FELLOWSHIP & AN OPEN HEART.

“We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you. We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. As a fair exchange, I speak as to my children, open wide your hearts also”. 2 Cor 6:11-13.

Paul had been suffering serious painful difficulties with the church of Corinth. His ministry had been questioned and opposed by some within the church. His character had been maligned and his authority challenged. In chapter 11, he indicates the main source of these attitudes towards him. False apostles and teachers had visited the fellowship, curried favour for themselves and poisoned the attitude of some Corinthians towards him. His second impassioned Corinthian letter, rather than just being amazing teaching, (which it is), was an earnest heart cry to his brothers and sisters for reconciliation and mutual love in Christ. In these verses Paul is open hearted, seeking to restore fellowship, as a father would with his children. Paul was not only a great teacher to them but was their spiritual father. He had birthed them through the Gospel and his desire was to restore them fellowship, so that God’s word might prosper amongst them.

Paul gently points out that the real conflict that existed between himself and them was a heart problem. A question of open heartedness that was absent from some. Paul encourages them to open up to him, even as he had opened up to them. The expression ‘to withhold affection”, in our text, means to hold back affection for someone, refusing to respond positively because of a closed heart. This was the root of the problem in Corinth and it can often be the source of problems in local fellowships today. We are called to imitate Paul, and keep our hearts open to one another, no matter what difficulties we may experience and at some point, there are bound to be difficulties!

Firstly, an open heart will be receptive to God’s word through one another.

Do we see a clear principle here? Attitudes of heart to one another determine the fellowship and ministry of the Word in the church. When we close our hearts and hold back affection for one another, when we fail to love one another, the ministry of the Word is the first thing to suffer. Preaching, prayer and praise may continue but the heart of love and fellowship has been quenched

A closed heart to one another is a rather ugly thing. In 2 Cor 10:10, evidently, some in Corinth were criticising Paul’s weaknesses. “His letters are demanding and forceful, but in physical appearance he is weak, and his speeches are worthless”. Such despising of the apostle is a symptom of a closed heart. They were focusing on the outward and missing the treasure within! What lesson do we learn from this? When God’s Word is ministered through others, let’s take our eyes off the weaknesses of the earthen vessel (none are flawless!) and focus on the treasure within the vessel, that is on Christ’s word ministered through a brother or sister. It is a sad fact that in over 50 years of fellowship life, I’ve seen the heart attitude of many, who were once fervently following the Lord, grow cold as they closed their hearts to other brothers and sisters. The flow of God’s Word gradually dried up in them, as they hardened their hearts to others. So above all beloved, keep your heart open to mutual fellowship and the ministry of Gods word. They go together.

What I mean is that each one of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ”. 1 Cor 1:12.

Secondly, take care that our particular preferences don’t shut out the Word.

A situation can arise in a church fellowship where partiality overrules the place of the ministry of God’s word. This was a serious problem in Corinth. Favouritism for some and antipathy towards others was in danger of cutting off the very ministry of God’s Word. This is a very serious defect, all to common in local churches.

Partiality (personal preference) and antipathy (personal dislike) can creep into any fellowship in subtle ways. For example, one says to himself, “I prefer the way brother A preaches, it is so much more spiritual than brother B”. Another says to herself, “I find sister C’s habits irritate me, so I just shut off when she prays or shares”. Another says, “brother D is my special favourite teacher, I enjoy coming along, when he is ministering. I don’t have an appetite for the others”. All such heart attitudes, which make us open to one and closed to another, will hinder the ministry of the Word amongst us. The truth is that we should be open hearted in love to all our brothers and sisters in Christ without partiality or preference, in order to receive the true ministry of God’s word, whether it be through the youngest to the oldest, through the weakest to the strongest. We are not called to be followers of men but of Christ and to receive one another in love as servants of God for the mutual benefit of the whole body of Christ.

“So don’t boast about following a particular human leader. For everything belongs to you whether Paul or Apollos or Peter, or the world, or life and death, or the present and the future. Everything belongs to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God”. 1 Cor 3:21-23

“If there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being united in spirit and purpose. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves”. Phil 2:1-2.

Paul outlines the way that the ministry of God’s word operates successfully in the church. He describes the qualities that characterise the renewed heart which receives the Word with humility. Out of Christ’s abundant indwelling in each one, the word of God will flow and the church in unity will be edified. God desires that we show the same fervent love and esteem towards all his children without exception and without partiality. This is the essential prerequisite for sharing and ministering to one another. Following the example taught by the Lord, we must take a position of humility and service and wash one another’s feet. Beloved let us truly love one another.

“Is anyone suffering. Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful. Let him sing psalms…, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” James 5:13-14

Fellowship in the Spirit is only experienced as we walk in the light, openly confessing our real and honest condition before God. Yes and that sometimes requires our confession of sin to one another, especially where we have hurt or offended a brother or sister. In such a condition of fellowship in the light, the blood of Christ flows that cleanses and keeps cleansing us from all sin.

“If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin”

1 John 1:7

But, a word of warning. We cannot claim to be in fellowship with Him or one another, if there is unconfessed or condoned sin in our walk. God desires us to be real with Him, to be honest, to be humble and to be open in our confession, if we are entangled with a besetting sin and need help. The Lord never will reject a brother or sister that seeks His help and He calls us to respond in the the same manner to one another, to quote his instruction to Peter, regarding forgiveness and reconciliation,  “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times seven”, (Mt 18:22).

Once, as a young believer, I found myself entangled by a besetting sin and no matter how I struggled, I couldn’t get free of the burden of guilt and shame. I decided to go to an older brother and honestly confess my problem. I made a clean breast of it. He listened sympathetically and then, when he prayed, I felt the burden and guilt lift and I was free once more to follow the Lord unencumbered. David Watson writes, “We must learn to share openly and honestly, – particularly our weaknesses. We must be real with one another”.
Jesus’s parabolic story of the Pharisees and the Publican teaches us that God gets real with us when we get real with him. The publican who was honest about his sins and called out for mercy, was heard and went home justified. The Pharisee who was self satisfied with his empty play acting, was not heard and went home with no encounter with God.

Fourthly, when you pray, focus on God and His will and purpose.

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites, the play actors. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words”. Mt 6:5-7

Jesus teaches us what are the most important lessons on prayer. Firstly that there is to be no play-acting or pretence in our worship and gatherings. Some today view worship as a performance, a spectacle to be enjoyed. The fact that we might say, “we enjoyed worship today”, bears little importance to its value before God. Jesus teaches us that, God does not require us to perform anything, to pretend anything, to play act in any way when we meet before Him. He loves and receives us as we are, his dear children, justified and accepted in Christ by His grace through faith. We should be conscious of this glorious truth when we come to prayer. We are before Him in love!

We must be vigilant against the proud-full desire to be seen or heard by others when we pray. Praying to be heard and seen by others is the most subtle form of the idolatry of self and easily creeps it’s way into fellowship life. Jesus solemnly warns us that such a motive nullifies both the prayer and its answer.

Nor should we suppose that praying technics please God. Although ‘alleluia’ and ‘amen’ and other words can be true expressions of worship when uttered with joy, intelligently from the heart, they can and do become ‘catch phrases’, mere babbling when used as a ‘mantra’, thinking God hears us because of them. Mantras of any kind are alien to biblical prayer! God loves to hear the natural expression of our hearts.

One of the things I love about the Reto Communities in Spain, when they meet together in small or large groups, is that they are completely natural, normal and unpretentious. They pray to God reverently but simply as if in conversation. I’ve been in meetings of a thousand or more believers but their prayer and worship is not front led, they are not an audience, it’s not theatrical or a spectacle but rather it is a simple expression of love and worship to the Lord, superintended by the Spirit, who is moving amongst them. In such gatherings, brothers and sisters are deeply touched by the Lord and deeply conscious of God’s presence. True prayer is always an encounter with God in the Spirit, where each one receives from the Lord in a personal intimate way.