New Fellowship
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Intro
We are ending 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting and hopefully you have been blessed and moved closer to the Lord.
This is the last of the All Things New. This is a year of New Beginnings for many of us… We have a New Beginnings God.
All Things new has been about New Faith, New Fitness and New Freedom. Today is about New Fellowship.
Week 1 - New Faith. What would it look like if our Christianity looked different in 2026 than it had before. And what would it take for you to go to that place? God has so much more than any of us are currently experiencing and I want all of you to be able to say, I have NEW FAITH. I have loved God before, but it’s going to look a little different this year because I am going to go all in. I am going to give God my best.
Week 2 New Fitness - We talked about being physically fit which is good, but we also talked about another way to be fit… we talked about becoming vessels of honor.
Week 3 New Freedom - We learned that we can get free and stay free. Admit we need help. Humbly repent and turn to God. Choose to reject the enemy’s lies. Daily choose to Believe God’s Truth.
Our theme text is from Isaiah.
Israel’s story is a lot like us. They were up and down in their faithfulness to the Lord. Things would be going great and they would forgt about God. Then things would go bad and they would cry out to God and he wouild rescue them.
This was passage written during a time when they were away from God.
18 “But forget all that— it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. 19 For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
Isaiah 43:18–19 ““But forget all that— it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. 19 For I am about to do something new.
This while series has been about the fact that God wants to do something new in each one of us.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”
No matter where you have been, God has a blank slate for all of us. We can have a new beginning because of the Grace of God.
God is moving and wants to move in each of us and in our church. We just have to go all in.
If you are still praying for that miracle, don’t stop. Look what Paul said,
6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Philippians 1:6 “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”
Our God is that kind of God… he is faithful. We can be certain that he hears us and will answer us. God has so much for us and I believe that we cannot experience all that he has for us without our topic today which is.
New Fellowship
New Fellowship
We call our room in the front… a fellowship hall. We do all sorts of things up there. I know fellowship is not used that much anymore. We talk about friendships… etc.
Fellowship is a Jesus word.
Fellowship - the relationships in our lives that are centered on the unity we have in Christ.
Fellowship - the relationships in our lives that are centered on the unity we have in Christ.
Thank God for friendships… but I am thankful for fellowship. Our unity is in our pursuit of Christ.
If you read the Bible, fellowship can be seen from front to back.
First we want to look at the theology of fellowship and then the practical application of that.
23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 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.
Hebrews 10:23–25 “Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope (Jesus) we affirm,
Remember that fellowship is centered around… the hope… which is Jesus. It’s somtimes centered on a common interest, a common topic, etc. But essentially, it is centered on our common desire to become more and more like Jesus.
for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 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.”
Together - together is is the action of fellowship. We are on big conglomeration of people with a common purpose…
Wed, I looked around. We had people dressed up and some not dressed up. We have different race make up… we had some with Tats and some without…
We had some young and some older people. That is the heart of God.
Listen
Together we win.
Together we win.
If we can find a way to get past our differences and center around Jesus, there is a whole lot of New Beginnings in front of us.
I want to take apart our text and look at the why together is important.
Together is God’s Plan
Together is God’s Plan
We like it because it’s His plan.
24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.
When God brings us together in fellowship, we motivate each other to do good things.
Fellowship is vital. Christianity is a group project. It’s impossible to pursue the best God has for our lives on our own.
Biking up the mountain…
Christianity is like a church van… going to a retreat … a conference…
We can’t do it on our own.
9 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.
Here is the 2nd one…
Together isn’t always easy.
Together isn’t always easy.
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.
We are not to neglect being together in fellowship. Together takes work. You may have been hurt in the past by people, and that hurts and I am praying that you re-engage with us so you can live the abundant life Jesus came to give you.
I am praying that God will heal those old hurts.
The devil will do anything he can to mess up our fellowship. This is spiritual warfare.
We are living in a culture that is more connected than ever before but at the same time, we are more disconnected than any other time.
Survey - young people said on average that they had 300 followers on social media. But when asked how many close relationships they had, the average was 1 and 25% said zero.
More connected and more alone. Why would the enemy like that? Because he knows if he can isolate uas he can take us out.
8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
We have to be alert because the enemy is after us.
We have all seen the TV documentaries where some animal gets away from the heard and gets eaten.
The devil is looking for anyone he can have his way with. It’s important to be together.
So, together is God’s plan and it’s not always easy, but
Together takes a choice.
Together takes a choice.
look…
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.
This is the choice we are at. Are we going to stop meeting together or not. We know God has great things for us, but the choice today is to step across the line and into what God has for us. We know God wants us to win… to succeed… to live an abundant life. But we need to get together.
Make the decision to go all in and be here. To participate. Choose to get involved.
I want to finish with the culture of fellowship.
King David is an amazing story. He started at the bottom. He was the forgotten son. Maybe the greatest things you can say about David.
22 But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’
Acts 13:22 “But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said,
When God says something about you… that’s a big deal. Look what he says about David.
‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’”
Here is the question for you today. How did David go from shepherd overlooked nobody? It wasn’t his talent, his skill or anything like that. It was his fellowship. He had key relationships in his life.
One of those relationships was Samuel.
12 So Jesse sent for him. He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes. And the Lord said, “This is the one; anoint him.” 13 So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah.
God gave Samuel eyes to see something in David that David didn’t even see himself.
All of us need this.
We see the best in each other.
We see the best in each other.
When we get together we see the best in each other and can call that out of them.
By ourselves, we look in the mirror and see all of our faults and our horrible past … a lot of shame, but God wants to bring others around us that will see what God sees in us.
I had a group of guys who called out the best in each other. We need people in our lives who will call out the best in us. Jon Elder… Steve Lanier…
17 As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.
When we get together,
We seek God for each other.
We seek God for each other.
When David was anointed, he was not king immediately. Saul was king. Here is another relationship David had.
15 One day near Horesh, David received the news that Saul was on the way to Ziph to search for him and kill him. 16 Jonathan went to find David and encouraged him to stay strong in his faith in God.
David was having bad days. He father in law, the King was trying to kill him. We all need friends in our bad days.
Chuck Colson with Richard Nixon
Rick Warren when his son died… said he would not be in the ministry if it wasn’t for his small group.
When my dad died, many of the guys in my small group came…
17 A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.
Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.
We speak truth to each other.
We speak truth to each other.
They are all good, but we need to speak truth to each other.
David was now king…
David was not perfect. He is the king but he misuses his power to try and cover up an horrible sin. He had committed adultery with Bathsheba. You would think that he would see the sin in his life… we often don’t either.
Nathan is the 3rd friend. Natan come to see him He tells him a parable and David responds …
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! The Lord, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul.
5 An open rebuke is better than hidden love! 6 Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.
This is what you get when we have fellowship, whether it’s on a ministry team, or a small group.
God wants us to win this year but we have a trip.
Are we going to step into that new faith?
Are we going to step into that new fitness?
Are we going to step into that new freedom? and
Are we going to step into that new fellowship?
If we do, this will be your best year ever.
Together we win!
Together we win!
Prayer time
New faith - Maybe you are here today and you don’t God as you personal Savior. Maybe you knew him but you have separated yourself for some reason and you feel far way from God… today is your day to receive him.
Prayer sinners prayer.
New Fitness - Now for the rest of us. Are you willing to step out and be usable.
New Freedom - are you willing to step into a new freedom and leave those things you need to leave behind… behind.
New Fellowship - Are you willing to go all in and be here …
