Sorry I'm still in my chair this week. Hopefully it's not for too long, but I invite you to turn in your Bibles to 3 John this morning. 3 John and we're returning to our study here in the epistles of John. It is wonderful to have Our missionary Savannah with us today, and the Lord has providentially arranged that in our study of John's epistles that we're looking at 3 John, which is a passage where he's writing specifically about supporting traveling gospel workers. I can remember being on deputation as a missionary myself a few decades ago, and I can remember a lot of interesting things happening. I can remember a lot of pastors saying interesting things. One thing that I remember a pastor telling me, he didn't want me to come to his church at that time because he told me, he said, well, we as a church are evaluating whether or not we should be using our money to support missionaries. And I thought, well, he's probably third John would be a good place to go. But, uh, As we get into this we'll see that obviously supporting missions is part of what we should do. So let's read this letter together, it's only 15 verses so we'll read through the whole thing though we won't study it all today. The elder to the beloved Gaius whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health as it goes well with your soul. For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth as indeed you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testify to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God, for they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore, we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth. I have written something to the church, Deatrophies who likes to put himself first does not acknowledge our authority. So if I come I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us and not content with that he refuses to welcome the brothers and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church. Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God, whoever does evil has not seen God. Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony and you know that our testimony is true. I had much to write to you but I would rather not write with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon and we will talk face to face. Peace be to you, the friends greet you, greet the friends each by name. John here, once again, he introduces himself as the elder, as he did in 2 John, conveying the idea that he is the one who is responsible for the spiritual oversight of those to whom he's writing. And he's dealing with a similar issue here in 3 John that he dealt with in 2 John. Both letters are concerned with Christian truth and love and their relationship with hospitality and support of traveling teachers. In the second letter John writes to a local church personified as the chosen lady and her children. And in this third letter he addresses by name Gaius, who was one of the leading members of a local church. John also mentions two other men, Diotrephes and Demetrius. And this letter really gives us a glimpse into what the inner life of a first century church looked like. In 2 John, the church was warned not to extend hospitality to false teachers. And here in 3 John, he recommends, or excuse me, he commends Gaius for the hospitality that he's shown to these teachers of the truth. and he urges them to continue it. However, as we just read, he sharply criticizes deatrophies for his refusal to welcome teachers of the truth and for his opposition to those who wish to support these teachers. So the instruction of this third letter is really complementary to the more negative instruction of the second letter. But together, these two letters lay out the balance of a church's duties and limits of supporting traveling gospel workers. Who is Gaius? Well, there are several men mentioned by the name of Gaius in the New Testament. This Gaius is probably not any of those other ones. Gaius was probably the most popular name in the first century. It would be like somebody named John today. And so it's really hard to know who this Gaius is, but it's clear from this letter that Gaius occupied a position of responsibility and leadership in the local church. And we know that from the content of the letter. Visiting evangelists, teachers of the truth, had apparently stayed with him in his home. Also, John, the apostle, the elder, he would not have written so outspokenly of someone like Diotrephes to just anybody. He's for sure addressing a leader in the church there. And John calls him a dear friend, he refers directly to him with the term beloved three times. So we come to this letter and we say well how does it apply to us as a 21st century church almost 2,000 years later? Our present day culture and our economy is much different than the first century obviously but the principles taught in this letter are still in effect for us today and I do believe that the primary application of this letter is how the local church should support missionaries who are faithfully spreading the truth of the gospel. In this letter the words love and beloved are used six times, the word truth and true are used seven times, And although the letter is written to Gaius, one section is specifically addresses the problem with deatrophies and another mentions Demetrius as well. So I've broken the letter down into four sections for our study. We'll look at the first two today, but so you can just see where we're going here. The first one is walking in the truth is the foundation for gospel advance verses one through four. Working for the truth is the essence of Gospel Advance verses 5 through 8. Wrangling against the truth is opposition to Gospel Advance verses 9 and 10. And then witnessing to the truth is the example for Gospel Advance verses 11 and 12. So let's look at these first two sections this morning. First of all, walking in the truth is the foundation for Gospel Advance. Very familiar words that we've seen in 1 John, we've seen in 2 John, and John is saying here that the truth binds Christians together in love. He says to Gaius, you are one whom I love in the truth. John's love for Gaius was in the truth. The truth, of course, being that sphere in which their mutual love existed and flourished. It's possible that John played a part in Gaius' conversion. As he says in verse four, he speaks of, he has no greater joy than his children walk in the truth. But we don't know that for sure because we don't even know who Gaius is. But it was the truth that was binding this Christian love that was binding these men together in love. And again, we saw this and dealt with it at some length in 2 John. But we also see here that fellowship based on the truth produces a desire to bless other believers. He says in verse 2, Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health as it goes well with your soul. The truth of the matter is that these expressions that he uses were common. They weren't just Christian expressions. They were a common way of wishing success or prosperity for a person. And John says that it all may go well with you. That's what he's saying. I hope you're prospering. I hope you're experiencing success. And he also gives them a wish for good health. And these were typically included in a first century personal letter, as John is writing here. But what's interesting is that there's apparently no need for John to express a desire for Gaius' spiritual well-being because he says he knows that it's going well with his soul. He knows he's doing well spiritually. And as Christians, we should desire both the physical and the spiritual welfare of our Christian friends. I mean, that's, That's grace, right? That's love. That's how we should treat one another. An interesting question you could pose is, would you want somebody to pray for you, to wish for you that your physical health was as good as your spiritual health? That's something interesting to think about. But moving on, we also see in verses three and four that walking in the truth brings joy to other believers. It brings joy to other believers. He says, I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. So as we have seen, John likens truth to a path along which we as Christians walk. by which we keep course, from which we should not deviate. Christianity is a way of life. It's not simply a creed, not something we merely believe. Walking in the truth indicates that truth is both what we believe and how we live. It's both doctrine and conduct. So what we see here in our text is that certain Christian brothers had given a good report to John about Gaius. And they spoke specifically of his faithfulness to the truth and the love that he had shown to them when they were with him. So here's Gaius. He's a great example of a balanced Christian. He loved the truth and he also held the truth in love. Exactly what John wrote. in 2 John verses one through three. If you want to go back there and read those later, we've already studied those. So Gaius was a transparent, he was an open Christian who was letting his light shine. He wasn't hiding it. His truth and his love were known to all, even strangers who visited him for a short period of time. They could see this love and this truth in his life, the spiritual maturity, and they gave witness to it. It was loyalty to Christ and loyalty to the gospel that marked Gaius's life. He was faithful in what he believed and he was faithful in how he lived. He was walking in the truth. And John says, this is a great joy to me. I'm rejoicing in this. This brings me joy. He writes that the greatest joy that he experienced was to know that his children are walking in the truth. In children here, again, it could be a reference to people he had personally brought to Christ, but probably not. It's probably a reference to those who are under his pastoral authority, his eldership. It was his supreme joy to hear that those under his care were walking in the truth. That is, they not only knew the truth, but they believed the truth. And not only that they believed the truth, but that they lived the truth. They were walking in the way of truth. There was no contradiction between their profession of faith and their practice of their faith. Rather, there was an exact correspondence between what they believed and how they lived. You know, if you're a Christian in any kind of leadership role, I mean, we could be talking about having a Sunday school class, working with the teens, we could be talking about any kind of leadership role, where you're actually working to endeavor to help those under your authority, those that you've been given a place of spiritual authority over, where you are teaching them and helping them in their spiritual lives. If you're in any kind of role like that, or if you're a Christian parent seeking to teach your children God's truth and seeking them to walk in that truth. Then you understand what John's talking about. You understand the joy that comes to your heart when you see those that you have been pouring your life into consistently walking in the truth. Some of you have seen that in your own children. Some of you have seen that in your ministries and it's a joy to you. And I'm sure that This is the case with all pastors who labor for spiritual growth in the lives of the sheep that they have under their care. I personally find great joy from the lives of those of you who are walking in the truth and seeing you become more consistent in your walk in the truth. This is what brought John great joy, and this is what brings all of us great joy, who are seeking to help others in their spiritual lives. Well, in verses five through eight, John brings up a specific area in which Gaius is walking in the truth. And really in this passage, he reveals the main purpose of his letter. And what he's going to say here is that those who walk in the truth are eager to labor for and support those who are involved in advancing gospel truth. And we see that working for the truth is really the essence of gospel advance. Working for the truth is the essence of gospel advance. Because faithfully supporting missionaries is a good work. He says, beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strange as they are, who testify to your love before the church. It's a good work. And the truth of the matter is faithfully supporting missionaries takes effort. You see that in verse five. He says that it's a faithful thing you do in all your efforts. That's the word for work, for energy. You're expending energy. And John commends Gaius for his faithfulness in showing hospitality to these Christian teachers who were traveling about proclaiming the gospel. These men were strangers to Gaius. He didn't know who they were personally. He didn't know them before they arrived. And John commends him for his faithfulness, because he's doing what was expected of him. He's practicing what he knew was right. And this was further testimony of the fact that Gaius was walking in the truth. He knew that these were faithful ministers of the gospel and that's all he needed to know. So he was providing for them food and lodging and money and encouragement. And he did so because this was part of walking in the truth. This was part of his responsibility. Faithfully supporting missionaries is also done out of love. We see this in verse six. These itinerant teachers were doing what the Apostle Paul and others had done decades before them. They were going out and they were teaching and they were preaching the gospel. And then they were reporting back to their sending churches and giving a report of their missionary endeavors. And that's what these men were doing. They were coming back to John. who had probably, the church to John was over, probably perhaps the church at Ephesus, was sending out these missionaries, these evangelists, and they were coming back and giving a report. And part of their report was, you know, this guy, Gaius, you know, he's really serving the Lord. He's really faithful. He's walking in the truth. He's showing love to us. And they're reporting back and giving this report of John's love to them. He loved them by showing hospitality to them. And undoubtedly this was a great personal sacrifice. He didn't put them up in the local hotel, right? We've talked about the ends of that day. No, he was walking them into his home. He was probably feeding them his own food, probably even giving to them of his own finances. And he was sacrificing for them. And his love was consistent with the truth, which he believed. And we come back again to this combination of truth and love that John ties together frequently in his letters. So these traveling preachers had experienced it firsthand and they went back and they testified of his love. We also see that faithfully supporting missionaries should be done in a manner worthy of God. You see that in verse six. They testify to your love before the church and you will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. John encourages Gaius to continue the work that he's been doing. The traveling teachers shouldn't only be received, but they should also be refreshed and provided for with food and money so they can be sent on to the next destination. And they should be taken care of, John says, in a manner worthy of God. Worthy of God. Why? Well, these are servants of God. These traveling teachers, they represent God and they must be treated accordingly. Remember in Jesus' parable, he says in Matthew 25, 40, and the king will answer them. Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. I haven't talked to Savannah much yet. I don't know how many churches she's been in, but I know I was in 200 churches on deputation. And I can tell you there were times when we were treated like royalty where, you know, we were in missions conferences where our children were, were given gifts. We, we received the, the best of meals and all of our financial needs were abundantly provided for, and the people were just a blessing and an encouragement to us. We were in a lot of churches like that, where we felt like we were being treated in a way that was worthy of God. And there were times when we were not treated well. I'll spare you the details. But there were. And this is something that John is telling us here, of course, inspired by the spirit of God, that even now when we have traveling missionaries, people who come to our church who are going out and teaching, preaching the word, we need to treat them like they're worthy of God. We also see here that faithfully supporting missionaries is an obligation. Look at verses seven and eight, for they have gone out for the sake of the name accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support people like these that we may be fellow workers for the truth. Missionaries go out for the sake of the name, this is why we have an obligation. There's reasons here why we're obligated to support missionaries. See these teachers, they weren't just traveling Christians passing through town, they weren't on some tourist destination and needed a place to stay. They were missionaries, they were people who were going out and preaching the gospel and teaching the word of God. And John says here, he says, they have gone out. And this language depicts a deliberate setting out on a mission. If you were to look back at Acts 1540, it's the same verb that's used there in Acts 1540 when Paul was sent out by the church at Antioch on his second missionary journey. It's a very specific term. And their motive for going out was for the sake of the name. Of course, the name is Jesus. They were going out for the sake of Jesus and his gospel. They were going out to proclaim the gospel of Jesus, the Messiah. They were representing and proclaiming the Lord Jesus Christ, who he is, and the salvation that he offers. And of course, this points to the exclusivity of the gospel. This was their mission. They were going to tell people the truth about Jesus and who he is. There's only one gospel. There's only one name to proclaim. Of course Acts 4.12 says, and there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. And this is in stark contrast to those false teachers of John, 2 John. It's the gospel of Jesus Christ that they're preaching. It's the only message, it's the message of the church. It's the message of the New Testament. It's the message of the Old Testament. That Jesus is the Messiah. That he is the Christ. He is the one who has come to this earth to save people from their sin. And this was the gospel. This was the message they were preaching. This was their only reason. This is the reason Savannah's going back to Cambodia. She's not going there for any other reason than to tell those people about Jesus and teach the truth about who He is. That He came from heaven as the Son of God. That He was born as a baby, that He grew up and He spent His life fulfilling the Word of God, the perfect will of God, obeying Him completely. That He did about doing good to all. and that he was crucified on the cross, that he died there, not for his own sins, but for the sins of the world. He died as a substitute for sinners and he was buried and he rose again. In the gospel message, the great truth about Jesus is that whoever will turn away from their sin and turn to God and believe on his son, Jesus, and receive him as their savior, that God will forgive their sin. that they will be reconciled to God and they will have eternal life. And this is what these traveling teachers, preachers of the gospel were preaching. They had gone out for the sake of the name, as all biblical missionaries do today, for the sake of his name. And that's why, that's one reason we're obligated. to support missions. Another reason we're obligated is because missionaries rely upon God's people for support. It says they were accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Here, John's not referring just to non-Jewish people. The word could be used that way, but that's not typically the way it's used in the New Testament. It is in some passages, of course, but he's referring here to the heathen. He's referring to the pagan. He's referring to those who are not Christian. And he's not saying it's not that they could never receive help from a non-Christian, but rather they were not seeking support from them. Non-believers were not the means of the support for these missionaries, these traveling teachers. Now there were false teachers in that day who would travel about preaching their religion and they would solicit donations from the public. And some were even doing so in the name of Jesus. And Paul repeatedly, in his letters, he repeatedly condemns these charlatans who peddle the word of God for profit. The New Testament teaches that Christian ministers and teachers and missionaries should be supported by those who benefit from their spiritual service. But nowhere in scripture do we see gospel workers. Pastors are missionaries begging money for unbelievers. No, these traveling preachers depended upon the generosity and the gifts of fellow believers. That's how God has ordained it. Those who preach the gospel should live of the gospel. And that's not only true for pastors, elders, it's also true for missionaries. evangelists. And note here, it is an obligation. It is an obligation. Verse eight says, we are, that's the word for, we are obliged. This is an obligation we have to support people like these. Because these missionaries didn't receive their money from unbelievers, the church had an obligation to support them. They had no other means of support. The world didn't support them and and you wouldn't expect them to and the missionaries wouldn't expect them to. But the church had an obligation and this is the truth for us today. We must support our brothers and sisters whom the world does not support. Missionaries ought to be supported by Christian people, by local churches. It's the obligation of the church to provide for those who go forth preaching the gospel. John says the same thing Paul says in other passages that missionaries and supporters are fellow workers for the truth. He says that in verse 8. Therefore we ought to support people like these that we may be fellow workers for the truth. Unlike the false teachers of 2 John, these missionaries who were supported by Gaius proclaimed the truth. And Christian missions is teamwork. It's not done only by those going out, but it's also done by those who support them. As a church, cooperating with missionaries makes us co-workers with them for the truth. And Gaius is a wonderful model for how we should treat Christian missionaries. You know I am grateful to be the pastor of a church that takes the supporting of missionaries seriously. I truly am. I thank God. I'm thankful that the Lord has provided for our church not only to meet the needs of this local body, but to have a part in financially supporting 12 missionary families in one missions organization. I'm thankful that 25% of our general fund budget goes to support missionary activity here in the United States and around the globe. And I'm thankful that over the past decade we have increased our missionary giving by tenfold and praise the Lord, all glory goes to God for allowing us to participate as co-laborers in his harvest field with these dear missionaries that we support. But it's only through those of you who faithfully give of your tithes and offerings that we're able to carry on the work of supporting missionaries. And I want to thank you. I want to thank you for your part in taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. We're doing this together. It's not me. It's not any one of you. This is something that the Lord has has taught us and laid on our hearts and enabled us and moved us to be able to participate in supporting missionaries and it's a great blessing. I know it is to many of you and may the Lord bless you for being like Gaius and may the Lord continue to bless our church as we endeavor to reach people in faraway places through these missionaries that we support, but also as we seek to reach those people right here in our own mission field as well. So a very practical passage for us this morning here in this first half of 3 John, and like I said, it came on a good day when we have a missionary guest with us. I don't usually get to preach when we have a missionary guest, Of course, we have a lady here today and she's going to minister to children and ladies and she's going to help a church planter. And I'm looking forward to hearing more about her ministry after lunch. But let's just close in a word of prayer. Father, we thank you for the word. Thank you for leading us to this passage this morning as we Got back into John's epistles and Lord thank you for providentially arranging Savannah to be here on this day and we thank you for the message of 3rd John and the encouragement that we have for supporting missions. Lord the obligation that we have and thank you that we as a church take it seriously and we just ask that you would encourage us to continue supporting missionaries and supporting them in a way that is worthy of you, our God. Lord, we pray your blessing upon Savannah that you would help her and encourage her and pray that you would bless as she shares more about her ministry after lunch and we thank you for it in Jesus name, amen. We're going