The Missed Fellowship

1 Thessalonians 2:17-20

• Desire for Fellowship in Jesus Christ.
• Obstacles to Fellowship in Jesus Christ.
• Fellow Christians is Our Glory.

Desire for Fellowship in Jesus Christ
I feel like an orphan, living alone in an apartment and having no social network of any kind. I said to my sister that I feel like I’m in hospice as a Christian, waiting for the final day. When I think of the resurrection and my eternal home, I relive memories. Those are memories of being together with people who lived for Jesus Christ. They lived the Gospel message of Christ’s death on the Cross, the forgiveness of sins that comes through Him, His resurrection, and our eternal life. It was fellowship that I don’t see anywhere else in today’s world, it was people coming together by the Holy Spirit. Not only do I miss those days, but I yearn for the return of those days.

“But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned
by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), 
out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you.”
1 Thessalonians 2:17

Obstacles to Fellowship in Jesus Christ
The ability of Christians to come together through the Spirit of Jesus Christ has been blocked. The present system demands allegiance to its non-religious playbook, and those who live for Jesus Christ are not part of that social network. The body of Christ is being chopped to pieces to keep the hand, feet, head, etc. away from each other. Satan is behind the chopping blocks and blockades. Satan is not a code word for bad things happening, he is an evil entity that opposes God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Today in the year 2022, Satan is working through the mark of the beast to defeat Christians. But there will always be a faithful few who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Satan uses those who live by the mark of the beast to oppose the coming together through God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has been taken out of the way and the mark of the beast is unleashed, as written about in 2 Thessalonians 2:5-12

“For we wanted to come to you—
certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—
but Satan blocked our way.“
1 Thessalonians 2:18

Fellow Christians is Our Glory
A song that was sung routinely when I gathered together with others through the Spirit of Christ was, “When We All Get to Heaven.” Even as I type this, I can picture the small group singing these lyrics,

“Sing the wondrous love of Jesus, sing His mercy and His grace,
in the mansions bright and blessed, He’ll prepare for us a place.
When we all get to heaven What a day of rejoicing that will be
When we all see Jesus, we’ll sing and shout the victory.
Onward to the prize before us, Soon His beauty we’ll behold
Soon the pearly gates will open, we shall tread the streets of gold.”

“For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory 
in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes?
Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.

1 Thessalonians 2:19-20