Imitation Series

It sounds like Sir Winston Churchill liked being first in all things. If this is true about him I’m not sure I would have wanted to be around him very much.

Self-centeredness is not a good trait. Wanting your own way all the time is not a good thing. Diotrephes was apparently a very self-centered man or church leader. And I’ve seen a number of church leaders and preachers like that over the years.

ILL.- I once had a church board member say to me, “I AM the church board.” And he was one of about five board members but I guess he thought he “ran the show.” He tried to but it didn’t always work.

Any time, any one person in the church be it preacher, elder, deacon, or teacher tries to run the show and get their own way, they are wrong! All things are supposed to be done for the whole church and to please Christ who is the head of the body!

I Cor. 14:26 “What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.”

Romans 14:19 “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”

We’re not here to please ourselves but to please the Lord in all things and edify or build up one another in the church. If what you do, doesn’t edify or build up people then stop doing it!

What else did Diotrephes do that we should not do? John said that Diotrephes will have nothing to do with us. I guess he wouldn’t have anything to do with certain people in the church.

ILL.- I had a church member from many years ago say to me in regard to a new family in the church, “They are not our kind of people.” Well, what kind were they?

I realize that not everyone clicks with everyone else in the church. There are some people that you have a better relationship with than others, however, we should never shun another brother or sister in the church. As best we can, we should always speak to one another and demonstrate kindness to all.

What else did Diotrephes do that we don’t want to do?

10So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us. Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.

He sounds like a bad dude! And he was. He was a big gossip, which is a no, no. A malicious gossip, wanting to hurt others.

ILL.- One preacher wrote about his church, “Tongues have always been a problem in our church, but it isn’t speaking in tongues.” It was malicious gossip.

Diotrephes wanted to control the church. He wanted some people in and some people out. He was something of a dictator.

ILL.- Ray Rickert told me once about a new preacher in a Baptist church. One of the board members pulled him aside immediately and basically said to him, “You do what I want in this church. I control it.” That new young preacher went into the pulpit and immediately called for a congregational meeting. He told the people what that man said to him about controlling the church. The congregation took an immediate vote and booted the man from the church board and also, the church!