*IMMACULATE GLOBAL OUTREACH*
Touching and Transforming lives
*FAITH MOMENT*
*FEBRUARY 2019 EDITION*

: TAG; *THE POWER OF GENUINE FELLOWSHIP*
TEXT: *2 PETER 2:4*
We bless the name of the lord for thus far he had helped us ,as the month of February marks a one year season of our online outreach, a very big thanks to all who had being with us from the very beging ,and to thoes who joined us form all our online platforms ,its remarkable but not to be distracted by ; https://immaculateglobaloutreach.home.blog
In this new month the lord want us to consider something important which is the reality of our fellowship with him,its important to know that grace is wonderfully expressed by Jesus Christ but effectual fellowship demands our total surrnder to what grace his provided ,and that why at this time understanding the power of genuine fellowship is essential
To be in a state of fellowship means that “we share in things;” we are “partakers” or “partners,” if you like – that idea is intrinsic to the Greek word koinonia. Therefore, the Christian is one who has become a “sharer in the life of God.” from the stand point of the bible,Christians are “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet 1:4). The whole teaching of regeneration and rebirth – being born again, born from above, born of the Spirit – carry exactly the same idea. Christians are not people who are a little bit better than they once were; rather, they are men and women who have received the divine life! In reality of fellowship, they “possess the divine essence,”they are partakers of the divine nature, that the being of God has by faith entered into us. Divinity lives in us! As Paul says, “I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20). Though we do not fully understand exactly how this is possible, the Bible clearly teaches that Christ indwells us by the Holy Spirit – so, we are “sharers in the life of God.” Somehow we are in God and God is in us – it is a great mystical union, expressed in the term koinonia. As partakers of God, we are partners with Him, sharers in His interests and in His great purposes. That means we have become interested in partnering with God in His great plan of salvation. . . which would imply that true Christians are deeply interested in God’s enterprise in this world – we see the evil forces in this world as being enemies of God, and we are concerned to bring the purposes of God to pass. We meditate, we pray, we do everything that we are capable of doing in furthering the kingdom of light. All of this means that we have come to know God – we no longer see Him as a stranger or supreme energy far off in the distant universe. God is now a reality, we know Him intimately, and address Him as “Father.”
Those who are in “communion with God” know that He is there; they realize His presence; it is an essential part of this whole position of fellowship. . . and this leads to “confidence” in speaking to Him. Communion means “realizing the presence of God in your life.” God speaks in His own way to our soul; He gives us consolation. . . He creates within us holy desires and longings. . . He reveals His will to us. . . He leads us. . . He opens doors and shuts them. . . and sometimes puts up barriers and obstacles. Hence, as you go forward in this journey called life, you can be completely confident that God is there – that is having fellowship with God, knowing that He is there in these various ways, and is superintending the course of our lives, and giving us wisdom and understanding. Furthermore, He supplies us with strength according to our need and according to our situation (Phil 4:13, 19).
Having “fellowship with God” is the only way to live a godly life in a world that is opposed to God. Genuine fellowship with God always starts with the Scriptures – understanding them. This evangelical doctrine tells us not to look into ourselves (like a mystic), but to look into the Word of God. It tells us that God can only be known in His own way – through the Scriptures themselves – thru objective revelation. In contradistinction to this approach, many during the Puritan period began to put a new emphasis upon the Holy Spirit – they put feelings before understanding, and is referred to as “Quakerism” or “Mysticism.” There were “two approaches” – one was called “quietism;” focus on abandoning yourself to God, and God will speak to you. The other approach was to indulge in “introspection;” examine yourself and meditate. The evangelical way of experiencing fellowship with God is to go straight to the “Word” – know its truth, believe it, accept it, pray on this basis, and exert your whole being in an effort to live and practice it. Mysticism is an attempt at taking a “short cut” to the great experiences – the way of the Scriptures is the other way. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled [with the fullness of God]” (Mt 5:6). Notice it does not say “blessed are those who hunger and thirst after spiritual experiences or happiness.” So rather than focusing on spiritual euphoria, start by building the foundation; then you can erect the walls – everything must happen in God’s way and in God’s time. Start with “Christ’s work for you” [at the Cross] before you focus on “Christ’s work in you.”
I was at Ibadan Nigeria one noon and had to encourage and counsel a coulple of people ,one of the question asked is “why is it that Christian don’t have constant fellowship or other way communion with God , I smiled as the lesson from an electric fan came to mind, you see we are just like that electric fan plunged into an electric power source and the only time is function is when its really plunged in to the power source, until we learn to host his presence continually ,we are nothing better than a disconnected electric fan…. I need you to see another aspect of that ,do you know that if that fan comes off the electric power source it does not stop instantly, it only slows down before eventually coming to a stop ,its the same illustration ; a couple of Christians at times loose sight of reality and feel they are still good to go,because of the momentum and velocity gathered… The heat of an electric cooker last only for a while after disconnection from the power source the only solution is constancy in fellowship another reasons why the Christian’s “communion with God” is so frequently interrupted. The focus of the believer must be on God – not yourself (your performance) – if your focus is on yourself and your perform-ance, you will inevitably become overwhelmed with troubles. We must always start with GOD – “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 Jn 1:4). Lloyd-Jones put it this way: “Half of our troubles arise in the Christian life because we do not start with God. Most believers assume they have a right under-standing of God, so they start with themselves – yet the Bible constantly reminds us that we must start with God. If we start with man / self, we will ultimately go wrong in our thinking about truth, because we will demand that everything accommodate itself to man. Thus, we must be careful not to start with ourselves. Incidentally, it is very difficult not to start with ourselves, because our whole approach to the gospel and to Christianity naturally tends to be from that “self-centered” selfish standpoint —
We argue like this: Here I am in this world with its troubles and I am ill at ease. I am looking for something I don’t have. I am aware of my needs and desires. I am aware of a lack of happiness. The tendency for most of us is to approach the whole subject of God and Christian truth in terms of “my desires and my demands.” What has God to say to me and to give to me? Is there something in this that is going to ease my problems and help me in this dark and difficult world? That is the “initial fallacy” – it is almost blasphemy – we need to “forget about ourselves and contemplate God.” It is important to note that the great characteristic of the cults and of every religion that is not genuinely Christian, is that they tend to approach man in terms of “his need” – and seem to give man the thing “he wants.”
The Christian faith starts with “GOD” – The individual is silenced. He is put into the background. Man is not first and foremost. GOD is first – it all starts with Him – “In the beginning GOD;” he is at the center of all things, not man. The very term “theology” should remind us of that – it refers to knowledge of God, not man (“anthropology”). So this is of supreme importance to us as we come to consider the whole ques-tion of fellowship with God, walking with God, and enjoying the life of God. Once again let me remind you: Most of our troubles are due to our self-centeredness and concern for ourselves. The way to be delivered from “self-centeredness” is to stand in the presence of God and focus on Him. The vital question is this: What is the truth concerning God?
To believe in God we must accept the revelation concerning Him (which is the essence of faith), and that revelation is only found in the Bible. Furthermore, there are only two ultimate positions on the Bible – we either regard the Bible as authoritative, or else we think it is the philosophy of humans. Reason can take us to a certain point, but it will never bring us to a true knowledge of God – it is here that we are left to rely on revelation. Ultimately, we cannot know God apart from the revelation that He has been pleased to give us of Himself. The apostle John starts with the “holiness of God” – “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 Jn 1:5). Unless we start with the holiness of God, our whole conception of the love of God is going to be false. Many believers have had the sentimental notion of God as a God of love, always smiling upon us, and then when wars and calamities and troubles come, they are baffled and end up turning their backs on religion. The problem was they did not start where the Scriptures start, with the holiness of God. God is utterly and totally holy, righteous and just – “holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Heb 12:14). The statement “God is light” means God is absolute holiness and purity. He is of such pure countenance that He cannot behold and look upon iniquity (Hab 1:13); it is the holiness of God that demands the cross, so without starting with holiness there is no meaning in the cross.
Thus, it should not surprise us why so many modern theologians DISCOUNT THE CROSS. It is because they have started with the love of God, rather than His holiness. The most “emphatic” statement in the entire Bible is the fact that God is holy – “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts” (Is 6:3; Rev 4:8). By repeating the word “holy” three times, that makes this statement the most emphatic one in all of Scripture regarding the person and character of God. Therefore, above everything we know about God, first and foremost is the fact that He is “HOLY!” With God, love and forgiveness are not mushy things or things that are easily overlooked or compromised – God can only forgive sin as He has dealt with it upon the cross; remember, God is “holy.” Starting with the holiness of God ultimately saves us from the terrible danger of also “blaming God” and “criticizing God” in times of trouble. When we misunderstand God, we question, “Why does God do this? Did I deserve this?” When I start with the holiness of God I will never speak like that, because I know at once that whatever may be happening to me is not the result of anything unworthy in God – “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all” – He is absolutely holy. So whatever may be happening to me is not the result of imperfections in God. God’s “holiness” demands absolute moral perfection in all things – all moral law and perfection have their eternal and unchangeable basis in God’s very nature. The darkness of sin is an eternal violation of God’s moral law; as such, it must be expunged and expiated – hence, the eternal condemnation of it at the cross. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, [even in our desperately sinful condition], made us alive together with Christ by grace… according to the kind intention of His will” (Eph 2:4-8; 1:3-7). So, the “love of God” led Him to justly execute His own Son [in our stead] to satisfy “His holy justice” – He bore our sin and gave us His righteousness (2 Cor 5:21; Rom 3:24; 1 Pet 2:24). As the hymn writer Charles Wesley said, “Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me!?”
Last, there is only one way to true and lasting joy, and that is to start with the “holiness of God.” If I start there, I shall be delivered from every false peace, from every false joy. I shall be humbled to the dust, and see my true unworthiness, and that I deserve nothing at the hands of God. We can do nothing better, every time we go on our knees to pray, than to repeat John’s words – “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” And when we feel like rushing into our own desires and complaints, just to pause and approach Him with reverence and godly fear, “for our God is a consuming fire.” (98-110)
Fellowship is a position in which two individuals are “walking together along a road” – it’s a journey, a companionship. Gen 5:22 says, “Enoch walked with God” – that means he had fellowship with God. Christians walk with God as they journey through this world. There are “two parties” involved here – God and the believer (not a perfect believer – an “imperfect believer” – a believer who “sins”). It is as true to say that man is sinful as it is to say that God is light (absolutely sinless, perfect in holiness). The doctrine of sin has never been popular even though it is an integral part of Scripture. Many Christians think sin is actually an “old-fashioned doctrine” in which their fathers delighted; as such they think the doctrine of sin has simply made the whole of life “miserable.” This has caused many to conclude that things are not quite as bad as the Bible and the theologians of the past have made it out to be – “so long as we do our best, and look to God occasionally for a little help, everything will turn out alright.” “We must not take these things too seriously; to be a Christian is to be as decent as we can be, and to do good as God assists and helps us.” This, in general, is the “modern attitude” regarding the doctrine of sin.
FELLOWSHIP IS KEY
Fellowship is an important part of our faith. Coming together to support one another is an experience that allows us to learn, gain strength, and show the world exactly what God is.
Fellowship Gives Us a Picture of God
Each of us together shows all of God’s graces to the world. No one is perfect. We all sin, but each of us has a purpose here on Earth to show aspects of God to those around us. Each of us has been given specific spiritual gifts. When we come together in fellowship, it’s like us as a whole demonstrating God. Think of it like a cake. You need the flour, sugar, eggs, oil, and more to make a cake. The eggs will never be the flour. None of them make up the cake alone. Yet together, all those ingredients make a delicious cake.
It is like that will fellowship. All of us together show the glory of God.
Romans 12:4-6 “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ, we though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith.” (NIV)
Fellowship Makes Us Stronger
No matter where we are in our faith, fellowship provides us with strength . Being around other believers gives us the chance to learn and grow in our faith. It demonstrates to us why we believe and sometimes is the excellent food for our souls. It’s great to be out in the world evangelizing to others, but it can easily make us hard and eat away at our strength. When we deal with a hard-hearted world, it can become easy to fall into that hard-heartedness and question our beliefs. It’s always good to spend some time in fellowship so that we remember that God makes us strong.
Matthew 18:19-20 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (NIV)
Fellowship Provides Encouragement
We all have bad moments. Whether it’s the loss of a loved one , a failed exam, money problems, or even a crisis of faith, we can find ourselves down. If we go too low, it can lead to anger and a feeling of disillusionment with God. Yet these low times are why fellowship is important. Spending tie with other believers can often lift us up a little bit. They help us to keep our eyes on God. God also works through them to provide us what we need in darker times. Coming together with others can aid in our healing process and give us the encouragement to move forward.
Hebrews 10:24-25 “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” (NLT)
Fellowship Reminds Us We’re Not Alone
Coming together with other believers in worship and conversation helps to remind us that we are not alone in this world. There are believers everywhere. It’s amazing that no matter where you are in the world when you meet another believer, it’s like you suddenly feel at home. That’s why God made fellowship so important. He wanted us to come together so that we always know we’re not alone. Fellowship allows us to build those lasting relationships so we’re never by ourselves in the world.
1 Corinthians 12:21 “The eye can never say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you.’ The head can’t say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you.'” (NLT)
Fellowship Helps Us Grow
Coming together is a great way for each of us to grow in our faith. Reading our Bibles and praying are great ways to get closer to God, but each of us has important lessons to impart to one another. When we come together in fellowship, we teach each other things. God gives us a gift of learning and growing when we come together in fellowship we show each other how to live as God wants us to live, and how to walk in His footsteps.
1 Corinthians 14:26 “Well, my brothers and sisters, let’s summarize. When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you.” (NLT)

“Walking in the Light” key to sustained genuine fellowship
The apostle John says, “If we walk in the light we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 Jn 1:7). Fellowship is never mechanical; it is always organic. First we must consider what we must do with regard to fellowship, and then we must consider what God does in maintaining the reality of fellow-ship. Because John uses “word pictures” to teach certain ideas (like “light” and “life”), the danger is to misinterpret the pictures, as if John is teaching some form of perfectionism. So, what is it that we have to do? First, we must “walk in the light” as He is in the light – though the tendency is to interpret this as saying we must be “absolutely perfect” as God Himself is perfect; that is neither possible, nor is it what this passage is teaching. The “key” to under-standing this concept is found in the previous verse, where it says, if we “walk in darkness” we lie and do not the truth – in that verse we saw that “walking in dark-ness” meant living in the realm of darkness; being controlled by the ideas of the world and of sin; belonging to the kingdom of darkness and Satan. In other words, the people who “walk in darkness” are not those who constantly commit overtly sinful acts – they might actually be highly respectable and very moral – but they are walking in darkness because they are outside the light of the gospel of Christ. So it is a “realm” to which people belong that John is referring to. Therefore when we come to this verse about “walking in the light,” we need to interpret it as the antithesis of “walking in darkness.” Thus, it does not mean that I claim absolute perfection… rather it means that I now claim to belong to a “different realm” – to the kingdom of light and to the kingdom of God. I am in it; I belong to it; I walk in the realm of light. As Paul said, “I have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God’s dear Son” (Col 1:13). So John is saying that every believer of necessity is one who is walking in the light, and every unbeliever is walking in darkness. All Christians, however feeble, unworthy and faltering, are people who are – walking in the light. As such, all Christians desire to know God better… want to please God… and are concerned about being holy. The bottom line? – if someone is not “walking in the light,” he simply is not a believer, neither can he/ she clams to have genuine fellowship …..
NOW you understand how important genuine fellowship is in your walk with God , can you invest some time in discussing with the heavenly father through Jesus Christ, by the help of the Holy spirit concerning your fellowship with him , you can build a solid fellowship with Jesus today…
*PRAYERS GUIDE*
1; ASK THE LORD TO OPEN YOUR SPIRITUAL EYES ,EARS AND MOUTH ,TO SEE HIM CLEARLY, HEAR HIM AND EVEN BETTER, AND SPEAK OF HIS wonderful WORKS
1; ASK THE LORD TO HELP YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM ,THAT YOU MIGHT LOVE AND KNOW HIM MORE….
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