Gourmet Fellowship is a sermon preached by Pastor Ryan Rogers on April 18, 2020. This sermon is the fourth sermon in the series, Separation is Natural. This series calls us to endure difficulty without letting it separate us from the most important things in life.
The text for this sermon is Hebrews 10:19-25.
I remember going out in the orchard at Nile Union Academy with a small group of friends. We would sit in the dirt beneath the orange trees and pray. And we enjoyed fellowship that was so real and rich that we didn’t want it to end. It felt like holy ground. There are moments of fellowship that inspire us. You can’t force those moments to happen but you know when they do. They are the times when you know you should go to be but you stay up later. When you have another appointment but you ignore it. The moment of fellowship is too good to cut short.
It’s not always like this, and we should expect it to be. There are times when we need “Just-add Water fellowship”. These connections are quick and simple. You don’t necessarily remember the meal but it keeps you from starving. But we also need Gourmet Fellowship. The kind that doesn’t just keep us from starving, it inspires us. It is rich and satisfying. There is variety and color and flavor and multiple courses. And we need more of that!
We are continuing this series called Separation is Natural. We are seeking to be grounded in God’s so that we can face difficult times without them separating us from the most important things. The most important things include people. We need some Gourmet Fellowship to enjoy the unity that God has called us to.
The Bible described this gourmet fellowship in Hebrews 10:24-25:
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
It may be confusing to share from a text that tells us to not neglect to meet together during a time when church buildings are closed to meeting together. I have not picked this text to tease you, or to be cleaver. But because there is a serious need for spiritual fellowship. Gourmet Fellowship is this next level type of connection we are called to. It has a higher standard. It has superior flavor. There is nothing superficial about it. We need fellowship that fuels us with life in the worst of circumstances.
THE PREPARATION:
You don’t just wonder into the kitchen without a plan or training and whip up a gourmet meal. There is technique and equipment. What is the necessary preparation for Gourmet Fellowship? It’s the gospel!
If we zoom out from the text we can see this. Here is my outline…
Gospel: Christ is superior and the New Covenant is available (Hebrews 1:1-10:18)
Summary & Transition: Therefore, since the gospel is true… (Hebrews 10:19-21)
Response: … Let us have faith (v. 22) … Let us have hope (v. 23) … Let us have love (v. 24)
The love we experience in Gourmet Fellowship happens in response to the gospel. It’s not because we are such interesting people. I am not lovable enough and you are not loving enough for us create Gourmet Fellowship by our own ability. Christ makes it possible! Christ is the most unifying common ground in the universe (John 17:20-26). The gospel is the only type of preparation that can consistently serve up Gourmet Fellowship when life is rotten (Acts 16:24-25). It is our fellowship with Christ that makes our fellowship with one another sweet! (1 Corinthians 1:9, 2 Corinthians 13:14, 1 John 1:3; 1 John 1:7)
Do you crave Gourmet Fellowship with others? Start by having fellowship with the Father and that will lead to fellowship with His kids.
That’s the preparation. Here’s the recipe…
THE RECIPE:
1. Gather, 2. Stir, 3. Season
STEP 1: GATHER
“not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some”
This is basic. Before you can make a gourmet meal you have to gather the ingredient. We can gather without Gourmet Fellowship but we can’t have Gourmet Fellowship without gathering. You got to get around people.
“Habit” is an important word in the text. You don’t get Gourmet Fellowship by sporadically attending an event. It is the result of habits. Make connection part of your routine. Put people on your calendar.
Don’t stress, Gourmet Fellowship is not just for the extroverts. All personality types need fellowship. But we don’t all enjoy the same flavor. So find a habitual way to connect with others that is in line with the way God made you.
Gathering just got trickier! But it’s still essential! Don’t be defeated, just get creative. The Church is committed to fellowship (Act 2:42).
STEP 2: STIR
It starts with gathering but it’s what you do once gather that makes it gourmet. You have to stir. And there is some technique required for this step.
“Consider” Gourmet Fellowship is not a coincidence. It is something we have to think about. But what do we need to consider?
“One another” One another the direct object of consider. We need to think about people. Too often our gourmet recipe fails because we were missing this step. We gathered with others but we were thinking about ourselves. You won’t get the right flavor that way. And what is the point of thinking about others?
“Stir” We consider one another in order to stir one another. This word can mean to provoke, agitate, stimulate, irritate, exasperate. You can ruin fellowship by being irritating. But you can also limit it by being unwilling to agitate others or to be stimulated by them. It is not enough to gather. There should be something about the gathering that stimulates us. And what should it stimulate us to do?
“love and good works” Here is the point of the considering and the stirring. When the fellowship is over we should have more love. We should be stirred to do good things.
STEP 3: SEASON
“but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near”
Gathering and stirring are essential, but the seasoning gives it flavor!
And we add the seasoning through encouragement (Colossians 4:6; Philippian 2:1-2). Stirring is the motivation to do good and encouragement is the affirmation for doing it. Stirring gets us moving and encouragement tells us that we’re going to make it.
The Greek word used for “encouraging” is Parakaleos. It is related to the noun Paraclete(comforter) that Jesus used to described the Holy Spirit (Acts 14:16). Our fellowship should extend the comforting ministry of the Holy Spirit to one another.
We need encouragement. We are lonely and stressed and missing physical contact. Add some spice with the encouragement of a kind word, a joke, a complement or a Bible verse.
“One another” Here’s that word again. “One another” means it’s mutual. We shouldn’t live our lives on a solo mission to fix the world. We shouldn’t only give. We have to receive. And we don’t have to be the leaders or the expert to stir and encourage. The most encouraging thing might be a listening ear, honesty about weakness, or just being fully engaged in the conversation.
“All The More”– This final phrase takes away any social distancing excuses we might have. Trials like COVID 19 make fellowship difficult, but we need it more now than ever. Jesus told us that “the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). So we need more of the kind of fellowship that stirs us up to love! We know what happens when you take a hot coal away from the fire. We need fellowship all the more!
I know, we can’t even shake hands. But there are creative and consistent ways to us to have Gourmet Fellowship. Don’t let difficult times separate you from the people God has put in your life!