Our coming to church will mean nothing to God if it's only to learn from God. Let's cultivate acts of fellowship and relationship with God. It is a pity that most believers come to church like objects without any relationship. In 1 John 1:3, Apostle John stresses the importance of fellowship: "We are telling you about what we have seen and heard because we want you to have fellowship with us" (ERV).
It must be noted that God is a relational Being. In other words, everything He does for man tends to nurture a relationship. Fellowship is a relationship and relationship is sharing. Well, one may ask why our relationship with God is so valuable. We value our relationship with God because He has brought something into our lives—salvation. Jesus also stressed the importance of cultivating a strong relationship with Him in order to be fulfilled in life:
It must be noted that God is a relational Being. In other words, everything He does for man tends to nurture a relationship. Fellowship is a relationship and relationship is sharing. Well, one may ask why our relationship with God is so valuable. We value our relationship with God because He has brought something into our lives—salvation. Jesus also stressed the importance of cultivating a strong relationship with Him in order to be fulfilled in life:
Stay joined to me and I will stay joined to you. No branch can produce fruit alone. It must stay connected to the vine. It is the same with you. You cannot produce fruit alone. You must stay joined to me. "I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I to you, you will produce plenty of fruit. But separated from me you won’t be able to do anything. If you don't stay joined to me, you will be like a branch that has been thrown out and has dried up. All the dead branches like that are gathered up, thrown into the fire and burned. Stay joined together with me, and follow my teachings. If you do this, you can ask for anything you want, and it will be given to you. (John 15:4-7, ERV)
Arguably, we can't fellowship with the Father and the Son until we have had fellowship with our brother and sister. Admittedly, many people are afraid to come out from their shells because they're afraid of what the other party would do to their weakness. They don't go into a relationship because they don't want to expose their weakness. This is because relationship brings accountability. So, they transfer this same attitude to God to the detriment for their deeper knowledge of God. If you want to know God more, you must cultivate a cordial and strong relationship with Him.
Prophetic Word: "We must not only learn to live, but also learn to die."
*This message was preached by Pastor Toni Ogobegwu on November 27, 2005.
Prophetic Word: "We must not only learn to live, but also learn to die."
*This message was preached by Pastor Toni Ogobegwu on November 27, 2005.
