"Words of Life" by Hiram Kemp - Part 13

All right, if you've got your Bible, go ahead and turn it to 3 John, last class of the quarter

tonight, 3 John.

We have been looking at John's letters, and at least in this half of the quarter, first

half, Neil looked at 1 and 2 Peter, or 1 Peter, excuse me, and tonight we'll look at words

of life from the book of 3 John.

Maybe you're familiar with John's writings already because of what we've already seen,

but 3 John tonight is a study of personalities, and this book and its 15 verses are different

from the other writings that we have from John for several reasons.

Number one, this is the only book that John writes in the entirety of the New Testament

that he doesn't directly mention Jesus Christ.

So if you look at the 15 verses, he's going to make mention of God, he's going to make

mention of the Lord, but he's not going to say anything specifically about Jesus Christ.

But don't let that alarm you because throughout these 15 verses, though he doesn't explicitly

mention Jesus directly, everything he says is undergirded and saturated with the behavior

people should have if their lives are dominated by the teachings of Jesus.

Another unique thing about 3 John that's different from his other books is normally the way John

sets up his writing, you could say the same thing about many of Paul's letters, is typically

the doctrine comes first and then there's the practical application.

Preachers preach this way today sometimes, right?

We'll have a lesson, we'll say, here are the facts about this person, this individual,

here's how it applies to your life.

In 3 John, John reverses that.

In 3 John, John just comes right out and he reverses what he's doing and he gets right

to the application immediately and talks about how people ought to behave, and then he gives

the principles and the reasons why, and we'll see that momentarily.

But as John leads out, this time around he talks directly and specifically about the

way that individuals ought to be behaving first.

When you get done with these 15 verses in this book, there's going to be no mistake

about how people ought to behave.

John is calling out names specifically to individuals and he's holding up certain people

saying this is an example of how you ought to live, and then on the other hand, this

is a way that you shouldn't live.

When you get done with 3 John, you know who the good guys are in 3 John and who the bad

guys are, but you also know how you should be behaving at the end of 3 John and which

side of the ledger you fall on.

Another interesting thing about 3 John that's unique is it's written to an individual by

the name of Gaius.

Now, there are several different men by this name in the New Testament.

There's one from Corinth, he's mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1.14, and in Romans 16 in verse

23, there's another Gaius, he's mentioned in Acts 19 in verse 29, he's with Paul and

Aristarchus.

Then there's a third man named Gaius in Acts 20 in verse 4, and you can call him Gaius

from Derbe.

I don't think this Gaius, he doesn't have to be any of those other individuals.

But 1 and 2 John were written largely to the church, and 2 John, how does he start that

book?

To the elect who?

The elect lady.

But 3 John's written directly to a person.

That's not completely unique.

There are other New Testament books written to people.

Think about 1 and 2 Timothy, think about Titus, think about Philemon.

But Gaius is a little bit interesting because the name Gaius is the second most common name

in the ancient world.

They dug up other ancient artifacts, and Gaius is the second most prominent name.

In fact, in some ancient court documents from the first century, like we sometimes use the

name, we'll say John Doe just as a placeholder for a person, that's how Gaius was used.

But look at 3 John verse 1.

John's not just talking about any Gaius.

He's talking about Gaius, the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.

This common name that's found throughout the New Testament, when John writes this book

though, he's saying this isn't just the Gaius from Derbe, Acts 20 and verse 4, not the one

from Acts 19 and 29 that was in the region of Macedonia.

He says this is a different Gaius, just the beloved one that I love in truth, and he's

writing directly to him.

The key verse in 3 John is verse 11, and if you have your Bible, just go ahead and look

at 3 John 11.

He says, beloved, don't be imitators of evil, but be imitators of good.

He that does good is of God, and he that does evil has not seen God.

And this is the heart of what John is going to drive at in these 15 verses.

By the time John writes 3 John, he's an older man, right?

He's lived a long life as a Christian, and he just basically boils it down to this.

Beloved, don't imitate evil, but imitate good.

Whoever does good is from God.

Whoever does evil has not seen God.

Think about his whole life as a Christian, from Jesus recruiting him and his brother

James with Peter and John and James when they were...Peter and Andrew, excuse me, when they

were fishermen, all the way to the end of his life, and he basically boils it down to

this.

Follow people that do good, stay away from people that do bad.

Why does John summarize the Christian life that way, and would you say Christianity at

its heart is really that simple?

Follow good and abstain from evil.

Why does John boil it down to that, and is that really the heart of it?

I've got up here the key verse in this book, but you might argue, depending on how you

see it, this is the key verse and really the key thought throughout the Bible.

Why do you think John boils it all down to this?

Beloved, don't be imitators of evil, but imitators of good.

Whoever does good is of God.

Whoever does evil hasn't seen God.

One at a time.

I can only handle so much at a time.

Don't overwhelm me.

Imitators of good leads to imitators of Christ.

Yes, somebody said something about that, right?

Be followers of me even as I follow Christ.

That's what Paul said about his life.

Anything else?

Joey?

I think about how hard it would be for, I've got the full, complete thing in front of me.

If I was somebody in the first century and somebody, especially like a Paul teacher or

something, or comes up and is teaching me something, I think about how hard that would

be.

I would have this to go to to see, oh, and now you're telling something.

Basically, what we talked about last week, if the fruits of the teacher is something

good's coming from it, or is it something that's not good coming from it, it's basically

in a nutshell, in a sense, if good's coming from it.

It's evident.

It's evident.

Yeah, Joey's saying in the first century, everybody couldn't read, which is true.

More than half of the Roman empire was illiterate.

That doesn't mean that they were uneducated.

They just measured education in a different way than we do.

And so a lot of people couldn't read.

And he's saying, you might not be able to study, nor would you have a complete New Testament.

So how would you know what was right versus what's wrong?

So what John says in verse 11 kind of summarizes it for you.

I think that's true too.

Yeah, you can just look at somebody's life and the fruit or the evidence would be apparent.

Anybody else?

This is a key idea in the Bible.

Amos 5.15, Amos says, hate the evil, love the good.

Romans 12 and verse 9, Paul says, abhor or just despise what's evil, cling to the good.

In Deuteronomy 30 and verse 19, Moses says, I've set before you this day death and life.

Choose life that you might live.

Or Psalm 34.14, seek evil, seek good, refrain from evil.

This idea comes up over and over again because it is the heart of the Bible.

Everything in the Bible, even the concepts you and I learn about God are ultimately designed

to shape us into people that show God has taken over our lives by the way that we live.

And so God created us in the beginning in his image, Genesis 1.26 and 27.

We marred that image through our own sin, our own shortcoming.

In Christ, he makes us a new creature, 2 Corinthians 5.17, and that's primarily shown.

How does somebody know you're a new creature?

By the way that you live.

And so this is the big deal of the Bible.

Everything comes back down to this.

How are you living?

What are you going to do?

He won't say at the end of time, well-read, good and faithful servant, or well-studied

or even well-memorized or highlighted.

He'll say, well done, because our deeds tell the story.

And so 3 John verse 11, after we study these personalities as we'll do momentarily, John

basically gets to the heart of his message in verse 11 and he says, now that you know

what you should do, go out and practice it.

All right, there's a lot of ways we could go about our study tonight.

Here's what we're going to do though.

We're going to just read this whole book in one setting.

We don't think you need a five-part series on 3 John, it's 15 verses, you can handle

it, right?

Fifteen verses, we're going to read 3 John, and then what we're going to do is just look

at the different personalities that John mentions.

As we go throughout this and study it, I think you're going to find out some things about

these individuals and also about yourself.

I don't know how you see yourself, but there's a possibility at least that other people see

you differently than you see yourself.

And for some of us, that's great news.

You might think, oh, I'm really not that special and other people think you're amazing.

For others of us, that's humbling news.

You might think I'm the greatest person, I'm so nice, I sneeze out glitter and rainbows,

everybody loves me, and people talk to you and they might say, well, that's not true.

How do you know how you really look?

Well, physically, you would need a mirror to see the blemishes, to see the ways and

places in which you can improve.

Spiritually, we need a mirror that can see inside of us.

We couldn't see inside ourselves without divine help.

And the Bible helps us do that, but especially a book like 3 John.

John holds up these people, as Joey said, you can't miss their life and their example.

And then he says, do you see that in them?

And then a better question is, do you see that in you for good or bad?

And then make wise choices.

All right, let's do 3 John, 15 verses.

And then there are five personalities that we'll try to cover in the time we have left.

The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.

Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just

as it goes well with your soul.

For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you

are walking in the truth.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers

as they are, who testified to your love before the church, and you will do well to send

them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.

For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles,

and therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the

truth.

I've written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first,

does not acknowledge our authority.

So if I come, I will bring up what he's doing, talking wicked nonsense against us, and not

content with that.

He refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who wants to, and puts them out

of the church.

Beloved, don't imitate evil, but imitate good.

Whoever does good is from God.

Whoever does evil has not seen God.

Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself, and we

also had our testimony, and you know our testimony is true.

I have much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink.

I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.

Peace be to you.

The friends greet you.

Greet each by name.

Let's do the five personalities.

The first one is John.

John is the encouraging elder.

He's the one that wrote this book.

He calls himself the elder in verse one.

We talked last week about how elder can be used in different ways in the New Testament,

and here I think John's just describing himself as a distinguished old man, an older man of

respect and integrity, and that's who's writing this.

The first character is John.

John writes as an elder, and boldly expresses his love and his admiration toward Gaius.

Look at verse one.

The elder to who?

How does he describe Gaius?

The beloved Gaius who he what?

Loves in truth.

This isn't really the picture that we get in modern society of bold masculinity, but

this is John toward Gaius publicly in ink.

He says to the beloved Gaius whom I love in truth.

A few weeks ago preached from Philemon, and in Philemon verse 12, you remember what Paul

says about Onesimus?

He says to Philemon, I'm sending you back Onesimus, sending my very heart.

One thing about John is he's an encourager, he loves Gaius, and he boldly expresses it

in this letter by calling him Gaius whom I love in the truth.

What does that mean, he loves him in the truth?

What is he saying there?

What brought them together and brought their lives together, Kevin mentioned this, they

have this common ground because they're both what?

Christians, and now that they're in Christ, John says, I love you in the truth.

This is Proverbs 17, 17, a friend loves at all times, and he's expressing it to Gaius

in a way that everybody for all time will be able to read it and to see it.

Jesus does this with his disciples.

You remember John 17, 23, he's praying in the high priestly prayer, he's praying to

God the Father, and then he says, all of these whom I love.

What did Jesus call John?

Maybe this is where John loved it, John learned this from.

What does Jesus say about John in John's gospel?

John is the disciple who what?

Think about it.

Think about that.

How did he know that Jesus loved him?

Maybe sometimes Jesus did what?

Maybe he told him.

Don't you want to be this kind of person?

The kind of person where people don't have to guess about where they stand with you because

you say it and you display it.

You tell them right where they stand with you, and if you love people and you care about

them, you vocalize it.

That's John.

Question, when do we today normally tell people how much we love them and care about them

and adore them?

When do we typically give people their flowers?

I can't hear it.

When they're dead.

Yeah, at the funeral.

What do you think they're going to get up and say?

Thank you?

They can't say it.

It's too late then, right?

We normally tell people when it's too late.

The Bible talks against that.

Proverbs 3, 27 and 28, Solomon says, don't withhold good from somebody when it's in your

power to do it.

Don't send them on their way when it's near you and by you.

We should be doing this immediately.

John's an encourager.

Look at how often he does this.

Look at verse one.

He calls Gaius his what?

Beloved.

Look at verse two.

You might circle these.

Look at verse two again.

Beloved.

Look at verse five.

John says it again.

Beloved.

And then in verse 11, he says, beloved.

John's outspoken about his love, his adoration, and his care for Gaius, and he's bold and

outspoken about doing it.

First John 3, 18, this same John wrote, beloved, let us not love in word only, but also in

deed and in truth.

And that's what he's practicing here.

John's a great encourager.

He boldly expresses his love toward Gaius, and then he has this amazing prayer.

So this is one personality to emulate.

John the encouraging elder.

Verse two, this is one of my favorite prayers in the Bible because of how comprehensive

it is.

Now look at verse two of third John, I pray that all may go well with you and that you

may be in good health as it goes well with your soul.

So he prays for Gaius to prosper.

That wouldn't surprise you.

But I think what might surprise you is what he prays for Gaius to prosper in.

What does he want Gaius to prosper in?

Everything.

And what else?

And his health.

That's his prayer.

He says, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may prosper in your health

just like your soul prospers.

What does that tell you about John?

What does that tell you about John?

And then what does that tell you about the kind of prayers God wants us to pray for ourselves,

but also for other people?

What does this prayer tell you about John?

I wish or I pray that everything goes well in your life and that you prosper in health

just like your soul's prospering.

What does this tell you about the kind of person John was and what does this tell you

about prayer?

How God wants us to pray for ourselves and for other people.

He was sincere for sure.

Yep.

This is sincere.

Everything's important.

Yeah.

Rachel says everything's important.

I think that's right.

We tend to think, oh, we don't care.

All we care about is the soul.

God doesn't talk like that in the Bible.

The primary thing is the soul.

And John says that at the end of verse two, but he says, Gaius, I really hope you win

in everything.

What if Gaius is a businessman?

John said, I hope the business goes well.

What if Gaius is a parent?

He's saying, I hope your parenting goes well.

I want you to do well in everything.

Just like your soul is doing well.

Look at first Thessalonians.

Hold your hand in third.

John go to first Thessalonians chapter five, first Thessalonians five.

And when you get there, somebody read verse 23, nice and loud.

First Thessalonians five, 23.

This is Paul doing the same thing for the church at Thessalonica at the end of this

letter.

First Thessalonians five, 23.

What does Paul say?

See, faithful is he who calls you, who also will do it.

He says, God's going to do this whole body, soul, spirit.

God's concerned about the totality of your being.

And you should be concerned about that and about that for other people.

Jesus would pray this and he tells us this in Matthew six, 25 through 34.

He says not to worry, but God will supply all the things that you need.

And Paul doubles down on them in Philippians four, 19, a prayer like this.

Is this a spiritual prayer from John and third John two about Gaius?

Is this a spiritual prayer?

Because we tend to think spiritual, Hey, only be pray about his soul.

Pray that he reads his Bible.

Oh, John's concerned about that with Gaius, but it appears that Gaius and more about him

in a minute.

Gaius already has his spiritual affairs in order, but then John comes over the top of

that and he says, I want everything in life to go your way.

Here's a question.

Who are you praying for like that?

And if you're not, when should you start?

See a personality like this, evidently John was deeply interested in Gaius as a person

and he knew about Gaius, his life in totality.

And he says, I really hope you keep going.

Things keep going well with you.

It wasn't that Gaius his life was this pie chart and 50% of it was spiritual.

And that's the part John was really interested in.

And the other party didn't care as Rachel said, everything's important.

And John teaches us that as he's a great encourager.

He also engaged in good gossip about Gaius in verse three.

He says, I rejoice greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth as indeed

you're walking in the truth.

Somebody came from this church, Gaius's house to John talked about Gaius.

It was good news.

And then John brought the good news back to Gaius.

This is good gossip.

When John heard good things about other people, he wanted them to know about it.

What does Solomon say in Proverbs 25, 25 as good news, as cold water to a thirsty soul

is good news from a far country.

When you hear somebody is doing good, John's the kind of person that would encourage.

Here's the last thing about John, the encouraging elder.

He was praising Gaius's works.

And this is really the heart of what he talks about in verses four through six.

He says, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

It's a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they

are, who testified to your love before the church.

You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.

When he says, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

He's calling Gaius his child.

What does that mean about John's relationship to Gaius, probably?

Gaius is younger in age.

Okay, that's a great possibility.

He probably is the one that taught him and converted him.

And if that's not the case, he had a great influence on him, right?

And so he says, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the

truth.

He's praising Gaius's good works.

Sometimes the Bible says we have to rebuke people when they do wrong, and we should be

willing and ready to do that.

Great.

When somebody is out of line, if you love them, tell them the truth.

Proverbs 27, five and six, faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy,

those are deceitful.

When people aren't in the right, we need to tell them.

But here's the question.

Can you do the opposite?

When people are doing the right thing, can you come alongside them and encourage them?

You know who was good at that in the Bible?

Paul.

Paul would write to a church, and if they, Luke was mentioning Philippians in his Devo

in Philippians four and verse one, Paul says about the church at Philippi, my dearly beloved,

my long for joy and crown.

Paul just praised the church at Philippi.

They weren't perfect, but they got a lot of things right.

And Paul told them, and John's a great encourager.

Do you have this kind of personality that people that know you, when they do wrong,

they know you'll tell them.

But when they do right, they'll never know.

John's saying this about Gaius, and this Gaius here is a convert, his children.

He says, I have no greater joy than to hear my children walk in truth.

This probably is no biological relation, but I think we can use the passage that way.

And so, like your kids, what do kids want more than anything else in the world?

Nobody say money, okay?

Say something like, yeah, they want your approval, right?

Give it to them.

I mean, make it easy.

Put that on the bottom shelf.

Be a person easy to please.

And when they do something right, let them know.

John says, hey, Gaius, and you know that John could write scathing things when the time

came.

Read 1 John, read 2 John.

But when Gaius did it right, he says, I've got no greater joy.

I heard you're walking in the truth.

So excited about it.

Make yourself easy to please.

What about your spouse?

Do they know when they do right, when they do good?

You should tell them.

What about church leaders?

Church leaders know when they mess up, or even when people think they've messed up,

because you're going to tell them.

But do you tell them when they're doing good?

When you say, well, church just kind of seems routine.

Things are just rolling.

That's not an accident.

You should be saying to somebody, hey, we're walking in the truth, and thank you for doing

that.

And then just what about brethren in general?

John was a great encourager, because when John felt something about somebody, he told

them, and he praised Gaius publicly for his good works, and he says, I love what you're

doing for these individuals, even though they're strangers, and you're doing well to send them

on their journey.

So the first personality to emulate is John, the encouraging elder.

And the question for you is, as you look at the Bible, 3 John, the mirror of your soul,

you should be saying, is that me?

Is anybody beloved to me, and do I tell them?

Am I praying this 3 John 2 prayer for anybody?

Am I praying it for myself and then for others?

I want you to prosper in everything, and I want you to be in good health, just like your

soul is prospering.

When you hear good gossip, do you bring it back to other people and say, hey, I heard

you did a great thing.

I know you didn't do it to be seen, but people saw it, Matthew 5, 16.

They see your good works.

They glorify the Father, and I want you to know it, and then specifically get down to

people's works and tell them you love that they're walking in the truth.

Start with the people that get mail at the same address that you do, and then branch

out from there.

I'm telling you, if you do this, you'll be an encouraging person.

Here's the second personality, is Gaius, the beloved servant, okay?

So this is the second person in 3 John.

Here's what we know about Gaius.

We know the prayer in verse 2, but what does John say at the end of this prayer in verse

2?

Just like it goes well with your what?

What does that tell you about Gaius?

John says, I want you to prosper in everything and be in good health, and then he adds this

on at the end of verse 2.

Just like it's going well with your soul.

What does that mean about Gaius already?

Evidently, his soul was already in good shape.

Evidently, John has some stuff on the prayer list, everything, your health, just like your

soul.

Okay.

Evidently, Gaius' soul was already in good shape.

He was already taking care of business, and above all, he was prospering in the thing

that mattered most already.

Here's the question.

How do you prosper in your soul?

This word prosper, it means like go well, I hope you succeed.

How do you succeed in your soul?

Gaius was already doing this.

It's possible to do it.

How do you do it?

How do you make sure everything goes well with your soul?

You wouldn't know if you were prospering financially, true or true?

You wouldn't know, right?

You wouldn't know if you were prospering in health.

How do you know, hey, my soul's prospering?

Okay, do good and not do bad.

That's a pretty easy barometer.

Yeah, if you do good stuff and you don't do bad stuff, then guess what?

You're prospering.

That's a part of it.

How else?

Evangelism.

Yeah, evangelism would be a good one.

Jesus said, make disciples, Matthew 28, 19.

Whenever you're doing what Jesus said, you're in good territory, good ground, evangelism,

do good works.

What else?

You have peace.

Yeah, you'll have inner peace.

The Bible says God will bless you with it, Philippians 4, 7, a peace surpassing all understanding.

Okay, anybody else?

How do you know your soul's prospering?

One of John's favorite things, love one another.

If you love other Christians, yes.

What else?

So a good report.

Yes, a good report.

That was mentioned.

Yeah, in Philemon, the book of Philemon in verse 7, Paul talks about Philemon.

He says, brother, the hearts of the saints are refreshed through you.

People are made better because they're in your presence.

When the apostles are questioned in Acts 4, 13, the Sanhedrin says, they took knowledge

of these guys that they had been with Jesus.

We haven't heard anybody speak that boldly and that plainly since we last saw Jesus some

50 days before this.

So yes, the way people talk about you, the way you make other people behave and respond

as a result.

Anybody else?

Anything else that you can think about that would be a mark that my soul is prospering

and doing well?

Reading the Bible would probably be on there, right?

Like if you're taking in the right stuff, you'd have to read the Bible and live it.

Jesus says, man can't live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth

of God, I think it's possible to go out and be a nice person to do good and all of that.

But if you're not taking in any of God's word, your soul isn't prospering in the best way

because there may be stuff in here that God wants you to do that you're not doing.

There may be stuff in here God wants you to stop that you're still doing.

Gaius is a beloved servant.

He prospered in what mattered most.

He had a good life and a good reputation.

That was already mentioned in verse 3 and 4.

John says, I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth as indeed

you are walking in the truth.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

So Gaius, he had a good reputation and a good life.

What does reputation mean?

What do you think that word means?

When you hear the words reputation, what does that mean to you?

Okay, Brother Levi, what other people know about you for sure.

What else?

Reputation.

Your character.

Yes, your character, what other people know about you, and I would just add this to put

both of those together.

It's the general consensus of what people think about you.

So if one person says you're a terrible person, that doesn't necessarily mean it's true, right?

But if you get like 50 people that say that, so maybe you ought to start giving some.

I mean, if you work on one job and you're like, you know what, I left that job, everybody

there hated me, and then you go to another job and you're like, you know, I went to this

job and all these people hated me, and then you go to a third job, well, I'm promising

you, it may not be the jobs, okay?

It may not be the jobs.

Here's the thing.

What's your reputation?

Gaius had a reputation.

His reputation was one that said he testified to the truth.

He was walking in the truth, and John was glad to hear it about him, and then he did

faithful work.

Now, this is probably the heart of what Gaius was known for, verses five through eight.

Verse five says, beloved, it's a faithful thing in you doing all your efforts for these

brothers, strangers as they are.

I'm not going to read all these verses again, but just think about this.

Look at verses five through eight, and somebody tell me, summarize it for me, what did Gaius

do?

Why did John write him this book?

There's a one-chapter book in the Bible written to a man named Gaius, and verses five through

eight are it.

What was his thing?

What was his good work?

We can talk about good works in general, but Gaius did something very specific here, and

what was that?

Loved, he received people.

Specifically though, John here is talking about missionaries.

Missionaries would come through traveling.

They would come by Gaius's house, and Gaius would take them in, and he would see to their

needs and take care of them.

He says, strangers though they are, you take them in, and you see to their needs, and we

should help people like this that are of the truth.

And notice what he does.

Look at verse five.

He didn't even know them.

It says, this is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers

as they are.

You remember Hebrews 13 and verse two?

It talks about being not forgetful to entertain strangers because thereby some have entertained

angels unknowingly.

That's what Gaius is doing.

He didn't know these missionaries, but when they came and they preached the truth, you

know what he did?

He was kind to them.

He supported them.

Look at verse six.

It was the evidence of his love.

You testify to your love before the church, and you will do well to send them on their

journey in a manner worthy of God.

Evidently, he was wealthy enough to do this.

So go to 2 Corinthians really quickly.

Go to 2 Corinthians 8, and 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, Paul is talking about giving.

2 Corinthians 8 and 9, both of those chapters, Paul talks about giving.

And then 2 Corinthians 8 and verse 24, he says something about financial contribution

that's very similar to what's said about Gaius.

Look at 2 Corinthians 8, 24.

At the end of this chapter, he says, so show to the churches the what?

The proof of your love and of our boasting on your behalf.

How would the churches know that these churches in Corinth, in and around Achaia, really love

them?

Paul says, show it by giving, financial contribution.

He says, do that.

And then in 3 John 6, it says, hey, Gaius, you showed your love.

You testified of your love before the church, and the way you did this in showing this contribution

and helping these folks by letting them stay with you.

And then, Gaius, he did this work right.

It says, they testified of your love before the church, and you do well to send them on

their journey in a manner worthy of God.

Okay, go back to 3 John, look at verse 6.

You do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.

The missionaries come to Gaius' house.

He doesn't know them.

He receives them.

Great.

What does it mean to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God, though?

What does that mean, that last part, worthy of God?

Okay, yep, they can keep doing God's work, but how did Gaius do it in a way that was

worthy of God?

You know, anybody can let you stay the night.

Some people, when you come to their house to stay the night, they want you there.

And some people just kind of let you crash, you know.

You can stay the night, but what time are you leaving?

What does it mean that Gaius did it in a manner worthy of God?

In a way that honors God?

Same thing.

This word means the same thing.

Yeah, to honor God, to hold him up in esteem.

But how did Gaius do that?

That's what I want to know.

He used the money and supported them in a way that when those people left, the only

thing people could conclude is, oh, they must work for God.

This comes up in the Bible sometimes.

God will say, do something, and I want you to do it as if I was doing it.

So like 1 Peter 4.11, Peter says, if anybody speaks, he should speak as the oracles of

God.

So if you're going to preach or teach, when people get done listening, they should say,

that's what God would say.

Or Matthew 5.48, you'll be perfect just like what?

Your heavenly Father's perfect.

Sometimes the Bible says, you do this like God.

Gaius was such a good man.

When he supported missionaries, he sent them out in a way that was consistent with the

fact that they supported God.

Evidently, he didn't give these missionaries crumbs.

He gave them the very best.

He paid their salary like God would pay their salary.

That's a God honor in person, in a way that honors God, in a way worthy of God.

No wonder John wrote him a book.

Nobody else liked him.

And then he made up what they lacked.

Verse 7 says, when these missionaries went out, they wouldn't take money from non-Christians.

He says, they don't take anything from the Gentiles.

Therefore, we ought to support people like these that we may be fellow helpers of the

truth.

In the first century, different preachers, not just Christian preachers, not just the

apostles, public speakers would go around and just take money from people.

These Christians wouldn't do that.

He says, they don't take money from non-believers, so make sure you make up the slack.

Make sure their salary and their support as missionaries is paid.

They take nothing from the Gentiles, but Gaius was the kind of guy that used all of his resources

in a way that glorified God.

In verse 8 says, therefore, we ought to be supporters of people like these that we may

be fellow workers of the truth.

All right, last thing before we go on to the third personality.

What does verse 8 imply about your contribution on Sunday?

What does verse 8 say about the money that you put in the plate on Sunday?

This is a big deal.

I hope it encourages you.

When this point hits you, I hope it makes a difference, not only in the way you give,

but just in what you probably have done throughout your whole life without even knowing it.

What does verse 8 imply about your contribution?

Your fellow worker of the truth.

Sometimes we say, well, if you can't go, sin.

We didn't come up with that.

That's as old as the first century.

John says, if you support these people, you are a fellow helper of the truth.

I don't know how much money you've given over the years.

I don't know if you think it's a lot or a little.

A widow in Mark 12, 41 through 44, put in, and Jesus says she contributed more than they

all.

Just imagine how many people are going to be in heaven because week after week, you

put in, you contributed to the work of the Lord.

John calls that being a fellow helper and a fellow supporter of the truth.

Everybody can't be a missionary.

Everybody has to stay behind and do the local work, but when you support them, John didn't

say, they're doing the courageous work, Gaius, and you're doing second tier.

He says, you're a fellow helper of the truth.

Okay, what kind of personality do you have?

Are you an encourager like John?

Are you a beloved servant like Gaius?

Gaius' whole life can be summarized this way.

Everything he had was God's.

What does stewardship mean?

When you think about stewardship, what is stewardship?

And quickly, we've got like 10 minutes to do these other personalities.

What is good stewardship look like?

Are there any good stewards you think of in the Bible?

When you hear stewardship, what do you think about?

What do we typically think about when you think about stewardship?

Administration of the various materials.

Yeah.

What do we typically think about with stewardship?

Now, what topic?

How you handle money.

That's what we tend to think about.

That's fine.

But in the Bible, stewardship isn't primarily about money.

It's about your whole life.

The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, and everybody that dwells therein,

Psalm 24 and verse 1.

You're a good steward because God has literally loaned you everything, including your existence.

And at the end of time, you're going to lay it all at his feet and say, God, this was

all yours, including my breath, and this is how I used it.

Here's the question though.

Are you good with that?

Like right now, if God said, all right, time's up, it's time to report.

You've been babysitting all of my possessions, my life, everything I've given you.

You lay it all at God's feet.

Are you satisfied?

Of course, there's always more we can do, but are we doing what we can with what we've

got?

Gaius was a man.

His life, his resources, his house, everything belonged to God, and when missionaries came

or anybody came through, Gaius was like Barnabas in Acts 4, 36 through 37.

He just gave it.

You want this kind of personality.

All right, here's personality number three.

These others go quick.

3 John 9 and 10, diatrophies, only time he's mentioned in the New Testament.

The New Testament letters will be received and they'd be read in an assembly like this

and just like we read 3 John out loud, they would read it all the way through and then

they'd go down, break it down, and then they would go home and come back and maybe read

it again.

Imagine being in the assembly.

Gaius just has been praised.

Diotrophies, you hear your name, you're sitting up, you're thinking something good is going

to be said about me, and guess what?

The only time your name is mentioned in the Bible, John says, I've written something to

the church, but diatrophies, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our

authority.

So the only time he's mentioned in the Bible is something negative.

When John says, I've written something to the church, that might be 2 John.

Maybe that was 2 John, the first letter he wrote.

Whatever he wrote, diatrophies, this word, he likes to put himself first.

He likes to be in charge and he likes to control other people.

What's diatrophies' problem?

Look at 3 John 9 and 10 and tell me what's wrong with his personality.

He's selfish.

That's a start.

What else?

Doesn't like authority.

What else?

Prideful.

What was that?

Prideful.

Yes.

Not a servant.

Uses malicious words.

So yeah, his mouth is a problem.

Doesn't care about what the apostles say.

He's going to put other people out of the church.

So he went wrong in verse 10.

It says, talking wicked nonsense against us and not content with that, he refuses to welcome

the brothers and also stops those who wants to and puts them out of the church.

All right, here's a question.

How do I know if I'm diatrophies?

Let me just give you a quick case study, a test, okay?

I had to do this test on myself today, so I'm going to make you do it, okay?

Here's how do you know.

How do I know if I'm like diatrophies?

Number one, does it always have to go my way?

Does it?

Diatrophies, this word, loves to put himself first.

Gotta be diatrophies' way.

It's the only way to do it.

If it wasn't, he wouldn't say that.

Diatrophies had to have his way.

Problem number one.

Here's number two, though.

The mouth.

Speaking malicious words.

If it doesn't go my way, you're going to hear about it.

John wrote a letter.

Diatrophies doesn't like that, so he's going to talk wicked nonsense against him.

Here's number three.

How do you handle the New Testament?

He doesn't receive our words.

So sometimes a person may say something and you're like, yeah, that's one verse, but what

about this one?

Listen, the verses don't fight against each other.

They all work in harmony.

And when you don't get your way, do you minimize some verses to elevate others?

And then are you a roadblock to other people?

If I don't like doing this, nobody's doing it.

Look at the end of verse 10.

He refuses to welcome the brothers.

Okay, you don't have to practice hospitality diatrophies.

That's your business.

But what does the rest of the verse say?

What does the rest of the verse say?

Stops other people from doing it.

Now, you might be thinking to yourself right now, I'd never do that.

But we do this.

I'm telling you, I'm not doing this.

I don't like this work.

Okay.

Don't do it.

Don't show up.

I'm going to talk down on it to other people.

See, you're not going.

Jesus said this about the Pharisees in Matthew 23 11.

He says they're not entering the kingdom and they prevent other people who are going

in diatrophies.

If you don't want to do what they said, you don't like practicing hospitality.

Just shut up your doors.

Don't let anybody in mind your business, but I'm going to stop other people.

You shouldn't be doing that either.

That's diatrophies.

And John says, when I come, I'm going to deal with them because he's destroying the unity

of the church.

See, diatrophies made it all about him.

You can see the contrast between him and Gaius.

And I'm telling you, third, John is a mirror.

It'll show you your own heart, your own personality.

How am I, as it relates to spiritual matters, diatrophies, he had an eye problem.

He was worried about himself.

Everything had to go his way.

He loved to put himself first.

Not even the apostles got into respect.

Here's the fourth personality is Demetrius.

John does this on purpose in verses 10 and 11.

He talks about diatrophies.

He gives the key verse in verse 11.

He says, beloved, don't follow evil, but follow good.

Who he just talked about in nine and 10.

What person diatrophies diatrophies?

Is he evil or is he evil?

He's evil, right?

Then in verse 12, we're going to follow up with the man that does good.

He lays it out there for Gaius.

Joey talked about, well, maybe they can't read, so they need these flesh and blood

examples.

Perfect.

How do I know if I'm following verse 11, evil versus good?

Well, look at diatrophies.

And then he says, Gaius, look at Demetrius.

Demetrius has three people testifying about him.

Who are the three?

Give them to me quick.

We're about to run out of time.

Give me the three witnesses.

Verse 12, this is low-hanging fruit right there.

Three people testify about Demetrius.

Who are they?

Everybody.

Somebody get that one.

That one's easy.

Yep, everybody.

Who else?

The truth.

And then John says, even us, the apostles.

And you know our testimony is true.

Three people speak up for Demetrius, and guess what they all say?

Demetrius is a good guy.

Here's a question for you.

How do you get the truth to testify about you?

Okay, everybody can say stuff about you.

Well, maybe you're just a likable person.

Okay, well, maybe like the apostles can say.

But John says, even the truth testifies about Demetrius.

Isaiah 59, 14, Isaiah says, sometimes truth is stumbled in the streets.

It's fallen in the public square.

Nobody in the world loves truth.

Nobody will give truth a hand and pick it up.

You ever feel like you live in times like that?

Isaiah says, you be the person to hold up the truth.

Proverbs 16 and verse 7, Solomon says, when a man's ways please the Lord,

he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Demetrius lived in such a way that even if you wanted to find fault with him,

when you opened up the Bible,

even the truth was backing up the way that he lived.

The last group is verse 15, and these are just the faithful friends.

The friends greet you by name.

They're mentioned in verse 15, and that's in verse 5.

Here's what I want to say on the last one about this last personality,

and that's the friends.

Two quick things.

Number one, these people went to see Gaius, and they went and brought John a good

report.

You remember that?

How do you visit another congregation?

I know, make sure the doctrines sound, but here's what I'm talking about.

When you visit another congregation, look for the good.

Sometimes you go to another place, and you're like, you know what?

I should have streamed, right?

Or I should have screamed, one of those two, right?

No, go look for the good.

If they practice the truth, you should support them and do like these guys did,

and they brought John back a good report.

But here's the second thing.

The last verse in 3 John says, greet the friends by name.

What if you had to stand up tonight and name everybody in this congregation,

or name as many people as you could, and when you got to a stopping point,

you sat down, and then somebody else had to get up and start naming people?

See, these folks were the people, John says in verse 15.

They greeted the friends, and he says, hey, do it by name.

Deeply get to know people and have a personality that's interested in others

more than yourself.

Face-to-face.

All right, thanks for a good Bible class.

Appreciate your participation this quarter.

I appreciate it.

Thanks.