What Does Fellowship With God Actually Look Like? - Free Indeed - Ep. 167

Summary

Barry Bennett presents fellowship with God as an ongoing, personal relationship—not merely religious practice, church attendance, or the acquisition of biblical knowledge. He says Christians are called to fellowship with God through Jesus, and that this relationship is the foundation from which decisions and other areas of life can flow.

Bennett describes God as both a trustworthy friend and a loving Father. Communication with God involves receiving and responding to his Word. Scripture, he says, is life-giving: it can strengthen faith, bring freedom, correct a person, and guide their actions. Fellowship may include dedicated prayer and Bible reading, but it can also continue throughout ordinary activities when someone remains attentive to God.

Eleven keys to fellowship with God

1. See God as your friend. Bennett draws on Jesus’ description of his disciples as friends, arguing that Christians need not regard God as distant or unknowable. God is for them and has made his purposes known through Christ.

2. Understand God as a loving Father. Bennett urges listeners to approach God with trust rather than fear, even if their own experiences of fatherhood have been difficult. He describes God’s love as enduring and presents the Spirit’s “Abba, Father” cry as an expression of closeness.

3. Treat God’s words as living and life-giving. Bennett says God’s Word is meant to accomplish its purpose and bring spiritual and practical benefit. He compares hearing it to receiving food, emphasizing the importance of returning to it regularly.

4. Listen for God’s leading so faith can be activated. Using Jesus’ relationship with the Father as his model, Bennett says faith grows through hearing and responding to God. He encourages listeners to become more attentive to the Spirit through fellowship and Scripture.

5. Revisit Scriptures that bless and inspire you. Bennett recommends keeping meaningful verses and reflections and returning to them often. He says repeated engagement with passages that bring joy can also make a person more receptive to wisdom, correction, and guidance.

6. Ask God to reveal truth. Bennett encourages people to ask questions while reading Scripture and praying, and to remain open to answers that may take time. He presents truth as something that frees people from deception, fear, anxiety, and other forms of spiritual or emotional bondage.

7. Be open to correction. Bennett says Scripture teaches, reproves, corrects, and trains people. Fellowship therefore includes a willingness to change beliefs, speech, character, or behavior when the Word reveals a need for change.

8. Put the Word into practice. Reading Scripture should lead to action rather than being treated as a completed religious duty. Bennett likens this to meaningful communication in a relationship and says acting on Jesus’ words helps establish a stable life.

9. Speak in agreement with what you believe. Bennett encourages listeners to declare biblical truth over their lives, bodies, and circumstances. He says a person’s speech can reflect what they have been dwelling on and associates fellowship with growing peace and faith.

10. Pray in the Spirit and expect ongoing insight. Bennett describes praying in tongues as part of his own fellowship with God. Insights may come immediately or later, he says, and he encourages listeners to expect spiritual growth and fruit from time spent in prayer and Scripture.

11. Keep growing. Bennett closes by urging continued meditation on God’s Word and steady spiritual development. He compares the person who delights in and meditates on God’s instruction to a fruitful, well-watered tree.

Bennett’s personal practices

Bennett describes setting aside time after work to reflect on the day, plan for the next day, pray, read Scripture, and wait for insight. He also says he prays while driving and tries to remain spiritually attentive during daily life. He keeps an iPad collection of passages, poems, thoughts, and inspirations that he revisits.

He concludes that fellowship should produce increasing freedom, faith, peace, stability, and growth. He prays that viewers will enter into this fellowship and receive its benefits.

Speakers and sources featured

• Barry Bennett — The identifiable speaker and teacher. He introduces himself as a teacher at Charis Bible College in Woodland Park, Colorado.
• The Bible — Passages cited include Genesis’s account of Adam and Eve in Eden; 1 Corinthians 1:9; John 15:15; Jeremiah 31:3 and 15:16; Galatians 4:6; Isaiah 55:11; Matthew 4:4 and 7:24; John 5:19 and 8:31–32; Romans 10:17; 2 Timothy 3:16–17; 2 Corinthians 4:13; Jude 1:20; 1 Corinthians 14; and Psalm 1:2–3.
• Andrew Wommack — Mentioned in the closing promotion for his book Effortless Change and his ministry. He is not identified as a speaker in the teaching.
• Unidentified closing voice — A brief channel outro asks viewers to like, subscribe, and enable notifications. The subtitles do not identify the voice.