The Family of God
Mark 3:32-35, Eph 2:19 KJV
Finding Our Dearest Relatives
When she turned 21, Tammy Harris from Roanoke, Virginia, began searching for her biological mother. After a year, she had not succeeded. What she didn’t know was that her mother, Joyce Schultz, had been trying to locate her for twenty years. According to a recent Associated Press story, there was one more thing Tammy didn’t know: Her mother was one of her coworkers at the convenience store where she worked!
One day Joyce overheard Tammy talking with another coworker about trying to find her mother. Soon they were comparing birth certificates. When Tammy realized that the co-worker she had known was, in fact, her mother, she fell into her arms. "We held on for the longest time," Tammy said. "It was the best day of my life." Each week we rub shoulders with people whom we may barely notice.
But if they share a birth in Christ, they are our dearest relatives. How precious is the family of God!
Jesus seeks Fellowship with his creation
You are members of God’s family.
Eph 2:19 KJV
19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
God’s family should have all of the qualities of family life, but extended throughout the family of God. We should love one another, sympathize with one another, and help one another. We should be bonded into a special family relationship.
1 Peter 3:8 Finally, all of you should be of one mind, full of sympathy toward one another, loving one another with tender hearts and humble minds. (NLT)
Jesus seeks a relationship that transcends earthly ties.
Mark 3:32-35 KJV
32 And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.
33 And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?
34 And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.
We need the Love of God’s family
Family Rental
In Japan, you can rent a family. Elderly Japanese who are isolated from their children by the frantic pace of modern life can rent a "family" for lunch and a few hours. Just call Nippon Kokasei Honbu (Japan Effectiveness Headquarters) and ask for a son, daughter, grandchild, whatever relative you want, and that type will show up at your door and greet you as if they haven’t seen you in years. Of course the service isn’t cheap: three hours with your family cost $1,130, plus transportation. Satsuki Ohiwa founded the business in 1990 when a businessman was too busy to visit his mother. Company staff visited her instead, and Ohiwa deemed it a success. Ohiwa’s observation of the recipients is not surprising. She said, "What is common about our clients is that they are thirsty for human love."
Aren’t you glad God didn’t call this service when we needed a Savior? Love can’t be marketed, only unconditionally given.
Jesus is offering fellowship with Himself
A. He asks for it today.
B. He longed for the fellowship of His disciples on the eve of His crucifixion. "With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer."
Benefits of Fellowship with God
1. It will display our own short comings
The higher the temperature the more chilling would it be to pass into an icehouse; and the more our lives are brought into fellowship with the perfect Life, the more we shall feel our own shortcomings.
2. Fellowship turns the lights on
Christopher D. Green writes:
"I cannot explain why I do it, but I have always walked in the dark. When I was a kid I used to do it more as a challenge; an adventure. Now as an adult, I suppose it is more out of habit than anything else.
"If I get up in the middle of the night, I refuse to turn on the lights. Instead of simply flipping a switch and lighting my way, I wander around in the dark, relying on my sixth sense to guide me. Usually, I guess from all these years of practice, I can get to my intended destination without incident. However, a few nights ago proved to be one of exception and painful consequence.
"After being in bed for an hour or so, I got up to get a drink of water. With my mouth as dry as the inside of a Kleenex box, I shuffled down the hall half asleep but still awake enough to enjoy the tickling feeling the carpet made on my feet. As I cleared the end of the hall, it felt good to pause by the heater. Continuing on only a few shuffles more, I met my doom. I think I actually felt the pain before it happened. With one fairly innocent shuffle, I crashed my foot into the dining room chair. The force was so great it knocked the chair over, and left me in a painful pile on the floor. The scream was muffled only because I had a mouth full of plush pile carpet. If I had only turned on the light, I would have avoided the pain!
"Too often Christians forget that they should not spiritually walk around in the dark. Not only should they avoid the darkness, they should also be a light that exposes the evil that is found in darkness.
"Remember that if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from every sin¦ (1 John 1:7)."
3. By a higher life and fellowship
Two men may start to ascend some lofty Alpine peak from points many miles apart down in the valley. They climb the steeps, they scale the narrow ledges that overlook the chasm; at times they are shrouded in the cloud-mist, and you begin to say they will never meet. Ah! but wait a while. Before the nightfalls they reach the sun-gilt summit, and resting their weary limbs and, refreshing their hungry and thirsty spirits, they find time and taste for pleasant communication before they fall asleep in the little hostel on the mountaintop.
So many who seem hopelessly divided in opinion and creed when on the lower plane of life and experience, have only to climb to loftier heights of Divine truth to discover their oneness in the Lord, and their enjoyment of His bounty, and therein their fellowship one with the other. More abundant life, is the Divine philosophy of more abiding unity between Christians.
4. Fellowship strengthens our convictions
If you want to find three young men who had the courage of their convictions, you should get acquainted with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, whose memory is treasured up in the book of Daniel. Those young men did not take the time to consider what was offered them when they refused to worship the golden image. They knew they would not change their minds, and might as well have the execution performed sooner rather than later. It looked bleak for them at the moment. After they had made their defiant answer, Nebuchadnezzar seemed to go wild with fury. His face was distorted with anger, and he shouted the command that they should heat the furnace seven times hotter than it was usually heated. The soldiers were called and commanded to bind the brave young men and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. And the soldiers gathered them up in their garments as they were, and carried them along, with great boldness, no doubt, and show of strength and authority, and cast them head first into the seething hell of flame. But though the furnace was so hot that it slew the soldiers that cast them in, the three young heroes walked unharmed in the midst of the fire. Not only were they unharmed, but a fourth figure, one of such glorious appearance that the king said of him that he was "like a son of the gods" (Dan. 3:25), walked with them in cheering fellowship through all their fiery trial.
God is as faithful to give comfort of His presence to people who have the courage of their convictions today as in the days of Daniel and his friends.
5. Fellowship mean Access to God’s Riches
A. The movies say, "I’ll entertain you, but you must buy a ticket first."
B. The restaurant asks, "Eat here but you have to pay the bill."
C. The insurance company offers to insure you, "But the premiums must be met."
D. The ball club says, "You will see a good game, but you must have the price of admission."
E. The golf course says, "Play here but first pay the green fees."
F. The lake ranger says the fish are biting, "But you have to buy a license."
Then the Lord says, "In My church you will find spiritual food, fellowship, assurance of eternal life, consolation in time of trouble, spiritual blessings beyond measure and opportunities to do good to others and there is no specific charge.
Man Keeps himself weak by lack of Fellowship
1. Not Good if detached
Man often loses much of his worth when he is detached from the world of persons and things about him.
There are some forms of life that can live in relative isolation. A sponge, for instance, fastens itself to the bottom of the sea and completes its life cycle there. A lichen grows on the side of a rock and, while it spreads around slightly, never moves from its original location. But man isn’t made to be like that.
His power and usefulness come, not in isolation, but through union and cooperation with others. No life can be truly valuable in God’s sight that isn’t attached to Jesus Christ. We need Him, just as every member of our body needs to be attached to it, if it’s going to be of any value.
We also need fellowship with other believers who are attached to Christ. A soldier fighting a battle alone, or a single man working with pick and shovel trying to dig a Panama Canal, would scarcely be more effectual than a Christian trying to establish God’s Kingdom all by himself.
There are people in every community who are essentially Christian in spirit who have nothing to do with the Church. "Not good if detached" is the label we might put upon their lives.
2. I missed church but
Quite often, when people are encouraged to put aside whatever is preventing them from attending services regularly, they will say: "Well, I really should be there, but I think God understands!"
God has gone on record in Hebrews 10:25 as saying, "Not forsaking the assembling. . . ." He does not understand why some of His people willfully hold to habits of forsaking the assembly! God does understand that we need to meet to praise Him and study His Word. God understands that others need the encouragement of our presence, we are a family that He put together. He does understand group fellowship, the power of people meeting together for mutual strengthening.
But do we understand those things? Many times we do not--and that is why so many allow Satan to bring one little excuse after another into their lives until they are separated from our God and His assembly.
Let us pray that God will help us to understand the need, the purpose and the power of attendance to Bible classes and worship services whenever the doors are open. And let us pray for the courage to do our part in making the gathering of the saints a time of love, praise, and spiritual growth! It is a matter of spiritual life and death, really, not only for us, but also for others whom we are influencing. Think about it!
Heb 10:21-25 NIV
22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
The Power of Gods Family
1. The needs for each other
No man should be alone when he opposes Satan. The church and the ministry of the Word were instituted for this purpose, that hands may be joined together and one may help another. If the prayer of one doesn’t help, the prayer of another will.
Martin Luther,
2. There are times when together we discover that we make up a single body, that we belong to each other and that God has called us to be together as a source of life for each other.
Summery
There is no substitute for flesh-and-blood friends if we are to understand ourselves and grow in communion with God.
Every man should seek to have three individuals in his life: a Paul, a Barnabas, and a Timothy.
A Paul is an older man who is willing to mentor you, to build into your life. Not someone who’s smarter or more gifted than you, but somebody who’s been down the road. Somebody willing to share his strengths and weaknesses--everything he’s learned in the laboratory of life. Somebody whose faith you’ll want to imitate.
A Barnabas is a soul brother, somebody who loves you but is not impressed by you. Somebody to whom you can be accountable. Somebody who’s willing to keep you honest, who’s willing to say, "Hey, man, you’re neglecting your wife, and don’t give me any guff!"
A Timothy is a younger man into whose life you are building. For a model, read 1 and 2 Timothy. Here was Paul, the quintessential mentor, building into the life of his protege--affirming, encouraging, teaching, correcting, directing, praying.
Do you have these three guys in your life?
