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written by Br. Jean Leonidas
It was a blessing to have attended the Des Moines fellowship meeting this year. People came from all over the world to partake of what God had in store for His people during the meeting. Ministers and saints were being blessed with the word of God and the presence of the Lord. We were reminded thru the word of God not to be discouraged and to stay sober while the day of Lord is approaching. This is not the time to put our armor down but we must stay steadfast for the appearing of our Lord. We were encouraged not to deviate from what God wants us to do.
Br. Glenn was admonishing the church telling us we must continue living for God. He said, "We should be careful not to lose our identity of being the Body of Christ". He continued in saying, "many churches in the religious world are taking the name �Body of Christ� and operating under that name but that does not make them in the Body of Christ". He further explained that God's true church must be a separated people; a people that are called out to serve God without using anything from the religious world. He gave a good example when he quoted 1 Kings 16:10-18, where king Ahaz ordered the priest to pattern the altars of the Lord just like the altars from Damascus. Br. Glenn said "the Lord had already given the people of Israel the pattern of the altar to use when He spoke to Moses" (Exodus 20:25). King Ahaz felt that he could use patterns from other religion and bring them into the house of God.
Br. Richard went on to show us how God's people tend to deviate from what God commands them. He quoted Nehemiah 13:3-9, where the priest had let a heathen named Tobiah stay in the chamber of the house of the Lord which had the vessels for the house of the Lord. The priest removed the vessels out of the chamber to facilitate his friend. Br. Norbert showed us the reason God's people tend to deviate from obeying God is because we lack the fear of God in our hearts. He said, "If we have the fear of God in our hearts we would be able to separate ourselves from the world". The fear of God causes us to want to please Him and not disappoint Him. He quoted Ecclesiastes 12:13, where it tells us to "fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."
Br. Sanjay showed us that we must also have faith in God in order to stay focused to our calling. He quoted Mark 4:35-40, where Christ rebuked the winds in order to cause a great calm. Br. Sanjay said, �The disciples lost faith and forgot that Christ�s will was for them to go to the other side� (verse 35). As a fellowship we must not forget the messages that God has been sending to us and by not forgetting them, our faith can grow stronger. Br. Farmer expounded on how Eve was deceived by the Devil. All the Devil had to do is contradict what God had told Adam and Eve to do. Br. Farmer reminded us that we must honor God and honor His word in order to obey Him.
Overall the meeting was such an encouragement, I was determined to go back to my local church to continue to seek God thru His words and not deviate from the foundation that has been set. May God help up to keep that which has been committed to us.
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