Who Do You Follow?
John's letters • Sermon • Submitted
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· 4 viewsWe learn by imitation so we need to choose wisely the best examples to follow and avoid unhealthy extremes
Notes
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Intro: This sings message in 3 John is the final conclusion to all John’s letters.
Question: How do you learn? What type of learner are you?
Some need books. Others are visual learners; some need a good lecture with notes; some need a person showing them how to
We are entering a new culture where you just find the Youtube video
Regardless of what type of learner you are, the truth is we all are wired to learn by example and imitation.
We all seek someone to follow
*So the main question to ask: Who are you following?
Whoever we follow is our main example we are most likely learning from
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
3 John is a personal letter written from John to Gaius; it’s the shortest book in the NT by word count.
It commends Gaius for welcoming good teachers;
it balances out 2 John which warns against welcoming false teachers
Gais: A very common name in the 1st century. Thee are 3 in the NT: One lived in Corinth (Rom 16:23); one a Macedonian (Acts 19:29); and one from Derbe (Acts 20:4)
The main theme can be found in v11
The letter really breaks down into good and bad examples; people worth following—John, Gaius, Demetrius--and those who need avoided, Diothrepes.
Question (2): Is who you are following a good, healthy spiritual example....and are you a good spiritual example?
Apply: Can you say with Paul—Imitate me, and I also imitate Christ?
And are the main influences in your life those who seek to imitate Christ?
Following healthy examples (1-8)
Following healthy examples (1-8)
Healthy examples balance a commitment to love & truth (v1, 4)
First, Gaius is referred to as “Beloved” —it a term of deep affection. It’s love. The translation “Dear friend” (NIV/CSB) is too weak. John loves this friend—he has a high commitment to love.
He loves “in the truth” —that means his love is owed to the shared commitment in Jesus Christ
Apply: What ought to be that standard of love is having a shared commitment to Jesus Christ.
V4—The greatest joy comes “to hear that my children are walking in the truth”
Like all of John writings, we need to love/truth balance right—it’s so often missing, but healthy examples have it.
2. Healthy examples are devoted to intercessory prayer (v2)
Out of sheer curiosity, I did some searching on the web about what are the marks of a good friend: Here is what you find:
Trustworthy, honest, good listener, supportive, non-judgmental, encourager, fun to be around.
I couldn’t find any that said: A mark of a good friend is one who prays for you
A healthy example of a good friend is a friend who prayers.
It’s something that money can’t buy, but it one of the greatest gifts you have.
3. Healthy examples understand life as holistic (2b)
A holistic approach in health sees that we are a combination of mental, physical, social.
Now it was common in ancient letters to wish someone good heath. Something of a formality.
So we may expect a pagan letter to say: I wish you good heath.
But as a Christian—there is way more to it than just that. It’s not just that your blood pressure and cholesterol levels are ok, and that you exercise 3/4 times a week.
A holistic approach understands that true heath is rooted in a healthy relationship with God.
Paul encouraged Timothy with a holistic approach to life:
for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
Apply: A holistic approach is vital. It helpfully corrects us from the imbalances we are prone to. Some are obsessed with physical heath—even in their prayers. Prayer are always for physical heath and protection. Others can go the other way—and think that prayers for health and protections are somehow less spiritual.
Where do you fall on the spectrum? More concerned about your physical health, and tend to neglect your spiritual?
Do you over nourish yourself with physical food, but undernourished on the Word?
**True prosperity is living a holistic life, truth and love, body and soul.
4. Healthy examples live an outgoing life (5-8)
—Not talking about personality, in case you are an introverts are panicking :)
Outgoing=a life that goes out from myself instead of turning in on myself. Gaius is the healthy example of this.
The text says this is a faithful thing
The “thing” is hospitality.—when there were no hotels, traveling Christians & missionaries looked for believers to host them
We actually get a great example of biblical hospitality here:: welcoming strangers. (v5)
;
Let’s say you made a major home upgrade so yo could host more people. If it amounted to just having your closest friends and bets buds over to watch the ballgame, it would not fit hospitality
Hospitality is receiving people who are strangers (and maybe strange) into your life
Hospitality is:
—Warmly welcoming first time guests to church
—Reaching out to get to know someone unknown
—Opening your life to new relationships
Apply: It’s so very easy to get into cliques, especially in the church. It’s easy to keep our associations with those we have already deep friendships.
**But that is not the outgoing life the gospel teaches us to live
All believers are called to hospitality
Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.
(1 Tim 3:2)—it’s one of the qualifications needed to affirm a man as elder.
At the end of the day, Gaius is just a plain model of true, genuine Christians love....which is really quite rare:
I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.
But let’s not miss what they were doing (v7)—Going out for the sake of the name.
These were traveling evangelists. likely crossing cultures, and planting churches…which made them missionaries
These were “outgoing” in a pretty literal sense
Apply: One things that destroys a church over time is drifting toward an inward focus. When we forget that God calls us to be a people of mission.
There is a final mark of an outgoing life (v8)—giving financial support to gospel work and gospel workers.
In most churches, TRB included—it’s under the umbrella of being faithful with tithing. That is how our full time sent-ones receive their support.
The word “ought” is not for suggestion, but suggests dutiful obligation
Apply: Really we can boil the down the obligation of every Christian down to two: Be a sent-one, or be a supporter of a sent ones…and do it joyfully.
To put in in the words of my friend David Kezziah: You are either called to joyfully and passionately go, or joyfully and passionately send.
We catch this type of heart (v5) “Send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God”
Apply: The way we support gospel work, and gospel workers is really how we think of God; how we treat gospel workers—sent ones, is how we treat Jesus.
IF we only offer half-hearted prayers for missions; if giving to the church is is merely sporadic, and rarely sacrificial.
*Q: Is the way we view and treat our sent-ones worthy of Jesus?
There are many things that I appreciated about my predecessor, Pastor Rob Andrews when I arrived in 2018. His obvious gift of being a great Bible teacher with a high commitment to scripture . Also his longevity—20 years brings stability.
But in addition, Rob sat on the Missions Team.
Pastors have a lot fo meetings, many that go late into the night or evening. No pastor I know of loves adding another meeting commitment.
But Rob understood: how we treat our gospel workers is tied up to how we treat Jesus.
As the one worship song reminds us: Is He Worthy?
**Healthy examples live an outgoing life for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now I believe it’s best and most productive for us to spend our time on positive examples, there is a place for focusing on the negative:
Unfollowing toxic examples (9-10)
Unfollowing toxic examples (9-10)
Things that are toxic are not good for our body.
The same is true with toxic people—they are not good for the body of Christ.
Diothrepes is the poster boy of toxic spirituality.
Apparently he did not receive the traveling missionaries.
He appears the opposite of Gaius, and Demetrius (v12)
We see his toxic example in 3 areas: ambition, accusations, and actions
Ambition: Love to have first place.
This is a pretty blunt, in your face way of saying: He is arrogant.
The ESV is a little too weak
“Likes to put himself first”
It’s taken from a Gk work that is a combo of two: philo-protueo
-philo: Gk work for love
-proto: Gk word for first
“Loves to be first”
(like can be a mild preference; love is a drive of ambition)
The ambition to be first is what drives pride and arrogance
*Remember: pride and arrogance is not something that God mildly tolerates
The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.
Pride and arrogance and the way of evil
and perverted speech I hate.
Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord;
be assured, he will not go unpunished.
2. Accusation: gossiping critic (10) : talking wicked nonsense—gossiping with evil words.
—We’d say: He’s bad-mouthing you
3. Actions: Dismissive, divisive (10b)
These are the signs of a toxic person who has an inflated view of self.
Q: What is really going on in the heart of this toxic example? Is there a pathology of some sort?
I think we can find something in the initial description: He loves to be first. He loved to have Preeminence.
KJV “loveth to have the preeminence”
But there is only One who deserves to be preeminence
And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
John knew how important it is for Jesus to have first place…learned it from John
He must increase, but I must decrease.”
Apply: Anytime a person, especially a spiritual leader, begins to forget that preeminence belongs to Jesus---it’s a train wreck waiting to happen!
Apply: Now there are two responses to to toxic people. One, sometimes they need confronted; John is prepared to to this (v10)—I’ve had to do it a few times and it’s never fun, but necessary.
I actually find Diothrpes helpful when assessing if someone is toxic (look at Ambition, accusations, and actions)
So sometimes confronting is needed, usually a leaders responsibility.
But for others, — simply unfollow.
**You know how to do this: keep them from having any influence in your life. Don’t let their voice have your ear.
Conclusion: Following happens best not at a distance—but in person; face to face. Life to Life
It’s actually the final mark of a healthy example
Discipleship is best done life on life; face to face.
Since we’ve started this series, a final question: What have you learned from God through John?
Truth, love, obedience? The priority of and preeminence of Jesus
What we learn always comes down to what sticks to our life.
And that proves that we truly desire to be learners of the Lord Jesus Christ.
May the balance of truth, love and obedience increase and stick as we follow Jesus by faith