Things We Share in Common with Other Believers - Fellowship, Part 1

Father, as we come to your word, we ask that we would direct, we would be directed by you, that we might honor you in all that we do and say in Jesus name, Amen Today, we want to talk about things we share in common with other believers Things that we share in common with other believers Where do we get that idea from? It's a Greek word called Kononia, and it tells us that it is something that we share in common with every other believer in Christ So, we're going to cover some of those things today. I find this word interesting in the New Testament

It is never used in the New Testament until after the birth of the church After the birth of the church, Acts chapter 2, verse 42, we read, And they were continuing devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship and to Kononia, to the breaking of bread and of prayer Why now is this word introduced? Because every believer shared these things in common Those of us who have traveled and have met other believers in other countries, you know immediately that you share things in common, and it is expressed among us as believers So, we want to look at the fact that we are in Christ

Every Christian is in Christ We don't have to worry about whether someone left out or did this person get, if you are a believer, then we are in Christ Second Corinthians 5.17 says, Therefore, if any man is in Christ, this person is a new creation The old things have passed away Behold, all things have become new Now, why does it speak that way? Old things have passed away Behold, all things have become new Because he is talking about our position in Christ That is how Christ sees us

Do we still stumble? Do we still make mistakes? Yes, we do, because we are still carrying around this old body of ours But positionally, all things have become new Old things have passed away So, he brings this to us that we might understand that we are in Christ Jesus And when we see this, we come to understand what it is that God has in store for us And as we see this, we continue to praise him for who he is Look at Ephesians 2, verses 1-7

And you were dead in your offenses of sin, in which you previously walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience Among them we too all previously lived in the lust of our flesh, indulging in the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the rest

But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love in which he has loved us, even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved, and raised us up with him, and seated us in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come, he might show the boundless riches of his kindness toward us Paul, through the Holy Spirit, reminds us of where we came from, not to shame us, but to remind us of the greatness of God's mercy He says, and you were dead in your offenses Tim just asked a question when he quoted

He says, what can a dead man do? We were dead in our trespasses and sins, which you previously walked in according to this world Now there are some of us that think, well, we weren't that bad when we was out there You know, we just was a little bit No, he says, we all previously walked in this manner, according to the prince of the power of the air, and of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience, letting us know that disobedience is still going on in the world, and that used to be in us, but that's the way we used to walk, and then we come to that word, but God

Contrast, we acted this way over here Now something has changed Being rich in mercy because of his great love in which he has loved us, even while we were dead, made us alive together with Christ, and he has seated us in heavenly places in Christ Jesus Another phrase that talks about our position with Christ

It tells us that the moment that we became saved, God seated us in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, even though he left us to walk around here on this earth, but he has called us to something that we might come to understand what it is that he has done, and how it is that God brings this to us, and what it is that he wants us to do, and then in verse 7 he says, Ephesians chapter 2 verse 7, so that in the ages to come he might show the boundless riches of his grace in kindness toward us Boundless has no end The word actually means to throw beyond anything Throw, yes, physically throw

When I was thinking about this and preparing this, I thought I was a quarterback in high school. I could probably still throw about 30 yards, and then I looked on the internet and found out that Randall Cunningham could throw it for about 76 yards, but you know this isn't about which one of us can throw the furthest It's about God, who what he does is beyond everything That's why it says his boundless riches of his glory In heaven, it's as if you and I would be on God's mantelpiece, and he would point and say, see I saved that person through the boundlessness of his grace

That's why he has done this

Paul would tell us something about this in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verses 49. I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given me in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in him, in all speech and in all knowledge, just as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gifts, as you eagerly wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless on that day of the Lord Jesus Christ, God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with his son, Jesus Christ our Lord

Our God is faithful, and he will confirm us to the end, that we will be blameless Why? Because God is faithful, through whom we were called into fellowship in his son, Jesus Christ our Lord Every Christian has been called into this fellowship in Christ Jesus None of us like that We all have it Each one of us in Christ Now that we have seen that we are in Christ, let's talk about some of our duties We are to walk in the light. 1 John chapter 5, I'm sorry, 1 John chapter 1, verses 5 through 7 Now just a quick note about this epistle, 1 John

It doesn't tell you how to get saved, but it tells you who the saved folks are So when you read through this, it's going to point out to you who the saved people are And he says, starting at verse 5, this is the message that we have heard from him and announced to you that God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another in the blood of Jesus Christ, his son cleanses us from all sin John says the one thing that we have heard and we declare unto you that in God there is light, and in him there is no darkness at all Now there's another thing that John does in his writings, he always compares, and he always compares only two So here he's comparing light with darkness He says God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all

And if we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth Why, John? Why would you give that to us? Because God is light, in him there is no darkness at all, and if my lifestyle is more darkness than light, guess what? I'm lying about who I am That's what the scripture says He says, but if we walk in the light, then we have fellowship with him With who? We have fellowship with God Why, we are now sharing the same thing in common God is light, and you and I are reflecting that light

He says, and then the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, will cleanse us from all sin He is laying out to us what it is that he has called for us to do, that we might walk in the light This word walk in the New Testament, it means to make one's way or progress Simply means to take one step after the other That's what it means That's what the word walk means But then they brought it over into the Hebrew from a Hebrew idiom, which means to live, or to regulate one's life

So when we see this word used in the New Testament, and it tells us that we are to walk in him, it says we are to regulate our lives, so that we are living according to Jesus Christ Just a little further on in this letter, John would address our conduct again First John chapter 2, starting at verse 3 He says, by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments The one who says that I have come to know him, and does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him But whoever follows his word in him, the love of God has truly been perfected

By this we know that we are in him The one who says that he remains in him, ought himself to walk, just as he walked We ought to conduct our lives, just as he conducted his life He says, you know, in verse 3, John is telling us how we can know that we are in Christ And the key phrase there is, if we keep his commandments And then in verse 4 he says, the one who says, I have come to know him, and does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him John is clear in his writings, that you are either in Christ, or you're not You know him, or you do not

You are in the truth, or you are a liar And what evidence does he use? Keeping his commandments That's how we tell, if we are in him, or not The phrase, I have come to know him, you might say, I am a Christian Or someone else might say, I am a follower of Christ John is saying, it doesn't matter what phrase or term we use The one who says that I have come to know him, and does not keep his commandments, is a liar And the truth is not in him Paul would say something similar to that in 2 Corinthians chapter 10, and verse 18. 2 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 18

For it is not the one who commends himself that is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends It's not saying that I am a Christian, that makes me approved of God It's when God says that I am a Christian, that I am approved of him Many today would claim to be in Christ, but would walk contrary to that So the scripture wants us to understand that there's a pattern that we are to walk in So let's go back to 1 John chapter 2, verse 5 But whoever follows his word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected By this we know that we are in him

The one who follows the word of God, by this we know that we are in him John goes on in verse 6 and says, the one who says that he remains in him ought himself also to walk just as he walked That's why the people in Antioch would call the disciples little Christians But we get the term Christians because they saw them living as Christ had lived So they would say, hey, look at him Yeah, he's a little Christ See, they did it to poke fun, but it was something that the Christians could grab because this is what the scripture calls us to do, to walk as he walked

And when we see this, it helps us to understand where it is that God would have us to go We have seen that we are in Christ and that we are to walk in the light Next, we ought to see that we are to walk by faith We are to walk by faith Colossians chapter 2, verses 6 and 7 Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him Having been firmly rooted and now being built up in him and established in your faith just as you were instructed and overflowing with gratitude Therefore, as you have received Christ the Lord How did you receive Christ the Lord? By faith

That's how we received Christ the Lord Then he tells us, so walk in him Walk in him how? Walk in him by faith So when we think about this question, how did we receive Christ? Ephesians 2, 8 and 9 tells us, For by grace we have been saved through faith, and that not ourselves It is the gift of God, not as a result of works lest any man should boast You and I didn't bring anything to the table as it was God gave us a gift of grace and of faith And he did that so you and I would not boast about it

You don't believe there's boasting going on? Talk to some of those who ride the bicycles and come to your house Ask them how they get saved They will tell you that we get saved after all that we can do What is that? That's bragging It's actually written in their book, the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 25, 23 For we know that we are saved by grace after all that we can do What does Ephesians say? There's nothing that you can do We, as people, would brag He takes that boasting away, that we might come to know that we are God

So how does one live by faith? Faith is believing in what God has already said Last week in our message, we talked to you about God When he took Abraham outside and said, look up toward the heaven and count the stars if you can count them And he said to him, so shall your descendants be Then he, Abraham, believed God, and it was credited unto him for righteousness Genesis 15, 5 and 6 That was not the first time that Abraham believed God It's the first time it was recorded for us Go back to Genesis chapter 12, verses 1 through 4

Now the Lord said to Abram, go from your country and from your relatives and from your father's house to a land which I will show you and I will make you a great nation and I will bless you and I will make your name great and you shall be a blessing and I will bless those who bless you and the ones who curse you I will curse and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed So Abram went away as the Lord has spoken to him and Lot went with him Now Abraham was 75 years old when he departed from Elan

Why did Abraham at 75 years old take his wife and his nephew and leave his country? Because he believed God God didn't say, Abraham, I want you to leave and I want you to go to this particular place or that particular place He says, Abraham, I want you to leave and I want you to go to a place that I will show you When did he show it to him? After he was taking this journey That's living by faith and that's what you and I are called to do We are called to live by faith and we must believe what God has already said Hebrews chapter 11 verse 1 from the Legacy Bible

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things unseen Abraham had the assurance of the things that God has promised him and if you would ask him, why is it that you are convinced of this? He would say because God has told me You and I need to look into the word of God and then know that when God directs us in an area that that is what it is that we ought to do

In 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verses 6 to 8, therefore be in all ways of good courage and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord but we walk by faith not by sight but we are of good courage and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord Paul said he had come to understand some things He says as long as I'm on this earth I'm absent from home but I've come to understand that while I am on this earth I walk by faith and not by sight

But now you ask me what my preference is? Paul would say yes, I would rather be absent from the body and to be home with the Lord but while I am here I walk by faith and not by sight. I don't have to see it Paul would later on say who hopes for what he already has? Nobody is hoping for a good soft seat You're already sitting in one He said that's what he's talking about You don't hope for what you already have but that hope is alive for those things that you have been promised and in scripture that word hope is an assured expectation What makes it assured? Because God said so

That's what he is bringing to us and want us to understand So we have covered We are in Christ and we are to walk in the light and we are to walk by faith Now he wants us to understand that we are to expect trouble in our walk See we just love the comforts of life We just love those things that make us happy but God wants us to understand that there's going to be some things that's going to be uncomfortable in this life and so he warns us of them and help us to understand them Look at 1 Peter chapter 4 starting at verse 12 And be overjoyed

If you are insulted for the name of Christ you are blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rest upon you Make sure that no one of you suffer as a murderer or as a thief or an evildoer or a troublesome meddler But if anyone suffers as a Christian he is not to be ashamed but is to glorify God in his name For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God

If it begins with us what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if it is with difficulties that the righteous is saved what will become of the godless man and the sinner? Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God ought to entrust their souls to a faithful creator in doing what is right Amen Amen He says when these things come upon you don't be surprised that these things are happening to you as they are something strange But indeed when you suffer as you share in the sufferings of Christ keep on rejoicing Now Peter makes an assumption there

He says as you come in the sufferings of Christ keep on rejoicing The assumption is you are already rejoicing So just keep on rejoicing If we're not doing that then it's a reminder that that's what we ought to do Why? He said because these things come to us to test us But then he says do not be convicted of being a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or even just a troublesome meddler You know, troublesome meddler those who go around in other people's business and then you get your feelings hurt He said that's not suffering for Christ He said that's because of your bad behavior

Just as if you were a thief and you got caught and you would say, well, I'm suffering No, you're not suffering for Christ You got caught as a thief and there's rules against stealing and all of that He said, but if you are insulted for Christ then know that the glory of God rests upon you God approves of your action because you were insulted for his sake There's one thing to take the gospel to a person Peter says when we do that do it in meekness and gentleness because if my behavior offends the unbeliever then that's on me If God's word offends the unbeliever then that's on the unbeliever

He says for us, we are to walk in this way knowing that trouble is going to come upon us But when we do that then we are to understand that trouble will come Jesus told his disciples in John chapter 15 starting at verse 18 If the world hates you you know that it hated me before it hated you If you were of the world the world would love you as its own but because you are not of the world but I have chosen you out of the world because of this the world hates you Remember that the word that I said to you a slave is not greater than his master If they persecuted me they will persecute you as well

If they follow my words they will follow your words also But all these things they will do to you on my account of my name because they do not know the one who has sent me Why do they persecute us? Because they don't know the one who has sent us Remember Peter not long after that him and John would go preaching the gospel They see this man They heal him in Acts chapter 3 and a uproar came to the city Look at Acts chapter 4 starting at verse 1

It says as they were speaking to the people the priest and the captains of the temple guard and the Sadducees came upon them being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead They are proclaiming that Jesus has been raised from the dead What did Jesus just tell them? You're going to be persecuted because of my name

Here these guys are already facing verse 3 and they laid hands on them and put them in prison until the next day for it was already evening but many of those who had heard the message believed and the number of the men came to about 5,000 The last time a number is given in the scripture about the believers We saw that there was 11 faithful believers Then there was 500 believers Paul tells us about And then in Acts early it tells us that there was 3,000 Now he says it has grown to 5,000 Every time after that it just says the multitude You know what I like about this passage? They rush in

They're going to put a stop to this thing They're going to put them in prison but it says many who have already heard have already believed It's too late guys It's already over They've already believed Then in verse 5 of Acts chapter 4 it says that on the next day their rulers and the elders and the scribes they came together in Jerusalem and Anna's were there the high priest and Caiaphas John and Alexander and all those of the high priestly descent

And when they had placed them in the center they began to inquire by what power or what name have you done this? I love it when I'm asked a question because see when you're asked a question you can give an answer Friday night one of the guys asked me now he was a believer but he asked the question can you explain to us how God holds all of this together that we're looking at from a biblical perspective We went to Colossians and we talked about the fact that the Bible says in Jesus all these things consist They are held together by his power Not one molecule is out

These guys have asked the question would you tell us by what name that you have done this? Verse 8 Peter then filled with the Holy Spirit said unto them rulers and elders of the people if we are on trial today for the benefit done to this sick man as to how this man has been made well then let it be known to you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene whom you crucified whom God raised from the dead by this name this man stands before you in good health

He is the stone which was rejected by you the builders but which became the chief cornerstone and there is salvation in no other name for there is no name under heaven given that has been given among mankind whereby we must be saved

Peter said you ask me why we preaching this name because this is the name the same man that you crucified that God raised from the dead and in the Old Testament he's already told you that the builders would reject him he says I want you to know that you are the builders who have rejected him but God has raised him up and made him the chief cornerstone and there is no other name under heaven whereby men must be saved

Peter said we're not looking for another we already know and we are convinced of it and we keep preaching and guys if you follow this passage and follow it through you will note that they threatened these guys and tell them don't you preach in this name anymore So they went back to the group and said guys they have threatened us and in this threat they wanted them to understand something that God had done something in them

So they pointed out to them as they threatened us let us pray and they were in their prayer they would quote from the second psalm why have the nations and the people imagined these vain things they would quote God's word back to him and then they would say God give to us the courage that we might go out and preach the word of God with boldness and then it says that they went out and preached the word of God with boldness

By the way they weren't trying to be bold they were just trying to be obedient that's all that God called us to is obedience that we would obey him and then watch him work. I had to chuckle I had a little situation Friday Donna had made a purchase online I don't know how she did it she made the purchase told me to go pick it up so I go pick it up so the guys waiting for me to get there and so I said how are you doing he said I'm doing good thanks to the Lord so I paid him for the item and as I'm loading it in the van I said you said thanks to the Lord is that just a phrase you use he said no I'm saved I said oh you are he said yeah I'm saved I said well if today was your last day on earth where would you spend eternity he said in heaven with God and why would you get to do that he said because John 3.16 says that he gave his son that whosoever believes in him he said I believe in him I call upon him I said where are you fellowshipping at he said I fellowship over at the Baptist church in Pomona I said ok I said I'm at Christ community church so I'm continuing loading my thing in the car and so then the guy said to me hey are you saved too I thought that was so neat I just told him I was going to Christ community church that wasn't good enough for him he wanted to know are you saved too yes brother I'm saved two believers in a moment of time have an opportunity to encourage one another that's what he that's what we have been called to we have looked at these things the last one we looked at was we are to expect trouble now we want to look at the fact that we have a rest at the end of our walk we don't get the rest now but we have a rest at the end of our walk 2 Peter chapter 3 verses 11 and 13 he says since all these things are to be destroyed in this way what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness looking for and hastening the coming day of God because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning and the elements will melt in intense heat but according to his promise we are looking for a new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells we can look around us in our world today and we can know that righteousness is not dwelling here but he wants us to understand that there is a day coming where God has preserved for us a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells righteousness dwells what does that mean? that means that there will be no unrighteous thoughts there forget about deeds there will be no unrighteous thoughts there because God has preserved it for us God wants us to know that as he has promised these things to us that there is a promise that there is a rest and that rest is in the new heaven and the new earth where righteousness dwells we have looked at today we are in Christ this speaks of security he has seated us in heavenly places in Christ Jesus that tells us we are secure in him we have looked at that we are to walk in the light that gives us directions when we read the word of God it gives us directions for our lives we have learned that we are to walk in faith this gives us confidence in God's word Paul said to Titus God who cannot lie has promised so he has given to us his word when we experience troubles we are reminded that God is keeping his promise he says in this world you will have trouble but I have overcome the world when we are reminded that we have a rest at the end of our walk it shows us the boundless grace of our heavenly father it shows us of the boundless grace of our heavenly father he could never even come close to running out of grace he just keeps on giving it to us keep on building us up that we might understand this father we thank you for our time together today thank you for Jesus Christ our lord thank you for the privilege of prayer if there are those here who do not know you we pray that they would understand that today is a day of salvation we pray this in Jesus name Amen