"These are those who follow the Lamb wherever he goes"
(Jesus is the Lamb.)
Revelation 14:4
There are some who follow Christ "wherever he goes".
Fellowship with God is a two way conversation in the spiritual realm, as we follow Christ, bearing his yoke in the world. This fellowship encompasses every thought, word and deed. There is no such thing as a neutral thought, word or action. The following scriptures will reveal this. Everything we do is either done in fellowship or out of fellowship. If in fellowship, our thoughts, words and deeds are intertwined with the Fifth and Sixth Paths.
Fellowship in Every Thought:
- "bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5)
Prayerful Observations:
Every thought should be obedient to Christ. This is an intimate, continuous, spiritual fellowship involving the Holy Spirit, scripture and the Endorsed Prayers.
As we PRAY scripture in the Fifth Path, his word is hidden in our hearts (Psalm 119:11). Then his Holy Spirit reminds of his words at the time of his choosing (John 14:26). As we yield to the voice of the Holy Spirit, our "every thought" is brought "into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (Hebrews 3:7-8). This is occurring outside of our daily devotional time with the Lord. This is happening as we walk deeply into the Sixth Path... as we "Turn, Turn, Turn and Behold the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Fellowship with God is a two way conversation in the spiritual realm, as we follow Christ, bearing his yoke in the world. Every phase of this process is conversation in the spiritual realm with the one who spoke the universe into existence.
During our devotional time with God, He speaks to us through his word. We respond by speaking to him in prayer in the Fifth Path. Perhaps later in the day we come into contact with a saint who is afraid or discouraged. God converses with us through the Holy Spirit, reminding us of his words. We pray the Endorsed Prayer of Faith, asking the Lord to multiply the faith of that child of God (1Thessalonians 3:10). The Holy Spirit will speak to our brother (or sister) at the time of His choosing. We also ask God to "open" a door for the word. This is the Endorsed Prayer of Open. Praying the Endorsed Prayer of Words, we ask God to give us words to minister to this saint (Ephesians 6:18-19).
As we talk with this discouraged saint, we "watch in prayer" for the opportunity to repeat the words of the Father to him (Colossians 4:2). We don't push faith into the conversation through our own initiative (John 8:28). We watch to see if the Lord will choose for us to speak at this time. Perhaps He will. Perhaps He won't. If He does, when the time is right in the conversation, we repeat the words of the Father, as the Holy Spirit reminds us of them (John 14:26). We have asked God to give us words. When it is his will, He will do so.
When our conversation with this saint ends, we ask God to send other workers to minister to that brother or sister in Christ (Matthew 9:38). This is the Endorsed Prayer of Harvest.
The discouraged saint may be unaware that this interaction is a three way conversation. You, the discouraged saint and the Holy Spirit are the three participants. The Holy Spirit has communicated to you and the discouraged saint. Throughout this conversation with the discouraged saint, you have been bearing the yoke of Christ. You have been making a disciple. You have been doing this "in the world". You have had fellowship with God.
Fellowship with God is a two way conversation in the spiritual realm, as we follow Christ, bearing his yoke in the world. It involves scripture, interaction with the Holy Spirit and the Endorsed Prayers. The early subchapters presented fellowship with God in scripture. Later chapters will present fellowship with the Holy Spirit and the Endorsed Prayers.
Summary:
We are to bring "every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ". This applies to helping a discouraged child of God as I have just shown. But it also applies to our personal holiness, conflict situations, lusts and evangelism. It applies to "every thought". But in any case, we turn our attention to God who is within. We "Turn, Turn, Turn and Behold the Lord"... we walk in the Sixth Path.
The Endorsed Prayers are a necessary and critical part of having fellowship with God in every thought. Each Endorsed Prayer deals with a particular spiritual need. By studying the Endorsed Prayers we become aware of specific spiritual needs like increased faith, love, obedience, unity or revelation. If we don't know the Endorsed Prayers, we will not recognize these spiritual needs in ourselves or in others. Without the Endorsed Prayers, we are spiritually impotent.
Fellowship in Every Word
- "Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but only what is good for building others up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear" (Ephesians 4:29).
Prayerful Observations:
All of our words are to build up others. All of our words should "give grace". When our words impart grace, the recipient receives blessing that they did not earn or deserve. Hence, it is called "grace". These may be words of admonition, comfort, love, eternal life, praise... even humor.
Grace is to fill every word we speak. All of our words have this objective... to point to Him. He is full of grace and truth (John 1:14). Our words are to bring His grace into others. This is apparent from the exemplary words written by the apostles to the post Pentecost believers. Seventeen of the twenty-one books after the book of Acts have this exact or similar phrase in their introduction: "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (See Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2, Colossians 1:2, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, 1 Timothy 1:2, 2 Timothy 1:2, Titus 1:4, Philemon 1:3, 1 Peter 1:2, 2 Peter 1:2, 2 John 1:3 and Revelation 1:4).
How shall we respond to this instruction? All of our words are to impart grace. I have fallen woefully short. I ask God to forgive me, and empower my speech in his grace, to guide my lips into his continuous service. Accordingly, I leave pause here in this book for you to pray as his Spirit leads you.
(Pause for Prayer)
The first section of this subchapter revealed that fellowship with God involves "every thought" (2 Corinthians 10:5). This passage from Ephesians revealed that every word that we speak belongs to him as well.
But what do the words of our mouth have to do with fellowship with God?
I will repeat the passage: "Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but only what is good for building others up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear" (Ephesians 4:29).
It is impossible to walk in this passage if we are not in fellowship with God. This was true of Jesus; it is true of the Holy Spirit. It is also true of us. Jesus said, "I can of myself do nothing" (John 5:30). He also said, "For I spoke not from myself, but the Father who sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak" (John 12:49). Regarding the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, "he will not speak from himself; but whatever he hears, he will speak" (John 16:13 Both Jesus and the Holy Spirit spoke words that the Father gave them. It is the same with us.
Fellowship with God is a two way conversation in the spiritual realm, as we follow Christ, bearing his yoke in the world.
As we PRAY scripture in the Fifth Path, his word is hidden in our hearts (Psalm 119:11). Then his Holy Spirit reminds of the Father's words at the time of his choosing (John 14:26). As we yield to the voice of the Holy Spirit, our "every thought" is brought "into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (Hebrews 3:7-8). While in conversation with others, we "watch" in prayer (Colossians 4:2). We are watching for the opportunity to speak grace. Then we speak "only what is good for building others up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear" (Ephesians 4:29). This is occurring outside of our daily devotional time with the Lord. This is happening as we walk deeply into the Sixth Path... as we "Turn, Turn, Turn and Behold the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Fellowship with God is a two way conversation in the spiritual realm, as we Follow Christ, bearing his yoke in the world. Every phase of this process is conversation in the spiritual realm with the one who spoke the universe into existence. We do not invent the words of grace which we speak to men. We follow the example of Paul in Ephesians 6:18-19 and ask God to give us the words to speak. This prayer is the Endorsed Prayer of Words.
Here is Ephesians 6:18-19: "with all prayer ... that utterance may be given to me in opening my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the Good News". We ask in faith. Then by faith and grace, we speak the words He puts into our minds.
Fellowship in Every Deed:
- "whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Prayerful Observations:
Everything we do is to be done for his glory. The first section of this subchapter revealed that we are to bring "every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). The second section revealed that all of our words should "give grace to those who hear" (Ephesians 4:29). This section speaks to our purpose. We point to Him. We glorify God in our deeds.
Some may say that we can walk in 1 Corinthians 1:31 on our own, whether in fellowship or not. But Jesus said in John 15:4 "Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can't bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me" He also said in John 15:5 "apart from me you can do nothing". All that we do is to be done with Him and by His power.
Fellowship with God is a two way conversation in the spiritual realm, as we Follow Christ, bearing his yoke in the world. As in the first two sections of this subchapter, doing all to the glory of God involves praying the scriptures in the Fifth Path, asking God to give us words (Ephesians 6:18-19), watching in prayer (Colossians 4:2) and praying the Endorsed Prayers. We "Turn, Turn, Turn and Behold the Lord"... we walk in the Sixth Path.
Here are the primary passages for this subchapter:
- "bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5).
- "Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but only what is good for building others up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear" (Ephesians 4:29).
- "whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31).
To make substantial steps into the Sixth Path, I have the following suggestion for you to prayerfully consider: PRAY these three passages. PRAY is described in subchapter 1.2. PRAY them as his Spirit draws you, possibly for weeks or months.