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Bread of Life Church of Fresno
Welcome to the Bread of Life Church Podcast! This podcast seeks to bring the Bible to life through teaching and sharing what God has given us in His word. The goal of these messages is to obtain a functional spirituality that is worked out on a daily basis through the love and power of God.
Bread of Life Church of Fresno
Pursuit: God's People | Doug K
Doug highlights the significance of biblical fellowship as an essential part of the Christian life. He dives deep into the meaning of koinonia, highlighting its impact on spiritual growth and community life.
- Definition and importance of fellowship based on biblical teachings
- Exploration of Acts 2:42 and its implications for today’s church
- Reasons why active participation in fellowship beautifies the Christian walk
- Practical ways to embrace a lifestyle of fellowship, including small groups and hospitality
- Real-life examples of fellowship in action and their transformative power
If you want to deepen your relationships and embrace true community, don’t miss this message!
Find more content at bolcf.org
All right, we're going to look into the Word here. Let's pray. Thank you, father, for the way You've been here with us, and Jesus that You're among us and You're guiding us and leading us. Thank you, holy Spirit. Now, as we want to give attention to your Word, we ask that you would communicate, holy Spirit. We know that part of the reason Jesus said you came was to lead and guide us into all truth, and that's what we want. It's not just the words I say, but it's what you're saying in the hearts of the people to change our lives so that you're glorified. So let us have your revelation here this morning. We ask it in Jesus name.
Speaker 1:Everybody said amen, all righty, we're looking into this theme that Tom got prophetically for this year on pursuit, and this is obviously so important. It's the call of God on all of our lives. And so I want to kind of build off of the first thing I did a couple of weeks ago, and we're basing this in Acts, chapter 2, verse 42,. You know the first manifestation of God's house, and if you remember that the Holy Spirit fell and they had this amazing move of God. And then it says in verse 42, they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship and to breaking of bread and to prayer. And it said, all those that believed were together and had things in common they met together daily, regularly, both in the temple and in house to house. So last time I spoke we talked about the apostles teaching and I want to go into this next thing, which is the idea of fellowship. That is very, very important and as I was kind of preparing for this particular subject this morning, I really felt like it happened in the middle of the night. I woke up and I really felt like God said you know, tell them what, why and how. Okay, that's always good. I was in law enforcement for a number of years and so we were always trying to get the facts. And what, why and how is incredibly important when it comes to anything God's called us to do. If we don't understand why we're going to be missing a lot, if we don't understand what we're going to be missing a lot, and especially if we don't understand how, we're just going to be kind of roaming around with ideas in our head but not seeing those ideas expressed in our lives. So I want to go with that today what, why and how Does that sound good? All right, so the first thing is, what is it? What is fellowship? And I want to say this we have a great is this okay if I be a little loud, I can't stop it but we have a great misunderstanding of fellowship when it comes to the biblical idea, as opposed to what we often think of it is, and I think it's one of those things we need to be restored.
Speaker 1:I remember one time I was talking with one of the administrators from you know, we've got church family in England and he and I were talking and we were working on this kind of project together Because we're dealing with several different countries, you know when we're doing anything. So he got real frustrated and he kind of banged. He said why can't we just use biblical words with biblical definitions? Now you got to understand he was being frustrated because we got different countries that have different vocabularies and stuff like that, and so words and ideas were getting introduced. But what he was expressing how many of you are older enough to remember the Princess Bride? Okay, you remember Ndingo? I think that's his name, ndingo Montoya. Hey, you're using that word again. I don't think it means to you what it means to me. I don't think it means to you what it means to me, and I think probably this word, fellowship, is one of those words and it gets often hijacked and it gets applied to things that's not biblical. So what we would like to do this morning is get that biblical. What is it? And then understanding the why and the how, does that make sense.
Speaker 1:Many people, when they think fellowship oh yeah, fellowship, we had three minutes. The guy actually gave us three minutes Sunday morning. He said, hey, we're going to have a little fellowship this morning before we go on, so just greet one another and have fellowship. And then you walk away and think, hey, do you have a church that practices fellowship? Oh yeah, we do it every Sunday morning for three minutes. Or could you look at the bald people? I'm one of them right now. Okay, just look at everybody. Bald people stand up, you know, and I'm standing with you. I'm standing with you, okay, tilt your head back a little bit. Tilt your head back a little bit, okay. Many people think fellowship's staring at the baldness in the back of their head. It's not that okay. So let's get the.
Speaker 1:What is the biblical idea of fellowship, that word that we just found in Acts 2, it's used 20 times in the New Testament and we're going to look at a passage that has four of them. In one passage, 20 times that word is used. So it's not like it's major, you Greek scholars, it's koinonia and I'll probably butcher it. But what does it mean? Because it's vital. It was, you know, one of the first things they experienced as they came into the Spirit of God. Well, I want to give you just the definition, because I think, even in the definition, it directs us somewhere. Okay, it basically means this participation, partnership, communion, joint participation, intercourse, active participation. All right, now, this is a word. When you look at what it means, it means actively participating in something.
Speaker 1:Have you ever heard somebody? It's like oh, you know Jesus. Oh, yeah, I know Jesus. Have you been talking to him? Well, what he said I met a guy this morning and I got to pray with him a little bit. What kind of things has he been saying to you? Huh, what? Well, you know and I'm not saying condescendingly, but it's sometimes in our religious culture, you know, and I'm not saying condescendingly, but it's in our, sometimes in our religious culture, you know it's like are you interacting with Jesus? It's not just that. Oh, I know about Jesus. It's not a mental ascent, but it's a fellowship, means I'm actively participating in a life with him.
Speaker 1:It's kind of like a couple. We have lots of people we have known internationally and I don't know if you ever and forgive me, I'm not being condescending to anyone but I oftentimes come across people that they spend like years apart from each other and in their culture that's kind of normal, you know, and can you imagine doing that before there was cell phones and stuff like that. But that can be kind of limited. Are you in a relationship? Oh, yeah, yeah. How long have you been living apart? 20 years. How often do you talk? Oh, at least once every six months. I'll tell you one thing I don't know what your marriage is like, but you sure don't have fellowship, because fellowship means joint participation, it's active, it's the activity of this relationship. Does this make sense? Okay, so it's a very important word and that's why I kind of substitute the phrase active participation rather than fellowship.
Speaker 1:All right, but when you look at this, I want us to turn to a passage it's 20 times in the New Testament that has four of those 20 in one passage, and it's the book of 1 John, if you could turn to 1 John, chapter 1. Now, why I'm choosing this one is because John is facing a lot of the same challenges we face in the 21st century. He was facing he was the last apostle alive and there was this Greek thought that was coming in among the people of God they were embracing, and in Greek thought, life was very segmented. You know, I've got this element of my life, this element, this element, and none of them really necessarily interact with each other. And that's okay. That's kind of the idea of Greek thought.
Speaker 1:They had a heresy that got labeled Gnosticism. It's almost like I can have this knowledge about something, but the fact of how I live my life is not connected to that knowledge at all. And that was the major heresy that was sneaking in and not sneaking in, it was coming pretty openly. And John, the last apostle, most of his writings, was trying to dismantle that stupid idea because it was hijacking what Jesus intended. And then a Gnostic kind of thing oh, I've got knowledge about. Oh, yeah, do you know Jesus? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, again, how do you know him? When's the last time you talked to him? What's he saying to you? That's different than I've got a mental assent, knowledge that I believe that Jesus was the son of God. So John was hitting at.
Speaker 1:So here's a passage that talks four uses this term four times in one passage. All right, first John, chapter one, verse one. Here's what he says, what was from the beginning, that we have heard and what we have seen with our own eyes and what we have looked at and touched with our own hands concerning the word of life. And the life was manifested and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us. Now look at verse 3. He's obviously talking about Jesus. We'll see but 3, very important. What we have seen and heard, we proclaim to you also. So there's a reason I want you to see this. The reason so that you too may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1:Two of the 20 times right there I'm saying these things, I'm speaking. He's proclaiming who Jesus was and the good news about Him. Why? So that we would have fellowship with him and one another, actively participating in a life with him and a life with one another, not just to get information about him, but to enter into a life based on the power of that information. This is so important Because many people, oh, I believe in Jesus. It's like, wait a minute, I'm not talking about mentally assenting of belief. I'm talking about giving your life to Him and entering into an active participation with life with Him and life with one another. Are you hearing me? This is what biblical fellowship is. This is what Jesus came to produce in and through His church.
Speaker 1:So the whole point of the message was not. It's like this morning I'm just not wanting you to like what I say, so you think I'm interesting. It's so that steps are taking and you'll enter into something of the truth of God that maybe you've been a little weekend, okay. So they write these things, are speaking so that you will have active participation with us and active participation with Jesus Christ. Get that verse four. These things we write so that our joy may be complete. This is a message we have heard from Him and announced to you that God is light and in Him there's no darkness at all.
Speaker 1:Now look at verse 6. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, I'll interject those words. If we say we have active participation in life with Him, yet walk in darkness, we lie and we don't practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he Himself is in the light, we have fellowship again, active participation with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we're him a liar and his word is not in us Again, the other place. The whole point of this is so we walk together with him, participating in life and participating in life with one another, and I want to say this even when he talks about the idea of sin. Walking in the light is part of us.
Speaker 1:How many of you know if I'm hiding something from my wife, I'm not really actively participating in the, because there's no light in it. I mean, you know, if you hide dark things away, you're not. You say, well, what about if it's going to hurt someone? Well, sometimes you got to bring pain into a situation to get healed, all right. The reason why I'm saying this is this morning, when I'm praying and I know we're going to have a baptism. Here's what I felt. This is a little. Can I do a prophetic thing, tom? Would you extend your hand and authorize me. Okay, but I had this thing this morning. If there's someone here, more than one person, it was almost.
Speaker 1:Like you know, when we have imperfect family life and imperfect parents, when we do something wrong, the first thing we want to do is don't tell my father, don't go to my father, no, no, don't let my father know. In God's kingdom, it is completely opposite, because God loves us. The first thing we do is oh, I did something wrong. I got to go to the father. Why? Because that's the only place we're going to get healed and delivered. That's a word. I mean we're having a baptism.
Speaker 1:This morning I really felt that when we were worshiping that may be some of you. You may be struggling with something. It's like gosh. You've been hiding it. It's tearing your life apart. It's destroying if you're married. It's destroying your marriage and God's kingdom, because the Father loves us. He wants us to come into the light. There's the forgiveness of sins when we come into the light, but if we try to handle it on our own in darkness, there's no. So run to the light. Run to the Father today. If that's you, it's going to change your life. Sorry, now can we look on in John 2? I'm obviously a teacher, but look on, in John 2. That was four places that word fellowship is used.
Speaker 1:But as John writes along, I want to read chunks of Scripture here because I want us to see it in the context. He says in verse 1, my little children this is 1 John 2, my little children, I'm writing these things to you so that you may not sin. He talks about if anyone sins, we've got an advocate For time's sake. In verse 4, the one who says I've come to know him and does not keep his commandments is a liar. He's trying to shake people up who are embracing a Greek thought that says you can know something but it won't affect your life. Okay, that's what he's trying to get at. The one who does not keep his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word in him, the love of God has truly been perfected. By this. We know that we are in him.
Speaker 1:The one who says he abides in him I want you to notice the words they use here. It's participation words, it's activity words. The one who abides in him ought himself to walk Again participation words, abiding, walking in the same manner as he walked Beloved. I'm not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you've heard from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you have heard. Then verse not for time's sake, verse nine the one who says he's in the light yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in the light and there's no cause for stumbling in him. Again, this is that participation part. It's active participation in the life of God. How about in chapter 4? Can you do that real quick? I'm reading some chunks, but I think it's good to see them in its context.
Speaker 1:1 John, chapter 4, and just to give you the context, verse 1, he says don't believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because there's many false prophets that have gone out into the world. Again he's writing this particular chapter talking about the falsehood. How many of you know there's falsehood out there. There's false prophets, there's false everything. But he goes on and shows us that somehow, in the active participation of life of God, these things are made known.
Speaker 1:Look on down, for time's sake, in verse 6. We are from God. He who knows God listens to us. He who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He's talking about again that idea of participation in the life of God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. You know, you talk to me, hey, do you love God? Yeah, well, you sure seem like you hate that person you just told me about, but that doesn't mean anything, I still love God. Biblically, it's participation in the life of God, with him and with others, all right.
Speaker 1:Verse 11, beloved. If God so loves us, we ought to also love one another. And then he hits this thing. No one has seen God at any time. No one's seen the Father in the fullness, unfiltered fullness, he says. But if we love one another, god abides in us and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide.
Speaker 1:I'm trying to read these because I want you to see the activity. It's active words. Abide in Him and he in us, because he's given us of His Spirit, verse 20. This one is so convicting If someone says I love God yet hates his brother. He's a liar. Hallelujah, can you turn to the person you don't necessarily like the most, not the one you love, but turn to the one you like and say, if I don't love you, I'm lying. Okay, very important, for the one who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him that we should love one another, does that make sense? All right, now that's the what.
Speaker 1:What is fellowship? And I'm going to come back to that love thing here in just a moment. But let's look at the second part. Why that's the what fellowship is? It's active participation in life with God and with one another. Why? This is a big one. The why is because active fellowship, active participation, promotes the maturity of God's people to demonstrate God's solution to the culture around us. It promotes the maturity of God's people so we can demonstrate the solution of all the ills to the world around us that needs Him. But how many of you know, we have to grow up a little bit into the life of God if we're going to demonstrate God's solution to mankind's problem. Love is part of that. But this is important because God's solution is His people. What he is doing among his people is both a demonstration and the means of declaration of God's alternative to the mess. You understand this. This is so important. We understand the why because he's made us a people, that we're the salt of the earth, the light of the world.
Speaker 1:A city set on a hill I love how Peter says it. By the way, I'm not going to read this. Set on a hill. I love how Peter says it. By the way, I'm not going to read this. But if you're taking notes, in 2 Peter 2, he talks about coming to him as a living stone. We're also living stones and we're being built together into a dwelling place of God Again, active participation. But I love how he comes on down in 1 Peter 2, and he quotes some verses from the Old Testament and Exodus and Malachi and he says but you're a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession that you may proclaim and demonstrate the excellencies of him, who's called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Speaker 1:Paul says it in another place. He says you're demonstrating something and then holding forth the word of life so that others can find something, the demonstration of the life of God among us is essential for our testimony, and so, therefore, we have to grow in maturity and you can't mature without the people of God and maturity and you can't mature without the people of God Very important. You cannot mature, and, of course, with God, but with His people as well. You know why? What is maturity? Well, it forces us to embrace God's heart so we can stand the relational heat, so we can grow in what God has for us. That's what this is designed to do. We have to embrace God's heart towards one another so we can walk through the relational heat, so all the junk can get exposed and get dealt with, so that we can demonstrate God's alternative.
Speaker 1:I want to get this. Maturity is not fun. Can you turn to someone and say growing up isn't always easy? Just say it to them. You know this in your kids. But you have to be able to walk with God and one another to embrace what you need to grow up. I mean, we've got these lovely grandchildren that we're here visiting and I'm loving it, but then I see those little rubs they have with each other. But they're learning something in that heat. Now, if you don't have a design or understand biblical fellowship, you'll never endure the heat that promotes maturity, that demonstrates God's love.
Speaker 1:Boy, this is important. I'm trying to give us a biblical perspective of fellowship. You know, when you hear the word fellowship, you know we often hear it romantically. Hey, this church believes in real fellowship. Oh, I've been looking for this. I just even, as you said it, I felt the spirit of God. Give me just a second here. Okay, okay, all right, good, okay, you're hearing it romantically, but can I get you up for just a second, because we've got to live it out sacrificially.
Speaker 1:This is important. What do I mean by that? Well, paul writes to the Philippians. I think he said I just love you with the affection of Christ. Remember that one.
Speaker 1:Now I want you to know something. There's a reason. He said that it wasn't his natural affinities that made him love them. It was the love of God that he was following and was in his heart. We think the affections of Christ is our affinities. You know our affinities. I like this, I don't like that. That's my affinity. No, we can't grow if we're just giving way to our affinities. We have to embrace the heart and affections of Christ. It causes us to have to draw near to Him as we walk with one another. So the heart of God, his affections, his love will be in us. Are you understanding this?
Speaker 1:And we have a problem with this, especially in charismatic circles, because we can get our tongue, stuff going and everything. But I'm saying, okay, but what about the way you love people? Some of the most vicious people I've seen in the church world are tongue talkers. You say, how does that happen? I think it's part of what I'm talking about here this morning. Are you hearing me? Are you hearing me about here this morning? Are you hearing me? Oh, man, okay, oh, my goodness.
Speaker 1:Well, let me give you an example, since we're charismatics and I can say this Charismatics have a problem walking out the love of God. We do and you know I'm not. I mean, do your stuff and I want to do the stuff, but also I want to live the life, and that's the whole purpose of the stuff. I don't know if you're understanding me. I mean, think about this the place in the Bible where we have the most detailed instruction about moving in the Spirit of God is 1 Corinthians 1. Well, it starts actually in 10, but 1 Corinthians 12-14. Right, because these people were moving in the stuff but they had some major problems in the life. They moved in the stuff but they had problems in the life Because they were jealous of one another and they were not honoring each other and they would get grudges against each other and go to the secular courts. Paul's going. I could just see Paul if he had hair Some people think he was bald Pulling his hair out.
Speaker 1:And right in the middle of this teaching on how we're to walk in the power of God and with the Spirit of God, he inserts this crazy chapter called 13. 1 Corinthians 13. Now, I love it sometimes when everything's going my way and I'm dynamic and you're impressed with my dynamic stuff, but I don't like it when I'm struggling. Can I just quote this passage? I wrote it down so I can read it 1 Corinthians 13. Again, we're charismatics and he's hitting the prayer language issue. He says if I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but don't have love, I become a noisy gong. But I speak in tongues. Ding ding ding. I want to see how you live your life. No-transcript, but I speak in tongues. Ding ding ding. Can you do that with me? Just hold up the gong and say ding, ding, ding. Let's get to some reality here. How are you living your life? How about this one?
Speaker 1:We value prophecy and revelation and the gifts of the Spirit. He says this if I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge. And then he goes on and says if I have the faith to remove and know all mysteries and all knowledge? And then he goes on and says If I have the faith to remove mountains, mountain moving faith, I mean, it doesn't get any better than this Prophetic revelation, mountain moving faith. And he says but I don't have love, I'm nothing. But wait, haven't you seen him in the meetings on the platform? I want to see him out of the meetings in his household with his family. And then he goes on and he says if I have, you know again, ultimate sacrifice and giving. He says if I give all my possessions to feed the poor and I surrender my body to be burned, but I don't have love, it profits zero.
Speaker 1:Now, guys, there's a reason. Paul put that in there and he advocates pursue these things, but above everything else, pursue love, because that's the maturity issue, that's God's nature, that shows us that we're actively walking with Him, not just using His power. Are you getting this? If we're going to be developed in maturity which will enable us to demonstrate to the world what God's like, we have to embrace the heat. And if we're going to embrace the heat of walking together with God and each other, we've got to walk in love. Is this okay, guys? All right, is my son-in-law still here? Jeff, jeff, could you stand up? Jeff, real quick, real quick. Now, jeff, isn't he quite the guy? I mean, my goodness, he's my son-in-law and one of my dear friends, jay Lauder. He leads the church in Pittsburgh, one of the leaders. He and Jeff are financial advisors. Can you stay standing? So I can just make a point. Okay, stand Now.
Speaker 1:You would normally think Jeff would say get out of debt. Is that a big Jeff? A big thing? You would probably say to people you need to, you probably need to flee debt, right? I know Jay, jay is that way and I assume you're. No, I know you're on the same caliber as Jay. I mean, you, look at any financial advisor.
Speaker 1:They're going to say get out of debt, get out of debt, get out of debt. I feel conviction here, get out of debt. But I want you to know these guys are not just financial advisors, they're Christians. And at the same time they're saying get out of debt. They're saying, but you need to get in debt. There's a debt that you need, jeff oh, he's sitting down. There is a debt that you need that's going to revolutionize your life.
Speaker 1:I'm talking about from a Christian perspective. What is that debt? The debt of love. I want to talk about this for a second. Paul says Owe, no man, anything except Jeff. I'm making the point here except to love them. Do you know? We're indebted to the love of God and if you don't see this, you're going to be immature and you're going to even be a charismatic, an immature charismatic. But you've got to understand. We're called to be in debt. He loves us. Therefore, I'm obligated to love one another.
Speaker 1:You say that sounds kind of cruel. No, it's actually the best thing that can happen to me. If I go with my affinities, it's like I ain't Nick. I mean, that's my affinities, but when I understand. You've made me mad with what you did. But Jesus died for me, his love. When he was hung on that cross, he prayed God forgive him. And they deserved it. I'm sorry. When we walk in the debt of love, our life becomes better.
Speaker 1:Most of your problems in your marriages and your households is because you try to get out of debt, the one that's good for you, the debt of love. Why have you ever had somebody? Why do you forgive that person what they do to you? And they did this and this. How could you forgive them? Because he forgave me, I didn't do anything to earn his forgiveness. How can I not forgive?
Speaker 1:Now, this is important. It's great to clap until you have to forgive. I mean, forgiveness is a great thing until you have to do it right. It's kind of like do you remember the old Charlie Brown? I know I've used this one a lot, but when Linus announces to his sister, lucy, that he wants to be a medical doctor you know, lucy, I finally figured out what I'm going to do with my life and I'm going to be a doctor and she goes. That's stupid. You know how Lucy was. I'm sorry, this is an old person joke. And Linus is like why are you saying that she goes? You can't be a doctor. You that she goes? You can't be a doctor, you don't love mankind, to which Linus thought for a little bit. He's, I love mankind, it's just people I don't like. Now we have that idea when it comes to the debt of love. That the debt of love. So we learn how to love this.
Speaker 1:If you don't have the the why or the what and the why, this is why I forgive you. This is why I walk together. This is why you need to join with a small group. We're going to talk about this with the people you don't like. I mean, you know you're in the midst of launching small groups like oh, I like Amo, I want to be in Amo's group. Who's in your group, amo? Oh, like them. Who else? Oh, yeah, I like them. Who else? What? I thought you wanted to grow and mature because of small groups and you're joining with the people you like. You're not going to grow that way. Sorry, I'm probably messing up the small group thing, but this is the why. Okay, how about this? Do me one thing.
Speaker 1:This is a little saying that I use, and I'm going to be done by 1130, right, oh, okay, all right, this is important. Okay, I've been to your prayer meetings and when we have the deal, we have this amazing background noise that just draws me to the presence of God. I need a little of that right now. Can you give that to me? Just a little bit. I'm going to say something that's important. Ready, I want you to keep doing this until you feel the presence of God. Come on, Come on, don't stop, don't stop. I'm going to tell you why you need to love. Because to dwell above with the saints in love, oh what bliss and glory. But to dwell below with the saints I know that's an entirely different story. Right, that's why we've got to with the debt of love and walking. I have to walk with God so I can love you and me and you. Having our challenges causes me to have to walk with God. That's why we need biblical fellowship. Are you hearing me this morning? All right, that's why I love. I'm going to just read you.
Speaker 1:This is Ephesians 4, verse 1 through 3. I'm just going to read it real quick, but let me give you the background. This was written to a church. In the first three chapters, paul reminds them of this glorious calling we have as the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's an eternal calling. It's like yes, hallelujah.
Speaker 1:And then he comes to chapter four and he starts like this I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of this calling with which you've been called. And then he starts telling us how to do it With all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity, the spirit, the bond of peace. Yeah, you can't walk in the first three chapters unless you start and walk in the last three chapters. And it begins with chapter four. How many of you know that's love, patience, kindness, gentleness.
Speaker 1:All right, so what is fellowship? Why we walk in it? And then let's talk about the how and I'm going to end with this, the how. So how do you walk in it? What do we do? All right, well, I'm going to give you some just very practical stuff. This isn't like major revelation, it's practical stuff. The first thing is get around people. No, this isn't in mine. Get around people you don't like. I want to tell you something. I'm a little deviation here. I got baptized into this right off the bat.
Speaker 1:When I got saved, at about 20 years old, god started joining me to people and I would never have picked those people, just like the 12 disciples of Jesus would have never picked each other to walk with. He took tax gatherers and joined them to zealots. Zealots killed tax gatherers, physicians, and he joined them to fishermen. And it wasn't just because they liked sushi. You physicians, all right, but he took people that had nothing in common and joined them together. Why? So he could demonstrate his miracle of love and develop them in maturity, so they can demonstrate to the world God's alternative. The same is true with us. God always joined me to people I didn't like.
Speaker 1:Do you guys remember a guy in Kirksville In those days? He was like Gilligan from Gilligan's Isle and I you know Gilligan's fine to watch you old people, to watch him on TV. But when you have to live with Gilligan, I thought, why am I joined to this guy? And then I was a college athlete and I was joined to this wannabe who thought he was a great athlete. I said you ain't no athlete, I mean, but he joined me to people that I wouldn't like so that I would have to walk with him to have his love purify me and enable me to love them. Okay, all right, hallelujah.
Speaker 1:So, number one, I'm just going to give you some quick essentials here and then we close. How do you walk in this? How? This is the how. How do you walk in it? First of all, you've got to embrace Jesus and his heart. This is a big one. You can't walk in this kind of church life without walking with Jesus, because you're embracing his heart Again. The affinity of Christ or the affection of Christ is in me, so you've got to walk with him. I have to know love. I have to walk with him every morning and then most of the time, when I'm starting my prayer time and giving him things, it's like hey, you remember what you said to so-and-so yesterday? Hmm, hello, is that how I treat you? Okay, let me get my cell phone out. Hey, man, sorry, it's kind of early in the morning here. Would you please forgive me? I was a jerk. Why I have to walk with him and embrace his thing of love. Your definition of love is probably different than his, so embrace his, because that's the only definition that leads to life.
Speaker 1:Number two I would encourage you change your language. The Bible was big. When he was doing something in people's lives, he would change their names and things like that. We need to change our language. What do I mean by that? When you're in a family, it's better for you to refer to each other as us, not them. That little change is important. So when you talk about I'm part of this family, well then start talking about their, us, not them. Because it's easy when you talk about somebody as them, to kind of like distance yourself, unfriend them, ghost them, hallelujah. But when it's us, how many of you know, you just can't, unless you're an idiot. You can't just walk out on your family. God places you with them.
Speaker 1:Okay, number three we need to embrace I'm just giving you quick embrace biblical hospitality, and that's not just having people over for dinner, that's part of it. But hospitality means I'm expressing God's welcome. I want to tell you, can I give you a little assignment? Okay, this is probably not great, but from now, for the next month, I want, when you come to this gathering, I want you to go to the person you know the least, or maybe even like the least, and give them the welcome of God, because hospitality means the welcome of God. Aren't you glad God welcomed you when you didn't deserve it? Aren't you glad God welcomed you when you messed up and you lived crazy lives and you were still living them, and God said come here, we're going to take care of this. Express the welcome of God, express hospitality. Can you say amen to that. All right, number four I'm just giving you quick ones here.
Speaker 1:Make sure you're in a small group. This is a big one. Now listen, we live busy lives. I know it's busy, I live in a city now Busy lives, we only got certain numbers. But we need to try to place ourselves in the position to have fellowship as much as we can, and small groups are essential for that.
Speaker 1:It's a discipline, you say, but I don't like going there. I love going to Amos wherever I'm going, but sometimes it's like I don't want to go to small group. It's late and it's busy day and stuff like that. But it puts me around people and if I go in there like I'm too busy, what am I doing here? Guess what? God starts turning up the heat inside of me. What are you doing here, doug? Why are you acting like that? Well, I'm not getting anything out of this.
Speaker 1:And then the Spirit of God says to me you're not here to get something out of it, you're here to give something to it. See, sometimes, guys, when we feel the least like a servant, is when we need to serve the most. I need something from you, nick, and you didn't give it to me. It's like Jesus said if you lay your life down, you find life. Not if you pursue life, but if I serve someone, jesus said well, if you serve others, the life of God comes.
Speaker 1:So you don't go to small group just to get something out of it. Like what if my wife did that to me? Doug, I'm not going to be around you anymore. I was with you for two hours yesterday. I didn't get anything out of it. You know what that would do to me if my wife said that or if I said that to her. Honey, the last 20 minutes I've not gotten anything out of this thing. I'm wondering if God's calling me to another church. Honey, I asked how your day went and you gave me like two minutes and it didn't help me. I wonder if there's another wife out there that I could get more out of it. Now we laugh because it seems ludicrous here, but in real life that's how Christians do it. Hey, I'm not here to get something out of it, I'm here to give something into it and I know if I give, it will be given to me.
Speaker 1:Press down, shaking together, running over, all right. So get in a small group, have a servant's mindset We've already alluded to that. And then here's a big one. You've heard me over and over Practice the 59 one another's. This is big. Now, this is important.
Speaker 1:In the Bible there's a phrase that gets used one another Like Romans 12,. You're going through Romans. You're members one of another. That word one another is a word of mutuality. We're a part of each other. We're in this together. This is us, and in those 101 times, 59 of them are direct things we're called to do, and I put together a document. It's probably on the website or you can email me. I'll respond back. It gives you the 59 specific one another's and even how you can do it today, practical applications of it. Practice the 59 one another's. What are they? Love one another, serve one another, encourage and build up one another. If we do two or three of those a day, I guarantee you we're going to walk through the life of God that he's called us to and we'll demonstrate something better in the world.
Speaker 1:Quick little thing when I was first getting joined to this guy, he worked in Walmart and I went in one time and my wife and I were used to Hannah's house. In those days we had ice trays Remember those plastic things called and his were broken. So I just buy him some ice trays and I go back to the store where he's working. I said hey, man, I just want to give these to you. His fellow employee. I said why did he do that? Because? Why did he do that? Because he loved me and he's serving me. He knew that I had. These were 99 cents. That guy ended up getting saved, coming to the church and bringing his family to the church, because a simple act of service shows something to a world that's desperately hungry for it.
Speaker 1:And then the last thing is this make the most of every opportunity you have. There's clear scriptures that talk about that. All right, every opportunity you have, express love for someone. Find someone that looks like they're by themselves and it's like. Go up to them. How many of you know, it's intimidating to come to churches. Sometimes I came to church and I'd never grown up around the church, right. But then when the people reached out and drew me in and loved me, it started to work on me. Give my life to Christ, amen, amen. Let's pray here.
Speaker 1:Before I turn this over to you guys, can you just quickly stand to your feet?
Speaker 1:I know we're going to baptize someone. But what a great time to celebrate and say you know what. They're beginning their life in Christ, as they're getting baptized, and we want them to live in the life of God, in fellowship with God, fellowship among His house. Let us be a family to these people. I know you already are man. We need to see it. Father, thank you for your design for your house. We know it's important for your intention and your plan, and it's important for your intention and your plan and it's important for our life. So, father, we are praying let this church recapture your biblical idea of fellowship and let them influence other churches and other Christians to embrace your way of life, god, so that California sees who you are and sees the way you've called us to live and the way you enable us to live. So God, bless us, bless this time of baptism, god. Let these people get baptized into you, jesus, and then come into this wonderful family and body you've made us. We thank you, lord, in Jesus' name amen.