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Happy.
Hey, Cortana.
Why is this friend?
The describe a sense give some shame by life that you can have the night.
Joey Break.
We have a suggestion where to start.
3rd John, verse 9.
I wrote unto the Church, but diotrophies, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. Wherefore if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, praying against us with malicious words, and not content therewith. Neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbideth them that would and cast them out of the Church. Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God, but he that doeth evil.
Hath not seen God Demetrius hath good report of all men.
And of the truth itself. Yeah. And we also bear record. And ye know that our record is true. I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee. But I trust I shall shortly see thee. And we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee, our friends. Salute thee. Greet the friends by name.
We read here the name Diatrophies.
We talk about what he did or the evil things that he have done, but I'm thinking more.
But the time being, just the meaning of his name, and perhaps it can serve as an encouragement or discouragement, depending on how we look at it. I believe that.
00:05:13
I believe that his name means nourish nourishment from the Lord.
And I'm thinking that his name being nourishment from the Lord, do we find similarities with a lot of us here, that we have been nourished by the Lord and from the Lord? Many of us here are raised in the assembly under the sound of the ministry since we were a little child.
That's not a guarantee that will go on faithfully, is it? So here's one.
That was nourished as if he was given the best possible, but yet the result is different than what it ought to be. So I thought that perhaps could be a warning, but also a lesson for us here.
That he that receiveth you.
Receiver.
Receive it.
And it says, He that receiveth the prophets in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward.
Either receiveth the righteous man in the name of righteousness shall receive a righteous man's reward.
Whosoever shall give.
To drink until one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple. Verily I say unto you, we shall know Wise lose his reward.
And we missed the blessing, didn't it, by refusing to receive some of God's own.
On contrast to this character here, the entropies I was thinking of, verse seven and eight didn't comment on.
And the latter part of verse 6.
Whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well. Does that for his namesake. They went forth taking nothing of the Gentiles. He chose us. The value that God puts upon Christian hospitality.
In uh uh.
Taking the Lord's servants on their journey, providing for them in a temporal way and perhaps a financial way, It says we are felt.
And that's a privilege that some of us have benefited from for many years. The prayers and the the help of our brethren and the little service that the Lord has commended to us. You know, there are very few homes where the Lord Jesus was welcomed.
He was a stranger here and a homeless in a world that had no room for God. But there was one place that he found consolation and and encouragement, as we well know, the House of Bethany.
There was the Lord with that family he loved so well, Mary and Martha, and perhaps he spent some hours there and.
And they ministered to him. We know that Mary poured out that alabaster box upon his feet. But there was a home that was open to the Son of God. Who the stranger in this world.
And so he's not here now, but when we minister to the Lord's people, remember it is as if we were doing it to the Lord, and He has recorded it in the annals of eternity. As our brother read, even a cup of cold water will not lose its reward. So we think of the many sisters who labor faithfully and.
Persistently for the Lord's people in the assembly, all is reported there in the record that someday will be opened and.
Rewarded.
By our temporal help and.
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And by encouraging those that step out in the service of the Lord, that right, dear brother.
There's somewhat of a parallel scripture in Acts chapter 15.
We see that whole and part of us and others were to go to Jerusalem.
And you have an encouraging word in verse three. And being brought on their way by the church.
So they were encouraged by those that brought them on their way.
As they passed through Venus and Samaria.
Querying the conversion of the Gentiles, they could cause great joy unto all the brethren. So there was mutual encouragement, wasn't there? And then it's nice to see what it says in contrast to what we have in our chapter in verse four. And when they were come to Jerusalem.
They were received of the church.
Not thrust out as we read in our chapter.
We can we can go on and look at the problem with a diatrophy, but The thing is more profitable as we look further down because we see that the focus is not on the back bat doctrines that atrophy brought in, but the encouragement comes in verse 11. It reminds us that we have to overlook some of that. It tells us in verse 11 is that beloved follow, not that which is evil.
You know, it's so easy to look at problems and dwell on the problems.
But there are so much other things we have to do when we have to follow the Lord. So here we are encouraged to follow. And we find in the end of Romans, it tells us too, that in regard to things that are evil, what does it say is just to keep simple to the things that are evil. We don't need to know all the problems and difficulties. I'll share with you a little story.
A few years ago in the city of Toronto.
There was a man that murder 5 people and he buried them in a flower pot. It happened to be in one of my clients backyard. She they were very kind to him. They loaned him some space and that's how he repaid the kindness by showing them great beautiful flower pots with bodies in it. So I get to know my client and one day I said, yeah, maybe I should, you should share the story with me and this man. Look at me. He said, David, you are simple.
He said, before I tell you the real story, he said you have to understand that you cannot undo what you heard. Do you still want to know the story? And I knew immediately that no, I don't want to know the details. Knowing that little bit was bad enough. Don't dwell on things that are evil, follow that which is good. So it tells us that here. But that which is good, he that doeth good is of God.
But that we do what evil hath not seen God.
There's a little bit of value in considering the character of diotrephes.
The first thing that is of note about him is that he was characterized by pride. Wouldn't necessarily have been an obvious pride, but it was something that the apostle John is an apostle detected and knew was there. He loved to have the preeminence.
And you and I both know who it is that should have the preeminence. So our Lord Jesus Christ, that in all things He might have the preeminence. And yet it's in each one of our hearts to try and seek attention. And this had become the character of Diotrephes that he wanted to have the 1St place. He wanted to say what was going to happen. He wanted to be the decider. He wanted to have control.
And those are things that we need to judge in ourselves and let the Lord Jesus have control, first of my life, then of the assembly that I'm in, and then of the whole fellowship. He's the head of the church.
Not my job to take over control from him.
You see in Acts chapter 20.
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When the Lord, when Paul wrote to the OR spoke to the Ephesian elders, he spoke of the Church of God, amongst whom God has set you. I didn't quote that exactly. In the King James it says over you, but in in the Darby translation it's amongst you.
And so oversight is local and only local. And if you are part of a large assembly or grew up in one, it's helpful that there are local brothers who who know you and know your family and know your situation, know the context of the place where you live and all the rest. And so it's God's wisdom that it be that way. There is no such thing in Scripture of oversight that is beyond the local assembly.
And in the denominational world of Christianity, they've gotten that mixed up and backwards. And there are men that are placed over a churches and regions of churches and all the rest. But there is the striking absence of that in Scripture.
The other thing that sad to say is dominant in in evangelical Christianity is a person they call a pastor and depending on the situation, he is supposed to be the gospel preacher, the teacher, the visitor, the pastor, and all those other gifts. The 1St is a function of an oversight, but in Ephesians 4, and I thought someone had read that already today.
We see that the ascended Christ has given gifts and pastors and teachers, evangelists and so on, and that those are never given to a local assembly. Those are given to the church at large. And so the sphere of their ministry is not necessarily to be local. And so it's normal Christianity. If, if Wally is a teacher in in Vanceboro, he goes to cross the border to Palmyra, he's a teacher there. If he's an evangelist in in Vanceboro, he's what he is one.
Where where he is, that's normal Christianity. So the love of first place that the atrophies expressed as you say, brother God in the way of the Spirit of God's normal working in the Church of God that these brothers who visited the apostle John who wrote to them by way of ministering to them. He got in the way of all that and stopped it. And this is an aberration and not the way the Spirit of God.
Purposes to work in the Church of God.
God's appointed leader in all the affairs of the assembly and in worship and ministry in.
Assembly, the leader is the Holy Spirit, and so the Lord Jesus Christ we know is the center, but he works through his Spirit. And what is the activity of the Spirit of God? It's to exalt Christ, to glorify Christ, not man. But here we find diatrophies, as you say, you search the place that belongs to the Spirit of God.
You know what's been said too? That anybody.
That's wrapped up with themselves. Makes a very small package.
That was diatribe, but what encourages my heart?
As I look at this portion, in spite of the dead atrophies in the assembly.
We find that the apostle John speaks about Gaius and how his soul was prospering. So how does this happen?
You know, in an environment like this, he says.
Thy soul is prosperous, and you're walking in the truth.
So on. And then you have later on Demetrius, he has good report of all men.
Of the truth itself, so.
We see that in spite of this.
This negative situation.
It does not mean that there cannot be growth.
Individual in the assembly now. Am I right about that?
And you see what this diatrophies was doing. I'm just noticing the.
Mr. Darby's translation.
00:20:00
He says here.
That.
Against us with malicious words. Mr. Darby has it badly against us with wicked words.
What a terrible occupation.
And I'm content with these those that we're receiving.
True servants of Christ, neither does he himself receive the brethren. Those who would receive the brethren he prevents and cast them out of the assembly. So doesn't seem like getting much worse than attitude.
But the atrophies display.
But it's not all negative because we see how God is working even in this situation, that which is positive.
They didn't seem to be the power to deal with this man in the assembly.
Would wonder why the apostle does not.
Shall we say Commander?
The excommunication of this man, but.
You did not do so, but.
The assembly didn't seem to have the spiritual power to deal with them. Is that right?
The next chapter 5 we have several men spoken up there that.
Sort of following and one of the preeminence and.
We look at verse 36, it says before these days rose up 30th boasting himself to be somebody, to whom a number of men, about 400 joined themselves with slaying, and all as many as obeyed him or scattered and brought the knot, and we see that there was another.
That rose up as well, and we see the Council of Familial verse 39. But if it be of God, he cannot overthrow. It must happily be found, even to fight against God. So here was another case where there were two that wanted the following people to follow him, which was probably the same spirit found in diotropy.
But God came in.
In all these cases.
I take it that we still had something special here in terms of.
Power.
You were saying, Brother Bruce, that we don't have someone today.
Over assemblies in any way other than the Lord, He is certainly the one revelation.
Chapters 1-2 and three show that, don't they? That has that place and authority in the assembly, but the apostles initially had authority to deal with matters like this.
The word of God wasn't completed yet and so they didn't have everything perhaps that was needed such as we have today to be able to maybe deal with these matters with the complete word of God. So we have in our our hands. So the apostles had this authority where they could go beyond. Paul even speaks of that in first Corinthians 5, you know, with.
They were to take that action with His spirit.
And he had judged and so on. But.
Somebody correct me if I'm wrong but I think this is what the Lord spoke to them about in John chapter 20 when he rose from the dead. They said there in verse 23 who sins? Whosoever sins, you remit.
They are remitted unto them, and whosoever sins you retain, they are retained.
And that was said to the apostles. So they seem to have that Apostolic authority to do it at that time. And Paul is speaking about that here, if I understand it correctly, in verse 10, that he was going to remember what he did. And perhaps they didn't have the strength or power or authority to do it. But this was actually in some ways a higher matter because if you look at verse 9.
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John says I wrote something unto the assembly, but the atrophies who loves to have the preeminence among them?
Receives us not, and then it goes on. He doesn't receive the brethren either.
It was a very serious thing that he had refused John and said those things and I connect that with.
First on four.
In this state of things that existed before the word of God was complete.
Apostle John says there in verse 6.
We are of God. He that knoweth God heareth us.
He that is not a God here, if it's not hereby know, we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. And so they always knew what was the word of God because it had come from the apostles. This wasn't a matter of a council coming together and deciding what the Bible was. The Christians always knew. And if they were going to refuse what the apostles had said, then they were refusing the authority that the Lord had given at that time. And that's what the atrophies did. That was his first error.
To translate that into to today.
The apostles are gone and we are in the state of things that Bruce is speaking about. And what we do have is the complete word of God. And if someone's going to refuse the word of God, then it goes on to every other error such as we see the atrophy's doing. And that's what we have rampant among Christians today, whether those who take this place and refuse others who the Lord is giving gifts to, that they are not permitted to come unless they're specifically invited or maybe not at all.
And we're in that state of things.
To me, the first error here was that the apostle himself was refused. In other words, the word of God was refused.
It's interesting to think a little bit about how the Word of God does get refused. How does a man like Diotrephes get an edge? Well, there's a verse in Proverbs that tells us how that works. Warns us not to add to the word of God.
Warns that warns us not to take away from the word of God and those two things are the primary methods whereby people do that. And you can see how the Pharisees, for example, did it. They had their traditions and by their traditions they made the word of God of none effect. And that's exactly what a man like the atrophies would have worked towards bringing something up out of their culture or whatever it might have been, introducing it in and in addition to the word of God.
And then making an issue of it, he would have presented it as a holy thing such that it was something important to be grasped on to and how, and he would have built a following behind himself. So you have the power to resist the apostle in our day, what it looks like is switching something around and making something deviate and pushing something forward. That is a extension by human reasoning or otherwise, of the Word of God or it.
May make it look like.
You're following the word of God, but then that result is you don't actually follow the word of God.
And so you change the meaning of words in order to have an an.
Common behavior that is not what God intended.
And as you go through and you look at at these things and how a man like geographies works, that's the first thing that he works is to undermine the effect of the word of God, either by adding or taking away. And then the next thing that comes after it is how does he treat the people of God and based on his doctrines?
Whether it's how somebody dresses, maybe it's they came from the wrong country, maybe they talked in the wrong way, maybe their clothes were a little bit too dirty. They weren't showing him the right kind of respect. All of these things he would use as a reason in a holy way to say we don't allow that person in our assembly. And it's very challenging to think about that because when I we were talking this morning.
About somebody down in the ditch.
You know, it's a really humbling thing when you try and help somebody out of the ditch by reaching out and taking their hand. You find out that they're not the person in the ditch. You're the person in the ditch. And even though you had the knowledge, even though you had what you learned from other people and you thought you bought the truth that you needed to step out from what you thought you bought that was true and recognized it back on the road.
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You had to take the hand of somebody else and humble yourself in order to be able to walk with the Lord in truth. And so the time was coming. The Apostle John said it that he would remember Diotrephes deeds and remember no matter how somebody takes over control whatever means and methods that they use.
The Lord is still ahead of the Church.
And that's exactly how the blessing happens that Brother Wally was talking about. The Lord Jesus by His Holy Spirit can still bring blessing in spite of the impediment that man brings in the way. Praise God for His mercy and His grace.
There's a sense in which people, persons, are very complicated.
We've I've often said in my.
Work life amongst other people.
It would be helpful if people came with with a crane chart. In other words, if.
If you have a crane, you can look on a chart and you can see pretty much exactly what it's capable of doing, how much load and at what radius and etcetera. And it can handle this much over this side, this much over the front, this much over the back, etcetera. And we sometimes joke you get people and you wish they came with a crane chart because you you gain confidence in a person and and then a situation comes up and you and, and they.
They fall apart and you say, wow, I didn't expect that it wasn't on the chart. And we we kind of say that a little tongue in cheek because, you know, we're raising up young people in, in in the work world. And so it's interesting to me in this chapter that.
The Apostle John assessed Diatrophy's deeds. Wherefore verse 10? Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds.
And he let he.
Lists out, you know, praying against us with wicked words. He doesn't receive the brethren. He forbids them that would and cast them out of the church. These are actions and it doesn't require us often times, and we're wrong to get too complicated about people.
Because people are complex in a certain sense and each, each human is unique, but the word of God is the word of God, as you were saying, and even a child is known by his doings. And so without getting all complicated about it, a person that the apostle John essentially says, correct me if I'm wrong. He's doing evil deeds. It's clear and he lists what they are and then he says in simplicity, beloved, verse 11.
Follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God. He that doeth evil have not seen God. This is a very serious indictment of daughter fees. But it's not like sometimes brothers not to tell tales out of school, but sometimes brothers can be in brothers meetings, AKA care meetings and get into people's personalities and what you think about their whole situation, you know?
It's better to be simpler about it and to assess the deeds because God manifests what people are sooner or later, and when he manifests something that is egregious, that is very serious, then the Word of God makes the decision for us and we just have to follow the Word.
It's not for us to decide whether fornication is evil and should be put away. Our only responsibility is, is it fornication? The word of God decides what to do about it. And so here I, I in a certain sense admire, I very much admire the simplicity of the apostle John's reasoning here. And he assesses the deeds, calls the spade a spade, if we could put it that way. It's this is the fruit that comes from that kind of tree.
When I come, it will be dealt with. There's no panic here.
We not not to his panic in the assembly.
When we're young, maybe I'm the only one who thought this, we think the assembly is made, the local assembly is made out of China and we don't.
Fix it by next Lord's Day, or at least by the next brothers meeting. What's going to happen here? Everything's going to go upside. And as the years go on, we learn to not to be slack. We need to be diligent in the Lord's business. But on the other hand, be patient. Wait on the Lord so that we're clear if it's a decision that the assembly has to make. And we need to wait on our brethren so that the consciences of the brethren in the assembly.
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Are clear in it as well, because that's where the power of the authority is.
That is the practical expression to acknowledge that the Lords in our midst, because it is dependent on you and I to come up with a with the right decision, then that will be our decision. We need to acknowledge that the Lord's in the midst, and I think we've already mentioned the Spirit is in the midst of the assembly guiding with this decision.
A servant of the Lord is responsible to the Lord for the exercise of that gift, not responsible to the assembly. The Lord has given a gift to a brother. He is to minister as of the ability that the Lord gives him. However, if he steps out of line and we have in Diotrephes, he is a source of.
Of discord and trouble in the assembly. Then he would have to be dealt with because every one of us are either a hindrance or a help in the assembly and.
We we are responsible to the Lord for the exercise of our gift and.
And that our brethren will recognize that. But this, this man here was, was really a troublemaker. And he was.
He was spoiling, devastating the unity and the assembly wherever it was here.
It could not be tolerated, is that right?
Did the apostle mentions that he was going to deal with it?
Find a very interesting just following up with what brother Tim said. Add to it first John 2.
Little Children Verse 18 Little children, it is the last time. And as you have heard, that Antichrist shall come, even now there are many antichrists, whereby we know that it is the last time.
Of the last I think it might read our They went out from us, but they were not of us. That's the apostles. They went out from us. They were not of us, or if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us, but they went out.
That they might be made manifest. That they were not all of us. By the time we come to the third epistle, there's a further decline. Dr. Please didn't go out. He's still there.
And having refused to receive what John had wrote, I would class him in with those who confess not that Jesus Christ was coming flesh.
Or confessed that he was the Son of God.
Or confess that he was the Christ.
And he refuses what the apostle wrote and what he taught. And so the apostle doesn't speak just of himself, but he had written personally. But.
Doctor, please receive with not us the apostles, because they were the witnesses we find in first John 11. They had seen him which was from the beginning that which we have seen, that which we have heard that which we have seen and so on. They bore witness to that. Doctor Fees refuses that but in the exhortations and the the parentheses that takes up growth in the family of God, the apostle says in verse 20 of chapter 2.
But you have an unction from the Holy One, and know all things. And then he says in verse 27, Or let me read verse 26. But these things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, And ye need not that any man teach you, but there's the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and His truth, and there's no lie, even as as it hath taught you, you shall abide in Him.
00:40:13
I believe doctor fees and refusing the apostles and seeking the preeminence, very likely one of those teachers of Gnostic doctrine that set himself up as to be a guru. And if you want to know the truth, you have to come to me.
And he rejects what the apostle had written, He rejects what the witness of the apostles had brought. And he said, you need to come to me and I will show you the way to our elevated spiritual state. I will show you the way to true light. But he refuses.
The apostles, the other thing that is manifest in his life, he doesn't love his brethren. It's a manifestation of eternal life.
Is love for your brethren?
And so the epistles of John, the Gospel of John, takes up the manifestation of eternal life and the person of the Son of God.
But the epistles in the Saints.
Geographies did not manifest eternal life. He didn't have a love for his brother. And so I think he would be classed among those that the apostle addresses in the first epistle. But there's a decline. He hasn't gone out, he's still there.
Well, the Third Epistle of John doesn't take up church truth. This isn't 1St Corinthians 5.
With instructions to deal with a wicked person and so on. That's not the subject. Subject is eternal life manifested in the Saints. Well, Gaius, you go on in the manifestation of eternal life yourself. I'll take care of the atrophies when I come. We're in a day of breakdown and weakness.
What is our responsibility? And again, if we wanted to turn to Paul's doctrine, we take up another line of things, right? But that's not Paul's doctrine. What is our responsibility in this day of ruin where it's gotten so bad they haven't even gone out?
You go on in the manifestation of eternal life.
You go on and be a fellow helper to the truth of God.
You'll find companions that also manifest that same life, that have that life in the sun, and you go on with them.
And you leave the rest to me, really in our day, leaving the rest of the Lord. Does that mean we go on in fellowship with evil? Well, we can go to Paul's doctrine and take up that line of things, but that's not right here. Here is the positive encouragement. You go on. There's another brother over here. He has a good report. He is the manifestation of eternal life. You go on with him. And so it's that positive exhortation.
So they have to sort of keep Paul's doctrine separate from John's in that way. It's really not taking up assembly truth, though he speaks of the assembly.
But it's John's doctor.
That's very nice, Steve. There's a problem I see though, is with us.
We looked at this and we sometimes use this phrase. Everybody is doing it. Everyone seems to be a diatrophy and I'm alone. We have a few of that now. First of all, when we use the phrase everybody, I don't believe every single individual that you're referring to.
There are always some that are not the everybody that we think so in this chapter is tells us right away. There's a guy named Demetrius. So we keep dwelling on the bad, forgetting that the Lord throughout Scripture tells us that he always reserved for himself a testimony. We have to remember that now how many there are that are like Demetrius. It doesn't matter. It's not we're not told from what I understand.
Demetrius, as you like the mysterious, would you like to walk with him? Verse 12, the mysterious path. Good report of all men. What a commendation. And of the truth itself, What is truth? You know, early on we said, well, what doctrines? Well, it's like, what is truth? Well, simple answers, thy word is true. So we need to know the word of God and of the truth. Yeah, we also bear record, and ye know that our record is true.
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So here's the testimony, not just saying his name. So the Lord said, some testimonies aside for us, are you willing to be, perhaps you may be the Demetrius in that assembly?
That is 4 witnesses there isn't it Brother David?
It's all men in the beginning. Then the truth itself is really interesting because it seems to personify the truth there.
Might wonder what does that mean. Well, if you take the truth of God and compare it to Demetrius, they grieve. So the truth is a witnessing to what he was doing and then it says and we also bear record. That's the third one. The apostle John says so and you know our record is true. They knew it was true. He had a witness in four ways here as to his testimony that it was right. He was walking in the truth.
And I think that's really important because.
It's easy sometimes to start thinking, well, I don't care.
What other people think of how I'm living my life. It only matters what the Lord thinks. But Scripture doesn't speak that way, does it? Our testimony matters. And how?
How we represent the truth of God before man and the world itself matters and you always see that. And just one verse going to mention Second Corinthians.
Paul speaks of it there in chapter 8.
He says in verse 21, providing for honest things.
Not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of man.
It is really important that we look at this wonderful example of Demetrius and realize that that's set out for us too, that we have a testimony and it isn't trying to make ourselves appear a certain way, but it's living our lives for the Lord in such a way that that testimony is evident in every sphere around us.
That goes back to first John I will walk is light to this world with to bear witness this just read a verse quick briefly in first John chapter one.
Five, Then this is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not do not the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son plantseth us from our sin.
Of course, John's A ministry has often been noted is he speaks absolutely.
He speaks of what a believer is characteristically.
He doesn't take in the.
The thought of failure.
As we read in the first epistle, he would commit a sin is of the devil. So you have to see in John's writing he is speaking characteristically. He got.
In first John chapter 3 there he refers to the the two natures but.
We have to see the the the way in which he presents the truth and.
And and the the error that if a person is not manifesting the character of Christ, righteousness, love, light and the other characteristics, we have no assurance that he is truly a believer.
And this was this, we're not sure whether biotrophies.
Was a believer or not? To what? What do you think? Do you think he he probably was a believer, but he certainly wasn't manifesting the the character of Christ.
I've wondered the same question John, but I just think verse 11 is so plain. He that doeth good is of God. There's Demetrius.
He that doeth evil hath not seen gone. And so really we're not entitled, I don't think, to look at doctor fees and say he was a believer. The Lord knoweth them that are his. But I don't think we're entitled to look at him and say he was a believer because of what we see manifested there. There's not the manifestation of eternal life.
00:50:23
Just of darkness.
Very strange. Some time ago I was reading an article in the National Geographic about Ethiopia.
And they were talking about the Coptic Christians there, and I was surprised to learn that they have.
Elevated Pontius Pilate as one of their Saints.
I'm really surprised me when I read that.
And I don't know whether they take it on the basis of have nothing to do with this righteous man, but it was in his power to release the Lord Jesus and he failed in that, didn't He?
I was thinking too in John's writing he have this theme in common that he's not telling us what to do or or in this case, was I atrophy a Christian or not? I was thinking. At the end of John's Gospel, a similar question was raised. Let's turn to John, chapter 21. Peter raised the question when he saw.
John or the disciple laying the Lord's bosom. I'm just going to read that verse 20. Then Peter turning about see at the disciple whom Jesus.
Love and I'm going to skip to verse 21 Peter seeing him said to Jesus Lord, and what shall this man do referring to Judas Iscariot and the answer that he rode as he has seen from the Lord. He said and Jesus said unto him, if I will that he tarry till I come. What is that to thee then the answer follow thou me. What an example for us when we look at problems or when we look at problem with certain brother or sisters.
Sometimes we have to learn to leave it in the Lord's hand. And the answer is right here. What is it to thee? And don't just stop there. He encourage us. Follow thou, me. And you. See him say that again, or the further down with a slightly different example.
You made reference.
Here too.
What John delighted to say about himself, that he was the disciple whom Jesus loved. I believe five times he spoke in those terms. So.
Don't in the enjoyment of.
The love of God, the love of the Father, the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. And you know, we're faced with trials and difficulties and our families at work, at school, in the assembly, we need to keep ourselves in enjoyment of God's love.
Because sometimes the troubles are so tremendous.
We succumb to Satans.
While he tries to show in our hearts suspicion.
As to the love of God, what I see in this epistle of John three times. At least that's what stands out to me here.
He refers to Gaius as beloved.
Hello, hello. And so in spite of the very distressing circumstance, the apostle, he is still thinking about.
Believe the love of God. Now you know that KS is full of of.
The apostle John, when he says beloved, I'm sure he had in mind to the fact that Jesus is beloved of the Lord.
And that's the case with each one of us.
We're beloved of God and you know, perfect love casts out fear. And even in a circumstance like this I'm reading about, you can have peace. You know, somebody said that peace.
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It's not the absence of trouble, but it is the absence of fear.
And it brings to mind what the apostle John says. Perfect love casts out fear.
So I believe.
You know, it gives relief, you know.
You know that, even though the troubles are assailing.
God loves you and me.
Don't have to fear.
The exercise and concern about what's happening. And we pray.
You know that the Lord would have His way.
And if he wants us to do something about it, we trust it's going to show what we should do in the circumstance.
Because we really want to be part.
Of the solution.
And not part of the problem.
A true wrote. I hold the truth to be definite unchangeable.
Perfectly revealed in the scriptures which is regarding man.
Are the only depository and fountain of truth. It's living embodiment is found alone in him. Who said I am the truth?
And the way in the life also. Thankfully for us, if others do not hold this, it is their loss. Let's look at John's gospel.
And chapter 18.
Verse 35.
Well, let's read verse 33. Pilot entered into the judgment hall again and called Jesus and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? Pilot answered, Am IA Jew thine own nation, and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me. What has thou done? Jesus answered, My Kingdom is not of this world. If my Kingdom are of this world, then would my servants fight?
That I should not be delivered to the Jews, but now is my Kingdom, not from hence.
Really, that would have satisfied any anxieties that Pilot might have had as to any challenge that the Lord Jesus would have presented to Caesar, who he stood there as Caesar's representative and responsible to guard Caesar's interests.
That's settled, but now there's something else that's bothering him about this man that's standing in front of him.
Pilate said unto him, Art thou a king then?
Is this really what you are?
That's this Jesus answered that says that I am King. To this end was I born. That's his humanity, his incarnation. To this end was I born. He was born king of the Jews.
And for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth.
Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice.
It's as if Pilot comes very close.
It's all settled. There's any concerns about Caesar, But he says, what is it about you?
You almost you seem like a king to me.
But when the Lord tells him that he came to bear witness of the truth.
And everyone that heard his voice was of the truth, Young Pilot says. What is truth? And he turns his back on that.
If others do not hold this, it is their loss, and it was his eternal loss if he never came to Christ. Think of that mission of the Lord that he came to bear witness of the truth. This was what Paul calls the good confession. And he had enjoined Timothy in the first epistle of Timothy, and he gave him a commandment and he spoke of it. Verse three of chapter one.
As I besought thee to abide still at emphasis when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine.
Then he speaks of that mandate in verse 5. Now the end of the commandment or that mandate to Timothy is love out of a pure heart. So on.
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When you come to the end of First Timothy, he speaks of that commandment again.
And he says verse 12 fight the good fight of faith. Chapter 6 they hold on eternal life, looking at eternal life as a future thing. Bruno, thou art also called and has professed a good or the good profession or confession before many witnesses. I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed the good confession.
That thou keep this commandment, that mandate he had given to Timothy to stand for the truth, That thou keep this commandment without spot on rebukeable until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
To support.
To seek to maintain the truth is to really stand with the Lord in that good confession that He witnessed before Pilate. He came to bear witness to the truth, and all that hear His voice are of the truth. And here, in a certain sense, Gaius comes into that place along with Demetrius, fellow helpers of the truth.
Part of that good confession and you and I, if we want to be stand with the Lord and have part in that good confession that He witnessed before Pilate, then we need to be fellow helpers to the truth too. We need to be here to seek to in our practical walk and ways and in our interaction with our brethren, to go on in the truth of God and manifest it in our lives and in our ways.
Be fellow helpers to the truth and will be part of that good confession that he witnessed before Pilate.
I was just thinking by way of contrast the verse that we have in John chapter 8IN connection with.
The devil or Satan in the middle of verse 44 says he was a murderer from the beginning and a vote not in the truth because there is no truth.
So that's completely opposite to what we've been speaking about, isn't it? And let me just say a little word concerning what is being taught in the schools today. We have something that has been introduced that is referred to as relativism.
In other words, truth is not absolute, it's relative. It changes. But this is a lie of the devil, the one who has no truth abiding in him.
These epistles are maybe at first glance, the second official and 3rd epistle of John may seem very. I mean, they're very short and almost.
And limited in their content.
So you would ask yourself, well, to both the lady and to Gaius, he said, I'm on, I'm going to see you soon. So on that basis you would say, well, then why did he bother even to write? If he was going to see them soon, he would have just said, it's serious what's going on here. It's serious what's going on there. But I'll be there soon and we'll fix it, We'll address it. But.
He felt it important enough to write, even though he was going to be there soon.
So that lends a whole, it is, of course, the word of God, but it lends a, a, a special value to these, to the content of these epistles. Because of that, it seems to me, and one of the things that that is so that stands out at me in the third epistle is that he's reinforcing to the Saints. What do you think is bad? It's bad.
What you see and know is good.
It's good. So just be assured of that. I'll be there soon. Now you say, well, why do you have to say something like that? It's because of religion.
It's because of religion.
You've probably spoken to souls in your travels as I have in mind, and oftentimes you'll get I'm not into religion, buddy. Look at what religion is done in the world and you have to. And you we all say, yeah, I'm not speaking about a religion, I'm speaking about a person.
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But yes, you have to be honest and say, yes, a religion has sprung up around a person, but religion is one of the few things in in, in life on earth amongst men that can enable people to do horribly wicked things and feel that they're good in doing them.
Look at just what's happened in the last 20 years. People cut off people's heads and things. People make half of the society walk around with the black sheep in hot weather with a little slit and all kinds of other things more horrible than that, and they do it because they think it's good. This is the power of religion in man's minds, and it can happen amongst the Saints of God. It happened historically in professing Christianity.
Where the true Saints of God were put on the stake and persecuted not by secular people necessarily always, but by the religious people who had adopted the name of Christ. And so whether it's severely wicked things or just plain bad things, we are capable us here gather to the Lord's name in North America of of conducting ourselves in a bad way under the guise of being quote.
Faithful, we need to watch out for this.
Because the apostle just just reduces it down to brass tacks, as we say. No, you think you're being, you think you're being faithful.
Doctor Fees has got all this sophisticated doctrine, as you were saying, no if you're doing bad.
Towards your brethren, towards the truth, guys, it's bad. And if it's good, it's good and it's, it's amazing. But we, we need that confirmation sometimes.
Because we have it in the Word of God, and that's why we know we need it. And so I just say that because otherwise you would wonder why, right, when he was going to be there so soon, but he felt it was important to reinforce goodness and to reinforce the fact that, yes, you think it looks evil, it is evil.
Don't be, don't be deceived by that. Just want to reiterate a remark that I made at the Kentucky conference is a very challenging remark.
It was made by Mahatma Gandhi.
And his statement was.
Was not for Christians. I would be a Christian.
In other words.
He was looking at people who professed to know the Lord Jesus Christ and it didn't go along with their with their practice.
He understood the doctrine, but here were all these people professing that doctrine, ignoring it or just going in the opposite direction. And so that should be a challenge to us in our everyday life.
Greet the friends by name.
Kind of comes back to the maybe what we had at the beginning, the the extent of fellowship in this day of ruin is not what it was in the beginning of the church's history. Not all who professed to be Christians are friends.
Friends to other Christians or friends to the truth. And so we need to walk circumspectly and connection with who we have fellowship with. But he's positive here. Greet the friends and you know who they are. Greet the friends by name.
In 330.
330.
What race? The one response?
Over here.
We are.
Most the Lord in the name of the red crying sunlight.