We don’t ever produce Christian fellowship – only God does. The dictionary definition of fellowship is as follows: partnership with others in a business, social, or fraternal organization; membership at a local church; partnership and support of the Gospel; Heavenly love that fills the hearts of believers for God and for one another – agape love. The last one is the one I want to concentrate on. Do you now, or have you in the past, found yourself feeling lonely? Have you ever felt lonely or wished that you had friends that were closer, that you could be more open with, that you could have a closer, tight-knit relationship with, or even that you could pray with? Have you ever felt the need for that? I’m going to let you in on a little personal secret, I have a need like that right now. I don’t know very many people well enough to have that kind of fellowship very frequently. I know some, but not as many as I would like, and not as many as I think the Lord would like me to have. Fellowship is always a two-way street. Fellowship can be a blessing to you, but your fellowship can be a blessing to other brothers and sisters in God’s family.

Talking about fellowship is a little bit like trying to explain to someone who’s never eaten ice cream, what ice cream tastes like. If you know the kind of fellowship I’m talking about, then you know what I mean. If you haven’t experienced it, then you don’t know and I don’t have any way to explain it to you adequately. Think of your closest friendship and how meaningful that has been or was to you. Christian fellowship goes way beyond that. Christian fellowship is having that conscious relationship with Jesus Christ, and sharing that relationship with another person who has the same relationship. It’s like the Holy Spirit carries out communication between us without us even talking. There is a closeness involved that is pretty wonderful. This fellowship is deeper, more satisfying, and more meaningful than any mere human love whether social, parental, marital or any other relationship. That’s a pretty strong statement, but it is true. Spiritual fellowship in the Lord Jesus Christ goes beyond every other human relationship. We can only have this fellowship after we become Christians. In other words, after I invite Jesus Christ into my life, after I commit my life to Him and begin a spiritual journey through life, only then am I in position to have spiritual fellowship with other people who are on this same journey.

There are all kinds of places where people have close relationships that somewhat approximate (although they don’t near reach) what this kind of spiritual fellowship does. Having served quite a bit in the military, I know that many military people develop really close relationships just by serving on the same bases and going through the same experiences, particularly if they go through combat together. They develop a comradery, a relationship to each other that you don’t share with too many other people. There’s a closeness that occurs amidst really diverse people who maybe, if they had not shared that experience, wouldn’t have even been friends. But after going through some shared experiences they are bonded together. They love and care about each other. Christian fellowship is like that, only more so. I’d like to talk about a number of different kinds of fellowship. This month we’ll focus on the fellowship of worship, fellowship of love, and the fellowship of peace.

As Christians we can experience the fellowship of worship. The word "worship" actually means "worth-ship." There’s someone whose worth my adoration and my worship – God is worthy of our worship. There is a little bit of knowledge required to worship God. I have to know three things. First of all, I have to know that He IS. Secondly, I have to know that He can be KNOWN. Thirdly, I have to see Him, in all His glory and perfection, as who He really is. Because when in our hearts and minds we see ourselves in right relationship to God, He is righteous and holy – and we are not. That’s the starting place. The starting place is to recognize that difference and my own need. The beautiful thing is that He loves us and wants to call us to Himself. He wants to embrace us. He wants to forgive us our sins. He wants to take us into His family and to experience the kind of fellowship we’re talking about. Sometimes people raise the question, "Why is it necessary to come together as a church?" The answer is because that is the very initial, elementary basis for worship, and for establishing relationships of fellowship that go way beyond just what we can experience on a Sunday morning together. The fellowship of worship together is important. If you are involved in worshiping God and realize that there is another brother or sister also involved, the Holy Spirit works in your hearts and there is a sense of love and fellowship just by being in the same room together worshiping God. It brings a sense of closeness. That is not the end of fellowship. We can go beyond that, but that in itself is wonderful. When I look at someone whom I know loves Jesus Christ, and see the smile and sense of commitment on their face while they sing, that just inspires me. It does me good because I know we really share something in common. We share the most basic that we could possibly experience – a love and commitment to Jesus Christ. That is the fellowship of worship.

As Christians, we can experience the fellowship of love. There is something about being in God’s family that’s about living in an atmosphere of love. In Corinthians, Paul defines this Christian love: "Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.

It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]. Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]." (I Corinthians 13:4-8, Amplified). When you are with people that love you with that kind of love, you are comfortable and relax. You know that if you say something that perhaps you hadn’t thought through, or that wasn’t the right thing to say, no one is going to smash you. No one is going to use it against you because everyone loves you, and you love them. It’s a wonderful place to be – the fellowship of love. Not all churches are the family of God. Not every person in the church is part of the family of God. I’m not saying that there is never a harsh word or a problem in a church. I am saying that it is possible, and it is God’s will, for us to live in the fellowship of love.

As Christians we can experience the fellowship of peace. In John 14:27 Jesus says, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." It is a verse that’s many times, for obvious reasons, read at funerals. Interestingly enough, it’s even read at non-Christian funerals. They still read the verse sometimes because it is reassuring. But it isn’t if you understand what’s really being said because this applies to those who are following Jesus Christ. It doesn’t apply to humanity in general. That’s important. But Jesus did leave His peace with us and we can live in the fellowship of peace. The wonderful thing about the peace of Jesus Christ is that it is not dependant on the circumstances around us. I think it’s possible for one to have perfect peace in your heart, and be in right relationship to God and to each other as brothers and sisters, and be going through horrible times, and still have that peace. Whether you’re having health problems, whether you’re facing a war situation, or whatever it is, you can have that peace within in spite of all the external things. I know that’s true because I can think of a couple of times in my own life when God gave me that peace when the circumstances around me weren’t peaceful at all. But I still felt relaxed and peaceful because I trust Him and I live in that fellowship with Him. He does that for all His people.