Fellowship
The sermon emphasizes the importance of building fellowship in the church and becoming a valuable brother or sister by being pure, refreshing, and not moody or gloomy.
Zac Poonen emphasizes the importance of being a valuable brother or sister in the church by bringing the atmosphere of heaven and building fellowship. He describes the impact of a pure-hearted individual who refreshes others with their presence, embodying qualities of purity, joy, and lack of complaints. Poonen contrasts these valuable siblings with those who create problems through gossip and complaints, acting as agents of Satan. He urges believers to prioritize fellowship over preaching, mirroring the unity and love within the Trinity as the ultimate goal.
Text
The most valuable brother and sister in any church is the one who can bring the atmosphere of heaven into a church and who can build fellowship in that church.
And such a person need not necessarily be one of the elder brothers. All of us have the opportunity to become such valuable brothers and sisters.
Think of a brother/sister in a church, who whenever he/she comes into a meeting or into a home, is like a pure breeze from heaven blowing through the room. What a precious brother/sister such a person is! Even if he/she stops by and visits you for just five minutes, you feel refreshed. You feel as if heaven came into your home for five minutes! He/she may not have given you a sermon or even a word of revelation from the Scriptures. But he/she was so pure. He/she was not moody or gloomy and had no complaints against anyone. Such a brother/sister may never speak first in a meeting (as many have the lust to do). He/she may speak fifteenth in every meeting perhaps, and that too for just three minutes. But those will be three minutes of heaven in the meeting - worth waiting for, to listen to!
Since the world is full of complainers and murmurers, it is so refreshing to meet a brother or a sister like that. It is just like having a bath, on a hot, sticky day! That is the type of brother/sister that we all should long to be like. Jesus was like that and He wants to make us like that too.
How sad it is that instead of being like that, many brothers and sisters go around creating problems wherever they go. They separate the brothers and sisters from each other by their gossipping. These are the servants and agents of Satan.
We are called to live with each other exactly as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit lived with each other. They were not preaching to each other back there in eternity past, but having fellowship. We too are not called to preach to each other, but to have fellowship.
That is heaven. And that is where the new and living way is meant to lead us to. I fear that many of us have got so taken up with the way that we have never arrived at the destination - fellowship with the Father.
Sermon Outline
- I. The Value of Fellowship
- A. Fellowship is the atmosphere of heaven in a church
- B. It is built by individuals, not just leaders
- II. Characteristics of a Valuable Brother/Sister
- A. Pure and refreshing
- B. Not moody or gloomy
- C. No complaints against others
- III. The Refreshing Presence of Jesus
- A. Jesus was a model of fellowship
- B. He wants to make us like that too
- IV. The Danger of Creating Problems
- A. Gossiping separates brothers and sisters
- B. These are servants and agents of Satan
- V. The Call to Fellowship
- A. Live with each other as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
- B. Have fellowship, not just preach to each other
Key Quotes
“Such a person need not necessarily be one of the elder brothers. All of us have the opportunity to become such valuable brothers and sisters.” — Zac Poonen
“Jesus was like that and He wants to make us like that too.” — Zac Poonen
“We too are not called to preach to each other, but to have fellowship.” — Zac Poonen
Application Points
- We should strive to be like Jesus and make others feel refreshed and at peace.
- We should avoid gossiping and creating problems in the church.
- We should focus on building fellowship with each other, not just preaching to each other.