“The Cure for the Common Cold” part 4 (Getting warm with fellowship)
Brian A. moon
Story – When I was a little kid my grandmother had a house in a relatively new neighborhood that was still under construction. Right behind her house there was a huge sandlot that was being prepared for a new home. My friend and me used to play in this lot all the time and this time we found a 10-foot deep hole. I being the brave little idiot that I was decided we should jump down into the hole and play around. After a few minutes I realized that we had a problem, the top of the hole was about 5 feet above my arms when I reached up to get out… we were stuck. I tried to climb out but the sand kept falling off the wall of the hole back on me. I tried to pull on the roots that were sticking through the hole and they would just break off. Then my friend had an idea, if I got on his shoulders and stood I could get out and then go get a ladder to get him out. So I got up on his shoulders and just managed to get out of the hole. Then I went and got a ladder and he climbed out too.
The point of that little story is this, because we worked together we were able to do something that we could not have done on our own. And that is what we are going to be talking about tonight, we are going to be talking about fellowship… Before we look at just what that word is all about and why we need it, lets rewind and see where we have been these past 4 weeks:
We began this series called “The Cure for the Common
Cold” because we were looking for a way to keep our fire, and passion, for God all year round. Not just at special events. We found out how to do this from a verse in the book of Revelation.
Revelation 2:4 –5 “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then from what you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.” NRSV (italics mine)
The last part of that verse was the key, doing the works we did at first, or things like reading our Bibles like we talked about in the first week. We also talked about praying and looked at some common approaches to prayer, and then last week we looked at giving of ourselves. We found out that the extent to which we discover and develop our spiritual gifts, the more we will find ourselves fulfilled and happy people. All of these things like reading our Bibles, praying, giving, and now this week with fellowship, all are tools we should use to develop a passion for God that will last!!! As I said before tonight we are going to be talking about fellowship, which is a weird word that is not used a lot today so the first thing we might want to look at is:
What is fellowship?
Webster’s Dictionary defines fellowship as this: “Fellowship – Friendly relationships, companionship, and the union of peers or friends.”
When I think of fellowship though I think of more than just that definition, I think of more than just companionship. A dog can provide companionship and friendly relations, but to me fellowship is the sharing of experiences with other people that make us a part of each others lives. It could be eating out at a restaurant and having a blast, or it could be worshiping God on a Sunday morning, or talking in huddle group or small group. It is a time that we connect with other people on a deep level. Ok, but why do I need this, why do I need to “connect with people on a deep level, especially Christians?” The short answer is because God has told us to… God never intended for the Christian life to be a lone ranger life. That is why we have churches, and youth groups, and families, and communities. We need other people!!!
Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them…” NRSV (italics mine)
While you might not immediately see the fellowship part of this verse let me explain a little. The phrase “Baptizing them” is the key to understanding why we need other people. You see the first step for any new believer in first century Christianity was to get water baptized. The reason was because it made a public profession that you were putting Christ in the top spot of your life. This welcomed you into a family, a family of other believers who had made the same commitment. This new family worked just like any other family… they supported you, cared for you, challenged you and so on. Here is a picture of what this looked like 1900 years ago…
Acts 2:41-47 “So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” NRSV
Notice the number of times it mentions that they ate together and how much time they spent together. They devoted themselves to fellowship! This was the way God designed us, we were made for fellowship from the beginning.
Genesis 2:18 “Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that man should be alone, I will make him a helper as his partner.” NRSV
Here is Adam in the Garden of Eden. He has a perfect connection with God, and God said that it was not good for him to be alone. This doesn’t mean that God is lacking anything it just means that he created us for relationships with other people because look what he did, He made Eve to fill that void in Adam’s life for fellowship with flesh and blood just like him. Taking this and realizing that God knows us better than anyone else, and that he wants the very best for us, and we can come to this verse in Hebrews:
Hebrews 10:25 “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.” NIV
Here we have a command to have fellowship and meet together and here is why? God knew that life would be tough, he knew that we would get kicked and beat up and hurt, he knew all that we would go through and he says don’t stop hanging out with each other. God is not trying to take our time and energy on Sunday’s and Sunday nights, instead he is trying to keep us from getting hurt because he knows what is best for us and he cares. In the beginning part of this year I was very sick and the doctors gave me a whole selection of antibiotics and decongestants to take. When I took those medicines they went into my body and became a partner with my immune system. Together they can overcome the sickness. God commands us to hang out because he knew we would need partners to overcome the sickness of losing our passion for Him. This brings us to our next point:
What are the benefits?
Ecclesiastes 4:9 – 12 “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken. NRSV
The first benefit this verse mentions is that when we have other people, and are living in fellowship with one another we have:
A BETTER RETURN ON OUR WORK
We have all heard the expression that two heads are better than one, and the same can be said here, When we have other people that come along side of us, and help out, and work as a team, we can accomplish far more than if we were working all alone. On a hot summer day in 1904 people were wandering around the worlds fair in St. Louis. They were hot and sticky and were in need of something cool and refreshing as were the people lined up for a mile at this one booth. Arnold Fornachou was the man behind the stand and he was selling his new invention, ice cream. The problem was that the paper bowls he had been using were running out because of the popularity of his frozen treat and the ceramic bowls he was frantically washing were taking too long and he was losing customers.
In the booth next to him was a Syrian pastry chef named Ernest who was selling his wafer thin treat called a zalabia. But no one seemed interested in a Middle Eastern pastry when they had this amazing ice cream. However, Ernest saw the problem that his ice cream neighbor was in and came up with an remarkable idea he took one of his wafers, wrapped it in a cornucopia shape, rolled it in sugar and asked Arnold for a scoop of ice cream. Puzzled he agreed and when Ernest handed it to a customer, Arnold got it, it was an edible bowl, or what we know as an ice cream cone.
You see when you work with someone else you can accomplish far more than if you were working alone.
Look back at the verse we read from Acts…
Acts 2:47 “Praising God and having the goodwill of all people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” NRSV
When was the last time you heard of a church where people were added daily? Some churches don’t even have people added to their numbers every year!!! No matter what time period you are talking about, people working towards an common goal produce more than if you were working alone. The next benefit from fellowship is:
WE HAVE PROTECTION
That verse that we read from Ecclesiastes gives three examples here of this benefit: if we fall we have someone to help us, if we are cold we can keep warm, and we can defend ourselves. By having a group of people around us that care for us, we have a support system that God has set up for our protection. It could be that we fall because of a sin we get into, or we are feeling the cold of this world, or we need a hand in defending ourselves against satan’s attacks.
Having Biblical fellowship will help provide protection in all of these! The final benefit of fellowship is:
WE WILL BE STRONGER
If you were to take one of the cables from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and cut through it you would find that these huge cables that support this massive bridge are made up of many tiny cords all bundled together. Engineers have proven what the Bible has said all along, that a cord of many strands is not easily broken. People are the same, why are gangs made up of many members instead of everyone just being their own boss? The answer is strength in numbers.
When the church has real fellowship it is stronger than when we try to live the Christian life alone!
So there is what fellowship is, and why it is better than being a lone ranger Christian. BUT, more than just the benefits there is one more thing…
The Fun
There is nothing more exciting, or more fun than being plugged into a group of people who are pumped up about God! God does not want our lives to be boring and meaningless, he wants to give us life to the extreme and having real fellowship with other believers is one of the ways he wants to give that awesome life to us.
When I look back over my life at the times that I experienced the most growth spiritually, and experienced the most fun, was when I was surrounded by a group of believers who helped and encouraged me and just hung out with me. So how do I find this fun???
For us to have this kind of fun, and the have the benefits of fellowship we must take off our mask. You cannot be connected with people in a real way if you are being fake all of the time! You have to be you, not anyone else, just you; with all of your faults and good points laid wide open. Not only do you have to be you, you have to let other people be themselves; you must accept all of their faults and good points. If we will just let each other into our lives and accept each other we can have authentic, Biblical fellowship right here!!! I hope you all have benefited as much as I have from this series. Reminding myself about the importance of reading our Bibles, and praying, and finding our gifts and giving them to God, and hanging out with other Christians all has been great for me.
The goal of this series was to find a way to keep our passion for God and by doing these things I know I have found, “The Cure for the Common Cold.”
Prayer Time -----------------
God, we come before you tonight as a family. We are your children and we ask that you show us just how important it is for us to hang out and be a family. As we do this give us a passion for you and your work. Thank you for making us to need other people. Amen.
