“True Fellowship” - FBC Morning Light (11/20/2023)

Well, good Monday morning to you. I hope you had a good Lord's Day yesterday and were able to meet with God's people and to fellowship with one another.

We'll talk about that in just a few minutes. Well, this is Monday of Thanksgiving week and probably you've got some plans set aside for the

Thanksgiving holiday. I hope that it'll be a great one for you. I'd like to take a second each day this week and just think of something to be thankful for.

Today, what I want to emphasize is, I'm just grateful that God has given us his

Word and that in his Word we have the hope and the promise of fellowship.

Fellowship is a great blessing. We see that in one of the passages in today's reading.

Our scriptural reading for today is Ezekiel chapters 45 and 46 and 1

John chapter 1. When you get into these latter books of the

New Testament, you know you're getting near the end of the year and the end of your Bible reading through the year

Bible reading plan. Today we begin the little book of 1 John in the

New Testament. That's a passage I want to focus on, because in this passage John writes so that God's people can enjoy fellowship with one another.

He says this in verse 3, he says, that which we have seen and heard we declare to you that you also may have fellowship with us.

He's talking about the blessing of Christian fellowship. Notice that that fellowship is rooted in an understanding of the

Word and the truth of God's Word. He says, I'm writing these things to you, I'm telling you what we've seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us.

It's clear that that fellowship depends upon understanding and receiving that which

John and the other apostles have seen and heard. But there's more to this fellowship, because he goes on to say, truly our fellowship is with the

Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. You notice that there is both a vertical and a horizontal dimension of fellowship.

There's fellowship with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, and there's fellowship with one another.

One of the things we have to keep in mind is, which comes first? In other words, we can't really have fellowship among professing believers if there's not also fellowship with our

Father in heaven, with his Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Is it possible for somebody who's not a believer in Christ to come into the church and participate in the church activities and the meals together or whatever, and even the services, and for the believers to have true fellowship with the person who's an unbeliever?

The answer to that question is no. There may be friendship, and there may be some things you can share together, but not

Christian fellowship. Christian fellowship begins with a vertical relationship, a vertical fellowship with the

Father and the Son, and then on that basis we have an understanding of God's Word and God's will, and on the basis of our united corporate understanding of God's Word and God's will, we have fellowship one with another.

Why is it that some churches end up having such messes, and they're constantly at each other's throats?

People, maybe divisions in the church, schisms, and different parties in the church.

Why do those things exist? I would suggest that they exist because somebody isn't having fellowship with God the

Father and God the Son, and there is not a mutual corporate building of that fellowship on God's Word.

It's built on something else. Maybe a united conclusion of what color carpet is the best for the auditorium, that kind of silly stuff.

You say, does that really happen? I'm afraid it really does. Our fellowship with one another is predicated upon our understanding, a correct corporate understanding of the doctrine of God's Word, as well as an individual personal relationship and fellowship with God.

When we have fellowship with God and we then have fellowship with his

Word, we can then have good fellowship with one another. I hope that's what we strive for in our

Christian walk, in our local churches, because fellowship is something to be thankful for.

When there's good fellowship, it's a great blessing, and it's a good church, and I hope you enjoy that with God's people.

Let's thank the Lord for fellowship today. Our Father and our God, we're thankful that through the

Lord Jesus Christ, we can indeed have fellowship with you, and on the basis of that, we can have fellowship with one another.

Bless that fellowship, we pray, and we ask it in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen. All right, well listen,