I was listening to Bishop Dale Bronner last Sunday and his message was “The Power of Proximity.” He declares that who you let in your proximity or circle will often affect your behavior and your character. One of the key points in the message was Spending Quality time with God brings about Quality Change.
What is the purpose of our fellowship? Psalm 133, declares ”How good it is for brethrens to dwell together in unity, it is like the precious oil upon the head even Aaron’s beard that went down to the skirts of his garment; and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life forevermore. Our fellowship is necessary, for the Word say in Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. We are at the end time.
Look what is happening around you, plagues of insects on the continent of Africa and viruses throughout the world; destruction in divers places, fires in California and the northwest, record flooding in Louisiana, Tennessee, earthquakes, mudslides in Haiti; men and women changing the natural order of affection for each other as commanded by God; the sanctity of marriage being destroyed; the hardened hearts of the people in Israel; man doing what appears right in their own eyes, need I say more.
Nevertheless, we have work to do. Although we are in the world, we are not of the world. The time for being real with God is now. There is much work to do for the harvest is plenty but the labor is few. Jesus told his disciples to go into the highways and hedges to compel them to come, that my house may be filled. Come where you ask?, come to him that you may know him and He knows you, for he is waiting. Jesus is not here walking the earth and preaching the Kingdom that is for us to do, to preach Him through His Word.
There is a saying, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink” one replied that he will drink or drown, another says, if you put salt in his oats he will drink. Let’s look at he will drink or drown in a spiritual sense, this really means that they have been given the opportunity to taste or to drink of the living water, to know Christ, and to have salvation and eternal life and they refused, so they chose death and not life. The other is to use salt, that salt is us as believers. The Word of God says in Matthew 5:13-16 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Two rebuttals to one saying, I say what the Word of God says. In John 4:7-14 There is a conversation with Jesus and a Samaritan woman at the well, There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. 8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) 9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. [another way to put this, who is it that ask, for the saved have nothing to do with the unsaved, the Pentecostal have nothing to do with the Baptist, [Guide me, O Thou great *Jehovah, [*Redeemer]
Pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but Thou art mighty, Hold me with Thy pow’rful hand]
This hymn often sung in the Baptist and Methodist services was written by a Welsh Methodist Preacher name William Williams in 1745. It really illustrates that he was a traveling Minister in a troubled state of mind filled with fear and anxiety. He realizes the frailty of the natural man but as he fellowships with God, he looks to Jehovah for strength and guidance safely to the land of Canaan. Pilgrim through this barren land 2 Kings 2:19 much like today, the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren. In other words, God has created beauty in the land and what you see is the beauty but the Spirit of the Lord is not here and the land is unfruitful because of sin.
20 And he being Elisha said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. {Remember you are the salt, so this speaks of you}
21 And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. Yes, I have given you authority and dominion over the world. Use your God-given authority to speak to these plagues, these disasters.
Perhaps along this minster’s Christian journey, he would have discovered what the Scriptures says in John 16:13 13Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. Remember what the Samaritan said, for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans, in other words, As with the United Methodist & the AME, You see the AME Church was created and organized by people of African descent (most descended from enslaved Africans taken to the Americas) because they were being officially discriminated against by white congregants in the Methodist church. [Pass me not, O gentle Savior
Hear my humble cry
While on others Thou art calling
Do not pass me by
Savior, Savior
Hear my humble cry
While on others Thou art calling
Do not pass me by]
The hymn Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior was originally written by a blind lady, name Fanny Jane Crosby. The United Methodist really could have learned a lesson regarding being blind with respect to ethnicity. The song “Pass me not” (1868) first appeared in Songs of Devotion for Christian Associations (1870), a collection compiled by William H. Doane.
The late hymnologist William J. Reynolds discovered that the inspiration for this hymn was the result of a visit to the prison by the poet during spring 1868. He notes: “After she had spoken and some of her hymns had been sung, she heard one of the prisoners cry out in a pleading voice, ‘Good Lord, do not pass me by’; Following Doane’s suggestion, she wrote a hymn that evening incorporating the line, “Pass me not, O gentle Savior.”,
I’m reminded of that which is written In Luke 18:35 And it came to pass, that as he [being Jesus] was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the wayside begging: 36And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. 37And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. 38And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 39And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 40And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him to fellowship: and when he was come near, he asked him, 41Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. 42And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. We were once blind and now we have received our sight. the latter part of Hebrews 13:5 it is written, for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee,
Going back to the woman at the well, for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans, so what does light and darkness have in common] 10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: [ In other words, my sins are many, I have deep dark secrets] from whence then hast thou that living water? 12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: [ In other words, alcohol, drugs, lust, they are all temporary and you will once again thirst for that water]
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. So to answer the question, “remember earlier when I started, what does light and darkness have in common, JESUS” In Roman 5:6 It says For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Verse 8 says But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. For God so loved the world, not just the saints, that He gave His only begotten Son that who shall believe on Him shall not perish but shall have everlasting life. So Jesus is what Light and darkness have in common.
Now to answer the rhetorical question, “What is the Purpose of your fellowship”, because we have fellowship with the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, we are to witness to those who may not know Christ or those who have lost their way, those who feel shame and don’t know how to come back; Our purpose is to do a work that we are called to do; To gather together, for the Scripture says, Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I will be in the midst; to come together as the Scripture instructs thereby we may draw strength from one another; to edify one another, to build each other up and to bare each other’s load. That is our purpose for fellowship. The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. So when we do these things, we then have fellowship with each other, more importantly, fellowship with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit and they with us.
13But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren and Sisters beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: 14Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15Therefore, stand fast and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
2 Thessalonians 2:16Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, 17Comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.
So remember let us come reason together by way of fellowship, remembering that we have a purpose or a work to do. For we have the Holy Spirit which is of Jehovah to guide us through this barren world but not for us, for every place our feet shall tread shall be prosperous but for those who will see the glory of the Lord in us and He will be Glorified and they are drawn to Him to Salvation. Jesus hears their cry for mercy and salvation, as He heard the blind man on the road to Jericho and He will not pass them by.
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