Alba 11-3-2024
NO GREATER JOY
III John 1-4
Have you ever been surprised by joy? Something happens when you least expect it, even in the midst of otherwise sad feelings or grief, and joy comes, at least for a moment? That feeling was expressed by William Wordsworth, one of the most renowned British writers of all time.
He penned “Surprised by Joy” which speaks of joy and pain in such compelling terms so as to gain the hearts of many readers. By the time Wordsworth wrote this particular poem, he had experienced immense pain and suffering in his life , including the death of his daughter. Given the painful occurrences in his life, the title of this poem is fitting. Wordsworth was, indeed, surprised to experience joy in the midst of grief.
And C. S. Lewis, well known for his “Chronicles of Narnia” series, wrote a book titled “Surprised by Joy”. It is a partial autobiography that describes Lewis' conversion to Christianity. While he does describe his life, the principal theme of the book is Joy as he defined it. This Joy was a longing so intense for something so good and so high up it couldn't be explained with words.
He speaks of being struck with "stabs of joy" throughout life. He finally finds what it's for at the end.
The book's last two chapters cover the end of his search as he moves from atheism to theism, and then from theism to Christianity. He ultimately discovers the true nature and purpose of Joy and its place in his own life. Interestingly, the book isn't connected with his unexpected marriage in later life to Joy Gresham. The marriage occurred long after the period described, though not long after the book was published. His friends, though, were quick to notice the coincidence, remarking he'd really been "Surprised by Joy".
Joy is something deeper than happiness. And the apostle John speaks of having no greater joy when writing the letter that we know as Third John. Here are the first four verses of this letter:
The Elder, To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth: Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
Several men in the New Testament share the name Gaius, a common name in the first century. All of these men were involved in the ministry of the apostles in one way or another. Gaius’s name means “happy” or “one who rejoices.” And the men who bore that name in Scripture seem to have known the joy that comes from serving the Lord.
This Gaius was John’s friend who was a member of an unnamed church over which John had the oversight. John calls this man “beloved”, or “dear friend”. Gaius is commended for his hospitality to traveling preachers of the gospel; for his faithfulness; for his love; and for his walking in the truth. All of which caused John to have no greater joy.
Now, in these four verses there are three specific things that cause John to experience joy. It is when he sees the people he has brought to Christ continuing to prosper and to be in good physical health and good spiritual health. In fact he makes that his prayer for believers.
1. Prosper
John says that he wants Gaius to “prosper”. It is from these verses that there are those who preach what is called the “Health and Wealth Gospel”. John does pray that Gaius “may prosper in all things.” And so some believe that it is God's intention that His followers will always experience an abundance of material “blessings” in this life. And there are examples in scripture of people of God doing quite well.
Abraham acquired wealth when working all those years under Laban waiting to marry Rachel. Boaz, the man who married Ruth, is described as a man of great wealth (Ruth 2:1). And lets not forget Solomon, the king who amassed great wealth and forged many alliances with other nations.
Still, there are others in scripture like the apostle Peter who did not have money to pay his tax until Jesus caused a fish to be caught that had the right coin in its mouth. Also Jesus praised the widow who only had two coins, but gave them all.
It is true that God wants to bless us; and it might be His desire to prosper us in a material sense. But that doesn’t mean that it will happen. We live in a fallen and sinful world, and things don’t always go according to plan, for Satan is loose in this world. For example, Job was materially prosperous, but Satan took all of that away. But hopefully we will be like Job and declare in such a time, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). That leads to the second thing in John's prayer.
2. Physical Health
And John prays that Gaius be in good health. Some feel that John prayed for Gaius so his health would improve; that his spiritual health was good, but not his physical health. After all, it is hard to accomplish much if you are sick. Think about a time when you were sick. Think about how hard it was to just answer the phone, yet alone perform all the other tasks during the day.
God is concerned about this aspect of our lives. The Lord wants us to take care of our bodies the best we can. The human body is not a machine that can run, day and night, forever, on and on like the Energizer Bunny or the Timex watch that keeps on ticking. Even Jesus encouraged the apostles to care for their physical needs.
In Mark 6:30-31 it says, “Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. And He said to them, 'Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.' For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.” Taking care of our bodies is appropriate and needed no matter how old we are.
There is the story of a man, 90 years old, who read in the newspaper of the need for blood to be used for blood transfusions. He decided to help, so he went to the hospital and said, “I want to give some blood.” They put him on the table, and stuck a needle in his arm. Afterward, he was given a glass of orange juice. He said, “I feel better than ever. I think I’ll just give some more blood right now.” “Sir,” the nurse said, “We didn't take any of your blood, we just gave you a pint.”
It is OK for those of us who are older to pray with the psalmist, “Now that I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God. Let me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me” (Psalm 71:18 NLT). With all of our aches and pains, it is alright for us to pray for physical health so that God will be glorified.
We can talk about prosperity and health, but this letter goes beyond money and health. It is really about God’s desire to make all of us as individuals complete. What is important for us is that we prosper spiritually even when things go wrong.
And that leads to the main thing that caused John to have great joy.
3. Spiritual Health
The most important type of prosperity is “spiritual prosperity.” Gaius was spiritually fit, which gave testimony to his faith, and was lived out in obedience. Because his soul prospered and he was rich in the realm of spiritual matters, it was an easy thing for John to pray that his life would be blessed as much as his soul was.
But John’s prayer for his friend Gaius raises some important questions. Just how much is our soul prospering? How is the health of our souls? What if the condition of our bodies was determined by the health of our souls? What if our souls were in the same condition as our bodies? How is your soul getting along? Has there been a check up lately? Is it healthy and strong?
From the rest of John’s letter we learn things about Gauis that show he did have a healthy spiritual life. He knew Jesus Christ. He was faithful to the truth. He knew what he believed and was willing to take a stand for it. He practiced what he preached. He walked in the truth. He demonstrated that in the practical affairs of generosity and hospitality. These are the things that gave John great joy.
At times we can be inconsistent about our health. Yet most of us would pay any price or travel any distance for the sake of our health. We would do that for a physical body that will wear out and deteriorate eventually regardless of what we do. But on the other hand, we too often act and live as if our souls, our spiritual lives, can take care of themselves.
You do realize the importance of your soul’s health? Jesus put it bluntly when he said, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37).
Remember the Rich Fool? He had everything going for him until God said, “This night your soul shall be required of you.” All of our wealth, whatever that is, can disappear in a moment of crises! The health that our bodies enjoy is fleeting and can be utterly destroyed in a moment by the ravages of disease and death! What really matters is the condition of our souls!
Wealth will disappear. The body of flesh is going back to the dust from which it came. But the soul will go on forever! Let’s make sure that the soul is in good health above all! Here’s the plain truth. Soul health requires soul food. And I am not talking about southern fried mac and cheese or collard greens. No, you need to have a Bible. You need to read your Bible. You need to study your Bible alone and with others. You need to saturate your thinking and your life with God’s Word. It’s a matter of soul health. The Bible contains the mind and message of God, the plan of salvation and the man of salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ! It tells how Jesus came and lived a perfect life and then, though He Himself did not deserve to die, went to the cross in our place for our salvation.
Earthly riches were not important to Jesus. In II Corinthians 8:9 we read, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” Meaning, spiritually rich by inheriting eternal life. The Bible tells us how to know God through Christ Jesus and how to live for Him. And it shows us how to live a better, richer and fuller life in Christ.
If we want to prosper spiritually, we must keep our eyes on Jesus. When Peter tried to walk on water and then took his eyes off Jesus, he started to sink. But still, he knew who to call out to saying, “Lord, save me!” At least he had the good sense to call for help when he needed it. Some wait way too long to seek the Lord. If we find ourselves sinking, we can always cry out and ask for a fresh start.
John says he just wants to see people walking with Christ. And he rejoices when he sees it happening. There is no greater joy than that. John wrote, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth”. And in his second letter to another saint he said, “I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father” (II John 4).
What the apostle Paul writes to the Thessalonian church gives us a good summary of what we learn from John in these verses.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 says, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
And when that is true for you, there is no greater joy.
CLOSE:
Dr. Bob Reccord, who was president of the International Missions Board told about a minister friend in Texas who was in a hurry after his regular office hours at the church. He had to get to the mall to buy some items, go to his daughter's school to pick her up, take her home, get to a church officers meeting, and then to spend the evening in counseling sessions.
Once in the mall, he saw an advertisement on a music store window that said, "2 CD's for $9.99." He loved music so he just had to take advantage of the sale. He went in and picked up 2 CD's he'd really wanted, and went to the register to pay for them. He threw down with his money while talking to everyone around him -- as preachers do. Then he picked up his bag and his change and went out of the mall.
When he threw the bag in the front seat of his car, he noticed for the first time that the clerk had charged him $1.99 instead of $9.99 for those CD's. His first thought was that he didn't have time to go back in to get it fixed. But a small voice kept saying, "You don't have time not to."
So, he went back in, stood in the same line until it came his time to talk to the clerk once again. He said, "Look I'm in a hurry. You made a mistake. The sign says $9.99 and you charged me $1.99. Please make this correct so I can get on with what I have to do."
She said, "Sir, I didn't make a mistake." He said, "Sure you did. There's the sign; here's the receipt. Please make the correction."
She said, "No, sir, I didn't make a mistake." He said, "What do you mean?!!" She said, "Can I tell you the rest of the story. Will you let me finish, please?" He said, "Yes I will."
She said, "For 17 years I've been out of church. Recently, my life has been falling apart and I needed to get back into church. I looked around at what was closest to me. I found the name of the church and I went there Sunday and slipped in and sat on the back row. The preacher that day was speaking on integrity. Sir, it happened to be your church. And when I saw you in my line, I wondered if this was something you preached on Sunday or lived on Monday. And I determined to find out."
Then she said, "Sir, I don't even know the right questions to ask, but I know that whatever you've got I need." And then she began to cry.
Do you think she would have ever gone to church again if this preacher had not gone back in? Our witness, even in the everyday events of our lives, makes a difference in others' lives. When we walk in truth, there is no greater joy.
