“Christian Fellowship”
Acts 2:42-47
David P. Nolte
One of the most vital and pleasant aspects of being a Christian is fellowship. Someone said that “Fellowship is two fellows on the same ship.” That definition is only partly correct but deficient. Fellowship is more than propinquity – more than being in the same place at the same time. That happens in a collision or a fist-fight – and that isn’t fellowship.
Fellowship means more than an incidental sharing of an elevator or bus seat. It goes beyond the surface to the heart and mind and soul. It happens when one life is entwined with another in a positive and beneficial way.
Camp Koinonia means Camp fellowship. The word Koinonia means, “partnership, communion, communication, sharing or distribution, contribution.” (Strong’s).
After the day of Pentecost, the birthday of the church, “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.” Acts 2:42-47 (NASB).
The song written by Terry Scott Taylor and sung by Paul Miller, speaks of fellowship like that saying,
“All day sing and dinner on the ground
Young folks, old folks are gatherin' around
Delicious is the meal and joyful is the sound
of an All day sing and dinner on the ground
It's an old fashion notion and a new fashion day
People that are friendly and people that pray
Everybody's welcome and heaven's above
What's brought us all together is a thing called love”
Consider the aspects of Christian fellowship:
I. THE SOURCE OF FELLOWSHIP:
A. Jesus is the source; He is
1. The Son about Whom we orbit.
2. The magnet that pulls us to Himself and all of us together.
3. The light toward which we gravitate.
B. Jesus indicates that our fellowship is based on relationship to Him, as He prayed, “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.” John 17:22-23 (NASB).
1. Our unity is in our common relationship to Jesus.
2. This unity, or fellowship, brought together a diverse bunch to become the 12 Apostles:
a. Four (or more) were fishermen.
b. One was a tax collector who worked for Rome.
c. One was a zealot who hated Rome and tax collectors.
d. One was a doubter.
e. The others may have been tradesmen or craftsmen, but the Bible does not say what they did before becoming followers of Christ. Most of them were from Galilee so may have been long time friends.
f. Their fellowship was centered on their relationship to Jesus not what they may have had in common and in spite of their differences..
C. People seem to find some rallying point.
1. For some it is a lodge or club or service organization.
2. For some it is sports.
3. For some it is just family.
4. For some it is a political activism.
5. All those will come to an end but greater and fuller and longer is our fellowship in Jesus.
D. There was a little girl whose parents had been arguing a lot and it troubled her greatly. One day as the girl was crossing the street she was knocked down by a car. Taken to the hospital, she was examined by the doctors. Hastily summoned to the hospital, her parents waited through the long hours of surgery. Then in the ICU they stood silently, one on either side of the bed, looking down helplessly at the little girl. As they stood there, the child's eyes suddenly opened and seeing her parents she tried to smile. Then drawing one arm from under the sheet, she held it out in the direction of her father. "Daddy," she said, "give me your hand." Turning to her mother, she stretched out her other arm. "Mommy," she said, "give me your hand." Then she drew their hands together. They suddenly realized what they had nearly lost, and their love for the little girl drew them closer to one another and they determined to work together thereafter to make hers a happy home.
This is a picture of what Christ did on the cross. The Savior took the hand of sinful humanity and placed it in the loving hand of God. Jesus reconciled us to God; He broke down the barrier; He restored the broken fellowship caused by sin. Just as in this little girl's effort to bring her parents together, Jesus came to bring God and us together, but we have to make the effort to keep the relationship going.
E. Jesus is the source of our Christian fellowship. Therefore, let all DIVISIVE differences and contentions die in His love.
II. THE STRENGTH OF FELLOWSHIP:
A. “And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.”
1. They were altogether: there is strength in numbers, and no one needs to face life alone.
2. They had all things in common: no one selfishly clung to those possessions that were his or hers.
3. They shared with all men need: there’s a mighty spiritual strength in generosity and benevolence that meets human need.
B. When people work together in unity and fellowship sharing resources, talents, abilities, and time, there is a synergy produced.
1. Synergy doesn’t just add strength to strength, it actually multiplies strength by strength.
2. We can do together much more than we can do alone. That’s one benefit of Fellowship, we work together.
a. For instance, Crabtree Christian Church financially supports OCEF Church Planters. What we give alone would not plant a single church, but paired with the giving of many churches, a number of strong Christian churches have been birthed.
b. For another instance, there are many in this small congregation who are doing their part to get the job done.
(1) The lawn is mowed, watered, and weeded.
(2) The building is decorated and kept clean.
(3) Fences are built and parking lots are taken care of.
(4) Repair work is carried out on the building and grounds.
(5) Classes are taught; worship is led; special music is presented; and meditations are given.
(6) Finances are taken care of.
(7) Supplies are secured.
(8) In short, there are many tasks that are being done because we work in fellowship with one another, each one bearing their part of the load and no one person has to do it all.
C. Let me illustrate the strength of fellowship. I have a stick in my hand.. I’m going to have XXX come forward. Now take the stick and break it. It breaks fairly easily. Now take this bundle of sticks just like this one, and try to break them.
1. The sticks individually are easily broken, the bound together in fellowship altogether they’re hard to break.
2. No wonder Solomon said, “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NASB).
3. There is truly strength in fellowship and we need to strengthen and encourage one another in Christian living.
D. Not one of us needs to face life and its turmoil alone – we have a fellowship with Jesus and one another that makes us strong.
E. Jim Stovall wrote about draft horses and said that a single draft horse can pull a load up to 8,000 pounds. The strength involved in this is hard to imagine. So then we can speculate what would happen if we hooked up two draft horses to a load. If you instantly thought two draft horses could pull 16,000 pounds if one draft horse can pull 8,000 pounds, you would be wrong. Two draft horses pulling together cannot pull twice as much as one. They can actually pull three times as much. The two draft horses that can each pull 8,000 pounds alone can pull 24,000 pounds working together.”
There is a very clear lesson in the fellowship of teamwork. But there is more: If the two horses that are pulling together have trained together and have worked together before, they can’t just pull three times as much but the two in tandem can actually pull 32,000 pounds, which is a load four times as heavy as either of the horses could pull by themselves. There is strength in fellowship.
III. THE SWEETNESS OF FELLOWSHIP:
A. “Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people.”
1. It was sweet because they were agreeable and of one mind.
2. It was sweet because they were glad and sincere.
3. It was sweet because they were looked upon favorably by the people around them.
4. The Psalmist said, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity!” Psalm 133:1 (NASB).
B. The sweetness of fellowship is a two sided:
1. It is sweet for the beneficiary.
a. Needs are met.
b. Love is received.
c. Inclusion is extended.
2. It is also sweet for the benefactor or donor in the fellowship.
a. The Macedonian Christians experienced it as we read, “Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.” 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 (NASB).
b. And “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; as it is written, "He scattered abroad, He gave to the poor, His righteousness endures forever." 2 Corinthians 9:8-9 (NASB).
C. Fellowship is sweet because it minimizes
1. Selfishness. We learn to give and share.
2. Loneliness. We are not alone.
3. Fear. We have allies and friends.
4. Discouragement. We have someone to cheer us on.
5. Misunderstanding. We get to know what the other person is really like.
D. Fellowship is not just fun and games. It also includes weeping with those who weep and suffering with those who suffer. .
E. Let me illustrate the sweetness of fellowship. A farmer had just relaxed on the front porch when a newsboy delivered the evening paper. The boy noted the sign Puppies for Sale. The boy said to the farmer, "How much do you want for the pups, mister?" "Twenty-five dollars, son." The boy's face dropped. "Well, sir, could I at least see them anyway?"
The farmer whistled, and the mother dog came running followed by four of the cute puppies, and then another pup came straggling along, dragging one hind leg. "What's the matter with that puppy, mister?" the boy asked. "Well, Son, that puppy is crippled. I should put him down, but I just don’t want to."
The boy reached for his collection bag and took out a fifty-cent piece. "Please, mister, I want to buy that pup. I'll pay you fifty cents every week until the twenty-five dollars is paid. Honest I will, mister." The farmer replied, "But, Son, that pup will never be able to run or play. Why would you want him?"
The boy reached down and pulled up his pant leg, exposing an iron brace holding a twisted leg and said, "Mister, that pup is going to need someone who understands him to help him in life!"
There is sweetness in our fellowship with Jesus. He understands our spiritual crippledness; He understands our weaknesses; He understands our temptations, our discouragements, our anxieties. He understands and cares! PRAY/INVITE
