"That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; AND TRULY OUR FELLOWSHIP IS WITH THE FATHER AND WITH HIS SON JESUS CHRIST."
1 John 1:3 (NKJV)
• A relationship cannot produce maximally without FELLOWSHIPPING
IT is the fellowship that makes a relationship stands firm.
- Fellowship means sharing together. Having an equal exchange, both parties giving their best. Another word for it is Communion.
- Your Fellowship with God is based on your relationship with Him.
- Fellowship between husband and wife is based on relationship. Fellowship makes married life beautiful (Ephesians 5:22-33).
THE law that binds a man and woman together does not make fellowship. Fellowship is when the man and woman blended together into one—spiritually, physically, and mentally. - The two great objectives in redemption are relationship and Fellowship.
- God wants man to be a partaker of His nature and have communion with Him (2 Peter 1:3,4).
- If you have not accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, you have no relationship with God the Father YET.
- It is only through Christ Jesus one can be a partaker of God's nature: "Jesus said to him, “I AM THE WAY, the truth, and the life. NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME" (John 14:6).
• You are not created to live your life without GOD
HE is your Maker and He has a good plan for you. Whatever plans He has for you may not be realized without a relationship and Fellowship with Him.
- You establish a relationship with Him through the Lord Jesus Christ, before you can have an effective Fellowship with Him.
- Until you have God's nature in you, you cannot fellowship with Him. God's nature is given at New Birth.
WHEN you believe in your heart that Jesus died for your Sin and resurrected for your justification, and you confess it with your mouth, then you are born again (Romans 10:9,10; John 3:3-6).
YOU become a new person: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, HE IS A NEW CREATION; old things have passed away; BEHOLD, ALL THINGS HAVE BECOME NEW" (2 Corinthians 5:17). - As a new creation in Christ Jesus, you are a partaker of the Divine nature of God. And, as a partaker of the Divine nature, you have the life of God in you:
3 AS HIS DIVINE POWER HAS GIVEN TO US ALL THINGS THAT PERTAIN TO LIFE AND GODLINESS, THROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIM who called us by glory and virtue,
4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, THAT THROUGH THESE YOU MAY BE PARTAKERS OF THE DIVINE NATURE, HAVING ESCAPED THE CORRUPTION THAT IS IN THE WORLD THROUGH LUST" (2 Peter 1:3,4 NKJV). - It is by this you establish a relationship with God, and the relationship is deepened by having fellowship or communion with Him.
- Your Fellowship with God is in the spirit: "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).
• If anyone has lost it, it is through FELLOWSHIP
IF you see someone whose faith is weak, it means his or her Fellowship has broken, or ebbed, that is, decreased.
- Joy cannot be made full without Fellowshipping; and you cannot walk in love without FELLOWSHIP.
- There can be no growth in faith, grace, knowledge, and Joy with broken Fellowship.
HOW are your relationship and Fellowshipping with God?
• If you have established a relationship with God, then you start fellowshipping with HIM
- Fellowshipping with God, How?
I. You Fellowship with God by studying the Word and walking in the light of it. To walk in the light of the Word means, living your life according to the Bible—the Word of God. - It is His Word that gives light: "THE ENTRANCE OF YOUR WORDS GIVES LIGHT; It gives understanding to the simple" (Psalm 119:130).
- Light is received through the knowledge of the Word of God.
- You cannot be walking in sin and say you are walking in the light and Fellowshipping with Him: "If we say that we have fellowship with Him, AND WALK IN DARKNESS, we lie and do not practice the truth" (1 John 1:6).
SOMEONE who is living in sin is walking in darkness.
ANYONE who claims to be in Fellowship with God and lives in Sin, lies, and does not practice the truth. - Your life has to be in line with the Word of God. Read the Word, the Bible; study it, meditate or ponder on it.
LET the Word have a place in your Life, let it be your number one priority. Give room to it in your Life! - As you do that, you are giving a place to God in your Life.
GOD and His Word are inseparable, giving the Word of God a place in your Life means giving God Himself a place in your Life.
II. Also, you Fellowship with God through PRAYER
A. Prayer is a dialogue, and not a monologue. Dialoguing with God is about the highest form of prayer. It is about telling God whatever is going on in your mind, sharing whatever you are going through with Him.
- You bring His Word before Him in prayer, and give Him the reasons, why He should consider whatever you are sharing with Him or asking Him to do.
- It is the amount of light you have in you that determines the depth of your prayer, or communion with God.
IF the level of the light, the Word of God, in you is high, your prayer life or communion with Him would be high as well. - The Word of God you know, or have in you, determines the effectiveness of your communication and communion with God.
THE Word of God is the language of God, the language He understands. - If you do not understand His language, how would you communicate with Him effectively?
WHEN God is saying Yes you will be saying No! Because you cannot understand Him. Thus there would be no Fellowship! - It means you cannot Flow with Him, reason with Him, and see things in His point of view.
THUS far you cannot Fellowship with Him.
B. You also Fellowship with God by praying in the language of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:2; Jude 1:20). - When you pray in the Spirit, you are communicating with God: "FOR HE [she] WHO SPEAKS IN A TONGUE does not speak to men BUT TO GOD, for no one understands him [her]; however, IN THE SPIRIT HE [she] SPEAKS MYSTERIES" (1 Corinthians 14:2).
YOU build yourself up by praying in the language of the Spirit: "HE WHO SPEAKS IN A TONGUE EDIFIES [builds up] HIMSELF, but he who prophesies edifies the church" (1 Corinthians 14:4). - Praying in the language of the Holy Spirit strengthens and deepens your Fellowship, your communion with God (Romans 8:26; Jude 1:20).
- When you pray in the language of the Holy Spirit, your spirit is charged, and your mind is made sensitive to receive from God. YOU easily receive directions and instructions on whatever you want to do, that you do not know how to go ABOUT.
• I want to enjoin you to accept Jesus as your Saviour and Lord. That links you with GOD
- Also, start studying and meditating on the Word. Use the Word you know in prayer.
- Tell God things that bothers your mind, reminding Him of what His Word says about whatever you are talking about—the subject of your prayer.
- Talk to God about every aspect, every department, of your life: career, business, finances, health, home, assignment or ministry, and whatever.
GOD also is interested about where you live, what you eat, what you wear, He cares to KNOW all.
TELL it all, tell Him everything! TELL it to God, He will help you! - One of the greatest duty a man would ever perform for his family is the duty of prayers.
IT is a Stern duty to be performed by the Head of the family.
• Start a new fellowship with God TODAY
- There should be a time of praying together as a family. A time that husband, wife, and children pray together.
- Most importantly, there should be a time to pray as an individual, when you talk to God intimately and Fellowship with Him.
- Fellowshipping with God does necessarily mean a particular time of Prayer. You can be going about your daily activities and still be conversing with Him, having a Fellowship with Him.
REMEMBER, Fellowship means sharing together. It also means Communion, and Communion is the state of sharing and exchanging thoughts and feelings.
THUS you can be doing whatever you are doing and still be conversing, exchanging thoughts and feelings with God.
• You will not miss it in Jesus' name.
Peace!