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Gaius and Diotrephes

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[ 3 John 1:11]

Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.

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John is the apostle who lived the longest time among the disciples of Jesus and preached the gospel. The apostle John is also the one who asked Jesus to take care of Mary, the mother of the flesh, when he died on the cross.

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John was an apostle who emphasized love enough to have the nickname ‘The Apostle of Love’. The three letters that John the apostle of love sent to the church members to love one another are John 1, John 2, and John 3. Today we will look at the contents of John 3.

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John 3 is a very brief Bible with one chapter. This is the very beginning of John 3.

『The elder, To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth. Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.』 3 John 1:1~2

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The apostle John blesses Elder Gaius because he was a true follower of the truth. The apostle John expressed his joyous heart to those who came and met Elder Gaius, who heard how good a believer he is to glorify God.

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At that time, a few people teamed up and traveled to various places to preach Jesus. They took a preaching trip to give them a comfortable life and to testify of Jesus. The evangelists would visit the local churches and receive their own needs.

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Evangelists often visited Elder Gaius's church. Some of the evangelists who came to Elder Gaius knew him. Elder Gaius was very hospitable to the evangelists he met again. He did his best to fill their needs.

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Elder Gaius's kindness was not limited to those he knew. Elder Gaius welcomed them even if he did not know them, and filled them with what was necessary.

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There was someone in the same church who did something completely different. He was the leader of the church, Diotrephes.

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The apostle John wrote a letter to the church to look after the evangelists. Diotrephes, the leader of the church, received a letter from the apostle John and intentionally ignored it.

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Diotrephes was a proud person who did not want to listen to others. He was the one who thought he was the head of the church. He was also in the wrong beliefs of the time.

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Diotrephes did not practice the letter of the apostle John. Rather, he did not let people trust this letter. He lied to people, making evangelists evil and preventing people from helping them.

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It was not just this. He prevented those who helped evangelists from doing the work. Even those who did not listen to him did evil deeds, even chasing them out of the church.

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The apostle John concluded that the wrongdoing of Diotrephes was a man who did not know God. “do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.”

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Those who know God correctly will do good things like Gaius. He who does evil acts like Diotrephes, knowing God, is actually a man who does not know God. He is deceiving people's eyes and acting and acting like he knows God, but he is a man who has nothing to do with God.

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We, who believe in Jesus and become children of God, must do as good as Gaius, and lead the Holy Spirit to do good in us.

Just as Gaius helped evangelists, you should be a man of faith who willingly help those who need my help.

(This is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)