“Ch.Ch.Ch.Ch.Changes”
3 John
After watching sales falling off for three straight months at Kentucky Fried Chicken, the Colonel called the Pope and asked a favor. ''I need you to change the daily prayer from, 'Give us this day our daily bread' to 'Give us this day our daily chicken.’ If you do, I'll donate 10 Million Dollars to the Vatican.'' The Pope replies, ''I am sorry. That’s the Lord's Prayer and I can’t change the words.'' So the Colonel politely said thank you and hung up the phone. After another month of dismal sales, the Colonel panics, and calls again. ''Your Excellency. I really need your help. I'll give you $50 million dollars if you change the words of the Lord’s Prayer from 'Give us this day our daily bread' to 'Give us this day our daily chicken.''' And the Pope responds, ''It is very tempting, Colonel Sanders. The church could do a lot of good with that much money. It would help us support many charities. But, again, I must decline. It is the Lord's Prayer, and I can't change the words.'' So the Colonel hangs up. After two more months of terrible sales, the Colonel gets desperate. ''Your Excellency, if you change the words of the daily prayer from, 'Give us this day our daily bread' to 'Give us this day our daily chicken' I will donate $100 million to the Vatican.'' The Pope replies, ''Let me get back to you.'' So the next day, the Pope calls together all of his Bishops and says, ''I have some good news and I have some bad news. The good news is that KFC is going to donate $100 million to the Vatican.'' The Bishops rejoice at the news. Then one asks, “What’s the bad news?” The Pope replies, “We lost the Wonder Bread account.''
Some people will change when they see the light. Others change only when they feel the heat. Change is an odd thing - everyone wants to change, but few actually do. We all make resolutions in January but by Mardi Gras, they’re forgotten. The writer of the Epistle, 3 John, was known as the Apostle of Love. But if you had met John in his youth, you probably wouldn’t call him the most loving guy in the world. “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” But Jesus turned and rebuked them. Then he and his disciples went to another village.” (Luke 9:51-56) Did you catch that? The one who today is called the Apostle of Love wanted to torch and destroy this Samaritan village. But he changed. And if he can turn into a person marked by love, then you and I can change as well. In our Scripture today, we see the heart of the elder of the faith and 3 characteristics of a person who has been changed by God. These 3 shifts are practical ways you can see how you’re growing in God’s grace.
First, a changed person commends the progress of others. “It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” The first thing John does is commend Gaius for his faithfulness. Proverbs 12:25 “A word of encouragement does wonders.” You build each other up. The power of seeing someone’s strength and praising it is amazing because as you affirm the person and help them to grow. It’s a decision that you’re going to be a dream builder and not a dream buster and you’re going to give strokes instead of giving pokes. It can make a huge difference.
When I was a sophomore in high school, our Coach was Bob Gleason. Bob played Division 1 Basketball and coached in college for awhile until he realized he wanted to work with high schoolers. I was vying to make the varsity basketball team. The other forward on the team was Steve Brimmacomb who was a senior and at least an inch taller than me and carried 20 more pounds than I did. At one practice, I blocked a couple of his shots, I had a couple of steals against him and on a fast break I took a charge which sent our Coach into a tirade toward Steve. For the rest of the practice Steve was trying to throw elbows at my face and body as we fought for position in the lane. He was making threats of hurting me and telling me to back down. By the end of practice, I was beat down, not physically but verbally. I was one of the last to leave the court that day, physically exhausted and Coach Gleason came over to me and said, “If you keep playing like that, you’re going to get a lot of playing time. Great job today. Keep it up!” As I walked off the court, my feet didn’t touch the ground. I went home and excitedly shared that word of encouragement with my parents. It made all the difference in my play.
That’s why John opens his letter telling Gaius, “I’m really proud of you.” But he doesn’t stop there. In verse 4, he uses a term of endearment, “my children”. He does so four times! Rabbis and philosophers called their students “my children” when referring to them. Pastors in the early church used it to refer to those they led to Christ. The point is that John had a special relationship with Gaius and it was a big deal for him to hear this commendation from John. But this isn’t where John started - at first, he was anything but an encourager. But he learned the power of encouragement through Jesus encouraging him. “The words of the godly encourage many, but fools are destroyed by their lack of common sense.” (Prov. 10:21) Every person needs encouragement especially since we live in an encouragement depleted world. One study found that you need to give five words of affirmation to every word of criticism. That’s why people naturally gravitate towards encouraging people - because all of us need to be encouraged by those we love and respect the most. Part of the call of Jesus is to bless and encourage others. This is why the Book of Hebrews says, “Encourage one another daily” (Hebrews 3:13) When you become an encourager, that’s how you know you’re changing.
Second, a changed life extends hospitality to others. The Greek word for “hospitality” literally means “love of strangers.” Hospitality is a virtue that is both commanded and commended throughout Scripture. In the Old Testament, it was specifically commanded by God: “When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt.” Leviticus 19:33-34 During His public ministry, Jesus and the disciples depended entirely on the hospitality of others as they ministered from town to town Matthew 10:9-10 Likewise, the early Christians also depended on and received hospitality from others. Acts 2:44-45; 28:7 In fact, travelers in ancient times depended heavily on the hospitality of strangers as traveling could be dangerous and there were very few inns, and poor Christians could not afford to stay at them, anyway. In this context, it meant traveling teachers who’d come to the community and preach. Gaius would house them in his home and make sure their needs were met. In this way, Gaius has sacrificially extends hospitality so that the Gospel could be furthered.
Here’s the point: love compels us to reach out to others. We who were strangers to God because of our sin have received both love and hospitality through Jesus Christ. Because of his death on the cross, we have been forgiven and welcomed home. Hospitality is simply love in action. It is sharing the love and hospitality of Christ with others and that honors God. So John says, “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.” 1 John 3:18-19 This is one of the ways you know you’re growing and changing because there was a time when the only person you were concerned with was you. But Jesus has come into your life and now your concern is for others first as you seek to honor God and bless others. That’s one of the ways we see God working and changing us because we’re adopting a lifestyle where we’re looking for opportunities to bless people. That’s the heart of the Gospel. So John says, “Gaius, your hospitality and love for strangers models Jesus and I commend you for it!”
Third, a changed person is a servant to others. verse 8-14 In John’s Gospel (13:1-17), we have recorded an event which was nothing short of earth shattering for the disciples. Jesus rises from the dinner table and girds himself with a towel like a slave would gird his loins prior to engaging in a menial task. This a task no Jew or Greek would even consider doing. We see this in Peter’s protests, “No, Lord, “you shall never wash my feet.” No host would wash his guests’ feet but Jesus, the Messiah does. Regardless, Jesus kneels and begins to wash his disciples’ feet. And when he’s done, Jesus says, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”
Serving others means placing others ahead of yourself. That can be so difficult because we all like to be waited on and we like to be first in everything. And when we’re not, that can be hard! I experienced this when I was interviewing candidates for the position of Business Manager. I was in Starbucks and it was packed. There wasn’t a table available. So I stood by the tables waiting for more than 10 minutes for a table to open up as I was waiting on the interview candidate to arrive. A young woman started to pack her things up and I took a step closer but didn’t want to rush her. When she got up and started walking away, I took a step toward the table and a woman who had been sitting at the large dining room sized table behind me got up, blew by me and sat down at the table, waving over the man who had been sitting with her. I was steamed. I thought about saying something which I really wanted to do but I restrained myself and didn’t. So I just sat down where they had been sitting and glared at her until the candidate arrived. It can be hard to be a servant, to be second or to put others ahead of ourselves, especially when someone places themselves ahead of us. Every message in our culture says you should be first but not if you follow Jesus.
That was the problem in the church John is writing to. There was a man named Diotrephes who had to be first and that was causing all of the problems. Diotrephes didn’t have a title, but was constantly pushing himself to the front of the crowd. It had to be about him. He had to be the center of attention and if he couldn’t be first, he wasn’t going to allow anything to happen. John would have understood Diotrephes all to well because John used to be just like him. “Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him (Jesus). “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.” When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John.” (Mark 10:35-41) And who could blame them. We hate people who jump ahead of us to be first. You know you are changing when you place yourself second and the needs of others first ahead of yourself and you seek to become a servant to them.
John concludes his notecard by telling Gaius to imitate what is good. Why? Because we all imitate, sometimes without even realizing it. John simply says to be intentional about it. So how did John change and more importantly, how do we change? By imitation. We imitate the one we love. Paul writes, “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children (there’s that phrase again). And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” (Eph. 5:1-2) Paul uses that phrase, “sweet smelling aroma” intentionally. In cities like Ephesus and Rome, the population had outgrown the master plan the Romans had laid out and thus their sewer system as well. As 1000’s of people flooded these cities, the only place for them to live was in tenements which up to 8 stories tall. The higher up you are, the cheaper the rent. There were no sewer lines to these building so people used chamber pots. And rather than walk down several flights of stairs and several blocks to empty them into the sewer, most just pour them out onto the street from their apartments. You can well imagine the smell. It was putrid and overwhelming. Any aroma to overcome that smell would have to be strong. So when Paul says your life imitating God should be a sweet aroma, he’s say it should be so strong and bold that others take notice and become imitators as well.
Gary Inrig in his book, “A Call to Excellence” tells the story of a large group of European pastors who came to one of D. L. Moody’s Bible Conferences in the late 1800s. Following the European custom, each guest put his shoes outside his room to be cleaned by the hall servants overnight. But of course this was America and there were no hall servants. Walking the dormitory halls that night, Moody saw the shoes and determined not to embarrass his brothers. He mentioned the need to some ministerial students who were there, but was met with only silence or pious excuses. Moody returned to the dorm, gathered up the shoes, and, alone in his room, the world famous evangelist began to clean and polish the shoes. Only the unexpected arrival of a friend in the midst of his work revealed the secret. When the foreign visitors opened their doors the next morning, their shoes were shined. They never knew by whom. Moody told no one, but his friend told a few people, and during the rest of the conference, different men volunteered to shine the shoes in secret, imitating the one they loved and followed. Amen.
