Article 24 – October 1, 2018
Fellowship Is the Key – Pt 2
A few writings ago I shared that fellowship is the key to a more abundant life with God, our Heavenly Father, and at this time, I would like to further some thoughts on that topic. From the beginning of man, it has been God’s primary desire for man to have fellowship with Him. In Genesis 1:27 it says: “So God created man in his own, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” In the following verses man is given dominion “…over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” In Verse 31, we read: “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good…” It is very difficult to describe just how close a relationship Adam and Eve had with God back then, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that it was pretty darn special. In a wonderful household, we understand how the parents love the children and would do just about anything for them. We don’t give that a second thought. Yet, we have great difficulty, at times, understanding just how much God loves us and wants the best for us.
Some of this is due to the fact that so many people do not understand the orientalisms and the idioms of permission in the Bible. In the Old Testament, there are many, many records which state that God did this or that in killing people or destroying people. What that means is that individuals or groups of people broke principle with God’s Word; more often than not by worshiping other gods, and therefore God had to take his hand of blessing off them. When that happened the adversary, the devil, had an “open door” to work in that situation and kill whom he would. It was never God’s fault. Men got screwed up by their actions and allowed God’s hand of blessing and protection to depart from them. I John 1:5 tells us: “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” This truth stands tall and complete from the time of Genesis on.
Prior to the Day of Pentecost, things were different spiritually, because for most of that time, man was under the Law of Moses. Since the Day of Pentecost, we are under the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, it tells us in Romans 8:1-4. I bring this up because I can understand how a person, who is not aware of these truths, can become confused as to what’s available in having a relationship with a loving, heavenly Father. I grew up in a household where I had a parent who was misled by a certain denomination that taught them to praise God when something good happened to them, and to curse God when something bad happened. That is a great lie and very confusing! That’s leading a double standard and you can’t do that and have wonderful fellowship with God.
Keep in mind, we are living after the Day of Pentecost, not in the times of the Old Testament. God doesn’t and never did kill His people or any other people, for that matter. However, when things go bad, we so often want to blame someone or something and the devil has so marshaled the thinking of our world, that people often instinctively place the blame for the bad on God.
If you are born again of God’s spirit, you can manifest the love of God. If you are not, or are not sure, God wants you to become sure, because He’s got a lot available for you. 1 John 1 :3 tells us: “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.” How simple and wonderful this is. There are many different people and groups you can go to for Bible study and some of them are good. There again, because there are so many, who do you go to as there are a lot of people saying a lot of different things. It can be very overwhelming and confusing for the seeking Christian. The bottom line with any Christian believer is what we’re looking for on the daily basis: wonderful fellowship with our Heavenly Father. To be able to walk with Him and talk with Him, just like you do with members of your family. When we have that consistent daily fellowship with our God, we will see the manifestations of the spirit in operation as we need to and get prayers answered. I have noticed in watching wonderful mothers with new babies around me loving their babies and the babies don’t think twice about their reliance on their mothers. They’re not supposed to, they just do it. That’s how God designed it, and that’s how God wants us to be with Him.
In Matthew 14:25-27: “And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit, and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I, be not afraid.” Jesus walked on the water by revelation and to do that he had to have very close fellowship with His Father: complete confidence! In reading the subsequent verses, we see that Peter also walked on water. He is the only one mentioned in the Scriptures, aside from Jesus, as having done so. Really, a miracle is a miracle, but from our senses eyes, that’s an incredible thing to do. Yet Peter, for that period of time, did it. Unfortunately, we let our environment talk us out of so much of what God has to offer, because the devil does not want us to live an abundant life, and he does control the kingdoms of this world, for the moment. However 1 John 4:4 tell us: “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”
This is so simple and yet is seems to be a very hard truth for so many Christians. To think that the power of God can silence the hand of the devil. Your mind has probably wrestled with that one way too many times, but that’s the decision we have to make on a daily basis. The irony is that the more you become convinced on God and His Word, the harder the adversary will work on you. He does want to devour you, however; “…greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” Just keep telling yourself that when the devil tries to interrupt your fellowship with God.
I want to share a few lines of a wonderful song that rings along this line. The song is called
“My God and I”.
“My God and I go in the field together. We walk and talk as good friends should and do; We clasp our hands, our voices ring with laughter; My God and I walk through the meadow’s hue. We clasp our hands, our voices ring with laughter; My God and I walk through the meadow’s hue. 2 He tells me of the years that went before me, When heavenly plans were made for me to be; When all was but a dream of dim reflection; To come to life, earth’s verdant glory see. When all was but a dream of dim reflection; To come to life, earth’s verdant glory see. My God and I go for aye together, We’ll walk and talk just as good friends do; This earth will pass and with it common trifles, But God and I will go unendingly.”
That’s it! Funglimpses and all: Thanks for reading. Respectfully submitted, Will Grove