Acts2:42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.
COMMITMENT TO FELLOWSHIP
In a Christian drama i watched years back, someone once explained fellowship as being in the ship with your fellows. Though he said it derogatorily but he made some sense. Fellowship is an association with people of similar interest. One of the commitments of believers in the early church was to the fellowship of believers. The apostles and their members were committed to that gathering together wherever the door opened. Early church history revealed that they met in homes for fellowship. To them, gathering together does not have to be in a big building that looks like cathedral, the place does not need air condition, rug, tiles and marble walls. These upper room believers cared less about aesthetics, stage lights and the location of their meeting place in the city, all they cared about was the ever abiding presence of God in their midst.
That gathering in small groups was what they regarded as their church service. It wasn't just a Sunday thing, it was almost daily if not daily. It was a place where they drew strength from one another, it was a gathering where the gifts of the Spirit manifested not only by the apostles but by anyone that is Spirit-filled, Christ was taught, explained and exalted in their fellowship not a place where the preacher is exalted and celebrated. No room for celebrity preachers, no not at all. There were no special adverts about 'the great man of God'. It was a gathering where people had something to contribute to the spiritual growth of the brethren. How did I know? Paul said, "What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up."(1 Cor14:26). If you understand that text, you'll see that he was trying to describe how the gathering of the early church was, it was a gathering of spirituals where people come to contribute something edifying though he was trying to bring orderliness to that but it wasn't a gathering where some are performers.
Supper room believers do not value the gathering of the saints neither are they committed to it. They attend church gatherings ceremonially. They hop from one place to the other. They change church almost every now and then always looking for where it is happening. They prefer to identify with a 'popular church' yet they're not edified. The moment they hear about the emergence of another "big name", they change ship. Supper room believers may not jump from place to place but they will not submit to the training structures of the church for their growth. They only service their membership on Sundays, they may even come late. Hebrews 10:25 is God's counsel to supper room believers: "And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near." You begin to lose value the moment you don't value being in the gathering of believers.
Father, I refuse to be a supper room Christian. I receive grace to be committed to the accurate teaching of God's word in Jesus name.