Fellowship

Today is Sunday. The sun was shinning in the Florida Keys and I was so very aware of the many blessings in my life. Richard and I fellowshiped with other Christians at church in the morning and again in the afternoon at a fellowship potluck dinner at the home of a couple from the Martin Luther Chapel congregation.

In my last Blog I wrote about God seeking our worship and fellowship. I sited some of the scriptures where God says that He wants us to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. Our spirit communes with God's Spirit in the truth of the Gospel of Christ. He wants us to come to Him, believing in Him, and believing in His promised plan of salvation. Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life (John 14:6). Speaking of The Holy Spirit in John 16:13, Jesus said, “When The Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all Truth”.

Today I listened to Television Pastor Charles Stanley. Stanley and Pastor Roberts both spoke about fellowshiping and worshiping with other Christians. Hebrews 10:19-25 gives us God's instructions on the topic.
Verse 25 says, “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other..”. We are to gather together to worship God and help each other.

The Church is the Body of Christ, the large body of corporate believers throughout the world. In Matthew 16, Peter responded to Jesus' question, “Who do you say that I am?”. Peter said, “You are the Messiah, the Son of The Living God”. God had revealed this to Peter and Jesus said that on that revelation He would build His church. Peter and the other Jewish disciples began Christ's Church. They were the first Christ followers, the first Christians, the first in the Body of Christ of which we are a part of today. They didn't have a building but they did have fellowship with Christ and each other.

There is also the local church, the houses of worship where the body of Christ worships. The local church is comprised of many denominations. True denominations believe in God's plan of salvation as read throughout the scriptures. We believe in The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit.

The Christian life is all about relationships to God and to others. We cannot live as little islands only concerned about our self and our personal needs. We experience relationships in families, circles of friends, and in jobs and businesses. With our common core beliefs, as members of The Body of Christ, we are in relationship with other Christians.

What is God's reason for the church? As seen in Hebrews 10, He wants us, as Christ Followers, to assemble together. Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there will I be also”. He wants us to experience His presence. When we gather together to worship, sing, pray, praise, hear the word, give thanks, and give our gifts we are in fellowship with each other and in the presence of Jesus Christ. As His body, God protects us, teaches us, confronts us with truth, and holds us accountable.

We have all been given spiritual gifts (Galatians 5:22). These gifts are to be shared and given away. When we are in fellowship with other believers we can pass on our gifts of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And when we find ourselves hurting or in need, other Christians will be there to minister to, give their spiritual gifts to, and give us encouragement in The Lord. We need The Lord and we need each other. We are to love one another, encourage one another, and live in relationship with one another by fellowshiping and worshiping together. When we come together to worship our Lord, we experience His presence and we grow in our faith. As we leave church, our spirits are lifted, and our batteries are charged. We are more prepared to face our daily lives and the people in it. God honors us when we honor Him. He wants to spend time with us and He wants us to assemble together in His name.