Fellowship with God...

OUR GREATEST PRIORITY…

Fellowship:

Friendly association, especially with people who share one's interests.

Participation, partner, sharer, being connected, to be coupled…

Hosea 6:6 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

6 For I desire and delight in dutiful steadfast love and goodness, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of and acquaintance with God more than burnt offerings.

This verse summarizes a central teaching of the OT prophets: Yahweh desires and values internal commitment and character transformation over external ritual observances

1) With God, consisting in the knowledge of his will

Job 22:21 New King James Version (NKJV) 

21 “Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace;

Thereby good will come to you.

Do what God’s will is requiring of you….

2) Agreement with his designs

Amos 3:2 New King James Version (NKJV) 

2 “You only have I known of all the families of the earth;

Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”

Israel’s status as Yahweh’s chosen people means they are held to a higher standard (see note on Hos 6:6). Knowledge, in this context, refers to their covenant relationship.

3) Mutual affection

Romans 8:38-39 New King James Version (NKJV)

38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul ends this chapter by emphasizing how believers can look forward to Christ’s ultimate victory over earthly suffering and supernatural oppression. God’s plan of salvation has resulted in total victory. Nothing on heaven or earth can separate believers from the love of God in Christ.

4) Enjoyment of His Presence

Psalm 4:6 New King James Version (NKJV) 

6 There are many who say,

“Who will show us any good?”

Lord, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us.

5) Conformity to his image

1 John 2:6 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

1 John 1:6 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;

You may have heard the story about two Christians who were talking about their churches, and in the course of the conversation they compared notes about the greatest thing their respective congregations had accomplished that past year. One of the men gave his version and the other said, “Well, that’s easy. We doubled the size of our parking lot and put up new lights.”

We Christians can often become so wrapped up in doing what we think is God’s work that we have little time left for God.

Our priorities

We can become distracted from our mission, and consider the physical activities of ministry (even though they are necessary) so important that we have little if any time for fellowship with God.

When we are busily engaged in hectic activity on God’s behalf (at least at the time it seems that we are engaged in God’s business) we can forget what Jesus said in Matthew 23:23: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You give a tenth of your spices – mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.”

The teachers and Pharisees lived under the specific and rigorous physical standards of the old covenant. Sometimes we read this and scoff at the nit-picking exactness of those people, but Jesus was not scoffing. He told them that they should have done what the covenant demanded of them.

Jesus’ point was that the physical details were not enough, not even for those who lived under the old covenant – he corrected them for ignoring the deeper spiritual issues.

As Christians we should be busy with our Father’s business. We should be generous with our giving. But in all of our activity – even activity that is directly related to following Jesus Christ – we should not neglect the fundamental reasons why God has called us.

God has called us so we can come to know him.

John 17:3 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

3 And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), Whom You have sent.

It is possible to be so busy with God’s work that we neglect to come to know him. Luke tells us that when Jesus visited the home of Martha and Mary that “Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made” (Luke 10:40). There was nothing wrong with what Martha was doing, but Mary chose to do the most important thing – to spend time with Jesus, to get to know him and to listen to him.

Fellowship with God

Fellowship is the most important thing God wants from us. He wants us to come to know him – to be one with him – to spend time with him. Jesus set an example for us when he slowed the pace of his life to spend time with the Father. He knew the importance of quiet moments. He often went into the mountains to pray. The more mature we become in our relationship with God, the more important this quiet time with God becomes. We look forward to being alone with him. We realize we need to listen to him for comfort and direction in our lives.

When we make fellowship with God a priority, all of the urgent issues in our lives seem to fall into place. When we focus on God he helps us understand the priorities of everything else. Jesus told us to seek the kingdom first, and that all of the other things in life would be taken care of (Matthew 6:33). We can all become so busy with activities that we neglect 1) to spend time with God alone, in prayer, and 2) to meet with others in fellowship with God. If you are stressed out, burning the proverbial candle at both ends, and you don’t know how to accomplish all of the things you have to do in life, perhaps you should consider your spiritual diet.

Our spiritual diet

We may be stressed out and spiritually empty because we are not eating the right kind of bread. The kind of bread I’m talking about is absolutely necessary for our spiritual health and survival. This bread is miraculous bread – in fact, it is the real wonder-bread! It’s the same bread Jesus offered to the first-century Jews. Jesus had just miraculously provided food for the 5,000 (John 6:1-15). He had just walked on the water, and still the crowds asked him for a sign as a reason to believe in him. They explained that their forefathers, the ancient Israelites, received a sign from God, manna, and called it bread from heaven (John 6:31).

The New King James Version Chapter 6

30 Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”

“Those who do not know His word, will always be looking for a sign…”

Jesus responded, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (John 6:33). After they asked Jesus to give them that bread, he declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35).

1. Attend church.

Regularly attend a biblical, gospel-centered church that also administers the sacraments (Baptism and the Lord’s Supper). This is the most important event each week for every Christian—don’t stunt your growth in Christ by missing out on the feast God has prepared for you through the ministry of Word and Sacrament.

2. Read the Bible.

Read and meditate on the Bible daily. God gave us his Word so that we could know him better, understand our need for a savior, and learn how to live in light of the reality of our redemption in Christ. Reading the Bible should be a daily priority for every believer.

3. Serve.

Look for opportunities to serve and care for others who are in need. It’s actually through loving and serving our brothers and sisters in the faith, and our neighbors, that we demonstrate that we do in fact love God (1 John 4:20 and James 1:27).

4. Pray.

Cultivate a life of prayer. Prayer is the lifeblood of the Christian. We don’t only listen to God (through preaching and reading the Bible), but we also are able to talk to God and express our concerns, give him our thanks, ask him for help, and pray for others. Relationships that flourish take time, communication, and attentiveness in an environment of mutual joy and delight. Since you are a child of God through Jesus, you have bold access to the Father through prayer (Heb. 4:16).

Who is putting spiritual bread on your table?

Who is the Source of all your energy and vitality?

Who gives meaning and significance to your life?

Are you taking time to get to know the Bread of life?