A Journey of Witness: Hospitality

05/15/22

Dominant Thought: Hospitality swings on the hinges of unconditional love.

Objectives:

I want my listeners to write down a name of someone in the next generation you can help walk in truth.

I want my listeners to write down a stranger’s name that you meet this week.

I want my listeners to write down a name of someone who is good who can help you walk in the truth.

Today is an exciting day because one of our teens, Nic Babbs is preaching his first Sunday morning sermon for Berea Christian Church in Ipava, IL. Nic has a passion for preaching God’s Word and the church in Ipava is searching for a minister. I invite you to pray for Nic today as he preaches God’s Word.

If you could write a letter to anyone, who would you choose? Here’s my short list. I’d write to my mom. On occasion, I’ll write my kids a letter around their birthday. I had fun writing to Weston and Hope while I was away for a few weeks on sabbatical. I have a pen-pal, Allen Williams in Rogers, AR. If you wrote a letter this week, who would you choose?

In 3 John, we have a letter. It represents a common form of correspondence in the ancient world. In fact over half of the documents or books in the New Testament are letters. From Romans to Jude, you will find letters written by Christian leader to a church or an individual.

3 John is a letter written by an elder that many believe is the apostle John who wrote the gospel of John, these three letters—1, 2, 3 John, and the Revelation. John writes to a dear friend named Gaius.

Let’s hear the words of this letter, the shortest book in the Bible (218 words). Read 3 John.

If I could summarize this letter in a sentence, then it would sound like this, “Hospitality swings on the hinges of unconditional love.”

Four times, John addresses Gaius as “my dear friend” (verse 1, 2, 5, 11). The word is agape love or unconditional love.

As John greets Gaius, he expresses his love for Gaius, “whom I love in the truth” (3 John 1).

As John writes, I want to focus our attention on these three addresses to Gaius as he calls him, “dear friend.”

First, dear friend help the next generation walk in the truth (3 John 1-4).

John deepens a typical greeting to his dear friend in 3 John 2. In the ancient world, they had text messaging, too. In Roman culture, they had a way of abbreviating messages to communicate. In Latin, you would see these letters near the beginning of a letter: S V B E E V (si uales, bene est; ego ualeo, “if you are well, that is good; I am well.” from F.F. Bruce, The Epistles of John, p. 147).

John deepens with the words, “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 2). I have started using this verse when I make hospital calls. It is a prayer for good health physically and spiritually. I believe we are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God. Our spiritual health can have an effect on our physical health. We are interconnected beings that need to pursue health in our mind, body, and spirit.

John has received testimony or witness from fellow believers that Gaius faithfully walks in the truth. Gaius appears to be a leader in the Christian community. Gaius follows the apostles teaching that he shares in 1 and 2 John about walking in the truth.

Then John states, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (3 John 4). I believe John’s joy comes from the next generation of Christians. This generation could be your own children in your family. It could be younger people in your community. It could be adults that represent the next generation of Christians.

As we think about ways to share our faith or witness to the truth or walking in truth and love, I want to invite you to think about the next generation of Christ followers who will walk in the truth.

Brad Clair and I led a junior high group two Wednesdays ago as part of our God Squad ministry. We had seven junior high students that night. One of the students asked if we could read about the Romans since they were studying Rome at school. “Sure,” I said. Then, I started thinking where to go in the Bible. I thought about Ephesians 6 and the armor of God. The spiritual armor of God parallels the physical armor of the Roman soldier. Thought that would be fun to talk about. I chose to read Ephesians 6.1-9 to lead into the armor of God in Ephesians 6.10. In that section, Paul quotes one of the 10 commandments, “Honor your father and mother...” (Eph. 6.2-3).

After reading the Bible together each person taking a verse, I asked what stood out in the Bible or if they had questions. One teen girl said, “We live in America, and many of us don’t have dads at home. Are we supposed to honor our father by honoring our mom or is that for God?” Simple commands like honor your father and mother get confusing when dad’s not home. So, I asked our group of seven junior high students, “How many of you don’t have dad at home right now?” The hands slowly started to raise. After a couple of seconds, every student but one raised their hands. Six out of seven students in that group had no dad at home.

We had a teachable moment for a while talking about God as Father and that it’s not their fault that dad’s not home. I told them one reason Brad and I lead this group is to show you what a Christian man is like.

Men, can I invite you to look out for those children from single parent homes? Can I invite you to give them a good picture of Christian manhood by rejecting passivity, accepting responsibility, leading courageously, and expecting God’s greater reward.

Dear friends, we have an opportunity and a command to make disciples of the next generation. It begins in the home, then flows out into your circle of relationships and influence.

Application #1: Write down a name of someone in the next generation you can help walk in truth.

Second, dear friend, faithfully show hospitality to strangers (3 John 5-8).

One key way to witness the next generation to walk in the truth happens through hospitality. You may recall last week when Michael preached from 2 John, John warned about welcoming false teachers into your homes. He reminded us not to welcome lies and liars into the homes of hearts.

3 John flips that coin and challenges the church to receive godly teachers into your homes and welcome those who speak the truth.

Some people think Gaius is wealthy and as a person of means he was able to show hospitality to the traveling preachers. While we don’t have lots of traveling preachers nowadays, I still believe you have opportunities to show hospitality to God’s teachers.

There was a day that families invited the preacher over for Sunday dinner. In fact, we had a nice afternoon last week with one of our families celebrating baptisms.

I’m not angling for invitations, but the principle of welcoming spiritual leaders into your home will have a positive effect on your family. On occasion, we have guest preachers. Have you thought about having them over after worship for a meal or taking them to lunch. Many of you have generously shared over the years and I say thank you.

Think about the opportunity to expose your family to missionaries from around the world.

Christian hospitality is one of the greatest ways to witness to our faith. After all, our guest has a front row seat to your real life. One of our strategic goals this year is to connect the disconnected. Maybe you are aware of someone who hasn’t been to church in some time. What would it look like if you invited them over to your home for a meal.

John highlights the reason for the hospitality in 3 John 7, “It was for the sake of the NAME that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans.” These traveling preachers represent the name of Jesus. An interesting note, the name of Jesus appears nowhere in 3 John. It is the only text in the New Testament that does not mention the name, Jesus. And yet, the name of Jesus motivates this letter and these preachers.

John highlights Gaius for welcoming the brothers and sisters who were traveling for the Name of Jesus, even though they were strangers to you.

I realize times have changed and we must recognize our surrounding and be wise about safety. Still, I think we have opportunities to witness to the strangers we meet as we go through life.

Listen to the words of Jesus from Matthew 25.35.

Matthew 25:35 NIV

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,

It’s possible that when you welcome a stranger you are welcoming Jesus.

Hebrews 13:2 NIV

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

So, a way to witness is to provide for the basic needs of a stranger. Another way that I witness my faith to strangers is asking their name and if they have something I can pray for them. I’ve prayed in barber shops, principal’s offices, school hallways, and restaurants.

On April 25, 20222, our server at Olive Garden, named Matea asked prayers for her husband for a new job. On March 29, 2022, Cory at Mimosa asks prayers for a good life. On March 27, 2022, Turner, our server at Lamberts asks prayers for his parents home in Utah.

Asking someone their name and praying for them can be another way you can witness to the truth of Jesus.

Application #2: Write down a stranger’s name that you meet this week.

Third, dear friend, imitate what is good in your friendships (3 John 9-15).

In 3 John 9, John writes down a name. It is the name of a self-promoting leader within the church named, Diotrephes. He loves to be first and will not welcome John or the Christian teachers from John. He refuses to show hospitality. He spreads a poison among the church about the Apostle John. He refuses to welcome other believers. He stops those who show hospitality and puts them out of the church.

This man Diotrephes grabs power, refuses to submit to the elder’s authority. John calls him out by name. When John comes, he will deal with him. John calls him out by name then says in 3 John 11, “Do not imitate what is evil, but what is good.”

Option 1: Evil—Diotrephes—inhospitable, rude, malicious, power seeker, not a servant, roadblock for the cause of Christ, and kicking people out of the church. This man doesn’t know God.

Option 2: Good—Demetrius (3 John 12). Anyone who does what is good is from God (3 John 11). Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone—even the truth itself. Could it be that when you read your Bible and you look at Demetrius or a Christ follower, both the Bible and the believer match up well. John, and those with him speak well of Demetrius. They confess that their testimony or witness is true.

So, I want you to think about your friendships. As you seek to witness for Jesus, we must have friendships who will help us. We need friends we can imitate as good examples of Jesus.

In this season of life, I’m trying to be more intentional about carving out time for friends.

Several months ago, I preached about the need to have a Barnabas—someone to lead us, a Silas, someone to walk with us, and a Timothy, someone to encourage. This message dovetails into those themes.

A friend of mine reminded me of some holy habits that keep a person grounded in their faith. Justin Earley writes about this habit in his book, The Common Rule. Talk with a friend for one hour each week. Sounds like an easy thing to do, but difficult when you get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life. We can learn this lesson from our teens. They realize the value of relationships.

Application #3: Write down a name of friend who who can help you walk in the truth.

John closes his letter to his dear friend, Gaius with these words, “I have much to write you, but I don’t want to do so with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face (literally, mouth to mouth). John recognizes the value of friendship.

Then John closes his letter, “Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name.” Did you write your names down yet? Write down the name of someone in the next generation you can witness Christ’s love and truth. You’ll have to wait until later today or this week, but write down the name of a stranger and pray for them. Third, write down the name of a friend who will help you walk in the truth.

Hospitality swings on the hinges of unconditional love. The love best displayed in the name of Jesus.