The Calling to Fellowship
How Being with Jesus Changes Everything
By Pastor Jim Cymbala of the Brooklyn Tabernacle
Wednesday, January 21, 2026
* 출처 https://www.brooklyntabernacle.org/the-calling-to-fellowship/
* 듣기 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_cvbcqSnys
Years ago, our church was in the middle of a huge building project, and I was burned out.
I got a call one morning from the church.
“Pastor, the contractors are going to walk /off the job /if we don’t pay them immediately.”
We needed hundreds of thousands of dollars.
It was the last thing () I needed to hear, honestly. “Okay, I’ll come in,” I said.
As I got ready to go, I felt a whisper in my heart: “Where are you going?”
At first I thought () it was something fanatical.
“Don’t go,” I sensed. “Be with Me.”
I knew () it was the Lord /calling me.
“Calling” in the Bible can be individual (the particular plans () God has for our lives)
or general (truths //that apply to all Christians).
But there’s a first calling for all of us //that is vital to understand.
The Bible says, “Jesus went up /on a mountainside and called /to him [those () he wanted],
and they came /to him.
He appointed twelve //that they might be with him
and that he might send them out /to preach and to have authority to drive out demons” (Mark 3:13–15, NIV).
I want [you] [to notice the first calling //that was on the disciples]
—and is also on me as a pastor, and on you, if you’re a follower of Christ:
Jesus called [them] /“that they might be with him.”
Then He would send them out /to preach.
Then they would have authority /over evil spirits.
But their first calling was [to be with Jesus].
Back then, that meant [following Him].
When Jesus stopped /to eat, the disciples stopped /to eat.
(아직 하지도 않은 미래일을 멈출 수 없으므로 to eat는 부역 부정사구로 의도설명이고 먹기 중단은 stopped eating.)
When Jesus went /to Capernaum, guess what?
They went /to Capernaum.
When they had questions or problems, they brought [them] /to Jesus and listened.
Jesus was not calling the disciples into relationship with Him—they already had that.
He was calling [them] [to be with Him].
People can easily have [relationship with no fellowship].
Abused children grow up, get out /of the house, and years go by—maybe their whole lives—
and they have no fellowship with their fathers.
Do they have relationship?
Yes. There’s a birth certificate.
Do they have fellowship?
No.
What does [fellowship with God] mean?
It means that every day the Lord is saying /to little, old, sinful you and me (but Christian you and me),
“I want to spend time with you today.”
What an amazing thing—God wants to be with us!
Why would He want that?
When you love someone, you want fellowship with that person.
[Fellowship with God] involves [worshiping, loving, adoring, listening, talking].
We can tell Him, “This is what’s hurting me today, Lord. It’s just so heavy on my heart. I have to talk to someone.”
As we have fellowship with Him, He lifts [those burdens] /off us.
He speaks /to us /through His Word and His Holy Spirit.
That day //when I felt overwhelmed by our financial needs, I called the church office and said, “I can’t come in today.”
I went up /to my attic and got a big Bible.
I didn’t have the energy to pray,
so I began to read.
After a while, some faith started [rising in my heart].
I began [to sing a little bit].
I talked /to the Lord.
I listened.
I spent the whole day /up there with Him.
When I walked out /of my attic that evening, I was a new person!
I had faith; the problems looked /like little anthills.
As I came out, I got a call from the church office.
“Somebody called /today,” they said.
“They committed the funds () we need.”
Not only was I a new person, but while I had been with God, He had changed everything—in me and around me.
Fellowship with God.
Why don’t you and I take [time] /to be with Jesus every day, starting today?
Prayer
God, give [us] [the grace, discipline, and hunger to be with You].
Help [us] [to have not just relationship with You but also fellowship with You].
Open our hearts /to what You have to say to us today, Jesus.
Amen!
For More Encouragement
- Listen /to the full message by Pastor Jim Cymbala: “More Than a Relationship: Fellowship with God”
- Enjoy other resources to help you draw closer to God: “Fellowship with the Holy Spirit” and “Jesus Every Day: A 100-Day Devotional”
- stopped /to eat. Pastor Cymbala’s Facebook page