Walking The Way Of Fellowship:the Calavary Road Series

“Walking the Way of Fellowship” – The Calvary Road

I John 1:1-9

February 29, 2004

Purpose: True fellowship happens when we develop relationships with one another based on God’s fellowship which draws us together by His Light.

Introduction –

Some of the most humorous and enlightening moments in our lives center around the church’s idea of fellowship…Take for instance the interaction between a pastor and young boy after a service. It seems this particular congregation loved good fellowship and always served coffee after the sermon. One Sunday the pastor asks a little boy if he knew why they served the coffee. "I think," said the boy, "it’s to get the people awake before they drive home."

Mike Warnke, well-known Christian comedian, says that Christians have their own language…

…we don’t gossip, we just share in Christian love

…we don’t criticize, we’re just building up the body of Christ

…we don’t admit to our mistakes, those are mercy moments.

…and when we sit around and pig out together…well that’s just called fellowship.

I. Fellowship comes from our relationship with one another.

Fellowship needs to be more than that one hour after church every Sunday. Catching up with one another, checking in with friends, sharing time with one another is important, but in many ways, it is just the first step to true fellowship.

True fellowship happens when we put ourselves last, God first, and others second.

It happens when we start worrying about the we instead of the I. When we focus on the needs of others and put them at a higher priority level than ourselves.

Isn’t this what our Scripture passage is saying this morning? “If we say that we have fellowship with Him; and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is the in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (v. 6-7)

Fellowship happens when we open ourselves up to one another. Sharing more than just the “everything’s fine” conversation, and going deeper to let each other know how we’re honestly doing.

Roy Hession in The Calvary Road book, put it like this, “When the barriers are down and the masks are off, God has a chance of making us really one.” (p.42)

When fellowship develops within us….first with God, then with one another…then God’s light shows through our relationships.

II. God functions as fellowship so that we can function as His people together.

Did you know that God himself is fellowship…Think about it with me for a moment…isn’t that the foundational part of the trinity?

Here we have Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer…all functioning as one.

God’s purpose is that we all have fellowship with one another.

Fellowship doesn’t come from a denomination. It doesn’t come from a creed, a boast, or a toast. It

doesn’t magically appear as a result of some new “evangelism” formula or is the result of anything

that man has created. At its core…true fellowship is found in the light that only God can provide.

The point of true fellowship rests in our fellowship with Jesus Christ. How is that developed? Listen to this quote I found originally from an African minister…

I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I’m a disciple of His. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotion, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won’t give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me…my banner will be clear!" (arrangement my Dr. Robert Moorehead, www.sermoncentral.com)