Well, good morning again. Take your Bibles if you would and turn with me to the third epistle of John. Third John. As we continue our. Time in this important little epistle. The last letter written to the church. According to many. which contains an important message for the church and it dovetails into what we are talking about with regard to the truth and answering the question, why church? Why do we have churches and what is the purpose of the church? We're going to be talking about that more this morning as we continue to work through the four questions that I think every church must answer as it relates to that particular question. Before we do so, let's go to the Lord in prayer and we'll get into the text. Lord, we love you. We thank you for this time together this morning. We indeed adore you as we just sang. May you kindle in our hearts a deep gratitude and indeed an adoration that is driven from an overwhelming sense of the magnitude of what you have done for us. We just sang about the fact that you gave us the Holy Spirit who is the helper, one who enables us to understand the things of God, to understand your word. by and through which you work in our hearts and our lives and guide and direct and lead for the purpose of bringing glory and honor to your name. May we not quench the work of the Spirit in our lives by sin or attitude or conduct. And if we have, Lord, we pray that you would forgive us for that, that you would cleanse our hearts today, that you would renew in us the joy of your salvation, what you have done for us, how you have met all of our needs spiritually, How you guide and protect us and guard us from the wicked one. We thank you, Lord, for that. We rejoice too, Lord, that you are in control of all things. You are in control of time and the laws and all of those things. Those things that we talked about this morning in Daniel. We rejoice, Lord, that those things have been ordained by you for our benefit. and for your glory. Thank you for your word. Thank you for this short little epistle. Thank you for John and the encouragement that he is to us through this epistle. May our hearts be renewed. May our minds be focused this morning as we study your word. We pray in Christ's name. Amen. Well, here we have the third epistle to John. We've been taking time to work through this and to understand, in particular, John's emphasis on the issue of the truth. It's very important for John that the idea of the truth is understood. And for him, it has a very specific meaning. For him, it's important that Christians walk in the truth, that there is a reality to what they believe. And what do we believe? We believe in Jesus Christ, we believe the gospel, and that's important, and that goes to the issue then of what John is ultimately concerned about, because there are those who are thwarting that effort. Now, what's interesting for me about this particular epistle is that the focus ultimately, while Gaius is important, the underlying character that's involved in this is the church. That's really what's at stake here. That's what's at play in regards to John's issue with regard to what is going on. If you want, we can find seven characters in this third epistle. We have, of course, John himself. He refers to himself as the elder. We have Gaius. We have the brethren that are referenced, these missionaries that were carrying John's letters. We have diatrophies. We have Demetrius, we have the friends that are referenced at the latter portion of the epistle, but we also have a church involved. We understand that Diotrephes is involved in a church. In fact, he's acting in such a manner that he's throwing people out of a church or churches. And so John is writing in this personal letter to Gaius in a manner that reflects his concern not only for him, but also for the churches that are part and parcel of his ministry. You understand that John at this point in time in his life has advanced in years, having been in exile on the Isle of Patmos, doing hard labor. that he has written other epistles and books, the Gospel of John, First and Second John, and the Book of Revelation as well. And these would have been books that would have been important for the church to have access to, inasmuch as he was an apostle, and was the sent one of God to communicate to the church the truth that God wanted the church to understand about himself, and most importantly, the work in person of Jesus Christ. Let's go to 3 John and let's read this short 15 verses. The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. For I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth. That is how you are walking in truth. So we have three characters already. I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth. Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers, and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. For they went out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore, we ought to support such men so that we may be fellow workers with the truth. I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say. For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds, which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words, and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church. Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God. The one who does evil has not seen God. Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone and from the truth itself, and we add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true. I had many things to write to you, but I am not willing to write them to you with pen and ink. But I hope to see you shortly, and we'll speak face to face. Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name. Well, last week we began to answer this question, this important question about why the church. And we asked some important questions about that, four essential questions with regard to the purpose of the church. The first question is this, what should your church be about? What is the church about? What does the church do? Ultimately, we find, and we will look, as we looked at Philippians last week, chapter 1, verses 27 through 30, that the purpose of the church is to advance the gospel and to proclaim it, to stand firm in it. We're going to talk more about that. What is the gospel that we are advancing? It's the work of the triune God and his son Jesus Christ. And the third question, what does the gospel do as we advance it? It saves unbelievers and transforms and motivates believers to do more for Christ. And fourthly, how do we then live in light of the gospel? Well, we live in a manner that shows that the gospel is something that has transformed us, therefore our life is worthy. Peter would say that we are to be holy. to live in holiness and to live in the context of what we have received from Jesus Christ. Paul does the same thing in Colossians. In Philippians, we also understood from our study last week that there was a concern in the church, there was a problem in the church, there were two ladies in the church who were fighting with each other and they were spreading discord within the church, so much so that it was impacting the purpose of the church. The church was not able to accomplish that which it had been called to do, which was to stand firm. Let's go back to Philippians for a moment. I want to continue on this issue that we ended with last week with regard to staying focused on what the church is called to do. Now, we find from Scripture that there can be distractions to this, and Paul addresses that here in the book of Philippians. We went back and we looked at his emphasis on the gospel. Noah touched on some of that again this morning in his reading, the idea of the gospel being preeminent and the thing that drove Paul and ought to drive every church. What we note significantly for Paul, that the issues of community and relationship and fellowship and other things are secondary to the primary purpose of the church and ultimately flow out of and ought to be coordinated in order to advance the primary purpose of the church, which is to be proclaimers of the gospel. So in Philippians 1, verse 27, Paul writes this, Notice the emphasis, the tie-in, of course, to Jesus Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, in no way alarmed by your opponents, which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear to be in me." Well, for Paul, it's significant in regards to this issue of the church, that the focus of the church is the gospel. You'll notice in Philippians 1.27, he begins that verse with the word, only. which means to take note, pay attention, only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel. If you come to church for some other reason besides the gospel, if you're here for friendships, relationships, all those other things, then you're going to be disappointed because people will always disappoint you. This is why Paul wants this church's direction and its focus to be on this issue. Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's for that reason that in chapter 4 then that Paul makes a notation for all of us to know for all of church history by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit about two people. Two people who were not doing what Paul was calling this church to do in verse 27. They were not conducting themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We ultimately find that in 3 John, this is the case with Diotrephes. He's standing in opposition to the deliverance of the Word of God to the church. We said last week that the church is the repository of the truth. And God is so concerned about that that he does a lot of things in order to protect that. We're going to talk more about that in a short time. But it's significant that in the context of what's going on in 3 John, the ultimate objective is to shore up the church with the truth. Gaius is commended for advancing that very purpose. The idea that the church then does something, stands for something, is related to its purpose, which is to be a proclaimer and defender of the truth. Oftentimes churches are co-opted into things that they ought not to be, and oftentimes people view the church like they do other types of cultural and social constructs or organizations, the Grange, the Knights of Columbus, or whomever. I don't know. You know they're out there. But that's not what the church is. The church is uniquely different, and the question it begs is, why do you come? What ultimately brings you to assemble yourselves every week on Sunday in the morning with other people? Is it for relationship? Is it for fellowship? Is it for community? Is it for connection? I remember one time my dad had a guy come to church simply because he wanted to sell Amway. That made my dad mad, and rightly so. He only came because he wanted to have access to people. That was preposterous. And I understand that these things can be important in some dynamic, but they are never to be the ultimate concern or the ultimate purpose. They cannot be. We come together every Sunday in order to be built up in the most precious faith, to drive our hearts and our minds to Jesus Christ, to get them off of ourselves, to not assert ourselves in the context of that as these two women had done, but to come together for a unified purpose, in unity, in Christ, So we can do what? Be better proclaimers of the gospel, be better light, be more salty, be more lighty in the world, if you will. Sadly, these two women, we find in verse two of chapter four, aren't doing that. So much so that they have become a distraction, and it's significant because they are noted, and the distraction must have been significant enough for Paul to write about it. We find then that as we are standing together in the gospel, as noted in verse 27, and only in that context, that there ought to be a harmony that exists within the body of Christ. Paul touches on this in Colossians chapter 3. He speaks of unity that's brought about by a common drive, a common purpose connected to who Jesus Christ is. And that in the performance, in the demonstration of that unity, there are certain Christian virtues that are prevalent and visible and demonstrable within the church. in regards to how we interact and treat each other. Well, clearly, Euodia and Syntyche had forgotten that. They did not have hearts of compassion. They were not patient. They were not gentle. They were not kind. And it became a distraction to the church. They had placed themselves above the priority and the purpose of the church, as had Diotrephes. Diotrephes was throwing people out of church. He was blocking them, he was turning on them in the context of what they were doing in order to advance the purpose of the church. So what we find from Scripture, it's never a good place to be in that category. Chapter 4, verse 1, Paul says, Therefore my beloved brethren, whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord my beloved. This reaches back into what he's been talking about. in this way, what Paul has described, making the gospel the priority, doing all the things, counting all things lost, moving forward, pressing on, looking forward, not looking back. But then we have these two ladies. I urge Euodia and Syntyche. Look at the language. I urge, I urge. He says it twice. I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the book of life." It's easy to get distracted. It's easy to be sidetracked. And apparently these two ladies had been. So they had abandoned, they had forgotten the principle, the primary philosophy of ministry for every church, which is to do this, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel. stand firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel." Well, this, of course, begs an important question. What happens when there is strife? What happens when there is no longer harmony within the church? And we began to talk about that, and we looked last week, beginning with Proverbs 6. Let's go back to Proverbs and pick up where we left off in that regard, because I think it's important. for us to remember what the Lord says about a lack of harmony, about those who would spread discord within the church. Note that Paul encourages the two ladies in chapter four to live in harmony. So that means, obviously, there is an absence of harmony. There is discord, there is strife, there is disharmony. Solomon writes in Proverbs chapter six, beginning with verse 16, well, let's go back to 14, who with perversity in his heart continually devises evil. Who spreads strife? Therefore, his calamity, some Bibles say so, in verse 14. And the idea of spreading is important because spreading takes energy. Spreading takes intention. If you go out and you sow a field, you're just not throwing the seed out into the weeds, you're throwing them in the tilled soil. That takes intent, focus, a mind. So the idea here is ones who are deliberately engaged in a endeavor to bring about disharmony. Verse 15, therefore his calamity will come suddenly, instantly he will be broken and there will be no healing. There are six things which the Lord hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to him. Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers. Well, that's significant, and I think it's significant in the list of things that are there, that's included. It's included with murder, with lying, and things of that nature, and it's considered to be an abomination. What the two women in the church in Philippi were doing in the eyes of God was an abomination. And what they needed was gospel help. They needed to be reminded of who Jesus Christ is and why God saved them and why they're in that church in Philippi. To what end are they working? Is it about their own personal relationship and whether they like each other? No, it's about the fact that they're there by the purpose of God, by his sovereign predestined plan for them to be in that church to bring about one result. to be unified in spirit under the banner of Christ, to be engaged in the purpose of the church, to be reminded of the fact that the church is the repository of the truth and that we gather together to understand what that truth is and then to be proclaimers of that truth in a dark and dying world. This is why God hates that. God hates it and it's an abomination to him because it places our minds on someone other than Jesus Christ. No one likes discord. Discord is an inharmonious combination of tones. Think about music. Think about if Becky and Peter were up here and she was playing one thing and he was playing another and we're just like, what on earth is that? No one likes that dissonance. It grates on the ears. It's distracting. It causes consternation. It makes you uncomfortable. But this type of discord that's being described here, and it's the same type, it's the same word. In the Hebrew, the word for discord is the same word for strife, meaning a lack of harmony between persons where a difference of opinion leads to war. And so this disharmony, this dissonance, leads to conflict, arguments, and quarreling between each other, between the people and the church. And of course, sowing it implies spreading this type of strife or conflict or scattering it widely. So someone who is doing this, someone who engages in this, reveals that they are corrupted by sin and afflicted with a perverted heart. They are not acting in the context of what is described ought to be attendant with the redeemed of Christ, especially assembled together within the body of Christ. Remember, this church belongs to Jesus, it's not yours. God in his sovereign purpose has ordained that there be a church in Beloit, Ohio, and here we are. And the question, of course, again, this all begs, is what are we doing? Why are we doing it? I think it's significant that Paul himself in Galatians, turn with me to Galatians chapter 5, verses 19 through 21, speaks of this issue. and refers to this type of discord as a deed of the flesh. Verse 19 of chapter 5, Galatians, now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife. Enmities are anger and hostility. Indeed, the idea of enmity, the Bible refers to the relationship, the idea between God and man is that man is in a state of fixed hostility. He is at enmity, as Paul would say in Romans, against God. So we find that this type of thing should not be evident, of course, in the church. This goes against what Paul would say in Philippians. But we understand then that these fruits of the flesh, enmity, strife, there you go, strife. Jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envy, and drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Of course, then he contrasts these things with the fruits of the spirit, which stand in stark contrast, and these are the things that apparently were not evident in the lives of the two ladies in the church in Philippi, certainly not evident in the life of Diotrephes. Diotrephes was acting in accordance with the flesh. He was engaged in enmity, he was engaged in strife, he was engaged in dissensions, factions, disputes. We find that in 1 Corinthians 3, Paul warns the Corinthian church about this very thing. And that division was over whether or not they ought to have Peter, Paul, or Apollos as their pastor. and who they preferred, and Paul said, move on, that's acting in immaturity. So there again, you found that relationship, preference, fellowship, those type of things had become so a focus in the church that the church lost its focus on Christ. And Paul says, you're immature, you lack maturity, and you're acting improperly. That's not the way the church acts. Don't do that. Don't do that. And so we find that this is a strong exhortation, both from Solomon and from Paul alike. This idea of sowing discord is so important, I think, for us to be mindful of. Indeed, sowing discord is one of the most heinous sins in the Bible. This is how it's identified in Proverbs chapter 6. It's a wicked sin fathered by pride and was found in Lucifer in heaven who sowed discord to a third of God's holy angels to disobey God. There you have it. All sowers of discord are false witnesses who breathe out lies and deceit. Sowers of discord always start off small, like the small trail of water above, and then it flows to other places, eventually spreading everywhere, causing, in most cases, severe irreparable damage in hearts and thoughts. It can tear a church apart. This is why Paul says what he does in Philippians chapter 4. This is why he identifies these two women by name, which is consistent for Paul, as I noted last week. And even in Romans chapter 16, Paul would say, mark the divisive person within the church. Identify them and deal with it. And do so in a way that the rest of the congregation understands that to do that is a problem. It's wrong. Again, this is how concerned God is with the purpose of the church, its primary purpose. And when you have these types of things going on within the church, you can't achieve that purpose because what are you doing? You're focused on other things. You're focused on Judea and Syntyche. You're focused on Diotrephes. You're focused on Hymenaeus and Alexander and Hymenaeus and Philetus. That becomes the focus and the church loses its focus on its purpose. To sow discord then is to say and do things which cause distrust among one another, which results in what? Arguments and fights. And oddly enough, it's funny how the sower often acts as if they're not trying to cause arguments. Oh, I'm just concerned. I have a concern. This has been troubling me. This has been on my mind. I must say something about it. That type of piety is detestable, and it brings about a disharmony within the church that results in the church not fulfilling what God has called it to do. You must be careful. Sowing discord is often done in secret, done by deceit, by gossip, authored by the father of deceit, Satan himself. Who is the father of lies? Who is the father of discord? Satan is. Proverbs describes the sower of discord as a worthless person, refers to him as a naughty person, a wicked person. Walks about with a wagging mouth, winking his eyes, speaking with his feet, wagging his finger, devising mischief, sowing discord. So clearly we have to be careful about these things. We end up losing our focus on the call of the church, and we then fall away from its purpose, which is to be advancing the gospel, standing firm in the gospel, because that's what matters, that's why we're here. This is what the purpose of the church is. Look at Psalm 133 with me. Here, David contrasts disharmony with unity. Look at this, Psalm 133. Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity. in unity. It is like the precious oil upon the head coming down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard coming down upon the edge of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon coming down upon the mountains of Zion, for there the Lord commanded the blessing life forever. How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity. What a contrast that is to Proverbs chapter six. God loves this, the other is an abomination to him, an abomination. So we see the consequences of what happens when we take our eyes off of Christ and the church and make everything else the priority. That priority then defines what the church does and how it does it. And it impacts ultimately then all the things that are attendant with the church, the missions we support, the programs we implement, the priority of preaching and just focus. If we're here to try to simply appease people and please men, then we're not going to end up doing what we're called to do. We're not going to be proclaimers of Christ. We're going to be pleasers of men. That's not the place we ought to be, and we cannot be. The Bible is clear about that. Now, I want you to think about some things in the context of this issue. We understand what sowing discord is about. We understand that God hates it. We understand that Paul identifies the purpose of the church in Philippians. We understand that in 3 John, that Gaius is commended for being one who is advancing the purpose of the church. that he is walking in the truth, and the manner in which he demonstrates that is to achieve the purpose of the church, which is to proclaim the word and to be a messenger of the word, the teacher of the word. Diotrephes isn't. He's an evil person. It's what John calls him. But I think we have to think some things through as it relates to this issue. So back in Philippians, And we're going to talk about some other things. How is it, then, that a church can lose its focus on what it's called to do? If the purpose of the church is to advance the gospel, and if we answer the question, why church, with an understanding to that end, we understand that the church is the depository, the repository of the truth, the guardian of the truth, as we find from Philippians and other places. Why are we so prone to forget this? What happens? How is it that we end up losing that focus? What happened to the two ladies in the church in Philippi? We find that Paul is making a grand effort. Notice that in Philippians 4, 1-3. He wants them to be in harmony over the truth that's identified in verse 27. All other issues are secondary. and subservient to the truth, to the advance of the truth. The priority is the truth, not the relationship, not whether Judea and Syntyche like each other, but they need to be in harmony with each other for one purpose, only to conduct themselves, what? In a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. So what happens to them? I think what happens to them is what happened to the church in Ephesus. Turn with me to Revelation chapter 2. And I think this is what happens to many churches. Here again another letter written by John. And here John is being directed by Christ to communicate these important messages to these seven churches. Two of these seven churches are commended for their holding to Christ. The other five have a variety of different problems, some more severe than others. I'm not going to go through the whole list of all of them, but it's significant that this is the church in Ephesus. This is the church that Paul and Timothy and John have pastored. And John writing, and it's significant if you want to get into a debate about when was the book of Revelation written, was John writing to himself or was he writing to the pastor then? If it was the earlier pastor, it would have been Timothy, and that's more likely than not. Something to keep in mind, but nonetheless, that's just an aside. Look what he says in Revelation 2, verse 1. So he's saying to the pastor, write this to the pastor. This next portion of verse one is significant. The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this, so pay attention. I mean, that's all temple imagery. And what it also speaks to is the fact that the church is the Israel of God. This is what you're seeing. He's talking to the church in the same type of language that was used in the context of Israel. The Church is Israel at this point, and He is the tabernacle. We dwell in Him, and He holds the power, and He holds the light. Now, pay attention, because keep in mind we're answering the question, why Church? Now look at this, I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance and that you cannot tolerate evil men and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles and they are not. You found them to be false. That's commendable. And you have perseverance and have endured for my namesake and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Why church? Why are you here today? My hope is that you're here today because you love Jesus Christ. You're not here to spread turmoil. You're not here to advance a cause. You're not here to be angry. You're not here because of a relationship. You're not here because you like the fellowship. You're not here because you like the community. You're here because you love the Lord Jesus Christ. If you're not here for that reason, you're here for the wrong reason. And you'll never be content. Here in the Church of Ephesus that's commended for its stand, its light, its ability to identify false teachers and to call them out and to deal with them, there's a problem. They've lost their love for Jesus Christ. Now look what this says. Think about this. Verse five, and there is so much more to say, we'll get there in a minute, about verse one, but nonetheless, my mind's racing, but verse five, therefore, remember from where you have fallen and repent and do the deeds you did at first. What they did at first was to act in a manner that demonstrated why the church exists, the advancement of the gospel, but that had no longer become the priority. Other things had usurped that. even things which perhaps could be identified as legitimate, but they had been over-prioritized above Jesus Christ and had become the focus. Remember from where you have fallen, look at this, corporate repentance, a church repenting. And repent and do the deeds you did at first, or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand. I'm gonna take your pastor away. I'm going to deprive you of your access to the preaching of the truth. I'm going to extinguish your light. Unless you repent. Now he goes on to commend them, yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans. Who are the Nicolaitans? They're the Antinomians. They're the guys in Romans 6.1. Let's sin more so that grace abounds more. That's them. And they're a problem. And some churches in this passage in these chapters gave in to them and engaged in the immorality and the unholy living that they were advancing. But the church in Ephesus didn't do it. But still think about this for a minute. They are noted for having fallen and having forgotten what their primary purpose was, to stand firm, to only conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's what was going on. Verse seven, take he, basically he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. So what we find then is that sin flows out of a lack of love for Jesus Christ. It's going to be, nature abhors a vacuum. So whatever is a void is always going to be filled with something. If we're not loving Jesus Christ, then something else at community Bible church is gonna fill that void. And unfortunately, oftentimes it is discord, it is strife. And it results in those things. We take our eyes off of Christ, we make other things a priority, and then all of a sudden we're off the track. And that's a problem. It was a problem for the church in Ephesus. This speaks of how important the church is. Now, I want you to think about this. What did God do to make the church? How important is a church to God? Well, what did he do? Let's think about it. He killed his son. Do you know that God killed His Son in order to enable you to be here today? He killed Him in order to save those who would attend it, the elect. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. God loved us in this way, that He gave us His Son, that He killed His Son, poured out His wrath upon Him, so that you and I could be made righteous, clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, so we could come together, assemble together with that on our minds, always working towards that purpose and that end. That's why Diotrephes is called an evil man. He stood in opposition to the very purpose of the church. That's why Judea and Syntyche are identified as people who are spreading discord, and we know them for all of the history of the church. That's no small matter. It's because they stood in opposition to the very thing that God had ordained for the church. He killed his son for us to be able to be here as the bride of Christ. Assembled together in unity, in harmony, not fighting over things, not dividing over relationships and connections and community and fellowship and the way that's done and this is done. To be sowers of strife. No, to be lovers of Christ. To be lovers of each other in the context of that. He saves us to make us suitable to be in his church. God so loved the world, he killed his son to make me suitable to be in his church. God so loved me that he killed his son in order to equip me with spiritual gifts to use within his church. God so loved the world that he killed his son in order to make pastors and teachers and evangelists to come into the church to teach his sheep about Jesus Christ. He provides you with pastors and teachers so they can do the work of the church, the great commission, to be sanctified, to proclaim the word, the gospel. That's what he did. This is not the grange. It's not the why. It's more important than your own family. Indeed, he would say that I am coming and I'm going to divide your family over the very purpose of the church. Oh, but I got to go bury dad. No, you come and follow me. Take up your cross. Christ is always the priority of the church. The attentive, devoted bride of Christ. Paul is concerned about this, John is concerned about this, Christ is directing John to write these messages to these churches. What we find in Revelation chapter two and three is that those who are praised maintain the priority of their Christ-centered philosophy of ministry, the church in Philadelphia, the church in Smyrna, the rest of them faltered because they took their eyes off of Christ. They had lost their love for Christ. What happens to a church that won't listen to the word of God? That won't embrace the purpose of the church? Well, it's interesting, Ezekiel has something to say about this. And I paraphrase, basically Ezekiel 33, 31, God says, my people set before you to hear your works, but they do not put them into practice. Ezekiel was given a church full of dead bones, dry bones, basically, if you will, the nation of Israel at that time. My people sit before you to hear your words, your works, but they do not put them into practice. They do not put them into practice. We notice in Revelation chapter 2 and chapter 3, it's Christ speaking to the church, a call to corporate repentance. And what do we know then from this? Well, we know from 3 John that the purpose of the church is to be a repository and proclaimer of the truth. That truth then is light. And it does what? Well, the church is to be light, but it cannot be that light when it loses its focus on Christ because the light of the church is derived light. It comes from Christ. You don't have your own light, you're just a reflector. We reflect the light of Christ. As one preacher said, light is light which circulates, it shines. The substance which is lit cannot but shine. And if we have any real possession of the truth, we cannot but impart it. And if we have any real illumination from the Lord, who is the light, we cannot but give it forth. Dear Christians, do you remember that God has given you a holy inheritance, a treasure in Jesus Christ, and that from you a holy impression or a holy light revealing Christ ought to flow out of you constantly, as spontaneously as it does from the sun. And think about this. Think about us being light, the church as light. How gentle and silent the light of the dawn falls gently upon the earth, so quiet, so still. that it doesn't disturb a blade of grass or even displace a speck of dust, yet its force is mighty and gigantic and powerful. And it does this one thing, and it does it perfectly every time. It disturbs the darkness, it displaces the darkness, and it reveals the works of mankind for all to see. That's what the church is called to do. That's what the gospel does. We've been studying in the book of Revelation, the gospel tormented. People hated it. And they form a massive coalition all around the world just to kill it. To kill the light. Turn with me to the gospel of John in closing. If we love Jesus Christ, that light will shine forth from us. And as each of us come together, I want you to think about this, we are each individual lights. And as you combine light, it becomes brighter, right? You can go to the store and you can buy a five candle flashlight, they used to refer to it as candle power. The more candles, the brighter the light, right? Well, that's how it works here. We are together, coming together, and our light together is brighter as we work in harmony with each other. John's focus was on Christ. Look at verse six of chapter one. Well, let's go back up into verse four of John one, the gospel of John. Verse four. John chapter one, verse four, in him was life and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it. There came a man sent from God whose name was John. This is referring to John the Baptist, of course. He came as a witness to testify about the light so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. There was the true light, which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him. He came to his own, and those who were his own did not receive him. But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. That's you. You're here today because of this, because of this light. And John goes on to talk further about the testimony that he makes. Ultimately, we know that John will say that he would decrease, that Christ might increase. We reflect the light of Christ. We love him so much that we're constantly reflecting that light into the world. And as the church, as the bride, that is what we are called to do. That's why we have churches. That's the purpose of the church. And I would say to you in closing this, look yonder, friend. What does the light reveal? Do you see it? Can you see it? while the fields are white unto harvest. Look at the expanse of it, acres and acres of produce waiting for workers to labor while it's day to reap a great harvest. For we know that the night comes when no man will be able to be harvested." Come, let us go. Let us, like John the Baptist, go and testify about the light. so that all might believe through us. May our church, like John the Baptist, be a herald of the true light and shine the light into the darkness, declaring it to all men, and declaring to all men, as would John, behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. That's why we have church. And that's how we conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Are you with me, Christian? Will you stand and will you conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel? Can we stand firm together in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel? What say you, Community Bible Church? Will you do that? I hope so. I hope so. We do not want to be the church in Laodicea. Jesus Christ knocking at the door and no one hears him because no one's saved. Take heed. He who has an ear, hear. And let's do what we're called to do. The days are short. The time is short. Let us labor while we may. Let's pray. Lord, we love you. We thank you for your word. We thank you for what you've given to us. Lord, I pray that we would prioritize our love for you above all things. That that would become the primary drive behind all that we do. We ask, Lord, that you would cause us to stand firm in the gospel, in the truth, to be light, to be people of Christ. May this church reflect the light of Christ into this community. May it do so forcefully, compassionately, consistently. Strengthen us, Lord, we pray. Forgive us for not loving Christ as much as we ought to. Drive us to his feet. Cause us to revel in the wonder of our salvation that he has provided to us. Thank you for his finished work. Thank you for all that has been done to save us. May we love you more, we pray in Christ's name, amen.