As we read through the New Testament, we can see that FELLOWSHIP is essential to God’s church. For a church to be a strong church, FELLOWSHIP IS ESSENTIAL. Let me give you an example how important it is.
Illus: Romanian orphans have a medical condition that many of them suffer from.
In Romania, there are so many orphans institutionalized that there isn’t enough food or medical supplies, or staff members to take care of them.
• The babies, often past toddler age, are still kept in diapers and placed in cribs because there’s no other way to take care of them.
• They are very seldom lifted out to be fed or even have their diapers changed.
These poor children have very little physical contact with other human beings, especially any of the cuddling and holding that babies need to develop normally.
They end up in a SEMI-CATATONIC condition and often die from a lack of human contact. This condition is called the, “Failure to thrive syndrome.”
It is terrible to live a life in a SEMI-CATATONIC condition where we lack human contact. Did you know the same thing can happen to us spiritually?
The key to avoiding this spiritual disease is through “Biblical Fellowship.”
The reason this New Testament church was such a strong church was partially due to the STRONG FELLOWSHIP THEY HAD WITH EACH OTHER. No doubt about it, THESE CHRISTIANS REALLY LOVED EACH OTHER. They were like a loving family. Look how they looked out for each other.
Look at Acts 2:41-47. "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved."
Notice, the Bible said they continued in, “THE APOSTLES DOCTRINE AND FELLOWSHIP.”
Illus: It’s true that someone can be a Christian without attending a church. Going to church will not make you a Christian any more than going to a garage will make you a mechanic.
The effective Christian life is not meant to be lived alone. A Christian who lives a life away from other Christians will never mature or persevere in the faith without fellowship.
Many go to church for different reasons, but the Bible makes it clear why the early Christians attended church.
We see -
I. THEY MET TO HEAR THE TEACHINGS OF GOD
Look again at what the scripture says about this church, we read, "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship,….”
They loved to hear the teachings of God. One of the first indications that a person has been born again is that they will attend church to hear the Word of God TAUGHT and PREACHED!
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger said that before he was saved, he thought Christianity was for, “Old people that drove around in black Fords!” He said that he used to ride by churches when he was headed for the lake to go water skiing, and he would see cars in the church parking lots and he really felt sorry for those people. Why? Because he felt they had nothing to do but go to church. After he was saved, he understood why they went to church.
These New Testament Christians loved the Lord and they attended church to hear the Word of God taught. They wanted to learn all they could learn.
Illus: You can learn some interesting things when you study the Bible, such as:
• Q. Who was the greatest financier in the Bible?
• A. Noah. He was floating his stock while everyone else was in liquidation.
• Q. Who was the greatest female financier in the Bible?
• A. Pharaoh’s daughter. She went down to the bank of the Nile and drew out a little prophet.
• Q. What kind of motor vehicles are in the Bible?
• Jehovah drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden in a Fury.
• Q. How do we know that the disciples drove a Honda.
• A. Because the Bible says they were in ONE ACCORD.
• Q. Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible?
• A. Samson. He brought the house down.
• Q. What is one of the first things that Adam and Eve did after they were kicked out?
• A. They raised Cain.
• Q. What excuse did Adam give to his children as to why he no longer lived in Eden?
• A. Your mother ate us out of house and home.
• Q. Which Bible character had no parents?
• A. Joshua, son of Nun.
The Bible tells us that one thing that these New Testament Christians did after they got saved, was to attend church to LEARN MORE ABOUT THE LOVING SAVIOR THAT DIED FOR THEM! They became STUDENTS OF GOD’S WORD!
You have two kinds of students:
(1) SOME WHO LOVE TO LEARN
They love to go to school and they love to learn new things.
(2) SOME WHO HATE TO LEARN
Illus: A woman realizes her son did not yet get out of bed for school.
• She goes into his bedroom and tells him to get up or he will miss breakfast.
• "No," the son replies. "I don't wanna go to school!"
• "You HAVE to go to school," the mother scolds.
• "No! The kids are mean to me, the teachers don't like me, and the lunches are icky."
• "You WILL go to school, young man," the mother warns.
• "Why do I have to go to school today?" the son asks.
• The mother is about to lose her patience. "Because you're the principal, now get out of bed!"
Some hate to learn and they hate to do their homework.
Illus: These remind me of the little girl that came home from school and said to her mother, "Mommy, today in school I was punished for something that I didn't do."
• The mother exclaimed, "But that's terrible! I'm going to have a talk with your teacher about this ... by the way, what was it that you didn't do?"
• The little girl replied, "My homework."
You find these two kinds of students in every school. Those who LOVE TO LEARN and those who HATE TO LEARN!
The Bible makes it clear that these New Testament Christians attended the house of God so that they could learn from the Apostles teaching. They had a natural desire to learn about their Lord and Savior.
The Word of God says this about them, “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine….”
Since the New Testament hadn’t been written yet, they relied on the testimonies of the Apostles and others who had known Jesus first hand. “The Apostles’ teaching” provided the foundation of their faith.
Illus: Some of you can remember what it was like before computers, televisions, and radio. Children would sit around at their parents and grandparents feet, to listen to them as they told what happened years ago.
Children today miss out on so much, because while they could be learning wonderful things from their parents and grandparents, they are watching a bunch of nonsense on television.
You can learn so much from the elderly. They have been around a long time!
The early church did not have a NEW TESTAMENT like we have, they depended on the APOSTLES TEACHINGS for instruction. I can hear them now:
• “Peter tell us what you heard and saw!”
• “John tell us what you heard and saw!”
As these apostles started talking, they listened to everything they said about the Savior that died for them.
The Bible says,”…they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine….”
While many today attend church for the wrong reasons, the scriptures make it clear that THEY MET FOR THE RIGHT REASON; TO HEAR THE TEACHINGS OF GOD.
We see THEY MET TO HEAR THE TEACHINGS OF GOD and-
II. THEY MET TO FELLOWSHIP WITH OTHER BELIEVERS
The Bible says they devoted themselves to, “…fellowship, and in breaking of bread,…”
In other words, when church time came, they were THERE WITH OTHER BELIEVERS!
Illus: When you go to a football game, fans of one team sit on one side and fans of the other team sit on the other side.
Have you ever been to a football game and the opposing team comes over to your side of the field? When this happens, someone is sure to say, “What are they doing over here?”
There is only one place for a Christian to be when it is church time, and that is in the HOUSE OF GOD!
• God expects you to be there
• Your pastor expects you to be there
• Your church family expects you to be there
• The lost world expects you to be there
You can tell when people are dedicated Christians, because when it is church time…THEY ARE THERE!
They did not have nice church buildings like we have, they met together in each other’s homes or under some tree. They had a wonderful time in fellowship and breaking of bread.
These were very much like our church dinners today, where everyone pitches in to make sure there is plenty of food. Some of the best meals that have ever been eaten, were eaten at church dinners.
Illus: One day a cat died of natural causes and went to Heaven. There he meets St. Peter himself.
• St. Peter says to the cat, "You lived a good life, and if there is any way I can make your stay in Heaven more comfortable, please let Me know."
• The cat thinks for a moment and says, "All my life I have lived with a poor family and had to sleep on a hard wooden floor." Peter stops the cat and says, "Say no more," and a wonderful fluffy pillow appears.
• A few days later, six mice are killed in a tragic farming accident and go to Heaven. Again St. Peter is there to greet them with the same offer.
• The mice answer, "All of our lives we have been chased. We have had to run from cats, dogs, and even women with brooms. Running, running, running; we're tired of running. Do you think we could have roller skates so we don't have to run anymore?"
• St. Peter says, "Say no more," and fits each mouse with beautiful new roller skates.
• About a week later, Saint Peter stops by to see the cat and finds him in a deep sleep on the pillow. He gently wakes the cat and asks him, "How are things since you arrived?"
• The cat stretches and yawns and replies, "It's wonderful here. Better than I could have ever expected. And those Meals on Wheels you've been sending by are theeeeeeee best!!!"
Nothing expresses friendship and fellowship more than eating together.
Illus: What happens when a young man falls in love with a young girl? He wants to sit in some café booth across the table from her, eating a cheeseburger and drinking a Coke, and look her in the eyes. HE WANTS TO BE WITH HER BECAUSE HE LOVES HER!
When a person comes to know the Lord, God places a love in their heart for other believers, and they can hardly wait for time to meet with other Christians. When God’s people meet, they are so excited to see their spiritual brothers and sisters that they embrace them as they enter the building.
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger says that he grew up in a family that had six children. Sometimes his dad would load them up in his Henry-J and take them several hundred miles to see their Uncle Leon and his family. He said, “Can you imagine what it is like for six kids and two adults to pull up in Uncle Leon’s yard?” Uncle Leon had to act like he was glad to see them. He said that one of the first questions his Uncle would ask was, “How long are you going to be able to stay?” With both families together there were twelve people in one house with one bathroom. But he said, he can still remember the excitement when it was time to go to visit.
Christians are out in the lost world all week long, and when it comes time for church, it is great to be among God’s family where you are loved.
DOES THAT MEAN THE FAMILY OF GOD DOESN’T HAVE RELATIONSHIP PROBLEMS?
No. In the family of God we have relationship problems also. But that does not mean we do not have a good time together or that we don’t love each other.
Illus: That reminds me of the story of a little boy sitting on his front steps with his face cradled in his hands, looking so sad. His dad came home just then and asked him what was wrong. The little boy looked up and said, "Well, just between us, Dad, I’m having trouble getting along with your wife, too!"
The church is the FAMILY OF GOD, and we do have relationship problems the same way any family has relationship problems.
Illus: A little girl was being punished by eating alone in the corner of the dining room. The family paid no attention to her until they heard her pray: “I thank Thee, Lord, for preparing a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.”
Sure, sometimes I get on your nerves and sometimes you get on mine. In fact, some of you get on my nerves a lot!
Illus: A woman asked, “If you had it to do all over again would you have children?” The answer was, “Yes…but not the same ones.”
Sometimes we are not as nice to each other as we should be.
Illus: It reminds me of a family reunion where a lot of pictures were taken.
• When the lady took them to be developed, she asked if they could be touched up. She said, “Could you remove all the wrinkles and could you take about 30 pounds off of me?” “
• Yes” he said. Then she said, “Could you put them on my sister?”
WE ARE THE FAMILY OF GOD! And we love each other as Brothers and Sisters because we all came from the same blood line of Jesus.
Conclusion:
In addition to the common fellowship meal, the early believers shared together in the Lord’s Supper.
From Acts 20:7 we learn that the practice of the early Christians was to break bread on the first day of the week. This simple act reminds each person of Jesus’ sharing with His disciples in the upper room and His sacrificial love for each of us.
Heb. 10:25 says, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
We are living in some very evil days. Never before has it been so important to attend church as it is now. This is why God’s Word says, “…and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
We see -
I. THEY MET TO HEAR THE TEACHINGS OF GOD
II. THEY MET TO FELLOWSHIP WITH OTHER BELIEVERS
