Art Katz on True Fellowship

TLFisher · 11-20-2009, 07:18 PM

Here are some quotes from Art Katz on True Fellowship

Fellowship today sort of has the ring of popcorn. “Fellowship. Well, we’ll have fellowship.” That means a little back slap. Here’s what it means, “that they may all be one.” Its not sublimating your differences and swallowing them down, or by concealing issues or turning your back on them. It means by totally giving oneself over to the issues of truth. It means expressing what’s in your heart, speaking the truth in love and exhorting one another daily while it is yet today. It means confrontation. It means bringing to the surface and to the light the things that are concealed in the dark rather than swallowing them down and looking the wrong way and hoping by a little glib smile and a slap on the back to pass them over!

“Those that believed were together and had all things common and sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all men as every man had need and they continuing daily with one accord,,,,” “Continuing daily!” What ever made Christianity a Sunday venture? It’s a distortion, a caricature and a grotesque that the great faith that is daily in the intention of God has been made a Sunday addendum. There is no way that mere Sundays, even punctuated with a mid-week Bible study can attain to this glory. It’s a daily thing or it’s nothing.

“……. Your ministry is not some kind of individual virtuoso that you have independent of other men. Your ministry is to flow out of My Life and My Life flows out of the relationship of the saints.”
Put that in your spiritual pipe and smoke it. I know we’d rather have it the other way. We’d rather have individual ministries based on our individual virtuosity and ability, wholly independent of men. We’d like to enjoy the benefits that accrue us through ministry privately, then on Sunday be great sports and spend an hour or two with the saints. That’s what the flesh wants. But it is not the way of God. True New Testament ministry of the kind that is penetrating and that affects time and eternity must grow out of His life and the life comes out of the relationships. There’s an extraordinary organic connection between the expression of the ministry and the foundation of life in koinonia out of which it must come. God has seen to it. Anything else is aberration, distortion and contradiction from the New Testament example of God.

The issue of truth is the issue of life. We have as much life as we have truth. They are one and the same, We have as much light as we have life. We have as much fellowship as we have light, as much life saving witness as we have fellowship. “That the world might know that the Father has sent me, because you’re one.” Shall I repeat this formula?
The issue of truth is the issue of life: not truth academically, but truth inwrought in the relationships of God’s people. There is no relationship except in the light as He is in the light, which is truth. We cannot have things concealed, hidden, unexpressed or things ignored because they’re too painful, because they’re too demanding or because “who wants to exhort one another daily?” It’s not a pleasant activity and what if it’ll not be received? What if you’ll be misunderstood? What if you’re wrong in your assessment? Well it’s safer it’s easier not to bother. Step by step because we don’t bother, because we don’t see, because we don’t defend one another in light and in truth the deceitfulness of sin takes over.

http://www.blendedbody.com/_cl/_John21/index.htm

Terry

11-20-2009, 07:18 PM	#1
TLFisher Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Renton, Washington Posts: 3,545	Art Katz on True Fellowship Here are some quotes from Art Katz on True Fellowship Fellowship today sort of has the ring of popcorn. “Fellowship. Well, we’ll have fellowship.” That means a little back slap. Here’s what it means, “that they may all be one.” Its not sublimating your differences and swallowing them down, or by concealing issues or turning your back on them. It means by totally giving oneself over to the issues of truth. It means expressing what’s in your heart, speaking the truth in love and exhorting one another daily while it is yet today. It means confrontation. It means bringing to the surface and to the light the things that are concealed in the dark rather than swallowing them down and looking the wrong way and hoping by a little glib smile and a slap on the back to pass them over! “Those that believed were together and had all things common and sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all men as every man had need and they continuing daily with one accord,,,,” “Continuing daily!” What ever made Christianity a Sunday venture? It’s a distortion, a caricature and a grotesque that the great faith that is daily in the intention of God has been made a Sunday addendum. There is no way that mere Sundays, even punctuated with a mid-week Bible study can attain to this glory. It’s a daily thing or it’s nothing. “……. Your ministry is not some kind of individual virtuoso that you have independent of other men. Your ministry is to flow out of My Life and My Life flows out of the relationship of the saints.” Put that in your spiritual pipe and smoke it. I know we’d rather have it the other way. We’d rather have individual ministries based on our individual virtuosity and ability, wholly independent of men. We’d like to enjoy the benefits that accrue us through ministry privately, then on Sunday be great sports and spend an hour or two with the saints. That’s what the flesh wants. But it is not the way of God. True New Testament ministry of the kind that is penetrating and that affects time and eternity must grow out of His life and the life comes out of the relationships. There’s an extraordinary organic connection between the expression of the ministry and the foundation of life in koinonia out of which it must come. God has seen to it. Anything else is aberration, distortion and contradiction from the New Testament example of God. The issue of truth is the issue of life. We have as much life as we have truth. They are one and the same, We have as much light as we have life. We have as much fellowship as we have light, as much life saving witness as we have fellowship. “That the world might know that the Father has sent me, because you’re one.” Shall I repeat this formula? The issue of truth is the issue of life: not truth academically, but truth inwrought in the relationships of God’s people. There is no relationship except in the light as He is in the light, which is truth. We cannot have things concealed, hidden, unexpressed or things ignored because they’re too painful, because they’re too demanding or because “who wants to exhort one another daily?” It’s not a pleasant activity and what if it’ll not be received? What if you’ll be misunderstood? What if you’re wrong in your assessment? Well it’s safer it’s easier not to bother. Step by step because we don’t bother, because we don’t see, because we don’t defend one another in light and in truth the deceitfulness of sin takes over. http://www.blendedbody.com/_cl/_John21/index.htm Terry