Fellowship with God and Men, Part 2

Rev. Jeremiah Cheung

Scripture Passage: 1 John 1:3 and 1 Corinthians 1:9

See also: Part 1 of this series | Part 3 of this series

There are six forms of fellowshipping with men:
1. Fellowship with oneself
2. Fellowship with family members
3. Fellowship with the church
4. Fellowship with a small group
5. Fellowship with co-workers
6. Fellowship with friends

Today, let us reflect on one important point: how do we fellowship with ourselves?

The core element for fellowshipping with oneself is Acceptance.

1. Accept that you are chosen by God (Eph 1:4-5)

2. Accept that you are a new creation, with a new identity

The world evaluates and judges us according to its own standard: what does he look like? How well did he do? How important is he?

For there to be self-acceptance, we must have:

a. A New appraisal (Romans 12:3)
– Do not think too highly of ourselves
– view ourselves with sober judgment

b. A New identity:
– What kind of person does God want me to become?
– What does God want me to do for Him?
– Am I faithfully doing what God has entrusted to me to do? (Am I doing my best for God?)

The biggest hindrance to self-acceptance: comparing ourselves to others.

3. Accept the mission that God has given you

Moses voiced out four objections to God before accepting his mission:

a. Who am I? I am nobody (It matters not who you are, what matters is that God is with you)

b. Who are you? (God revealed himself: I am who I am, I am what you need)

c. The Israelites will not believe (God gave him miracles)

d. I am useless, not equipped (God taught him what to say)

Small Group Discussions:

1. Why should we accept ourselves before we can fellowship with others? What areas about yourself are you unable to accept?

2. Why did God choose you? How should you accept God’s selection of you?

3. How do you value yourself? Can you answer the three identity questions?

4. What mission has God given you? Are you a mission-minded person?