DISCIPLESHIP SERIES 3: THE TRUE DISCIPLE

What makes one a disciple?

What are the pieces of evidence to show that a person is a disciple?

Do we just take people's word for it? If person A says they are disciples, then disciples they are, or are there things we will see in common with these sets of people that qualify them as disciples?

We will be exploring these questions tonight as we provide answers to them.

One thing I have found so far from scripture is that Jesus was an interesting man. I sometimes try to imagine Christ in our world today and what the media paparazzi will be like. This man had random people leaving their businesses, their lives essentially, to follow Him up and down.

Though the Return on Investment for that is priceless, but look deep and you find these guys didn't even really understand the ROI from the beginning.

Jesus was captivating. I think this is the word. A lot of people were always around Jesus. He had the crowd around Him every time.

If I see you with a person more than 10 times, I will automatically assume that you are their follower. But this logic is flawed when it comes to discipleship. You know why?

Even the Pharisees were always present with Jesus. They were always a part of the gathering. But were they disciples? No! Were they following Him in this sense? The answer is No.

For some people, they were captivated by the man Jesus and the way He spoke, though they never understood anything He said. For some, it was the miracles. For some, just curiosity. Nothing more than that. For some others, it could even have been joblessness. Lack of better things to do with their time. And there are people that would have joined the crowd because there was a crowd, “Everybody dey go, so make I join.” There were also people like the Pharisees who were following Him up and down largely because they hated His guts but somehow couldn't ignore Him completely. They had to be there to poke holes in all of His stories. Everyone was present with Jesus, but not everyone was following or were disciples.

While preaching in church on Sunday, the Holy Spirit pointed something out to me about the resurrection of Jesus. The angels had to remind the women who met the tomb empty that Jesus already told them He would rise. But if you go to Matthew 27 from verse 62, you will see that the chief priests and the Pharisees did not forget Jesus saying this.

They remembered clearly. So much so that they met Pilate to guard the tomb heavily. They knew the very words of Jesus but this did not make them disciples. Their reason for knowing was of course wrong.

30 “As he spake these words, many believed on him. 31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8: 30-32 (KJV)

I noticed something here. Jesus was speaking to them about the Father and Himself. And the bible says many believed Him.

Faith!

But then you move to the next verse and you find a shocking revelation;

Their faith/belief in what He had said doesn't translate into them being disciples. Their proof of discipleship was if they abide in His word. It wasn't in believing or accepting His word.

That's a start, a good one, but not the evidence we are looking for.

“If you continually obey my teachings and live in accordance with them”

The first evidence that anyone is a true disciple of Jesus is them abiding in the word. Do you continually obey God's teachings and live in accordance with them? Or you keep telling yourself that Grace covers all?

Your answer to this question helps you to know if you are a true disciple or not. There is also a reason this abiding and obeying is continual.

“From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.” John 6:66 NKJV

See what happened before they left Jesus and dropped the discipleship cap? 

“As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.” John 6:57 NKJV

The requirement was they will live by the word. People want to be free, people want to do what they like, they want to lead themselves. But you see disciples? We are led by the word. No buts.

Discipleship is not a once in a while decision of following in the footsteps of Christ, we must continually abide here. We must make that effort. Just as we discussed last week on cross-bearing. Every one of us must give something to follow. You like it or not, you will drop something.

I mentioned as we started that the disciples gave up their very lives to follow Jesus. Discipleship is seen in the sacrifice we make to continuously abide in Christ and in His word. The proof of Faith is continuing in Faith. To continue in Faith is to continue in the word (to continually live by its principles).

So,

1. A true disciple is one who abides in the word

2. A true disciple is one who imitates Jesus and does His will

“You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” John 8:44 NKJV

We are marked by what we do and what we desire.

What do you desire?

These are questions I'd like us to pause and ask ourselves.

It is important that we end this series with a huge change and improvement to our lives as believers.

What do you desire?

Jesus told them they were not of the Father because they didn't love Him.

“Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.” John 8:42 NKJV

“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”  John 14:15 NKJV

This brings me to the next piece of evidence of discipleship.

“This is My commandment: that you love one another [just] as I have loved you.” John 15:12 AMPC

Our third evidence of discipleship is:

3. Loving, Just as Christ loves

This is the benchmark. We are not true disciples yet if we do not know how to love like Christ. Not based on what people do to us but loving exactly as Christ loves.

Nothing like love your neighbor as yourselves. No! Love your neighbor as Christ loves you!

Our lifestyle of love stands as a witness to our discipleship call. No one will say He is a follower of Jesus and refuses to love as Christ does.

How exactly then has Christ loved us? Find a previous teaching that answers this question HERE

The proofs that you are a true disciple are:

1. You abide in the word

2. You imitate Jesus and do His will

3. You love others just as Christ loves you

Based on these, sit and ask yourself today, Am I a true disciple of Jesus...?

To be continued…

WHEN FELLOWSHIP BECOMES A STRUGGLE

 So I will ask us, 

What does fellowship (with God) mean to you?

What are the major areas of application for believers?

Samson - Fellowship is being "fellows" with God - There is a relationship where you and God share  and discuss stuff, you know him as Father and he knows you as son/daughter. Fellowship with God is our identity as believers. We can't say we are believers if we don't know he who saved us. It involves every area of our lives

Ayodele - Fellowship, for me means time spent enjoying the presence of God and just worshipping. The overall totality of my relationship, defined by worship. Its like my own personal time with the Holy Spirit. Bonding time

Debola - Building a relationship with him. Talking to him

Sumi - For me Fellowship is spending quality time with God

If fellowship is communication, what are the areas of application

Samson - As I said, it should be applied in every area of our lives. Fellowship is not just when we go to church and praise is going on and we are happy. Fellowship with God is also during our lowest moments, decision time, when having dinner, when watching a match...it is the constant connection to the Father at every moment/stage of our lives

Sumi - In all areas. From directions and instructions in all areas. For example Work, choices etc

When Fellowship becomes a struggle

Application area: Prayer and Studying the word

How many of us have struggled with fellowship (in terms of this application areas) or are currently struggling? What is it like?

Samson - Thank God for daily sharing on Word alive and daily prayers. 😩 Sometimes before you know it, you never do personal bible study for 3 days

Ayodele - me! Sometimes I am just tired or lazy. Some other times, I am distracted by too many  things. Work can be overwhelming but I realised that in the midst of that 'busyness', I still find time for other recreational things.

Precious - I have. The struggle is real, there are times when I get carried away with work, Bible study and prayers become a struggle, sometimes when I need something and it's not fourth coming it becomes a struggle to pray, other times I'm just tired internally

Remi - Me too, I will answer. There are times the struggle is like every Eke market day 😭 Some times, I'm praying fire but struggling with studying.  Also, struggling for me is not the absence of these things o. It is the zeal and energy involved. Like I'm praying and studying but I know I'm not really praying and studying. Everything is just lifeless and forced somehow

Sumi - Me. Most times tiredness and sleep. And procrastination too

First, I will like us to know that You are not alone

That struggle to come to God, that period of prayerlessness, you can read all the novels in the world but the minute you open bible, you are tired.

You are not alone

When it comes to fellowship, here are the struggle areas I've found so far:

- Distractions

- Consistency

- Time management

- Lack of Zeal

- Feeling disconnected

- Sin and Guild

- Laziness 

- Hope Deferred 

Pearl - Sin and guilt is it for me, along side fear of failure, due to past failure. Like what's the point of starting again now, when I know I won't be consistent?

I'm sure every believer (including our pastors), have experienced one area of struggle or the other in their walk. You probably can relate to one of these things or even all. Maybe you are currently struggling with prayer or studying the word. Or even both

Please note that the word struggling is not just the absence. That's another thing the devil does. You still have your You Version streaks so yes you are on course. But deep down, you know that something is not balanced.

Struggling is not just the absence of fellowship. People can be in a marriage and struggle to make it work

Acknowledging where you are in your fellowship with God is a great starting place. You can't move forward without it. And no, it is nothing to be ashamed of.

For some of us, we are "prayer warriors" o. In fact, as we are finishing prayers like this, we are updating everybody on status with "Rhema"

In fact, it is the Rhema that pushes us to fellowship. We are trying to feed the world but deep down, we neva chop belleful (for the non Nigerians, this means we have not eaten to the full ourselves)

Prayer warrior but deep down, you know you are struggling

One thing the devil does so well is help you to believe a lie to massage your ego. As long as you have made yourself believe there is no problem, you will keep going down that line

The worst will be spiritual leaders or those with spiritual gifts. In seasons of prayerlessness and not studying the word, you will be surprised you can raise the dead.

The grave will still listen to you and tear open when you speak, so you pat yourself on the back that all is well but all is not well

And then you back this lack of fellowship up with work.

You try to substitute work with fellowship but they are not the same.

The time we spend with God should be way more than the time we spend ministering God to people.

Our first step is acknowledging that this is where we are. A lot of us are still doing hard guy with God

There is nobody that walks in love with God not marked by vulnerability. So first, acknowledge that there is something wrong

This helps me a lot 

I can tell you that since my prayer life peaked between 2016 and 2017, I'm not sure I've stayed struggling with fellowship for more than a week. I'm quick to spot that something is wrong. 

I do not think that I'm bigger than something being wrong

So immediately something is wrong, I see it and get back on track

I'm going to share a story

I'm sure I've shared it with you guys before but I will again

Dec 31st 2015, watch night service.

After the service, everyone had gone to the city centre to watch fireworks. I stayed behind with my pastor and church keyboardist and we started praying.

We prayed for about 2 hours that day and my pastor asked all 3 of us to commit to praying everyday at midnight for the next 6 months.

Almost 6 years after, I have not stopped

That same December, I had broken up with the person I was dating for no reason. Little did I know that God was calling me into something deeper and distractions had to be cut off. You know I said me and my pastor prayed for 3 hours the first night. As we left the church, all 3 of us set an alarm for 12 midnight.

So the next day, I had to continue alone.

I prayed, prayed and prayed. Prayed for like 10 hours, opened my eyes to check time and it was still 12:05am

So all that long prayer was just 5 minutes 😭😭😭 I wanted to die. It was easier to pray for hours with other people cos we can take from each other's fire. In fact, after we left church that day I remember getting home to continue praying and I stayed there for long.

I basically was fueled up from the group prayers

But as it remained only me, fuel finished and 5 minutes felt like 5 days

It was at that time I knew I was in for a ride

But I was also ready for the ride

Another sad part to this my story was that my tongues vocabulary was really low. Na just one sentence I sabi then. I'm not sure I had up to 8 syllables 😭

Tongues help a lot in prayers as they cover all the things our human minds cannot. But me I was limited at that time. So I had to make do with the language of man. Tough ride o but I rode still.

Day 2, same thing.

I was still struggling

I had roommates then, so it was also very distracting.

We are watching originals together and my alarm goes off (one thing I never did was choose any other thing over my prayer time).

I will stand up and go start prayer in my corner but I'm hearing someone shout "Klaus has killed him, eh God". I'm thanking God but I'm also longing to know who Klaus killed.

Or I'm praying and I open my eyes to somebody kissing their boyfriend in the room.

It got to a point, I wrote on a stick note "Remi you will die if you don't pray" and placed around me. Cos it looked like the devil was working hard to ensure I don't pray

5 minutes

5 minutes turned to 10 minutes, then 15 minutes.

And then 1 hour

Sometime in 2017, I found out I had prayed for over 5 hours on my own unplanned.

Like I had just stayed in fellowship, enjoying  God

I cried that day, cos I knew where I was coming from. 5 hours turned to 8 hours then 24 full hours, 2 days non stop....Without fuel from other people

How did I move from struggling to pray and study for 5 minutes to fellowshipping for hours? Yes, the 5 minutes included bible study, praise and worship and prayer 😂.

It was that bad for me

Intentionality

This was my number one step

I wanted God, I wasn't even sure of all the details. But I knew that I wanted Him so I took that step

You will have to be intentional with choosing Fellowship.

Life is busy

There is so much noise around us

So much dragging for your attention

You have to make that choice yourself

Be intentional with studying the word and praying.

If you can read this and you currently struggle with consistency in any of prayer and the word, immediately go to your alarm. Fix a time you know you are mostly free and can be alone. You can fix both together or fix them separately.

Let me tell you a truth, you won't survive by vibes.

You have to be intentional about being consistent and this is your first step

Pick a time and make it a date with God.

Pick it now

Don't procrastinate

Jesus had a habit of fellowship with God

A few days later, Jesus went out to a mountain to pray. He stayed there all night praying to God. Luke 6:12 ERV

After he said goodbye to them, he went up into the hills to pray. Mark 6:46 ERV

Word Alive daily prayers will not replace your own personal fellowship. The daily reading schedule can serve as your personal guide though but you must read on your own too even as you come online to check what others share.

My alarm was set for 12 midnight, I remember days when I'm watching movies with my roommates.

Before my alarm goes off, Martina is already telling me it's almost 12 o, you will not go and pray.

Sometimes I want to continue the movie with them but I had unknowingly built a habit that the people around me had also noticed

So I'd stand up and move to my bed. There were days I'd go into the toilet to pray if I was feeling too distracted 

There were days I'd go out in the snow and take a prayer walk. If you know me well, you will know how much I dislike twitter but not even a -15°C could stop me

I used to miss class cos of cold 🙈 but not prayers.

I went all out for it (and yes, I had the help of God. I was so mightily helped by God. Will explain this part next week). So yes, fix a time for your prayer and study. Can be same time and can be separately.

But pick a time you are sure you will be free and set that alarm now.

Name it as you would

If you find yourself struggle, remember that it is normal. 5 minutes was 5 days for me for a long time.

Let that be your motivation

For those of us scared to start over again. You've been here before and it feels like you keep coming back

Hmmmmm.

I will share a story again

Between 2009 and 2011, I was in an organisation called FECA (myself and Precious). At some point, we were praying 1am everyday. Note that there was no zoom then.

I had a torchlight phone in 2009. I set alarm for that time, stand up, read the bible and pray for 1 hour.

I didn't have YouTube to play music in the background. So it was just me and my paper back bible

Somehow, life happened and I stopped praying

I was still praying o

I was praying in the midst of brethren

I was doing those rush prayers (plus Jesus minus Satan every morning)

I was opening my bible when the church/fellowship opened bible

I was even praying alone too but vibes and when it entered my head or I wanted something from God

Between 2012 and 2015, I moved from this to struggling to pray for 5 minutes

It can happen to anybody. Be ready to start prying again tomorrow. If I stop praying today, I will start praying again tomorrow

If I notice that I stopped reading my bible today, I will start again tomorrow

I will share a secret with you I do not think of myself as one that cannot struggle with fellowship

Nobody is bigger than it. So when it happens, e don happen be that

Holy Spirit, where do we start from cos my strength has failed as usual. Carry me

It's really this simple

And I move on

The early days of starting back may be difficult but I don't send

I know I will get back fully on track

Don't beat yourself over it

Even the 3 closest people to Christ slept off when they were meant to pray. God did not beat them over it. Stop holding it over your head

That's also a tactic of the enemy to keep you from God. If you fail, you start again and again and again. If you find it difficult to start over yourself, get someone to kickstart you.

Join prayer groups and refill there

Speak with a friend to join you in your fixed prayer time for a short while till you are able to stand on your own

But that feeling that you will still fail again at it so no need to try again, please let it go.

If you don't have a study plan, you can start with the reading schedule for Word Alive.

Be faithful with it and you will see growth.

You will hear God speak to you.

The "biggest" Rhema I've gotten is while reading from the schedule.

And it's amazing cos it's just random, there is no topic in mind.

I'm reading the word, open mindedly through the lens of Jesus.

You can also check You Version for devotionals or church devotionals

Just make sure you start.

THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE

John  8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;  8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

What is Truth?

Toye: the quality or state of being true.

Samson: Truth is the exact representation of an event/situation.

"In the dictionary, Truth is the quality--- or state of being true

According to Wikipedia: Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.

In everyday language, truth is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise correspond to it, such as beliefs, propositions, and declarative sentences.

I’m not even going to lie when I started to study for this teaching, I actually wanted to change it to something else because it was becoming more complicated than I imagined it.... so we’re doing this together...

Are there types of truth? Can a truth turn out to be a lie?

When I was studying for this teaching, I discover that there are actually different types of truth... I’ll narrow it down to two, Empirical truth and Convenient truth

Empirical truth: Empirical truth is based on evidence, research and reason. It is the truth that scientists seek. It is the truth that people seek when they want to achieve predictable results.

I’m sure if you’ve gone to Uni or Poly... there’s a part in your project Chapter 2 where you talk about empirical reviews....

In relation to time, empirical truth is more about past proof and future value than any present purpose.

Convenient truth: This is base on need, desire and emotion. It is the truth that people seek when they want to be right, when they suspect they are wrong.

In relation to time, convenient truth is about now and bother less about the past or future. Does this mean a truth can be a lie... ????

In the theory of probability( sorry I studied Statistics in Poly😊)  it is either truth or false, there’s no half truth/ half fallacy 

That means if it’s not the truth then it’s a lie .... be it a convenient or empirical truth... if it’s proven to be false then it’s no longer a truth...

This brings me to another question can I be living a lie thinking it’s the truth?

Samson: Yes. Someone can take a lie and make it his or her own reality. However, truth should be absolute. It should be universal. If it isn't universal or absolute, it can't be truth.

Yes... it’s very possible to be living a lie as the truth until you come in terms with truth

Let me cite an example Isaiah 53:5  says 

...and with his stripes we are healed 

Do you know it’s possible to continuously live in the lies of the devil when we do not know that by his stripes we’re healed?

I was very particular about this topic, because there would come a time you may forget the truth you know and begin to believe the lies of the devil... I’ve been in this position several times... but there’s something about knowing the truth... It sets you free

How can the truth set you Free?

1. The first criteria for the truth to set you free is to know the truth

John 8: 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

It is the truth you know that will set you free... The truth you are not aware of can not set you free... and you know the truth by studying the word of God

2. After knowing the truth, you believe....

Acts  13:39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

It is one thing to know the truth and a totally different thing to believe the truth...

At the end of the day what you believe is what is true to you. What do you believe to be the truth?

The truth can set us free: 

* when we believe and come in terms with our reality in Christ not with our present situation

* Recognizing the truth, you’re liberated from the illusion of your present reality

* By seeing that the truth in the word should be one and the same with your reality you’re liberated from the conflict of self and other vices

* When you become one with this reality(your reality in Christ) you see that you’re god, and have become liberated from the bonds of mans law;

*Can truth be relative? What is true to you can it be different from what’s true to me? 

John  14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

To me there’s only one truth, but for it to be our truth it all bores down to our believe. 

For example, imagine someone having constant headache and this person keeps sleeping it off after ticking all the boxes (I.e you’ve taking your medication, you’re not stressing your self, etc.... because knowing the truth doesn’t mean not doing the right things, in fact you do the right things because you know the truth)... then it finally dawns on you that Christ is the balm of Gilead and you accept that truth and exercise your faith. 

You know that your present reality isn’t tallying with the truth God said to you... he is the balm of Gilead, sickness have no place in your body

Though your present reality says something else but you begin to confess God’s truth in your life

What Happens to you when you embrace the Truth?

*You learn how to see the world, shining and dazzling in its purity with new eyes, with fresh perspective.

*You do not let your current reality determine who you’re in Christ

*You live more at peace, You’re less troubled by what’s happening around you

Mark  4:37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.  4:38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

We see here that the Disciples couldn’t understand why Jesus was so at peace and sleeping even during the storm. Lol when you come to the reality of your truth in Christ people will marvel at how calm you’ll be in very tough situations... some will ask what kind of human being are you...

*You become more available for life to breathe through you. Yes you will stop being overly too conscious... you’ll begin to live your life to the fullest

*You become unstuck. The air around you begins to blow, there is movement...

In Summary I’m very particular about us knowing our reality in Christ cause this is our truth, our current situation don’t determine this, devil will continuously poke his ugly head to make you forget this truth... he will show you all the difficulties and the terrible things happening to make you forget the truth.... but in all these DO NOT FORGET YOUR TRUTH IN CHRIST, YOU KNOW THIS TRUTH BY CONSTANTLY STUDYING THE BIBLE

THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT; KOINONIA

2 Corinthians 13:14 The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

2 Corinthians 13:14 KJV

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

2 Corinthians 13:14 AMP

The grace (favor and spiritual blessing) of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the presence and fellowship (the communion and sharing together, and participation) in the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen (so be it).

2 Corinthians 13:14 AMPC

Look at this singular verse, every (Nigerian) Christian knows this by heart. If I say The Grace, we all know what next. No need to open bible

The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all now and forever.

This was Paul's closing blessings in his second letter to the Corinthians.

And while we've gotten so used to this passage, somehow we do not understand its true meaning as so many of us do not walk in

The grace (favor and spiritual blessing) of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the presence and fellowship (the communion and sharing together, and participation) in the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen (so be it).

2 Corinthians 13:14 AMPC

Here we see an appearance of The trinity in a blessing to the church.

I'm not sure there is any other blessing that has this in the new testament.

Paul prays first for the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to be with them.

This is only accessible of course to those who believe in Christ and have accepted Him as Lord and Saviour.

This Grace is given only by the sacrifice on the cross.

This will mean all believers have access to it.

The love of God

This is the cord holding it all. It is the anchor

It is why we have Grace through Christ Jesus. Love is what bought it all. Sweet part? This love is for all of mankind and revealed through Christ Jesus

The Fellowship of the Holy Spirit

MSG says it is the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit

KJV calls it communion

AMPC says it is not just communion/fellowship, it is expatiated into a Sharing together and participation

The word communion is Koinonia in Greek and it simply means fellowship.

Let's branch to our concordance a bit please

G2842Greek: κοινωνία

Transliteration: koinōnía

Pronunciation: koy-nohn-ee'-ah 

 ----------

 Description: from κοινωνός(G2844); partnership, i.e. (literally) participation, or (social) intercourse, or (pecuniary) benefaction:

Translation: (to) communicate(-ation), communion, (contri-)distribution, fellowship.

Just look at what we are meant to be having with the Holy Spirit. 

We've been given Grace through the love of the Father. We've also been blessed with the presence (indwelling) of the spirit inside of us as a seal of our faith.

But you see fellowship? This one that Paul is talking about, it doesn't just fall on us like Grace. We do not just find ourselves in it, no.

It requires participation. Intimate friendship doesn't just happen, it is built by efforts from both parties of this friendship

Fellowship is companionship which means to share life together. We've been called to share life together with the spirit.

He shares God's life (thoughts, mind, action, will emotions etc) with us and vice versa.

It's something so personal and beautiful. We freely interact and discuss with the Holy Spirit. Now note that this is not just Paul's advice or prayer

This is God's wish. God wants us to participate in this fellowship.

And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever–

John 14:16 AMPC

And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Savior, the Holy Spirit of Truth, who will be to you a friend just like me—and he will never leave you. 

John 14:16‭ TPT

If we scroll up this chapter, we will see that Jesus had told his disciples He was leaving them.

They will not get to see Him and speak with Him daily as they used to.

All the inside gist they used to get, seems like it'd be cut off.

Jesus was leaving!

The disciples of course would not have felt good. What is the verse before the promise of the spirit?

If you love me, you will obey my commands. There is definitely a direct link to this. Fellowship with the spirit spurs us into obedience!

“I will not leave you all alone like orphans. I will come back to you. “I have told you all these things while I am with you. But the Helper will teach you everything and cause you to remember all that I told you. This Helper is the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name.

John 14:18‭, ‬25‭-‬26 ERV

Whatever it is the disciples thought they'd miss out on due to Jesus leaving, the spirit will be sent and that gap closed. I love the part where Jesus says He lives with you and will be in you

The easiest person to communicate is with someone that lives in the same room with you

My parents advice that married couples sleep in the same room, cos it's easier to resolve conflict.

There is no way you want to fight for a long time with someone you are living in the same room with for long. You will sha communicate

Now imagine one living inside of you. He will be in you!

There is an automatic expectation of communication.

Interactive Spiritual communication is one essential part of Fellowship of the Holy spirit.

We hear whispers of His will

His mind and stance dropped into our thoughts/mind

God's emotions showed to us.

The Holy Spirit is to reveal the deep things of God and it happens only from the place of fellowship.

In fact, this fellowship is "life" to us.

It is the link between the creator and that which is created.

We have a relationship with God as sons already. The Holy spirit is our means of communication in this relationship.

How?

Fellowship!

In fact Jesus mentioned in John 16:7

Let me assure you, it is better for you that I go away. I say this because when I go away I will send the Helper to you. But if I did not go, the Helper would not come.

John 16:7 ERV

This is how much value and importance Christ placed on fellowship.

Note the word used here is Helper and it describes beyond the indwelling of the spirit as a seal.

It denotes a link, a special help to reach God.

So important that Christ had to go

Actually, this is why Christ died too

At the beginning, God intended fellowship and it was cut off/limited after the fall of man.

God sent His only son to die so you can have fellowship!

Fellowship with Him

And while we are here on earth, we will have to do this through the Holy Spirit.

Now back to the Corinthians and Paul's letter to them.

These letters to the Corinth Church  were filled with strong corrections.

The Corinth Church had all the gifts of the spirit.

Them dey manifest die

But there was a huge problem: Carnality

How do you have the spirit and have outward expressions of Carnality? Hmmmm

I for pretend to not understand this o. But you see, a lot of us believers are very much like the church in Corinth (even worse)

I cannot imagine Paul writing letters to our generation today😂😂.

The church in Corinth had a huge problem 

Na dem sleep with their papa wife, fornicate pass, full of carnality pass

Their problem was indeed plenty and one thing we'd notice in the the letters to the Corinth Church was the emphasis on the help of the spirit.

Should we study well, we will see exactly why Paul ended with this prayer.

The church in Corinth had a Carnality problem majorly because there was a deficiency in Fellowship with the Spirit.

Koinonia missing!

(Note that operating in the gifts of the spirit do not equate fellowship! It is from this Fellowship of the Holy Spirit that transformation happens for a believer. This is the location where we are changed)

[So] if we say we are partakers together and enjoy fellowship with Him when we live and move and are walking about in darkness, we are [both] speaking falsely and do not live and practice the Truth [which the Gospel presents].

1 John 1:6 AMPC

You want to know the extent of your fellowship? It's in your lives. The thoughts on your mind, the things you do when no one is watching

All what the Corinth Church did wrong, it pointed to one thing: A need to fellowship more

In fact, Paul had to close his letter by praying that need for them. That this fellowship it will be with you people forever o.

I use myself as an example on this so much

"Stop sinning"

If you like make vow to God with your life, na lie. Tomorrow you will go back. Because it is not your integrity that keeps you

It is fellowship. It shows us the way and helps us to walk in truth. The spirit, the one who is Help, He provides Help as we fellowship.

I hardly ever tell people stop fornicating, stop doing this or that (Except it's a direct instruction from God).

Infact, I never focus on the stop

My focus is Fellowship; Koinonia. This is where all the change happens without stress. This is as valid for us as it was for the church in Corinth

How does this change happen? 

God rubs off on us in fellowship. Literally!

This invitation to fellowship is forever open to us.

And now more than before, there is an urgency for us believers to fellowship with God (especially for such a time as this).

God wants to reveal His thoughts and mind to us. He wants us to feel His heartbeat and know His emotions at all times.

Is God happy about xyz? Sometimes I'm fellowshipping and I just see God's smile. 

Here’s the one thing I crave from God, the one thing I seek above all else: I want the privilege of living with him every moment in his house, finding the sweet loveliness of his face, filled with awe, delighting in his glory and grace. I want to live my life so close to him that he takes pleasure in my every prayer.

Psalms 27:4 TPT

True fellowship goes both ways. Thing is, the Holy spirit is already inside of you for this reason looking forward to every intimate moment.

The spirit craves this more than you know. This is one of the major reasons for His existence in you

Whatever it is you are struggling with as a believer, take your eyes off it, take you mind off it.

That sin? That struggle? Ignore it. You actually can't do anything about them on your own. You will end up struggling more and more. 

Why not just focus on being with the spirit instead? Leave those things and shift your attention to fellowship

Take the hand the spirit extends to you for fellowship and begin. 

Let us pray

May the grace (favor and spiritual blessing) of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the presence and fellowship (the communion and sharing together, and participation) in the Holy Spirit be with us all from this day forever more.