THREE TYPES OF CHURCH PEOPLE IN THIRD JOHN

Church members have great potential and also can cause grave problems. Some are to be commended and others confronted. John does both in his third letter. 

Those commended serve as bookends to the one confronted. So, the Apostle commences and concludes the epistle on a positive note. The middle section pulls no punches in exposing a problem person in the congregation.

First, he describes GAIUS THE GENEROUS, (v. 1-8). Old John loved this man. He prayed for him to prosper materially and physically in measure as he did spiritually. He knew Gaius would be a good steward of his time, talent, and treasure, for Gaius had demonstrated his love for the Lord and support of the needy. John rejoiced in how Gaius was walking in the truth. He knew that when missionaries came to the church, Gaius would support them in their work. Such church people are a great joy to their pastor!  I have known many such generous souls across the years that God blessed in order for them to be a blessing. 

But, secondly, John turns to DIOTREPHES THE DOMINATOR, (v. 9-11). He was a “church boss,” a member who acted as a mobster. He sought the preeminent position of power. He wanted in the spotlight. His attitude was like that of some members I have known, “I was here when the preacher came and I will be here when he leaves—and if he doesn’t watch out, he will be gone sooner than later!”  Such are troublemakers who like to throw their weight around. They have a venomous tongue and spout “malicious words.” Such must be called out or they will do great harm to the Gospel work. Sadly, the Devil has these planted in many churches. 

Thirdly, the Apostle ends with a glowing word about DEMETRIUS THE DEVOUT, (v. 12-14). Those who knew him were quick to laud him. If you took the plumb-line of Scripture and placed it beside Demetrius, you would see how straight he was doctrinally and morally!  John was delighted in such devotion. As discouraging as a Diotrephes can be, a Demetrius is heartening. People like this fuel the pastors fire to go serve the Lord. They serve as deacons, teach Bible studies, care for children, prepare the building for the worship service, greet the newcomers, collect the offering, and on and on we might go. They are often unsung heroes who shun the spotlight, but the Lord is taking note and their reward waits in glory!

Thank God, that having pastored churches for around a half century, I have had the joy of seeing many generous and devoted souls like Gaius and Demetrius. I will admit I have been wounded by a few seeking domination, but when they demanded that I leave, so far they were the ones who eventually left!  So, preacher remember that those who are for you are usually more than those against you. Supremely, since God is for you, who can be against you?  If Diotrephes has his way and runs you off, shake the dust off your feet, and move on to your next assignment! Jesus—the only perfect Preacher was rejected, so we must not think we can please everyone!

A PETITION FOR PERCEPTION

Over and again, we find Paul recording his passion for the people of God in his petitions offered for them. In Colossians 2:2-3, we hear his prayer for the churches of Colossae and Laodecia. His plea is for their perception of God—His ways, His will, and His work. 

His prayer is for them to have encouragement in the great realities of God. To know Him and experience the Infinite One is to drink from a fountain that flows forever. What could be more fulfilling?

He pleads for them to be enmeshed in the glorious love of God—hearts knit together with love for Christ and His church. Being in union with the Lord enables us to be bound to one another.

His petition is for them to be educated in the grand mystery of God. 

Here is the source of this mystery. This truth once hidden during the Old Testament is now unveiled in the New Testament—fully revealed in the person of Christ. To see Him is to see God. To hear Him is to hear God. To know Him is to know God. 

This leads to the scope of this mystery. The Apostle speaks of “full assurance,” and “all the treasures.”  These come to us in theological instruction—that is “understanding” and “knowledge.”  These truths inform our thoughts and inspire our zeal. This leads to practical application—“wisdom.”  This is truth that informs and inspires us to go beyond what we know to how we live. It impacts our head, heart, and hands.

As a preacher, I need to be praying this for my congregation. As a member of the church, you ought to be seeking to perceive this reality in the revelation of God in Christ. May this Lord’s Day find the pulpits proclaiming the great treasures of truth and the pews filled with eager listeners soaking it in, intent to live it out!

LOOK UP!

The dungeon was dark and damp.  Rodents raced across the floor and fleas gnawed at the flesh. The smell of sweat and urine hung heavy in the air.  The sound of men cursing and crying reverberated off the stone walls. Soon, there would be other sounds—iron soled boots echoing as soldiers marched down the corridor, the clanging of a key turning a lock, the squealing of a heavy iron door swinging on rusty hinges, and the brusk command, “Come with me.”  The old preacher would have his head laid on the chopping block, the sharp sword of the executioner would fall—head one way, body another, soul another—and Paul, the Apostle would be set free from this sinful world and be welcomed into glory.  Knowing his time was short, he penned these final words.  

By no means, do I count myself worthy to be named in the same sentence as that champion of faith, but I can share his words that are so fitting in the times we live. God wiling, that is our planned course of study for the week—Paul’s final days in these final days of 2020.  My call to you is to “Look up!”

THE DEVOTION GOD DELIGHTS IN

All the days of his separation he shall be holy to the LORD. (Numbers 6:8)

God takes delight in those devoted to Him.  As a human father finds joy when someone says,  "He looks just like you!" or "She acts like her Daddy!" thus the Heavenly Father rejoices when His children favor Him.  He is holy and calls us to be holy.

In the passage before us--Numbers 6--we see those who passionately pursued holiness.  They were called Nazirites.  This vow was voluntary.  It was not from any outward compulsion, but an inward conviction that the man or woman choose this special consecration to God.  The word, "Nazirite," means "separation," and speaks of those who have separated themselves to God to a special degree.

God delights in those who serve Him--not from grudging obligation, but in glad devotion.  There is a vast difference between my saying, "I've got to go to worship today," and "I get to go to worship today!"  The former is like the husband who brings his wife a hamburger, tosses it on the table, while he retreats to the recliner and immerses himself in TV, contrasted with the husband who takes his wife out to a nice dinner and is engrossed in conversation with her.  It is not the giver who feels compelled to give--paying his debt to God as he or she pays the government taxes--but, the giver who fervently celebrates to give--expressing love for the Lord in response to His generosity to him or her--that God loves.

Sounds extreme, doesn't it?  How excessive is God's love for us?  Higher than the heavens, deeper than the oceans, wider than the universe, and longer than time--from eternity to eternity--most graphically expressed in the indescribable suffering of Christ for sinners like we are!  No wonder after Paul spent eleven chapters in Romans developing the doctrine of justification by faith, that he would give the call to complete sanctification in the remaining chapters as our proper response--the pivotal verses being 12:1-2:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1-2)

The Nazirite's joy was not to be found in the world, but in the Lord.  He or she must be willing to bear the reproach of being, "different," because of devotion.  Anything defiling was to be scrupulously avoided.  This is to be our response to God's amazing grace!

Is it surprising that after the dedication expressed by the Nazirites, that we have the benediction exclaimed by the Lord?  This is the devotion that brings God delight!  Nothing brings God pleasure more than when we exhibit such pleasure in Him.  Aaron would call upon God for provision, protection, and peace for God's people--and how we need that today!  Our devotion is the unobstructed channel through which those blessings flow.

ALL IN

 

 

And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.  I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.  (Jeremiah 29:13-14)

God does not want half-heartedness.  To be partially faithful is to be wholly unfaithful.  How do you think your spouse would react if you said, “Honey, I will love you 364 days out of the year, but on just one night I am going to share my love with someone else”?  Yet, we often have divided affections when it comes to the Lover of our souls.  The truth is that we have as much of God as we want.  The only issue is—do we have a passion for Him?   God’s Spirit, by His Word, summons us to seek Him today—particularly and persistently.  He promises the great delight of Himself in His fullness when we do!  I am a fool not to do that.  The world promises much, but the pleasures of sin are a cheap thrill that leave us emptier than before we indulged.  It is like trying to quench your thirst by drinking water from the ocean—the more you swallow, the thirstier you become—and it leads to madness and death.  Only God can satisfy our soul—and He does it to overflow!  He gives rivers of living water flowing from our innermost being.  Lord, forgive us for our unfaithfulness.  Renew our focus on You as we repent of our carnal distractions.  Today, we set our heart on You alone!  Let us be “all in.”

ENJOYING GOD

 

For behold, He who forms mountains, And creates the wind, Who declares to man what his thought is, And makes the morning darkness, Who treads the high places of the earth— The LORD God of hosts is His name.  (Amos 4:13)

God alone is the Fountain of Life—the Spring from Whom we may drink and find satisfaction.  All the wells of this world, promise much, yet are as drinking water from the ocean—the more you consume, the thirstier you become.  No wonder that Hell is a place of endless thirst, for it is a place devoid of the Presence of God except for His wrath.

A foretaste of Heaven can be ours, as we enjoy the Blessed Lord now.  We are invited to drink deeply from the well of salvation, in anticipation of the River that flows from the throne of God above, that we shall enjoy eternally.

Who is this God that we may enjoy today?

Amos describes Him as, “He who forms mountains.”  The God who has molded the mountains, can shape us into His grand design.  The Potter takes the human clay and forms us on the wheel of Providence for His glorious purposes. 

He “creates the wind.”  Where does the wind come from?  The Creator has ordained the refreshing breeze to blow.  He sends the Wind of His Spirit to blow upon us as we wilt under the searing sun of this world’s harsh environment, causing us to stand erect and bloom in beauty.

The Eternal Word “declares to man what his thought is.”  We can know the mind of Omniscience for He reveals Himself in His Book, and instructs us by His Spirit.  Imagine—we are directed by the One Who knows the end from the beginning and in every twist and turn of life’s road will show us the way as an unerring Guide! 

Our God “makes the morning darkness,” as when the Jews in the wilderness had the pillar of cloud by day to overshadow them.  In the desert of this spiritual wilderness we must travel, we are sheltered under His shadow. 

He “ treads the high places of the earth.”  It is our privilege to walk with Him, and gaze upon the wondrous vistas and breathe in the exhilarating air—and what a Companion we have to enjoy it with!  Surely there are valleys we must travel through, but He brings us to mountaintop experiences as well.

He is “The LORD”—the Great I AM.  Whatever we need, He is I AM: I am Bread when you are hungry; Water when you are thirsty; Rest when you are weary; Comfort when you are troubled; Mercy when you need forgiveness; Strength when you are challenged; Refuge when you are threatened…and we could go on and on.  God does not supply these needs apart from Himself, but imparts Himself as the fulfillment of the need—an Inexhaustible Supply as an Infinite Source. 

He is “God of hosts” who directs the armies of Heaven—His angel soldiers that He sends to encamp around those who fear Him, therefore, we need fear no man, nor circumstance.  Not even the demons of Hell are a match for Him!  He that brought down the Dragon, and crushed him will grind Satan beneath our feet.

Let Him be the center of our thoughts, the focus of our affections, the goal of our steps—our magnificent obsession.  What a difference that would make!  Do not be detoured from the One thing, even by other good, but lesser things.  As the Westminster Shorter Catechism puts it, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy Him forever.”

THERE’S HOPE FOR THE CHURCH THAT EXALTS THE SAVIOR: Our Practice as Worship

“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Colossians 3:17 NKJV)

When I’m talking about our practice as worship, please don’t jump to the conclusion that I am talking about practice for worship—as in the band getting together to work on their chords or the choir rehearsal.  That is all well and good, but I’m talking about putting into practice what is preached.  The greatest expression of worship is not tossing a few dollars into the offering or singing several choruses, but the giving of our total being in delightful devotion to God every day of the week.

In many ways such an individual consecration readies one for joining other devotees in a combustible explosion of corporate worship on the Lord’s Day in God’s House.  Get a group together like that and there will be an ignition of praise!  But, not only does it culminate this way, it launches us into another week of commitment to Christ.  A renewed mind reinforced by the Word of God on Sunday, leads to my all on the altar on Monday!

Paul out it like this in Romans 12:1-2:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  ‎Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (ESV)

The real proof of whether we have met with God is what happens when we leave.  It doesn’t matter how high your jump, it’s how straight you walk when you hit the ground!  Feelings are like the tides that ebb and flow.  Commitment stays solid.   We may or may not have our hearts soar into the stratosphere of exultation on Sunday, but we can always leave the sanctuary zealous for serving Christ.  We haven’t worshipped until we do.

The acid test of a worship encounter with God is that, “whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Colossians 3:17 NKJV)  It is a simple template to remember, yet a most profound one to flesh out.  If I have honored the Name of Jesus and professed Him as Lord on Sunday, shouldn’t I demonstrate that during the week by what I say and do?  If I have actually expressed gratitude on the first day of the week, will I not be thankful on the other six days?  This is a daily surrender on the altar of all we are—in conduct and conversation to exalt the Savior.  There’s hope for the church where members live like that!