I’ve never run a marathon, which probably doesn’t surprise most of you. Nor have I ever competed in a triathlon (although I do own an Ironman Triathlon wristwatch, which is almost the same thing). But what you may not know is that in high school, I was a runner. I lettered in cross-country, and my senior year I was captain of the cross-country team. In fact, but as recently as three years ago, I was regularly competing in 5K and even 10K races, and two years ago in 1999 I ran the Celebrate Westlake five-mile race, without stopping or walking. I’ll admit, I wasn’t putting a lot of pressure on the leaders, but still, I ran the whole race. Hard to believe, isn’t it? Maybe I’ll do it again this year. The race is Sept. 8th, so if I do, you may need to start looking for another pastor on Sept. 9th.
Why do I tell you all this? Just so you’ll understand that I know a little bit about long-distance running. Not how to do it well, necessarily, but what it feels like. How important it is to pace yourself, and not get overconfident. What it’s like to be running through the woods on a crisp, clear Fall day, feeling strong and healthy and glad to be alive and everything so beautiful. And how it feels when it’s cold and windy, and your legs get rubbery and your stomach starts to cramp, and your lungs feel like they’re on fire, and your feet hurt, and you can’t remember why you ever wanted to do this in the first place, and wouldn’t it feel good just to stop. When you’re so drained and exhausted, that the urge to quit, or even just rest, becomes overwhelming, and the only thing keeping you going is just pure gut-determination and the anticipation of how it’s going to feel to cross the finish line. Maybe some of you know what I’m talking about.
I find it interesting that when the New Testament chooses a physical activity to use as a metaphor for the Christian life, it’s usually running. Here are just a few examples:
"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace." – Acts 20:24 (NIV)
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." – Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."
– 2 Timothy 4:7 (NIV)
Why is running such a powerful picture of the Christian life? Several reasons come to mind. First of all, it emphasizes the continuous, lifelong nature of discipleship. When Paul wrote about "finishing the race" in Second Timothy, he was near the end of his life and he knew it. He had been following Christ, and laboring for the gospel, for over thirty years. Ever since his conversion on the road to Damascus, he had been teaching, and preaching, and praying, and writing, and suffering. Many times he was imprisoned; he was beaten, whipped, starved, exposed to the elements, even stoned. He traveled all over the ancient world planting and building churches, at a time when travel was both difficult and dangerous. He experienced great joys and also devastating disappointments. But he kept going, because he expected nothing else. He know that this was no jog in the park. This was no hundred-yard dash. This was a marathon with no finish line.
I think the Bible also uses running as a metaphor for the Christian life because it’s such a solitary activity. No one else can run the race for you. When that gun goes off, it’s just you and the road. In the same way, no one else can trust God for you. No one else can believe for you. No one else can follow Christ for you. Every person has to do it themselves. Each one of us is responsible; each one of us is accountable to God for our own faith; for our own faithfulness, and obedience, and devotion. Just like a runner has to choose to take each step, so we have to choose every day if we’re going to follow Christ or not. No one else can make that choice for us.
What does all this have to do with fellowship? Just this: Christian fellowship is how we equip, and strengthen, and encourage each other so that we can run well and finish the race. Fellowship is all the things we do and say to assist one another in living for Christ. Think about the Boston and New York Marathons. You’ve watched those on television. What do you see besides runners and race officials? You see aid stations where volunteers pass out cups of cold water. You see emergency medical technicians ready to give assistance to those overcome by heat or exhaustion. But most of all, you see hundreds of thousands of spectators lining the route. They’re waving, and cheering, and shouting out encouragement. "You can make it!" "Don’t give up!" "Keep going!" "You’re almost there!"
And that’s our role as members of a Christian community; members of the body of Christ. To refresh one another. To catch one another when we fall, to bandage up the wounds. To encourage and cheer one another on. The only difference is that none of us are spectators or bystanders. We’re runners, too. So we’re all running, and at the same time, we’re all helping one another to run. That’s fellowship. And fellowship is not optional. It is absolutely essential to our spiritual growth and health; it is absolutely essential to our ability to persevere in the faith.
Let me back up a bit. Today is the third in a series of five messages on the purposes of the church. So far, we’ve covered evangelism and worship. Today we’re looking at fellowship. What is fellowship? We tend to use the term very loosely. We call it "fellowship" every time we get together, as long as there’s either food or coffee involved. Some churches will have a "fellowship hour" before the Sunday service, so people can come a little early and eat coffee cake and socialize. Or they’ll advertise a church picnic with the slogan, "fun, food, and fellowship!" Nothing wrong with that. But Christian fellowship is not just socializing. An activity, or a conversation, only qualifies as fellowship if it has a specific purpose. And that purpose is helping one another to run the race; encouraging one another to persevere in the faith. If you’re talking about the weather, or about politics, or about the Indians, it may be enjoyable, and there’s nothing wrong with it, but it’s not fellowship. It’s a prelude to fellowship, a way to keep the relationship gears oiled so that genuine fellowship can take place, so it is beneficial. But it’s not, in itself, Christian fellowship. Let me give you a couple of verses to clarify what I’m talking about.
" Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 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." – Hebrews 10:23-25 (NIV)
Do you do that? Do you "consider" how to encourage others in the congregation toward love and good deeds? People think that’s the pastor’s job, and it is, but it’s your job too. Note also that the opposite of "not meeting" is encouraging one another. He assumes that if they are meeting together, that one of the things happening is mutual encouragement.
The author of Hebrews is exhorting a community of believers to stand firm in the face of persecution, to "hold unswervingly" to their faith in Jesus Christ. And how were they to accomplish that? How were they to stand their ground, when a hostile government was throwing them in jail, and confiscating their property; when they were facing the real possibility of shedding blood for their faith? Here’s what he tells them: to "spur one another on toward love and good deeds." To meet together, and "encourage one another." In short, to fellowship together. Do you understand what he’s saying? This isn’t just polite conversation about the weather or the Cleveland Indians. This is a community of Christians involved in a life-and-death struggle to hold on to their faith, a group of people who are trying to encourage each other to hang in there and not go back to the world! And that’s why we need fellowship. Not just to make our Sunday mornings pleasant and enjoyable. But to give us the strength to persevere in the faith.
Let me ask you a question: who guarantees that once we place our faith in Christ, we never fall away, never abandon the faith? Whose power is it that holds us in union with Christ? Is it your power? Is it mine? No. It’s God’s power that keeps us in the faith:
"I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all ; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand." – John 10:28-29 (NIV)
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." – 1 Peter 1:3-5 (NASB)
If that’s true, and it is, then why the big fuss about encouraging one another? Won’t God see to it that we persevere? Yes, He will. But this is how He does it; through us, the body of Christ. God’s grace comes to us through one another. His encouragement comes to us by the words that we speak to one another. He refreshes us and renews our strength through the acts of kindness and mercy that we perform for one another. We are the channels through which God’s power flows. So yes, it’s true that we persevere by God’s power. But that power comes to us through other believers.
When you think about it that way, you begin to realize what an awesome responsibility God has placed in your hands. Whatever it is that Paula, or Sean, or Scott, or Charlene needs from God, in order to keep believing and keep obeying, is going to come through the body of Christ, including the people in this room. It may be a word of encouragement; it may be a prayer; it may be reminding them of some truth they’ve temporarily forgotten. It may be just listening. But whatever it is they need, it has to come through us. Think about that the next time you’re tempted to criticize someone. If they’re not doing so well spiritually, maybe it’s because you’re not being faithful in your responsibility toward them! Maybe what they need is for you to judge them less and pray for them more. Maybe what they need is for you to gossip about them less and encourage them more. Maybe what they really need is for you to ignore them less and care about them more.
Henry David Thoreau once wrote that, "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." Even in this small congregation, I would be willing to bet there are people here today who are feeling a bit desperate. People who on the outside seem calm, and well put together, but who on the inside are going down for the third time. People who are desperate for a word of encouragement; desperate perhaps just for someone to listen and care. Desperate for someone to remind them that God loves them, that God hasn’t abandoned them. Someone to acknowledge their pain; someone to grieve with them; someone to rejoice with them; someone to love them. That’s what we’re here for, folks. To be Jesus to one another, by the power of the Spirit of Christ living within us.
Do you believe me yet when I say that fellowship and encouragement are not just an enjoyable side-effect of Christianity, but that they are essential to our ability to persevere in the faith? Listen:
"But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness." – Hebrews 3:13 (NIV)
What keeps us from being hardened by sin? What keeps us from being deceived by sin? The encouragement of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
"He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." – 1 Thessalonians 5:10-11 (NIV)
"Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."
– Galatians 6:2 (NIV)
If all of this is true, then what do we do? How do we encourage one another; how do we strengthen one another; how do we build one another up? I’d like to suggest three things. First, listen. No one listens anymore. We’re too busy formulating in our mind what we’re going to say next, and we’re waiting for the other person to pause or at least slow down so that we can jump in and say it. Try this: decide sometime that you’re not going to interrupt; that you’re not going to pounce on the next pause in conversation; that you’re not going to say anything until the other person has clearly stopped talking. Let them talk as long as they want, about anything they want. Ask them questions, and listen to the answers. You will be amazed at what people will tell you once they’re convinced that you are really paying attention to what they have to say, and once they’re convinced that you really care about what they have to say, and really care about them. I’m going to tell you a little secret. But when I counsel people, I normally do very little talking. I just listen and ask questions. And eventually, I’ve found that people will usually tell me what’s going on. What’s on their mind. What’s bothering them. And once that comes to the surface, I really don’t have to say much. I can offer just a few Scriptures and a few appropriate words, but they have impact because they go to the heart of the matter; they address the real issue.
"He who answers before listening— that is his folly and his shame." – Proverbs 18:13 (NIV)
"My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry" – James 1:19 (NIV)
Second, pray for one another. If you pay attention during the open mike time, and you talk with people during the greeting time and after the service, and if you listen to what they’re saying, you will go away from here with enough things to pray for to keep you busy all week. And that doesn’t include what people share during the home Bible study meeting, or what you hear about through the grapevine. You can sanctify gossip by not passing it on, but instead praying for the person involved. And what about people who you don’t talk to, but who on Sunday morning seem preoccupied, upset, deep in thought. Pray for them. If you were serious about praying just for the people in this room, by the end of the Sunday service you could fill your bulletin with things to pray for. And if you really want to shock someone (in a good way), offer to pray for them right on the spot! You will be surprised at how encouraging that simple act of caring will be to them.
" Brothers, pray for us." – 1 Thessalonians 5:25 (NIV)
" With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith." – 2 Thessalonians 1:11 (NIV)
Don’t gossip; pray. Don’t criticize or complain; pray. Don’t judge or condemn; pray. Be part of the solution instead of being part of the problem. And you know what? The more you pray for someone, the more you find yourself caring about them and the less you feel like judging them. Try it. If you don’t know what to pray, if you don’t have anything specific to pray for, then I have a list of prayers from the New Testament that I use to pray for people, and I’ll be glad to share it with you.
And third, talk. In Ephesians 4:15, we’re told to "speak the truth in love," and often the most important truth people need to hear is just that God loves them. That he hasn’t abandoned them. That regardless of how things look, God is in control and His ways are perfect and wise and good. Sometimes people need to hear that. And sometimes what people need to hear is not just that God loves them, but that you care about them. Let them hear that too.
This just scratches the surface. Every person is unique; everyone’s needs are different. Being committed to fellowship will take time, and work, and a willingness to take some risks. Fellowship isn’t always fun or easy. But we need it desperately. And we need each other. Because we need Christ, and Christ comes to us through one another. So let’s show the world that the church is more than just a social club with a spiritual flavor. Let’s show the world that the church is a place with real relationships, and real love, where real life change is taking place. Let’s show the world what real fellowship looks like.
(For an .rtf file of this and other sermons, see www.journeychurchonline.org/messages.htm)
