EXERCISE YOUR GIFT
3 John 1 - 14
ENCOURAGE THE BROTHERS
V:1. "The elder, To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love
in the truth."
A. John, the elder
wrote to Gaius, a friend in the ministry of Jesus Christ.
1. Gaius is not
known for great preaching, teaching or writing.
2. Gaius is known
for his generosity to other preachers.
3. The name Gaius
is of Latin origin, Gaios, meaning a Christian.
B. Each believer should use the gifts God has given him/her
and not
be envious of the
gifts of others.
1. Every gift was
given for the purpose of edifying the body of Christ.
2. Every gift was
given to be used to give God glory in some way.
3. Whatever gift
God has given to you is unique in its purpose.
C. Gaius was faithful
to the truth of Jesus Christ which John
loved.
1. Your reputation
for the love you show others precedes you .
2. When you use your gifts, others will be blessed.
PRAY FOR THE WELL BEING OF OTHERS
V:2. " Dear
friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with
you, even as your soul is getting along well."
A. When you show love for others, God returns
the favor by having other's pray for you.
1. John took the
time to pray for the success and the welfare of Gaius.
2. We don't always know others need.
3. One thing we know,
is that everyone needs our prayers.
B. Those who work in
the ministry need the support from others in the body of Christ.
1. The apostle
prayed for his fellow worshiper's physical success and his spiritual
well being.
2. The ministry of
Jesus Christ requires both physical strength and spiritual strength.
a. Being able
to go where God sends you take physical strength.
b. Being able
to deal with what God places before you takes spiritual strength.
3. We should be in
the habit of praying for our pastor's physical capacity and His
mental
stability.
YOUR REPUTATION PRECEEDS YOU
V:3. " It gave
me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the
truth and how you continue to walk in the truth."
A. When the Gospel is being maintained in the lives of
others, in their walk and their
conversation, we
should rejoice.
1. We never know
how many lives we are influencing by our life style of godliness.
2. There are no
walls or distances that can block the truth about you.
3. You can't get
away from your reputation, good or bad.
B. The text says Gaius walked in truth.
1. He had a lifestyle
of being truthful.
2. He had a
lifestyle of being faithful to God's commands.
3. Other brothers
in Christ took the word of His faithfulness and broadcasted
it to others.
4. The word of
Gaius's faithfulness brought joy to the Apostle John.
C. I am sure it would
give any parent joy to hear from others that their children
behave with a
generous and faithful spirit.
1. I am sure
that it would give any parent joy to hear from others that their children
are well
thought of by others.
2. Sometimes a good report about your
children is a reflection on their reverence to
the Lord.
FIND JOY IN WHAT OTHERS ARE DOING
V:4. " I have no greater joy than to hear that my
children are walking in the truth."
A. Those we teach about God become our children
in Jesus Christ.
1. The Word tells
us the elders ought to teach the younger generation 1 Pet 5:5,
1 Tim 5:1-2
2. As we get
older, the wisdom that we have gained in life should be taught to
to the younger
generation.
B. Parents ought to be
a constant source of encouragement to their children.
1. If we don't
encourage our children in the Lord, who will?
2. Any
encouragement our children get from the world is likely to be wrong.
3. Our children
need to know what others see in them.
a. Anything
good could be for encouragement.
b. Anything
bad could be a cause for correction.
c. Our
children need to know how to distinguish between being encouraged to
do the
will of the Father and encouraged to go against
the will of the
Father.
USE YOUR GIFTS
V:5. " Dear
friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though
they are strangers to you."
A. Everyone must use the gifts that God has given them to
give Him glory.
1. Not everyone has
the same gifts.
2. Every gift is
important in the body of Christ.
B. Gaius is not known for his preaching, his teaching or any
miracles that he did.
1. Gaius is known
for his support of traveling ministers.
2. Gaius is known for
his charity to others.
C. You don't have to know someone to be kind to them.
1. If you have a loving
heart, you will be kind to everyone.
2. You should not
be kind to someone expecting something in return.
D. In the Church there are many silent participants who
never get recognition.
1. The ones who
work in the nursery want get a plaque for outstanding service,
but they
serve keeping your babies anyway.
2. The ones who
work in culinary ministry want get a plaque for outstanding service,
but they
volunteer their time to serve at every
funeral or special event.
3. The one's who
clean the bathrooms only get mentioned when there is an overflowing
toilet or the
bathrooms don't look as clean as we like, but they continue to serve.
4. Not every job in the Church gets recognition, but every
job is important.
V: 6. " They have told the church about your love. You
will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God."
A. When you serve those who preach the Gospel, God looks out
for you.
1. If you want a
friend, you have to show yourself friendly.
2. The good word
about Gauis was spread from Church to Church by those
he showed kindness.
B. It is the
responsibility of the Church to support those who minister the Word of God
to them . 1 Cor 9:11 ,14
1. If you do well
to God's ministers, God will do the same for you. Mat 10:41
2. What goes
around comes around. Luke 6:38
RESPONSIBILITY TO SUPPORT THE MINISTRY
V:7. " It was for the sake of the Name that they went
out, receiving no help from the pagans."
A. It is a Christian duty to support those who preach the
Name of Jesus Christ.
1. Everything we do
ought to be in the Name of Jesus Christ.
2. Every act of
charity ought to be in the name of Jesus Christ.
B. The Church is made perfect through love.
1. The ministers of
Jesus Christ, minister in love, therefore we ought to receive
them in love.
2. Jesus, doing His
ministry on earth was supported by believers.
C. Our pastors should not have to receive support outside
the Church.
1. Our pastors
should receive their support from those who believe in
Jesus and
honor His name. 1 Cor 9:7-14
2. God has made
available to us what is needed to promote His Gospel.
V:8. " We ought
therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the
truth."
A. If our pastors receive there support outside the Church, then
they become obligated to the world.
1. If our pastor's
receive their support from the world, then they are obligated to take
on the world's
views and compromise the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
2. For example, if
their support comes from drug dealers, then they are obligated
to turn their
heads on drug use.
a. If their
support comes from arms dealers, then they are obligated to turn their
heads and
not talk about illegal gun purchases and community violence as a
result of
gun use.
b. If their support comes from abortion rights
advocates, then they are obligated
to ignore God's command; you shall not kill. Ex 20:13
B. The ministry has
to be supported by the Church so that we can all work together
in love.
1. The strength
of the local Church is it's unity to God's commands.
2. The evidence
of love in the Church is our support of the
ministry of Jesus Christ.
BAD INFLUENCES IN THE CHURCH
V:9. " I wrote
to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to
do with us."
A. There are always
those in the Church who want to be the
center of attention.
1. It is either
there way or no way.
2. There are
those who can't agree on anything that is not of their opinion.
B. There are those
who like to have the spot light shining on them all the time.
1. Their
ministry is not about love, but about position and status.
2. They are like
crabs in a bucket; they will pull any one down who tries to
to excel more than they do.
C. There are those
in the Church that will not fellowship with you if you can't agree
with them.
1. In the name
of Jesus, there are some who go against the doctrine of unity.
2. In the name
of Jesus, they go against the doctrine of love and compassion.
3. The name
"Diotrephes" means an opponent of Christianity.
4. There are
some in the Church who are not about the Church.
V:10. " So if I
come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about
us. Not satisfied
with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who
want to do so and
puts them out of the church."
A. Trouble makers in
the Church have their own agenda.
1. Trouble
makers in the Church are not about God's business, but their own business.
2. The
Diotrephes, an opponent of the Church did all he could to destroy the unity of
the church.
B. John listed the
attributes of this trouble maker.
1. He did a lot
of gossiping.
a. He had an
evil mindset.
b. He spoke
evil about other brothers.
c. Instead
of building up others, he made a point of bringing down others.
d. He use
his tongue to destroy other members of the Church.
2. He was not
satisfied with the progress and the direction of the Church.
a. He did
not welcome traveling preachers of the Gospel who came to the Church.
b. He
opposed other members of the Church who were generous, compassionate
and
hospitable to strangers.
c. He even
put members out of the Church who were generous to strangers.
C. The Bible says,
be kind to strangers, because you never know when you are
entertaining an
angel. Heb 13:2
1. We don't know
why God sends people into our lives.
2. Sometimes God
puts people in our lives to point to an error in our lives.
3. Sometimes God
puts people in our lives to show us a more perfect way of serving
Him.
4. Sometimes God
gives us an opportunity to show love and be compassionate to
others.
MAKE YOUR DECISION TO DO GOOD
V:11. " Dear
friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is
good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God."
A. Be careful not to
fall under the influence of those who are evil.
1. The Church has
to take a stand against evil influences in the Church.
2. There are some
in the Church who proclaim to know God, but have
no knowledge
of His Word.
B. You have to study the Word to know if a member is acting
according to
God's commands.
1. You have to
have faith in Jesus to openly opposed those who are teaching a
different
gospel than Jesus Christ.
2. You can expect
to be talked about when you oppose those who are acting
contrary to the
doctrines of Christ.
3. Standing on the
Word of God in all situations will test and strengthen you faith.
GOOD ROLE MODEL
V:12. " Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone — and
even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our
testimony is true."
A. In the Church, there will be those who you can rely on to
stand on the truth.
1. Demetrius had a
lifestyle of following God's commands.
2. He was well
known throughout the city.
3. His reputation
was known outside the city.
B. We should associate with other Christians who are
following God's commands.
1. We can be known
by our friends.
2. Christians
should influence each other in the righteousness of God.
FACE TO FACE COMMUNICATION
V:13. " I have much to write you, but I do not want to
do so with pen and ink."
A. It is a good thing
for Christians to sit and talk face to face.
1. There are some
things best said in person.
2. You can learn
more about a person when you look into their eyes and
see the
expressions on their face.
B. When you sit in
front of someone, you can tell if they are serious about
something said
or just joking.
1. When you really know someone, the
expression on their face and the tone of
their voice tells
a story of it's own.
2. Sometimes we
react to people based on what we see in their face or the tone in
their voice.
V:14. " I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face
to face. Peace to you. The friends
here send their
greetings. Greet the friends there by name."
A. It is good to end a conversation peacefully and not in
anger or confusion.
1. It is good to
know that others in distant places are also thinking about you
and wish you
well.
B. We should be considerate enough to let others close to us
know that we
heard from a
distant friend and that he/she sends greeting.
USE YOUR GIFTS TO BE A BLESSING TO OTHERS IN CHRIST
You are invited to come join us for Sunday Service. Sunday
School
at 9 AM and regular service at 11 AM
Join us for Wednesday night Adult Bible Study and Youth
Bible Study.
Look forward to seeing you.
Rev M. Mitchell,
Asst Pastor of Greater Macedonia
Baptist Church
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