Fellowship
"For where two or three
are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them"
(Matthew 18:20).
Jesus assumed that His
followers would gather together for regular fellowship in His name. I'm sure He
would have been surprised by the notions of some modern believers who speak of
worshipping God in nature at the beach or in the mountains, on the golf course
or tennis courts while they neglect the assembling together in the life of the
church. But for the faithful who gather for fellowship, He makes a blessed
promise: He is in their midst.
What is the purpose of this
fellowship? Actually, there are quite a few reasons to gather together in the
name of the Lord Jesus. The context of this vital Bible verse gives us one of
them: "If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they
shall ask, it shall be done for them by my Father, who is in heaven"
(Matthew 18:19).
There are many places in
Scripture where we are promised answers to the prayer of faith. But here we
have particular encouragement to joint prayer. When believers meet by
appointment together at the throne of grace to pray about some special need or
activity, they are assured of His answer.
It is interesting to note that
the Lord spoke specifically here of a small gathering in His name. Too often we
evaluate the success or failure of a church meeting by the number of people
present. If you ask a person: "How was the meeting?" He or she is
likely to answer, "Oh, it was a great meeting. The place was packed
out!" It is assumed that if a large group shows up, the meeting will be a
success. But if few people come, the meeting will border on failure. We must
remember that it is not numbers that determine the effectiveness of Christian
fellowship. It is the faith and devotion of those present.
We can gather for any number
of reasons. We can meet together to grow in our knowledge of Christ. We can
meet to advance the work of Christ or to be equipped in our service for Christ.
But the point is this: the Christian who desires to be obedient to the Lord
Jesus will actively seek the fellowship of other believers whether personally,
or in small prayer and Bible study groups, or in the corporate worship of the
whole assembly.
We are members of one body,
the body of Christ. As such we are dependent upon each other. We need the
mutual encouragement, admonition, and sharpening of our lives that Christian
fellowship uniquely offers.
When the church was born,
they saw it as essential. "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles'
doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers" (Acts
2:42).
Fellowship depends on
relationships. Keep the lines clear between yourself and your brother in the
Lord. Jesus was quite insistent on this point. "Therefore, if thou bring
thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought
against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be
reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift" (Matthew
5:23-24). Forgiveness, reconciliation, patience and love are vital ingredients
of true Christ‑centered fellowship.
This vital Bible verse is
just one of 60 carefully selected scriptures that are contained in the
Navigators Scripture Memory course. If you want to
memorize Scripture, but aren't sure what to memorize or how to get started,
this is exactly what you need. The Topical Memory System includes memory verse cards in four different Bible versions -
NIV, KJV, NASB, NKJV. Topics include all of the basics of the Christ-centered
Spirit-filled life, sharing your faith, and growing on to maturity in your walk
with God. May God bless you as you fill your life with His Word.
© Copyright 2002, LeRoy Eims