School is still in progress
Notes
Transcript
9 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.
John the son of Zebedee probably wrote his three New Testament letters no later than the 90s AD. He wrote from Ephesus (in present-day western Turkey), perhaps to churches like those mentioned in Revelation 2:8–3:22. John also wrote the Fourth Gospel and the book of Revelation.
The theme of 3 John is faithfulness despite opposition. The man who received the letter, Gaius, faces a troublemaker named Diotrephes. By “walking in the truth” (3 John 1:3-4 ESV), Christians can live out the message that John teaches in all his letters.
Are you prospering?
Giving of ourselves to God
3 John 9–14 (KJV 1900)
9 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.
“preeminence” - wish to be first
“receiveth” - receive; acknowledge, accept
10 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.
“remember” - remind
“prating” - to babble, to make foolish or nonsensical utterances.
“malicious” - evil; wicked
11 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.
“follow” - imitate
12 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.
“Demetrius” - Possibly the carrier of John’s letter to Gaius.
“record” - witness
13 I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee:
14 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.
Why should we be teachable?
To grow spiritually
11 There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen.
12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food.
13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right.
14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.
Live a life of obedience
9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.
3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.
To discern God’s guidance
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
4 Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow.
5 Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Requirements to be teachable
Eager to learn
15 Intelligent people are always ready to learn. Their ears are open for knowledge.
Willing to learn
5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; And a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
Wiling to ask for help
30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
Prayer
Ourselves
5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.
Others for us
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
Humility
18 Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise.
19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, “He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness.”
20 And again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise; he knows they are worthless.”
Things that hinder being teachable
Satan
25 Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth.
26 Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.
Not wanting to be taught
17 This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow.
18 Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea.
My Favorite Illustrations Learning from Experience
We live in an age when many parents give their children more material things than they can use or appreciate. Children tend to take these things for granted. To describe to the later generations the sufferings of the Great Depression of the 1930s is like describing a sunset to a person born blind or the beauty of a symphony to one born without hearing. The description is not adequate. Experience becomes the best teacher.
Each generation needs to learn from the ones preceding it, building upon the knowledge learned by both the failure and success of former generations. But strangely, where morals are concerned many in every generation want to go back to the Garden of Eden and learn for themselves. Thus we go on making the same old mistakes and sinning the same old sins—with the same tragic results that characterize every age.
Crystal come up
If you were like most toddlers, you enjoyed learning new things. There were so many new and exciting objects to explore and absorb into that amazing mind the Lord gave us. The vast amount of ideas and concepts to be learned seemed in-numerous, and we loved it. Even though we were so young and immature, the enormity of it all didn’t phase us in the least. We took it head on. Then as we go older something changed. We learned enough that we were convinced we knew everything. There was nothing left to learn. The thought of learning something new was either overwhelmingly daunting or was laughable and nothing but a waste of time. That eagerness to learn was now gone and was replaced with either pride or fear. I’m afraid the same thing happens to us in our Christian walk. We are so eager to learn in the beginning, then we know enough we wont listen to anything that is different than we want to hear or believe. If that is you today, i’m afraid you are unteachable. But that is not a permanent problem that has no solution.
Please stand
God can, and wants to soften our heart and minds. We just have to allow Him. Pray this morning that the Lord give you a teachable spirit. You will be so much better for it.