Our Fellowship

Please remain standing for the reading of God's word.

The Old Testament reading is Psalm 133.

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity.

It is like the precious oil on the head running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running

down on the collar of his robes, it is like the dew of Hermon, which falls in the mountains of Zion.

For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.

The adjusted New Testament reading comes from the first chapter of 1 Corinthians.

I will begin reading in verse one.

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus and our brother Sothisones,

to the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be

saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

both their Lord and ours.

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that

in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge, even as the

testimony about Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift

as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end,

guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Please be seated.

I will warn you this morning that we'll be going to a number of different passages, so

be ready to go.

I want to begin in Acts chapter two.

If you would turn with me to Acts chapter two.

Acts chapter two, I will begin reading in verse

41.

Acts 2, 41.

So those who received his word were baptized and there were added that day about 3 ,000 souls

and they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship,

to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

And awe came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.

And all who believed were together and had all things in common.

And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any

had need.

And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received

their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people.

And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Let's pray.

Father, now we ask that as we look into your word, you would guide us and help us.

Lord, we don't want to remain static.

We want to grow and we want to change, not just as individuals but as a congregation.

So help us to that end.

Help us as we look into this, your word, that we would seek then

to examine ourselves and to take the necessary steps that we need to take in

order to grow more into the likeness of Jesus.

Guide our thinking now.

Help us in Jesus' name, amen.

How many of you make it a point to attend a flock meeting every week?

Don't raise your hands.

That is a rhetorical question, all right?

But it's a question I want you to think about.

Now why would I even ask that question?

Frankly, this morning I want you to understand something about fellowship as the scripture describes what

fellowship is.

We started our flock groups 13 years ago next week.

We started them to promote fellowship in this congregation.

Well, you say, flocks are nice, but I don't know, they're just not, they're just not me.

I'm just uncomfortable in small settings with people.

Well, then I have to ask you this question.

Are you saying then that fellowship just isn't your cup of tea?

Is that the deal?

Is that okay?

Is that permissible?

Well, I want us to look at the scriptures this morning and get an understanding of

what fellowship is all about.

At the very beginning of the church, you find the people of God, as we noted, devoted to

fellowship.

It says in Acts chapter two, verse 42, and they devoted themselves to the

apostles' teaching and the fellowship to the breaking of bread

and the prayers.

Now, we would expect devotion to teaching.

We would expect, quite possibly, devotion to the prayers.

But this whole idea about devotion, devotion to fellowship,

hmm.

What about that matter of fellowship?

They didn't just have fellowship.

They devoted themselves to the fellowship.

They gave it a priority along with the word, along with prayer, and along with communion.

Now, is fellowship something that is, or is it something that we

do?

Let me say it again.

Is fellowship something that is, or is it something we do?

Take the word relationship.

I have a great relationship with Becca.

Now, that says that there's something that's happening between us.

It's a subjective thing.

It's good.

It's a, this is the subjective side of relationship, right?

Then there's the official notification of status on Facebook that says, Carol

is in a relationship.

All right?

Here, relationship is a condition or a fact of being

related, as in, she is in a relationship.

Now, that relationship may be good.

It may be bad, but no matter what the experience, the fact of that

relationship remains the same, okay?

She may be experiencing a terrible relationship, but she's still in a relationship.

The fact of that relationship is there, and so our experiential

relationship with one another grows out of the objective relationship.

That is today to say, those who are in fellowship with one another, objective fact.

Experienced fellowship with one another, subjective experience.

Both are true.

Those who are in fellowship with one another, right?

Objective fact.

Experienced fellowship with one another, subjective experience.

All right?

So here's the first thing.

You need to see fellowship as something that exists.

See fellowship as something that exists.

Fellowship is an objective spiritual reality.

First Corinthians chapter one, verses eight and nine.

We heard it just a few minutes ago.

If you want to turn there, I want you to notice something.

First Corinthians chapter one, verses eight and nine.

Jesus will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord

Jesus Christ.

God is faithful by whom you were called into the fellowship

of his son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Now how do you view the word fellowship there?

You were called into fellowship, into the fellowship of his son, Jesus

Christ our Lord.

Will you be strong and blameless on the day of judgment because of your

faithfulness in communing with Jesus, in reading the Bible, in praying,

in being at church every week, and all those things?

Is that what he's saying?

You'll be guiltless if those things are true?

No.

He's grounding the assurance of our salvation in the fact that a fellowship exists between

you and Jesus, okay?

It's a fact that by faith, you are united to Christ.

All right?

By the way, I've been thinking, that's a great topic for lectures around here.

What does it mean to be in union with Christ?

Well, it means this.

You've been united to Christ.

That's a fact that never changes.

And you will be held guiltless on the day of judgment, not because of what you do, but

because of the fact that you and Jesus are united, okay?

So fellowship here, as Paul uses it with regard to Jesus, is an objective fact,

an objective reality.

You belong, you are in fellowship with Jesus, or you are not.

Either the state exists, or it does not, all right?

Objective relationship, or a debt, an objective reality.

To be a Christian means you are in fellowship with Christ.

You are joined to him.

Now, the fellowship we have with other believers also exists.

It's an objective reality.

Turn to 1 John chapter one.

By the way, I always remember this because the very first sermon I ever preached here as a pastor came out of these verses.

1 John chapter one, verses one through four.

Listen to the Apostle John.

That which is from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands,

concerning the word of life, the life was made manifest, and we have seen it and testify to it

and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us.

Now, who's he talking about here?

He's talking about we saw this eternal life.

We saw Jesus, okay?

Then he goes on.

That which we have seen and heard, we proclaim also to you so that you too may have

fellowship with us, and indeed, our fellowship is with the Father and with

his Son, Jesus Christ, and we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

All right?

He's saying that because you have fellowship, a relationship, because you are joined to

Christ, by virtue of that fact, you are joined to one another.

Again, this is a relationship that already exists.

It already exists.

Because of your relationship to Jesus, the fact of that relationship, the

fact of our relationship with one another is true.

Now, the believers in Acts 2 were not devoting themselves to social activities.

They were devoting themselves to this objective reality, this relationship.

They had entered into that relationship through faith in Jesus,

not by joining an organization.

They were in fellowship with one another because they were in fellowship with Jesus.

Their fellowship with God brought them into fellowship with one another.

That is to say, through your union with Christ, you are formed into a community.

You are formed into a community, an objective fact, that reality right there, the community

of God's people.

You can see it, that fellowship.

So we have to see that this is a community, not an activity.

Grasp the idea that fellowship means belonging to one another with all the rights

and responsibilities that that relationship entails.

I love Romans 12, four and five.

It says this.

For as in one body we have many members and the members do not all have the same function, so we,

though many, are one body in Christ and individually members one of

another.

The New International Version puts it this way.

And each member belongs to all the others.

We belong to one another.

Now, whether you're acting like it or not, that's not the issue right now.

The issue is it exists.

This objective reality, this fellowship of believers is something that is true

of everyone who is joined or in fellowship with Jesus.

So our fellowship with Jesus and with one another is a reality that exists.

But is that all there is to it?

I can say yes, Becca and I entered into this relationship nearly 45 years ago and

we have kept that agreement all that time.

Okay?

So does that relationship, is that all there is to a marriage relationship, the objective reality of two people

now recognized as a unit?

Is that all there is to it?

No.

Fellowship is an objective reality, but you

gotta also see that fellowship as something you experience.

It is both.

It exists and you also experience it.

It is both.

Objective reality, subjective experience.

Both are true of that word fellowship.

Here we're talking about communion, if you will.

Communicating intimately or sharing with one another in a close, personal and spiritual

level.

It is what we do together.

So it's a reality that exists, but it's also an experience.

It's something we do together.

Let's turn to Romans 12.

Romans 12, watch what happens here.

Romans 12, beginning in verse 10.

Love one another with brotherly affection.

Outdo one another in showing honor.

Do not be slothful in zeal.

Be fervent in spirit.

Serve the Lord.

Rejoice in hope.

Be patient in tribulation.

Be constant in prayer.

Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you.

Bless and do not curse them.

Rejoice with those who rejoice.

Weep with those who weep.

All right, now note.

Look at what we do within this objective fellowship, this objective

reality.

What do we do within the fellowship of believers?

What are the things we do because this fellowship exists?

What do we do?

We love one another.

Let me ask you, how do you love someone unless you're together?

Honor one another.

Can you honor someone if he never shows up?

Contribute to the needs of the saints.

Can you do that if you don't even know those needs?

Show hospitality.

Can you do that if all you see of one another is Sunday morning?

Rejoice and weep with one another.

Well, how can you do that unless you know the heartbroken state of someone?

You see, all of those things, we exist as a fellowship, but this then is what we do within that fellowship.

Fellowship happens by being together.

You can't, I hope you're seeing this.

You can't love somebody if they're not there.

You can't meet needs if you don't know them.

If you're not talking to one another, how are you ever gonna know those things?

It happens as we share with one another, and please notice, here's what I want you to see.

These are all commands.

These are all commands.

We are commanded to weep together, to love one another.

We're commanded to know needs.

We're commanded to show hospitality to one another.

These are commands that must be obeyed.

So how can you obey those commands unless you are together, unless you are sharing your life with one

another?

How is that possible?

How is it possible?

Now here's the question.

How can we do fellowship then?

Well, as a church, we need to create opportunities for

fellowship.

We need to create the opportunities that will bring us together, that will help us.

The baseline, the very most basic, the absolute most kindergarten level is

you show up for church, right?

There's no fellowship if you're not here, but that's the very baseline.

What other things?

Bible studies, like men of faith.

There's an opportunity for fellowship.

Guys, if some of you have never been to men of faith, I'm telling you, you're missing out.

You are missing out.

Those are some of the best times that we have together where we are welded together

as parts of this church, and quite possibly, I think

we're pretty sure, I think we're just on the edge of getting a final commitment for a women's Bible study

this coming year, okay?

So I'm pretty sure.

If I remember the minutes from our elders meeting, I'm pretty sure we're right on the edge of that, all right?

46, I would estimate 46 of the 52 weeks that we meet,

we have dinner together.

Some of you have never been to one of those, not yet.

That's a great opportunity.

We do 46 out of the 52 weeks.

We're together in a more intimate way.

And then, of course, we have flocks.

What a wonderful opportunity to be together, to know one another, to share with one

another, to be a part of each other's lives when we're together in our small groups, to

get to know one another on a personal basis.

So we have to create opportunities for fellowship, but you have to take them.

You have to make use of them.

Make the most of those opportunities.

You say to me, how just, I don't know.

If I'm standing there with someone, I'm just like, what am I gonna say?

I don't know what to say.

Listen, can I tell you something?

And some of you are gonna believe this, some of you are not.

But I was like that.

I did not know how to talk to anybody.

I was just, you know, I worked in a construction crew.

It would take us 45 minutes to get to the job site.

I would sit in a truck with a fellow worker and never speak a word for the entire 45 minutes.

I didn't know what to say.

That was me.

If you want confirmation of that, just talk to Becca.

She will expand on that for you and tell you exactly, and she's right.

I was just kind of a, I don't know.

I didn't talk to anybody.

I'm not gonna say that, dear.

She just whispered to me, self -centered.

But frankly, that, she's absolutely right in that.

I didn't want to risk anything.

It was all about protecting me.

I might say something stupid.

Who knows, it might lead to me having to share the gospel.

God forbid, we don't want that to happen.

But I would not talk to anybody.

And then, through a friend of mine, a young guy who we kind of

adopted when we were in seminary.

He was a single guy.

We started going to the same church, and he kind of became, he was only a couple years younger than me, but kind of became somebody.

I watched this guy, Don Vogel.

I watched how he interacted with people, and I learned.

You know how you do it?

So you have these opportunities to fellowship.

Some of you are saying, boy, if I got a flock or something, man, I don't know what to say.

Well, listen, you start on a personal basis.

You just start asking questions.

That's all there is to it.

It's as easy as asking questions.

By the way, when someone's visiting here, this is what you do.

You ask questions.

How many children do you have?

And then, as they answer, you learn more things to ask.

Something will do it.

Or you may, what about their testimony?

So here you are, you're in a flock, and you don't know what to say.

You're sitting next to someone.

You haven't started.

What do you say?

Well, how did you come to Christ?

Tell me about how you came to Christ.

Tell me how you ended up here at this church.

Share biblical truth with one another.

What have you been reading in the Bible lately, and how has it impressed you?

What's your favorite book and passage?

How's God changed you in his word?

Those are questions you can ask one another.

So you take the opportunities for fellowship that are given you, and do something with them.

And as you get to know one another, we begin to open up with one another.

We begin sharing our discouragements and our trials.

One of the things about flock is that we can sit there in this small group, and we can say, can

you guys pray for me?

I'm really struggling right now.

This is what's going on at work.

I'm afraid that if this continues, I may lose my job.

Can you pray?

And we will pray that night for that, right?

We, our trials, our weaknesses, and yes, yes, even sins that we're struggling

with.

And as we proceed, we need to be accountable to each other.

Right?

Colossians 3 .16, Jans mentioned this as he was praying to the Lord.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom.

We need to pray together.

Those are the things that help us in our fellowship.

That's what we do in terms of fellowship.

By the way, let me just mention something.

Here's another thing that's important for fellowship is we solve our problems.

We do not, Jesus does not give us the right to be at odds with anyone

in the congregation.

It makes a lie of the whole idea that we are one.

Listen, I'm saying to you right now, if there's someone in this congregation on the other side of the room, because you

won't talk to each other, that is not acceptable.

Jesus does not allow that in our midst ever.

He says fellowship is so important that if you have something against someone, you're gonna go talk to them.

And if they refuse to be reconciled, you're gonna go get someone else.

The refusal to be reconciled to someone may end up putting you outside

of the congregation.

That's how important Jesus sees fellowship.

You see what I'm saying?

I mean, that tells me something about the fact that Jesus says, listen, I died to put you

together.

Don't make a mockery of that by letting differences separate you.

All of us here must be on good terms with each other.

That's required, it's important.

So fellowship then is not just something that exists.

Fellowship is something that we experience as we share our lives with one another.

And listen, we don't have a choice in this matter.

Jesus commands it, he commands it.

Don't say, well, I'm uncomfortable doing this.

I'm just not that kind of a person.

Let me ask you this.

How many other commands of Christ do you do that with?

Husbands, love your wives.

Ah, you know, I'm just not that kind of a guy, right?

Is that what you're gonna tell Jesus when you stand before him?

You know, I think you could have loved your wife better, he might

say, and you say, Jesus, you know me.

And he's gonna say, oh, you know, you're right, I forgot.

I guess my commands don't apply to you because you get uncomfortable with that sort of thing.

No, he doesn't allow that.

There are no excuses allowed.

No excuses of time, I don't have time for it.

No excuses of personality, I'm just not that way.

No excuses of comfort, I'm uncomfortable, so what?

Jesus commands it, Jesus commands it.

You know, I will never forget, decades and decades ago, I was counseling a guy, not from this congregation,

and he'd come to me for help.

And this is when some of you old -timers remember, we had the offices in the old house that used to be over here, and

I can remember walking him out to the porch, and as we're getting near the porch, here's what he says to me after we've talked

for about an hour, he says this.

You know, I just can hardly stand to be around other Christians.

I thought, boy, we just wasted an hour, that's the issue right there.

And I thought, wow, how is, that's not acceptable.

Deal with it, we are in fellowship with one another, so therefore, we must

fellowship with one another.

All right, so fellowship is something that exists.

Fellowship is something we experience.

Here's the last thing, you have to see fellowship as something you need.

You need it.

You have to understand that no one has the ability to live the Christian life alone.

None of you has the ability to go it alone to glory.

In your journey to glory, it's never my journey to glory, it is always our

journey to glory.

You will not make it without one another.

That's just the truth of it.

Fellowship is necessary for your spiritual growth.

One of the most important things that we can share with one another is the truth that God has been teaching us.

Listen to J .I. Packer.

He says this, we should not think of our fellowship with other Christians as a spiritual

luxury and optional addition to the exercises of

private devotion.

We should recognize rather that such fellowship is a spiritual necessity.

For God has made us in such a way that our fellowship with himself, listen, that our fellowship

with himself is fed by our fellowship with fellow Christians

and requires to be so fed constantly for its own deepening and enrichment.

He says you cannot fellowship with God adequately without fellowship of one another.

That feeds this.

And so as we fellowship together, right, listen, what he's saying is as we

fellowship together, we communicate God's grace to one another.

The grace, the power of God that you need to make it as a Christian,

walking and following Jesus, you need one another to minister the

power of God, the grace of God.

I've always been fascinated by 1 Peter 4, verse 10.

This verse struck me.

We were studying 1 Peter in Sunday school class and I preached on, I preached through 1

Peter mid 90s, which to me is like yesterday, but it was

a long time ago.

And I remember this verse.

It's 1 Peter 4, verse 10.

Listen to what it says.

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another

as good stewards of God's varied grace.

So God has gifted you, he's made you a steward.

And he says you serve one another.

This is God's grace in you, serve one another.

So you know what he's saying?

He's saying you minister grace to other people.

You minister the power of God to other people through fellowship.

I've often said that the grace of God arrives in your life with a familiar

face.

The fellowship that we have as believers is a ministry of God's grace.

You know, here's another thing that happens in fellowship.

Here's how grace is ministered.

So you know, I go out several times a year in different locations and I'm assigned certain lectures to

do in terms of counseling as I go to these places where I teach counseling.

And there's one lecture that I do in which I tell the people who have spent

a good share of money to come and listen and to be taught counseling.

I say counseling is not the answer.

I'm sure some of them go like, then what am I here for?

Here's what I mean.

Counseling is not the answer because counseling is just one part of the

ministry of the church, of the congregation.

Counseling is one part.

The preaching of the word of God is another.

The Lord's table is another.

Fellowship is another.

Counseling will do no good without the others.

I'm wasting my time.

So when someone comes to me for counseling, I say you gotta bring your pastor with you

or you gotta come to church here because counseling is useless without all the other

things that the church has, one of them being fellowship.

Now here's how it works.

I can talk to someone for an hour, but then when they're in the fellowship of God's people when they're together, they see

the word of God lived out and they can see models.

No other counseling system has this, folks.

They can see models, right?

And I tell folks, for example, I'm working with somebody about how to deal with their kids and they come to my house

for dinner and they see, this is when my boys were younger, right?

They see Calvin, Clock, Levi, right?

And it's in the pastor's house.

What are they gonna see?

They're gonna see how I deal with that, right?

And there are people then that are involved in the fellowship.

When you're in fellowship, you see models, not just people who are being counseled, but you sitting here.

You see models of what it's like to follow Christ.

You see that as you get intimately involved in one another's lives, you have a means of

grace that's open to you, right?

Can I tell you how many people I've looked at and learned things from

in the 35 years I've been, 36 years I've been here?

Fellowship is a means of God's grace to

help you walk in a way that's worthy of the Lord Jesus.

It's a means of grace, just like teaching is a means of grace, just like prayer is a means of grace,

just like the Lord's table is a means of grace.

Fellowship is a means by which God communicates his grace to you.

And if you're not in fellowship, you will not have what's necessary

to walk well.

So fellowship is not only necessary for your spiritual growth, it's necessary for your

spiritual strength.

Turn to the book of Hebrews now.

Hebrews, and we know this one.

We covered it a number of weeks ago.

Hebrews chapter three, verse 13.

But exhort one another every day, as long as it's called today, that none of you may be hardened by the

deceitfulness of sin.

We need one another so that we can, believe it or not, rebuke one another, point one

another's sins out, so that that sin does not harden us.

Sin will harden you.

The deceitfulness of sin will harden your heart.

And unless people are speaking the truth to you, you may start getting hard.

You don't want that to happen, right?

Right, and you've heard me say this before, okay?

You've heard me say this before.

Bishop Ryle, a tremendous man of God who lived in England in the 1800s, once

made this statement.

Your sins are pinned on your back.

You can't see them, but everybody else can, right?

You need the fellowship of other believers so that they can come alongside and say, brother, look, I

love you.

You know that, don't you?

But there's something you need to know.

Now, that doesn't happen when, number one, we're not together,

and number two, when you're not together, that's a very uncomfortable thing to do.

But when you are together and you start learning to love one another, that

becomes easier.

That becomes easier, all right?

Look at Hebrews 10.

So we need it in order to fight the temptation of sin.

We won't make progress against sin without one another, right?

I've got to, you're gonna help me know me.

I love what Paul Tripp says.

I know I've said it before.

You know, I'm getting old.

I can't remember the things I tell you.

And the things I don't,.

But if you've heard this before, write it down.

You can tell me when I repeat it again, but I'll never forget Paul Tripp saying self

-awareness is a community project.

You won't even know yourself well without other people.

Just ask anyone who gets married, right?

You think you're cool and you dress well and you get married and you have a woman saying, gotta get rid of those clothes.

I'm cool.

Actually, you're not, right?

Right?

Self -awareness is a community project.

You gotta be in fellowship with one another.

If you're gonna know yourself, if you're going to fight the deceitfulness of sin, you need other people in order to make

progress against the temptation of sin.

Hebrews 10, very familiar verses, 24 and 25.

We've looked at them already today.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together

as it is the habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day

approaching, drawing near.

All right?

We need it.

We need to be stimulated when our zeal for our Christian duty starts to flag.

I need someone to come alongside and to spur me on to love and good deeds to say, keep

at it, brother.

Listen, your ministry is having an effect.

Don't give up.

We need to do that.

And listen, that's not gonna happen.

That's not gonna happen.

We cannot spur one another towards love and good deeds real effectively on a Sunday morning.

It's hard to fulfill that responsibility on a Sunday morning.

Rob Green in his book, Tying the Knot, which is a book that's addressed to

people who are going to be married.

It's a premarital counseling guide.

Beck and I use it when we talk to couples.

But at one point in that book, he's talking to couples about you must

find a church.

You must find a church.

When you get married and you move away from everything familiar, you must find a church.

And he gives some advice about how to find a church.

Here's what he says.

Visit whatever ministry the church uses to connect people to each other.

The Sunday worship service is often the worst place in church to get connected.

Everyone faces a platform where all the action occurs and the worship service is the most crowded event

in the church.

Take time to visit a small group.

Now, you're not looking for a church, you're here, but I'm saying to you, just like Rob does,

this is good, it's not the best place for building these kinds of relationships,

for having this kind of fellowship.

You need to be involved in those opportunities that are created for you for fellowship.

And here's the last thing when it comes to needing fellowship.

Fellowship is necessary for your ministry.

Romans chapter one.

I'm amazed at what the Apostle Paul says in Romans chapter one.

Let's start in verse eight.

First of all, or first, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you because your faith is proclaimed in

all the world.

For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his son, that without ceasing, I

mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow, by God's will, I

may now at last succeed in coming to you.

For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen

you, that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith,

both yours and mine.

Here's an apostle saying to these people, what,

we're gonna mutually enrich one another.

I'm gonna come with the authority of God and every word out of my mouth has the authority of God behind it, but you're

gonna also strengthen me.

You're also going to help my ministry.

We can mutually edify one another.

You know, the demands of family, of job, and other legitimate responsibilities may

detract us from ministry.

Unless we're encouraged and spurred by other believers who share our vision.

And so fellowship is something you need.

So you dare not neglect this means of grace.

You need it, you need it.

Now, let me ask you another question then,.

As we conclude.

How many of you sense that you need to obey Christ's command to engage in fellowship?

How many of you sitting here are saying, you're right, Pastor Tim, I have not entered into the

fellowship of believers like the Bible expects me to.

How many of you sense that this morning?

And dare I ask, how many of you will engage in the fellowship offered in our thought groups?

You may respond, come on, Pastor, I don't think you can force us to come to flock, and the answer is, you're right, I

can't do that.

And I'm not gonna browbeat you into doing that, but let me ask you, what are you doing then

to obey the commands?

If you don't wanna come to flock, what are you doing?

What are you doing?

You tell me that, you know, I have three families over to my house every week, I'd say, well, you don't have time for flock.

God bless you.

But I doubt that's happening.

I doubt that's happening.

What are you doing, what are you going to do to obey the command to enter into communion with your

brothers and sisters?

Now, this is not just some program intended to make us cool or a better church.

Small groups got to be really cool a couple decades ago.

Everybody jumped on the bandwagon, right?

But can I tell you, we didn't jump on the bandwagon because we wanted to be cool.

We think it was a way that we could promote fellowship.

We wanna get together because we all participate in a fellowship already by our connection to the

Lord Jesus Christ.

It exists, and because that fellowship exists, we have to express it by sharing our lives together.

And we do this because without this fellowship, we will struggle to glory.

We'll be weak and immature.

We will not be what God would want us to be.

Really, the bottom line is this.

Do you love Jesus who gave himself so you would love one another?

Do you love Jesus?

It does boil down to that.

If we love Jesus, we will love one another.

And if we love one another, we will seek by his grace to overcome

any obstacle that will keep us from living out the reality of our

fellowship.

May God help us, folks, so that we can be

strong and vibrant, and we, each of us, will look more like Jesus,

and the whole congregation will have the aroma of Christ around it.

Isn't that what you want?

Father, thank you for your word.

If it wasn't for your word, Father, we'd have all kinds of ideas about what we ought to do and what we ought to be, but you've not

left that to our imaginations.

You've given it to us in your word.

You've told us, you've told us that a fellowship exists because we

all belong to Jesus.

You've told us that a fellowship is something we can experience as we obey the commands of Jesus within

that fellowship, and that you've told us this is something we need.

Help us to take this seriously.

God, help us to change.

Help us to have a holy dissatisfaction with where we are in our walk with you.

Oh, but give us hope.

That when we walk in obedience to you, there is joy,

there's righteousness, there's peace, and when we walk in obedience to you with regard to fellowship,

we find overwhelming love for one another, strength, power

to walk as a disciple of Jesus.

So, Father, I ask you, work in our hearts for your glory and our good.

In Jesus' name, amen.