Ultimately as we grow older we recognize that the closest and best fellowship is only among those who are bound together by a common love for Jesus Christ.  John answers this in I John 1:2-7 where he says, “that which we have seen and heard and declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.  And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.  This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.  If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His son cleanses us from all sin.”

That’s why this church congregation should be called a blessed fellowship.  Actually historically our church congregation was called the Anchorage Moravian Fellowship for over 20 years.  The warmth and love, the gracious spirit and generous attitudes, the delight of each others company –all of these characterize the blessed fellowship we have.

Today we should recognize and appreciate the source of that fellowship.  Our fellowship is with the Father.  Looking back into the early church, someone may have asked John, “How can such a diverse group of men as you Apostles possibly have the fellowship you have?  You have Simon Peter the Zealot, and in contrast to this rough fishermen, Matthew the tax collector; there are also the ambitious James and John and subdued Andrew.  John may have literally answered – “Truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ”.

Someone has said that our fellowship with the Father necessitates our fellowship with each other.  Let me put it another way, you cannot love the Father without loving the children too.

God’s Spirit has given us a love shed abroad in our hearts that drives us toward each other.  As a result of conversion or a saving experience with his Son, we become a changed people.  Literally changed; we have a new heart, new attitudes, new values.  What really earthshaking for the new believers especially, we want to find brothers and sisters that have the same.  In the Words of Paul (2 Cor. 5:17, we become a new creature, old things have passed away and all things become new.

According to John 2:27 we have an infilling of the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation.  If we allow the Holy Spirit freedom and Christ’s words to change us….we produce what’s called fruits of the spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).  All of these products of the Holy Spirit, love, joy, peace, faith, self-control…all these things of the Holy Spirit lead us to fellowship with one another and with our Heavenly Father.

In verse I John 1:7 we see here that our fellowship together makes operative the blood of Jesus Christ which cleanses us from all sin.  We hug; we give the Right Hand of Fellowship; we unconditionally love one another and literally God’s love covers a multitude of sins.

The one thing I hope our Moravian Church in Anchorage never loses is its fellowship.  We can lose all of our income, use of buildings, we can lose social acceptability, and the dearest and most dedicated church members, but we should not lose the fellowship we have.  Without this fellowship we will not be a New Testament Church; without our fellowship we will not continue to grow as a Church congregation.

Fellowship is a core experience in the life of the church.  In Acts 2:42 fellowship is essential to the life of the Church.  It says that “they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and in prayers.”  The New Testament is very clear that the church is defined in terms of fellowship. 

Fellowship is essential to the development of the Christian.  I John 1:7 says, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

The problem between the two sons in Christ’s parable of the prodical son is a lack of fellowship.  Both were separated from their father.  One was separated by selfish willfulness that took him to a far country where he lost everything.  The other was separated from his father by a wall of self-pity and legalistic piety.  The concern here is that both had stopped growing in relationship with each other until they entered into fellowship with each other and their loving father.

Fellowship is essential to converting the world.  Paul spoke of our fellowship in the gospel in Phillipians 1:3,5.  By this he refers to our cooperative work together in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.  People are attracted to our church because of the Christian fellowship we have.  Those once monthly potlucks are very special and promote great fellowship in our church.  I believe that as we open up our homes, invite the unchurched and the unsaved into our homes, then surround them with warm Christian fellowship, we may see some of them attracted to Christ and his Church.

In closing, in God’s heart and through what he is doing in our hearts, God wants us to share the fellowship that we have.  In I John 1:3 it says, “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.  And in verse 4 it says, “And these thing write we unto you, that your joy may be full”.

The encouragement is there for those that are not fellowshipping in the Church to fellowship more!  This is where loneliness will fly away; emptiness will be filled.  This is where we will feel we are part of something really big; a part of a big organism called the Church that gives us a great sense of purpose and identify as believers in Anchorage, Alaska.

It’s truly a sharing together of the blessings of God.  This fellowship should always be shared corporately as a church, such as our time together in Sunday School classes, Bible Studies, Choir or Women’s Fellowship groups.  Fellowship should also be shared individually by caring people.

According to I John 3:14-18 we are to fellowship in love and in deed and truth.  We know we are believers because we love the brethren.  It says here, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.  He that loveth not his brother abideth in death”.  In verse 18 it says, “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”

There are so many people out there who believe and say they know God, but it made very little difference in their lives, the way that they live.  But the reality is that fellowship with Christ involves imitation of Christ.  As we live out this fellowship we know that we are true believers.

And the purpose of I John is stated clearly in I John 5:13:  “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life”.

© Copyright 2006 Anchorage Moravian Church
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