HAVING FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD
Psalms 73:1-28
Intro: Have you ever set around and wondered why and how the wicked get by with so much while you are trying to live a decent, honest, respectable life? Has ever crossed your mind why you reap suffering despite all of the time you have spent in prayer, in the Word and even in the distribution of money for the continuance of God’s work? Have you ever wondered if the life of faith is worth the cost? I certainly have! There have been so many times I have looked upon the wicked people and see how they appear to be outwardly flourishing and thing to myself God, that is suppose to be your people enjoying life as such. I can remember a time in particular when I was dealing with this issue and the Lord told me something that I will never forget. He plainly told me, “You have got something they do not have.” At first I thought well I am saved and perhaps they are not but then it dawned on me. I have got fellowship with God and those folks don’t. I want to preach on the subject; “HAVING FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD.”
There are a lot of benefits that come with having fellowship with God. I am a recipient of those benefits as I am sure you are and this church is. Having fellowship with God is not just praying to Him. It goes much farther than that. I want to preach on some of the ways people have had fellowship with God and the benefits they received from it.
I. FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD IS HAVING FELLOWSHIP WITH EACH OTHER
A. I am not talking about an ecumenical fellowship where you just go yoke up with anything that has a church name on it
B. I am talking about fellowship with those with who you are in agreement with spiritually.
C. (Matthew 18:20) For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them
1. To meet in his name means on His authority and in acknowledgement of who He is and on His word
2. Not everyone meeting together today have His authority to meet and many go to church but cannot acknowledgement Him for who He is and that is Lord and Savior.
3. Wherever two or three are gathered together in recognition of Him as that Lord and Savior, He has promised to be in the midst
D. (Luke 24:15) And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them
E. The key word in this verse is “commune”
F. Noah Webster defines it as “to converse of talk to familiarly; to impart sentiments mutually in private or familiar discourse.”
G. There are people we have got confidence in and there are people that we don’t
H. It is not every Christian, preacher or pastor you can confide in. You should be able to. But I found out the hard way you cannot.
I. But to commune with one another is more than just confiding in someone. It is to discuss familiar things and the common denominator for all Christian discussion should be Christ
J. So if we can gather in His and worship in familiarity then God promised He
would show up
II. TO FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD IS TO BE WILLING TO RECEIVE INSTRUCTION FROM GOD
A. In Exodus 24 Moses is called up into the mountain by God
B. (Exodus 24:9) states that Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy elders of Israel went with Moses and verse 10 says they saw God.
C. Verse 13 Moses and Joshua rose to go up into the mount and Moses give orders for the rest to stay
D. Verse 15 and 16 says Moses went up into the mount and a cloud covered it for six days and on the seventh day God called Moses from out of the midst of the cloud and Moses went into the midst of the cloud for 40 days and nights
E. Moses was willing to stay until the Lord sent further instruction and the next 40 days proved to be vital to the children of Israel as they traveled in the wilderness.
III. TO HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD IS TO HAVE HIS IMPRESSION ON YOUR LIFE
A. Peter and John had just performed a miracle in Acts Chapter 3 on the blind man at the Gate called Beautiful
B. They went about their way preaching and the man they had healed was now following them (Acts 4:14)
C. They were preaching “through Jesus the resurrection of the dead” and the Sadducees were not happy about it so they had them arrested until the next day.
D. The problem was they were a little to late because about 5,000 men had already been converted (Acts 4:4)
E. Expound on how the Catholic Church and the Roman Empire attempted to silence the Christians but it was to late. Jesus had already made an impression on their life.
F. Peter and John were brought to the high priest and questioned on what authority and by what power they had healed this man
G. Peter in Acts 4:10 declared it through Jesus Christ of Nazareth
H. Here stood two men that were suppose to be ignorant and unlearned but when the high priest heard what they had to say, knew a miracle had happened and no one could dispute it they marveled.
I. It was to late Jesus had made an impression on these men.
IV. TO HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD MEANS TO WALK WITH GOD
A. Adam used to have close fellowship with God. God would come down in the cool of the day and commune with Adam. But Adam soon broke that fellowship
B. But there was another man who wanted to walk with God and did
C. (Genesis 5:22) And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methusaleh three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters]
D. (Genesis 5:23) And all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty and five years
E. (Genesis 5:24) And Enoch walked with God and he was not; for God took him.
V. TO HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD MEANS YOU HAVE GOT TO TRUST HIM
A. (Genesis 6:14) Make thee and ark of gopher wood
B. So Noah built an ark out of gopher wood without question
C. (Genesis 22:2) God tells Abraham to take Isaac his son whom thou lovest unto the land of Moraih and offer him up for a bunrt offering.
D. So Abraham did just that.
E. These men trusted the Lord!
