Fellowship of the Church
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Intro
Intro
This morning
We discussed that being lost is being separated from the Shepherd.
That we become separated from God by following the wayward shepherds of false teachers, traditions of men, and often times our own hearts as we chase after worldly possessions, or power, or any other number of things that ultimately do not matter.
And that all of us at some time or another have chosen our way over God’s way and done like the psalmist says in
176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments.
We saw how apart from the shepherd we live lives of hardship, of a lack of nutrition, of weakness and sickness and injury, and how when we are in that state we are trapped and ready to be devoured by wild animals.
In short, when we are away from the shepherd we have nothing, and the only outcome that can be expected is our certain death.
But thanks be to God that He had a plan from before the beginning of time to rescue us from certain death by sending His son to die on the cross.
Giving us both the perfect shepherd, the perfect king, the perfect lamb as a sacrifice, the perfect judge, our perfect example on how to live and lead and be shepherded.
He took ownership of the
So that instead of certain death, he came to seek and save the lost. To do that which God said he would do in Ezekiel 34:11-24, To rescue us from our scattered state through Christ,
To Lead us into rest, to bring back the strayed, to bind up the injured, to strengthen the weak.
But also to destroy the fat and the strong. - Those religious leaders who Jesus said
4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.
Who traveled over land and sea to win one convert only to make them twice a child of hell as they were.
What we didn’t get to talk about this morning much is how fascinating it is that while God is putting the final nail in the coffin of the monarchy and of the purely human kingship over His people, He is going to through Jesus fulfill what they asked for back when they asked for an earthly king and ousting essentially ousting God as their king. He’s going to send them a King that is both God and Man, the son of man.
And that through Him God will be reconciled with His people, he will once again be exalted as their God and Jesus will be Shepherd and King.
As I think Tim said this morning, It’s all about Jesus!
But as focused as is on the change of leadership over the sheep, there is also much instruction there to the sheep themselves.
A warning regarding how we as the flock interact with one another, and how those who are out of line will be judged by God himself and properly punished for their poor behavior that runs contrary to the spirit that should exist among the sheep.
Tonight we’re going to talk about the behavior that we should expect from a group of people saved from certain death and brought back under the leadership of the good shepherd.
We’re going to talk about the fellowship of the church,
What it is
Where we draw lines
and why it matters
What Fellowship is
What Fellowship is
The word which is most often translated as fellowship in our English translations comes from the Greek word Koinonia.
Which means “that which is shared in common”
And it’s no surprise that shared experiences can form a deep and lasting bond between people.
It has often been observed that when soldiers come home from particularly gruesome battles that they really only connect with others who have shared common experiences.
and when they need someone to talk to that they would rather talk to another soldier than with their wife who cannot understand the horrors they’ve gone through. They have a fellowship, a shared, common bond of war.”
And while this is true of war, it’s just as true with any other form of therapy.
Recovering addicts prefer to confide in other recovering addicts.
Those who have suffered abuse prefer to confide in others who have experienced abuse.
In fact in
10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”
the word that is translated there as partners is Koinonia, they had the fishing business in common.
So in light of what we learned this morning regarding our previous status as LOST, and regarding our RESCUE we have something shared in common do we not?
And of course those of us who have entered the sheepfold through the door of Christ as was read in
We were all scattered and lost by our own sins.
We were all doomed for destruction.
Christ rescued us all from that certain destruction, from our own foolishness in walking away from God, and we now share in the abundant riches and spiritual blessings that only exist in Christ Jesus.
In fact, the first time we read about Fellowship or Koinonia as it relates to the church, is in
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Remember that they in this case was the 3,000 souls who were pierced to the heart by Peters sermon on the day of Pentecost and who obeyed the Gospel. Notice what these people did.
They devoted themselves to what the apostles where teaching
They devoted themselves to the fellowship
Which would have included eating common meals together and worshipping together
They devoted themselves to praying.
But not only that, they were selling their possessions and caring for one another as any had need.
And there were not doing this with sour attitudes, there were doing it with glad and generous hearts!
Praising God and having favor with all the people!
What makes a group of people behave this way?
The answer is of course founded on love.
Faith hope and Love abide these three, but the greatest is Love.
But this is not just a blind love. This is a love shaped by the gratitude of what Christ has done for us.
This is a love that understands where we were, and where we are now in Christ.
This is a love expressed through fellowship of people who understand that if it wasn’t for the grace of God, none of us would be where we are. None of us would be justified, none of us would be saved.
and church we have that in common!
And so as a member of Christs sheepfold I appreciate and recognize my flockmates as having experienced the same grace that I’ve received.
And I rejoice with you, and I want what is best for you, and I Love you the way Christ loves me.
We share in that fellowship as we graze in the safety of the Shepherd.
Where do we draw Lines?
Where do we draw Lines?
But it is a sad fact that same experience cannot be said of all those who proclaim to be Christians can it?
There are those who have fallen victim to another gospel, which was condemned in
There are still those like Jesus spoke about in who try to climb over the gate to join his sheep but are in reality liars and thieves.
So as we talked about this morning, there is a definite warning regarding those who would lead others away from the flock.
Scripture warns about wolves in sheeps clothing
About those who have itching ears and who will accumulate for themselves teachers who will not proclaim God’s word, but what they want to hear and wander off into myths.
Church, we must fellowship with those who are of the faith once for all delivered to the saints with all the love and energy that we have, but we must also keep watch over ourselves and our fellow sheep that we aren’t drifting away from Christ by following a wolf in sheeps clothing.
You might disagree with me, and if so I hope we can have a discussion in love,
But I don’t know how we could be in fellowship with someone that doesn’t teach God’s plan of salvation.
I don’t know how we could be in fellowship with someone who is blatantly sinning against God and is unrepentant of that sin.
And we don’t say any of that to be mean, on the contrary, what we say is out of love for our souls and for theirs, because church discipline only works if fellowship matters.
Church Discipline and why it matters
Church Discipline and why it matters
But why does fellowship matter? I mean, why shouldn’t we just open our minds and our hearts to include any and everyone of all faiths and beliefs?
After all, if we “disfellowship” someone for their false teaching or their sins, will they not just go to another congregation down the road?
Unfortunately, yes, that is the state that the church is in around the world, but let me ask this question, was it supposed to be that way?
There was a time, and the intentions and designs of the first century church were as such that church discipline would achieve the intended result of repentence and restoration back into the sheep fold.
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
Matt 18:15-
1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. 3 For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. 4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. 6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”
5 Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.
2 Corinthians 2:
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