Fellowship
Scripture reading: Acts 2:42-47
What is fellowship?
Heb. 10:24-25 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,
but let us encourage one another-- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Phil 2:1-4 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ,
if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit,
if any tenderness and compassion,then make my joy complete by being like-minded,
having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit,
but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
Each of you should look not only to your own interests,
but also to the interests of others.
Fellowship is about people coming together for a common goal.
The Bible speaks of different types of fellowship.
There is fellowship with God's people and there is fellowship with the world.
And we know that they are often in conflict with each other.
Fellowship with God and his people.
Ac 2:4247 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship,
to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.
All the believers were together and had everything in common.
Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.
Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.
They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.
And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
What are some of the qualities of this type of fellowship?
1. Centered around God. Focused on Christ and not on the world.
2. It builds everyone up.
3. It helps the church grow.
Fellowship with the world.
2Cor. 6:14-18 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.
For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?
Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?
What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?
What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?
What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?
For we are the temple of the living God.
As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them,
and I will be their God, and they will be my people."
"Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you."
"I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."
I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people--
not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters.
In that case you would have to leave this world.
But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother
but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler.
With such a man do not even eat.
I feel that fellowship with our brothers and sisters is an essential part of being a Christian.
It helps us to grow in our spiritual lives.
And sadly. I feel that it is something that we don’t do enough of in our congregation.
Perhaps we are too business with our worldly activities to do this.
But that is the danger that the scriptures speak of.
If we have too much fellowship with the world we start forgetting about God.
I encourage everyone to make time out of our busy schedules to have fellowship with each other.
It can be as simple as making a phone call, writing email, or having dinner together.
Not only will it help you grow, but it will help everyone to grow.
May the Lord bless you!
(Peter preaches this sermon on Nov., 9, 2008. Thanks Peter, for helping do the Lord's work!)