Good Company

“And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them.”  (Acts 4:23 KJV)

Last summer I faced a difficult time with my health.  I caught COVID whilst I was away on a work trip, and then about 10 days later I caught a full-blown case of chickenpox.  Before going further, I want to say that God is a healer, and in the end I came through it all, no matter what I faced.

It was exhausting physically and mentally.  I have many things I could share about what I went through in my body and in my mind, but the thing that turned this story of difficulty into a testimony which I am sharing here is the revelation I received about the good company that the Lord gave me.

I realised that I had many mental and emotional points I needed help with, and the Lord helped me through the people in my life.  When I needed to go to the hospital for help, Roy (who many of you know) cancelled his whole work day to come down with me.  On the outside, it was Roy who came with me to the hospital, but on the inside I knew that it was the Lord sending me help.  When I was telling myself how badly I messed up and missed God because I travelled, Matt Hattabaugh (part of the GoChurch Beirut pastoral team) called me with a word from the Lord to answer the EXACT questions that I was beating myself up with.  When I needed medical attention, the Lord got me access to the best healthcare I could have had in Lebanon in no time.  All these things helped me tremendously to get through the difficulty.  The Lord's care towards me worked through each and every single person.

In life, there will be trouble.  There is an enemy constantly trying to get access to us and oppose the work of the Lord.  There is good news - Jesus has overcome the world, and in Him so have we!  The thing is, though, that God never designed for us to deal with it on our own.  If you listen to God, He will bring you to a place where you are surrounded by all the right people.  When the enemy roams around like a lion, it means that he is trying to pick off easy prey that has wandered away from the flock under the care of the shepherd.

This is the inspiration for the series titled "Good Company", which we went through at GoChurch Beirut in March, and is also the reason why throughout this week's readings, we take a close look at the formation of the early church in order to understand what fellowship really looks like, and how we can live in it!

In the main text above, we see the apostles going back to their own company during a difficult period.  That is what we are meant to do!  Having fellowship involves creating a bond that transcends circumstance and is built on the foundation of a common purpose.  This means that the bond remains stronger than the circumstance and is focused on the outcome!

In this week's reading, we see the early church constantly operating in one accord to accomplish the plan of God through them (Acts 2:46), we see them praying for each other and lifting each other up during difficulty (Acts 4:23-31), sharing physical resources to help one another accomplish the plan of God for their lives (Acts 4:32-37), and sharing individual responsibilities to accomplish a common goal and watch the plan of God multiply (Acts 6:1-7).

For very good reasons above, God tells us to not team up with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14), but rather to come back to our own company, our own fellowship.  Who will you team up with to accomplish what the Lord is trying to do through you?  You will reap what you sow - are you sowing the right kind of fellowship today?