1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:03,560 Good morning everyone. It's great to see everyone who's 2 00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:06,000 here today. Glad to have our visitors, glad 3 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:09,320 to have our regulars. And we share in the most 4 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:15,000 wonderful thing that anyone ever shares in hope, joy, salvation, 5 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:19,120 things that we do not deserve, like we just sang about, but 6 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:21,080 things that we can all be confident in. 7 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:24,400 And as we've studied through first John, as we now move on to 8 00:00:24,400 --> 00:00:28,000 2nd and 3rd John, I hope we can all sing that song confidently 9 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:32,439 and I hope we will work daily to make Our Calling an election 10 00:00:32,439 --> 00:00:35,520 sure, so that we can have that hope of that home at last. 11 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:37,960 What a wonderful service that we've had so far. 12 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:41,600 I decided to go into second, third John and I talked to some 13 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:43,720 of you and, and I said, I don't know if I'm going to go into 14 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:47,240 that. It's I'm not super confident in 15 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:49,360 some of the things this teaches going into this. 16 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:51,560 Like, I don't know what I would say about it or I didn't know 17 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:54,480 exactly all the conclusions to draw from it. 18 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:57,920 And so I was thinking I was going to avoid this and move on 19 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:01,400 to something else. But as I thought about it, I 20 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:04,680 don't think I've ever heard a full lesson taught on second and 21 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:07,720 third John or second John itself or third John itself. 22 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:09,520 So I said, you know what, I better do it. 23 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:12,280 I better take this initiative because anytime I have an 24 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:15,240 opportunity to fill a hole in my knowledge, I feel like it's 25 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:17,720 worth my time. And I hope it'll be worth your 26 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:22,560 time to consider these things in second and third John, the theme 27 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:26,600 that we see in these letters written by, I believe the same 28 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:30,560 person who wrote first John, the theme is fellowship. 29 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:35,320 And if we've established that John wrote the 1st letter, the 30 00:01:35,320 --> 00:01:39,000 second and third letters of John are almost identical in their, 31 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:43,400 in their style, in the theme, the tone and all these ways. 32 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:46,360 So we can pretty comfortably say it's the same person. 33 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:50,280 And if we've established that it was John before, then we can we 34 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:54,320 can assume that with second and third John, the book of 35 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:58,760 Ecclesiastes says Ecclesiastes 3, verse 5 to everything there 36 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:03,520 is a season, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from 37 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:05,080 embracing. And if you've read that, you 38 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:08,280 know, there's a long list of things and that he says there. 39 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:15,000 And this letter, I think, does pull out a key concept of when 40 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:18,720 to let go and when to withhold and when to embrace. 41 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:22,440 And both sides of this are equally important as we prepare 42 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:25,640 now, as we consider fellowship and where he's going to maybe 43 00:02:25,640 --> 00:02:29,160 draw some lines and where he's going to tell them to welcome 44 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:30,920 people. It's important to remember what 45 00:02:30,920 --> 00:02:34,200 we've already covered, what he's already established in the 1st 46 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:38,480 letter of John from John was that this, that which we've seen 47 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:41,920 and heard, we declared to you that you also may have 48 00:02:41,920 --> 00:02:45,120 fellowship with us. That's the goal. 49 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:49,400 The goal is that we establish grounded, strong, loving 50 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:53,880 fellowship always. And it's based on the fact that 51 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:56,560 our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus 52 00:02:56,560 --> 00:02:59,840 Christ. So that is all laid before this. 53 00:02:59,840 --> 00:03:01,920 So I don't want to rehash everything we've already taught, 54 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:05,880 but we're going into this with this perspective in our mind. 55 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:09,360 And he said in first John 210 that he who loves his brother 56 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:13,680 abides in the light. So that is a indicator of our 57 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:17,680 own walk with God is how are we walking with our brothers around 58 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:20,040 us. So I want to make sure we're 59 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:24,640 walking into this situation with a, with a lead with love first 60 00:03:24,640 --> 00:03:26,760 mentality. There's going to be reasons for 61 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:32,120 us to have caution, but we lead with love and we lead with open 62 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:34,840 arms to people. And that's our goal. 63 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:38,200 That's our that's our end goal is to always establish a strong 64 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:41,600 fellowship based on truth. So we're going to leave with 65 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:43,280 loving fellowship. And throughout the New 66 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:47,640 Testament, we read of people who were commended for how gracious 67 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:50,080 they were with hospitality and with their fellowship. 68 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:53,960 So if that's a commendation, we should go into it this mine. 69 00:03:54,320 --> 00:03:57,520 But as we're going to see, there are limits to our fellowship and 70 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:01,600 it's all centered around truth. But I don't want us to leave 71 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:06,800 this study today in fear of fellowship and how, you know, I 72 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:08,640 need to watch out and be really careful. 73 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:11,360 And pretty soon we're kind of clamming up and we're we're 74 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:14,440 becoming hermits because we're afraid of some limits. 75 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:18,880 That is not the goal. What he will establish, I think, 76 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:21,920 is very instinctual things. There are things we need to 77 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:24,920 protect from. And if we know truth, it will be 78 00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:27,160 instinctive that we protect from those things. 79 00:04:27,840 --> 00:04:31,560 So as, as we consider what he, his advice is, don't lose the 80 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:35,560 common sense that I think is, is all over this letter. 81 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:40,200 And part of the reason I don't want to go, I don't want to 82 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:43,000 leave us with too many strong conclusions of, oh, we need to 83 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:45,640 be doing XYZ. And that's that's a big thing is 84 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:48,520 because he says, I'm not writing to you a new command. 85 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:52,680 I don't believe there's things in here that it's, it's like, 86 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:55,360 well, this is totally new and and we should, we should be 87 00:04:55,360 --> 00:04:57,760 totally changing what we're doing as a whole. 88 00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:00,560 It's not a new command his that he's bringing. 89 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:04,720 It's it's an old command. And so in this letter, as we 90 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:08,720 consider these things and 3rd John and as we go forward, he's 91 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:12,080 going to give us some examples of loving hospitality and the 92 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:15,600 damage of the wrong approach to hospitality and fellowship. 93 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:18,320 OK, so that's the theme. It starts out by saying the 94 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:22,640 elder and that elder is who we believe to be John the elder. 95 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:25,160 There's some people believe he might have been 8090 years old 96 00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:27,640 at this time. So he is older than them, 97 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:31,560 writing to these people. He says to the elect lady and 98 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:34,840 her children, whom I love. In truth, some people try to 99 00:05:34,840 --> 00:05:37,640 make this phrase, the elect 80's, the elected lady, some 100 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:41,480 really nuanced things that I don't believe it's teaching at 101 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:42,560 all. I think it's very simple. 102 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:45,120 The elect lady, who is this person? 103 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:48,880 Well, throughout the New Testament, the church is given a 104 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:52,760 feminine personification. We're giving her as the bride of 105 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:55,880 Christ. In Ephesians 522, Romans 7, 106 00:05:55,880 --> 00:06:00,240 verse 4 and Revelation 21, she's described as a bride adorned for 107 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:03,080 her husband. So the the church is often 108 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:06,000 describing a in a female personification. 109 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:07,480 And I think that's all he's saying. 110 00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:10,920 He's identifying the church with a singular by saying you the 111 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:14,000 elect lady. The, the elect means the chosen. 112 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:19,680 We are the chosen group of the church and I believe and her 113 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:22,400 children refers to the individual members that make up 114 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:26,920 that elect lady, that church. And it says whom I love in 115 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:29,880 truth. So Paula or John is saying that 116 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:33,640 he loves the church and he loves the individual members of the 117 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:36,240 church. So this is who he's writing to, 118 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:41,280 he says, and not only I, but also all those who have known 119 00:06:41,280 --> 00:06:43,640 the truth. He started out the 1st letter by 120 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:46,320 saying we have fellowship with you and you have fellowship with 121 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:48,040 each other. Because of the connection. 122 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:52,880 There's a triangulation between those who love now and you have 123 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:55,440 loved before and whoever will love God. 124 00:06:55,560 --> 00:06:59,320 We all have a triangle of love because of that. 125 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:03,720 And all who have ever known the truth share in this because of 126 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:07,400 the truth which abides in US and will be with us forever. 127 00:07:08,520 --> 00:07:11,920 We can still have fellowship with John here because we have 128 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:15,200 the same truth that has lasted for thousands of years. 129 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:18,440 This has been masterfully preserved better than any 130 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:21,400 document in the world's history. We can know that this abides 131 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:22,640 forever. It's not going anywhere. 132 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:26,600 Have you noticed how many times he's already said truth? 133 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:31,200 Maybe if he says it three times in the 1st 2 verses, maybe in 134 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:35,320 the first sentence, maybe we'll understand that this is around 135 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:37,680 truth. And if we're going to have 136 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:43,320 unity, if we're going to have fellowship with people from 2000 137 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:46,200 years ago and with people from today's day, from different 138 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:48,400 walks of life, it has to come from somewhere. 139 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:55,840 It has to come from a truth, the truth, He says grace, mercy and 140 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:59,120 peace will be with you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus 141 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:02,280 Christ, the Son of the Father in truth and love. 142 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:06,800 I rejoice greatly that I found some of your children walking in 143 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:10,440 truth as we received commandment from the Father. 144 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:13,400 What's the reality? We read from this, some people 145 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:16,920 in the church do walk in truth and some people do not as he's 146 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:19,760 going to identify. But I love how he says I rejoice 147 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:21,880 greatly. This is an old man. 148 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:28,400 Life can harden us. John could have been hardened by 149 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:31,120 the years of his life that they were challenging. 150 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:35,240 John could have had so many experiences that and dealing 151 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:37,799 with people and dealing with life and dealing with problems 152 00:08:37,799 --> 00:08:39,919 in the church that left him hardened. 153 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:43,480 He could have been hardened by any of those things. 154 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:47,840 He could have been hardened by the false teachers, the internal 155 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:50,600 fights, those who would so soon turn away. 156 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:53,480 As we read in Galatians, Paul says some people just turned 157 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:56,320 away so soon, and the frustrations that would cause a 158 00:08:56,320 --> 00:09:00,760 preacher. And yet he found things to take 159 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:06,840 joy in as an old man. And he didn't just take joy, he 160 00:09:06,840 --> 00:09:11,280 took joy greatly. Especially as men, I think 161 00:09:11,280 --> 00:09:15,480 sometimes we can struggle to show joyful emotions. 162 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:19,520 Sometimes we can be so task focused that it's like, well, 163 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:21,880 yeah, I'm having, I'm, I'm enjoying this or I have 164 00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:23,640 enjoyment, but I'm just, I'm focused. 165 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:29,440 And so our focus doesn't always manifest in joy outwardly and 166 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:32,760 showing it to other people and noticing other people and 167 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:36,000 affirming them and showing and communicating joy. 168 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:37,360 And John does a good job of that. 169 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:41,080 May we, especially as men work on that. 170 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:43,640 Sometimes our our female counterparts are better about 171 00:09:43,640 --> 00:09:47,160 that than than we are about that emotional component to a 172 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:50,600 relationship. Let's remember that to have joy 173 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:53,480 and show joy. And John says I rejoice greatly 174 00:09:53,680 --> 00:09:57,240 about what that there are people walking in truth, the best thing 175 00:09:57,240 --> 00:10:01,720 he could find to take joy in. And now I plead with you, lady, 176 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:05,600 not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that 177 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:08,080 which we have had from the beginning that we love one 178 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:09,440 another. There we go. 179 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:12,640 So we're we've reestablished that key concept that we love 180 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:17,000 and that's the commandment. We show love and this is love 181 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:20,080 that we walk according to his commandments. 182 00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:23,000 This is the commandment that, as you have heard from the 183 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:24,200 beginning, you should walk in it. 184 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:25,680 You're like, haven't we already heard this before? 185 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:28,800 This was much of first Job. You're right, we have heard that 186 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:30,920 phrase a lot, but he keeps going back to that. 187 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:34,560 Walking in God's commands is loving people. 188 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:40,640 Verse 7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do 189 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:44,320 not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. 190 00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:47,200 That is a deceiver and an Antichrist. 191 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:51,960 Some many translations and maybe more literally translate this as 192 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:54,920 this is the deceiver and the Antichrist. 193 00:10:55,600 --> 00:10:58,120 So I think this is a good point to look back and say, hey, 194 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:01,040 remember when we talked about the Antichrist and how some 195 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:03,960 people believe it's this is the Antichrist, this person, watch 196 00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:06,080 out for him. He's using the same language 197 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:07,040 here. He's saying this is the 198 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:09,560 Antichrist. This is the person who would 199 00:11:09,560 --> 00:11:14,080 take Jesus's work and melt it down into something it's not. 200 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:18,360 Jesus did come in the flesh, but they want to take that away from 201 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:20,160 him. And because of that, they are 202 00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:23,480 deceivers. Whether they realize it or not, 203 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:27,040 they are deceiving people with this, with this wrong and with 204 00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:32,840 this falsehood. He says look to yourselves, 205 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:37,640 watch out for yourself that we do not lose those things which 206 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:41,640 we have worked for, but that we may receive a full reward. 207 00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:45,200 This is a big deal because some people it's going are going to 208 00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:50,760 lose their reward. This isn't just, you know, you 209 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:53,240 believe in Jesus, you think he's the Savior. 210 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:59,360 It's if you look at him the wrong way now he he's focused on 211 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:03,120 a very core foundational concept of Jesus work and ministry. 212 00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:10,400 But that has a contingency on their reward, on their eternal 213 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:14,720 salvation. Whoever transgresses and does 214 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:18,400 not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. 215 00:12:18,560 --> 00:12:20,320 So he has two opposite words here. 216 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:22,680 He uses one is the exact opposite of the other. 217 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:26,680 To transgress means to go outside of or to run ahead of or 218 00:12:26,680 --> 00:12:31,160 to go outside of something. What is that something, the 219 00:12:31,160 --> 00:12:35,520 doctrine of Christ? And the contrast is someone who 220 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:38,960 does not abide in that's that's someone who would stay within 221 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:43,520 the doctrine of Christ. And that person does not have 222 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:46,720 God. So we're going to ask the 223 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:48,800 question a minute. What is this doctrine? 224 00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:53,440 But he goes on to say, if anyone comes to you and does not bring 225 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:57,960 this doctrine, do not receive an into your house nor greet him 226 00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:02,000 for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds. 227 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:05,000 OK, you read that verse. I read that verse. 228 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:07,240 I say, OK, what do I do with that? 229 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:11,240 How do I, how do I take that? That seems to be a strong 230 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:14,680 sentence there. Let's take this piece by piece 231 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:18,200 and let's remember the the common sense side of this that 232 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:21,520 we're that we're going to keep trying to focus on the first 233 00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:23,240 piece. If anyone comes to you and does 234 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:27,200 not bring this doctrine by saying they are bringing in a 235 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:30,680 doctrine, this is inferring that this implying this is somebody 236 00:13:30,680 --> 00:13:33,280 who's teaching. This is somebody who's bringing 237 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:35,840 a teaching and sharing it with others. 238 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:37,640 OK. I don't think this is just 239 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:42,000 somebody who has a belief in their head, right? 240 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:44,000 Because there's a lot of people around us who have beliefs in 241 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:47,680 their head that are we just putting a wall up to everyone 242 00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:49,080 around us who doesn't believe the same thing. 243 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:50,280 I don't think that's what he's teaching. 244 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:53,160 He's saying if someone comes to you and does not bring this 245 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:58,520 doctrine, he's already said this person is not just any old 246 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:00,920 person. This person denies that Jesus 247 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:03,360 came in the flesh. This person is a deceiver. 248 00:14:03,680 --> 00:14:06,360 We're dealing with someone who teaches and who is deceiving. 249 00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:11,720 OK, So what is this doctrine that they are bringing them? 250 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:17,440 He's already said that this person is it is, it is the 251 00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:21,240 deceiver and Antichrist who does not confess that Jesus Christ 252 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:24,600 has come in the flesh. So we know for sure that he's 253 00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:28,240 saying to watch out for this people and do something. 254 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:30,240 We're going to say what that something is in a minute with 255 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:33,400 people who had undermine Christ's fleshly coming. 256 00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:37,240 And if you're not aware, there are groups who claim to be 257 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:39,840 Christian groups who do not believe that Jesus Christ came 258 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:42,160 in the flesh. There are a couple big groups 259 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:43,880 that I can think of just off the top of my head. 260 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:48,680 There are prominent religious groups who do not confess this. 261 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:52,320 So he's, he's giving us a caution against this teaching. 262 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:55,360 But people would say, well, how far does this go? 263 00:14:55,720 --> 00:15:00,520 What is the doctrine of Christ? Because it is very true that 264 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:03,520 throughout the Bible when someone says the teachings of 265 00:15:03,520 --> 00:15:09,120 the apostles or the teachings of God, it is all things that 266 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:17,320 coincide with what they bring. So is it just this doctrine that 267 00:15:17,320 --> 00:15:24,040 Jesus came in the flesh? He's already said to watch out 268 00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:29,040 for truth and that those who obey his commandments are what 269 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:31,920 we're talking about here. So I can see someone saying, 270 00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:35,480 well, if someone comes and attacks foundational truths like 271 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:37,320 Jesus, come in the flesh, avoid that. 272 00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:41,920 But like I said, he's already discussed how those who walk in 273 00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:46,480 truth and those who abide in his commandments are the ones who 274 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:51,760 they have fellowship with. So I don't know how you separate 275 00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:55,160 and say this doctrine that he's talking about is only the 276 00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:57,000 teaching about Jesus fleshly coming. 277 00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:01,800 Because there's a lot of things that are the doctrine of Christ, 278 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:05,800 the teachings of Christ, because of the unity of God's message. 279 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:09,840 God's whole message is from the Father, from the Son, from the 280 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:11,880 Holy Spirit. They work together as one. 281 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:15,200 So I don't know how you make pull that apart and say, well, 282 00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:19,200 if somebody follows God's teaching in the quote UN quote 283 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:22,280 big stuff, but not in the other stuff, I don't know how you pull 284 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:24,840 those things apart. OK, I'm going to leave that for 285 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:29,680 there for now. I believe this is so far what he 286 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:32,200 said. If someone comes to us who 287 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:36,320 teaches things that are not truth from God's word, which in 288 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:40,440 this situation looks a lot looks like not affirming Jesus's 289 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:43,080 physical work. I think that's a summary that I 290 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:46,880 would give so far that we can definitely that we can say he 291 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:49,880 he's addressing. OK, So what about these people? 292 00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:54,040 What do we respond with? He says do not receive him into 293 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:58,240 your house nor greet him, for he who greets him shares in his 294 00:16:58,240 --> 00:17:02,000 evil deeds. OK, so it says do not receive 295 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:04,359 him into your house. Well, whose house are we talking 296 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:06,839 about? He addressed this to the Elect 297 00:17:06,839 --> 00:17:10,240 Lady. So the most to me, most obvious 298 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:13,079 connection is this is the Elect Lady's house. 299 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:15,440 Well, what is that? That is the church. 300 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:19,000 Now specifically during this day and time, they had house 301 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:21,359 churches. They did not have all these 302 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:23,480 separate buildings that we do that we have. 303 00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:27,119 That takes a lot of finances to buy a new building and to have 304 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:29,520 that place designated only for worship. 305 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:34,520 So they worshipped in people's houses and so to accept someone 306 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:38,680 into their house, I believe probably contextually is talking 307 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:41,440 about bringing them in, welcoming into church and having 308 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:45,360 their place in the pulpit. Now you might ask, well, what 309 00:17:45,360 --> 00:17:47,920 about is he saying individual homes don't welcome people into 310 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:49,640 your house, your individual home? 311 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:54,200 Who's bringing these teachings? Now there might be some common 312 00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:58,360 sense caution there. If someone is teaching false 313 00:17:58,360 --> 00:18:01,640 doctrine, bringing them into your house if you are not 314 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:04,920 seasoned has it's dangers we're going to talk about in a minute. 315 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:07,440 Having them teach you and teach your family. 316 00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:11,880 Common sense tells you, I mean, however far you want to take 317 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:14,800 this, it doesn't make a lot of common sense to do that anyway. 318 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:18,640 OK, So what is the risk? What is the risk of bringing 319 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:21,520 people like this into the house, Whether it's the House of the 320 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:24,480 church to teach for us or whether it's our individual 321 00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:28,760 homes to bring this teaching #1 the influence it has on the 322 00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:30,400 elect lady's children. Who is that? 323 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:34,920 That's the people of God in a church we are commanded to 324 00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:37,080 worship, to come together. That means there's people who 325 00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:39,240 are young, there's people who are old, there's people who are 326 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:41,680 advanced in their in their understanding, there's people 327 00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:45,600 who are unskilled in their understanding by nature of how 328 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:46,960 God commands us to come together. 329 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:51,040 So when anybody comes in who's going to teach, they can 330 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:55,000 influence people who don't have strong knowledge or those even 331 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:57,320 who do have strong knowledge. All these people who are the 332 00:18:57,320 --> 00:19:01,960 children of God, of the elected lady, can be influenced. 333 00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:04,880 What about #2 what about the teacher themself? 334 00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:09,240 If someone is teaching wrong things, our best influence on 335 00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:13,200 them is to not accept those things, because people have 336 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:17,200 taught error and have been changed from that. 337 00:19:18,280 --> 00:19:22,880 And we as a church can change them by not standing with their 338 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:25,520 error. That is one of the strongest 339 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:27,960 things anybody can do against a false teacher is to stand 340 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:32,680 unified together against wrong teaching so we can influence 341 00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:36,680 that teacher in a positive way. Perhaps #3 what about onlookers? 342 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:42,720 When someone is welcomed in to teach and to spread their their 343 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:46,440 their teachings? What about other people who who 344 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:48,400 see that happen? Are they thinking that, hey, 345 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:50,680 this is OK because this person is allowing this kind of 346 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:53,240 teaching to happen? There's a lot of risk 347 00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:56,280 associated. If spiritual matters really are 348 00:19:56,480 --> 00:20:00,280 are important, there's a lot of risk here that could come from 349 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:02,200 someone who brings wrong teachings. 350 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:06,160 OK, so it says don't bring him into your house, It says, nor 351 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:11,160 greet him for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds. 352 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:16,560 OK, this word, greet him. Some translations will say 353 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:18,440 welcome him. Do not welcome him. 354 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:23,040 Well, what is a welcome? Well means to be happy that you 355 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:25,760 have come. And if you take somebody who is, 356 00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:28,960 who is teaching falsehood and say we are happy to have you. 357 00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:33,080 With us to teach for us, that's not going to send the right 358 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:37,080 message. Now, other commentators will say 359 00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:41,160 more specifically, this isn't just a typical greeting like we 360 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:44,880 might say welcome. This is the phrase they would 361 00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:48,360 have used as Cairo, which literally means Godspeed. 362 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:53,160 So whenever someone would give them this greeting of Godspeed, 363 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:56,640 they were given approval of a course that they were pursuing 364 00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:00,520 for he who. And that fits more in the 365 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:02,240 context of the rest of the verse. 366 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:05,560 He says for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds. 367 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:10,720 Me saying hi to somebody who doesn't teach truth, I don't 368 00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:13,280 know if you could say that is me sharing in their evil deeds. 369 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:17,000 But if I say Godspeed, brother, go ahead, do your thing. 370 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:20,840 That's me sharing in their their evil deed. 371 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:25,120 If I push them on their way and send them on to do that work, 372 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:27,880 Godspeed. Keep doing your thing, man. 373 00:21:29,360 --> 00:21:31,960 That is approval that I believe is really at the heart of what 374 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:35,440 he's saying here because they're going to be people that we can 375 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:38,920 have an influence on. There are people all the time 376 00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:42,560 who I interact with who I'm currently working on trying to 377 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:44,440 maybe have a study or talk Bible. 378 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:46,160 What do you think about this passage? 379 00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:48,480 I know you've said that before. I try to sneak it into 380 00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:51,000 conversation here and there. I got to build a rapport with 381 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:53,560 them before they will accept a truth. 382 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:57,120 They understand my biblical perspective, OK, if he has a 383 00:21:57,120 --> 00:22:00,320 sound biblical reasoning on these subjects, maybe I'll hear 384 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:03,280 him on this matter. And so I think there is some 385 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:07,920 common sense to be had here. But we have to watch out for 386 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:09,720 giving these people our approval. 387 00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:12,520 It's not just, hey, we're all Christians, book of Acts. 388 00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:14,640 Remember, they're all everybody's so happy. 389 00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:17,680 Everything's going well. We're we're sharing all all of 390 00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:20,000 our things together. We're selling property and 391 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:21,760 everything is just so good hunky Dory. 392 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:27,120 And then someone tried to take advantage of that, and Ananias 393 00:22:27,120 --> 00:22:29,680 and Sapphira were dropped dead because they were taking 394 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:32,120 advantage of that by trying to lie to the Holy Spirit. 395 00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:41,640 There are limits to truth, to what's right, and we have to be 396 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:47,080 wise as serpents and harmless as doves, the apostles are told. 397 00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:52,520 So I think this is a summary of how I might take away from this 398 00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:56,560 and I think I think this is both conservative. 399 00:22:56,560 --> 00:22:59,640 It's not overstretching to say this really by any stance at 400 00:22:59,640 --> 00:23:02,080 all. If someone comes to us who 401 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:05,640 doesn't teach truth, which in this situation looks like not 402 00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:08,720 affirming Jesus physical work. We shouldn't give them a 403 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:13,120 platform and we shouldn't provide active support for their 404 00:23:13,120 --> 00:23:15,040 work. As we're going to see in a 405 00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:19,680 minute what active support does look like verse 12 having many 406 00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:22,040 things to write to you. I did not wish to do so with 407 00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:25,320 paper and ink, but I hope to come to you and speak face to 408 00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:31,280 face that our joy may be full as I've left some room for. 409 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:35,400 I'm still learning here. I'm still learning about all 410 00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:37,480 these situations, the what ifs that would come up. 411 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:42,080 I love how he ends this letter because it's a perfect synopsis 412 00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:45,560 of really what the what the situation entails. 413 00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:49,360 There's a lot of nuance when it comes to dealing with people and 414 00:23:49,360 --> 00:23:51,880 interactions. There's a lot of nuance when it 415 00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:55,600 comes to what is this person's background, where are they 416 00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:58,680 going, what are they saying? And a lot of it, he just needs 417 00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:02,640 to talk to them about it. Some things are not easily to 418 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:06,880 record in the Bible and just lay it all out there for us because 419 00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:09,800 let's take this situation. You have people passing through 420 00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:11,720 this church who are teaching error. 421 00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:17,000 There are is a long list of context that Paul is or John is 422 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:19,480 not just going to write to them and retell everything. 423 00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:20,440 They already know that's happened. 424 00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:26,840 If someone were to write a letter to this church, there 425 00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:29,760 could be a long list of things that would go on for pages and 426 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:31,480 pages and pages about the context. 427 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:35,200 But it wouldn't make sense for someone to write to us telling 428 00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:38,840 us our context all over again. That's just not how you write a 429 00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:40,800 letter to somebody. It would take forever and you 430 00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:43,400 can never get all the details. And I think that's part of 431 00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:46,360 what's going on here, as there are certain things that are 432 00:24:46,360 --> 00:24:50,200 contextual to their situation that he had to go and talk to 433 00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:52,840 them about and it would not easily be all relayed over a 434 00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:56,040 letter. And when we're dealing with 435 00:24:56,040 --> 00:24:58,560 people, I think it's wise to sometimes not always send things 436 00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:02,360 over text, not always send a letter in writing, because you 437 00:25:02,360 --> 00:25:05,840 can't always get the whole thing in the writing or in the text 438 00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:09,640 message or in the the e-mail that's sent. 439 00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:12,760 And so sometimes you need to have a conversation. 440 00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:16,720 And I think that is a large part of why he ends this letter kind 441 00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:21,080 of in a short way, because there are things to be worked through 442 00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:27,160 situational details. And I would tell you that I 443 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:29,600 don't have all the situational answers, but I would encourage 444 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:35,080 this to produce conversations, if we have conversations around 445 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:40,200 truth, around what is accepted, what around what is permitted, 446 00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:43,320 And especially in the Lord's house, this is the goal that he 447 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:46,440 would have for us to watch out for the children of your elected 448 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:47,280 sister. Greet you. 449 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:51,360 Amen. OK, moving on into third, John, 450 00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:54,320 I kept these together because I do believe they have a similar 451 00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:58,000 related message. So #1 I believe he's going to 452 00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:01,000 talk about some exemplary fellowship that is extended. 453 00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:05,640 So as he's told us about ways to maybe not extend that full 454 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:09,680 fellowship and welcome, there's going to be a good example of 455 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:14,520 fellowship, but then there's an example of someone who withholds 456 00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:18,600 fellowship that shouldn't have done that and how much damage 457 00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:20,600 diotrophies causes because of that. 458 00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:25,160 So I this is my kind of synopsis of chapter 2 and three. 459 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:28,480 It's fellowship. It's how to extend it, how to 460 00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:32,480 sometimes withhold it, but the dangers of doing it wrong on 461 00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:36,800 either side. He says the elder, so the same 462 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:40,120 address he gave before, but this time he's not writing to the 463 00:26:40,120 --> 00:26:42,640 elect lady. He says the elder to the beloved 464 00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:45,360 Gaius, whom I love. In truth, if you know your 465 00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:47,480 Bible, that name comes up quite a bit. 466 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:50,800 That's because Gaius is a common Roman name. 467 00:26:51,120 --> 00:26:53,720 You hear this name a lot in Scripture, and so we can't 468 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:55,720 definitively tell which Gaius this is. 469 00:26:56,720 --> 00:27:00,000 There is a clue in Romans 16 where Gaius has commended for 470 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:02,160 being a keeper of many in his house. 471 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:06,080 And So what Gaius has commended here is almost the same 472 00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:08,480 attributes, but we don't know for sure it's the same person 473 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:12,200 because it's such a common name. Verse 2. 474 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:16,280 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in 475 00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:19,080 health just as your soul prospers. 476 00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:23,200 So Gaze's physical health is probably not doing well. 477 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:26,960 He's not well physically, but his soul is prospering. 478 00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:32,040 He is doing so well spiritually. Verse 3 For I rejoiced greatly. 479 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:35,960 There it is again when brethren came and testified of the truth 480 00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:40,120 that is in you just as you walk in truth. 481 00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:41,600 Here we go again with the truths. 482 00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:45,080 There's truth that's in Gaius and there's truth that he is 483 00:27:45,080 --> 00:27:48,680 walking in. He says, I have no greater joy 484 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:51,520 than to hear that my children walk in truth. 485 00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:55,200 John is the elder and so he is mentored many and so they in a 486 00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:59,280 sense they're his children that are walking in truth. 487 00:28:02,160 --> 00:28:05,640 Having truth to guide our actions is absolutely necessary. 488 00:28:05,880 --> 00:28:10,080 Some know the truth, some appreciate the truth, some even 489 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:15,960 defend the truth, but most importantly, others would walk 490 00:28:16,120 --> 00:28:19,280 in the truth. That is a complete summary of 491 00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:22,480 all those things that we would walk in truth. 492 00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:26,040 And this man, Gaius, or Gaius, however you want to say it, is 493 00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:29,360 doing just that. He says, beloved, you do 494 00:28:29,360 --> 00:28:33,880 faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers 495 00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:37,080 who have borne witness of your love before the church. 496 00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:40,160 He's commending and complimenting him, saying he is. 497 00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:44,280 He's doing a faithful work. Everything that you're doing 498 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:47,760 guys, is awesome. You are doing this faithfully in 499 00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:50,560 your service to God, for brethren and for strangers. 500 00:28:50,720 --> 00:28:54,840 This is similar to what Matt what Jesus says in Matthew 25 501 00:28:55,040 --> 00:28:58,960 verse 23 where Jesus says his Lord said to him, well done, 502 00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:02,600 good and faithful servant. You've been faithful over a few 503 00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:04,400 things. I will make you ruler over many 504 00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:06,880 things. Enter into the joy of your Lord. 505 00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:11,320 Guys has been commended for his hospitality because it is 506 00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:16,960 faithful as a servant of Christ for brethren and for strangers. 507 00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:22,720 And these people have appreciated it so much. 508 00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:26,560 And his level of whatever he's doing for them is so good. 509 00:29:26,560 --> 00:29:32,120 He is so skilled and so servantly about it that he these 510 00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:34,960 people are telling everyone in the church about it. 511 00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:38,760 They're passing along the word of his wonderful hospitality and 512 00:29:38,760 --> 00:29:40,960 service to them. This is a great man. 513 00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:44,120 Verse 6. If you send them forward on 514 00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:50,080 their journey in a manner worthy of God, you do well because they 515 00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:54,720 went forth for his name's sake, taking nothing from the 516 00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:57,920 Gentiles. As I understand this phrase, 517 00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:00,920 send them forward is not just like good luck. 518 00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:06,240 Send them forward was what it would entail is providing for 519 00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:09,400 anything they needed. It's almost like He took them 520 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:12,040 and He brought them forward along their journey. 521 00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:15,760 If they needed a place to stay, if they needed funding, if they 522 00:30:15,760 --> 00:30:19,480 needed food, if they needed encouragement, that was taking 523 00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:22,200 somebody forward. Sometimes maybe they would even 524 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:25,040 travel with them to get them going on their journey, maybe 525 00:30:25,040 --> 00:30:29,720 for safety or company. This is not just a pat on the 526 00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:34,280 back as He walks out the door. This is carrying their burden 527 00:30:34,280 --> 00:30:38,000 with them. Why is that important? 528 00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:44,320 Because these people are people who are going forth for His 529 00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:46,480 namesake. These are people who are 530 00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:51,000 preaching the gospel, doing the work of God and travelling and 531 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:56,480 being supported by Gaius. The people who do the Lord's 532 00:30:56,480 --> 00:31:02,760 work need to be supported, not just financially. 533 00:31:03,560 --> 00:31:08,600 They need to be taken forward, sent forward, like Gaius was 534 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:12,880 able to do for them. We as the church must uphold our 535 00:31:12,880 --> 00:31:19,920 preachers because these people who choose to preach are not 536 00:31:19,920 --> 00:31:22,480 taking things from the Gentiles, from the people who are not 537 00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:24,640 God's people. Now, as I understand during this 538 00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:27,760 time, some of them would actually, it was like a almost 539 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:31,800 the religious people would take donations from the community and 540 00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:33,280 that was maybe something they solicited. 541 00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:37,080 And he's saying as the teachers in the Church of Christ, he says 542 00:31:37,080 --> 00:31:39,040 we don't take things. We don't go out and solicit 543 00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:41,640 things. Hey, fund our preaching journey 544 00:31:41,640 --> 00:31:45,800 as the Church of Christ. Fund our, our, our sale. 545 00:31:47,040 --> 00:31:48,640 He said we're not going out doing that. 546 00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:52,320 And So what happens is these preachers are being left in 547 00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:58,400 whose hands? Ours preachers take a leap of 548 00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:02,320 faith where they are jumping into the unknown because they 549 00:32:02,320 --> 00:32:06,160 don't have a career in the same way that people who were served 550 00:32:06,160 --> 00:32:08,200 the Gentiles would. Where there's plenty of Gentiles 551 00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:11,200 out there to pay for your stuff. They'll take care of you if you 552 00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:15,720 have a trade or this or that. Preachers surrender and step out 553 00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:18,280 in faith. And yes, they're trusting in 554 00:32:18,280 --> 00:32:24,920 God, but they land in our hands. May we take care of them, not 555 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:27,640 just financially. That's not that's not what we 556 00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:33,160 need as humans to complete us. They trust their lives, their 557 00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:35,720 potentials, the careers they could have gone into, their 558 00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:39,760 finances, their securities, their families into our hands. 559 00:32:40,520 --> 00:32:45,240 And people like Gaius changed the game for preachers so much 560 00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:48,240 to the point that they were telling everybody about this 561 00:32:48,240 --> 00:32:57,330 guy. We therefore ought to receive 562 00:32:57,330 --> 00:33:00,690 such the word receive, as I understand, doesn't just mean 563 00:33:00,690 --> 00:33:05,210 to, OK, we'll take you. It's it meant illiterate to get 564 00:33:05,250 --> 00:33:12,130 a hold of from underneath and to lift up as we think about how we 565 00:33:12,130 --> 00:33:15,690 as individual church members support preachers. 566 00:33:16,490 --> 00:33:17,810 Let's get that image in our head. 567 00:33:18,600 --> 00:33:24,960 I'm going to get under and I'm going to lift up this person who 568 00:33:24,960 --> 00:33:30,800 is doing something for his name's sake so that we may 569 00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:34,360 become fellow workers for the truth. 570 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:43,360 We join in the same work that they do when we step up this in 571 00:33:43,360 --> 00:33:46,960 this way. Galatians chapter 6 verse 2 says 572 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:50,800 bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. 573 00:33:51,560 --> 00:33:54,480 So what does it mean to send them forward in a manner worthy 574 00:33:54,480 --> 00:33:55,920 of God? That's what he said there. 575 00:33:57,000 --> 00:33:59,520 Send them forward in a manner worthy of God. 576 00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:01,680 That's quite the modifier he put there. 577 00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:04,600 That's that's a, that's a big modification to that and a 578 00:34:04,600 --> 00:34:07,920 manner worthy of God. What does that mean #1 I believe 579 00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:10,360 it means we understand their need. 580 00:34:12,679 --> 00:34:14,360 If you're going to help somebody, you've got to 581 00:34:14,360 --> 00:34:19,480 understand their need. Side note, understanding a need, 582 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:21,199 let's look at James one, verse 27. 583 00:34:21,199 --> 00:34:23,920 He says pure and undefiled religion before God and the 584 00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:26,080 Father. Is this to give orphans and 585 00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:27,840 widows a ton of money because they're sad? 586 00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:33,560 Is that what he said? He says to visit orphans and 587 00:34:33,560 --> 00:34:37,520 widows in their trouble and to keep oneself unspotted from the 588 00:34:37,520 --> 00:34:39,600 world. What's the need of a widow? 589 00:34:40,760 --> 00:34:44,239 What's the need of an orphan? They need people. 590 00:34:50,030 --> 00:34:53,830 The loneliness people feel, the pain they feel. 591 00:34:54,270 --> 00:34:58,390 You can't buy that. People need visit. 592 00:34:59,230 --> 00:35:02,710 People need time. So when we understand the need, 593 00:35:02,790 --> 00:35:04,350 we can actually feel the need, right? 594 00:35:05,550 --> 00:35:08,390 James one verse 19 says be swift to hear. 595 00:35:09,710 --> 00:35:12,390 We can't understand the need if we're going to just jump in and 596 00:35:12,390 --> 00:35:15,160 do whatever we think without even considering the other 597 00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:17,480 person. We have to understand their 598 00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:19,240 need. So this is a good place to 599 00:35:19,240 --> 00:35:21,320 start. What would I need? 600 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:25,040 You know, after hearing what would I need if I were in their 601 00:35:25,040 --> 00:35:28,120 shoes? No, that's not the end all be 602 00:35:28,120 --> 00:35:29,360 all because they're different than you. 603 00:35:29,360 --> 00:35:31,680 They're different than me. Maybe in a different situation, 604 00:35:31,680 --> 00:35:32,920 but that's a good place to start. 605 00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:35,400 What would I need if I were doing their work? 606 00:35:35,440 --> 00:35:37,360 Well, what is their work? What do they do every day? 607 00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:40,520 What are their tiredness? What is their anxieties? 608 00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:46,680 What is their stresses? So someone who is good might do 609 00:35:46,680 --> 00:35:48,280 something that they want to contribute. 610 00:35:48,520 --> 00:35:51,280 If you were going to be someone who does something and Amanda 611 00:35:51,280 --> 00:35:56,320 worthy, worthy of God, you might do something that you want to 612 00:35:56,320 --> 00:35:58,480 contribute, say home, how can I help? 613 00:35:58,480 --> 00:36:00,880 I I want to do this, you might do something good. 614 00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:07,160 In that way, someone who does better would ask how to most 615 00:36:07,160 --> 00:36:12,480 effectively contribute. But someone who does best would 616 00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:15,600 independently identify needs and fill them. 617 00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:20,080 Now, I don't want to undermine any of these. 618 00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:22,160 I don't want to undermine someone stepping in and doing 619 00:36:22,160 --> 00:36:24,120 something they can think to do off the top of their head. 620 00:36:24,400 --> 00:36:30,400 Every good act is good. But focusing on the needs and 621 00:36:30,400 --> 00:36:35,080 finding the needs so #1 understanding their needs is how 622 00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:38,600 we can give, send them forward and support them in a manner 623 00:36:38,600 --> 00:36:40,400 worthy of God. Because these people are doing 624 00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:44,880 God's work, and we can too, in this in just a different way. 625 00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:49,600 We are equally involved #2 and most preachers aren't going to 626 00:36:49,600 --> 00:36:51,840 say, I have a laundry list of things that I need you to do to 627 00:36:51,960 --> 00:36:54,640 do for me, that I need from you. But what every preacher will 628 00:36:54,640 --> 00:36:56,880 tell you is I want people who are involved. 629 00:36:58,520 --> 00:37:01,920 Are you equally involved? To our supported evangelist 630 00:37:01,920 --> 00:37:07,000 here, I did not say, do you have as many Bible studies as Frank 631 00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:10,040 does? I didn't say do you teach in the 632 00:37:10,040 --> 00:37:14,320 pulpit like Frank does. I said, are you and am I equally 633 00:37:14,320 --> 00:37:20,640 involved in God's work? I would argue this is the most 634 00:37:20,640 --> 00:37:23,760 important thing on the list that I've thought of, or that that 635 00:37:24,240 --> 00:37:29,640 God's Word teaches. If we are equally involved, like 636 00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:31,760 people we read about in Scripture, many of the things 637 00:37:31,760 --> 00:37:34,240 will take care of themselves. Romans 16, verse one. 638 00:37:34,240 --> 00:37:37,800 I commend to you Phoebe, our sister, who is a servant of the 639 00:37:37,800 --> 00:37:41,120 church in Tantria, that you may receive her in the Lord and a 640 00:37:41,120 --> 00:37:44,080 manner worthy of the Saints, and assist her in whatever business 641 00:37:44,080 --> 00:37:47,480 she has needed you for. Indeed, she has been a helper of 642 00:37:47,480 --> 00:37:52,520 many and in myself also. Paul writing this letter notices 643 00:37:52,520 --> 00:37:54,440 the people who are really there to serve. 644 00:37:54,920 --> 00:37:57,840 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers. 645 00:37:57,880 --> 00:38:00,640 There it is, people who are involved in the work. 646 00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:04,200 Are they doing it the same way? No, but they're involved to 647 00:38:04,200 --> 00:38:08,000 where Paul felt like I've got people there with me in Christ 648 00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:10,000 Jesus who risked their own necks. 649 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:12,800 That's investment, risking their own necks. 650 00:38:12,800 --> 00:38:15,720 They're involved, just in a different way. 651 00:38:16,280 --> 00:38:19,040 To whom not only I give thanks, but all the churches of the 652 00:38:19,040 --> 00:38:21,600 Gentiles. Greet my beloved Epinatus, who 653 00:38:21,600 --> 00:38:23,440 is the 1st fruits of Akia for Christ. 654 00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:26,160 Greet Mary, who labored much for us. 655 00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:31,520 Does it say what she did? No, but she was involved, great 656 00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:34,280 Andronicus and Junior, my countrymen and my fellow 657 00:38:34,280 --> 00:38:37,160 prisoners. Does it say what they did? 658 00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:40,400 No, it tells you how involved they were, How deep did they go? 659 00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:46,880 They were in prison who are of note among the apostles, as also 660 00:38:46,880 --> 00:38:51,040 were in Christ before me. I can go on and on, but the next 661 00:38:51,040 --> 00:38:53,880 one I think of is Barnabas. He is described in his 662 00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:59,640 Scriptures as the encourager. I think I mixed up the order of 663 00:38:59,640 --> 00:39:02,000 my slides. But as he's described as the 664 00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:10,600 encourager, it doesn't just say that, you know, he told people 665 00:39:10,600 --> 00:39:12,840 nice things and that's good. That's not, there's nothing 666 00:39:12,840 --> 00:39:15,080 wrong with that. But how was he an encourager? 667 00:39:15,680 --> 00:39:17,480 It was through all the things that he did. 668 00:39:17,680 --> 00:39:20,560 He stood with Paul. When Paul was converted, nobody 669 00:39:20,560 --> 00:39:23,240 wanted to stand with him. They're afraid of him. 670 00:39:23,240 --> 00:39:26,520 This guy, this seems sketchy. He stood with Paul and he 671 00:39:26,520 --> 00:39:28,520 welcomed him when nobody else would. 672 00:39:28,840 --> 00:39:31,440 He even accompanied Paul on his missionary journeys. 673 00:39:31,760 --> 00:39:36,160 He sold his land to donate to the work of Christ in the book 674 00:39:36,160 --> 00:39:37,960 of Acts. He was one of those people. 675 00:39:38,720 --> 00:39:41,800 And then he helped lead the members in the Antioch church. 676 00:39:44,120 --> 00:39:49,720 And Barnabas was somebody who exemplified who's being prepared 677 00:39:49,720 --> 00:39:52,280 to sacrifice. Thirdly, I can think of if we're 678 00:39:52,280 --> 00:39:56,600 going to send preachers forward in a manner worthy of God, we're 679 00:39:56,600 --> 00:40:03,160 prepared to sacrifice. If we want to be involved, we 680 00:40:03,160 --> 00:40:09,360 got to be prepared to sacrifice. That's the mindset Jesus teaches 681 00:40:09,360 --> 00:40:11,160 to save some time. I'm going to keep on moving. 682 00:40:12,440 --> 00:40:15,440 In First Samuel 24 verse 24 we have a great example of this 683 00:40:15,440 --> 00:40:18,000 where David is going to give a sacrifice to the Lord. 684 00:40:18,960 --> 00:40:23,320 And somebody offers him their land for him to do the sacrifice 685 00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:26,480 on. And David says no, but I will 686 00:40:26,480 --> 00:40:28,400 surely buy it from you for a price. 687 00:40:28,560 --> 00:40:32,080 Nor will Ioffer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that 688 00:40:32,080 --> 00:40:37,720 which costs me nothing. What is a sacrifice if it 689 00:40:37,720 --> 00:40:43,560 doesn't cost us anything? If we're going to support 690 00:40:43,560 --> 00:40:47,800 preachers and the support those who are working for God, we have 691 00:40:47,800 --> 00:40:52,240 to be prepared to sacrifice next. 692 00:40:52,400 --> 00:40:54,480 We are. It means that we are as 693 00:40:54,480 --> 00:41:00,480 consistent as they are. You know, I think if if if a 694 00:41:00,480 --> 00:41:02,520 preacher wasn't at their congregation, if Frank wasn't 695 00:41:02,520 --> 00:41:07,680 here, especially on the day that he was going to teach, things 696 00:41:07,680 --> 00:41:12,280 would not function the same. And so we see a very functional 697 00:41:12,280 --> 00:41:14,200 role like that. And we think a preacher, a 698 00:41:14,200 --> 00:41:16,160 conversate congregation needs a preacher. 699 00:41:16,840 --> 00:41:19,560 You would notice if that was not happening, if there was not 700 00:41:19,560 --> 00:41:25,480 someone there to preach. But if the members are not 701 00:41:25,480 --> 00:41:31,680 consistent, like the preacher, is the congregation really what 702 00:41:31,680 --> 00:41:33,720 is it? It might look like there's a 703 00:41:33,720 --> 00:41:36,560 service functioning, but is that congregation alive? 704 00:41:36,560 --> 00:41:40,200 And I'm not making any accusations here, to be clear. 705 00:41:40,200 --> 00:41:42,560 I think we, I think we have so many good things happening. 706 00:41:43,160 --> 00:41:44,800 I'm offering this challenge to myself. 707 00:41:44,840 --> 00:41:46,920 That's what I'm thinking of when I teach this, when I'm going 708 00:41:46,920 --> 00:41:51,880 over this. Are we as consistent as the 709 00:41:51,880 --> 00:41:53,880 preacher is? I want you to think about your 710 00:41:53,880 --> 00:41:57,200 role like like if Frank were up here preaching and he didn't 711 00:41:57,200 --> 00:41:59,600 show up. That's the hole that is left 712 00:41:59,600 --> 00:42:04,120 when you don't involve yourself completely. 713 00:42:05,160 --> 00:42:11,080 It's just any different way. May we stand in that 714 00:42:11,080 --> 00:42:14,840 consistency. And finally on this list I have. 715 00:42:15,560 --> 00:42:17,600 It means we will adapt our supports. 716 00:42:17,600 --> 00:42:19,040 And we've already talked about Barnabas. 717 00:42:19,400 --> 00:42:22,880 Barnabas was supporting in many ways. 718 00:42:23,880 --> 00:42:26,760 May we be willing to adapt our supports because sometimes we 719 00:42:26,760 --> 00:42:31,680 get like, hey, this is what I'm willing to do and I'll take my 720 00:42:31,680 --> 00:42:33,600 hands off of that. I got one responsibility. 721 00:42:33,600 --> 00:42:36,360 I'm willing to take on Barnabas. Look at all these different 722 00:42:36,360 --> 00:42:41,520 things he was willing to do filling needs involves having 723 00:42:41,520 --> 00:42:44,760 some flexibility, having some adaptability. 724 00:42:46,800 --> 00:42:50,280 OK finally to finish up, I'm not going to spend long here goes on 725 00:42:50,280 --> 00:43:04,560 to say after identifying how we get the verse there verse 8A lot 726 00:43:04,560 --> 00:43:07,840 of slides in between there. So he said, We therefore ought 727 00:43:07,840 --> 00:43:10,800 to receive such that we may become fellow workers for the 728 00:43:10,800 --> 00:43:13,480 truth. Verse 9 He then says. 729 00:43:20,120 --> 00:43:24,000 I wrote to the church, but diotrophes who loves to have the 730 00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:27,160 preeminence, He loves to have the 1st place among them. 731 00:43:27,400 --> 00:43:29,880 He likes to be in the spotlight. He wants to be the most 732 00:43:29,880 --> 00:43:33,160 important. This man among them does not 733 00:43:33,160 --> 00:43:35,760 receive us. So here's an example of someone 734 00:43:35,880 --> 00:43:39,320 who is not receiving in a way that is worthy of God. 735 00:43:41,440 --> 00:43:42,880 And if you and I think you know it. 736 00:43:44,160 --> 00:43:47,880 There are problems today. John was one of the apostles 737 00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:51,160 writing this letter and they were already causing problems 738 00:43:51,160 --> 00:43:52,400 with him. So this is nothing new. 739 00:43:52,560 --> 00:43:54,960 This is from the beginning that this stuff was happening. 740 00:43:55,360 --> 00:43:58,000 Verse 10. Therefore, if I come, I will 741 00:43:58,000 --> 00:44:02,040 call to mind his deeds, which he does, praying against us with 742 00:44:02,040 --> 00:44:05,680 malicious words. That word praying means unjustly 743 00:44:05,680 --> 00:44:12,120 accusing or empty accusations or unfounded charges. 744 00:44:13,560 --> 00:44:17,880 So the problem is not that this man diotrophies as calling John 745 00:44:17,880 --> 00:44:21,480 out, it's that it's completely unfounded. 746 00:44:21,480 --> 00:44:24,480 It's completely empty. And the whole theme we've been 747 00:44:24,480 --> 00:44:26,960 talking about is truth. If something is completely 748 00:44:26,960 --> 00:44:33,680 invalid and completely baseless, then this person's parading and 749 00:44:33,680 --> 00:44:39,680 their words are wrong. And not content with that, he 750 00:44:39,680 --> 00:44:43,480 himself does not receive the brethren and forbids those who 751 00:44:43,480 --> 00:44:45,440 wish to putting them out of the church. 752 00:44:46,320 --> 00:44:50,000 So it's not good for us to just put up all these walls with 753 00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:53,720 people to where we make it more and more strict to where nobody 754 00:44:53,720 --> 00:44:56,440 is even. We're putting up all these walls 755 00:44:56,760 --> 00:45:02,360 because we can end the process, rule out people who are doing 756 00:45:02,360 --> 00:45:05,640 truth. And so our accusations cannot be 757 00:45:05,640 --> 00:45:08,400 unfair. They cannot be based on anything 758 00:45:08,400 --> 00:45:14,080 other than truth and what's right according to action and 759 00:45:14,080 --> 00:45:17,600 scripture. Beloved, do not imitate what is 760 00:45:17,600 --> 00:45:21,960 evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but 761 00:45:21,960 --> 00:45:24,240 he who does evil has not seen God. 762 00:45:25,160 --> 00:45:28,280 He ends with a positive. Demetrius has a good testimony 763 00:45:28,280 --> 00:45:31,960 from all and from the truth itself, and we also bear 764 00:45:31,960 --> 00:45:36,040 witness, and you know that our testimony is true. 765 00:45:37,320 --> 00:45:39,280 I had many things to write, but I don't. 766 00:45:39,400 --> 00:45:42,000 I but I do not wish to write to you with pen and ink. 767 00:45:42,920 --> 00:45:45,680 But I hope to see you all shortly and we shall speak face 768 00:45:45,680 --> 00:45:47,120 to face. There it is again. 769 00:45:47,600 --> 00:45:51,960 You might leave with a lot of questions as I do, but some of 770 00:45:51,960 --> 00:45:55,040 those things have to be worked out in conversations where the 771 00:45:55,040 --> 00:45:58,920 wisdom of Scripture is worked through and considerations are 772 00:45:58,920 --> 00:46:01,400 given to all these things. He says peace to you. 773 00:46:01,760 --> 00:46:05,120 Our friends greet you greet the friends by name. 774 00:46:05,160 --> 00:46:08,360 He ends with a note of fellowship, of camaraderie and 775 00:46:08,360 --> 00:46:11,160 positivity. So walking away from this number 776 00:46:11,160 --> 00:46:13,160 one, may we lead with loving fellowship. 777 00:46:13,960 --> 00:46:20,800 We're not leading with this untrusting mindset, but we lead 778 00:46:20,800 --> 00:46:23,880 with fellowship and love. But that there are limitations 779 00:46:23,880 --> 00:46:25,960 to our fellowship. And may we base that on truth. 780 00:46:27,480 --> 00:46:29,720 And we've been looking over some examples of what loving 781 00:46:29,720 --> 00:46:34,000 hospitality looks like. But watch out if we put up 782 00:46:34,000 --> 00:46:36,560 barriers that we shouldn't put up because of the damage they 783 00:46:36,560 --> 00:46:39,360 can cause with people like Diotrophes. 784 00:46:39,760 --> 00:46:43,320 That's our study today. Do you have fellowship with him? 785 00:46:44,400 --> 00:46:47,920 And I pray that we are teaching truth and walking in truth so 786 00:46:47,920 --> 00:46:50,280 that we can have fellowship together with him. 787 00:46:50,280 --> 00:46:55,240 And if you're not in that place, you can start today to begin 788 00:46:55,240 --> 00:46:58,440 this walk. We learned that hearing is how 789 00:46:58,440 --> 00:47:00,760 you learn to believe. You can't believe before you 790 00:47:00,760 --> 00:47:03,200 hear. So Romans 10 verse 17 gives us 791 00:47:03,200 --> 00:47:06,960 that foundational step. And upon hearing, we can believe 792 00:47:07,880 --> 00:47:10,600 according to Mark 16, verse 16, that Jesus Christ is the Son of 793 00:47:10,600 --> 00:47:14,840 God and He died for our sins and is our Savior and we can repent 794 00:47:14,840 --> 00:47:17,120 of our past life. If we are really one who 795 00:47:17,120 --> 00:47:20,800 believes, we will repent and we will trust in Him with our 796 00:47:20,800 --> 00:47:25,320 action more than just a mental belief, and we will confess 797 00:47:25,440 --> 00:47:28,760 before men that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and be baptized 798 00:47:28,760 --> 00:47:32,520 for the remission of our sins. Mark 16, verse 16, if you 799 00:47:32,520 --> 00:47:35,640 started that walk, but you need to get back on the right path. 800 00:47:36,320 --> 00:47:39,920 There is a place for that in this earth where we are going. 801 00:47:41,840 --> 00:47:45,040 What's done is done. But today we have an opportunity 802 00:47:45,040 --> 00:47:47,520 wherever we stand to be right with God and make it right with 803 00:47:47,520 --> 00:47:49,440 God. Please do that while we stand 804 00:47:49,440 --> 00:47:50,000 and while we stand.