The beginning truth (Part 1)

“Fellowship of Men…”

Last week I mentioned that we were going to journey together into the foundational statement of this fellowship. A few things have come up this past week which has made it difficult to remain on schedule. But through prayer I have managed to make it to the weekend and find time to focus on the mission at hand.

This journey is about where we stand in awe of the glory of God. It is about where we take our first steps toward the ultimate purpose God has given each one of us. Through the unity of this group, it is the direction of the journey we have embarked on together.

God is the sole reason for our existence. Any purpose this fellowship finds worthy of following must recognize the power of God. His authority allows all things to remain in existence based upon His will for them to exist. At any moment, God by His divine authority and sole reasoning could end the existence of anything He chooses. Consequently we must come to an understanding that our ultimate purpose together is to give Him glory.

In this ultimate purpose and by His grace and mercy, He has brought us together to serve and glorify Him. It is by His design that we exist and it must always be kept on the forefront of our mind and actions. Nothing we do can outshine His glory and it must always remain grounded in this truth.

But every journey begins somewhere near the word ‘therefore.’ Something happens along the way and with the word ‘therefore’ then something beings to exist. It essentially is the reaction to a cause or the response to an earlier choice made which gives journeys their meaning.

The ‘therefore’ which occurred in this fellowship happened when the Lord called me to lead a group of men over the summer, faithfully in prayer and fellowship with one another. From this ‘therefore’ has come this group. We are established to continue down the path which God has set forth.

So we begin by addressing the first part of the foundational statement with the three words “Fellowship of Men…”

Nothing is more important in the life of a Church (outside of our relationship with God) then honest, meaningful fellowship. This group should recognize this fact and know that unity together as one body, coming together in the relationship bonds that God desires us to have, and building a community around our relationship with our heavenly Father is very important in our walk in faith. God is a relationship driven God and He has designed our lives to reflect this important quality.

There is a unifying fact about our relationship with Christ that has been written about in the Word. This unity in Spirit truly binds us to our heavenly Father and makes us all brothers in Christ.

“The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.” 1 John 1:2-4 NIV

Our joy is complete with this fellowship. In essence John is saying that nothing more is required in our joy other then our relationship with Christ. But he makes it clear that each person can have such fellowship together in the previous sentence. He says that all of us can be one in this joy.

Fellowship is this unifying factor and truly important to the Christian walk of faith. We cannot experience what it is to be a true Christian unless we have encountered the true experience of fellowship. Therefore I felt it was very important to make this the very first word of the foundational statement.

Anyone who says that they can live out a true, authentic Christian life alone is erroneous in their thinking. A Christian lifestyle cannot survive alone. Why do you think God made it essential that Adam have a helper? Why did Jesus send out the disciples in two’s when He sent them to minister to others? All of this is because of the truth of fellowship. We were made for one another in order to demonstrate love. Living life alone free of any relationships is against the purpose and truth of Christian doctrine.

Therefore this group will hold this truth high and build a community of believers who know that we as Christians were intended to be relationship driven in love for thy brother.

In closing, God has a great purpose behind every fellowship which stands beside the truth in order to glorify God. It is exciting to see this fellowship make the transition into a long-standing purpose based upon the truth written about in the Word.

As leader of this fellowship, I am unashamed to say that I feel inadequate for the mission at hand. But I am relying on the strength of God to carry me through these months ahead. In every message I write, they are given as a way to provoke truth searching by all of us into the Word of God. I do not write from a perspective that I stand above anyone else or have any of these Christian doctrines mastered.

God has presented me with a mission. I am trying to answer the call in the best way possible. Therefore I would be honored to stand beside each one of you as we spread the message of light ‘far and wide’ into the darkened world which surrounds us.