EPIC FRIENDSHIP P-1 w/RON OHST and JOSE GUTIERREZ

Epic Friendship

 

Philippians 2:25-30 NLT

25 Meanwhile, I thought I should send Epaphroditus back to you. He is a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier. And he was your messenger to help me in my need. 26 I am sending him because he has been longing to see you, and he was very distressed that you heard he was ill. 27 And he certainly was ill; in fact, he almost died. But God had mercy on him—and also on me, so that I would not have one sorrow after another.

28 So I am all the more anxious to send him back to you, for I know you will be glad to see him, and then I will not be so worried about you. 29 Welcome him with Christian love and with great joy, and give him the honor that people like him deserve. 30 For he risked his life for the work of Christ, and he was at the point of death while doing for me what you couldn't do from far away.

 

Koinonia – New Testament Greek word,primarily meaning fellowship, sharing in common, communion.  “Koinonia is being in agreement with one another, being united in purpose, and serving alongside each other. Our koinonia with each other is based on our common koinonia with Jesus Christ”  (from www.gotquestions.org/koinonia.html)

 

True Brother – our shared experience in Christ as daughters and sons of God the Father, brings us into a relationship with each other and Jesus as brothers and sisters that is deeper and more profound than the ties of natural family.

Hebrews 2:11 NLT

11 So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.

 

Co-Worker – When you work together in the eternal mission of Jesus Christ, that shared purpose serves also as ballast that keeps the ship offriendship upright even in the severest of relational storms. 

 

Fellow Soldier – In Christ, we are in a spiritual battle.  The depth of relationship that is built in defending each other from the attacks of the kingdom of darkness is indeed epic.

Philippians 1:27-28 NLT

27 Above all,you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing side by side, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. 28 Don't be intimidated in anyway by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself.

 

A relationship of true brother,co-worker and fellow solider in Christ empowered Paul to highly esteem his friendship with Epaphroditus, while simultaneously freeing Paul to release him to serve in a distant land to fulfill the God’s eternal purposes.

 

Real God | Real People |Restoring Lives

 

Real God

God is Alive! When we meet He shows up, and we experience Him through His Word, His Spirit and each other.

“For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst.”   

— Matthew 18:20 NASB

Real People

Come as you are. We grow by getting real with God and others in genuine,caring relationships.

“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. “    — Acts 2:46-47

 

Restoring Lives

Give it away. We freely share the truth, love and power of Jesus to heal and restore broken lives.

“For God was in Christ, restoring the world to himself, no longer counting men’s sins against them but blotting them out. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others. We are Christ’s ambassadors. God is using us to speak to you…”  — 2 Corinthians 5:19-20