Fellowship Matters

Acts 2:42-47
42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper[i]), and to prayer. 43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity[j]—47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

Fellowship is a word derived from the original word which means communion or forming a community. A community is a group of people who share common interests. But a fellowship or Christian community isn't meant to be an ordinary gathering of people. We are meant to gather together with one mind and one accord. The passage of scripture above says a lot about what's wrong with the church today. The people of the first real church of the New Testament met together daily. They like each other! They even hung out on days other than the sabbath. The scripture says they shared everything they had, not in some communistic society but they freely shared due to genuine concern for one another. They worshipped together at the temple everyday! Can you imagine if we tried to have church everyday. How many services would you make? I'm not blaming you there are churches I've been involved in that I didn't want to attend every service. Some I have pastored were hard to go to. So what made this church different? Were they just super-spritiual? No. Clearly they weren't because we know that they had their issues just like we do. The one thing I can see is they had a common purpose. They knew why they had a church, they understood their purpose, and they had a clear plan to accomplish their goals.

This church wasn't built to serve those who would attend although it did just that when necessary. It wasn't built as an outreach location, though as we see in this scripture it also served that purpose. In fact, this church wasn't about a building at all. We can see from the passage they had just as much success and fellowship in their homes were they also frequently met. This church wasn't a dead dry formal or religious location is was vibrant. They stayed true to their purpose and they saw the power of God demonstrated regularly. The scripture finally says that the Lord added to the church daily those that were saved. Notice here that the Lord added to the church. They didn't all converge in a room to determine whom they wanted to add they let God lead and determine who these new members would be.

It doesn't sound like this church was filled with committees or those who controlled its doing but rather genuine believers with little concern for their status in the fellowship. You see fellowship isn't about me it's about us. Fellowship means I care about others welfare right along with my own. It's a place where you can come to find refuge. A place were you don't have to worry about your past rather you can find out about the brightness of your future. I know, this sounds like a Utopian society but is it?

Does this passage of scripture describe your church? I have to admit my church is far from this model. What is our purpose? What are our goals? One thing is certain we need to get back to the simplicity with which these people lived. I would guess that if our churches meet with the criteria above they would be equally vibrant, they would be growing. One mind, one accord, constantly in prayer and fellowship. Prayer for one another. God help us to return to the values of the church you established. Help us to remember why we are here. Help us to find our purpose and work hand in hand toward it's completion.