The Necessity of True Fellowship at the End of the Age
A couple of weeks ago I started posting about some changes the Church is going to need to make in order to prepare herself for the end of the age. The dramatic shift of world events that are about to take place in a short time are so incredible that if we don’t begin to change now will be unprepared. There are many things the Lord will do to ready us ahead of time. One of the areas that we need preparation in is the area of our relationships. These won’t be the typical plastic-smile, Sunday morning relationships that have become too common in our day. They will, of necessity, be deep partnerships that value real honesty and are centered in God. We must begin to form true relationships that will last in the day of trouble. The tribulation and judgment that is coming on the earth will test every human relationship known to man, but I believe that in the midst of it God will use true fellowship to bring stability and life in the midst of turmoil.
The best way I can describe the place true fellowship has in the midst of end-time disasters is to describe a vision that a friend of mine had. The church I was part of at the time was about to go through a nasty church split. My friend stood up and delivered a vision to the entire body. In his vision, he saw people from the congregation each floating on their own life preserver. There was a rope that was long enough for each person in a life preserver to hold. Some held onto the rope tightly, others paid no attention to it. Those that held on to the rope were the ones who weren’t tossed to and fro when the storm came and those who paid no attention to it were scattered. When the vision was delivered it was powerful. But as you might imagine, some realized the wisdom of it and others did not.
Fast forward to September of 2005. Hurricane Katrina had just hit the Gulf Coast. The power of the storm wiped out much of New Orleans and other parts of a couple of states. Some friends of mine from a house church movement travel down to Louisiana to share the love of Jesus with those most deeply affected by the hurricane. The one letter I received from them during their time there held shocking implications. There were people everywhere, scattered and hurting. Many of them were Christians who belonged to good, normal churches. However, because they weren’t intimately connected with each other when the storm came they were totally alone. They had no one to stand with them, no one to help them get out of town, and once the storm passed, they had no one to help them rebuild their lives. They weren’t part of an intimate fellowship.
I believe the Bible has some very clear thoughts on true fellowship. Jesus established close, committed relationships as the vehicle for the early church. Committed groups acting as spiritual families were the wineskin for both the presence of God and discipline within the Church (Matthew 18:15-20). The glory poured out in the book of Acts was given to a body that was serious about their devotion to the Lord and to one another (Acts 2:42-47, Acts 4:32-37).
But the most important fact to understand is that fellowship was intended as a vehicle to prepare us to face the calamity ahead. Hebrews 10:23-25 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near,” (Emphasis mine). Notice that we’re supposed to “assemble together.” This is more than just everyone gathering together in a big building. Assembling has to do with two or more parts being united strategically for a greater purpose. We need others precisely because the temptation to fall away will be so great. While this is good for us all the time, it takes on new significance “as the day approaches.”
Beloved, what is around the corner will make Hurricane Katrina pale in comparison. And yet I fear that when the “storm” comes many of us won’t be holding on to the rope. The Scripture is very clear that in the last days there will be a terrible apostasy among believers (2 Thessalonians 2:3), and I am convinced that one of the only safe places for believers in the days ahead is in and among true relationships built on love for Jesus and commitment to one another. Many of us will have “dropped our rope” out of fear or bitterness. Community can be too hard or unrealistic for us, and so in the end we will drop the very lifeline the Lord gave us. We don’t have a choice in whether we desire fellowship or not. It is necessary to survive in the days that are coming.
So, as always, I leave us not so much with a tidy end to a post, but a commission to begin. Some of us find ourselves in the midst of relationships that need repair. Some of us are isolated and need to get back to the basic discipleship principle of meeting together with other believers. Others of us must become real in the relationships we possess. Wherever we are, we must go further. There is a path to life that is narrow and few are they that find it. Make no mistake, fellowship is a path to life that few find and is narrow, but it will yield great fruit in the days that are coming.
The best way I can describe the place true fellowship has in the midst of end-time disasters is to describe a vision that a friend of mine had. The church I was part of at the time was about to go through a nasty church split. My friend stood up and delivered a vision to the entire body. In his vision, he saw people from the congregation each floating on their own life preserver. There was a rope that was long enough for each person in a life preserver to hold. Some held onto the rope tightly, others paid no attention to it. Those that held on to the rope were the ones who weren’t tossed to and fro when the storm came and those who paid no attention to it were scattered. When the vision was delivered it was powerful. But as you might imagine, some realized the wisdom of it and others did not.
Fast forward to September of 2005. Hurricane Katrina had just hit the Gulf Coast. The power of the storm wiped out much of New Orleans and other parts of a couple of states. Some friends of mine from a house church movement travel down to Louisiana to share the love of Jesus with those most deeply affected by the hurricane. The one letter I received from them during their time there held shocking implications. There were people everywhere, scattered and hurting. Many of them were Christians who belonged to good, normal churches. However, because they weren’t intimately connected with each other when the storm came they were totally alone. They had no one to stand with them, no one to help them get out of town, and once the storm passed, they had no one to help them rebuild their lives. They weren’t part of an intimate fellowship.
I believe the Bible has some very clear thoughts on true fellowship. Jesus established close, committed relationships as the vehicle for the early church. Committed groups acting as spiritual families were the wineskin for both the presence of God and discipline within the Church (Matthew 18:15-20). The glory poured out in the book of Acts was given to a body that was serious about their devotion to the Lord and to one another (Acts 2:42-47, Acts 4:32-37).
But the most important fact to understand is that fellowship was intended as a vehicle to prepare us to face the calamity ahead. Hebrews 10:23-25 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near,” (Emphasis mine). Notice that we’re supposed to “assemble together.” This is more than just everyone gathering together in a big building. Assembling has to do with two or more parts being united strategically for a greater purpose. We need others precisely because the temptation to fall away will be so great. While this is good for us all the time, it takes on new significance “as the day approaches.”
Beloved, what is around the corner will make Hurricane Katrina pale in comparison. And yet I fear that when the “storm” comes many of us won’t be holding on to the rope. The Scripture is very clear that in the last days there will be a terrible apostasy among believers (2 Thessalonians 2:3), and I am convinced that one of the only safe places for believers in the days ahead is in and among true relationships built on love for Jesus and commitment to one another. Many of us will have “dropped our rope” out of fear or bitterness. Community can be too hard or unrealistic for us, and so in the end we will drop the very lifeline the Lord gave us. We don’t have a choice in whether we desire fellowship or not. It is necessary to survive in the days that are coming.
So, as always, I leave us not so much with a tidy end to a post, but a commission to begin. Some of us find ourselves in the midst of relationships that need repair. Some of us are isolated and need to get back to the basic discipleship principle of meeting together with other believers. Others of us must become real in the relationships we possess. Wherever we are, we must go further. There is a path to life that is narrow and few are they that find it. Make no mistake, fellowship is a path to life that few find and is narrow, but it will yield great fruit in the days that are coming.
posted by Travis at 5:49 PM
1 comments
