the past of any saints of God but we have to leave the past unto God�s hands who is the Judge (1Corinthians 4:3-5, 3:1-5). We have to move on in God and not hold onto some bad spirits that so far has kept us from seeing the power of God moving in our midst. We have to leave behind bad spirits or any other habits that will not allow us to grow in God. He quoted the scripture in 1 Corinthians 2:2, where Paul said that when he comes to see the church he is determined not to know anything among them, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. Br. Geary said this is the spirit we all should have when we come together in the presence of the Lord; we have to come with the only desire to hear more from God and to worship Him with a pure heart. (see also: Ephesians 4:15, Philippians 4:1-7, Ephesians 4:29-32)
Br. Glenn Goodwin � Des Moines, IA (Sunday Morning)
Br. Goodwin ended up the meeting in such a wonderful way talking about the joy of the Lord. When we come in the house of God there should be a joy deep inside that makes us forget all our problems and give all to Jesus. He says that holiness doesn�t mean to be miserable but God wants His people to be a joyful people (John 15:11). He said that sometimes we let our joy go away; sin can steal our joy. He quoted David in Psalms 51:12 �Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation�. Br. Goodwin emphasized that he wasn�t talking about happiness which depends on external or material things like a car, a house (etc...) but he was talking about the joy of the Lord which is internal, deep in the heart of those who trust in the word of God. That joy no one can steal from you. So no matter how the world is, material things can come and go but the joy of the Lord, when it is planted in the very inside doesn�t change. He quoted scriptures like: 2 Corinthians 7:4, Ecclesiastes 2:26, and John 16:22, 24. The last scripture he gave us was the statement of Nehemiah 8:9, �for the joy of the Lord is your strength�.
Meetings like this are important because sometimes when you stay in a corner by yourself you can get discouraged. When life�s trials and the adversities that surely will come when you serve God faithfully, surround you, you need a boost, some encouragement to continue on with God. So when different people from different places come together to magnify the name of the Lord, to hear more from God we can find strength. When we know that we are not alone in the battle, there are other saints of God who share the same sufferings like us for God�s sake and bear the same cross so we come out of those meetings more inspired and motivated to continue the fight until Christ Jesus return. So we encourage you saints of God don�t sit back but let us move with God wherever He leads us. We are looking forward for the next meeting to hear more from God.
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