Imagine

Sunday, February 15, 2026

SERMON: THE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES -- FASTING

Naylor Community Christian Church

Naylor, Georgia

I. Introduction

-- begin this morning by reading two passages – the first is Luke 4:1-2

Luke 4:1Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

-- now, let’s turn to Matthew 6:16-18

Matthew 6:16 “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

-- as you know, we are in the middle of a sermon series on the spiritual disciplines and the spiritual gifts – so far, we have explored the spiritual disciplines of reading or listening to the Bible, prayer, and fellowship

-- this morning, as we are on the cusp of Lent, I wanted us to take a few moments to consider the spiritual discipline of fasting, which is the one spiritual discipline most associated with this season of Lent in the church

-- before I dive into this message, I wanted to share a thought about spiritual disciplines in general – as good southerners, most of us here probably drink tea sometime during the day – and, as all southerners know, when we have our tea, we understand that it is supposed to be served cold -- with ice -- and to be sweet enough that you can substitute it for syrup if you run out of syrup for your pancakes during breakfast

– that is the traditional way we have tea in the south – and if you go to any restaurant down here and ask for tea as a drink, that’s the way it will come unless you order it special

-- but that is changing, and there are more and more people in south Georgia who are making hot tea instead of sweet iced tea as their beverage of choice – used to be people only drank hot tea if they were at a Chinese restaurant, but now people drink it all the time – and I imagine most of you have had hot tea from time to time, even though it makes true southerners shudder to think of it

-- so, suppose I asked you to make some hot tea – what you do? – you need two things, right? – hot water and a tea bag – you put the tea bag in the cup and then you add hot water to it – simple, right? – not really

-- because if you take a tea bag and just dip it in the hot water once or twice and then take it out, it won’t make very good tea, will it? – no, you have to seep the tea – you have to put the tea bag in the hot water and leave it there for a while – the longer the tea leaves are immersed in the water, the more tea is released and the more the water changes and is transformed into the drink you are expecting

-- that is a very good picture of how the spiritual disciplines affect our spiritual lives – the more we allow spiritual things and spiritual practices to saturate our lives, the more our spiritual lives develop – in other words, the longer we apply spiritual practices and disciplines in our lives, the more we will become like Jesus – the more we will be transformed and changed and made mature in His image

-- so, applying spiritual disciplines to your life is like putting a tea bag in hot water – the more you do it – the longer you let the spiritual disciplines linger – the stronger you grow spiritually

– the point I am trying to make here is that we have to approach these spiritual disciplines as practices that we need to make a part of our daily lives – not just something that we do once or twice and not touch again for a long time – think of it like a tea bag – and know that it takes time and effort and consistency for the Holy Spirit to use these spiritual disciplines in our lives to change and transform us into the people He wants us to be¹

-- the key is consistency – and this is something we need to remember, especially as we begin our discussion on the spiritual discipline of fasting today

II. The Spiritual Discipline of Fasting

-- fasting is one of the most recognized spiritual disciplines in the world today – the people of God have been fasting since the very beginning – and you find examples of fasting from the Book of Genesis all the way to the Book of Revelation – along with direct commands from God for His people to fast on a regular basis

-- it might surprise you to learn this, but did you know the Bible talks more about fasting than it does baptism? – there’s a reason for that – because this spiritual discipline is one of the most important disciplines to connect us directly to the presence of God and to reinforce the importance of making God first in our lives

-- let me read Luke 4:1-2 for you again

-- these verses tell us what Jesus did immediately after His baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist – as you remember, John the Baptist was preaching a gospel of repentance and encouraging people to be baptized in the Jordan as a symbol of cleansing from sin and the spiritual change they were making in their lives

-- as the people were gathering to be baptized by John, the gospels tell us that Jesus Himself came and was baptized – when He rose from the water, the Father spoke from Heaven and said, “This is My Son, in whom I am well pleased,” and the Holy Spirit descended from heaven as a dove and came upon Jesus – this moment marks the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry, as He proclaims Himself the Messiah and begins preaching the good news of the coming Kingdom of God throughout Israel

-- but when Jesus came up out of the waters of the Jordan River, He didn’t head straight to Jerusalem or to the temple or to any place where crowds of people were gathered – instead, He went into the wilderness, where He was to be tempted by the devil – in preparation for this period of temptation and testing, we read that Jesus fasted for forty days – having nothing to eat or drink for that entire period

-- we learn from Jesus’ example here the primary purpose of fasting – it is to separate ourselves from the world and the things of the world so that we might focus our attention and our concentration on the Father, in preparation for times of testing and temptation or times when we seek God’s presence in our lives

-- and, as you read the gospels, you’ll see Jesus routinely fasted throughout His life on earth – especially in those moments when He was seeking the presence of the Father or seeking the Father’s will and guidance – an example of this is when Jesus was deciding which disciples would be called into the apostolic ministry – before He appointed the apostles, Jesus spent time in fasting and prayer to seek God’s will and direction

-- seeking the presence of God and His will or direction in our lives for specific purposes is the main reason we should consider fasting in our lives today – certainly, Jesus expected it of us – He taught that His followers would fast in order to draw closer to the Father for specific reasons

-- in Mark 2:18-20, the Pharisees are questioning why Jesus’ disciples were not fasting at the required times that the rest of the Jews were fasting – and Jesus responded, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while He is with them? – they cannot, so long as they have Him with them – but the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast”

-- in other words, Jesus is saying, “My disciples do not need to fast to seek my presence at this moment, for I am with them – but the time will come when I will not be with them, and when that happens, they will fast”

-- fasting, then, is a critical spiritual discipline that we should be practicing as we seek the presence of God in our lives today

III. Why and How to Fast?

-- and, to reinforce the message that Jesus expected His disciples to fast, we find instructions from Him in how to fast in Matthew 6:16-18 – look at that with me now

-- notice what Jesus says here in verse 16 -- “When you fast” – not, if you fast – when you fast – this is what you should do

-- Jesus expected us to fast – He commanded us to fast, because He knew that we needed this discipline in our lives in order to draw close to Him and the Father

-- so, when do we fast? – why do we fast?

-- typically, fasting is situational – in other words, we fast for a particular reason or because we have a particular need or burden on our heart – just like Jesus fasted in the wilderness to prepare Himself for the temptation of the devil and He fasted to discern the Father’s will in regards to choosing which disciples to call as Apostles – specific reasons – specific situations

-- when we fast, there should be a reason for it – if you look at the Biblical examples of the times God called for His people to fast or the people chose to do so on their own, there were specific reasons for that period of fasting

-- let me give you an example – I just read through the Book of Esther – and if you remember the story of this book, Esther has become the Queen of Persia after marrying King Xerxes – an evil man named Haman in the Persian kingdom convinced the king to issue an edict calling for the eradication of the Jews on a certain date

-- since Esther was a Jew in a high position in the kingdom, her uncle Mordecai asked her to intervene and convince the king to change the edict – she agreed to approach the king, but only if the Jews would agree to fast and pray for three days prior to her attempt at speaking to him

-- so, this period of fasting was taken up for the specific purpose of calling out to God for relief and protection of the Jews from Haman and his people – for God to change the king’s heart – and for strength and courage for Esther to come before the king uninvited and to stand up on behalf of the Jews at this time

-- that is just one example of many, and you can find other examples throughout the Old and New Testaments – but in each of them, you will see that the people had a specific reason and purpose for their fasting – they weren’t doing it just as another spiritual act or as a form of works to earn grace, but as a means to draw close to God and ask for His assistance in these specific situations, such as the issue of Haman and the eradication of the Jews we read about in the Book of Esther

-- when we fast, we should have a reason – and as you grow more and more mature in your faith, you will find more and more reasons to fast and seek God’s presence in your life – not only for you – but maybe for the healing of a loved one or to pray for salvation or revival or some other specific need

-- fasting should always have a reason and be done in the right way and with the right motives

-- that’s what Jesus tells us here – He reminds us that when we fast, we need to be mindful of our appearance and our motives – to remember the purpose of fasting as a spiritual discipline – not as a form of works to earn grace or favor with God

-- in these verses, Jesus taught His disciples that when we fast, we should not draw attention to ourselves – this speaks to our motives for fasting

-- so, these verses teach that when we fast, we need to do so for the right reason and the right way

-- let’s talk for a moment about what we mean when we speak of fasting, because there is a difference in how the world defines and understands the purpose of fasting and how the Bible does

– right now, a lot of people are taking up the practice of fasting -- if you do an internet search for the word, “Fasting,” you will thousands and thousands of results – but most of those results are concerning fasting for your health – this is because fasting is the hot buzzword in the health community right now

-- people are doing intermittent fasting, where you fast for a certain number of hours each day and limit your eating window – they are doing juice cleanses as a type of fast

– they are fasting from carbs or other types of food and taking up specialized diets

– there are lots and lots of different kinds of fasting you’ll read about – the internet is filled with resources about this – but this is not the type of fasting the Bible references – this is not the type of fasting that the Bible encourages as a spiritual discipline that is a means of grace of growing in Christ

– just because you fast, doesn’t mean that you are doing it as a spiritual practice – you could be doing it for other reasons -- so, your motive and your purpose in fasting is of utmost importance – why are you fasting? – what is your purpose?

-- are you fasting simply for your health? – or are you fasting as a means to seek God’s presence and ask for His help in a particular situation?

-- or are you fasting like the hyprocrites referenced here in these verses? – they were not fasting to seek God’s help and presence for a particular situation – they were fasting for legal reasons – they were fasting because the Mosaic Law specified that they fast on certain days and at certain times – and so they fasted for fasting’s sake – not as a spiritual act or discipline

-- and when they fasted, they did it in such a way to call attention to themselves – they wanted people to know they were fasting so that the people would see how holy and spiritual they were

-- their motives were not for spiritual growth and development – their motive for fasting was not to draw near to God – their motive for fasting was for self-aggrandizement – and Jesus called them out for that, naming them hypocrites for how they fasted

-- He told His disciples that when they fast, they were not to do it like the hypocrites, but to do it for the right motives and with the right appearance – not calling attention to themselves – but fasting solely as a spiritual act to draw near to God

-- the hypocrites may have been disciplined in their fasting, just like the people in our world today who are fasting for health reasons, but their reward was not spiritual – it was worldly – they were not fasting with the right motives – they were not fasting as a true spiritual exercise or discipline

-- so, when you fast, keep in mind the two errors that the hypocrites made – they fasted as a form of works and as a way to boost their own egos – they fasted out of pride

-- we need to make sure we are fasting for the right reasons and not trying to call attention to ourselves when we do it

– and I would say this holds true for all the spiritual disciplines, as well – be mindful of why you are doing them and approach them reverently, as holy acts that we do to grow closer to God and to become more and more like Jesus

-- for instance, if you are reading your Bible or praying in public, do so in a way that doesn’t call attention to yourself – I think we’ve all seen people in a restaurant make a show of praying before a meal and praying loudly so that everyone around them knows they are praying – they are praying in a fashion similar to how the hypocrites in this passage were fasting – not as a quiet spiritual moment with God – but to gain the favor and admiration of those around them

-- so, when you do any of these spiritual disciplines in public, remember your motives and purposes and that the people around you are not your audience – God is

-- another common error that people make when they fast is they try to use fasting as a means to control God – this is the same sin that idol worshipers make – they use a spiritual practice with the idea that by doing it in a certain way or by saying the right words, they can manipulate God to do what they want

-- while fasting is situational, the purpose of fasting is to draw near to God and seek His presence – His guidance – His direction – and His will for that situation

– we fast to find God – to seek His presence – to seek His guidance -- not to try to control Him or manipulate Him into doing what we want to do

-- if you approach fasting with the idea that God has to respond to you when you fast, you are missing the big picture – fasting is a spiritual discipline – a means of grace – whereby we seek out the presence of God and grow in our relationship with Him

-- and it is through that relationship that God works in our lives and in the situation that we are fasting and praying about – God doesn’t move simply because we stop eating for a certain amount of time – He moves because we are in a relationship with Him and we are His children, and He does what is best because He is our Father

-- Dr. Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, was one of the biggest proponents of fasting and prayer in America – he wrote several books on the subject – he spoke extensively about it – and he lived it out in his life

-- Dr. Bright emphasized how fasting was an important spiritual practice that helps us grow in grace and in our relationship with God

-- he wrote that fasting was a spiritual practice portrayed in the Bible as a means by which we can humble ourselves before God – King David made the same point in Psalm 35:13, where he said that he humbled himself through fasting

-- secondly, Dr. Bright said that fasting enables the Holy Spirit to reveal our true spiritual condition, resulting in brokenness, repentance, and a transformed life – fasting lets us draw near to God in such a way that we can see just how far from Him we are – and it should cause us to want to change our lives so that we can become more and more like Jesus

-- third, fasting leads to a closer experience with the Lord God Almighty -- it is a means to set aside earthly things that we focus on and that we prioritize – things that hinder us from being able to concentrate on God and on seeking His face and His will in our lives – sometimes, this is fasting from food – sometimes, it is fasting from other things or even people

-- finally, Dr. Bright wrote that the ultimate goal of fasting is to glorify and praise God – that through fasting, we center our total being on God and focusing our attention on Him alone so that our prayers may be powerful and effective

-- fasting becomes a means of coming before the throne of God -- a means of humbling ourselves before the feet of our Creator – and of seeking His presence and power in our lives in this particular time and for this particular reason

-- from personal experience, I can tell you that fasting can lead to greater experiences with God -- I have fasted from time to time and earnestly sought God's face and sought His direction through prayer and through meditation on His word -- and He has blessed me when I have done this

-- how do we fast? – typically, when people fasted, they set aside food and drink for a specific period of time – the fasts in the Bible that we read of are people doing just that

-- giving up food was an act of humility and surrender – it was setting aside something that you needed and trusting that God would provide in its absence

-- if you remember the story of the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus had sent His disciples off to buy food for their noon-day meal when the Samaritan woman came to draw water – when the disciples got back, they asked Jesus if He was hungry – and He said that He had food to eat that they did not know of

– this is spiritual food – spiritual nourishment – that comes through our relationship with God and that we can experience as we grow in our relationship with God and practice these spiritual disciplines as means of grace

-- a lot of people still give up food and drink when they fast today for spiritual reasons – during the season of Lent, this is a traditional means of grace that people apply for the forty days of Lent – giving up food and spending that time in prayer and in seeking God’s presence in preparation for the celebration of Easter

-- but some people can’t fast from food or drink because of health issues – but that doesn’t mean they are prohibited from taking part in this spiritual discipline

-- you can fast from anything in your life that’s “taking up more space, attention, power, or influence than you’d like” – things that are keeping you away from God – things that are taking God’s place and that you prioritize as more important in your life than anything else

-- this can be things like your phone or your TV or your computer

-- it could be sports or hobbies

-- it could be talking, especially if you have a problem with gossip or uncouth speaking

-- it could be the news or social media

-- it could be music or a particular kind of music or entertainment²

-- it doesn’t really matter what you choose to set aside when you fast as a spiritual discipline – the important thing is that you are doing so for a right reason – not to call attention to yourself – but that you are choosing to set aside this thing – food, screens, social media, etcetera – in order to seek the presence of God or to ask for His assistance in a particular issue or situation

-- remember what Jesus taught in Matthew 6:16-18 – we don’t fast as a means to an end – we fast as an act of sacrifice and humility in order to grow closer to God and draw near to His presence – in order to ask for His help when we need it most

-- fasting should be part of our spiritual lives – it’s not something we need to do every day – it’s not something that we need to do just because we’re coming up on Lent – but it is something that we should do from time to time as a specific need arises

-- maybe we have a burden for God’s presence and help in a troubling time – maybe we find ourselves distant from God and in a dry wilderness far from His presence – maybe we just need a special moment with God in our lives – or maybe our hearts are breaking over sin or our country or our family and friends

-- all of these can be reasons that we are led to fast and seek God’s presence and power in our lives – remembering Jesus’ direction to fast with the right motives and in the right way – as a means of grace and not as works or to draw attention to ourselves, like the hypocrites did

IV. Closing

-- let me close by sharing with you the story about the remarkable fast of Dr. Joon Gon Kim of Korea

-- in 1980, Dr. Joon Gon Kim was chairman of an evangelistic crusade that was expected to bring a million people to Yoido Plaza in Seoul – everything was planned and the Korean Christian community was excited to see what God was going to do through this crusade -- But six months before the meeting, the police informed Dr. Kim they were revoking their permission for the crusade.

-- Korea was in political turmoil at that time, and the city of Seoul was under martial law -- The officers decided they could not take the risk of having so many people gather together in one place – so they told Dr. Kim that the meeting could not happen and that he was to stop the gathering

-- when Dr. Kim received this notice from the police, he knew the situation could only be rectified through divine power – So, he gathered other Christian pastors and leaders and they went on a retreat to a mountain in rural Korea – for 40 days, they fasted and prayed to God about the crusade – asking for Him to intervene – asking for Him to change the hearts of the government leaders – to make a way for the crusade to go on so that others might come to faith and trust in Jesus as their Lord and Savior

-- at the end of the 40 days of fasting and prayer, Dr. Kim returned to Seoul and went to the police station to see if the ban was still in place – when the officer saw Dr. Kim standing there, he came up and said, “ We have changed our mind and you can have your meeting!”

-- the crusade went on as planned, and many people came to know Jesus as a result³

-- fasting is a critical and much underutilized spiritual discipline in our world today – most of us still don’t understand the purpose – we miss the reason – we focus on the wrong thing – simply not eating – and we don’t use this spiritual practice as a means of grace by which we can draw closer to God

-- so, as we close today in prayer, I want to encourage to consider trying the spiritual discipline of fasting in your life – skip a meal and use that time you would have taken to prepare the meal or to eat the meal in prayer – seeking God’s presence – asking for God to move in your life or in the life of someone around you

-- try fasting – try giving up food or screens or social media or something else – and replace that with the intentional act of seeking God – and see if God moves in your life as He did in the life of Jesus – and David – and Esther – and Dr. Kim

-- fasting may be the spiritual discipline that God is leading you to implement in your life – so, as we close in prayer, ask God if this is what He is leading you to do – and respond to His word as you feel led

-- let us pray

-------------------------

1 Modified from a sermon illustration by Jim Luthy, https://sermoncentral.com/sermons/to-fast-or-not-to-fast-jim-luthy-sermon-on-disciplines-fasting-44456

2 Spiritual Disciplines – Fasting – Art of Manliness website

3 Source: John Piper, A Hunger for God, (Crossway, 2013), pg. 65.

Sunday, February 08, 2026

SERMON: THE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES -- FELLOWSHIP -- DOING LIFE TOGETHER

Naylor Community Christian Church

Naylor, Georgia

I. Introduction

-- turn in Bibles to Acts 2:42-47

Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

– hold your place there, and follow along as I read Hebrews 10:19-25

Hebrews 10:19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

-- as we open this morning, I want to share with you the story of Pachomius, as recorded by Marshall Shelley in an article in Leadership Journal:

-- Pachomius was an Egyptian in the early 4^th century – he became a Christian because of the kindness and love he received from the Christians who lived around Thebes – but as a Roman soldier, he was afraid to make public his newfound faith in Christ – so, in 315 AD, after he was released from his military service, Pachomius was baptized and began to embrace his faith with all his heart

-- seeking to follow the ways of Christ without interference from the world, Pachomius retreated to the desert and became a religious hermit – living a solitary life of self-denial, solitude, silence, and severity – but after a while, he began to question whether this was truly the path to growing in grace and maturity in Christ – as he studied Scripture, it seemed as if Christ and the apostolic fathers were portraying a way of life entirely different than the one he was living

-- so, in the solitude of his hermitage and the solitude of his heart, Pachomius began asking piercing questions of the way he was approaching his faith:

-- “How can you learn to love if no one else is around?

-- How can you learn humility living alone?

-- How can you experience or show kindness or gentleness or goodness in isolation?

-- How can you learn patience unless someone puts yours to the test?”

-- Pachomius came to the conclusion that developing spiritual maturity requires being around other people -- ordinary, ornery people -- "To save souls," he said, "you must bring them together."

-- “So Pachomius began an ascetic fellowship, where holiness was developed not in isolation but in community -- Instead of each person seeking God in his own way, with the dangers of idleness and eccentricity, Pachomius established a common life based on worship, work, and discipline.”

-- “Pachomius, while largely forgotten in church history, points out to us that as attractive as solitary sanctification may seem, it is in life amid people, busyness, and interruptions that [we] develop many of the qualities God requires.”¹

-- this morning, we are continuing in our sermon series on the spiritual disciplines and the spiritual gifts – those foundational elements that we need in order to become mature Christians who live out the commands of Christ in our lives daily

-- so far in this study, we have looked at the disciplines of reading the Bible and prayer -- this week, we’re going to be looking at the next spiritual discipline -- fellowship -- specifically looking at how the early church modeled the concept of fellowship in a vibrant and living Christian community

II. The Loss of Community

-- fellowship is a word that we all know, but that we frequently misuse -- when you hear the word, “fellowship,” in most church settings, you’ll find it is attached to a gathering of people -- usually to a meal, such as a covered dish dinner after church

-- sometimes, you’ll hear “fellowship” used to talk about people sharing conversation with each other in informal settings – like when we say that we are having fellowship before our Bible study

-- and, while these can be forms of fellowship, they fall far short of what the word truly means and how Christ intended us to experience fellowship in His church

-- when you see the terms “fellowship” or “communion” in your New Testament, it is usually a translation of the Greek word Koinonia – the translators decide whether to use “fellowship” or “communion” based on the context of the passage, but both fellowship and communion come from the same word and the same root meaning

-- the definition of Koinonia is a group of people who are joined together to form community or family – in the context of the Bible, Koinonia is used to describe the spiritual and physical union of believers through the blood of Christ and the Holy Spirit into a holy community – the church of Christ

-- through Jesus, we experience Koinonia – we become the church – the community of faith – the very family of God – His people, who are indwelled by His very presence, joining together to do life together as one body on earth today

-- when we look at the early church in the Book of Acts, this is what we see -- we see Koinonia lived out as God intended – both here in Acts 2 and over in Acts 4:32, where we read that "all the believers were one in heart and mind" – they were united – they were in fellowship or communion with one another

-- this is the heart of Koinonia – this is what Jesus wanted for us – that He prayed for on the night that He was betrayed – Koinonia – fellowship – communion – community -- these should be our goal as His holy church on earth today – for, as Pachomius discovered, it is only in Koinonia that we experience true relationships with others and Christ within us

-- when we look at this picture of the early Christian church described for us here in the Book of Acts, it seems very foreign to us -- almost unrecognizable -- because this description of fellowship lived out in a local church community is so different from what we find today

-- look back at Acts 2:42

-- where the early church focused on living and doing life together, our modern churches only gather and come together once or twice a week for established services -- we then separate and go our own way -- making it through the rest of the week on our own -- until we come back together on the next Sunday

-- this practice has caused us to see church as an event, rather than a community -- as something we do -- someplace we go -- rather than who we are

-- this lack of identity and community in our churches today -- this lack of centering our lives on Christ and on His people – and focusing more of our time and attention on the world – on seeking community through social media and political identities – has resulted in unprecedented isolation and loneliness and division within the very body of Christ

-- and this all accelerated during Covid and the heightened political divisions over the last decade – resulting in Christians lost and alone without any real sense of community in the world today

-- both major mainline denominations and the non-denominational churches have been losing members over the past two or three decades – we live here in the Bible Belt – and if you go to almost any church in town – you’ll see lots and lots of empty pews and empty seats – at best, some new churches grow simply by taking members from other established congregations – we’re just rustling sheep and moving members rather than bringing new people into the fold

-- additionally, we are seeing more and more people who have turned away from traditional denominations – who identify themselves as "unchurched" Christians or as simply “spiritual,” without any church affiliation – and who do not join with other Christians for worship on a regular basis

-- the writers of Hebrews warned against this in the passage we looked at – in Hebrews 10:25, we read, “let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encourage one another – and all the more – as you see the Day approaching”

-- in a survey by the Barna Research Group, they found that 10 million self-proclaimed, born-again Christians in America have not been to a worship service in a church building in the last six months, apart from Christmas or Easter.

-- just as a note, Barna defines "born-again" as those who say they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important today, and believe they will "go to heaven because they have confessed their sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior." -- a definition that probably most of us agree with

-- now, what this means is that for these people, spiritual life has nothing to do with joining together with other believers in fellowship – in joining together with other believers in worshiping God together -- they are seeking relationship with Jesus apart from a church setting

-- I have a coworker that moved here last year – and despite her affirmation that she is a Christian, she has no interest in finding a church home in the local community – she spends her Sunday mornings watching an online service, where you get the entertainment of a service without the true fellowship and communion that is intended

-- for thousands of years, the church has been the center of religious and spiritual life -- but now many people are living out an individualized spirituality outside traditional churches -- trying to find success in a virtual monasticism similar to that tried and found wanting by Pachomius -- even though they are surrounded by the world, they are trying to live out their Christian lives in virtual isolation, with no support from other believers

-- why has this happened? -- I think it’s because we’ve lost our way as churches -- we’ve forgotten our reason for being -- our purpose here on earth -- we’ve lost the sense of Koinonia -- the need to do life together that caused the early church to thrive and grow

-- and because we’ve lost it – because we have let politics and social issues divide us and separate us from each other -- we haven’t been able to demonstrate fellowship and communion or give it to others -- we haven’t been helping others see how we need each other to truly grow and mature in our faith – to survive and thrive in the world today

III. Fellowship

-- so, what’s the answer? – what is our goal when we proclaim that fellowship and communion are vital spiritual disciplines needed in the church today?

-- fellowship or communion, as the New Testament defines it, is not coming together for social activities -- it is not coming together to have a covered dish dinner -- it is not the church getting together to take a trip to amusement parks or other such trips

-- no, fellowship is much more than that -- fellowship is community -- it is a group of believers -- a group of people who have accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior -- who come together on a regular basis to do life together

-- this means they worship together -- pray together -- learn together -- support and encourage each other in the work of Christ – they help each other through their days – not just on Sundays

-- they are there for each other in the good times and the bad -- they know each other in an intimate way because they are one in Christ and one with each other

-- this act of coming together as a corporate body of believers defines fellowship – it is the heart of communion -- as James Packer points out, the Greek word Koinonia comes from a root meaning, “common or shared” – So, the spiritual discipline of fellowship means the intentional participation in life with someone else -- either by giving what you have to the other person or receiving what he or she has -- Giving and receiving becomes the essence and foundation of fellowship

-- in true biblical fellowship, we gather together to give praise to God -- to offer prayers to God -- to give ourselves to the building up of the church -- and we receive from others knowledge, comfort, support, and encouragement

-- I heard a message from Dr. James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, one time that I think speaks to the heart of fellowship -- one day his two young children were arguing and fighting with each other as children do -- Dr. Dobson said he had had enough of their fighting so he called them over to him -- he led them to the window and told them to look outside -- he said, "outside of this window is a hard world -- it is a world that will tear you apart if you let it -- the only way you can survive in this world is if you have someone you can trust who will always be there to support you

-- as brother and sister, you are called to be there to support each other so that when you go out into the world, you won't be destroyed -- you are not called to destroy each other before you get out there"

-- this story reminds us that there’s a reason we call our church buildings, “sanctuaries” -- they are sanctuaries from the world where believers can come together in love and trust – where we can support and encourage each other in our Christian walks – this is fellowship – this is communion – this is Koinonia

-- the spiritual discipline of fellowship is not the church reaching out to the world, but the church supporting each other and lifting each other up so that together, we might grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord Christ

-- in Rom 1:11-12, Paul wrote, "I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong-- that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith." -- and in 2 Thes 5:11 he wrote, "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing" -- Paul understood the value and the need for fellowship in the church

-- as Tim Stafford pointed out in an article in Christianity Today -- "People need people -- God's people need God's people in order to know God -- Life in Christ is a corporate affair -- All God's promises were made to God's people—plural -- All the New Testament epistles address Christians in churches -- The Bible simply does not know of the existence of an individual, isolated Christian"

-- I recognized one of the best examples of true Biblical fellowship when I watched the movie, “Forrest Gump” -- when Forrest was in Vietnam and was out on patrol with his buddy Bubba, they were trying to sleep in the jungle in the middle of a thunderstorm – they didn’t have a tent – they didn’t have a dry place to lay down and sleep – they were just sitting in mud and if they tried to lay down, all they could do was lay down in the mud

-- Bubba slid over to Forrest and said, "Forrest, put your back up against my back and you lean on me and I'll lean on you and we won't have to sleep in the mud"

-- this is the picture of fellowship – of Koinonia – that we need to remember -- fellowship keeps a Christian out of the mud as they lean on each other for support

IV. Communion

-- more than anything, Christ knew that we needed each other if we were to be the people He called us to be – if we were to live out our lives as He intended

-- on the very last night He was with His disciples – as He faced the daunting reality of the cross and what was ahead – Jesus prayed for His disciples and for us – for those who would come to put their faith and trust in Him through their witness and testimony

-- He prayed that the church would be one – that all of us would be united in Him and through Him – that we would be one with each other and one with Him in love and faith and community

-- I believe it was with this thought in mind that Christ gave us the sacrament of Holy Communion during the last supper – for this sacrament is a sacred moment whereby we affirm our union with Christ and our union with each other

-- the words that we proclaim and the act of sharing together the breaking of one loaf and the drinking of one cup unite us in true fellowship and Koinonia – more than anything else, it is in this act that we become the church and are reminded of who we are and what we should be doing

-- as we’re considering the necessity of Koinonia in the church today, let me share with you a couple of thoughts about the importance of the sacrament of holy communion

-- I read one time about this couple who were running late to church -- and when they walked in through the back door, they looked up and saw that the altar was set for communion -- they turned to each other and said, "Great, we rushed here for another communion service"

-- out of all that we do in the church, there is little that is as sacred and as moving as holy communion -- in this act, we enter into a sacred moment with the Lord God Almighty and with each other

-- during this sacrament, the grace of God is poured out on us as we remember again the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior on our behalf -- how Jesus died on the cross and gave His very own body and blood to save us from hell

-- during this sacrament, we are bound together as one -- when we share in the Lord's Supper -- when we share our common experience of salvation through Christ -- we are joined together again as one body without division

-- we experience Koinonia as we become the church -- and all the things that might separate us in the eyes of the world -- race, nationality, gender, social status, class, political tribe -- these all cease to exist when God's grace comes to us through this sacrament

-- and during this sacrament, we are making a bold statement of faith -- by participating in holy communion, we are proclaiming to a watching world who we are and what we believe

-- we are telling the world that we believe in Christ Jesus -- that we trust in Him and Him alone for our salvation -- and we witness to His continuing presence in our lives

-- through holy communion, we become the church at its best -- for that reason, we should never regard the sharing of the Lord's Supper as "just another communion service"

-- as the United Methodist Church states: "Communion is supposed to be a sacred meal in which the community of faith, in the simple act of eating bread and drinking wine, proclaims and participates in all that God has done, is doing, and will continue to do for us in Christ"

-- we celebrate the Lord's Supper to remember the grace that God gave us in our baptism and to be filled with spiritual food -- with grace -- that will sustain us and help us to live in Christ as we join together as one body and one people to do and to be who Christ called us to be

-- this sacrament of communion has several purposes that reinforce the need for fellowship and Koinonia in our lives today:

-- first, it is to remind us of Christ and His work on the cross

-- we remember Christ's death and resurrection

-- we remember Christ's sacrifice for us

-- we remember the importance of uniting our own lives with Christ

-- second, the sacrament of communion unites us with Christ and with His body, the holy catholic church -- the universal church made up of believers across this entire world and all believers who came before and who will come after us -- the great cloud of witnesses that the writer of the Book of Hebrews says surrounds us

-- in some great mysterious way that we can never fully understand, we are united with Christ and with each other when we break the bread and drink from the cup that represent the body and blood of Jesus

-- third, this sacrament nourishes us with the transforming grace of God -- just like in baptism, communion is a means of grace, and when you participate, God's grace is poured out upon you through the simple act of eating the bread and drinking the wine in remembrance of Christ

-- holy communion is an outward expression of something greater and deeper than what we see on the surface -- it is something that we do -- we reach out and accept the gift of bread that is offered -- we immerse it in the cup -- we take it into our body

-- and at the same time we are doing this, God is touching us and filling us inwardly with His grace -- with the power to continue in Christ's name -- with the grace to go forth and do what Jesus would do

-- fourth, communion prepares us for the future glory of God's heavenly banquet for this sacrament is a means by which the church proclaims the Lord's death until He comes

-- as Christians, we are supposed to keep one eye on heaven and one eye on earth -- we should be looking forward to the day when Christ will come – when we participate in the sacrament of communion, we are remembering Jesus' promise of the resurrection and our eventual home in Heaven

-- communion is a proclamation of what we believe as individuals and as the church -- it is the sum of our Christian life – it is a spiritual picture of Koinonia – of the fellowship we should be seeking in our lives today

-- this is why the sacrament of communion should always be taken in a worthy manner -- not as a ritual in a Sunday morning service – not as just something you do because you’re here -- but as an active confession by which you call to mind the memory of all that Jesus has done for you and continues to do for you – as you seek to become one with Him and one with the rest of the community of faith – His church in the world today

V. Closing

-- “Author Bunmi Laditan wrote a powerful essay a few years back called "I Miss the Village." -- In it she says that she goes through her everyday tasks in her "four-walled house while the world buzzes around me busy and fast." -- She talks of raising her child in her home, but missing something she calls "the village I never had."

-- she wrote what it would feel like to live in a village -- to be in community and fellowship with others:

-- “You'd know me and I'd know you -- I'd know your children, and you'd know mine -- Not just on a surface level -- favorite foods, games and such -- but real, true knowledge of the soul that flickers behind their eyes -- I'd trust them in your arms just as much as I'd trust them in mine -- They'd respect you and heed your "no."

-- "I miss that village of mothers that I've never had -- The one we traded for homes that...feel miles apart from each other -- The one we traded for locked front doors, blinking devices and afternoons alone on the floor playing one-on-one with our little ones.

-- “What gives me hope is that as I look at you from across the park with your own child in tow playing in her own corner of the sandbox, I can tell from your curious glance and shy smile that you miss it, too.”

-- reflecting on this essay, Dustin Willis and Brandon Clements commented that even though Bunmi Laditan wrote this essay with mothers in mind, “she makes a poignant point about the disconnectedness that many people feel deep down

-- Throughout history our ways of living have adapted and changed -- and there seems to be a growing realization that maybe some of those changes aren't for the best -- that maybe in our overvalue of isolation and entertainment -- we've actually missed out on something essential and worthwhile -- deep relationships with others.”²

-- that’s what Koinonia – fellowship – communion -- is all about -- living out deep relationships with others in Christian community

-- the Bible makes it clear -- we need each other -- Christianity only works in community -- it can only be realized in relationship -- and true faith is only experienced through intentional fellowship with other believers

-- living and doing life together is the heart of what it means to be in fellowship with others -- it is what we see in the early church -- it is the example Jesus gave us with the relationship He had with His disciples -- it is something we desperately need today

-- that’s why it’s so important for us to emphasize true Christian fellowship in our church communities -- that’s why it’s so important for us to bring new believers into a church community and not just add them to the church rolls but make them part of our family

-- there’s a reason why the Great Commission begins with evangelism and has as its next step fellowship -- baptizing new believers – because we are called to do life together – and this means bringing new believers into a vibrant church community where they can learn how to do this Christian life with the encouragement and support of those around them

-- this is the heart of what fellowship means – this is what we are seeking in this spiritual discipline

-- you have so much to offer this world -- this church has what others have been looking for -- now, it’s time for us to go and tell others about it -- it’s time for us to share the good news of Christ -- to lead others into a relationship with Jesus -- and to bring them into fellowship with us here in this place

-- it’s time for us to experience Koinonia at Naylor Community Christian Church – that is our goal – that is our purpose – so, let’s go and do that this week

-- and to get you ready to experience true fellowship and communion with each other, we are going to end this service by sharing together the sacrament of Holy Communion – so, after we have our last song, we’ll end the service by coming together as God’s people to partake of this act in a final sacred moment this morning

-- let’s pray

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1 Marshall Shelley, "Developing spiritual fruit requires being around people: ordinary, ornery people," Leadership journal (Spring 1993)

2 Dustin Willis and Brandon Clements, The Simplest Way to Change the World, Moody Publishers (February, 2017), pages 55-56