Disclaimer:
Due to the large amount of sermons and topics that appear on this site I feel it is necessary to post this disclaimer on all sermons posted. These sermons are original to the author and the leading of the Holy Spirit. While ideas and illustrations are often gleaned from many sources including those at Sermoncentral.com, any similarities and wording including sermon title, that may appear to be the same as any other sermon are purely coincidental. In instances where other minister’s wording is used, due recognition will be given. These sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely. May God richly bless you as you read these words. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched. All scriptures quoted in these sermons are copied and quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Pastor James May
THREE HEARTS IN THE CHURCH
3 John 1:1-12, "The elder unto the well-beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth. Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. 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. I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. 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. Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God. 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."
In the 3rd epistle of St. John, written when in his old age to his personal friend, Gaius, we are given an insight into the condition of the early church of the first century. Even in the early church that had been established only for a few years there were already divisions and schisms. The heart of man is ever in need of changing but that change can only come about as we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us.
This letter to Gaius points to the condition of the heart of three men in the early church that will give us a description of the type of attitudes, or hearts, that we still find in the church of today.
Gaius – the Servant’s Heart
Gauis is a man who is called into a Pastoral ministry because of his love and concern for the people of God. He is called to minister to those of the House of God who are sick, distressed, hurting, discouraged or who are in need of teaching and instruction.
How good it is to form life-long friendships in the ministry. There are those ministers, who will come into your life and make such a profound impact upon your heart that they are forever considered your friend. They take more than a casual interest in your life, they immerse themselves into the lives of those around them, especially those who are under their leadership as a Pastor.
This is the kind of heart that every one of us must have if we are to become a leader of men in the church and especially if we are called to the ministry of a Pastor.
Understand that the qualities required to make a good Pastor are also needed in every ministry that God may call you to do. In fact, every Christian, whether called to a pulpit ministry or not, should strive to develop the good characteristics of the heart that we will speak about this morning.
First of all, John’s love for Gaius is quickly noticeable. It is not hard to love those who exhibit love to us. The main reason that many people stay in any church is that they develop a love for the Pastor because of what he shows toward them. It is my prayer that I never fall short of showing love, compassion and concern for every one of the members of Victory Temple. I know that I could never be a Pastor at all if it weren’t for the work in building good relationships with every member.
Some people don’t respond very well to anyone who tries to reach out to them. They have built a protective shell around themselves because of past hurts or other ministers that have failed them greatly. I know that if I can’t develop at least some kind of personal relationship with each of you, it won’t be long until you leave to find someone who will.
Those in positions of ministry must have the Servant’s Heart. They must love people enough to be inconvenienced often if the need arises to serve others. They must have a love for serving other people. They must desire to see the souls and lives of the people around them to prosper and be satisfied over and above their own desires.
Philippians 2:1-5, "If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:"
Here we see the character of the one who would have the Heart of the Servant. The servant of the people must be ready to bring consolation in every adversity; show love in the times when you don’t feel like showing it; attempt to bring everyone around you into a stronger relationship with Jesus Christ; and allow the Holy Spirit to lead you in edifying the Body of Christ with great compassion and mercy.
There is no greater joy to the Servant’s Heart than to see those who are being served begin to prosper and grow in the Lord. It’s a great feeling to see those who are new in Christ begin to learn the Word of God and then mature in their spiritual walk, being changed daily into the very image of Christ. It’s so gratifying to the Heart of a Servant to see people “prosper as their soul prospers”.
There is no regret of the time and effort spent in serving those who prosper. There is no envy, no jealousy, when God begins to bless them financially and call them into the ministry as God sees fit.
There is only joy at being a part of that process that helps others to grow and become what God wants them to be.
The greatest characteristics that every Christian can have is faithfulness! If God is going to be able to use us for the work of His Kingdom, we must first prove ourselves as faithful and loyal to Him and to one another.
Faithful is absolutely necessary:
-in church attendance
-in obeying God’s Word
-in living a sanctified and holy life
-in studying and learning the Word of God
-in being on time, every time, all the time (the first one there and the last one to leave)
-in prayer and intercession
-in performance and in taking care that the work is done that we are responsible for
-in giving of our time, finances, talents and abilities to the Work of the Lord
-in presenting the image of Jesus to everyone we meet
-in being faithful consistently without a double minded attitude
Having a Servant’s Heart and being a leader in God’s House is not always easy and fun. Many people see the “glory” of being in the limelight but they never see the struggle and warfare that goes along with it.
-They never see the sleepless nights spent in prayer or in the presence of a sick church member.
-They never see the long hours of study and preparation to bring something to the members of the church.
-They never see the hurt of hearing about little disagreements among God’s people. –
-They never see the hours spent in one on one counseling.
-They never experience the pain of losing a member that you have prayed over, and loved so greatly, and then see them as they move on for one reason or another.
-They never see the effort that is spent in watching over the flock of God to make sure that no false teaching or bad spirit is allowed to stay in the church.
-They never see the hours of discouragement when it seems that nothing is being accomplished even with your best efforts.
-They never see the concern and work that goes into establishing a vision and putting that vision into action with a plan to bring to bring it to pass.
No, most people never see those things because they don’t really develop the Servant’s Heart or get the call of God to lead God’s people into deeper depths of the Spirit and higher heights in the Ministry to both God and His people.
Just as John was telling Gaius that he would have to contend for the faith, God is telling every one of you who has a Servant’s Heart that you also must contend for the faith.
CONTEND -
To strive in opposition or against difficulties; struggle: To compete, as in a race; To strive in controversy or debate; dispute; To maintain or assert:
John told Gaius, and I am telling you that, if you are going to have the Heart of a Servant, then get ready to contend for the faith, for the church, for the spiritual welfare of the flock of God, for the physical, mental and spiritual labor that is ahead, and to struggle with all the forces of darkness that will do their best to destroy all that God has placed in your care.
The Heart of a Servant is a wonderful heart to have. The rewards of looking back and seeing the change that God has brought about in the lives of people, in seeing the path that God has led us down and in the victories that have been won, make the negatives of being a Servant fade away and blessings, joy and praise take their place toward God who made it all happen.
The second heart that we want to look at is that of the Un-teachable Heart!
John gives us the example of Diotrephes as one who has an Un-teachable Heart. The un-teachable heart never learns the real meaning of being a Christian.
The Un-teachable Heart is:
-rebellious against any type of authority that would attempt to improve it attitude
-unchanging in its desire to maintain self righteous attitudes
-uncaring of the feelings of others, caring only that it is satisfied
-unconcerned about the pain of those around it, just leave me alone
-contentious about nearly everything that goes on in God’s House
-unfaithful to perform any type of duties on a long term basis
-unable to recognize its own flaws
-unwilling to change because it believes that it is already doing what is right
Un-teachable Hearts will often love to be in the limelight too and they will step on or over others to get there. Then, they will begin to slowly destroy the Work of the Lord through their prideful, arrogant, know-it-all attitudes.
Un-teachable Hearts don’t like anyone else to have the limelight because they feel threatened. They don’t believe that anyone is right but them and no one is given a chance to prove them right or wrong.
Un-teachable Hearts also love to speak out against anything good or edifying that someone else may be doing. They are stuck in their own rut of do nothingness and they don’t want anyone else to do anything either because it will make them look bad.
Un-teachable Hearts are stuck in the traditions of men, whether those traditions are good or bad doesn’t matter, they just hate any kind of change even when it is good and won’t allow God to move in any manner outside of their own limited paradigm.
Un-teachable Hearts not only refuse to accept anyone different from themselves and then condemn anyone else who does try to embrace anything or anyone different.
I want you to understand that there are Un-teachable Hearts in every part of the church. There are Pastors, Evangelists, Youth Pastors, Worship Leaders, Sunday School Teachers and any other position you can name within the church who have an Un-teachable Heart! There are a lot of Un-teachable Hearts in the pews too.
God help us to have a Teachable Heart that He can make us into the church that He desires us to be. Help us not to get so caught up in our own beliefs that we don’t allow room for those who are different to come to Christ. Lord help us not you put you in a box but help us take the lid off and allow your Spirit to move the way you want to move.
Yes, we must contend for the faith. Yes, we must protect the Truths of the Gospel from being compromised. Yes, we must hold up the Standards of Righteousness and Holiness. Yes, we must preach the unadulterated Word of God.
But, we must open our arms and have mercy toward those who don’t understand those things long enough for God to save them, fill them with His Spirit, and then change them into His image.
We cannot expect every newborn Christian to be like us, act like us and know what we know. They must be given time to grow and change. We are not God! We cannot say how long God will take to change them. We cannot see circumstances of their lives that God must work out for them. We can only love them, accept them as they are (that’s what Jesus does isn’t it), give them space for repentance and then let the Holy Spirit do His work in them.
Our testimony should be that we have done our best to follow the leading of the Spirit. We have done our best to show love, mercy and grace to any who would enter our doors. We have followed the good example of Jesus Christ and not the bad example of someone with an Un-teachable Heart.
Demetrius – the Compassionate Heart of an Evangelist
The third type of heart that we want to examine is that of the person who is called to do an outreach ministry. The person that is called into the work of evangelism has a love for the lost like no other. Their focus is not entirely upon the House of God, even though they love the church and the people of the church greatly. Their focus is upon reaching lost souls as much as possible.
Thank God for those who have the Heart of the Evangelist. Without them, not many of our outreach programs of Missionaries, revivals, and great crusades for Christ would not exist.
Demetrius was well known and loved by many. Demetrius was known for his “good report”. This means to me, and do most others that I have read, that Demetrius was constantly giving his testimony to anyone who would hear.
Some of you, in this local church, have the Heart of the Evangelist and you would love to have known Demetrius. He was the type that would stand on the street corner and wait for someone to come by so that He could tell them about Jesus.
He was the type who would do something to draw a crowd, then quickly stand up and witness for the Lord.
He was the type who would witness to anyone, anywhere, at anytime to see them won to the Kingdom of God and introduce them to the saving message of the Gospel.
Most people who have the Heart of an Evangelist are not too overly concerned with the feelings of other people, even people in the House of God. They are only concerned with preaching the Truth and letting the chips fall where they may. This isn’t to say that they don’t care how others feel, they just aren’t all that concerned. Their attitude is, “here’s the truth, take it or leave it, I’m moving on.” Their only concern is whether you know Christ and whether you are on fire, lukewarm or cold in your spirit.
In conclusion I want to say that we all tend have the Heart of a Servant and the Heart of an Evangelist from time to time. Some of us even have an Un-teachable Heart from time to time. God has called each of us to work in His Kingdom. He has given each of us a job to do for Him and special talents and abilities to do those jobs.
If you have a Heart of a Servant then do what God has called you to do and serve other people. Witness as often as you can but remember that God has called you to serve and to see that the Flock is cared for and fed.
If you have the Heart of an Evangelist then get out there and witness for Jesus. Bring in the saved so that we who have the Heart of a Servant can disciple them and help them to be what God wants them to be. We will help you witness but we don’t have the same calling you have. The Heart of a Servant is mostly on the flock while the Heart of the Evangelist is mostly upon those who are outside of the flock.
If you have an Un-teachable Heart this morning, then you just need to repent and ask God to create within you a clean heart. God hates an Un-teachable Heart and you will never enter Heaven’s Gates with an Un-teachable Heart. Let God change your heart right now.
