Sis. Christina Phang
15-11-2020
The Bible tells us that we have been chosen to fellowship. What does true fellowship mean for us as a fellowship of believers in FGA? Sometimes we think fellowship means meeting people, saying “Hi” and saying “Bye”. We hear about the sufferings in this world and the diseases that happen around us. But really, what do you think is the deadliest disease that we face here on earth? Is it cancer? Or heart disease? Today, a lot of people are suffering from the disease of loneliness. When we think of loneliness, what picture comes to your mind? We think of people being alone, dejected and travelling the road alone, and suffering alone.
How many people in this crowd are actually lonely? When we were able to come to church, we are a church of many people. Many people come and go. We have many services. Do we ever notice the people who are lonely amongst us? I had a conversation once with someone who told me that she and her husband attended FGA Sunday Services for over one year and they didn’t connect with anyone until they started attending one of the home fellowships. As Christian disciples, how do we actually reach out to the lonely?
If we all agree that loneliness is a deadly disease, then as members of FGA, ask ourselves this question: “What and how can we do more to meet this great need in humanity?” It has to start with a community that God has put us in.
Biblical fellowship is
not just about having a meal together. Biblical fellowship is more than just
the fun activities that we do together.
Once we understand the
meaning of true fellowship, then how as a group of believers in FGA that we can
go about to achieve that true essence of fellowship?
In Greek, the word is koinonia.
We talk about being in small groups but really, the essence of fellowship as
described in the Bible is:
·
Sharing
together of our lives
·
Sharing
of what we have with each other
To put it plainly, we need to see fellowship in Christ as our common life together. When the Bible talks about fellowship, it is a time when believers get together and how we would do life together.
In the early church in the Book of Acts, in the gathering of the saints, fellowship was a great priority. For them, that’s what they do day in, day out—they do it so often that they gathered together in their homes and they shared everything together.
The writer in Hebrews encourages the church and us today that we should meet together so that we can spur each other on, that we can learn to build each other up and that we can learn how to live this common life together.
When we are knitted in Christ, we are knitted in one mission and one goal. In the early churches, as they got together, God just multiplied their numbers. More people were added into the church on a daily basis. That is what the Lord desires of us as a fellowship of believers. God intends us to be that community that would impact many around us. We become God’s blessing machine. That is true koinonia in the church. We carry the fragrance of Jesus.
The early church sent out Paul and Barnabas and they reached out to the Gentiles for the Lord. This time of communion of seeking God in His Word and learning to listen to God together as a fellowship group is so important. As we share God’s blessing and His Word with each other, we ourselves get to grow individually and as a group.
The early church also really took care of the needs of the people within that fellowship that needed help. There are a lot of needs around us and sometimes we don’t even know where to start. But really, the early church shared everything that they had freely. Some even had to sell off everything that they had to help their fellow early church Christians. Ask ourselves: “Are we aware of the needs of the people within our church? What are we doing as believers of Jesus Christ to meet their needs?” We see in Acts 2:45 that they went beyond their four walls and beyond their own community. They also helped others and others in the community were also blessed because the Christians saw that need of going out. Well, it’s true that the non-Christians are also doing it. How much more should we as a fellowship of believers come together to share that need?
Achieving True Fellowship
1. Admit our need for each other
“Since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to
each other, and each of us needs all the others” Romans 12:5b (NLT)
There are often a number of hindrances that prevents us from admitting
that we need each other. These may include pride, status, fear of rejection or
being misunderstood. We are afraid to let down our guard because people may
look down on us.
As the church of Jesus Christ, we at FGA need to create that environment
and space for everyone to feel that they can let down their guards and admit
their need for help.
2. Connect to a Home Fellowship or Life Group
“Now all of you together are Christ’s body and each of
you is a separate and necessary part of it” 1 Corinthians 12:27
(NLT)
I was very surprised when I was told that based on a recent survey
conducted by the church pre-COVID 19 that only 40% (or less) of the people
attending FGA Sunday Services are attached to either a home fellowship (HF) or
a youth ministry or young adults cell group (CG) or life group.
While we are all have different needs and also giftings—we need to be connected
to a small group for us to experience true koinonia and to be a part of
the exciting thing that happens in the community of God.
“The body that we are talking about is Christ’s body
of chosen people. Each of us find meaning and function as part of his body” Romans 12:5a (MSG)
Be part of this group to discover God’s destiny for you and the role
that He has for you to play in His kingdom. In the early church, fellowship was
a really high priority. Fellowship requires commitment—work and maintain the
relationships that we have started. If you do not set aside time to get
together with like-minded people in FGA, you really don’t know what you’re
missing.
Reasons for avoiding fellowship
- I’m too busy –
this is the most common excuse – if you do not set aside time to
fellowship, you don’t know what you are missing!!
- I’m afraid – don’t
know if I’m good enough – not sure if I really want people to get to know
the real me
- It’s hard for me
to trust people – sorry if you have been wounded before – take step of
faith forward
- I don’t need it –
other people need fellowship more than me – we saw that the early church
members all participated actively and what was the outcome?
You don’t have to face your challenges alone. We are all in the same
family; we are here to encourage one another. We are all sinners saved by grace
through faith in Christ. Together, we can discover hope in Jesus.
3. Devote ourselves to each other
“Be devoted to each other in brotherly love. Honor one
another above yourselves” Romans 12:10 (NIV)
Consider others better than yourself—what would you do when someone in
your fellowship is struggling or is hurting?
The Bible likens the church as to the physical body—when our foot hurts,
we can’t ignore it nor can we just cut it out! So it is with our fellowship
group—even when we have folks that may be different from us, those who may be
difficult to deal with, we need to pray and ask the Lord for more grace to love
them and walk with them. We need to devote ourselves to each other in brotherly
love.
“…love one another…” 1 John 4:7
“...encouraging one another…” Hebrews 10:25
“...serve one another…” Galatians 5:13
We are called to be a FAITHFUL COMMUNITY. It’s really well worth your
effort because it is through real fellowship that we will experience the joy
and fulfillment that from life-giving relationships centred on Christ.
We are God’s chosen treasure, His royal priesthood, a people belonging
God. Let’s pursue true fellowship in our respective small groups so that
together we will become a BIG FAITHFUL COMMUNITY that will impact the lives of
many in our city and our nation.
Reflections:
1.
How
are we forming life-giving friendships with each other? How are we encouraging
and spurring each other on to do good works and to be able to see the gospel
being shared and being spread in the most natural way as we go about doing our
daily things?
2.
What
can we do to create that safe environment for
believers, especially for new believers and even old believers, that they would
come and say that they want to be part of that group and that community?
RELATED:
Commissioned to Reach Out Together
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