Prayer station #3: Fellowship

Questions to ponder about before reading on:

1) What does fellowship mean to you personally?

2) What is the difference between fellowship with people in church and friendship in school, workplace etc?

Jesus prayed this prayer for his disciples in John 17:20, 21: “I do not ask in behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent me.”

This portion of prayer gives us a glimpse of Jesus’ heart for all his disciples, which includes all of us who believe in him. What a comforting thing it really is to know that Jesus actually prays for his disciples! And here, he prays, not just for his disciples at that time, but also for all who believes in him—Us!

What he prayed for must have been a real desire in his heart and it is that we may all be one.

What does it mean for us to all be one?

Romans 12:5 – ‘so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.’

From Romans 12:5, we see how oneness relates to the body of Christ.

Imagine yourself wanting to go to the kitchen to get a glass of water. But something strange happens: your legs say that they want to walk to the balcony, your hands say that they want to grab something from your bedroom and your eyes want to be in the living room to watch a television program. Do you think you would be able to get the glass of water in the kitchen?

This is just an example of disobedient, disunited body parts. But what about the body of Christ? Are we one body or are we simply disunited body parts?

The body has to be one before it could even start accomplishing anything. The different parts need to belong to each other before anything can begin. Hence, it needs a common mind and a common goal.

Now let us imagine a little further. What difference would it make if you want to get a glass of water in the kitchen, but all your body parts decide in unity to boycott your decision and stay in the bedroom? Though your body is united, would you be able to accomplish the task you seek to do?

That is the reason why Jesus prayed for something else apart from all of us being one in John 17:21. He prayed that ‘they may all be one even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us’.

The body doesn’t just have to be one with each other. It has also got to be one with the owner of the body, which is in this case, our Lord Jesus Christ.

The oneness that we share with each other and with our Lord Jesus Christ is fellowship.

In Acts 2: 44-45, we see a glimpse of how fellowship was like in the early church. “And all those who had believed were together, and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions, and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.”

Very often we can’t tell the difference between fellowship and close friendship. But there is a very distinct difference, as we can see from the example of the early church. They didn’t just have many things in common like close friends did, but they had all things in common, even to the extent of sharing their property and possessions. It was possible because they shared the life of Jesus Christ.

That was true deep fellowship: the sharing of lives with one and another, with Jesus Christ being the common ground.

Now spend some time think of as many in this church that have crossed your life in one way or another. These people are your fellow members in the body of Christ.

Spend some time to ponder over your relationship with them. How close are these people to you? Do you share very close brother-sister relationships with? Are you uncomfortable to share with them your life during DG sessions? Spend some time to pray for increasing openness to share.

Finally, spend time pray that fellowship in church would be deepened and broadened, and above all, that it would Christ-centered (Christ being the common ground for fellowship)

Himself

“What’s is the goal of christianity?”

This isn’t a question that I thought was important to me. Being a believer for many years and knowing that I was saved, I didn’t think much of what else there could be after believing, until I heard a sermon on this topic. It suddenly struck me how imperative this question is, being the very fundamental question of why I believe in the very first place.

It would be strange, I thought, that if some non-believer would ask me a question like, “What do you look for in being christian?” and i couldn’t truly answer. Probably, my answer would be along the lines of, “Going to heaven”, or ”Becoming a good person”, but I never really knew the true answer myself.

It is sad because many christians like me do not see the ultimate goal of believing or the ultimate purpose why we believe. To many, believing is strictly for the purpose of forgiveness of sins and getting to heaven and that is the very end. This in itself is not wrong, but it isn’t our goal. As Devern Fromke once put it, heaven is not our goal, but a destination. Believing is, in actual fact, just the beginning. Therefore, there has to be a goal, an end that we should look for.

What then is our goal?

Does God offers salvation to mankind with nothing else after that?

I stumbled upon a song that I would like to share. It is titled ‘Himself’:

Once was the blessing,
Now it is the Lord;
Once it was the feeling,
Now it is His word;
Once His gifts I wanted,
Now, the Giver own;
Once I sought for healing,
Now Himself alone. 

Chorus
All in all forever, Jesus will I sing;
Everything in Jesus, And Jesus everything. 

Once ‘twas painful trying,
Now ‘tis perfect trust,
Once a half salvation,
Now the uttermost;
Once ‘twas ceaseless holding,
Now He holds me fast;
Once ‘twas constant drifting,
Now my anchor’s cast. 

Chorus 

Once ‘twas busy planning,
Now ‘tis trustful prayer;
Once ‘twas anxious caring,
Now He has the care;
Once ‘twas what I wanted,
Now what Jesus says;
Once ‘twas constant asking,
Now ‘tis ceaseless praise 

Chorus 

Once I hoped in Jesus,
Now I know He’s mine;
Once my lamps were dying,
Now they brightly shine;
Once for death I waited,
Now His coming hail;
And my hopes are anchored
Safe within the veil

This song tells of our purpose and goal for believing in Christ.

Our goals are not the blessings of God, not the feeling of salvation, not the gifts God gives and not the healing he bestows, as the 1st stanza of the song suggests. Our Goal is summed up in one word: CHRIST.

Just as Paul in Philippians 3: 14 puts it plainly, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus”

That was Paul’s goal in whatever he does and it should also be our goal. This is what we should press on for. It is not for what God can give us, but rather, it is the person Himself. The goal is in God, in Christ Jesus.

As Christians, let us press on toward that goal, which is God, to know him more deeply and intimately.