Fellowship with God Before Fellowship with Each Other - Zac Poonen - April 3, 2019
http://rlcfchurch.org/fellowship-god-before-each-other River of Life Christian Fellowship 1306 N Lincoln Avenue Loveland, Colorado - 80537, USA
Summary
The speaker warns that the decline of the church is easy, citing historical examples like Ephesus. He emphasizes that true Christian life requires prioritizing fellowship with the Father over fellowship with other believers. He points to the fullness of joy, peace, and righteousness in the Holy Spirit as key indicators of genuine spiritual health, cautioning against the danger of the church becoming merely a social club.
Outline
The message in plain words, in the order it unfolds. Select a time to jump the video to that moment.
Reading 1 John in the shadow of early church declineJohn wrote his epistle as an old man at the end of the first century, having witnessed many churches fall into backsliding shortly after the apostles planted them, which serves as a sobering warning for believers today.
What John emphasizes and what he leaves outAfter decades of watching Christianity develop, John focuses his writing not on external gifts or church patterns, but on the eternal life manifested in Jesus and the twofold fellowship with the Father and one another.
Joy as an indicator of spiritual healthJust as doctors check blood pressure and sugar levels to determine physical health, believers must check their inner joy and peace as vital indicators of whether they are truly abiding in God's presence.Romans 14:17
Preventing the church from becoming a clubHuman fellowship can easily degrade into a social club if it is not secondary to our vertical fellowship with the Father and Jesus Christ, ensuring we are not just happy together but sensitive to our consciences.
Understanding different degrees of fellowshipEven Jesus had closer circles of fellowship with certain disciples like Peter, James, and John, which was based on their spiritual choices rather than human partiality or favoritism.
Coming to Jesus out of a thirst for deliveranceGod has no partiality, and drawing close to Him depends entirely on a person's desperate thirst and being sick and tired of a defeated life.Matthew 11:28
Fighting the good fight of faith to lay hold of eternal lifePaul's instruction to Timothy to lay hold of eternal life is about resisting the lusts of the flesh, whereas Satan is already a defeated foe whom we simply resist.1 Timothy 6:12
Eternal life defined as knowing GodJesus defines eternal life in John 17 as a growing process of knowing the Father as the absolute authority over every area of life and knowing Jesus Christ whom He sent.John 17:3
Manifesting the life of God through our bodiesEternal life is a divine quality of life that the Holy Spirit can manifest through human eyes, tongues, and actions, reflecting God's patience, mercy, and purity.
Listening to the gentle whispers of conscienceKeeping a radically pure conscience requires paying attention not just to major sins, but to the gentle whispers of the Spirit regarding minor things like the tone of our voice.
Choosing the way of death to selfInstead of reacting with suspicion or hurt when insulted, believers must make the conscious choice to have the reaction of a dead man, claiming the promise that dying with Christ leads to living with Him.
The head connection determines horizontal unityTrue fellowship among believers resembles two hands connected to the same head; unity comes from each person maintaining a vertical connection to God rather than forced social proximity.
Walking as Jesus walked versus having His ministryBelievers are never commanded to replicate the miraculous ministry of Jesus or the apostles, but rather to walk by the fundamental principle by which He lived: denying His own will to do the Father's will.1 John 2:6
Applying vertical fellowship to marriage and relationshipsThe secret to deep fellowship in marriage and among believers is walking with God, overlooking wrongs, and refusing to keep an account of past offenses just as God does.
Walking in the light as the basis for fellowshipWhile we can forgive everyone, true spiritual fellowship is contingent upon both parties walking in the light, with sin being confessed strictly within the appropriate circle where it was committed.1 John 1:7
