Latest / Cumberland Trace Church of Christ (Formerly Lehman Ave Church of Christ) / "Words of Life" by Hiram Kemp - Part 13

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"Words of Life" by Hiram Kemp - Part 13 · Cumberland Trace Church of Christ (Formerly Lehman Ave Church of Christ)

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All right, if you've got your Bible, go ahead and turn it to 3 John, last class of the quarter
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tonight, 3 John.
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We have been looking at John's letters, and at least in this half of the quarter, first
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half, Neil looked at 1 and 2 Peter, or 1 Peter, excuse me, and tonight we'll look at words
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of life from the book of 3 John.
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Maybe you're familiar with John's writings already because of what we've already seen,
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but 3 John tonight is a study of personalities, and this book and its 15 verses are different
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from the other writings that we have from John for several reasons.
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Number one, this is the only book that John writes in the entirety of the New Testament
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that he doesn't directly mention Jesus Christ.
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So if you look at the 15 verses, he's going to make mention of God, he's going to make
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mention of the Lord, but he's not going to say anything specifically about Jesus Christ.
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But don't let that alarm you because throughout these 15 verses, though he doesn't explicitly
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mention Jesus directly, everything he says is undergirded and saturated with the behavior
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people should have if their lives are dominated by the teachings of Jesus.
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Another unique thing about 3 John that's different from his other books is normally the way John
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sets up his writing, you could say the same thing about many of Paul's letters, is typically
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the doctrine comes first and then there's the practical application.
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Preachers preach this way today sometimes, right?
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We'll have a lesson, we'll say, here are the facts about this person, this individual,
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here's how it applies to your life.
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In 3 John, John reverses that.
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In 3 John, John just comes right out and he reverses what he's doing and he gets right
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to the application immediately and talks about how people ought to behave, and then he gives
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the principles and the reasons why, and we'll see that momentarily.
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But as John leads out, this time around he talks directly and specifically about the
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way that individuals ought to be behaving first.
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When you get done with these 15 verses in this book, there's going to be no mistake
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about how people ought to behave.
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John is calling out names specifically to individuals and he's holding up certain people
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saying this is an example of how you ought to live, and then on the other hand, this
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is a way that you shouldn't live.
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When you get done with 3 John, you know who the good guys are in 3 John and who the bad
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guys are, but you also know how you should be behaving at the end of 3 John and which
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side of the ledger you fall on.
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Another interesting thing about 3 John that's unique is it's written to an individual by
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the name of Gaius.
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Now, there are several different men by this name in the New Testament.
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There's one from Corinth, he's mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1.14, and in Romans 16 in verse
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23, there's another Gaius, he's mentioned in Acts 19 in verse 29, he's with Paul and
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Aristarchus.
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Then there's a third man named Gaius in Acts 20 in verse 4, and you can call him Gaius
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from Derbe.
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I don't think this Gaius, he doesn't have to be any of those other individuals.
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But 1 and 2 John were written largely to the church, and 2 John, how does he start that
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book?
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To the elect who?
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The elect lady.
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But 3 John's written directly to a person.
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That's not completely unique.
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There are other New Testament books written to people.
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Think about 1 and 2 Timothy, think about Titus, think about Philemon.
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But Gaius is a little bit interesting because the name Gaius is the second most common name
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in the ancient world.
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They dug up other ancient artifacts, and Gaius is the second most prominent name.
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In fact, in some ancient court documents from the first century, like we sometimes use the
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name, we'll say John Doe just as a placeholder for a person, that's how Gaius was used.
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But look at 3 John verse 1.
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John's not just talking about any Gaius.
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He's talking about Gaius, the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.
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This common name that's found throughout the New Testament, when John writes this book
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though, he's saying this isn't just the Gaius from Derbe, Acts 20 and verse 4, not the one
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from Acts 19 and 29 that was in the region of Macedonia.
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He says this is a different Gaius, just the beloved one that I love in truth, and he's
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writing directly to him.
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The key verse in 3 John is verse 11, and if you have your Bible, just go ahead and look
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at 3 John 11.
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He says, beloved, don't be imitators of evil, but be imitators of good.
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He that does good is of God, and he that does evil has not seen God.
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And this is the heart of what John is going to drive at in these 15 verses.
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By the time John writes 3 John, he's an older man, right?
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He's lived a long life as a Christian, and he just basically boils it down to this.
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Beloved, don't imitate evil, but imitate good.
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Whoever does good is from God.
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Whoever does evil has not seen God.
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Think about his whole life as a Christian, from Jesus recruiting him and his brother
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James with Peter and John and James when they were...Peter and Andrew, excuse me, when they
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were fishermen, all the way to the end of his life, and he basically boils it down to
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this.
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Follow people that do good, stay away from people that do bad.
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Why does John summarize the Christian life that way, and would you say Christianity at
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its heart is really that simple?
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Follow good and abstain from evil.
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Why does John boil it down to that, and is that really the heart of it?
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I've got up here the key verse in this book, but you might argue, depending on how you
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see it, this is the key verse and really the key thought throughout the Bible.
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Why do you think John boils it all down to this?
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Beloved, don't be imitators of evil, but imitators of good.
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Whoever does good is of God.
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Whoever does evil hasn't seen God.
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One at a time.
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I can only handle so much at a time.
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Don't overwhelm me.
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Imitators of good leads to imitators of Christ.
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Yes, somebody said something about that, right?
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Be followers of me even as I follow Christ.
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That's what Paul said about his life.
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Anything else?
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Joey?
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I think about how hard it would be for, I've got the full, complete thing in front of me.
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If I was somebody in the first century and somebody, especially like a Paul teacher or
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something, or comes up and is teaching me something, I think about how hard that would
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be.
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I would have this to go to to see, oh, and now you're telling something.
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Basically, what we talked about last week, if the fruits of the teacher is something
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good's coming from it, or is it something that's not good coming from it, it's basically
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in a nutshell, in a sense, if good's coming from it.
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It's evident.
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It's evident.
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Yeah, Joey's saying in the first century, everybody couldn't read, which is true.
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More than half of the Roman empire was illiterate.
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That doesn't mean that they were uneducated.
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They just measured education in a different way than we do.
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And so a lot of people couldn't read.
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And he's saying, you might not be able to study, nor would you have a complete New Testament.
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So how would you know what was right versus what's wrong?
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So what John says in verse 11 kind of summarizes it for you.
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I think that's true too.
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Yeah, you can just look at somebody's life and the fruit or the evidence would be apparent.
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Anybody else?
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This is a key idea in the Bible.
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Amos 5.15, Amos says, hate the evil, love the good.
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Romans 12 and verse 9, Paul says, abhor or just despise what's evil, cling to the good.
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In Deuteronomy 30 and verse 19, Moses says, I've set before you this day death and life.
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Choose life that you might live.
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Or Psalm 34.14, seek evil, seek good, refrain from evil.
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This idea comes up over and over again because it is the heart of the Bible.
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Everything in the Bible, even the concepts you and I learn about God are ultimately designed
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to shape us into people that show God has taken over our lives by the way that we live.
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And so God created us in the beginning in his image, Genesis 1.26 and 27.
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We marred that image through our own sin, our own shortcoming.
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In Christ, he makes us a new creature, 2 Corinthians 5.17, and that's primarily shown.
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How does somebody know you're a new creature?
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By the way that you live.
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And so this is the big deal of the Bible.
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Everything comes back down to this.
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How are you living?
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What are you going to do?
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He won't say at the end of time, well-read, good and faithful servant, or well-studied
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or even well-memorized or highlighted.
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He'll say, well done, because our deeds tell the story.
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And so 3 John verse 11, after we study these personalities as we'll do momentarily, John
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basically gets to the heart of his message in verse 11 and he says, now that you know
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what you should do, go out and practice it.
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All right, there's a lot of ways we could go about our study tonight.
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Here's what we're going to do though.
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We're going to just read this whole book in one setting.
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We don't think you need a five-part series on 3 John, it's 15 verses, you can handle
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it, right?
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Fifteen verses, we're going to read 3 John, and then what we're going to do is just look
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at the different personalities that John mentions.
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As we go throughout this and study it, I think you're going to find out some things about
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these individuals and also about yourself.
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I don't know how you see yourself, but there's a possibility at least that other people see
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you differently than you see yourself.
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And for some of us, that's great news.
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You might think, oh, I'm really not that special and other people think you're amazing.
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For others of us, that's humbling news.
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You might think I'm the greatest person, I'm so nice, I sneeze out glitter and rainbows,
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everybody loves me, and people talk to you and they might say, well, that's not true.
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How do you know how you really look?
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Well, physically, you would need a mirror to see the blemishes, to see the ways and
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places in which you can improve.
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Spiritually, we need a mirror that can see inside of us.
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We couldn't see inside ourselves without divine help.
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And the Bible helps us do that, but especially a book like 3 John.
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John holds up these people, as Joey said, you can't miss their life and their example.
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And then he says, do you see that in them?
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And then a better question is, do you see that in you for good or bad?
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And then make wise choices.
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All right, let's do 3 John, 15 verses.
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And then there are five personalities that we'll try to cover in the time we have left.
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The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.
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Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just
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as it goes well with your soul.
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For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you
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are walking in the truth.
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I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
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Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers
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as they are, who testified to your love before the church, and you will do well to send
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them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.
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For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles,
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and therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the
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truth.
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I've written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first,
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does not acknowledge our authority.
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So if I come, I will bring up what he's doing, talking wicked nonsense against us, and not
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content with that.
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He refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who wants to, and puts them out
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of the church.
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Beloved, don't imitate evil, but imitate good.
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Whoever does good is from God.
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Whoever does evil has not seen God.
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Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself, and we
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also had our testimony, and you know our testimony is true.
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I have much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink.
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I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.
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Peace be to you.
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The friends greet you.
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Greet each by name.
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Let's do the five personalities.
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The first one is John.
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John is the encouraging elder.
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He's the one that wrote this book.
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He calls himself the elder in verse one.
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We talked last week about how elder can be used in different ways in the New Testament,
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and here I think John's just describing himself as a distinguished old man, an older man of
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respect and integrity, and that's who's writing this.
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The first character is John.
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John writes as an elder, and boldly expresses his love and his admiration toward Gaius.
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Look at verse one.
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The elder to who?
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How does he describe Gaius?
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The beloved Gaius who he what?
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Loves in truth.
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This isn't really the picture that we get in modern society of bold masculinity, but
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this is John toward Gaius publicly in ink.
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He says to the beloved Gaius whom I love in truth.
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A few weeks ago preached from Philemon, and in Philemon verse 12, you remember what Paul
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says about Onesimus?
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He says to Philemon, I'm sending you back Onesimus, sending my very heart.
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One thing about John is he's an encourager, he loves Gaius, and he boldly expresses it
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in this letter by calling him Gaius whom I love in the truth.
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What does that mean, he loves him in the truth?
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What is he saying there?
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What brought them together and brought their lives together, Kevin mentioned this, they
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have this common ground because they're both what?
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Christians, and now that they're in Christ, John says, I love you in the truth.
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This is Proverbs 17, 17, a friend loves at all times, and he's expressing it to Gaius
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in a way that everybody for all time will be able to read it and to see it.
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Jesus does this with his disciples.
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You remember John 17, 23, he's praying in the high priestly prayer, he's praying to
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God the Father, and then he says, all of these whom I love.
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What did Jesus call John?
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Maybe this is where John loved it, John learned this from.
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What does Jesus say about John in John's gospel?
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John is the disciple who what?
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Think about it.
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Think about that.
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How did he know that Jesus loved him?
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Maybe sometimes Jesus did what?
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Maybe he told him.
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Don't you want to be this kind of person?
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The kind of person where people don't have to guess about where they stand with you because
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you say it and you display it.
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You tell them right where they stand with you, and if you love people and you care about
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them, you vocalize it.
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That's John.
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Question, when do we today normally tell people how much we love them and care about them
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and adore them?
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When do we typically give people their flowers?
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I can't hear it.
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When they're dead.
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Yeah, at the funeral.
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What do you think they're going to get up and say?
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Thank you?
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They can't say it.
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It's too late then, right?
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We normally tell people when it's too late.
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The Bible talks against that.
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Proverbs 3, 27 and 28, Solomon says, don't withhold good from somebody when it's in your
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power to do it.
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Don't send them on their way when it's near you and by you.
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We should be doing this immediately.
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John's an encourager.
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Look at how often he does this.
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Look at verse one.
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He calls Gaius his what?
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Beloved.
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Look at verse two.
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You might circle these.
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Look at verse two again.
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Beloved.
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Look at verse five.
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John says it again.
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Beloved.
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And then in verse 11, he says, beloved.
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John's outspoken about his love, his adoration, and his care for Gaius, and he's bold and
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outspoken about doing it.
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First John 3, 18, this same John wrote, beloved, let us not love in word only, but also in
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deed and in truth.
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And that's what he's practicing here.
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John's a great encourager.
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He boldly expresses his love toward Gaius, and then he has this amazing prayer.
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So this is one personality to emulate.
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John the encouraging elder.
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Verse two, this is one of my favorite prayers in the Bible because of how comprehensive
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it is.
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Now look at verse two of third John, I pray that all may go well with you and that you
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may be in good health as it goes well with your soul.
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So he prays for Gaius to prosper.
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That wouldn't surprise you.
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But I think what might surprise you is what he prays for Gaius to prosper in.
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What does he want Gaius to prosper in?
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Everything.
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And what else?
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And his health.
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That's his prayer.
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He says, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may prosper in your health
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just like your soul prospers.
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What does that tell you about John?
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What does that tell you about John?
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And then what does that tell you about the kind of prayers God wants us to pray for ourselves,
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but also for other people?
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What does this prayer tell you about John?
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I wish or I pray that everything goes well in your life and that you prosper in health
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just like your soul's prospering.
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What does this tell you about the kind of person John was and what does this tell you
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about prayer?
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How God wants us to pray for ourselves and for other people.
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He was sincere for sure.
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Yep.
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This is sincere.
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Everything's important.
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Yeah.
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Rachel says everything's important.
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I think that's right.
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We tend to think, oh, we don't care.
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All we care about is the soul.
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God doesn't talk like that in the Bible.
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The primary thing is the soul.
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And John says that at the end of verse two, but he says, Gaius, I really hope you win
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in everything.
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What if Gaius is a businessman?
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John said, I hope the business goes well.
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What if Gaius is a parent?
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He's saying, I hope your parenting goes well.
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I want you to do well in everything.
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Just like your soul is doing well.
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Look at first Thessalonians.
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Hold your hand in third.
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John go to first Thessalonians chapter five, first Thessalonians five.
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And when you get there, somebody read verse 23, nice and loud.
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First Thessalonians five, 23.
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This is Paul doing the same thing for the church at Thessalonica at the end of this
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letter.
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First Thessalonians five, 23.
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What does Paul say?
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See, faithful is he who calls you, who also will do it.
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He says, God's going to do this whole body, soul, spirit.
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God's concerned about the totality of your being.
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And you should be concerned about that and about that for other people.
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Jesus would pray this and he tells us this in Matthew six, 25 through 34.
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He says not to worry, but God will supply all the things that you need.
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And Paul doubles down on them in Philippians four, 19, a prayer like this.
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Is this a spiritual prayer from John and third John two about Gaius?
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Is this a spiritual prayer?
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Because we tend to think spiritual, Hey, only be pray about his soul.
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Pray that he reads his Bible.
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Oh, John's concerned about that with Gaius, but it appears that Gaius and more about him
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in a minute.
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Gaius already has his spiritual affairs in order, but then John comes over the top of
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that and he says, I want everything in life to go your way.
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Here's a question.
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Who are you praying for like that?
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And if you're not, when should you start?
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See a personality like this, evidently John was deeply interested in Gaius as a person
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and he knew about Gaius, his life in totality.
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And he says, I really hope you keep going.
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Things keep going well with you.
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It wasn't that Gaius his life was this pie chart and 50% of it was spiritual.
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And that's the part John was really interested in.
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And the other party didn't care as Rachel said, everything's important.
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And John teaches us that as he's a great encourager.
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He also engaged in good gossip about Gaius in verse three.
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He says, I rejoice greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth as indeed
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you're walking in the truth.
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Somebody came from this church, Gaius's house to John talked about Gaius.
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It was good news.
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And then John brought the good news back to Gaius.
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This is good gossip.
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When John heard good things about other people, he wanted them to know about it.
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What does Solomon say in Proverbs 25, 25 as good news, as cold water to a thirsty soul
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is good news from a far country.
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When you hear somebody is doing good, John's the kind of person that would encourage.
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Here's the last thing about John, the encouraging elder.
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He was praising Gaius's works.
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And this is really the heart of what he talks about in verses four through six.
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He says, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
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It's a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they
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are, who testified to your love before the church.
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You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.
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When he says, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
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He's calling Gaius his child.
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What does that mean about John's relationship to Gaius, probably?
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Gaius is younger in age.
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Okay, that's a great possibility.
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He probably is the one that taught him and converted him.
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And if that's not the case, he had a great influence on him, right?
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And so he says, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the
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truth.
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He's praising Gaius's good works.
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Sometimes the Bible says we have to rebuke people when they do wrong, and we should be
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willing and ready to do that.
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Great.
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When somebody is out of line, if you love them, tell them the truth.
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Proverbs 27, five and six, faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy,
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those are deceitful.
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When people aren't in the right, we need to tell them.
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But here's the question.
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Can you do the opposite?
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When people are doing the right thing, can you come alongside them and encourage them?
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You know who was good at that in the Bible?
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Paul.
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Paul would write to a church, and if they, Luke was mentioning Philippians in his Devo
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in Philippians four and verse one, Paul says about the church at Philippi, my dearly beloved,
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my long for joy and crown.
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Paul just praised the church at Philippi.
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They weren't perfect, but they got a lot of things right.
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And Paul told them, and John's a great encourager.
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Do you have this kind of personality that people that know you, when they do wrong,
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they know you'll tell them.
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But when they do right, they'll never know.
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John's saying this about Gaius, and this Gaius here is a convert, his children.
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He says, I have no greater joy than to hear my children walk in truth.
19:47
This probably is no biological relation, but I think we can use the passage that way.
19:51
And so, like your kids, what do kids want more than anything else in the world?
19:56
Nobody say money, okay?
19:57
Say something like, yeah, they want your approval, right?
20:00
Give it to them.
20:01
I mean, make it easy.
20:02
Put that on the bottom shelf.
20:04
Be a person easy to please.
20:05
And when they do something right, let them know.
20:08
John says, hey, Gaius, and you know that John could write scathing things when the time
20:11
came.
20:12
Read 1 John, read 2 John.
20:13
But when Gaius did it right, he says, I've got no greater joy.
20:16
I heard you're walking in the truth.
20:17
So excited about it.
20:18
Make yourself easy to please.
20:20
What about your spouse?
20:22
Do they know when they do right, when they do good?
20:24
You should tell them.
20:27
What about church leaders?
20:29
Church leaders know when they mess up, or even when people think they've messed up,
20:33
because you're going to tell them.
20:36
But do you tell them when they're doing good?
20:37
When you say, well, church just kind of seems routine.
20:40
Things are just rolling.
20:41
That's not an accident.
20:42
You should be saying to somebody, hey, we're walking in the truth, and thank you for doing
20:45
that.
20:46
And then just what about brethren in general?
20:48
John was a great encourager, because when John felt something about somebody, he told
20:52
them, and he praised Gaius publicly for his good works, and he says, I love what you're
20:56
doing for these individuals, even though they're strangers, and you're doing well to send them
21:00
on their journey.
21:01
So the first personality to emulate is John, the encouraging elder.
21:04
And the question for you is, as you look at the Bible, 3 John, the mirror of your soul,
21:09
you should be saying, is that me?
21:11
Is anybody beloved to me, and do I tell them?
21:14
Am I praying this 3 John 2 prayer for anybody?
21:16
Am I praying it for myself and then for others?
21:18
I want you to prosper in everything, and I want you to be in good health, just like your
21:22
soul is prospering.
21:23
When you hear good gossip, do you bring it back to other people and say, hey, I heard
21:27
you did a great thing.
21:28
I know you didn't do it to be seen, but people saw it, Matthew 5, 16.
21:32
They see your good works.
21:33
They glorify the Father, and I want you to know it, and then specifically get down to
21:38
people's works and tell them you love that they're walking in the truth.
21:42
Start with the people that get mail at the same address that you do, and then branch
21:45
out from there.
21:46
I'm telling you, if you do this, you'll be an encouraging person.
21:49
Here's the second personality, is Gaius, the beloved servant, okay?
21:52
So this is the second person in 3 John.
21:56
Here's what we know about Gaius.
21:57
We know the prayer in verse 2, but what does John say at the end of this prayer in verse
22:01
2?
22:02
Just like it goes well with your what?
22:04
What does that tell you about Gaius?
22:08
John says, I want you to prosper in everything and be in good health, and then he adds this
22:12
on at the end of verse 2.
22:14
Just like it's going well with your soul.
22:15
What does that mean about Gaius already?
22:18
Evidently, his soul was already in good shape.
22:21
Evidently, John has some stuff on the prayer list, everything, your health, just like your
22:26
soul.
22:27
Okay.
22:28
Evidently, Gaius' soul was already in good shape.
22:29
He was already taking care of business, and above all, he was prospering in the thing
22:33
that mattered most already.
22:35
Here's the question.
22:36
How do you prosper in your soul?
22:38
This word prosper, it means like go well, I hope you succeed.
22:41
How do you succeed in your soul?
22:43
Gaius was already doing this.
22:45
It's possible to do it.
22:46
How do you do it?
22:48
How do you make sure everything goes well with your soul?
22:51
You wouldn't know if you were prospering financially, true or true?
22:54
You wouldn't know, right?
22:55
You wouldn't know if you were prospering in health.
22:57
How do you know, hey, my soul's prospering?
23:00
Okay, do good and not do bad.
23:03
That's a pretty easy barometer.
23:04
Yeah, if you do good stuff and you don't do bad stuff, then guess what?
23:09
You're prospering.
23:10
That's a part of it.
23:11
How else?
23:12
Evangelism.
23:13
Yeah, evangelism would be a good one.
23:17
Jesus said, make disciples, Matthew 28, 19.
23:20
Whenever you're doing what Jesus said, you're in good territory, good ground, evangelism,
23:26
do good works.
23:27
What else?
23:29
You have peace.
23:30
Yeah, you'll have inner peace.
23:33
The Bible says God will bless you with it, Philippians 4, 7, a peace surpassing all understanding.
23:38
Okay, anybody else?
23:39
How do you know your soul's prospering?
23:42
One of John's favorite things, love one another.
23:45
If you love other Christians, yes.
23:48
What else?
23:54
So a good report.
23:55
Yes, a good report.
23:56
That was mentioned.
23:57
Yeah, in Philemon, the book of Philemon in verse 7, Paul talks about Philemon.
24:01
He says, brother, the hearts of the saints are refreshed through you.
24:04
People are made better because they're in your presence.
24:06
When the apostles are questioned in Acts 4, 13, the Sanhedrin says, they took knowledge
24:11
of these guys that they had been with Jesus.
24:13
We haven't heard anybody speak that boldly and that plainly since we last saw Jesus some
24:17
50 days before this.
24:19
So yes, the way people talk about you, the way you make other people behave and respond
24:23
as a result.
24:24
Anybody else?
24:25
Anything else that you can think about that would be a mark that my soul is prospering
24:28
and doing well?
24:31
Reading the Bible would probably be on there, right?
24:33
Like if you're taking in the right stuff, you'd have to read the Bible and live it.
24:36
Jesus says, man can't live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth
24:40
of God, I think it's possible to go out and be a nice person to do good and all of that.
24:44
But if you're not taking in any of God's word, your soul isn't prospering in the best way
24:48
because there may be stuff in here that God wants you to do that you're not doing.
24:51
There may be stuff in here God wants you to stop that you're still doing.
24:54
Gaius is a beloved servant.
24:55
He prospered in what mattered most.
24:57
He had a good life and a good reputation.
24:59
That was already mentioned in verse 3 and 4.
25:01
John says, I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth as indeed
25:05
you are walking in the truth.
25:06
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
25:10
So Gaius, he had a good reputation and a good life.
25:13
What does reputation mean?
25:15
What do you think that word means?
25:16
When you hear the words reputation, what does that mean to you?
25:20
Okay, Brother Levi, what other people know about you for sure.
25:23
What else?
25:25
Reputation.
25:27
Your character.
25:28
Yes, your character, what other people know about you, and I would just add this to put
25:32
both of those together.
25:33
It's the general consensus of what people think about you.
25:36
So if one person says you're a terrible person, that doesn't necessarily mean it's true, right?
25:41
But if you get like 50 people that say that, so maybe you ought to start giving some.
25:46
I mean, if you work on one job and you're like, you know what, I left that job, everybody
25:50
there hated me, and then you go to another job and you're like, you know, I went to this
25:53
job and all these people hated me, and then you go to a third job, well, I'm promising
25:58
you, it may not be the jobs, okay?
26:00
It may not be the jobs.
26:02
Here's the thing.
26:03
What's your reputation?
26:04
Gaius had a reputation.
26:05
His reputation was one that said he testified to the truth.
26:09
He was walking in the truth, and John was glad to hear it about him, and then he did
26:13
faithful work.
26:14
Now, this is probably the heart of what Gaius was known for, verses five through eight.
26:19
Verse five says, beloved, it's a faithful thing in you doing all your efforts for these
26:22
brothers, strangers as they are.
26:24
I'm not going to read all these verses again, but just think about this.
26:27
Look at verses five through eight, and somebody tell me, summarize it for me, what did Gaius
26:31
do?
26:32
Why did John write him this book?
26:34
There's a one-chapter book in the Bible written to a man named Gaius, and verses five through
26:38
eight are it.
26:39
What was his thing?
26:40
What was his good work?
26:41
We can talk about good works in general, but Gaius did something very specific here, and
26:45
what was that?
26:47
Loved, he received people.
26:53
Specifically though, John here is talking about missionaries.
26:57
Missionaries would come through traveling.
26:59
They would come by Gaius's house, and Gaius would take them in, and he would see to their
27:03
needs and take care of them.
27:04
He says, strangers though they are, you take them in, and you see to their needs, and we
27:09
should help people like this that are of the truth.
27:11
And notice what he does.
27:12
Look at verse five.
27:13
He didn't even know them.
27:14
It says, this is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers
27:18
as they are.
27:19
You remember Hebrews 13 and verse two?
27:21
It talks about being not forgetful to entertain strangers because thereby some have entertained
27:26
angels unknowingly.
27:28
That's what Gaius is doing.
27:29
He didn't know these missionaries, but when they came and they preached the truth, you
27:33
know what he did?
27:35
He was kind to them.
27:36
He supported them.
27:37
Look at verse six.
27:38
It was the evidence of his love.
27:40
You testify to your love before the church, and you will do well to send them on their
27:44
journey in a manner worthy of God.
27:46
Evidently, he was wealthy enough to do this.
27:48
So go to 2 Corinthians really quickly.
27:50
Go to 2 Corinthians 8, and 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, Paul is talking about giving.
27:55
2 Corinthians 8 and 9, both of those chapters, Paul talks about giving.
27:59
And then 2 Corinthians 8 and verse 24, he says something about financial contribution
28:05
that's very similar to what's said about Gaius.
28:07
Look at 2 Corinthians 8, 24.
28:08
At the end of this chapter, he says, so show to the churches the what?
28:14
The proof of your love and of our boasting on your behalf.
28:17
How would the churches know that these churches in Corinth, in and around Achaia, really love
28:22
them?
28:23
Paul says, show it by giving, financial contribution.
28:25
He says, do that.
28:27
And then in 3 John 6, it says, hey, Gaius, you showed your love.
28:32
You testified of your love before the church, and the way you did this in showing this contribution
28:37
and helping these folks by letting them stay with you.
28:39
And then, Gaius, he did this work right.
28:42
It says, they testified of your love before the church, and you do well to send them on
28:45
their journey in a manner worthy of God.
28:48
Okay, go back to 3 John, look at verse 6.
28:50
You do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.
28:53
The missionaries come to Gaius' house.
28:55
He doesn't know them.
28:56
He receives them.
28:57
Great.
28:58
What does it mean to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God, though?
29:01
What does that mean, that last part, worthy of God?
29:04
Okay, yep, they can keep doing God's work, but how did Gaius do it in a way that was
29:09
worthy of God?
29:11
You know, anybody can let you stay the night.
29:15
Some people, when you come to their house to stay the night, they want you there.
29:18
And some people just kind of let you crash, you know.
29:21
You can stay the night, but what time are you leaving?
29:26
What does it mean that Gaius did it in a manner worthy of God?
29:30
In a way that honors God?
29:32
Same thing.
29:33
This word means the same thing.
29:34
Yeah, to honor God, to hold him up in esteem.
29:36
But how did Gaius do that?
29:37
That's what I want to know.
29:40
He used the money and supported them in a way that when those people left, the only
29:45
thing people could conclude is, oh, they must work for God.
29:48
This comes up in the Bible sometimes.
29:50
God will say, do something, and I want you to do it as if I was doing it.
29:53
So like 1 Peter 4.11, Peter says, if anybody speaks, he should speak as the oracles of
29:58
God.
29:59
So if you're going to preach or teach, when people get done listening, they should say,
30:02
that's what God would say.
30:04
Or Matthew 5.48, you'll be perfect just like what?
30:08
Your heavenly Father's perfect.
30:10
Sometimes the Bible says, you do this like God.
30:12
Gaius was such a good man.
30:13
When he supported missionaries, he sent them out in a way that was consistent with the
30:17
fact that they supported God.
30:19
Evidently, he didn't give these missionaries crumbs.
30:21
He gave them the very best.
30:23
He paid their salary like God would pay their salary.
30:26
That's a God honor in person, in a way that honors God, in a way worthy of God.
30:30
No wonder John wrote him a book.
30:31
Nobody else liked him.
30:32
And then he made up what they lacked.
30:35
Verse 7 says, when these missionaries went out, they wouldn't take money from non-Christians.
30:39
He says, they don't take anything from the Gentiles.
30:42
Therefore, we ought to support people like these that we may be fellow helpers of the
30:45
truth.
30:46
In the first century, different preachers, not just Christian preachers, not just the
30:49
apostles, public speakers would go around and just take money from people.
30:53
These Christians wouldn't do that.
30:55
He says, they don't take money from non-believers, so make sure you make up the slack.
31:00
Make sure their salary and their support as missionaries is paid.
31:03
They take nothing from the Gentiles, but Gaius was the kind of guy that used all of his resources
31:08
in a way that glorified God.
31:09
In verse 8 says, therefore, we ought to be supporters of people like these that we may
31:13
be fellow workers of the truth.
31:15
All right, last thing before we go on to the third personality.
31:17
What does verse 8 imply about your contribution on Sunday?
31:21
What does verse 8 say about the money that you put in the plate on Sunday?
31:24
This is a big deal.
31:25
I hope it encourages you.
31:27
When this point hits you, I hope it makes a difference, not only in the way you give,
31:31
but just in what you probably have done throughout your whole life without even knowing it.
31:35
What does verse 8 imply about your contribution?
31:39
Your fellow worker of the truth.
31:42
Sometimes we say, well, if you can't go, sin.
31:44
We didn't come up with that.
31:45
That's as old as the first century.
31:47
John says, if you support these people, you are a fellow helper of the truth.
31:51
I don't know how much money you've given over the years.
31:53
I don't know if you think it's a lot or a little.
31:56
A widow in Mark 12, 41 through 44, put in, and Jesus says she contributed more than they
32:01
all.
32:04
Just imagine how many people are going to be in heaven because week after week, you
32:07
put in, you contributed to the work of the Lord.
32:10
John calls that being a fellow helper and a fellow supporter of the truth.
32:13
Everybody can't be a missionary.
32:15
Everybody has to stay behind and do the local work, but when you support them, John didn't
32:19
say, they're doing the courageous work, Gaius, and you're doing second tier.
32:23
He says, you're a fellow helper of the truth.
32:24
Okay, what kind of personality do you have?
32:26
Are you an encourager like John?
32:29
Are you a beloved servant like Gaius?
32:31
Gaius' whole life can be summarized this way.
32:34
Everything he had was God's.
32:37
What does stewardship mean?
32:38
When you think about stewardship, what is stewardship?
32:41
And quickly, we've got like 10 minutes to do these other personalities.
32:44
What is good stewardship look like?
32:47
Are there any good stewards you think of in the Bible?
32:49
When you hear stewardship, what do you think about?
32:52
What do we typically think about when you think about stewardship?
32:56
Administration of the various materials.
32:58
Yeah.
32:59
What do we typically think about with stewardship?
33:00
Now, what topic?
33:03
How you handle money.
33:04
That's what we tend to think about.
33:06
That's fine.
33:07
But in the Bible, stewardship isn't primarily about money.
33:11
It's about your whole life.
33:12
The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, and everybody that dwells therein,
33:15
Psalm 24 and verse 1.
33:17
You're a good steward because God has literally loaned you everything, including your existence.
33:21
And at the end of time, you're going to lay it all at his feet and say, God, this was
33:25
all yours, including my breath, and this is how I used it.
33:27
Here's the question though.
33:29
Are you good with that?
33:31
Like right now, if God said, all right, time's up, it's time to report.
33:33
You've been babysitting all of my possessions, my life, everything I've given you.
33:38
You lay it all at God's feet.
33:39
Are you satisfied?
33:40
Of course, there's always more we can do, but are we doing what we can with what we've
33:44
got?
33:45
Gaius was a man.
33:46
His life, his resources, his house, everything belonged to God, and when missionaries came
33:50
or anybody came through, Gaius was like Barnabas in Acts 4, 36 through 37.
33:54
He just gave it.
33:56
You want this kind of personality.
33:57
All right, here's personality number three.
33:59
These others go quick.
34:01
3 John 9 and 10, diatrophies, only time he's mentioned in the New Testament.
34:06
The New Testament letters will be received and they'd be read in an assembly like this
34:10
and just like we read 3 John out loud, they would read it all the way through and then
34:13
they'd go down, break it down, and then they would go home and come back and maybe read
34:16
it again.
34:17
Imagine being in the assembly.
34:18
Gaius just has been praised.
34:19
Diotrophies, you hear your name, you're sitting up, you're thinking something good is going
34:24
to be said about me, and guess what?
34:25
The only time your name is mentioned in the Bible, John says, I've written something to
34:29
the church, but diatrophies, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our
34:33
authority.
34:34
So the only time he's mentioned in the Bible is something negative.
34:37
When John says, I've written something to the church, that might be 2 John.
34:41
Maybe that was 2 John, the first letter he wrote.
34:43
Whatever he wrote, diatrophies, this word, he likes to put himself first.
34:47
He likes to be in charge and he likes to control other people.
34:52
What's diatrophies' problem?
34:53
Look at 3 John 9 and 10 and tell me what's wrong with his personality.
34:59
He's selfish.
35:00
That's a start.
35:01
What else?
35:04
Doesn't like authority.
35:05
What else?
35:06
Prideful.
35:07
What was that?
35:08
Prideful.
35:09
Yes.
35:10
Not a servant.
35:13
Uses malicious words.
35:15
So yeah, his mouth is a problem.
35:17
Doesn't care about what the apostles say.
35:19
He's going to put other people out of the church.
35:21
So he went wrong in verse 10.
35:23
It says, talking wicked nonsense against us and not content with that, he refuses to welcome
35:27
the brothers and also stops those who wants to and puts them out of the church.
35:31
All right, here's a question.
35:32
How do I know if I'm diatrophies?
35:35
Let me just give you a quick case study, a test, okay?
35:38
I had to do this test on myself today, so I'm going to make you do it, okay?
35:42
Here's how do you know.
35:43
How do I know if I'm like diatrophies?
35:44
Number one, does it always have to go my way?
35:49
Does it?
35:50
Diatrophies, this word, loves to put himself first.
35:52
Gotta be diatrophies' way.
35:53
It's the only way to do it.
35:54
If it wasn't, he wouldn't say that.
35:56
Diatrophies had to have his way.
35:58
Problem number one.
35:59
Here's number two, though.
36:00
The mouth.
36:02
Speaking malicious words.
36:03
If it doesn't go my way, you're going to hear about it.
36:05
John wrote a letter.
36:06
Diatrophies doesn't like that, so he's going to talk wicked nonsense against him.
36:09
Here's number three.
36:11
How do you handle the New Testament?
36:13
He doesn't receive our words.
36:15
So sometimes a person may say something and you're like, yeah, that's one verse, but what
36:18
about this one?
36:19
Listen, the verses don't fight against each other.
36:21
They all work in harmony.
36:22
And when you don't get your way, do you minimize some verses to elevate others?
36:27
And then are you a roadblock to other people?
36:30
If I don't like doing this, nobody's doing it.
36:33
Look at the end of verse 10.
36:34
He refuses to welcome the brothers.
36:36
Okay, you don't have to practice hospitality diatrophies.
36:38
That's your business.
36:39
But what does the rest of the verse say?
36:42
What does the rest of the verse say?
36:45
Stops other people from doing it.
36:46
Now, you might be thinking to yourself right now, I'd never do that.
36:49
But we do this.
36:50
I'm telling you, I'm not doing this.
36:51
I don't like this work.
36:53
Okay.
36:54
Don't do it.
36:55
Don't show up.
36:56
I'm going to talk down on it to other people.
36:57
See, you're not going.
36:58
Jesus said this about the Pharisees in Matthew 23 11.
37:00
He says they're not entering the kingdom and they prevent other people who are going
37:04
in diatrophies.
37:05
If you don't want to do what they said, you don't like practicing hospitality.
37:09
Just shut up your doors.
37:10
Don't let anybody in mind your business, but I'm going to stop other people.
37:13
You shouldn't be doing that either.
37:15
That's diatrophies.
37:16
And John says, when I come, I'm going to deal with them because he's destroying the unity
37:20
of the church.
37:21
See, diatrophies made it all about him.
37:23
You can see the contrast between him and Gaius.
37:25
And I'm telling you, third, John is a mirror.
37:27
It'll show you your own heart, your own personality.
37:29
How am I, as it relates to spiritual matters, diatrophies, he had an eye problem.
37:34
He was worried about himself.
37:36
Everything had to go his way.
37:37
He loved to put himself first.
37:38
Not even the apostles got into respect.
37:40
Here's the fourth personality is Demetrius.
37:44
John does this on purpose in verses 10 and 11.
37:46
He talks about diatrophies.
37:47
He gives the key verse in verse 11.
37:49
He says, beloved, don't follow evil, but follow good.
37:52
Who he just talked about in nine and 10.
37:54
What person diatrophies diatrophies?
37:56
Is he evil or is he evil?
37:58
He's evil, right?
38:00
Then in verse 12, we're going to follow up with the man that does good.
38:04
He lays it out there for Gaius.
38:05
Joey talked about, well, maybe they can't read, so they need these flesh and blood
38:08
examples.
38:09
Perfect.
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How do I know if I'm following verse 11, evil versus good?
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Well, look at diatrophies.
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And then he says, Gaius, look at Demetrius.
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Demetrius has three people testifying about him.
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Who are the three?
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Give them to me quick.
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We're about to run out of time.
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Give me the three witnesses.
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Verse 12, this is low-hanging fruit right there.
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Three people testify about Demetrius.
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Who are they?
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Everybody.
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Somebody get that one.
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That one's easy.
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Yep, everybody.
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Who else?
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The truth.
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And then John says, even us, the apostles.
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And you know our testimony is true.
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Three people speak up for Demetrius, and guess what they all say?
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Demetrius is a good guy.
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Here's a question for you.
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How do you get the truth to testify about you?
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Okay, everybody can say stuff about you.
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Well, maybe you're just a likable person.
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Okay, well, maybe like the apostles can say.
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But John says, even the truth testifies about Demetrius.
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Isaiah 59, 14, Isaiah says, sometimes truth is stumbled in the streets.
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It's fallen in the public square.
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Nobody in the world loves truth.
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Nobody will give truth a hand and pick it up.
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You ever feel like you live in times like that?
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Isaiah says, you be the person to hold up the truth.
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Proverbs 16 and verse 7, Solomon says, when a man's ways please the Lord,
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he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
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Demetrius lived in such a way that even if you wanted to find fault with him,
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when you opened up the Bible,
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even the truth was backing up the way that he lived.
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The last group is verse 15, and these are just the faithful friends.
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The friends greet you by name.
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They're mentioned in verse 15, and that's in verse 5.
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Here's what I want to say on the last one about this last personality,
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and that's the friends.
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Two quick things.
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Number one, these people went to see Gaius, and they went and brought John a good
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report.
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You remember that?
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How do you visit another congregation?
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I know, make sure the doctrines sound, but here's what I'm talking about.
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When you visit another congregation, look for the good.
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Sometimes you go to another place, and you're like, you know what?
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I should have streamed, right?
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Or I should have screamed, one of those two, right?
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No, go look for the good.
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If they practice the truth, you should support them and do like these guys did,
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and they brought John back a good report.
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But here's the second thing.
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The last verse in 3 John says, greet the friends by name.
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What if you had to stand up tonight and name everybody in this congregation,
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or name as many people as you could, and when you got to a stopping point,
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you sat down, and then somebody else had to get up and start naming people?
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See, these folks were the people, John says in verse 15.
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They greeted the friends, and he says, hey, do it by name.
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Deeply get to know people and have a personality that's interested in others
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more than yourself.
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Face-to-face.
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All right, thanks for a good Bible class.
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Appreciate your participation this quarter.
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I appreciate it.
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Thanks.