Wednesday, April 20, PM

The Gift of Fellowship and Shared Life in Christ

You know sometimes we eat things that cause us to become larger horizontally, not necessarily vertically, but that's good food. That's good for you. There's a lot of a lot of protein in there, a lot of a lot of tasty colors and textures.

A lot of it grows in my yard. A lot of it grows in your Is that where it came from? It grows naturally or do you? Jill works hard. So over a plate and just want to say that this is always a highlight for me of every week.

Not because I'm a food freak, but I do appreciate God's creation. And talk real brief about fellowship tonight. We wouldn't get to know each other. We wouldn't get to know each other's getting to know God because it's time for us when we have fellowship to talk about how he's working in our lives and how he's influencing us and how he's teaching us and he's guiding us and leading us and how he uses the Holy Spirit to encourage us and to walk with us and and illumine the word and and help us to know we are not alone.

If we took everyone out of this room and left one person, you that one person would not be alone. We have the Holy Spirit. We have the comforter. We have the one that comes alongside and cares for us.

Fellowship comes in many shapes and forms. Sometimes it's just in conversation. Sometimes it's in prayer. Sometimes it's in visitation. Sometimes it's in conversation on a phone or texting or an email.

Sometimes it's reading the word to each other. Sometimes it's in the congregation. Sometimes it's as we gather and praise his name through music. Sometimes it's through the teaching and preaching. Fellowship is an overarching glue that holds us together.

It helps our unity. It's a lot easier to be unified with a brother or sister in Christ when you know who they are and what they're going through. So I have a definition. This is my definition. I did consult the dictionary, Webster's 1828, which is the first and final and foremost and only reference you should use as a dictionary.

It's not a commercial. It's just fact. But I did take from that and develop my own. So biblical fellowship is those who meet together having in common like beliefs, work, work unto the Lord, faith, common need, struggles, purpose, conviction, and hope.

Fellowship as Mutual Encouragement in Weakness and Joy

In this room there are those who are new to our fellowship. Caleb, I'm going to pick on you while you're here. And then there are those who've been as part of this fellowship and have matured here. You're welcome.

And as we mature in our fellowship we share those things. We share common hopes, struggles, and encouragement, and faith. Those things we have in common. We have common belief. They bind us. It's a burden we carry joyfully when we carry the burdens of our brothers and sisters.

If everything was wonderful and smooth and great, I'd begin to get worried. Not that I want struggle. Not that I want pain, heartache. But it pushes us to our knees and pushes us to the cross. And if we are in fellowship with each other doing that, God hears that.

He hears the groanings of his people. But he also hears the rejoicing. And we've had fellowship sharing where we rejoice. I rejoiced Monday when I knew that Jerry had gone to his new residence with his bride, Little.

And having had fellowship with him or so, it meant more. It meant so much more than just information. It touched my spirit. It touched my spirit to know that my brother was better. I want to ask you to look up some scriptures and read them.

Take volunteers. Psalm 55, 14. Psalm 55, 14. And 2 Corinthians 13, 4. Psalm 55, 14 and 2 Corinthians 13, 4. Who's got psalms? Go ahead, Brad. Yes. We used to take sweet counsel together in God's house as we walked to the throne.

Sweet, sweet fellowship. There's a song that we sing. We don't sing it probably often enough, but there's a sweet, sweet spirit in this place. It's because we are together in common purpose. And then 2 Corinthians 13, 4.

2 Corinthians 13, 4. Some brave soul. Go ahead, Chris. Power of God. I had to be made weak before God could use me. I had to be made weak before I understood my needs for salvation. I had to be made weak before I knew where my strength was, where I understood I was not sufficient in my own strength.

Fellowships with us who brings us that strength in our time of weakness. Galatians 2, 9 and Philippians 3, 10. Galatians 2, 9 and Philippians 3, 10. Galatians 2, 9 and Philippians 3, 10. Go ahead, Devon.

The right hand of fellowship. We don't greet each other, gentlemen, as they typically do in other countries. I'm sorry. I just don't know if I can go there. But the right hand of fellowship works real well, doesn't it?

Well, and so I'm going to, that probably won't ever. And thank you for the offer. When I was with Jan and Jerry Saturday, praying for them and with them, Jerry sat down and he reached up and he took my hand.

If you know Jerry Brown, he's got some, he's got brown hands. You know, about twice the size of mine. And he hung on. That right hand of fellowship conveys volumes, conveys emotion, conveys brotherhood, conveys brotherly love, conveys connection.

He was appreciated. It was maybe a little unexpected, the manner in which he did it, but I understood. No more work than that. Philippians 3, 10. Yes, ma 'am. How many of these in you, of you in this room, during a time of suffering, you define that, were driven to Christ?

What a joy it is to be driven to Christ. Because without Christ, we have nowhere else to turn. So in our sufferings, we are driven and we understand his sufferings, though in a very small way. We obviously cannot conceive, I cannot conceive, the suffering of the cross and the weight of the world's sin upon his shoulders.

But when suffering comes, I know where to go. I go to fellowship with my Christ, with my Savior. First John 1, 3 and First John 1, 7. First John 1, 3 and First John 1, 7. The triune God provides for us fellowship with not just earthly, sinful creatures, but with a holy triune God, with the Father.

For some of you in this room and some of, and for me, Father, Father was not godly Father growing up. But once I discovered the godly Father, wow, I'm part of a family that's worldwide. I have relatives that I've never met.

And the other side, different hemisphere. We have fellowship with a God who created everything. So when I say Father, it's with a capital F and it means my God. And then First John 1, 7. So have you ever tried to herd cats?

You know, where's he going? They're in the dark, in the light, right? All the time. Walk in the light, shoulder to shoulder in the same direction. We all have the same purpose and place we're heading.

That sounded weird. But when we walk in the light and all of you, most of you I hope in this room understand the light, understand where it is and where you are going. We know where we're going. So we're having fellowship together as we go, as we travel this road of life together.

As our paths merge and come alongside each other. Some of us are a little ahead of others, some a little behind, some a little farther away over here. But we're all heading in the same direction. Fellowship is discussed in many, many scriptures.

I'm just going to run through. It's in 11, 6, 2. It's in Psalm 21, 42. First Corinthians, Galatians 2, 2. Ephesians 3, 9. It goes on and on. Fellowship is a common theme throughout the Bible from Old Testament to New Testament.

So count blessed the fellowship we have. It is unique. It is of God. It is His design, His plan. And I just look forward to the day we all fellowship in heaven together. And we will see Him in all His glory.

Thoughts or comments?