The Inside Scoop on Discipleship

3 John 1–15 NASB95

1 The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. 2 Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. 3 For I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth. 4 I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth. 5 Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers; 6 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. 7 For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth. 9 I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say. 10 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. 11 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. 12 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. 13 I had many things to write to you, but I am not willing to write them to you with pen and ink; 14 but I hope to see you shortly, and we will speak face to face. 15 Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.

INTRO: It’s the last day of 2023. It’s a pretty neat thing though that we get to finish the series we began way back in August on the Epistles of John. Christmas led us on a short diversion, but today we find ourselves wrapping up 3 John.

Coincidentally, on the last day of the year, we get to look at what just might be the most important topic that we can discuss: Discipleship.

Discipleship is quite the buzzword in the church. And for good reason! You’ve almost assuredly heard about discipleship and disciple-making and perhaps even studied it. After all, we are well-aware of Jesus’ command to “Go make disciples” - what we know as the Great Commission. This is the number one priority of the church.

Sadly, there seems to be some confusion and what I believe is some over-complication on what it means to be a disciple and what it means to make disciples. In an article posted on The Gospel Coalition’s website, 80% of Christians told the interviewer that they had not been discipled and thus did not feel qualified to make disciples.

How many of you would say that describes you? (It’s ok- you’re among friends)

If that’s true, then how well do you think the church at large is doing in obedience to Jesus?

Folks, I’m not standing here to beat you over the head; I doubt anyone needs that. I understand that if you are not rightly equipped, then it does not matter how many times you are urged to make disciples, it just cannot happen.

So, this morning I hope to encourage you and help you see discipleship in a fresh light.

First, I want to tell you that Discipleship is not a ‘program’. There have been a number of programs that have been developed that aid in discipleship, but we must understand that the New Testament models of discipleship were not programs, but instead were lifestyles.

Second, I want to make sure we have a good definition of Discipleship. I like how Mark Dever describes it. He said “Discipleship is [simply] helping others follow Jesus.”

If you are following Jesus, that is, you are learning and growing in your faith, you are a disciple. To make disciples is then to intentionally impart your life and understandings into others so that they too can grow to be more like Jesus.

This is going to look different with different people. It might be a bible study. It might be a cup of coffee and talking about life through the lens of Scripture. It might be a book that you read and discuss with someone where you talk about something you’ve learned about the Christian life.

My point is that making disciples is for everyone and it’s not as scary as we might make it in our imagination. This short letter we have in front of us, 3 John, I believe gives us a bit of an inside scoop to discipleship or disciple-making.

To be fair, John is not writing this letter to teach the church about discipleship. No, this is a letter to one of John’s disciples- a man named Gaius. We can deduce that John had previously written a letter to Gaius’ church, but a man named Diotrephes hindered it from being read or applied. (9) He’s written this letter to encourage Gaius and to ensure him that he was aware of the conflict taking place in his church.

What we do see in this letter is a lesson in discipleship. And so, with this in mind I want to encourage you to follow along and take notes as we discuss 24 reasons to make disciples in 2024 {joking!]

No, I’m joking! If you peeked in your bulletin, you have already found a 3 point sermon guide; please us this and follow along. The sermon is titled “The Inside Scoop on Discipleship” and we’re going to look at 3 aspects of discipleship that hopefully will help shine some light on the call for us to help others follow Jesus.

We begin by noting that, in fact:

Discipleship is Rewarding (3-6a)

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I believe if we experience what John is referring to here, we would be convinced that helping others follow Jesus is not just a command to obey but it is something that is tremendously good for our own souls.

Look here, John says there is ‘no greater joy’. That’s a big statement. Is he blowing smoke? NO!

ILL: Parents- when you see your kids making good decisions, being disciplined in school, sports, etc. When you see that the person they have become is what you were aiming for, isn’t there just an enormous sense of joy?

I mean, you were entrusted with this life- they sent you home from the hospital with no instruction book and you are supposed to make sure this kid lives and learns, and grows up to be someone… it’s an enormous responsibility.

And you invested in them. You learned what to do -maybe you read books or you jumped in on a study like we are beginning in February called Intentional Parenting (shameless plug!) and you spent time and money on your kids. You corrected them and taught them. You argued with them and fought for them…

You see, parenting is discipleship of sorts. But greater than the test scores or athletic achievements is that they know and follow Jesus.

John felt that joy with Gaius. He was truly living out the faith that John taught him. He loved and served others. He was committed to the truth of God’s Holy Word. The fruits of the Spirit were evident and John had the satisfaction that God honored his efforts, though imperfect, and Gaius learned from him what it means to follow Jesus.

And it wasn’t just that John saw it, other people told John how Gaius was supporting those who preached the Gospel and how he was helping out those in need.

Parents love to brag on their kids, but what’s even better is when other people brag on your kids!

When we help others follow Jesus, we have a reward in their growth. There is no greater joy than to hear others talking about how they see Christ in them.

Man, I love to hear about folks who are following Jesus -but it’s especially sweet when they are folks that I was able to come alongside, assist, encourage, and teach.

But if we don’t engage in this intentional discipleship, we miss out on this joy.

You see, if we are not careful, we will write off discipleship as an obligation or program, but God intends it not only for the sake of those we disciple, but He intends to bring us a joy that will fuel our walk and encourage our weary souls.

Discipleship is rewarding. The next aspect of discipleship that we see is

Discipleship is Dynamic (6b-10)

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Another way to state this point is to say that making discipleship is not a formula so much as a path.

I remember sitting in a class about discipleship and the presenter said, “What does a disciple look like?”

His church defined what they were aiming for- it’s a person who is following Jesus, being changed by Jesus, and committed to the mission of Jesus. This is a good picture, but the challenge we have is that no two people are in the same spot and so as you work to make disciples, you are going to find that your starting point is always a bit different, which means the path will also look different.

In these few verses, we see that John’s work as a disciple-maker involves praise, encouragement, admonishment, and even correction.

John could not just write out a bunch of rules, post them at the door of the church and expect that all people would mature in their faith because of it. But often, that’s what we try to do in programmed discipleship. We expect that if someone reads a book or goes through a 6-week course, that they have been discipled.

Look, these things might be part of discipleship, but because everybody is different, so the process of discipleship will look different depending on the person and the circumstances.

ILL: Imagine you are going to a birthday party and you have been given directions from Waynesville to Rosman, but you are coming from Hendersonville. Those directions will not be very helpful. The reason we like our GPS systems is because it takes us to where we want to go from where we really are. Discipleship is similar.

For Gaius, John needed to further encourage him so that he would not get frustrated by the conflict that was taking place. He needed to be reassured that his obedience and faithfulness were worthwhile.

Diotrephes, on the other hand, would need some stern correction- a correction that would need to be in -person, not through a letter. John had to take into account what was going on and what was needed for the individuals to follow Jesus in their specific circumstance.

Folks, what I’m saying is that we have to recognize the maturity and needs of others - their strengths, weaknesses, beliefs, etc. so we can help them follow Jesus.

Do they need more bible knowledge, help them study the bible.

Do they need help leading their family, model it for them and talk it through.

Do they need help sharing the gospel, go do it with them.

Maybe they need community- bring them to church, join them in a SS class.

Discipleship is dynamic and you can do it! Don’t overthink it- How can you help someone follow Jesus?

Discipleship is rewarding and dynamic. The final aspect of Discipleship we see in our text is that:

Discipleship is Ongoing (11-15)

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John continues to guide his disciples. Gaius was exhorted, Demetrius- the fellow who brought the letter - was encouraged no doubt as Gaius affirmed him in Christ because of John’s word.

Diotrephes would be addressed and much more exhortation would take place when John came to town.

John’s discipleship relationship had changed- at one time we can assume that John was in person with Gaius and even Diotrephes. For whatever reason, John was moved. He didn’t say, “Welp, that can be someone else’s problem...” but he recognized that he still had influence and opportunity to help these fellows follow Jesus, and so he did.

You see, our job as disciple-makers does not end. Even if the weekly bible studies at the coffee house end, our relationship is one where we are continually looking to help others follow Jesus.

We do this as we pray for each other, as we gather in the church building- smiling, greeting one another. It happens as we learn God’s Word together in small groups and as we serve in ministries and on mission fields.

ILL: As my kids get older, my role in teaching them changes. Once they have a foundation, we steer them to think through their decisions and consequences. When they move out, we’ll still encourage them, pray for them, and even give them advice.

This is how our discipleship relationships work. We don’t simply cut ties and move on, but we do recognize that as Christians mature, our discipleship relationship changes. And even if we change our context, we still recognize this ongoing role.

You know, I still talk to the guy who discipled me. It’s not every week anymore. But I thank God for his encouragement and wisdom. He still helps me follow Jesus. Do you have that?

Ongoing discipleship also means taking helping more folks follow Jesus. Demetrius was new Gaius- he was one John began to pour into after moving away from Ephesus. You see, as God matures us (through study, through others mentoring us, etc.) He expects us to take what we’ve learned and pass it on.

This brings God glory and us great joy. We have a purpose that is greater than anything we will find in this world. We are part of God’s eternal Kingdom purpose…

I suspect one reason that so many people fear discipleship is because we have an expectation that we have to be some guru with all the answers who has a ton of free time and wisdom. We think, “nobody can learn from me.” or “what could I possibly offer?”

But you don’t have to have it all together to make disciples. This disciple-making command is for the church- all of us. And it’s a work that we all get to play a part in. I may plant, you may water, but God gives the growth!

Discipleship is simply helping others follow Jesus from where they are as long as you have breath in your lungs.

Church, I am issuing you a challenge: Tomorrow starts a new year. Will you commit to making disciples in 2024? Will you allow God to work through you so that people can experience His grace?

The first step that you can make right now is to identify who God has placed in your life that you might be able to help follow Jesus, and pray for them.

And listen, you will be so blessed.

Maybe you are here and you are still unsure about what it means to follow Jesus. I want to make sure you get on the right path. You can speak with me out front or just put your name and number on one of those welcome cards that are in the pews, drop it in the box on your way out and we will make sure to connect with you this week.

Discuss: What practically does discipleship look like?

Discuss: How has the command to make disciples been applied and obeyed in your life?

Discuss: Who can you help to follow Jesus in the new year?