Sermon Tone Analysis

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is a great privilege to share in the Word of God this morning.

My wife will probably be surprised its taken me so long to use this in a sermon illustration, seeing as I talk about it all the time, but I love a good Costco hot dog!

You can’t beat the deal!

$1.50 for a hot dog and a drink.

And what do you have to do before you get a hot dog?

You have to hit the sample circuit as an appetizer!

You get a whole meal for $1.50 or if you’re feeling crazy you add a slice of pizza and leave overstuffed for $3.70 after tax.

So, I often find good reasons, or just plain excuses to make Costco runs around noon.

Many times I’m with Brother Troy here so we’ll go up and hit the circuit together.

You all probably know that Troy is almost always wearing a shirt with something on it that is either a reference to the gospel or a bible verse.

On one of our trips through the Costco buffet, one of the service took notice of the shirt that read across the front, “I exist to proclaim the gospel.”

That shirt is often a conversation starter, but 10 minutes of conversation later, we were both so encouraged to meet another Christian “out there in the wild”!

About a month, probably more than that we went back, she recognized us and we had another encouraging conversation.

It is an incredible thing when you feel the unity of Christ in the full expression of fellowship.

There is a fellowship enjoyed between authentic, born-again believers that cannot be found anywhere else in existence.

I’ve shared this often-altered quote before but, “You have more in common with a Christian believer in the middle of Mozambique than your next door neighbor who votes the same as you, dresses the same as you, and has the same hobbies as you, but denies the existence and authority of your God.”

True fellowship does not exist if it is not founded upon the shared faith in the Triune God.

“Fellowship with the Godhead spawns fellowship with other believers.”

Why is this so?

Well think about the things that all believers share in common with one another.

We share the same view of reality.

That is we all understand that God created the earth.

We understand that Jesus is the one for whom all things were created through and for.

We understand the Holy Spirit guides us and seals us for the day of redemption.

We also share in the same of self.

We understand that all we, like sheep, have gone astray and that there is not one of us who is righteous on our own account.

We understand that our sin is an offense to God.

We understand that we were helpless to change without Christ’s intervention.

We also share in the same values.

We understand that we are called to love God and love others.

We understand that those two commands tie all moral and ethical standards together.

We also share in the same submission.

We understand that Jesus Christ is Lord!

We understand that our lives are His to do with as He pleases.

We understand that God has spoken to us through His Word and when our thoughts and ideas are incongruent with His Word, then our thoughts and ideas are to change and to be molded into congruence with His Word.

We also share in the same hope.

We understand we are heirs of the promises of God.

We understand that Jesus is coming back.

We understand there is coming a day when God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things have passed away!

We could continue, but I hope the point has been taken!

You’re relationships with believers share more in common than any earthly relationship could ever hope to hold.

This is why we should seek to have all of our relationships enriched by forming them with believers.

The friends I’ve stayed the closest with throughout the years, are those who share in the same faith I hold.

My marriage is enriched and enhanced and thankfully for my sake, full of much grace, because we both have experienced the grace of God!

Think about it like this, when you are in some form of relationship with an unbeliever, be it a romantic friendship or something romantic, If that person is not a believer then they think the thing most precious in your life, your relationship and faith in Jesus Christ, is foolishness!

Now, the intention this morning is not to say that we should sever all ties of any kind with unbelievers.

That would not be practical nor would it allow us the opportunity to participate in the Great Commission and be the ambassadors of Christ we are called to be.

Rather, the intention this morning will be to highlight great value there is in Christian Fellowship so that we all may learn to cherish it all the more!

With that in mind, would you open your Bibles to Colossians 4, if you have not done so already.

We are almost coming to an end of the book of Colossians.

Today we will be focusing on the middle portion of Paul’s Salutation.

Last week we looked at the ordinary instruments Tychicus and Onesimus that God used to accomplish His Will.

Today we will be pressing through six more ordinary instruments wrapped up in God’s extraordinary plan.

We will see five God-driven benefits of Christian fellowship.

Let us begin in verse 10.

Colossians 4:10 (ESV)

Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you,

We’re going to stop right here for a moment and see the first benefit of Christian Fellowship.

Christians struggle with one another.

Look at how Paul describes Aristarchus.

He calls him his fellow prisoner.

Aristarchus and Paul had seen some stuff together!

They were in prison together.

They were intended targets of a riot together.

They were in a shipwreck together.

Adversity did not lessen the affection between the bothers, it increased it!

Our brothers and sisters in Christ are there for us when others would’ve deserted us.

It has been my personal experience that my Christian friends are also the ones who have been particularly there for me in times of need.

When my father passed away, it was predominantly my church family that surrounded the rest of my family with support.

Within the just last few weeks a brother from this church was with me when I was moved to tears on two separate occasions for very different reasons.

Both times there was judgment or belittling, but genuine compassion and care.

Within the church we are called to bear one another’s burden.

To assist each other in the time of need.

This could play out in a variety of ways and will look differently for each of us, but here our some ideas on how to be there for each other.

Be someone’s accountability partner.

If they confide in you that a certain sin is plaguing there thoughts, offer to walk with them through the trial.

Ask them how its going.

Pray with them genuinely call them to repentance for their own spiritual benefit.

You could also start a discipleship group.

Study the word with other believers.

If you want to do that but don’t know where to start, I’ll help you!

You could offer to watch someones kids so a husband and wife could have a date night.

Family life can be frantic.

Offer to give a reprieve.

Often times the best way to help a church member is simply to just BE there.

Be here in the building with them worshipping together regularly.

Be with them in thick of everyday life.

Pop over for dinner.

Sit and just chat.

Just being there does a great deal.

Christians should absolutely seek to help their struggling brothers and sisters out, but I would selling verse 10 short if that was as deep as we took the concept of struggling with one another.

We should all note that Paul and Aristarchus were imprisoned together for the sake of the gospel.

The bonds of love that exist between Christians should keep us together even in the face of persecution.

I don’t know if or when biblically Christianity will be violently and legally persecuted in our American Context.

But I do know that we Christians are called to be faithful to our Savior even unto death.

Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego we can walk into the fiery furnace together, not knowing the outcome, but knowing God is good.

We may not ASK for the struggle, but when it comes it is a grace of God that Christians can struggle with one another.

Let’s press on in verse 10

with the mention of Mark the cousin of Barnabas we note: