Our Fellowship in the Gospel
Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. Wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, Jesus said, there am I in the midst of them. To those of you who love Him in truth: mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied. (Jude 1:2)
Thank you Father! We thank you Father. We bless your holy name this morning! We thank you for this program, thank you Lord. Blessed be God Almighty, the maker of Heaven and Earth, who loved us and gave us His Son. Thank you Father.
Today’s message is, Our Fellowship in the Gospel. Let’s turn to Php 1:3, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine, making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; Amen.
Let’s go to 1 John 1:1, That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—that which we have seen and heard we 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. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us. Chapter 2, verse 1, My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
Our fellowship is in the Gospel. We see, in 1 John 1, our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son. We cannot fellowship with them in darkness. God is light. Our fellowship is with them and with one another in the light. When the light exposes sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Jesus is the light of the world. In Him, and the Father is no darkness at all. Through the Gospel; through Jesus’ sacrifice upon the Cross; through faith in Him, in His name, and in His shed Blood, we are forgiven, cleansed and justified, when we walk in the light; when we confess our sins. There is no condemnation then. We walk on with Him, with a clear conscience, yielding to the Holy Spirit as He leads us to follow Jesus to do the Father’s will. Jesus is still only doing the will of His Father, and, if we are following Him, we too will be doing the will of our Father. And if we continue in His will, following Jesus, we will enter into His Kingdom to rule and reign with Him as kings and priests forever.
God cannot, and will not, have fellowship with sin or with those who are practicing sin.
That’s why, when all our sins were laid upon His Son, upon the Cross, the Father separated Himself from Him, as He bare our sins; as He was made sin for us, that through repentance and faith in Him we might be made righteous in His sight. We only have true fellowship through the Gospel; through the work of the Cross in our lives. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by Me. Our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son in the light of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ, cleansed by His Blood and sanctified from everything that separates us from them. Our fellowship with one another is in them; in the Father and in His Son and in the Holy Spirit and in the truth of His Word. The Apostle Paul said, I’ve determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
1 John 1:6, If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. There is a huge lie in the Church today: that we have fellowship with Jesus and the Father and with one another, while we continue to walk in darkness. It causes the fellowship to be feigned: we don’t have true fellowship, and we don’t have true love. Let’s turn to 2 Cor 6:14, Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Therefore, come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. Chapter 7, verse 1, Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Chapter 6, verse 14, And what communion (fellowship) has light with darkness?
Let’s turn to 1 Peter 1:13, Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, Be holy, for I am holy. And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious Blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the Word of God which lives and abides forever.
Our fellowship is in the Holy Spirit, in the love of God. The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. He is the Spirit of truth. So we love one another in truth, and in knowledge, and in all judgment, or discernment, approving the things that are excellent; bringing forth good fruit to the glory of God, (Php 1:9-11). Greater love has no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends, Jesus said, you are My friends if you do whatsoever I command you. Jesus laid down His life for us to deliver us from the power of sin and the power of the devil; to bring us out of darkness into His marvelous light; into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son.
Let’s turn to 1 John 4:7, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. The Gospel is the love of God: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever lives and believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
1 John 2:10, He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
So you can come together; you can come to a building, and talk to each other, and laugh and sing songs and say prayers, but, if you are not walking in the light of the Gospel; if you are not truly loving the Father and His Son for what they have done for you; if you are walking in darkness: loving this world; loving yourself, your money and your pleasures, you are not loving the Father. 1 John 2:15, Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. Unless you are walking in the light, with the Blood of Jesus cleansing you from all sin and unrighteousness, you can go home and say what great fellowship you had, but you have not had true fellowship. Truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, in the light of the Gospel; in the true love of God.
Prophecy:
I am God Almighty. Those of you who are listening to My servant Rob this day, open your eyes; open your ears; open your hearts to receive My Words. My Words will bring you out of darkness into My light, that you may fellowship with Me and with My Son, says the Lord. Turn unto Me with all your heart and I will receive you to Myself, says the Lord.
Thank you for reading this message from 15 Minutes With Jesus at roberthaymes.com .
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you who love Him in truth, Amen. (2 Cor 13:14)