All right, turn with me, if you
would, to 1 Corinthians 1. 1 Corinthians 1. We are going to
have a fellowship dinner today after this service out at the
park. And I love these dinners. I truly do. I love this time
of fellowship. It is a fellowship dinner. And I love spending time with
the Lord's people. It's a moment to spend time together
that we normally don't get. I believe that the Lord has given
us a wonderful fellowship here. I believe the Lord has given
us a sweet fellowship. And the reason is because 1 Corinthians
1 verse 9 says, God is faithful. By whom you, me, we, were called unto the
fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. That is the reason for our fellowship. That is what makes our fellowship
wonderful, and that's what makes it sweet. Jesus Christ, our Lord. He is our fellowship. If we have been made to be a
part of the fellowship of Christ, This is the reason why we were
made to be a part of it. And this is how we were made
to be a part of it. Why were we made to be a part
of it? Verse nine says, God is faithful. That's why. That's the reason why. God is
faithful. That's the only reason why. It's
not because of anything we were. Well, now look at him, look at
her. Why don't we include them into the fellowship? It's not
because of anything we were. It's not because of anything
we had done. It's not because of anything
we could offer. It's because God is faithful. That's the only reason. And how
were we made to be a part of it? Verse nine says, we were
called unto it. God is faithful. by whom you
were called unto the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our
Lord. Now, I'd like for us to see in
this Bible study specifically what it is that brings us together
in fellowship. We've already said that it's
Christ. He is our fellowship. But what is it specifically in
regard to Christ that brings us together. And then after we
see that, I want us to read a story, a beautiful, beautiful story. I adore this story. I've known
of it for a long time, but there came a point in my life where
I understood what was going on in the story. And it's a story
of how some sinners were made to be believers And we're all
brought together into this same particular fellowship, the fellowship
of his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. All right, here we all
are. Here we all are, here we all
sit. We come from different families. We come from different backgrounds. We come from different locations.
What is it that brings us together into a loving, united, single
mind, single heart, single desire fellowship? What is it specifically? If somebody wants to know, what
is this fellowship built on? Turn with me to Philippians chapter
one. Philippians chapter 1 verse 1
says, Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to
all the saints in Christ Jesus, which are at Philippi, with the
bishops and deacons, grace be unto you and peace from God our
Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every
remembrance of you. Always in every prayer of mine
for you all, making request with joy for your fellowship in the
gospel. From the first day until now. being confident of this very
thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform
it until the day of Jesus Christ, even as it is meet for me to
think this of you all, because I have you in my heart. In as
much as both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation
of the gospel, you all are partakers of my grace. And those last three
words translate to with me of grace. You all are partakers
with me of grace. What is it that unites us in
this sweet fellowship with Christ? And it is the gospel of His grace. The gospel of His grace. That means the good news of His
gift. That's what unites us. The good
news of His gift. That's what we gather around.
That's what we fellowship around. Paul said, I thank God, verse
5, for your fellowship in the gospel. You know, the gospel
is a very particular thing. It is a very particular thing. Most people believe that it is
a very broad and general thing. It just, you know, if you're
anywhere close, you're okay. The gospel is a very straight
and narrow declaration. Any deviation from what God's
word declares is the gospel. Any deviation from that is no
longer the gospel. God has recorded in this book,
we have this book and he has said, this is my gospel. He has written it out in black
and white. This is my gospel. Any change
from it is no longer the gospel. And God's people cannot and they
will not have fellowship with it. Any deviation from it, they
cannot and they will not. If it is not this mind, if it's
not this heart and this desire, this word, God's people cannot
and will not have fellowship with it. Hold your place right
here and go back a few pages to Galatians 1. Galatians one verse six, I marvel
that you are so soon removed from him that called you into
the grace of Christ, the gospel of the grace of Christ unto another
gospel, which is not another, but there be some that trouble
you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we or an
angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that
which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said
before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel
unto you than that you have received, let him be accursed. For do I
now persuade men or God? Do I have to answer to men or
God? I think about that all the time. Do I have to answer to
men or God? Men are not gonna like this.
Somebody in particular may not like. Do I have to answer to
men or God? Or do I seek to please men? For
if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. What the Apostle Paul is saying
right here is if it's not the gospel that God has declared,
I can't have anything to do with it. All of God's people feel
that way. All of them. They share a united
fellowship in that. Now, what specifically is the
gospel that God has declared? We just said that if it's not
the one he declared, it's not the gospel and God's people can't
have fellowship with it. What is the gospel that he has
declared? Go back to Philippians. This time, chapter two. Verse one, it says, if there
be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of
love, if any fellowship of the spirit, if there is going to
be any fellowship of the spirit, he said, if there's going to
be any heart, that's what bowels means. If there's going to be
any mercies. Verse two, he said, fulfill ye
my joy, that you be like minded. Having the same love, being of
one accord, of one mind, let nothing be done through strife
or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other
better than themselves, Look, not every man on his own things,
but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in
you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form
of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Why did
he not think it was robbery to be equal with God? He was God. He is God. Jesus Christ is the
very God. And this right here is the good
news of his gospel. Verse six, who being in the form
of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made
himself of no reputation. Who would do that? Who would
do that? You know, we don't, we, we don't
want to willingly go from this reputation to this reputation.
You know, I worked hard to get here. I'm not going back to here.
Think about God. He made himself of no reputation
and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the
likeness of men. And being found in fashion as
a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. Why did he do that? He did it
in order to save His people from their sins. That's what it took
for Him to save His people from their sins. He took upon Himself
all the sin of His people, and He suffered for it. And He bled
for it, and He died for it. And after all the punishment
was poured out on Him, and after all the judgment was satisfied
in Him, After he died and he was buried and after all the
sin was gone, he walked out of his grave. He ascended back up
to glory and he sat down on his throne after it was all done. Verse 9 says, wherefore God also
hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every
name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things
in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, and
that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to
the glory of God the Father." Here is our fellowship. This
is our fellowship. This is what unites God's people
in the fellowship of his son. We all cry, he must be exalted. We must decrease and he must
increase. We all cry, his name is above
every name, especially my name. We all bow before the Lord, our
King. And every tongue in the fellowship
confesses he's the sovereign. He is the ruler. He is my owner. He is my controller, not just
the controller, my controller. He's the Lord. He's the Lord. Salvation is in his hands. We
are in his hands. Everything is in his hands. And we cry, all glory be to God
for it. Praise God for that. All glory
and praise to the Lamb that was slain, who has borne all our
sins and has cleansed every stain. Hallelujah. That means praise
you the Lord. Dine to glory. Hallelujah. Amen. That's what unites us. That is what unites us. In the
fellowship of Jesus Christ our Lord, the glory, the praise,
the honor that we love to bestow on Him, that is our favorite
thing to do. In the fellowship of the Spirit,
we bestow it all on Him because of who He is and what He's done
for us. Paul said in Philippians 3, verse
7, But what things were gained to me, those I counted loss for
Christ? Yea, doubtless, and I count all
things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do
count them but dung, that I may win Christ. and be found in him,
not having mine own righteousness which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which
is of God by faith." That means my hope of glory is not based
one bit on how I have kept the law of commandments that are
contained in this book. My hope of glory is completely
founded on how Christ kept the Law of Commandments that are
contained in this book. That's what unites us. And my hope is contained in the
fact that He robed me in that perfect work the very moment
that He robed Himself in my sins. That's our hope, that's what
unites us. Verse 10, that I may know him in the power of his
resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings. Being made
conformable unto death, if by any means I might attain unto
the resurrection of the dead. What truly unites God's people?
The fellowship of His sufferings. When He suffered, we suffered.
The fellowship of His death. When He died, we died. It's appointed
unto man once to die. Aren't you so glad for that?
Not twice, once. And all of God's people have
already died. We died in Him. He said, whoever
lives and believes in me shall never die. You already died.
That's over. When He died, we died, and when
He arose, we arose. The Apostle John said, truly
our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. Our fellowship is with Him, our
fellowship is in Him. Now, what amazes me about this
fellowship with Christ is who God the Father chose to call
into it. That's what amazes me. who he
chose to call into it. The only way that a person can
be made to be a part of it is if he or she is called into it. Every member of the fellowship
is hand-selected by God, hand-selected. And what is absolutely amazing
is who he selected. That's amazing. All right, now
this story, We'll close with this. This is not part two. But this true account is gonna
show us who he selected. The people in this story represent
every soul called in. Every single soul. If we have
been called in, then they represent you and me. If we have been called
in, we will see ourselves in these people. If we do not see
ourselves in these people, then we need to be crying out for
mercy. All right, if we see ourselves in these people, then we can
have some hope that God has called us because these people represent
every soul that he has called. I believe this is gonna give
us a greater appreciation of our calling in. All right, the
story is in Acts chapter two, but let's begin in Luke 23. Turn
with me to Luke 23 first. Luke 23 verse one, and the whole
multitude of them arose and led him unto Pilate. All of these
people who represent you and me. The whole multitude of them
arose and led him unto Pilate, and they began to accuse him,
saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation and forbidding
to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a king. And Pilate asked him, saying,
Art thou the king of the Jews? And he answered him and said,
Thou sayest it. Then said Pilate to the chief
priest and to the people, I find no fault in this man, and they
were the more fierce. When Pilate said that, they got
more fierce, saying, he stirreth up the people teaching throughout
all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place. So after Pilate
examined him again, He said, I still find no fault in him.
Verse 16, I will therefore chastise him and release him, for of necessity
he must release one unto them at the feast. And they cried
out all at once, saying, away with this man and release unto
us Barabbas, who for a certain sedition made in the city and
for murder was cast into prison. Pilate, therefore willing to
release Jesus, spake again to them. But they cried, saying,
Crucify him! Crucify him! And he said unto
them the third time, Why? what evil hath he done? I have
found no cause of death in him. I will therefore chastise him,
and let him go. And they were instant with loud
voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices
of them and of the chief priests prevailed, and Pilate gave sentence
that it should be as they required. And he released unto them, him
that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they
had desired, but he delivered Jesus to their will. Their will. All right. Now turn with me to Acts chapter
two. Acts chapter 2, Peter, here in
Acts chapter 2, stood up in Jerusalem and he said in verse 22, you men of Israel, hear these
words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by
miracles and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst
of you as you yourselves also know. Him being delivered by
the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken and by
wicked hands have crucified and slain. Peter stood up and said,
men and brethren of Israel, you did it. This is on you. Verse 24, whom God hath raised
up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible
that he should be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning
him, and he's quoting Psalm 16 right here. I foresaw the Lord
always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should
not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice,
and my tongue was glad. Moreover also my flesh shall
rest in hope, because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither
wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast
made known to me the ways of life. Thou shalt make me full
of joy with thy countenance." Peter said in verse 29, men and
brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David.
that He is both dead and buried, and His sepulcher is with us
unto this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and
knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit
of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ
to sit on his throne, he seeing this before spake of the resurrection
of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his
flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up,
whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore, being by the right
hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise
of the Holy Ghost, which hath shed forth this, which you now
see and hear, for David is not ascended into the heavens, but
he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my
right hand, until I make thy foals thy footstool. Therefore,
let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made
that same Jesus whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Amen. What a message. If we want to know how to preach,
there it is. What a message. Verse 37, now
when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart And said
unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren,
what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent,
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ,
for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of
the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you and
to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many
as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did
he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward
generation. Then they that gladly received
his word were baptized, and the same day there were added unto
them about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly
in the apostles' preaching, doctrine, teaching, words, 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,
and parted them to all men as every man had need. And they,
continuing 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." That sounds like a wonderful fellowship,
doesn't it? That's the fellowship we have in Christ. That's the
fellowship all of God's people have, wherever they gather, in
the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'm just so thankful to be
a part of it. I am so thankful to be a part
of it. I am so thankful that you're
a part of it. I'm so thankful for every soul
that God calls into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ, our
Lord. Like Paul told the Philippians,
I thank my God for you, and I do. I thank God for you, and I thank
God for this fellowship. All right, you're dismissed.