Why?
It could be because it is a small book.
Illus: But we need to remember that “Dynamite” can come in small package.
We know that size does not have anything to do with significance.
John teaches many things in this third epistle for God’s church.
Illus: Many of the movies that Hollywood make today has to do with GOOD AND BAD.
But before movie were ever made God’s Word showed us GOOD and BAD.
One of the thing that John teaches us in III John there are two kinds of people that you will find probably find in most churches. THE GOOD AND THE BAD.
Let’s look first at…
I. THE PERSON (GOOD)
You might have never heard of a fellow in the scripture by the name of Gaius.
WHAT KIND OF MAN WAS GAIUS?
Look at John’s address to him in verse 1. We read, “The elder (John) unto the well-beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.”
Notice several things about this brother.
A. He is “well-beloved.”
Well-beloved is a nickname for a person who was dearly loved by all.
John mentions “beloved” in verses 1, 2, 5, and 11.
This tells us several things about Gaius. He was...
• Probably a kind man.
• Probably a generous man.
• Probably a friendly man.
• Probably a man with a good personality.
• A godly man.
People with these characteristics are going to be WELL-BELOVED.
But, notice something else.
B. He was sound in his doctrine.
What was it that made John to think so highly of Gaius?
The same thing that brings us all together as Baptist, we all love the truth of God’s Word.
Now this is not the case in many churches. Some are brought together because…
• They seek together for entertainment…
• They seek together for social reasons…
• They seek together for recreation reasons…
But John had a love for the TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD and GAIUS had a love for the TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD.
These who love the truth of God’s Word would not attend a church that did not teach and preach the Word of God.
John says, “...whom I love in the truth.”
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
This was the common bond that drew JOHN and GAIUS together.
But also Gaius…
C. He was probably a sickly man.
Why do we say that?
Look at verse 2. We read, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
In other words, John was saying, “Gaius, I hope that your body ‘prospers’ physically as I know your soul prospers, spiritually.’”
It could be Gaius had some health problems that John was concerned about.
Illus: Some of these television preachers take that second verse out of context and use it to teach there HEALTHY AND WEALTHY DOCTRINE.
This is one of their favorite scripture and they take it out of context over and over again.
They say this verse is proof that it is the will of God that we all as Christians should NEVER GET SICK and that we all BECOME WEALTHY.
Now I am not against HEALTH AND WEALTH but that is not what this verse of scripture is teaching.
Verse 2 is simply a greeting directed to Gaius in which John was wishing him the best SPIRITUALLY and PHYSICALLY in this letter to him.
Illus: This verse would be like us writing a letter to someone and we are saying in our greeting…I HOPE YOU ARE DOING WELL!!!
John then began to share his excitement.
Look at verses 3-4. We read, “For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth (Jesus) that is in thee, even as THOU WALKEST IN THE TRUTH (JESUS). I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”
John was saying that when the brethren came and told him how good they were doing, “...I rejoiced greatly...”
John wanted them to know he was THRILLED that they were OBEYING the LORD JESUS. That is, they were not just SAYING THEY WERE CHRISTIANS, THEY WERE WALKING IN THE TRUTH (Jesus).
Before we can fully appreciate the compliment that John was sending, we need to consider the conditions of the day when this passage was written.
Illus: They had NO MOTELS or RESTAURANTS along the roads as we have today. Missionaries and evangelists had to depend on the kindness and generosity of Christians in each town to house and feed them.
Look at verses 5-8. We read, “Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers; which have borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well: Because that for his name's sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles. We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellow helpers to the truth.”
John was paying them a tremendous compliment.
• In verse 5, he was saying they were doing an excellent work in taking care of the needs of God’s servants.
• In verse 6, those who had received kindnesses from the Christians had spoken of it and how they were sent on their way with a generous love offering.
• In verse 7, as they traveled they did not take food or “purse” from the “Gentiles.” They totally depended on the Lord to meet their needs.
• In verse 8, the people of God provided what they needed.
The point John was making is this: Gaius, and others in the congregation had done a wonderful job of taking care of the servants of the Lord.
Matthew 10:42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
We see a contrast between II and III John.
• In II John’s letter he warned them not to receive false teachers in the house of God.
• In III John’s letter he commended them for receiving the servants of the Lord in their personal homes.
Up to this point John has had nothing except nice things to say to Gaius and the congregation.
So far John has dealt with THE GOOD(Gaius)
Now we need to look at…
II. THE BAD (Diotrephes)
Wouldn’t it be nice to join a perfect church!!!
The only problem was if we joined such a church it would no longer be a perfect church because we are not perfect.
But there are people in God’s church that are not perfect but many in God’s church are the best people you will find on the face of the earth.
Gaius was such a wonderful Christian.
Every pastor wishes his church was filled with men like him.
Illus: We have people in this church that I as a pastor…I wish I could clone them.
I have told my wife a number of times in talking about some of you I wish I had a church full of people like them!!!
I am sure I am not the only pastor that wishes that about some in their congregation.
NOW LISTEN TO ME CAREFULLY, BECAUSE IAM FIXING TO GET MEAN!!!
In every Bible-believing, Bible-preaching church there are some that God did not send but the devil sent.
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger stopped by to see one of his pastor friends one day. When he was getting ready to leave and they were standing in the parking lot he noticed that his church had a cemetery.
Dr. Belger said, I didn’t know you had a cemetery.
This pastor he was visiting said, “Let me tell you something about that cemetery. I buried seventy five people in that cemetery and I must confess there are some I was glad to put out there and there are some regretted I put out there.”
Illus: A Baptist, Methodist and a Presbyterian church all had revivals at the same time. After the revival, the three pastors met for coffee and fellowship, and they were discussing the results of their revivals.
• The Methodist minister said, "The revival worked out great for us! We gained 4 new families."
• The Presbyterian preacher said, "We did better than that! We gained 6 new families."
• The Baptist pastor said, "Well, we did even better than that! We got rid of our 10 biggest trouble makers!"
Even John talks about a man in the church by the name of Diotrephes that he wish he did not have.
Illus: Diotrephes makes me think of the Andy Griffin show.
One day they had to lock the town drunk up (Otis) and Barney said to Andy, “It is people like Otis Campbell that makes this jail look bad!”
But, sad to say, in many churches they have a “Diotrephes” that makes God’s church look bad.
Notice, John calls out this troublemaker by name - Diotrephes!
Trouble makers have to be dealt with. They have to be dealt with because they are destructive.
Illus: One of the problems today in this great country of ours…this country has forgotten how to deal with trouble makers.
• Our public schools have forgotten how to deal with trouble makers. We have students today that need to be told if you can not behave yourself – GET OUT AND DO NOT COME BACK!!!
• Our society has forgotten how to deal with this crowd that break into stores and loot these stores. We need a police force that is given the authority to tell these radicals behave are we are going to put you in jail until you come to your senses!
• Our parents have forgotten how to deal with disobedient children.
Proverbs 13:24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
The phrase “Spare the rod, spoil the child come from this verse.”
Punishment has to always out weigh the crime are it is not punishment.
• And listen our churches have forgotten how to deal with trouble makers.
Some folks think it is wrong for a pastor to call out the names of troublemakers.
Listen, any sincere pastor, who loves God’s Word and loves God’s people, is not going to allow the devil and his cohorts to march into God’s house and destroy God’s church. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!!!
Instead, the pastor will follow the examples of the New Testament cases where trouble makers came in.
As you read through the New Testament:
• The apostle Paul exposed individuals and groups and dealt with them.
• The apostle John exposed these individuals and dealt with them.
• The Lord Jesus, Himself, was the hardest of them all. He often spoke out against the Sadducees and Pharisees by name. He even called them serpents.
The liberals of our day could not take Jesus’ preaching.
The problem today is the devil can invade the house of God and we have preachers who will tuck their tail between their legs and leave town for another church.
And they will stay there to some trouble makers cause trouble and they will pack up and leave again!!!
Illus: There are preachers today it will take several sheets of paper for them to fill out a resume because they would not take a stand for the Word of God. Everytime they need to take a stand for the Word of God they packed up and left the good sheep behind to defend themselves.
Illus: A good friend of mine we were having breakfast together one Monday morning.
He attended one of the large churches in town and he said, something happen yesterday in our church I find it hard to believe. He said the majority in our church stood up yesterday and voted that we as a church no longer believe in the virgin birth of Christ.
Listen, every child of God should never put a dime in that church and every believer that believes the Bible teaches in the virgin birth of Christ should have gotten up and walked out and shook the dust off their feet as they walked out of the door.
The men of God in early New Testament days had the courage to stand up to Satan’s workers. They exposed their FALSE TEACHINGS and their HYPOCRISY.
WHAT WAS DIOTREPHES’ PROBLEM?
Look at III John, verse 9. We read, “I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.”
The word “preeminence,” means: “To be fond of being first...”
There are people who thrive on being the focus of attention however they can get it.
They remind me of why do you think…?
• These fellows walk around with their britches about to fall off…IT IS THE ONLY WAY THEY CAN GET ATTENTION.
• These people who have nose rings, tongue rings, bellybutton rings and eye brow rings…IT IS THE ONLY WAY THEY CAN GET ATTENTION.
• These people who are always talking about themselves…IT IS THE ONLY WAY THEY CAN GET ATTENTION.
• And there are people who will come into God’s church and will cause an uproar…IT IS THE ONLY WAY THEY CAN GET ATTENTION.
When you have people like this in the church, the church is going to have some problems.
Instead of helping people to focus their attention on the Lord, they will do anything to draw attention to themselves:
• Some will interrupt the worship service to get attention.
• Some will come late to church to get attention.
• Some will even use the sacred Word of God to get attention.
• Some will use their talents God gave them to get attention.
Diotrephes was that kind of person. He knew how to cleverly manipulate people’s base yearnings and anxieties to his advantage.
Diotrephes was a self-seeking troublemaker in an unnamed local church in the first century.
In only two verses, we have the following statements made about Diotrephes:
1) He wants to be the focus of attention.
2) He refuses to welcome the apostles into the church.
3) He maliciously spreads gossip about men of God.
4) He withholds hospitality from other believers.
5) He requires others to follow his poor example.
6) He excommunicates anyone who crosses him.
From John’s description, we can assume that Diotrephes was a leader, or at least an influential member, in the local church where Gaius was a member.
Diotrephes was clearly abusing his position of authority.
For some reason he was jealous of the apostles and refused to allow them in the church. Probably because he was afraid they would expose him for what he was.
We have looked at:
I. A PERSON
II. A PROBLEM
Now in closing let’s look at…
III. A PLAN.
There was a PROBLEM, but notice, John had a PLAN to deal with the problem.
Look at verse 10. He said, “Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.”
John did not know when he would be able to come, but he assured them that when he did come he would “remember” the deeds of Diotrephes.
He said “...I will REMEMBER his deeds which he doeth...”
He was not going to overlook the deeds of Diotrephes, it was much too serious to overlook.
It was a tragedy that no one in the church had the spiritual fortitude to speak out against this man, but John said that when he got there he would REMEMBER!
WHAT WAS DIOTREPHES DOING?
Look at verse 10 again, “...prating against us with malicious words...”
John planned to expose him for using malicious words.
Illus: Words are like hand grenades. We can throw certain words out and blow someone’s Christian character out the window.
John told them he WOULD DEAL WITH DIOTREPHES, “...who loved to have the preeminence among them...”
How was Diotrephes opposing God’s work?
It was the custom of the church that its members take care of the guest evangelists and missionaries.
Diotrephes saw each and every one of them as a threat to his authority and he would not receive any of them, and he excommunicated those in the church who did receive them.
The Bible does not tell us exactly how he went about doing this, but this fellow was out of control.
Sad to say we see this same thing happening in churches today. We have too many Diotrephes’s, not right with God, and the church does not have the courage to tell them to straighten up or get out.
Look what John said in verse 11. We read, “Beloved, follow not (Diotrephes) that which is evil, but that which is good (GAIUS AND DEMETRIUS). He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.”
Notice after he mentioned to follow that which was good, he gave examples of those who were opposite of Diotrephes.
He pointed out one of the good men, Demetrius, as a good man to follow.
Look at verse 12. We read, “Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record; and ye know that our record is true.”
You can tell a great deal about people by observing who they follow after.
That is, a person may loudly say, “I love God and His church!”
But, if they follow after people like Diotrephes, who come in the church to destroy it because they want to be SEEN, it is probably because they are just like them.
You can tell a lot about people who they hang out with.
Conclusion:
Illus: These who have lived a dedicated life for the Lord, remind me of the 85 year old couple that had been married almost 60 years, when they both died in a car crash.
They had been in good health the last ten years, mainly due to her interest in health food, and exercise.
• When they reached the pearly gates, St. Peter took them to their mansion which was decked out with a beautiful kitchen, master bath suite, and Jacuzzi. As they "ooo’d and aaa’d" the old man asked Peter how much all this was going to cost. "It's free, the Lord paid for this on Calvary when He died for your sins.”
• Next they went out back to survey the championship golf course that the home backed up to. They would have golfing privileges every day, and each week the course changed to a new one, representing the great golf courses on earth. The old man asked, "What are the green fees?". Peter's reply, "This is all free due to the tremendous price Christ paid for your sins on the cross.”
• Next they went to the club house and saw the lavish buffet lunch, with the best looking cuisine they had ever laid their eyes on. The old man said "How much for all this food?" "Don't you understand yet? This is heaven, it is free!"
Peter replied with some exasperation. "Well, where are the low fat and low cholesterol tables?" the old man asked timidly.
Peter lectured, "That's the best part...you can eat as much as you like of whatever you like, and you never get fat and you never get sick. This is Heaven."
With that the old man went into a fit of anger, throwing down his hat and stomping on it, and shrieking wildly.
Peter and the man’s wife both tried to calm him down, asking him what was wrong.
The old man looked at his wife and said, "This is all your fault. If it weren't for your blasted bran muffins, I could have been here ten years ago!"
• Listen, when people who have faithfully allowed God to work in their life, THEY ARE GOING TO WISH THEY COULD HAVE ARRIVED MUCH EARLIER.
• Those who have allowed Satan to use them are going to WISH THEY HAD NEVER ALLOWED HIM TO USE THEM, when they see all the harm he did through them.
But I can assure you that Satan is “sifting” this congregation for the weakest members he can find, to use to divide the church. Satan knows there is “strength in numbers”, and he is always trying to divide.
In closing, John said (verses 13-14), “I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee: But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name.”
I. A PERSON
II. A PROBLEM
III. A PLAN
