Koinonia

Praise God. I want you to turn with me here tonight to the book of Acts, Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2. We're going to start a new series at the beginning of this year, 2025, our first series of the year. And just with being away for several weeks, I can honestly allure a couple of things in a very distant land began to roll.

I absolutely didn't even think or consider, but I've just been praying and asking the Lord to lead us, guide us as we enter into this new year. Just what he would say to us as a church, as a people and as individuals. I'm going to read from Acts chapter 2 here tonight.

My first message is the title of a new series as well. And I've given it the title, a Greek title. I've named it after a Greek word and I'm going to go on to explain this.

This one Greek word that I've named this message and named the entire series, at least a few messages is what I'm going to preach on and explain tonight. I'm not being smart by using a Greek word, but there are some Greek words you ought to know and you ought to learn and ought to become familiar with. I'm going to use this word and make you familiar with it over these next coming weeks.

We're going to read in Acts chapter 2, beginning in verse 41. And my message here tonight, koinonia, and I'll explain this as we go on, is a Bible study. And I'm going to concentrate on a single word, explaining it, expanding on it.

I just want you tonight to learn one word, its meaning, its definition, and to be clear on what it is not. And then the weeks ahead, we're going to go in and open up the scriptures, the doctrine, the teaching of the apostles, all about this subject to have a clear insight of the Holy Spirit's teaching upon it. Reading from Acts chapter 2, 41.

Then they that gladly received this word were baptized. And the same day there were added unto them about 3,000 souls. And they continued steadfastly in apostles' doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayers.

And fear came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together and had all things common and sold their possessions and goods. Don't worry, I'm not going to get you to do that tonight.

And parted them to all men as every man had need. And they continued daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house. Did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people.

And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. Will you pray with me? Let's pray for one another. Pray for this preacher.

Pray for all the believers connected with us. Pray for those that listen to us online. Let's believe together.

Let's have faith. Let's join our hearts and lift our voices. Let's plead with the living God at the throne of grace.

And let's come boldly through the blood of Jesus by the righteousness of God. Let us approach that eternal throne and wrestle for this church tonight to wrestle for the consequence of this church in the year to come. For the very impact in this city and other places that the Spirit of God would fall upon us.

Lord God, we come in that mighty name Jesus again. Lord God, we come in no other name. We dare not come in our own name or authority or anything that we've done.

But oh God, we come by virtue of the Son of God, the Lamb of God, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the one who has all power, all authority, all dominion. Lord God, who is the embodiment of forgiveness and grace and mercy and wisdom and loving kindness. Lord God, he is everything to us tonight.

And oh God, we're asking for a new move in this church. We're asking for an outpouring of your Holy Spirit. My God, we're asking for what happened in the book of Acts to happen amongst us.

We're asking for the spirit of revival. We're asking for fire to burn in our gathering, oh God. Lord God, we're asking for a stirring of hearts.

We're asking for a breaking of every stronghold of the enemy. My God, we're asking for the destroying, Lord God, of every lie and stratagem of hell. Lord God, we're asking for a genuine move of the spirit of God that's going to lead to the conversion of many.

Lord God, that would break out on the left and the right. Lord God, that a light would shine out of here. Lord God, even to the very uttermost parts of the earth.

Lord God, that you'd save, that you'd baptize in the Holy Ghost and fire, that you'd commission, that you'd call, that you'd empower, oh God. Lord God, we're asking that you bring forth even sweet fellowship in the house of God, that you'd grant us to understand, Lord God, what it is your mind and your word says concerning our fellowship together. In Jesus' mighty name, will you bless us as we enter into this new year together? In Jesus' mighty name.

Hallelujah. Amen. Amen.

Praise God. I want to bring you to a message here tonight. One single Greek word, koinonia.

Koinonia. And I want to explain exactly what that means. It says again, and read with me in Acts chapter 2 and verse 42.

And they, that is the church, they had been 120. The Spirit of God fell on them. And now God has added 3,000 new converts instantly.

Imagine a church growing from 120 to 3,120 thereabouts in one day, in one day. That 120 better know what they are, what they believe, what they preach. Here is God has miraculously added 3,000 and it says they continued steadfastly.

These 3,000 new converts added to the one original church, 120 including the 11 apostles. God literally adds 3,000 new converts, changes their mind, washes away their sins, puts a new heart within them, puts his Holy Spirit within them. And you've got a church right across that city.

It says they continued steadfastly. And notice it says four things. In the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayers, they continued steadfastly.

I want you to notice here as we begin in this message, there was a very clear, definite mind within this gathered host of believers. This is the first church, the only church, the church that Jesus is building and a church that's going to spread right across the entire world. I want you to see they're not casual.

They're not ignorant about doctrine. They're not negligent of fellowship. They're not casual in the things that their hearts are set towards, in their minds, in their emotions, in their actions, in their words.

Everything is very determined and very focused. It says they continued. They didn't just start.

It wasn't just a casual thing of excitement. It wasn't something of man's creation. Something began and then it continued.

These 3,000 plus about 120 continued steadfastly. Notice what the word continued steadfastly means. It means to be earnest towards these four things.

They were very earnest about the four things I've mentioned. Very passionate, very focused. This word means to persevere in.

In other words, you are determined that you're going to continue steadfastly in these four things. It means to be constantly diligent over. In other words, these four distinct things, you're constantly watching over them, constantly making sure it's in good repair, constantly making sure that you are giving yourself over to these four things.

It means to attend assiduously to. If you have never met an assiduous person, you have not lived. An assiduous person is very scrutinizing.

They don't ignore little issues. They don't say, well, it doesn't matter. An assiduous person says, no, it's got to be a certain way.

It's got to be done a certain way. They're very assiduous. It means to adhere closely to.

We're not deviating. We're not slacking off. We're not forgetting about it.

We're going to make sure we continue in these four things. It means literally to be unmovable. Notice again what the four things are.

Number one, the apostle's doctrine. Listening, the apostles teach, expound, open up, go through the Bible, scripture after scripture, teaching the word of God. What we're told is the 3,120 are going to be utterly committed to the teaching of the apostles.

When the apostles gather to teach the word of God, this gathered church, the first church, the only disciples are radically committed to this. They are committed to it. They actually have set themselves, their mind, their emotions, their person, their words to say, we shall be there.

Wherever the doctrine of the apostles is, wherever the apostles, these gifted men called by Christ are teaching the word of God. I am given myself to doctrine. I am given myself.

In other words, you are to give yourself over to doctrine. You're to be committed to it. This isn't the preachers.

It's not the 12 apostles continued steadfastly. It says the 3,000 new converts, the 120 that were in the upper room, they continued steadfastly. Can I tell you something in this church? You are to continue steadfastly.

That's not my job. It's not a few elect souls in the church. Every member of this church, Thomas, James, Joshua, all of you, you need to be given over to the apostles doctrine.

This preaching, this teaching is something that you're to have an attitude of heart, a commitment. In other words, nothing can move you away from it. Notice the second thing, fellowship.

We're going to come to that. That's my Greek word. See the Greek word, Kononia.

That said fellowship. I'm going to come back and explain it. Look at the third one.

It says in breaking a bread, they were steadfast, resolute, committed to breaking a bread. Breaking bread amongst the church is not a side issue, a little issue, a non-issue. To break your bread together in fellowship is a very important teaching.

We've taught entire messages on that. How the early church broke bread from home to home in remembrance of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Always remembering the Lord.

Then what's the fourth thing? In prayers. These new converts were radically burning, committed, not only given over to doctrine and teaching, but given over to prayer. They were constant in prayer.

They were burning on prayer. They were praying for one another. They were praying for the preaching of the word of God.

They were praying for their own souls. Saints of God, we need a bit of old time fire again in the house of God. You need to catch a fire.

You know what? Fire is the normal element of the church. Passivity, compromise, lethargy, non-committed. You know what? All of that is foreign to the church.

That is radically foreign. That isn't the normal condition of the church. We are actually called to burn in these things.

There's a warfare raging around these four things. All hell is set against the apostles' doctrine. All hell is set against your prayer life.

Don't tell me the devil hates a praying man and woman. He'll bring distractions. He'll bring sin.

He'll bring people. You know what? A praying mother is a dangerous weapon in the hand of God. A praying husband, the head of the home, a danger to the kingdom of Satan.

You know why? That wife is going to be affected. Those children are going to be affected. Just one member of this church that prays through and touches God, a new convert, resolutely committed to prayer.

You may not be a great prayer warrior, but if you say, I'm going to seek God Sunday morning before I walk in the house of God, I'm going to continue steadfastly. Nothing is going to hinder me. Saints of God, we're going to have a fire burning in the house of God.

But here tonight, I'm going to deal with the second of these four things, koinonia. And I will explain what it is tonight. This word koinonia, a Greek word, is mentioned exactly as it's written in Acts chapter 2, 42, exactly the same spelling in the Greek language 20 times in 18 different verses in the New Testament.

The Greek word in the New Testament, 20 times. But it's translated into the English in different ways. 12 of those times, it's fellowship, fellowship, koinonia, fellowship.

Four times, it's communion. One time's communication. One time's distribution.

One time's contribution. And one time's communication. All of these 20 are this Greek word, koinonia.

And you know what? The early church so understood it, that it was as important as the apostle's doctrine, breaking of bread and prayer. If you think fellowship is a lesser thing than doctrine and prayer, you're gravely mistaken. See this early church, the apostles, the 120, Mary, the mother of Jesus, Peter, John, Matthew, the 3,000 new converts, all of them knew this was so important.

They had to set themselves determinedly not to be moved from fellowship, koinonia. It was such a vital thing. It's as important as doctrine and prayer.

And believe me, doctrine and prayer are vital. That's your lifeblood of the church and of ministry. Without doctrine and prayer, we don't have a church.

We have nothing. But I want to tell you, fellowship is an utterly vital thing. But around this word koinonia is a family of words or a family of Greek words.

So it's only 20 times that it's koinonia. But also there's other verbs and tenses in around it. So there's, I need my glasses to read the Greek words.

Koinonia, there's another word in this family where it's mentioned eight times. Now we're going to come to these things in the weeks ahead. I'm only mentioning it here briefly in passing.

There's another word where it's mentioned three times and another word koinonia is mentioned 10 times. That means there's at least 41 words connected with koinonia. At least 41.

And we're going to look at all of these words. We're going to look at these verses. We're going to begin to study them over these next coming weeks.

It's okay, I've got them. We're going to begin looking at these teachings, at these scriptures and opening up before you is going to open up a complete teaching and doctrine concerning koinonia. You see if the early church at its birth and at its beginning was resolutely set towards something called fellowship.

Fellowship was so vital to its existence and they're going to have to fight for it and they're going to have to guard it and they're going to have to protect it and they're going to have to understand it and they're going to have to function in it and they're going to have to enjoy it and they're going to have to share it. All of these things saints of God. And let's just before I give you my three points here tonight, let me give you a very rough, very incomplete, very insufficient definition of this one Greek word.

Koinonia means participating in the life of Christ. It means to be caught up in the community of Christ's body. It means to labor together in unity with that body for the same ends and the same goals, receiving and sharing the life, the provisions and the calling of Jesus Christ and enjoying all of this.

You're allowed to enjoy this, you know, enjoying this in fellowship with one another. That's a real lousy definition and the only way I can convey this is to begin to teach on it. I've got three points I want to give you here tonight.

First of all, koinonia defined, what the word means. Second of all, counterfeit koinonia. And then third of all to finish, koinonia pursued.

Let's look at this first and in this first point, koinonia defined, I'm going to give you four definitions of koinonia. All I'm doing is a word study. I'm keeping this dead simple tonight and then we're going into the scriptures next week and the following week.

You're going to begin to understand this word in different areas of the Christian life because you know what this koinonia has to do with your relationship with God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Do you know the Bible says that you have koinonia with the Holy Spirit? You need to understand this. How are you going to enjoy koinonia with the Holy Spirit when you don't even know it exists? You've got no comprehension.

But you also have koinonia with each other. You've got to be careful that we have koinonia in this church. So it's God word as well as man word.

What we enjoy with God, we also enjoy one with the other. It's an entire biblical teaching. But my first point, koinonia defined, and I want to give you four meanings.

And if you understand these four meanings and you join them together, you have an understanding of what true fellowship is. Fellowship with God, fellowship with God the Father through Christ, fellowship with Christ, fellowship with the Holy Spirit, fellowship with your husband, your wife, your brother, your sister. We as the church enjoy fellowship together.

And we're going to look at all the different aspects of this because the Bible teaches very clear things about fellowship. And I want to tell you what's called fellowship across the church is dung. It's utter dung.

It's dangerous dung. And that's why one of my points, I'm going to show you counterfeit koinonia. Because when koinonia, koinonia is such a powerful thing.

Fellowship, community, relationship, family. When that gets taken into false movements and stolen, it becomes a very dangerous thing because it's a very powerful thing. It's a very dynamic thing.

And so in the hands of the wrong people, koinonia is a very dynamic thing and it can be abused. So koinonia is four things. Listen carefully here.

And I'm keeping this so simple. First of all, the word koinonia in the Greek means participation. It means to be a part of something.

And remember the very first use of this word is Acts chapter two, verse 42. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship. This is the very first use of the word in the New Testament.

And it's in the context of the first church being birthed, added to, growing, and what sort of fellowship they have. They continued steadfastly in fellowship. You know what? If you have a casual attitude to fellowship, oh, I can take it or leave it.

You're not biblical and you're not enjoying what they enjoyed. So the first thing is participation. What happened in Acts chapter two? They had fellowship.

They didn't have to create it. They were given it. So it means to be part of something.

You enter into something. You get caught up in something. You begin to give time to something.

You begin to give yourself over to something. I'm not talking about organization. I'm not talking about some system of man or meetings or just gatherings.

I'm talking about a quality of fellowship. I'm talking about you get caught up to participate in something that's far greater than you, far bigger than you. And that's what happened to these 3,000 on the day of Pentecost.

They literally become part of something. That's what fellowship is. You get brought into it.

You get drawn into it. You get birthed into this. And it's far bigger than you.

And you know what? It was before you. This fellowship isn't something you created. It's existed 2,000 years.

When you get born again, you get brought into a fellowship that's dynamic. It involves Father and Son and the Holy Spirit dwelling in our midst and the real church of God. You actually get brought into a fellowship and a communion and a relationship that is very ancient, that came out of the heart of God.

It wasn't created by man. And it's never ceased to exist in 2,000 years. It is ginormous.

It's divine. It's created by God himself. And you know what? It's more important than you.

The fellowship that the Bible talks about that we are to continue steadfastly in. When you get brought into it, you become a participator. You become a member.

You become a part of that fellowship. And you know what? At that point, you're to continue steadfastly. You've got to fight for it.

You've got to watch over it. You've got to guard it. You've got to be conscious of it.

It says in Acts 2, verse 5, just before the day of Pentecost. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. When the day of Pentecost came, and 120 were in the upper room, in the city around them, the Jews were just about to start the day of Pentecost, the Feast of Shavuot, or the Feast of Weeks, or the Feast of Pentecost that celebrated God coming down on the mountain, giving the law to Moses, where there were 300 slain because of the righteousness and the holiness of God.

So you had all of this happening. You had about a million extra people in the little city of Jerusalem. And the Bible is clear here in Acts chapter 2. There were men there from every single nation under heaven.

We're told that when the Holy Spirit fell, and that the 120 started speaking in other tongues, that they spoke in the tongues of many nations, the surrounding nations and around them. Something very, very dynamic happened here. Can you imagine having 3,000 people added to this church in one single day from many different nations, many different cultures, many different languages, all with their different ways, their different styles, their different clothing, all their different traits, their different family habits.

And overnight, you've got 3,000 gathering with a small church of 120. That's what happened. You know what was created instantly was fellowship by the power of the Holy Spirit.

It is a participation. Listen to what it says in Acts 2.46. And they, who are the they? The 3,000 with 120, and they continuing daily with one accord in the temple. Do you realize they had instant unity? They didn't work for it.

They weren't taught it. There's not even time to have had an entire series of messages on unity. They haven't had that.

You know what? They were birthed into a participation. They were brought into something far bigger than themselves. And here they are, dwelling with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, to eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.

This is remarkable that you've got thousands born again, and instantly they become a partaker of koinonia. Instantly, they're brought in. They're a partaker, a participant.

They've been brought right into it. Saints, that is the first of four meanings of this word koinonia, that you become a partaker of something very big. You're a participator in.

You actually become a part of that fellowship. It's not something you hear about, you're told about, you're instructed about, or that you watch. You become a part of this fellowship.

The fellowship is what you're a part of. You're literally caught up in this. It becomes a part of your life.

Second of all, not only participation, it means partnership. And those are different words. I used to hate English as a kid.

At 16 years old, I got an F in English. But you know what? I love the English language now. Words mean something.

They define thoughts. Thoughts are conveyed by distinct words. Words are different.

They have meaning. And you know what? God uses words to communicate ideas to us. The second word, partnership.

When you begin to look at this word fellowship, it contains the understanding of partnership. When you're brought into this fellowship, if you're to continue steadfastly, you're actually a partner. Not just a participant, but you become a partner with other people.

Not just in a thing. Now you're not just partaking in something. You are a partner, either with God the Father, through the Son, or you're a partner with the Holy Spirit, or you're a partner with the church, with brothers and sisters around you.

So real fellowship means you're partnered together. It means to be part of a business, to embark. It's used in secular Greek in the first century.

Well, in fact, we have an example where Peter and his brothers had a business or a fellowship, a fishing business. That's the same fellowship. So this word koinonia, it means to be in business, doing a task, working at something.

It could be out on the Sea of Galilee, throwing your nets out, bringing in fish, selling the fish, working together. That's koinonia. Koinonia, working in that boat together for the common good, for the blessing of others, for your own blessings, and it's got a task, a job to do.

That's koinonia. So the second word, partnership, it means for the benefit of others and of yourself or an association where you're joined together for a task, in a job, in a calling. To have real fellowship in the church, it means you're joined together, you're bound together, you're in relationship together within the church and with God Himself to fulfill an actual task.

Every single one of you has a calling. Read Ephesians. It says, brethren, you know your holy calling.

Do you know every one of you has a calling on your life? It's not that some are called to preach and the rest of us sit back. We are all called to participate together. There is a holy calling.

There is a divine purpose. There is a reason why you've been brought in. It says in Acts chapter 2 verse 1, and on the day of Pentecost was fully come and they were all with one accord in one place.

Now notice this, that you've got a hundred and twenty. The church from its beginning was a partnership. Their fellowship was not individual.

It was a partnership where they're joined together, 120 in one accord in one place. We know from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John that Jesus Christ gave a great commission to the first disciples. The church that he's going to build, the only church, the worldwide church, the church of Jesus that's going to be scattered all across the world.

You know what? He gave them a task. When he was about to leave them and ascend into heaven, he says, go preach the gospel to every creature. The great commission isn't only to see people converted, evangelize with the gospel.

It is that, but that's only the beginning. It is also to disciple new converts, to establish new churches, to raise up the testimony of Christ in every area, in every region of the world. That is the great commission from evangelism to complete discipleship and a fully functioning church.

That is the great commission. Do you know that's the only commission given to the church, the only vision given for 2000 years, the only marching orders for the church? It's not that you have a vision and I have a different one. The real church worldwide and every generation has the same calling.

And we're going to see in the weeks ahead that every real believer is called into partnership with the gospel, the fellowship. If you're born again here tonight, you are a partaker. You're in the koinonia, the partnership of the gospel.

You are a fellow laborer with me tonight. You have been brought in on a glorious calling. So we begin to see and understand some of this.

It says in Acts 2 46 and they continuing daily with one accord in the temple. Do you see the church wants its birth? There's a partnership. They are together, not working as individuals, not mere strangers thrown together.

They are participating in fellowship. They are now partners together. They don't just go do their own thing.

They're working to a common end, a common cause, a common calling, a common commission, a common vision. All of them are being caught up to this. We are now participating.

We are now partners together. Third of all, sharing. This word koinonia means sharing, not only to participate, not only to be a partner, but to share.

That is key in fellowship to the word koinonia, to share. It actually means to share a common life, to receive a common life. It's not speaking about merely doing things.

It's talking about a lifestyle, a community, a entire people functioning together. It means to have a common life, enjoy a common life, a common social, spiritual life with others. It means to receive from others and to give to others.

That is fellowship. You want to know what fellowship is? It's me giving to you and you giving to me. It's both of us caught up in the same life.

What you're giving to me is actually the life that I give back to you. The prayers you pray for me come out of the same life that the prayers I pray for you come out of. The encouragement that you give me when I need it is the very same source that I give to you when you need encouragement, whether it's in the pulpit or sitting around these tables eating together and we fellowship together.

You know what it is? There is a sharing of this koinonia. So it means a common life with others. It's speaking about a relationship or a shared experience or sharing the knowledge that we have.

What koinonia is, it's actually sharing care one for the other. It is serving one another. It is communicating with one another.

It is distributing to one another and it's not only giving, it is receiving. Do you know I'm a great receiver? You might think you're a great giver. You give and give and give.

You preach and preach. You teach. You start with one message and end up with a series.

Saints, I'm a good receiver. I receive from people all the time in this church. I don't need to go to a preacher's convention.

I've never once ever had to go to a preacher's convention. I don't even get on the phone to speak to preachers most of the time to get encouraged. You know where I get my encouragement? From the house of God you bunch.

I draw from you. I receive from you. I expect to receive in the prayer meeting and in the testimony meetings from those online and from here.

I am a good receiver. See, when you become a good receiver, you can give well. You begin to understand this life isn't of me.

I'm not giving out of my own resource and I actually don't believe you're giving out of your own resource. What I receive from the body of Christ, I'm not looking to receive from you. Why would I try and draw out of you? I wouldn't do that.

You know what I'm looking to do is to draw from Jesus Christ ministering through the body of Christ. This is actually fellowship. Saints, if you begin to understand this, it'll change your whole ethos, your whole function.

What you receive, what you give, you share this life. There is a life that we're all enjoying from the day you're born again. You know the 3,000 that got born again, immediately they are steadfast in fellowship.

Steadfast in fellowship immediately. Do you know that all 3,000 had something to give? If you're a young believer or a new believer, you've got something to give. Oh, I don't have any.

Rubbish. Are you born again? The experience of power of God. As Christ called you, you've got something to share.

You can share, not out of yourself, not out of your own experience. You draw on the Lord Jesus Christ. Walk into church, say, Lord, help me.

I don't know much. I haven't seen much. I've got so much ground to cover.

Lord, help me to share what I have. Saints of God, in the Old Testament, when Israel picked up the manna and some bright sparks thought, if I pick up for tomorrow, I won't need to go out tomorrow and work. I'll pick up two days food.

I'll pick manna up and store it away. And then I'll have for two days or for three days. Do you remember what happened? They went to the store the second day and it was filled with worms.

See, if you have the life of God and the provision of God and you don't share it and you don't give away everything that you have, all the knowledge, all the wisdom, all the provision. Remember how I preached on the first time I preached, I only had one sermon. And there was only three people there.

I thought, I'll wait for the night when there's eight people there because I want to keep my good sermon. It's the only sermon I have. I only have one sermon and it's a pretty good sermon.

It's all I have. It's a pretty good sermon and I don't want to waste it on three people. I keep it free.

Immediately God smoked my heart and I went, how? He smoked my heart. How dare you think so little of three people? You know what I've done? I was so convicted. My heart smoked.

I said, forgive me, Lord. And I poured out all that I have. Can you imagine Sunday, all of us giving all that we have, pouring out the best.

Going, I don't have another prayer. I don't have another encouragement. I don't have another testimony.

Imagine all that being poured out on Sunday and all of us walking home going, what am I going to do for Wednesday? What am I going to do in the next fellowship time? I don't have anything left. But saints of God, this is how fellowship works. You pour out.

The word koinonia is also used for koinonia Greek. It actually meant the Greek that was used in the first century, commonly amongst the people. Not the rich man's Greek, not the educated person's Greek.

It was the common Greek that every man on the street possessed. No strange words, no long words they couldn't understand. It's what everyone had.

Everyone had in common. Do you know what this fellowship is? You all have it. Oh, I don't know how to fellowship.

I've got nothing to give. Rubbish. That's absolute rubbish.

Do you know what koinonia is? It's just given what you have. If you're born again, you have. You've got what it takes to share.

You may think it's not much. You may belittle yourself. You may convince yourself and say, I've got nothing to say.

I can't contribute. And that's a lie. But you're making yourself believe it.

If you want to believe that, you're making a choice. But it's not true. You can fight through somehow, some way.

Listen to what it says here in Acts chapter 2 verse 44. And all that believed were together. Notice they've just believed three thousand.

Most of this church have not been discipled. They've saved a short time out of every kind of sin, as well as religious environment. But it says all that believed were together.

Even those who have only believed still have the ability to meet together and to enjoy koinonia. And they had all things common. Notice this.

They're only believers. They've only entered into participating koinonia. They become partners together, and yet they're only new converts.

They all have something to share, yet their experience is so short. But here they have all things in common. And they sold their possessions and goods.

Don't worry, I'm not going there. And parted them to all men as every man had need. Notice they weren't commanded to do this.

We're not communists. We don't sell all our goods and all move in together. In Jerusalem, they didn't sell their houses.

They didn't just move into a commune. How are you going to fit 3,000 men in a building to sleep, to live, to cook, to do everything in Jerusalem? It didn't happen. They all had their own homes.

But what started to happen was a free will choice. The apostles didn't preach it. The apostles didn't decide this.

This was amongst the people themselves. They looked at their brother and said, he's got no food, no meal, nowhere to sleep tonight. Why don't you come with me? This is real fellowship, sharing what you have, not what you don't have.

Oh, I don't have a miracle to give. Do you have a bed to give? Do you have a place at your table to give? Do you have a little extra bit of bread? Then give that. Saints of God, you had a revival movement with people from every nation and God starts providing through fellowship.

Fellowship is very practical. Fellowship isn't enjoying a bit of chit-chat around the table and then separating. The fourth thing, fellowship.

So we've got participation, partnership, sharing, and fellowship. This is the normal word used for koinonia in our English. But it doesn't mean just social activity or conversation.

It means more than that. It means a closer relationship than normal. It means a spiritual relationship, intimate communion, close, open-hearted communion.

It means intercourse where you open your thoughts and your heart and there's an intimate communion with each other, a transparency, a reality, an honesty. It's not shallow. Have you been in those times of fellowship even with Christians? It's all shallow.

It's all shallow. There's nothing deep there. But you see, for real koinonia, if you're going to continue steadfastly, if you're going to be assiduous, if you're going to watch over this, you know what? There is a fellowship together of opening your hearts.

It is relationship. That's what koinonia is. It's relationships, one with the other, where you open your heart, where you open your mind, you open your thoughts, you open up your words, you open your mouth and begin to communicate.

With the preacher, you begin to discuss the scriptures or the sermon on Sunday. Imagine me preaching and I never hear from anyone about what impacts you or whether anything happens. Now, I'd still keep preaching, but I'd be a sadder preacher.

You know, Sunday afternoon here in one, two, three, just begin to testify about what God is doing in their heart, sharing a scripture. That is fellowship. That is communion.

Imagine me being ignorant of all the things that were going on here Sunday, not knowing the ones who messaged me or text me, the ones who shared publicly what was going on. All of that is a fellowship and communion. You could actually shut down on that, and you know what? I would be much poorer.

This church would be far worse off, but you know what it begins to do is stir on warm things. That's the first thing koinonia defined. I've given you four meanings for it.

Participation, partnership, sharing, and fellowship. These four things define what real koinonia is, what real fellowship is. Don't think it's just communion.

No, it's more than that. It's being a partner. I am joined with you in a task.

Every one of you in this church, we are partners together. We are caught up in something that's far, far bigger than us, far more ancient than this church. We've only been here 11 years, thereabouts as a church 10 and a half years, but this fellowship that we have been birthed into, it is ancient.

Going back to the book of Acts and the day of Pentecost, the second thing here, and for point two and three, I'm going to be very quick. Listen here before we close. Point two, counterfeit koinonia.

Counterfeit koinonia. I've just told you what koinonia is. It's a very intimate thing, a very close thing, a very binding thing, a very personal thing, a very powerful thing.

It's a dynamic thing. It's the life of God. It is a common life effect in all of us, and we're all caught up in this common life, all moving in the same direction.

This is koinonia, but what does counterfeit koinonia actually look like? Do you know in the church a word like koinonia can be taken and abused? People can have a false experience of koinonia, and when they hear the word koinonia, they can shut down or put barriers up. Most of you have not had bad experiences in churches, therefore you don't do that, and you haven't been taught wrong, therefore you don't do that, but let me give you an example. Covenant.

There was a certain time where I loved the teaching of the covenant in the Bible until the church went wrong and the preacher went wrong, and I could hardly hear the word covenant after that. It took me a couple of years before I could listen to the word covenant. I'm talking about the word koinonia here.

Some people through bad experiences don't want to hear about fellowship or getting close to people or koinonia or sharing. They actually draw back because of what they have experienced, but you know what? You can have bad experiences with the word submit in the Bible. It's a biblical word.

It's a true word. I've had some people in a church split situation in another country in past times, and they communicated, and I'd use simple words, and their alarm bells went off and said, but that can't be right because our preacher used that word, and he abused us, and I said, but I'm not abusing you, and there's nothing wrong with the word. What he done was take a good word, a good teaching, but he abused you, and now you resent the word.

The word alarms you. A word like covenant, you could say I don't want to hear the word. I can't bear to hear it because of past experiences or the word submit.

I'm scared by the word or the word unity. The same can happen with koinonia. What happens in the church? People draw back with alarm, but you know what? There's very beautiful about koinonia when it has checks and balances in around it.

Let me tell you about counterfeit koinonia. There was false koinonia in the book of Acts. Straight after Acts 2, straight before Acts 2, you've got false counterfeit koinonia.

Can I just mention some of them to you because you know it. Here you have beautiful koinonia, deep, heavenly, spiritual, biblical koinonia, but what happened before this? You had Judas called, chosen to be an apostle. Do you know what? The other 11 had fellowship with him.

They had communion with him. They're partners with him. They shared with him and he shared with them.

Here they are in koinonia. Jesus had koinonia with Judas. What does it say from the Psalm, the prophecy? We went up to the house of God together.

We communed together. We fellowshiped together and yet you lifted up your heel against me. Do you realize, don't let anything blemish the real biblical teaching.

Jesus had a bad experience of fellowship. Matthew had a bad experience. John had a bad experience.

Peter had a bad experience. Imagine Judas selling them all out and then committing suicide. That's close in.

That is tied in. We opened our hearts. We opened our lives.

We opened the church. This man got into leadership and yet it was counterfeit koinonia. It was a koinonia that failed us.

You know what, saints? Never demean koinonia because of Judas. Never do that, don't do that. What about Acts chapter 5, Ananas and Sapphira? Here are another two that come walking into the church and say, look, all this money, we want to finance this revival.

And they're lying to the Holy Ghost and they're sat down in the midst of the Holy Spirit moving. They sat at home, a husband and wife. They sat at their dinner table and they talked together.

They communed together. They had a conversation, planning to lie to the church and to the apostles. And they walked in, no fear of God, so callous.

And they lied to an apostle right in the midst of revival. And you know the story. They dropped down dead and had to be carried out and buried.

Saints, right in the real church, right in the midst of real revival, there was counterfeit koinonia. People in there said, I went in close by you because I'm using you, I'm using my money to get noted, to get a title. Like Barnabas, he got a name change.

He got noted. We want to be noted just by what we do. We'll lie, we'll connive, we'll deceive because we want to be something.

And they used koinonia to get right in close. Or what about Simon the sorcerer, a false convert who begins to attach himself to Philip the evangelist. The Bible actually says, everywhere you've seen Philip preaching, there's Simon, front row Simon.

And please sit in the front row, okay. Front row Simon, always stand there by the shoulder of Philip and around the city as Philip went preaching. Here's Simon standing with this bunch of tracts right at the shoulder of Philip the evangelist.

You identify the two together. You know what? He was trying to buy the Holy Ghost. Buy the Holy Ghost.

He wanted to pay. Give me the power that I can lay hands on men and they begin speaking in tongues. Give me the power.

Here, I want to give you money, Peter. Wrong man to ask. You don't want to ask Peter questions like that.

You don't want to begin trying to bribe Peter and buy the Holy Ghost. You don't want to do that. I don't like other translations of the Bible, but I like this one.

To hell with your money. To hell with your money. What a statement.

Saints of God, there is a false koinonia, but it was there in the book of Acts, before the book of Acts, leading into it. Imagine drawing back from real koinonia, because you go, oh, but there's hypocrites in the house of God. There's those that deceive in the house of God.

Someone hurt me in the house of God. Therefore, I draw back from koinonia. You're the loser.

You know what? We're the loser because you don't share them. There's also false movements in the early church. From about AD 70 to AD 90, AD 100, there's 30 years where John, Jude, and Peter warn about false movements that come into the church.

Listen to what Jude says. You know the verse well. We teach it periodically in this church.

Jude verse 11. Woe unto them, for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the heir of Balaam for a ward, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah. Here came spiritual movements into the early church in the book of Acts.

Just after the book of Acts, before the end of the century, movements began to move into the church. The Balaam movement, the Korah movement, the Cain movement. The Cain movement denied the blood.

The Balaam movement was a prosperity preaching gospel of dreams and visions. We've got Korah who rose up like the organic church saying, no one should be an authority, we should all lead. There's been many false movements came into the early church in the first century, before the end of the first century.

Since these new spiritual movements, the Korah, Balaam, and Cain movements that moved in, they believed in koinonia. They believed in a close bond, drawn disciples to yourself, being bound together, commitment, dedication, sharing, focus, unity. They taught all of those things.

They become literal movements moving through the apostolic churches. I seen it also in my 20s. I was burnt by certain things in the 20s.

Do you know many years ago, there was a movement in my young days called the Shepherding Movement. They come teaching in churches that there was a lack of submission, and authority, and discipleship, and commitment, and order. Here comes a new movement, the Shepherding Movement.

The shepherds over the flocks become highly exalted. They said, you need to submit. If you're going to go on holiday, you need to go ask your shepherd, who is your shepherd? Who is your covering? They took authority, and submission, and shepherding to an extreme.

People used to come to their shepherds in Scotland, and England, and Wales, and Northern Ireland, and America, and Europe. They'd come to their shepherd and say, what color do you think I should paint my house? I'd hate to be advising you bunch. I really would.

I've enough trouble myself. You had these false movements that were dynamic in koinonia, but they left such harm in the church that people didn't want to hear about shepherds. They didn't want to hear about submission, or authority, or unity.

They didn't want to hear the word covenant, covenant relationship, because so much false had came through the church. We know that there is false koinonia. The Bible warns you, be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.

For what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness, and communion with light and darkness? It's dealing with our koinonia, fellowship communion. You need to be very careful who you join yourself to, who you listen to, who you're yoked with. Even someone being a believer isn't sufficient.

The wrong person could keep you from ministry. These are all real things. A counterfeit koinonia.

Koinonia can be so strong, a partner you're joined with, but it's not God's will. There is a non-biblical union in the church. We hear of unity, pressure to be in union and fellowship with people.

You better make sure you're in union with the right people. Nehemiah and Ezra never entered koinonia with Symbolic and Tobiah. Here, our men said, we'll build with you.

We are what you are. We serve your God. We have unity.

We're not joining in communion with you, or fellowship with you, or talking with you, or listening to you. You've got to be very careful of counterfeit koinonia. See, in this church, we've got to keep our koinonia pure.

I'm going to show you how to do that, both this week and weeks to come. Let me finish point three, and I'll be brief for the point two. Koinonia pursued, maintained, protected, nurtured, growing.

Look again as we close in Acts chapter 242. And they, who's the they? 3,120. And they continued steadfastly.

Notice count in the Apostles' Doctrine, and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. What did I tell you that this meant? That they continued steadfastly. They were earnest towards.

They persevered in. They were constantly diligent over. They attended assiduously to these four things.

They adhered closely to these four things. They wouldn't give way to the fellowship. We're staying with this biblical fellowship, this partnership, this participation, this sharing, this fellowship.

We are going to watch over it. We are going to function in it. We're going to make sure it works.

You know what they had? They had a focus on fellowship. This fellowship is going to function. They prayed into their fellowship.

They studied about their fellowship. Now listen to this. There's such an important thought before we close.

You've just got four things mentioned. Apostles' Doctrine, breaking of bread, prayer, fellowship. You listen to what I'm about to say.

You will protect your fellowship. What comes before fellowship? The Apostles' Doctrine. See if you allow the teaching of the Word of God to go first and govern your fellowship.

You're going to have biblical fellowship. In other words, go to the Bible. Go to the teaching of God's Word.

Go, what is this participation? We're going to look at in the weeks to come. What is this fellowship? What is this koinonia? What is your koinonia with Jesus? What's your koinonia with each other? What's your koinonia to be here? Do you know what? You continue steadfastly in fellowship. And you know what it is? It is an absolute focus.

It is a direction. The word continued steadfastly means to be strong in. It means to be unmovable in.

You know what? You've got doctrine governing it, but you also have prayer. There ought to be prayer and doctrine protecting your fellowship. When fellowship is exalted and it's all about us getting social time, getting down time, relaxed time, laughing together, enjoying, that's not fellowship.

That's not biblical fellowship. I've seen it for years that you get Christians in a room together and they banter for two hours and say, wasn't that a good night's fellowship? Or they argue over doctrine for two hours and no one changes their mind. Wasn't that a good night's fellowship? It's not too long ago I got stuck in a room with all Christians, preachers, sons of pastors, elders, all of them are there.

And I got stuck in that room and you know what? For two hours I couldn't say, I couldn't smile, I couldn't enter into conversation because everything they talked about for two hours was utter corruption. It was grieving to the soul. It was sinful.

I sat there utterly grieved in heart. I kept looking for just one statement in two hours that I could be a part of or enter into or say amen. I couldn't even have a conversation.

It not only was secular, it was sinful. Christians, it ought not to be. No talk of Christ, no testifying, no glorifying, no edification.

Saints of God, it ought not to be. You know, and I've called this, the sin of Northern Ireland, the church of Northern Ireland, north of the border. It was a great evangelical church, great gospel preaching church.

But you know what? Their one grievous sin was foolish jesting and it undermined so much within the church of Jesus Christ. You need to be so careful and there's nothing wrong with a laugh or enjoying something together. There's nothing wrong with that.

There's not even anything wrong with enjoying something that's not spiritual. But when it becomes something that the enemy uses and sinful and undermines the word of God, you've got a real problem. You know, Koinonia pursued, this church was unmovable.

It had an intensity, it had strength and it pursued after real Koinonia. You know what? We ought not to sit in fellowship without something stirring to go, I want to talk about Christ. I want to edify my brother.

And that meeting that I said I was in with those people, they finished the night when they got to the two hours end of their banter. And one of them turned to the other and said, when he said, I need to go. One of them said, would you pray before we go our different ways? And he said, the spiritual prayer, I couldn't even say amen.

Because how could God bless such a thing as that? Since we're going to take this word Koinonia in the Greek and its family of words and associated words. And we're going to begin to look biblically beginning next Wednesday night of what communion with God himself is, because that sets the standard. And that's what we become a partaker of.

And we want that communion that's between father, son, and Holy Ghost to come down and begin to affect our fellowship. And where we've slackened off or lost the vision or lost the intensity of this. Maybe you need to tighten up.

Maybe you've never lost the intensity. Maybe you need refocus. Maybe you need reminded.

That's what this church was birthed on. We were birthed in Koinonia. We were baptized in biblical Koinonia.

We came forth as a church in Koinonia. And that Koinonia was drenched in biblical doctrine and it was guarded by prayer. And that Koinonia is a very precious thing.

And saints of God, may sinners that get joined to us in this house get brought right into Koinonia. Let's pray together. Lord God, we bless you tonight.

We worship you. We love you. We just thank you for the word of God.

Father, I do pray that beginning tonight that you're just birthed again. You'd refresh, that you'd revive, that you'd restore even this fellowship in the Holy Ghost. Father, we pray for that reviving of our hearts.

We pray, oh God, for that spiritual partnership. My God, strengthen this partnership in the Holy Ghost. Father, strengthen us that we might enjoy communion together.

Lord God, testify and encourage in each other. Pray in one another for each other. Lord God, we're asking of you, pour out your Holy Spirit, that we might be a vessel like the 120 in the upper room dwelling together in the same place at the same time in unity together.

Father, that your Holy Spirit might fall upon us, that many lives might be impacted as a result of us dwelling together in one accord, with one heart, with one message, with one mind, with one spirit. Lord God, bless us even in these coming weeks, that we'll begin to understand what koinonia with you our God in heaven means, what the koinonia of the Holy Ghost truly means, what koinonia in the gospel means, in Jesus name. Amen.