Fellowship with God

I taught on Fellowship with God last night at church, based on Amos’s words, “How can two walk together unless they agree.” I’ve heard fellowship defined in so many ways it’s lost its power in our lives. Fellowship is our lives until the journey’s over.

The conditions of the walk are set by God. He has told us we must walk by faith: a foundational position of beliefs and actions.

God, who dwells in pure light, and in Him is no darkness or shadow or gray area, cannot fellowship with darkness. He told us we can’t either. So, there are behavioral conditions to fellowship. David writes, “Who may ascend to the hill of the Lord? He who has clean hands and a pure heart.”

My faith establishes my identity and my heart guides me to the behavioral standard.

John said, “If we say we have fellowship with Him and have sin floating around in our lives, we lie.” We cannot have fellowship with Him and embrace sin at the same time. John calls it unrighteousness—anything in my life that comes between me and God.

If I have let something come between us, I have violated the principle of how two may walk together. I am no longer in agreement with God. He is a jealous God who loves us with a jealousy that resents anything interfering with our fellowship. Even the opinions of others.

If I allow anything or anyone to take precedence in my life over the priority of God, an attitude, an action, a loyalty, a hurt, a memory, I am no longer able to walk in agreement with God. I have submitted to the temptation rather than to God.

If we find anything between us, John says we can confess that invader as sin and God will forgive us that sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Unrighteousness is anything I have let get between me and God—anything. By confession, God removes the hindrance and we are again able to walk in fellowship together.

Walking in fellowship declares I am right with God. If I am not right with God I am unable to walk in fellowship with Him. What a miserable Christian experience to have a relationship with God but no fellowship! Let’s get the junk out of the way.