Vision for Life - Fellowship #2

Yesterday's blog featured the need for true elements to be in a born-again believer's life, and these elements cause us to seek out and make connections with other believers as led by the Holy Spirit. When those believers get together, they find out that even though they are different, they are still very much the same. The Word of God uses the word like-miinded, and only God can make this happen. I will speak to another part of this uniquie fellowship called "The Church."

There are specific sparks that should happen to ignite the church.

Spark (def )- a trace of a specified quality or intense feeling.

One vital spark that must happen is easy to figure out.

Spark #1– The Word –The Word of God must be preached and studied by the Lord’s Church, and when the Bible is left out of a church, that fellowship is weakened.  The Good News of salvation must be heard by all who attend, and that message cannot be compromised by personal opinions.  Life change in new converts coming to Jesus will ignite revival and awakening in the Lord’s church, and the Word will grow this fire even more when those converts are discipled.  If they are not discipled, a confused fellowship will occur, and the church’s mission will be watered down because of the lack of wisdom from the Word of God.  Paul wrote the following words to the church at Colossae, and they are very true today also.  Colossians 3: ¹⁶ Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. THAT IS A CHURCH!!

Spark #2 – The Building – God cannot be contained in a temple or building, so we must never make the building where the Lord’s church meets an idol.  We need places to meet, but the meeting place is only a place to house the people of God.  The church building can become a place where ungodly things take place, as well as Godly things.  Jesus hated what had become of the temple in Jerusalem, so He drove them out in a fit of rage.  Matthew 21:¹³ He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”  Jesus identified the name of the temple and called it a house of prayer.  What does that mean?  Every time we meet in the house of God, we should make it a house of prayer.  Why pray? Because when we speak and listen to God, He shows us the direction we should go as a church.  All of that can happen wherever the church meets, but most assuredly it should happen in the designated place called the church.  The church is not made up of bricks and mortar, but the moving of the Holy Spirit in God’s people.

Spark #3 – Saints - The church should have an atmosphere of encouragement and challenge as each of us finds God’s vision for our lives.  The Saints should find and finalize their life calling in the spark of the church fellowship. In Hebrews, the writer says Hebrews 10:²⁴ Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. ²⁵ And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.  The Saints should be challenged to live out their personal vision for their life in connection with others who are following God’s vision for their life.  Too many times, bitter jealousies overwhelm the saints when they do not follow God’s leading, and those jealousies cause dissension in a fellowship that should be driven by God’s love.  That is what Paul had to deal with in the churches he formed, and the influence of poorly motivated and compromised saints dealt a blow to the fellowship that should have been so strong.  The strong love we as believers must have for each other is constantly under attack by the enemy because he knows if we are united in the love of God, then the power of the Lord will be seen in His church.

Tomorrow will complete the chapter on Fellowship.

The Pilgrimage Continues,

David Warren