Jamison Crouch - The Mission of the Church: Fellowship

What a blessing it is to be together again, and

I want to say thank you to the congregation for

Everything your participation last week in the

meeting. We had a phenomenal meeting from start

to finish We had great teaching great lessons,

but we had great participation from our congregation

We had a lot of other things outside of just

the services that we did and those were well

participated in and so I think overall we had

a fantastic meeting and I just want to thank

you for everything that was done because it does

take effort and it does take sacrifice to do

those things. So I'm very grateful. This morning

for a few minutes I want to continue with a series

that we started regarding the mission of the

church and the mission of the church is very

very simple. It's to save the lost and to keep

the same. to save the lost and to keep the saved.

Last time we talked about worship and the importance

of worship on the mission of the church and it

is important to come together to have time to

worship but it's also important that we worship

outside and how we live our lives and it's important

on how we worship that God has called us to worship

in spirit and in truth and it takes both of those

things. And I look at the thought the thoughts

about fellowship and I think well, we kind of

know what fellowship is We have fellowships we

get together. We like to get together. Obviously.

We love each other We like to eat some of us

a lot more than others. We like to eat Sometimes

when we think about fellowship, maybe the idea

popped in your mind was sire dough bread pizza

rolls Brenda's fried apples Something like that.

That's okay. That's fellowship to you. We can

fellowship around those things But you know fellowship

is much more than that And when I think about

fellowship and I just and I want to just try

to wrap up fellowship and into one sentence I

would say this I Can't do this alone. I Can't

walk alone And I need you to help me walk Then

you need us to help you walk And we were made

to be together It is God's divine plan that we

come together and we be together not just on

this time on a Sunday morning, not just a Sunday

evening service, not just a Wednesday night service,

but it is important that we come together as

the church to share our lives together because

we are better together. It's because that's how

we were designed. And I appreciate the reading

this morning from brother Matt and acts chapter

two verse 42. I want to go back over this one

more time. I just want to point out some things

in the scripture this morning. I want you to

think acts chapter two is the day of Pentecost

right after the day of Pentecost when Peter he's

been given the keys to the kingdom and he opens

up the door and it lets people into the church.

The first time the church is opened up to people

to come into and then what happens next? After

they heard the preaching of the gospel and 3

,000 souls were saved, what happened next? Because

now we see a picture of the church forming together

and what it's gonna become and how we're gonna

live our life and how we're gonna act in our

life. And it says in verse 42, and they continued

steadfastly in the apostle's doctrine and fellowship.

They gave attention to teaching. They wanted

to learn what... God wanted for them and what

God desired for them for they to be pleasing

to God. And so they took attention to the apostles

doctrine and what he was teaching, but they took

attention also to fellowship, to being together.

They were now the church, the called out of this

world. And it was important for them to be together

in breaking of bread and communion. The word

that we use for communion is fellowship. Those.

Those words can be used interchangeably in prayers.

Prayers were important. Praying for one another.

Praying for those that were without. Having a

relationship with God. Being thankful to God

and showing him a heart of gratitude for all

that he's done. And fear came upon every soul

and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.

And all that believe were together and had all

things common. They were living life together

and some and sold their possessions and goods

and part of them to all men as every man had

need. You know, many people had come a long ways

to come to Jerusalem for Pentecost. And you know,

when you pack for a trip, you kind of pack what

you need, maybe a little bit extra, but something

great had happened at Jerusalem and they weren't

going home anytime soon. They needed food. They

needed a place to stay. And I'm gonna tell you

what, the brethren came up and they said, you

know what, I've got extra. I'm willing to share

with those that they may be a part of this or

I'll sell a piece of land. That way we can have

money so we can distribute and take care of these

people here. That seems like a really odd concept.

Can you ever think about a time in your life

where you said, I'm gonna sell a piece of land

just so somebody else can meet and eat and worship?

It's kind of foreign to us, isn't it? But that's

what they did at Pentecost or when the church

was established here after Pentecost and they

continued daily with one accord You mean they

just didn't see each other the next Sunday So

well, see you next Sunday. That's when the Lord's

called us together daily They were a part of

each other's lives They were with one accord

in the temple when they went to worship breaking

bread from house to house They spent time together

outside of the worship times. They did eat their

meat with gladness and singleness of heart They

were of one heart these people Praising God and

having favor with all the people are having goodwill

or grace toward the people and The Lord added

to the church daily as such should be saved This

is a picture of the church This is the picture

of the New Testament church. This is a picture

of what our church Must pattern itself after

a group of people that have come together with

one mission one cause under one banner with one

savior Together Now one of great Satan's greatest

lies is that we can make it alone You know, I

like time alone Sometimes we need that time alone.

Sometimes we need to go into our prayer closet

alone and spend time alone But I will tell you,

for the majority of the rest of the time, I'm

much better with somebody else. I don't want

to feel isolated. I don't want to feel by myself.

But Satan, he likes to isolate us and get us

alone. Historically, look at some things that's

happened. He asked isolated eaves from Adam's

council. Separate the husband and wife and take

the woman in and beguile her and and try to tell

her a lie. that she may eat and she did eat and

she took it and gave it to her husband. You remember

the story? I believe it's in first Kings chapter

1 Kings 19 · chapter mention

19. Elijah, he gets this threat from Jezebel

that Jezebel says he's going to kill Elijah.

He's going to make his life as a life of one

of those prophets that Elijah and his prophet

slew there after the sacrifice, the contest.

Well, we see Elijah he gets out in the wilderness

alone He sits down up on it underneath the juniper

tree and he wishes for himself that he might

die Because he was alone But he got help what

about Judas Did you just take Peter with him

when he went to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of

silver? Who did he take with him? He didn't take

anybody with him He was isolated from the Apostles

and it gave him an opportunity to sin and to

betray the Lord of Lords Isolation is dangerous

for the Christian and The devil seeks to isolate

you away from the church You know one of Satan's

greatest victories is if he can take you and

drag you away from this group of people here

That's what he wants to do Don't you know that

it hate that it it? It wears on him and he hates

to see you and I gathered together in the name

of Jesus this morning as one people called into

one person and one purpose and one salvation.

Don't you know that he can't stand that this

morning because we're stronger together because

we have brothers and sisters together are looking

after the well -being of each other, not just

for worldly good. I want to see my brothers and

sisters be prospered in worldly ways that they

have enough, but this is more spiritual. Don't

want to see my brothers and sisters be weak.

I don't want to be weak Don't you get strength

by coming into the assembly? Don't you get strength

from talking to brothers and sisters people that

don't just have your best worldly Ambitions in

mind, but but your best spiritual ambitions in

mind Don't you know that you're sitting amongst

people that what they wouldn't do that you go

to heaven That's what matters The first thing

God said was not good. It was not sin. It was

not suffering. It was not sorrow It was this

fact here Genesis 2 and 18 and the Lord God said

it is not good that man should be alone. I Will

make for him a help meet for him or a helper

that is capable to take and help him God saw

man. He created Adam and he was by himself And

Adam looked around at all the other creations

said all this other creation has something to

Habitate with but here I am. I'm different. I'm

alone And you know God is the giver of great

good gifts He's the giver of all good gifts and

what he do he gave him to Adam this great gift

this helper So that he didn't have to be alone

anymore Someone that he could talk to and that

he could walk by and that he could labor with

in the garden What a precious gift When you think

about your marriage, can you think am I better

off or worse off with my spouse? I'm going to

tell you unequivocally this morning. I am better

with my spouse She provides for me things that

I need She cares about me. She looks to my good

She is the person that I dream with make plans

with The marriage the spouse is an awesome gift

from God. It's a built -in best friend. And that

best friend just doesn't say, I'm your best friend.

They make vows to stand with you, for better,

for worse, for rich or poor. No matter what happens

in this life, I will stand with you. God made

that, and he made that for you because you're

better off with that. God never intended humanity

to live in isolation because God himself lives

in eternal fellowship There's always been fellowship

inside the realm of God and we consider the Holy

Trinity the Father Son the Holy Spirit They enjoy

perfect communion before creation ever existed

It's not just God the Father, but it's God the

Father. It's Jesus the Son. It's the Holy Spirit

altogether You see a fellowship there even in

God's grander design. There is fellowship. There's

unity within Fellowship is not merely a church

activity again. We can't just think about the

Eaton's we have here We have family game nights.

I love family game nights hang out play games

You don't I mean if you've ever seen Daniel giggle,

I mean Daniel will giggle over certain games.

It's kind of funny But it's not merely that what

is it? Fellowship is the answer to man's deepest

loneliness and God's meth method for keeping

souls faithful It's intentional. It must be intentional

God create us for fellowship because he desired

our fellowship Fellowship begins in the heart

of God It does not start in our desires that

we don't want to be alone But it truly starts

inside of the heart of God before man desired

God God desired man We see that in the garden

after Adam sinned, God came seeking Adam. In

Genesis 3 and 9 it says, and the Lord God called

unto Adam and said unto Adam, where art thou?

Where are you at, Adam? Now why did he ask that

question? Because what we see before that, they

were walking hand in hand, there was no sin in

the world, there was no separation between God

and man, but man had sinned. And God had warned

man that if you sin, if you eat of the tree of

the knowledge of good and evil, In that day you

will surely die Now we know that the aid of the

fruit, but they didn't fall over dead. So what

did God mean? It will cause separation between

you and I and that's what death is death is separation

when we die physically We are separated from

our loved ones. Our body is separated from our

spirit and our soul their separation, but this

separation that was caused is much deeper Separation

than just our loved ones being Torn away from

us from death. Where are you, Adam? See, God

wasn't seeking information. He was seeking relationship.

Where are you, Adam? Adam, you've been separated

from me. He knew exactly where Adam was standing,

but he made the point that we are now separated.

Adam, your sin has separated us from each other.

Throughout scripture God repeatedly pursues fellowship.

He did it with walking with Adam in the garden

He did it with speaking with Abraham as a friend

dwelling among Israel in the tabernacle becoming

flesh in Jesus Christ He came and visited mankind

and had fellowship with mankind and he does it

dwelling within believers through the spirit

today This fellowship exists through us. The

story of redemption is the story of God restoring

fellowship That's what it is Salvation is ultimately

reconciliation many of you salvation only as

forgiveness and I won't tell you what Salvation

is forgiveness and coming to know Jesus Christ

in faith and obedience It does bring forgiveness

and it does take the burden of sin away from

us and man I tell you what if I had a burden

of sin, I'd sure want it gone If you're not here

today and you're not a member of his church,

if you've not been baptized into Christ, if you've

not confessed faith in him today, I'm gonna tell

you what, it's great to take a great burden off.

It's important that you can walk out of these

doors today, forgiven of your sins, that God

will no longer hold those things against you.

But I'm gonna tell you what's just as good today

as a relationship. That relationship with God

that we can enjoy and share forgiveness is the

means but fellowship is the goal here Isaiah

Isaiah 59:2

59 verse 2 says but your iniquities your sins

Have separated between you and your God and your

sins have hid his face from you that he will

not hear It separated Adam and I'll tell you

what it separated every man and every woman that's

ever lived ever since Our sins have separated

us or cause separation has caused us to go out

of fellowship with God Almighty. First Corinthians

one nine says, but God is faithful man. We can

spend a lot of time on that statement right there.

How faithful that God is. God is faithful by

whom you were called into the fellowship of his

son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. You have been called.

He has extended an invitation to you and I that

we might be brought back into fellowship with

God. God won't have to wonder where are you?

Because God knows where you're at and you know

where God sits and you enjoy that relationship

and that covenant relationship Think of all that

he's done to make that fellowship possible Do

you remember when you were separated those of

you that are Christian that you remember when

you were separated? And how guilty you felt that

you're seeing you're seeing Had separated you

from an almighty God that loved you but then

From hearing the Word of God faith came And you

understood that God loved you and that he sent

Jesus his son to be that sacrifice for your sins

That's your blood your your sins might be blotted

out by his blood For what purpose for forgiveness

of sins, but for that relationship to be brought

back That you could stand and you could call

God your father. That you could be called a child

of God. That you could be a part of the family

of God. Heaven is eternal fellowship just restored.

The greatest blessing of heaven is not golden

streets. It's God's presence. I've made that

argument before. I won't belabor it today. I

don't believe in golden streets. I think that's

just an analogy. I don't think you can put a

price on heaven. I don't think you can put a

value on heaven. I just think you have to use

words like gold to portray value of how awesome

it's going to be. First Corinthians two nine

says, but as it is written, I has not seen nor

ear heard nor entered into the heart of man.

The things that God has prepared for them that

love him. You've never seen it. You've never

heard anything like what it's gonna sound like

in heaven Your imagination can't dive deep enough

into what heaven is gonna be like one day You

just can't do it in a mortal mind The Bible says

in Revelation 21 and 3 and it says I heard a

great voice out of heaven saying behold The tabernacle

of God is with men and he will dwell with them

They shall be his people and God himself shall

be with them and be their God. What is heaven

going to be like? It is going to be pure unadulterated

fellowship with our God we're going to stand

there and we're going to be named his people

and We are going to look at him and we are going

to claim him as our God and there's going to

be nothing in heaven that's ever going to separate

that fellowship between us and God ever again.

There's not going to be any more temptation.

There's not going to be any more sin. There's

not going to be more regrets. There's not going

to be any more sorrow or crying or pain or anything

that would take us away from him. What a day

that'll be to be in full and perfect fellowship

with the father once again, like he was made

from the beginning. The church should reflect

earth on earth what heaven will be forever This

is our goal to be named his people to name him

as our God and we We distribute that we voice

that to where we go Christ demonstrated the necessity

of fellowship when he came he came as man A hundred

percent man in the flesh, but a hundred percent

God. Jesus intentionally surrounded himself with

people. And if anybody could have lived independently

in this world, it was Jesus. I mean, what did

he need from us? Right? What, what act of service,

what act of tribute can you give a God that literally

made everything that owns everything? It's like

trying to find the gift for the person who has

it all. What are you gonna give? He chose his

disciples, he ate with them, he walked with them,

he taught them, he served them, he prayed with

them, and he prayed for them. But we see a glimpse

in Gethsemane about the importance of fellowship

and how Christ felt about the fellowship of his

followers. Matthew 26 verse 36 says, then cometh

Matthew 26:36

Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane,

and said unto his disciples, sit ye here while

I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter

and the two sons of Zebedee James and John and

began to be sorrowful and very heavy He took

three of his followers with him. He said I need

you to come I need you to watch while I go and

pray And the Bible says he was very sorrowful.

He was very heavy You know, there's three words

in the Greek that describe heaviness right here

And of all those words that describe a heaviness.

This is by far the heaviest of the heaviest it

is somewhat described as depression jesus is

being brought very low why is he brought very

low at this time he quite literally has the weight

of the world and more specifically the sin of

the world bearing down on his shoulders and he

knows what the cost is. He knows what's coming.

And so he takes three disciples with him to stand

with him, to be with him during this difficult

time. Then saith he unto them, my soul is exceeding

sorrowful even unto death, tarry ye here and

watch with me. And he went a little farther and

fell on his face and prayed saying, Oh my father,

if it be possible, let this cup pass for me.

Nevertheless not as I will but as thou wilt and

he cometh into disciples and Findeth them asleep

and Seth into Peter. What could you not watch

with me one hour? His most desperate time the

weight of the world on his shoulders He's taken

three with him just to be some moral support

while he's going through this time And he comes

back out of the garden after he's been praying

on his face, and he looks at him and there they

are And they're asleep Man I Need you Peter.

I need you. I need you right now John Can you

not just stay awake just another hour? While

I go through this trial, can you not be with

me? This is Jesus If Jesus needed a friend In

a dark hour? How much more do you and I need

friends in dark hours? He said, watch and pray

that you enter not into temptation. The spirit

indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. And

he went away again the second time and prayed

saying, Oh my father, if this cup may not pass

away from me, except I drink it, thy will be

done. And he came and found them asleep again

for their eyes were heavy. He left them and went

away again and prayed the third time saying the

same words Then he cometh to his disciples and

said to them sleep on now and take your rest

Behold the hours at hand and the son of man is

betrayed into the hands of sinners Jesus desired

fellowship It was important to Jesus even though

he was the divine son of God. He was their creation

He created all things. He knew all things. He

is a god of infinite power and infinite wisdom

and infinite love. But yet he desired fellowship.

Be with me, watch and pray with me. The son of

God desired companionship. The burden was his

alone to bear in the garden, but he didn't want

to face the agony alone. Even perfect people

need faithful command companions. How about how

much more to imperfect people like you and I

need companions? I Tell you what if Jesus needed

fellowship if he yearned for fellowship, what

does that say for our? Well, but we need to yearn

for fellowship we need to be faithful in our

fellowship both asking for it and Giving it in

return the cross demonstrates the horror of the

separation Matthew 27 46 the Bible says about

the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice

saying Eli Eli Lamassabat tonight That is to

say my god my god. Why has thou forsaken me?

Jesus hung on that cross The sin of the world

had been laid on him the perfect spotless lamb

of God And he was there alone the father was

not going to come to his rescue Father was not

going to pull him down off that cross the father

was going to let his will be done Being the father's

will be done And he suffered The physical agony

was terrible But being separated from a holy

God is worse It's not just mere physical merely

physical suffering. It's the separation and what

sin does it? It destroys fellowship. You know,

if we let sin come into our marriage, it will

destroy our fellowship with our spouse. If we

let sin come into our home, it will destroy our

home. If we let sin come into the church, it

will destroy the relationships that we have in

our congregation. The cross -purchase restoration.

And it's for him, and it's for him alone that

you and I have redemption from our sins. Jesus

hated sin. And you and I as Christians, we ought

to hate sin equally. We need to keep it away

from our marriage. We need to keep it away from

our homes. We need to keep it out of the church.

Are we imperfect people? Absolutely. But we are

imperfect people with a realization that we are

a family of imperfect people. And everybody needs

support. everybody needs help there's no one

person looking down on another here because we're

all in the same boat and I'll tell you what this

world cries out for equality equality equality

I won't tell you we're real equality lands it's

in the gospel because you and I are all sinners

we're all equal we're all imperfect through the

cross we can all be saved Biblical fellowship

is more than just association. Fellowship is

sharing a common life. The word koinonia means

participation or communion or partnership. You

can absolutely attend church without fellowship

in the church. You can be a member of North Warren

Church of Christ and you can disregard fellowship.

You're not supposed to, but I'm saying you're

capable of it. You can come and share a building

together and you can still failed to share a

life together. I will tell you what, brother,

we were called for much higher than that. The

life that we've been called to in the example

that we see there in Acts chapter two, what the

church did, how they come together and had all

things common and they broke bread from house

to house and they had singleness of heart and

they were in one accord. That's what God is calling

us to. There's no sex in the church. There's

no clicks in the church. There's no groups. There's

no hierarchy in the church. There ordained offices

of elders and deacons in this church, but I'm

gonna tell you what elders and deacons are not

any better than anybody else If it were just

up to elders and deacons to do the work of God

and that would leave everybody else out But it's

not the way God set up the church It's our job

to do the work of the church it's everybody's

job to do the work of the church and to function

Biblical fellowship is much deeper A few things

that God has called us to do to each other. Share

burdens is one. Galatians 6 and 2. Bear ye one

another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.

You know, it's not just suggested. It's mandatory

to bear one another's burdens. You know how you

do that? You share each other's burdens. You

know what each other's burdens are. You spend

time together and you figure that out. You build

trust and relationships with other people so

that you can share those things and those things

can be shared with you. We share joys here. Romans

Romans 12:15

chapter 12 verse 15, it says, rejoice with them

that do rejoice and weep with them that weep.

I'm gonna tell you what, in real thing, when

you have a victory in your life, I have a victory

in my life because I enjoy being a cheerleader

for my brethren. When I see somebody do good,

let's say somebody else's kids. Now, I like my

kids. I want to see them do good. But you know

what? I get excited when I see your kids do good.

That makes me excited because, hey, that's my

people. That's my people. We are the same congregation.

We have the same promises together. We have the

same wants and desires together. And I enjoy

when you get a promotion, man, it may not affect

my bottom line, but I tell you what, I get excited

when you get a promotion. I get excited when

you have something good happen to you. I want

to be a cheerleader for you. And I'll tell you

what, you've been a cheerleader for me and my

home and my family, my kids. You come to my kids

ball games. You come to my kids graduations.

I appreciate that. And we need more of that We

need more those opportunities to intertwine our

lives rejoice with them that rejoice We share

struggles and vulnerabilities around here Bible

says in James 5 16 confess your faults one to

another and pray one for another that you may

be healed the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous

man availeth much You ever walk up to complete

strangers and tell them all your dirty laundry

No, I don't either You know who I tell people

my deepest and darkest secret secrets to people

I trust people I know People that I know love

me people that I know that care for me You know,

it's it's difficult even to come up to a brother

and sister to share your faults that it really

is It's embarrassing to be honest with you I'll

tell you what the times in my life that I give

myself over to that. There's always been blessing

attached to it Let me tell you what it does.

It does a couple of things that are really important.

One thing is it gets it off of you. There is

freedom in confession. To get something out in

the open and not just hold it and hide it to

yourself, there is freedom in that. I'm gonna

tell you something else it'll do. It will bind

you closer together with that person that you

confess to. Because you have relayed that there

is a trust there that I can trust you. Can trust

you with my deepest and darkest secret and I

know that you're not gonna go tell everybody

I know that you're not gonna look down or judge

me for it But I know that you have true care

and compassion that you're gonna try to help

me with whatever problem I've come and whatever

fault that I've laid on you that I trust you

to try to help me with that I'm gonna tell you

what? I'm not saying you got to do that every

day. I'm saying if you will practice that in

your life blessing Blessing will come from it

Not only just you personally but relationships

around you if you will humble yourself and confess

your faults one to another We share resources

acts chapter 4 verse 32 and the multitude of

Acts 4:32

them that believed were of one heart and of one

soul Neither said any of them that ought to things

that which were possessed was his own But they

had all things common and with great power gave

the Apostles witness of the resurrection of the

Lord Jesus and great grace was upon them all

Neither was there any among them that lacked

for as many as were possessors of lands or houses

sold them They then brought the prices of the

things that were sold and laid them down at the

Apostles feet and distribution was made unto

every man according as he had need There should

never ever be anyone that goes hungry in the

church Minimum. Now we can't make boat payments

here. We can't do a lot of things. But I'm going

to tell you what, the attitude of the first century

church when it was established was a very sharing

group of people. They shared. You know, they

were concerned about people that had need and

they tried to fill those needs. We can do that

too. We are a blessed people. We have much more

than we need. We always look for more there's

always an attraction for more more more, but

we have plenty we have plenty to share and I

believe wholeheartedly that God will bless us

and we will be fruitful and multiply in those

things if we share Why would God bless you with

more material things if he knows you're a stingy

person to begin with? That makes sense Why would

he give you more just so you would hold it up

and hoard it up? God will bless us if we continue

to share of those things that we've been given

and sharing responsibilities first Peter chapter

1 Peter 4:10

4 verse 10 says as every man hath received the

gift Now these gifts were several different things,

but they were gifts of ministry Even so minister

the same one to another as good stewards of the

manifold grace of God You know how powerful and

effective that we could be if we all use our

gifts. Now he's not talking about money here

per se. He's not talking about money. He's about

the abilities that God has given each of us to

do ministry, to help other people, to serve in

the church, to be a light in the world, to share

the gospel, all those things. Man, what would

happen if a group of people use the gifts that

God gave them? for his glory. What would happen

to the congregation? What would happen to that

group of people? There's no telling what could

happen to a group of people that put their minds

to it, put their hearts in it, and took what

God gave them and used it to his glory. There's

no telling. The early church practiced real fellowship.

Acts 2 and 44. We already read this, but I want

you to look at it one more time. and all that

believe were together and had all things common,

sold their possessions and goods, parted them

to all men as every man had need, and they continued

daily in one accord in the temple, breaking bread

from house to house, did eat their meat with

gladness and singleness of heart. They were together,

they shared possessions, they shared meals, they

shared worship, they shared daily life. Christianity

was never to be a once a week activity. If we

have it in our minds that What God expects for

us is to go to church once a week To see those

people to ask how they're doing even if it's

truly genuine if we ask how they're doing Brother,

we're missing an opportunity We're missing what

God has blueprinted for our lives You know We

need to find opportunities to bring people to

our house share a meal We need opportunities

to go out to eat in other places. We need more

opportunities that we can get together Study

the Bible Formally informally you can have a

study sheet you can hey invite somebody over

to the house and say hey I've just got a question

Let's talk about this. Tell me what you think

about this Maybe you've got an idea about it

that you want to share with somebody else to

see if they they agree with the same thing There

are all kinds of opportunities Maybe it's going

somebody's house mowing the yard. Maybe it's

going picking up sticks at somebody's house.

That's fellowship. That's ministry That's the

work of the church There's a lot of opportunities

to do that and but if we're shutting it down

to say it Hey, my Christian walk is one hour

a week. That's my family time. It's not enough

We never see that in Scripture where an hour

a week was enough Fellowship is God's design

for keeping the same Christianity was never designed

as a solo journey I want you to consider all

these passage right here of one another one another

one another Love one another Encourage one another

bear one another's burdens forgive one another

pray for one another admonish one another None

of these commands can be filled in isolation

And I'm gonna tell you why they're important

one It's on me I've got to love. I've got to

encourage. I've got to bear. I've got to forgive.

I've got to pray. I've got to admonish. Because

you know what I need? I need somebody to love

me. I need to be encouraged. I need help with

the burdens that I bear. Because I can't bear

them alone. I need forgiveness. I need prayer.

I need admonishing. We're gonna live by the rule.

We're gonna treat others how we want to be treated

I'm gonna tell you what we've got to be willing

to give these things Because every one of us

need these things in return So let's set an example

Let's set the pattern Let's do those things one

to another, but you'll never fulfill any of them

any of them If you don't spend time together

If you don't make part of your life part of your

brother and sister's life and vice versa Isolation

creates spiritual danger coal removed from the

fire soon grows cold You take a month off and

you don't talk to anybody here You see where

your spiritual well -being is You need to be

close to the Coles A sheep that's separated from

the flock becomes vulnerable. We see that all

throughout scripture when somebody's isolated

away from God's people, how vulnerable they become.

We know that a branch detached from the vine,

it dies. And you will too. And how can this be

fixed? Fellowship. Coming together. Interwoven

your life into the life of those that you go

to church with that you worship with Satan oftentimes

off Tax isolated believers Hebrews 3 and 13 says

but exhort one another daily as it is called

today lest any of you be hardened through the

deceitfulness of sin Exhort one another once

a week. Is that did I read I read that wrong?

exhort one another daily Exhort one another daily.

It's important Why? Because the enemy, you know

what he does? He is daily trying to tear you

and I down. He is daily trying to tear the church

down. He is daily trying to tear relationships

down. He is daily trying to drive a wedge between

you and I. So what must we do? We must build

each other up. We must encourage each other daily

so that we can overcome the deceitfulness and

hardened hearts of sin. that it causes. God uses

believers to sustain faith. When Elijah wanted

to die, God provided companionship. After that

spot under the juniper tree that day, God, he

had a meal fixed for him. He said, you're going

to annoy some kings. He said, but you're also

going to go and find Elisha and he's going to

be prophet in your stead. And Elijah and Elisha

walked together for a while. until Elijah was

taken up in a fiery chariot. When Paul needed

encouragement, God sent brethren. Do you think

Paul went on all those missionary journeys by

himself? What about Barnabas and Silas and John

Mark and Priscilla and Aquila? How about all

those that walked with Paul? See, he never went

alone. Can you imagine having to do all that

traveling all by yourself? I guess it would be

okay. I guess you'd get by, but boy, it sure

would be better with somebody with you. You know

when the Lord sent out those disciples, how do

you send them out one by one? No, he sent them

out two by two He said you need some help When

Timothy struggled Paul wrote letters to him An

older apostle reaching out to a younger evangelist

to give him support God often answers prayers

through people one of the greatest evidences

of God's care is the church family This Goodness

that you and I enjoy It comes from God These

relationships that we enjoy that we've got somebody

that encourages and somebody that looks out for

us and somebody that truly cares about this our

soul This is all evidence of God's love for his

people Because he's not called us to walk in

isolation after our salvation, but he's called

us to walk together Fellowship is essential to

saving the lost the lost are watching our relationships

People that don't know what we do here don't

understand why we do the things that we do here

I'm going to tell you what they may not know

all those things and understand those things.

I'll tell you what they watch how we live They

watch how we love they watch how we care for

each other and how we treat one another John

13 35 says by this shall all men know that you're

my disciples if you have loved one to another

All men those that are inside the church, those

that are outside the church, sinners of all kinds,

they will understand that you're my disciples

by the way you love each other. We are that light

set up on a hill. We treat people different.

We care about people. You know what people in

the world that live for the world do? They really

just care about themselves. They really just

care about their own well -being, about their

own bank account, about their own entertainment.

But you know what? I know you people here. You

people care about more than that. You people

care about the church as a whole. You people

care about the relationships inside the church.

You care about people. You want to see people's

physical needs met, yes. But you know what the

desire of this people that I know here is? You

care about people's souls. You want people to

go to heaven. and you're willing to reach out

a hand and take somebody by the hand and lead

them and Encourage them and pick them up when

they've fallen down so that they could meet that

goal People don't won't judge us by our building

They won't judge us by our budget. They won't

budget by programs that we have It's because

how we love each other and the church becomes

visible proof of the gospel The way you and I

treat each other and love one another Is a loud

voice to the rest of the world We belong to Jesus

We believe in Jesus and That is the message that

we're campaigning on people often belong before

they believe When they come in they can see genuine

care and they can see real love for each other

And they can see people sharing each other's

burdens and they can see this mutual support

and I'm gonna tell you what you don't get that

everywhere You know where you get a lot of that

outside of the church in a gang a Gang is somewhere

where people can go to belong and They all have

one creed and they all have one goal. It's all

about the club all about the club all about the

game But I'm gonna tell you what you and I is

the church by the way the gang world got that

from the church It's not vice versa. We didn't

get this from the gang world But you and I we

are a place where people can come and belong

No matter who they are. No matter what background

they come from no matter what kind of sin they

committed This is a place where everybody belongs

This is home And we have one purpose here. We

have one mission is the church That's to save

the loss and to keep the same. That's what we

do and we're unified in that People might ask

what's different about these people. The answer

is Jesus The answer is Christ our Lord Because

he is our Savior. He is our Redeemer Acts 2 and

47 They said praising God and having favor with

all the people and the Lord added to the church

daily such as should be saved Now Matt read it

this morning. I started with it this morning

We've read other parts of that this morning all

that was going on all that fellowship that was

going on all that Singleness of heart all that

one accord all breaking bread from house to house

all those Was just the precursor to what was

about to happen The Bible says and more people

came People saw what the church was doing people

saw the attitude of this this early church and

they said you know what? I think I want to be

a part of that And the Bible says the Lord added

the church daily as such should be saved a Big

part of that was because they saw the fellowship

of the church They saw these people and they

were radical people. They were radical. They

were taking care of people They didn't even know

who would sell a piece of property So that somebody

they didn't even know could have something to

eat who would do that. That is crazy No, that's

love That's love for the church. That's love

for people's souls. That's what that is That's

what we want to have here fellowship creates

an environment where the gospel can flourish

And when people on the outside sees what the

people inside here doing they'll want to be a

part of it, too And the gospel will have its

roots And many people can come to be saved the

mission of the church is to save the lost keep

the saved Fellowship serves both of these purposes

Fellowship is that example to people that are

outside to come in and people that are inside

it keeps us here It keeps us grounded Why would

I ever want to leave a group of people that loves

me so passionately? That cares about me at my

deepest level people that I can be vulnerable

with people that I can be why would I ever leave

that? You won't you won't you will fall in love

with this group of people And you'll say this

is my family and I don't walk away from my family

And that's how we'll keep the saved It draws

the loss toward Christ while strength and believers

to remain faithful behind it all stands a God

who always desired fellowship with his people

We don't do this because it's a good idea. We

don't do it because it's my idea We don't do

this because it was another smart man's idea.

This was God's plan And that's why we're gonna

follow it the invitation of the gospel is ultimately

an invitation into relationship We want you to

be saved, but we want you to be in fellowship

with God The Bible says in first John 1 3 it

says that which we have seen and heard Declare

we unto you that she may also have fellowship

with us He's talking to to Christians, to believers.

He's talking about that fellowship that those

believers have with the apostles and those that

are working in the church here, John the writer.

And he says, and truly our fellowship, both mine

and both your fellowship is with the father and

with his son, Jesus Christ. That's where I want

my fellowship. My fellowship belongs amongst

God's people, but my fellowship is with God himself.

He has accomplished what he set out to when he

called out to Adam and said, where are you? That

separation existed, but Jesus Christ has come

and he has filled the gap of that separation.

He has brought you and I now And now we can enjoy

a covenant relationship. We can enjoy real fellowship

with God our Father our Creator Jesus our Redeemer

and with his people Started out by saying I can't

do this alone You can't either Ecclesiastes chapter

Ecclesiastes 4 · chapter mention

4 the Bible says two were better than one because

they have a good reward for their labor You ever

had a job where you were working on something

by yourself And you said man, I just had another

hand. I Just had somebody here to help me. This

would just be a lot smoother I'm sure you've

had that time. Well, if I could just have somebody

here to hold this steady for me, I'd get this

done. You know, if we work together, we will

get so much more done. I was a young man. I told

an old man one time, I said, I'm done with these

crazy women. I said, I want to live single. I'm

going to save all my money. I'm going to have

all my money. And I'm not gonna get married He

said you're a fool He said let me tell you something

son He said there's no way in the world. I could

have what I have if it not be for my spouse I

Wouldn't have my children I Wouldn't have this

home that we have that we share I Wouldn't have

the blessings of having a helper walk through

life with me He said you need a helper And he

was right And I have thanked him for that several

times for that good advice You know us as a congregation

If one of us try to do a little work you'll get

something done, but how much more if we all work

together How much more could we accomplish? And

I'm gonna tell you something. I won't tell you

another reason why you need each other He says

verse 10 for if they fall The one will lift up

his fellow but woe to him that is alone when

he falleth for he hath not another to help him

up in verse 11 again if two lie together then

they have heat but how can one be warm alone

and If one prevail against him to shall withstand

him and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

I Want to tell you what this really scripture

is really getting at You're gonna fall You're

gonna find times in your life where you feel

cold Your zeal grows cold You're gonna have times

that you want somebody to fight for you and with

you Now it's not it's not maybe circumstances.

I'm telling you this morning. You're gonna fall

down And you're gonna need somebody to help you

get back up And you're gonna have times in your

life where your zeal is gonna grow cold And you

need somebody to help you fire back up And there's

gonna be times in your life where people are

gonna fight against you and you're gonna want

somebody in your quarter And I will tell you

you're gonna get all that with fellowship in

the church You're gonna have somebody to help

you up. You're gonna have somebody to fire you

up and you're gonna have somebody to fight with

you That threefold cord that's you And that's

me and that's Jesus And that's what binds us

together and when you take those three and you

braid them together That is a cord. That's not

easily broken And you need that and I think that

And we can't do it alone One little strand You

fall down and you'll stay down You'll get cold

and eventually you'll go out You'll get in a

fight And you won't get back up because nobody's

there to fight with you and for you Fellowships

important this morning Fellowship is required

to fulfill the mission of the church And it's

going to help save people the way we live our

life is going to help save people That otherwise

might not be saved And it's going to be good

for the church It's going to be good for you

individually if you'll put your heart into fellowship

and fellowship in God's people There's going

to be great Unspeakable blessing if you'll do

that That's what God's Word tells us to do. That's

the pattern. That's the blueprint of what the

church should do That we have all things common

That we come together in one accord singleness

of heart And we do it in the name of Jesus If

you need something this morning, perhaps you

feel like you've been isolated you've isolated

yourself Maybe you've been knocked down. You

need somebody to help you get back up Maybe you

need to help some have some prayer this morning

that your zeal not grow cold Maybe this morning

you need somebody to fight with you and I tell

you what prayer warriors will fight with you

We'll pray for you this morning. We'll pray with

you this morning and not just today, but from

here on out We'll be your champions will be your

brothers and sisters. We're gonna hold together

lock tight together We're gonna remain together

until the Lord comes back If you haven't got

a relationship with Jesus today, I'm gonna tell

you what today's the day Jesus is calling this

morning He's begging for you to come in back.

He wants fellowship with you this morning He

wants to walk with you. He wants to be your Savior

And if you believe that Jesus Christ is the son

of God If you'll confess that and if you're willing

to turn away from your sin and turn towards him

and be washed Acts 2 and 38 after they'd asked

the question men and brethren. What shall we

do? Peter said repent be baptized every one of

you in the name of Jesus Christ for remissions

of sins And you shall receive the gift of the

Holy Spirit It's what he's told him to do repent

be baptized wash away your sins So when God calls,

where are you? I'm right here I'm right here

father And I'm yours If you have a need this

morning, you won't come sit on the front. We'll

pray with you The water is ready. We'll baptize

this morning will wash away your sins This morning

today is the day of salvation if you have a need

won't you come as we stand the same?