October 30

TEN DANGEROUS POSSESSIONS

(GROWING UP IN GOD)

#6 FELLOWSHIP WITHOUT LOYALTY

-Hebrews 10:24,25 states, … And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as you see the day approaching …

-There are three main reasons why that we should assemble together with other believers in Christ. They are: fellowship, worship, and instruction in the things of the Lord. As the Lord brings people into our lives to fellowship with, we will begin to create a tie and bond with these people. These people become important to our growth in the Lord, just as we become important to their growth in the Lord. We are members of the same body, working and walking together to achieve a common goal. We must recognize that we are members of the body of Christ.

-This fellowship is glorious, wonderful, and strengthens us tremendously, but this same fellowship becomes dangerous when loyalty is not involved. After being introduced to like-minded people that we know that the Lord has brought into our lives, we then become responsible to remain loyal to them. This does not mean that we must agree with every word they say, having the exact same vision in God that they have, but it does mean that we are to remain in contact with them, love them, pray for them, associate with them, and continue to assemble ourselves with them ( if at all possible ). The idea of loyalty teaches us one very important thing. IT TEACHES US NOT TO ISOLATE OURSELVES!

-Those who isolate themselves from others are sure to go downhill spiritually. Isolation is one of the great traps that many people fall into. If we think that we can make it on our own, that is, without the other members of the body of Christ, then we are proving by our behavior that we do not understand the principle of loyalty as far as fellowship is concerned. It is so very important that we understand this, for what our Lord is doing involves and requires a body of believers who are loyal to each other and their Lord. Think of your physical body. Can you imagine if your brain was not loyal to send the signal for your hand to move, or if your hand was not loyal to receive the signal from the brain and move accordingly? If this was the case, YOUR BODY WOULD NOT FUNCTION PROPERLY. In the same sense, when we are not loyal in our fellowship the body of Christ does not function properly, and that makes for a weak body. Let us be …

-LOYAL IN OUR FELLOWSHIP!-