Acts 2:41-47 "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart; Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved."
Let's take a look at the subject of fellowship for the Believer. We see in the above quoted scripture that the disciples continued daily in the Word, communion, prayer and fellowship. (vs. 42) They were not hit and miss about it, but were steadfast in their commitment to the Lord and to one another. Could it be that they understood the importance of being around fellow believers to a degree that has been lost in the modern day church? Fellowship is a subject many Christians don't want to contend with because of the demand it puts upon them. The Greek word for "fellowship" is "koinonia" which being interpreted is "partnership; participation or social intercourse; to communicate; communion and distribution." Webster's dictionary defines "fellowship" as: "companionship; a mutual sharing; a group of people with the same interests." I've also heard the word fellowship defined as "two people who are in the same boat!" In reality this is true! We're all subject to the same temptations and frustrations, so the quicker we tap into the strength that others have the better off we'll all be. First on the list must be our fellowship with God. This is the most important type of fellowship that we should be involved in, but it is not the only type. Remember, the Father God created us and knows what's best for us. We must talk to the Lord on a daily basis and not try to figure life out on our own!
I Corinthians 1:9 "God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord."
We are called to fellowship with the Lord! Some people in the Body of Christ are hoping that maybe one day a call will be placed on their life; a Divine call from the Lord Himself to enter into service of one type or another. I've got news for those desiring this: the call has already been made! Everyone who is washed in the Blood of Jesus, those who are part of the family of God, is called to fellowship with the Lord daily. There are obvious signs in people's lives when they fellowship with the Lord. The peace of Christ is upon them, they have joy unspeakable and it's full of the glory of the Lord, they are bold in their witness of the Lord, and the list goes on. However, there is one that many of you may not have considered. It's the outward display of a desire to fellowship with God's people. A sure sign of a person not fellowshipping with the Lord is when they have no desire to get together with other Christians. In other words, they don't care if they go to church or not.
Hebrews 10:24-25 "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."
If a Christian is spending ample time with the Lord, on a daily basis, he or she will know the importance of being around other people of like, precious faith. We cannot become islands unto ourselves! We are strengthened through fellowship, and that fellowship is fueled through our time spent with God. I'm thinking of the wildlife shows that are on TV, where they show a herd of antelope and the lion charges after them. That lion will always single out the slowest, weakest animal in the herd and go after it. This same scenario is played out in the life of the person who refuses to consistently fellowship with other Christians. They become weak and an easy target for the enemy who goes about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may destroy. (I Peter 5:8) When born-again believers are talking to the Lord, He will always encourage them to be in a good local church. I mean a church that preaches the uncompromised Word of faith. A church where you'll hear the Word preached without a religious slant toward unbelief and the mind-set that God doesn't heal, prosper or set free any more! A church that believes what the writer of the book of Hebrews said in chapter thirteen.
Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever."
Where you fellowship on a weekly basis is a matter of life or death. It doesn't matter that your parents raised you in a certain church, or that your grandma's tears stained the second row pew. I appreciate family, I love family traditions; but if those traditions transgress the Word, the traditions have to go! I found myself in a church that didn't believe Jesus Christ was the same today as He was in the Bible days. Once I realized it, I departed and started on a journey to be fed the Word and grow thereby. Don't go to church out of tradition. Go because you're being fed the Word and can have fellowship with people who love the Lord. I'm not trying to say that people in traditional churches lack in their love of God. But the fact is, many of these traditional churches do not preach the new birth (John 3:3-5; Romans 10:9-10). Did you know that a large percentage of seminary graduates, future pastors and evangelists of many of the mainline denominations, do not even believe in the virgin birth of Christ? The deity of the Lord Jesus is not believed by many "ministers" in this country today. They do not believe in divine healing (Galatians 3:13-14; I Peter 2:24). The baptism of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues is said to have passed away with the apostles and therefore not believed (Acts 2:1-4). The necessity of speaking the Word in faith -- calling those things that be not as though they were (Romans 4:17), and the importance of keeping words of unbelief out of your vocabulary are called over-exaggerations of Biblical truth. And in some circles, if you talk about rebuking the devil and binding him (James 4:7; Matthew 18:18), you're labeled a heretic. Can you see the importance of fellowshipping with the Lord, learning His Word through careful study and then being in a church that is not afraid to preach that Word uncompromisingly? Where you go to church really can mean life or death. You certainly don't want to have a preacher pray for you when you're sick, if he or she doesn't even believe that God still heals today! It won't work! There is a man in our church today who was healed of cancer. The doctors told him he had 3 to 6 months to live. That was about 5 years ago! He's in church every week and doing great. By the way, he left a church he had been attending which didn't believe the uncompromised Word of God. He told me it was all the Word he had been hearing at Solid Rock that paved the way for him to receive his miracle! Praise the Lord! Jesus gets all of the praise for his healing! The importance of fellowship with the Lord and then fellowship with a body of believers cannot be ignored. Remember, in order to have true fellowship with the Lord or anybody else, our conversations cannot be one-sided. To have "interaction" or "partnership" implies that at least two people are involved. When we fellowship with the Lord or a brother or sister in Christ, it's important that we have an S.C.E. S.C.E. stands for a "successful communication experience." This happens when information is conveyed by both parties involved, and it is understood by both sides exactly the way it was intended. The Lord has no problem understanding us completely, but we must be certain we're getting what He's telling us. The only way you'll know if you've heard from the Lord or not, is to check out what you've heard with the Word of God. The Lord will never transgress His own Word! Fellowshipping with fellow Believers is not to be a time of challenge or Scripture-bashing! Sadly, many times when Christians get together, they end up arguing over something in the Word. We are told to avoid questions that gender strife and avoid those who want to go that route. (I Timothy 6:3-5; II Timothy 2:23) Our times of fellowship should be relaxing and upbuilding.
Romans 14:17 "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost."
Fulfillment in a Christian's life comes through anointed time spent in the presence of the Lord. Come on, go for it! Start today to spend time with the Lord -- talk to Him and then listen, He'll talk back! Get in a good Word church where your faith will grow and fellowship with strong believers will be the weekly thing that you do. There's no better time than now to make positive changes where the most important relationship you have is concerned. Get going and spend time with the Lord!
