Ed Young says fellowship, worship essential to Christian life
Pastor Ed Young of Fellowship Church said God loves all Christians right where they are, spiritually with Jesus and relationally and physically when it comes to serving others. Still, they should always be attempting to grow in worship.
The 61-year-old pastor told his Grapevine, Texas-based congregation Sunday that there are many forms of worship that are aspects of Christian fellowship. He stressed that all are needed to build the national and global Church.
The first aspect of fellowship in the Church, Young said, is having a foundation built on Jesus.
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“In Matthew 7, Jesus said we have a choice. We can either build our lives on the foundation of sand, [where] you will live in a sand trap, or you have an opportunity to build your life on the rock,” Young preached in a sermon titled “Here’s The Church.”
“The Church is here to glorify God; the Church is here. And we'll be here forever and ever,” Young continued.
The pastor emphasized that the Church has a lifelong purpose to allow Christians to live together in a community with the common goal of bringing glory to Jesus.
“It's the only thing Jesus ever constructed, the Church. Our foundation is Jesus. There are over 2.2 billion believers worldwide. There are more believers worldwide than in India and China combined,” Young said.
“We have the juice … to truly go after the world's problems. Universities don't. Governments don't. Parachurch organizations don't. We don't. The Church does. The Church is the hope of the world. The Church has this energy,” he added.
Learning and love are two parts of fellowship that the Church should strive to achieve, according to Young.
“God's love from above. That's the solution to our pollution. For God so loved the world. Love is not God. God is love. He's the initiative taker. He saw us and did something about it because of His love,” Young expressed.
“God loves you. He loves you right where you are. But as we said around here, He loves you too much to allow you and me to remain where we are,” he added.
Young emphasized that obedience is the secret to the Christian life, adding: "God has the best idea. He has an ideal idea for your life. And the way to discover it is to get involved in the Church."
"You have to know Jesus personally," he continued. "Then, you're a part of the family of God. You're born again into the family of God. You're part of the Church, and part of what's going to happen to you as you discover this ideal will be doing what the Lord Jesus wants you to."
Worship is glorifying God and expressing love to God, Young said. There are different ways and styles of worship that should transcend everything a Christian does.
“Don't waste your worship. Realize it's all about Him. It's all about God. It's all about giving Him glory and honor,” Young said.
Fellowship is incomplete if a Christian does not allow other believers into their lives through sharing, demonstrating transparency about difficult issues.
“Some of us get into these groups or situations or friendships with fellowship and we're like, 'Man, I probably shouldn't share that because if I shared that, they might judge me.’ And they wouldn't. … Just the opposite is true,” Young said.
Young encouraged his congregation to share what they are going through with others in small groups because, many times, support, empathy and sympathy can be the result.
“When we share what we're going through, I bet you cash money, somebody in your group or team is going to be like, ‘I struggle with the same situation. I've gone through the same pain or I'm in that same flow with my career,’” he said.
The Church should be hospitable and innovative to have fellowship that is pleasing to God, Young noted.
“We are to be welcoming. We are to be understanding and I just love that about fellowship. People want to do life with one another [in] hospitality,” Young said.
The pastor addressed those in the audience that are not regular church attendees. He advised them to make church a priority, as it's necessary for fellowship.
“It should be a priority in your life. If not, you're not living for the Lord. We're part of God's family. That's why this is so important; it is God's family,” Young said, pointing the congregation to 1 Timothy 3:15.
“God is using the Church for His eternal purposes. … The Church will last forever; the school will not last forever, sorry. Your organization will not last forever, your legacy will not last forever. Those trust funds you're trying to give to your kids will not last forever. What's your building? I mean, it's not going to last forever. The only thing that lasts forever is the Body of Christ,” he added.
