MINISTRY STARTS IN THE HOME
2 John 1 - 13
THE EFFECT OF A CHRISTIAN WOMAN
V:I. "The elder,
To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth — and
not I only, but also
all who know the truth."
A. John writes to the
matron of the Church at Ephesus .
1. The phrase
"chosen lady or elect lady" is from the Greek phrase Eklektee Kuria.
a. Eklektee
means honorable
b. Kuria is a
woman name, Kyria
2. It was not
uncommon for the traveling Apostles to stay at the homes of faithful
women of the
church.
a. The Apostle
Paul stayed at the house of Mary and Martha.
b. In Philippi ,
Paul stayed at the home of Lydia
a merchant of purple. Acts 16:4
3. John was well
acquainted with this Elect Lady
a. Worship in the early church was held in
the homes of believers.
b. The elect
lady, Eklektree Kuria probably held worship services in her home
(Adam
Clark Commentary)
4. Since no
husband is mentioned, she probably was a widower.
a. The text
mentioned her children but no husband.
B. She was well
established in her community and in the Church.
1. John knew her
and other believers in the truth (the Word) knew her.
2. Her Children
were also known in the community as lovers of the Truth.
C. Just because you
are a single parent does not mean you can't make a difference in
your community.
TELL THE TRUTH
V:2. " Because of the truth, which lives in us and will
be with us forever"
A. When our lives reflect the Word of God, others will come
to know the truth.
1. The only
lasting truth is the Word of God.
a. Jesus said
heaven and earth will pass away, but my Word is forever.
2. The only thing
that does not change with time is the Word of God.
B. When we live
according to God's Word. God lives in us.
1. God said if you
love me, keep my commandments.
2. Jesus told
Peter, If you love Me, feed my sheep.
a. The food
that God's sheep need is the Word of
God.
b. We are all
in the business of feeding sheep.
3. When we study
the Word of God, we are studying that which is eternal.
a. The Word of
God has no beginning or ending.
b. Because God
lives in us, we are living an eternal life.
THE BENEFIT OF LIVING THE TRUTH
V:3. " Grace,
mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son,
will be with us in truth and love."
A. Three aspects of God's love is His Grace, His Mercy and
His peace.
1. A relationship
with God through Jesus Christ bring grace, mercy and
peace into our
lives.
2. The world
cannot receive these because they reject Jesus Christ.
B. Grace is God's favor toward believers.
1. Grace is the
aspect of God's love that causes Him to forgive the guilty
1. We were favored
by God before the foundation of the earth.
2. God foreknew
that we would be called out of the world into the marvelous
light. Rom 8:28-29
3. God
continuously favors us with His wisdom ,His protection, His provisions,
His guidance,
His directions and His immeasurable love.
4. We do not
deserve God's Grace, but His love for us demands it.
C. Mercy is the
aspect of God's love that cause Him to help the miserable.
1. God shows mercy
upon us when He forgives us for not keeping His commandments.
2. God comes to
our rescue when there are circumstances beyond our control.
D. We gain peace with God through our relationship with
Jesus Christ.
1. While we were
yet sinners, Christ died on the Cross for our sins.
2. Through the
blood of Jesus, we are at peace with God.
E. Because we know the truth; God's Word, we know to accept
God's love for us.
1. Without the
truth, we cannot know God's love.
2. Without the
truth, we cannot know Jesus.
3. Without the
truth we cannot have peace with God.
D. This Elect Lady, because of Her faithfulness continued to
receive God's love.
V:4. " It has given me great joy to find some of your
children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us."
A. The evidence of
this elect lady's teaching of the Gospel
was found in her children.
1. It was wide
spread knowledge that some of her children were walking in truth.
2. Her children
had a Christian life style that was known inside and outside the
community.
B. The Bible says,
train up a child in the way that he should go and when he
is old, he will
not depart from it. Prob 22:6
1. This women of
God saw her fruit displayed for the world to see.
2. As parents, it
should give us joy to see our children living according to
God's
commands.
C. The Apostle John
said he had knowledge of some of her children.
1. Some of the
elect lady's children, may or may not have been walking
with God at
the time of the writing of this letter.
2. The fact is
children with the same parents and the same training may walk
differently.
1. Some may
respond to the Word of God early in life and some late in life.
2. When you
train your children in the Word of God
they have the tool to
make
proper choices.
ENCOURAGED TO LOVE
V: 5. " And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new
command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another."
A. We cannot be selective in our love.
1. Love bring
unity to the body of Christ.
2. Divisions
springs from our selfish desires to gratify ourselves.
3. We don't have
to love what someone does to love them.
a. We can
hate what they do and still love them.
B. John may have
revisited God's command to love to
encourage the church
to continue in
love or because there were some problems regarding love for
one another.
1. I think it is
good to be reminded that God is love and that one of His most
important
commands is to love one another.
2. We can get so
busy doing God's work, that we can
forget that others still need to be
encouraged in
love.
3. We can get so
busy in the Church that we forget to be the Church to those closest to
us.
4. You can work
beside a person and not notice that they are going through something
that requires
your loving attention.
THE DEFINITION OF LOVE
V:6. " And this is love: that we walk in obedience to
his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you
walk in love."
A. John started his
letter to the elect lady with the encouragement
that some of her
children were
walking in truth.
1. It is possible
that some people may have the wrong definition of love.
2. Love is not how
I feel about someone, but what I do in the name of Jesus Christ
for them.
B. There are some of
God's commands that we have to have a change of heart to obey.
1. To love your
enemies as yourself, takes a change of heart empowered by the
Holy Spirit.
2. To turn the
other cheek takes a change in heart.
3. To forgive a
repeated offender takes a change of heart.
4. To love a
family member that is a continuous trouble maker takes a change of heart.
C. When we find
ourselves going contrary to God's commands, we have to ask God to
help us keep
them.
1. I really
believe that sometimes we don't know God has a command in a particular
area.
2. Then there are
times when we don't understand God's command in a particular
area of our
lives.
3. Then there are
times when we know the command, but don't know how to apply
it to our
lives.
4. The important
thing is to continue to grow in the knowledge of the Word.
HOW TO IDENTITY THE DEVIL
V:7. " Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus
Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is
the deceiver and the antichrist."
A. To know Jesus Christ, you must continue to study His
Word.
1. To know the
Devil, you have to know what he looks like and what language
he speaks.
2. If you are
expecting the Devil to show up in a red suit with horns on his head,
you may never
see him.
3. The Bible says he disguises himself as an
angel of light. 2 Cor 11:1
4. We must
remember that Satan knows the Word, because He was Lucifer an
Arch Angel
before he fell from grace.
a. The name
Lucifer means Bright Star
b. He knows
how to "look good".
B. The language of
the Devil, is that there is no Christ.
1. There are many
religions that believe in gods, but not Jesus as the Christ.
2. There are
religions that believe in the heavenly Father, but not Jesus as the Son
of God.
C. Any religion that
does not confess Jesus as Lord and Savior is a deceiver and
is a religion of
the antichrist.
1. The language
of the antichrist is to deny Jesus as
Lord and Savior.
2. Some religions
recognize Jesus as a prophet, but not the Messiah.
3. Some religions
recognize Jesus as a man but not the Son of God.
V:8. " Watch out that you do not lose what you have
worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully."
A. We have to be
careful who we listen to in the circles of religions.
1. There are some
who proclaim Jesus as Lord and Savior but who do not believe
in the total
body of Truth.
2. There are some
who preach Jesus Christ, but who do not believe in living a humble
life.
3. There are some
Preachers who believe in you living a humble life while they live an
extraordinary lavish life on your humble means.
B. I know of no
Pastor in Biblical history who live an extravagant life out of the pockets
of the Church
members.
1. Peter and
John, two of God's great pastors, said silver and gold we have none.
2. Some Pastors
pride themselves on the size of their congregation rather than the
the spiritual
growth of their members.
3. Some Pastors
preach a message that make you feel good at the expense of helping
you to be
good.
4. Any Church can
be religious, but not every church is spiritually motivated.
5. Any Church can
preach the Word, but not every church will preach the delight and
love of God's
Word.
6. Any Church can
preach the Word but not every Church will teach you How to
live according
to the Word.
DON'T STOP STUDYING THE WORD
V:9. " Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in
the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has
both the Father and the Son."
A. Any Church that preaches against any doctrine of Christ
is preaching against Christ.
1. Any Church that
preaches the acceptance of a lifestyle that contradicts the Word
of God is not
preaching Jesus Christ.
2. Any Church that
does not preach change, conviction and spiritual growth is not
preaching
Jesus Christ.
a. No person should
come in the Church and leave out the same.
B. A life with Christ
is a life of constant change, molding and reshaping.
1. You cannot ever
get enough of the Word of God because there is more
to the Word
that you can't get in you life time.
2. Continued study
of the Word of God empowers you for the next season of
your growth
and development.
3. If you are not
into the Word of God , you are not growing in the Father and the
Son.
CHOSE THE COMPANY YOU KEEP
V:10. " If
anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into
your house or welcome
him."
A. You have to watch
who you keep company with.
1. Don't bring
anyone into your house that does not believe in Jesus Christ.
2. Going forward,
a believer should not keep company with a non believer.
a. If a
person is not for Christ, than he/she is under the influence of the devil.
b. The devil
should never be welcome in your house.
B. We have to chose
who we make friends with.
1. A person might
be popular, look good and sound good, but have hell on the
inside.
2. It is better
to be along with Jesus than have many friends of the devil.
a. The devil
is no one's friend.
b. The devil comes
to steal, kill and to destroy. And this means his target is you.
V:11. " Anyone
who welcomes him shares in his wicked work."
A. If you make friends with the devil, you will
end up being devilish.
1. You can't
put your hand on a hot stove and not get burnt.
2. The devil
is a hot stove ready to burn you.
B. Would you chose
to share your home with a robber?
1. Would you
chose to share your home with an arsonist?
2. Would you
chose to share your home with a liar?
3. Would you
chose to share your home with a disrespectful person?
4. If you chose
to partner with the devil, all evil will come your way.
FELLOWSHIP WITH BELIEVERS
V:12. " I have
much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I
hope to visit you
and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete."
A. Notice the importance of the assemble with the saints.
1. There are some
doctrines of Christ that are better learned in the company of a
teacher.
2. A teacher can
make a better impression on you in person, than on paper.
3. When two or
more are gathered in the name of Jesus, He is in the mist.
4. It is Jesus
that stirs up the conversation and motivates the learning.
B. When you get
together with other saints, you can find joy in the Lord.
1. The Holy
Spirit prepares the teacher to present a message specifically
designed for
the listeners.
2. If the teacher
allows the Holy Spirit to guide the conversation, it will fit
your
particular need.
V:13. " The
children of your chosen sister send their greetings. "
A. It is a rewarding
thing when your children leave home and stay involved in the
ministry.
1. Apparently,
the Elect Lady's children had a close relationship with the Apostle
John.
2. Her children
may have been involve in ministry with John.
B. It is good to hear
the good work of your children through the mouths of others.
1. Your
reputation always precede you.
2. What ever you
do in public travels through the mouths of others
BE THE CHURCH OF JESUS
CHRIST
Come join us for Wednesday Night Bible Study, Sunday Services beginning at
9 AM (Sunday School)
and Regular Services at 11 AM
See you there
Rev. M Mitchell, Asst Pastor of Greater Macedonia
Baptist Church
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