Episode 3

The Forgotten Letters 3 John (North OC)

In this sermon, Daniel Sumoge introduces the latest installment in our series 'The Forgotten Letters.' Focusing on the book of 3rd John, Daniel emphasizes the unavoidable nature of drama and how it can be dealt with in a Christ-like manner. He discusses the importance of walking in truth, building peace, and imitating good rather than evil. By examining the characters of Gaius, Diotrephes, and Demetrius, Daniel highlights how these biblical figures demonstrate different approaches to handling church conflict and personal drama. The sermon concludes with practical action steps for bringing peace and resolving conflicts face-to-face, mirroring the example set by Jesus.

00:00 Welcome and Introduction

00:25 Teen Camp Excitement

01:19 Series Overview: The Forgotten Letters

02:07 Personal Confession: 90 Day Fiance Addiction

04:15 Drama in Life and Church

08:31 Walking in the Truth

13:03 Building Despite Drama

16:16 Confronting Church Drama

17:30 The Danger of Ignoring Wisdom

18:00 The Slow Drift of Pride

19:05 Pride vs. Humility

20:00 Handling Drama in the Church

22:02 Avoidance, Engagement, and Leaving

22:32 Personal Struggles with Drama

24:40 Imitating Good vs. Evil

27:51 The Example of Demetrius

29:41 Building Peace Face-to-Face

31:46 Final Encouragement and Communion

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OC Church of Christ

Transcript
Speaker:

Well, good morning church.

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Good morning.

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We doing good this morning?

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Yes.

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Hope you guys are doing well.

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Hope you guys are looking

forward to your summer plans.

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I know.

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Uh, well let me introduce myself.

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My name's Daniel Simone.

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I help serve with the high school

students here in Orange County.

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And, uh, yeah, I just hope you

guys are having a great summer.

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I know the teens and the youth,

they're having a great time just

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probably sleeping in and, and

playing video games and all that.

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But, uh, as mentioned before though, uh.

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In a few days, there's

Teen Camp coming up.

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And Teen Camp is such a special time

and I really wanna encourage you guys,

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I know we made an announcement earlier,

but please be praying, uh, if you can

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fast please be doing that as well.

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Uh, teen Camp is just

such an incredible time.

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Uh, you know, my wife and I, we,

we both went to teen camp and even.

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Jessica Stephan, who's a team

leader, and many of the college

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students here, uh, they're, uh,

they definitely benefited from it.

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You know, they, they came

to Christ because of it.

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So if you guys can be praying for

that, be praying for Savannah and I

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please, uh, we'll be help serving there.

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Uh, and to be honest with you,

you know, we, we, uh, we are tribe

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lead for those who don't know.

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So, so we lead, we get to lead a

group of counselors and teens and,

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you know, we're defending our title.

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Last year we won it all.

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So we have to defend our title.

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We have to go back to back

like Jordan or like Kobe, you

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know, all that, whatever it is.

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But we gotta go back to back.

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So we gotta defend that title.

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Uh, but with that being said,

though, uh, if you're visiting

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with us for the first time.

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We are in the middle of a series right

now called The Forgotten Letters, and

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we're going through the smaller books

and the New Testaments, you know, the,

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the books where there's probably three,

three of those books on one page.

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And, uh, that's what we've

been going through as a church.

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I hope you guys been having

a great time with it.

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Uh, I know for myself, uh,

it's been incredible to

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actually sit down and actually.

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Study it out, not just to, to read.

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I'm like, all right, next chapter.

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Next chapter.

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But actually to study it out.

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Uh, but before we dive into it, I, I

gotta just say, you know, I've been

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part of this church now, uh, the

Orange County Church for five years.

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And if you guys, uh, like I said, if

you're here for the first time, hope you

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know you guys are in a great fellowship.

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This is truly a family.

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And, uh, you know, with being a family,

you know, you get to, uh, you know,

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say things, you get to be vulnerable.

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And I gotta share some, uh, exciting news.

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You know, my wife and I,

if I could announce this.

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We are addicted to this

show called 90 Day Fiance.

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Sorry.

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I know you guys prob I I probably

set up like we're pregnant.

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We're not pregnant.

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Sorry about that.

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But, uh, my bad.

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Sorry.

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Sorry about that.

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I'm sorry about that.

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No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

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Sorry about that false alarm.

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No, no, no.

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Yeah, but I gotta say though,

but we are addicted to this show

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though, called 90 Day Fiance.

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Have you guys heard of this

show called 90 Day Fiance?

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Oh, no.

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Okay.

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If you haven't.

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Please don't watch, it's

gonna kill your brain cells.

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But for me, you know when I didn't,

like, I didn't watch it originally,

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but you know, when we got married

Savannah, she was big on reality

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TV show and I was like, okay.

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And she's watching this show.

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And the premise of this show is

that it follows many couples and,

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uh, these couples, uh, one of

the, the spouses, they're from the

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US and the other spouse is not.

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And they have 90 days to get married

because, uh, the spouse outside

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the us, they come to the US and

they have a 90 day marriage visa.

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And they have to get married within

that period before times runs out.

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It's not a game show, but

it's, it's a reality show and

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it sounds very simple, right?

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Okay, I come here, get

married, let's do this.

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But it never is, you know, there's

always drama in that show, man.

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It's like family does not

approve of each other.

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And I love it when it gets to

those episodes where people start

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questioning the motives of why they're

getting married to this person.

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You know?

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It even seems like some

couples go to the length of.

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Showing that they don't even

like each other, and I'm just

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like, Savannah, do these couple,

are they like, really together?

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She's like, yes, they are.

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You know, as a viewer it's hard for me.

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At first it was easy to look away,

but after a while I was like, man,

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I'm sucked into this show, man.

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It's like watching a train wreck.

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Just go down and slow motion to

be honest with you, you know what?

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What pulls people in?

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What pulls people in like me is the drama.

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When drama shows up, it

gets everyone's attention.

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You know?

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That's why reality TV show, it's like

one of the, the biggest money makers.

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There's so many reality TV shows going on.

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Like Kardashians have three.

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There's a show called Mormon

Wives, and I'm like, wow, okay.

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Like, I guess there's gonna be a

show now called Christian Wives soon.

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I don't know, but I'm just, I'm

not gonna sign up for it, trust me.

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Uh, but there's just so much drama

that goes on in shows and it just

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draws us, draws our attention in.

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You know, I wanna ask you guys, this

is, you know, with drama since we're

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talking about it, uh, you know, raise your

hand if you have ever experienced drama

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in your own life where you're feeling

like, man, I'm on a reality TV show.

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Yeah, that's everyone, right?

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We've all experienced drama in

our lives, whether it's with our

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family, with our friends, maybe

it's even people here in the church.

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Uh uh Oh, I know.

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You know, when someone says

something the wrong way to you.

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Feelings get hurt, people get offended.

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You have to start choosing sides.

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You know, some of us, we're probably

living in the drama right now and

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usually, I dunno about you guys,

but when drama shows up, the first

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thing I do is I usually say I'm out.

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Like I'm out.

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I don't need this.

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I'm probably gonna go

find this drama free job.

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I'm gonna go find this.

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These drama free friend groups, I'm

gonna find this drama free church.

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You just want to have a drama free

life, and that sounds very great, right?

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To have a drama free life.

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But here's the truth, that there is

no such thing as a drama free life.

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You know, one of my mentors told me that

the grass is, uh, not always greener.

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It's greener where you water it.

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And I think about, wow, okay, many

of us, we can get in this mindset.

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If I just go elsewhere,

the drama won't be there.

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But that's not true.

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You know, if you're visiting

us, it's the first time.

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I'm glad you're here, but I hope you

know that we're gonna be stepping on

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each other's toes because there's no

such thing as a drama free church.

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There's no such thing as a drama free

workplace or a drama free family.

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Why?

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Because it's filled with people,

filled with people like you and I.

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It can be filled with people who

are good, who are even spiritual,

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but yet we are still imperfect.

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You know, drama will happen.

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You know, the question isn't,

you know, where is it the, you

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know, how do I escape the drama?

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Really it's how do I handle

drama and go even step further?

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How do I walk through it

in a way that honors God?

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You know, that's what we're gonna

look at this morning as we study out.

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Uh, third John here.

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And third John.

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Man, it's such an incredible book.

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I was studying it out this week

and I was just like, oh my gosh.

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I was telling my wife, I was telling

Marcel, I was telling my mom.

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I was just like, oh my gosh, how

come we don't really talk about this?

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Because it talks about drama, not only

just, you know, here in Third John,

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it talks about drama in the church.

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What I love about it though,

it doesn't just, uh, talk about

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how we handle in the church.

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I really believe it talks about how we can

handle drama in our own personal lives.

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Are you with me, church?

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Yes.

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So with that, with a little

background here, uh, with third John.

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Third John is written by, you

know, the Apostle John, and, uh,

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many scholars believe he's the

last living apostle right now.

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And, and the reason he wrote this

letter is to encourage one of the

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characters here named Gaas and Gaas.

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He is a described as a faithful, generous

man who keeps building the church.

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And right now, guys, he's in a, he's in

between a rock and a hard place right

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now because, uh, you know, with the

church, uh, back then during this time,

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uh, they weren't meeting at the pack.

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You know, they weren't meeting at a

building, they weren't meeting at the

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OC building, the 10 Goodyear building.

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They were meeting in, you know, disciples,

homes, and, you know, missionaries,

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many people would, they, they would, uh,

go in town to town and, uh, they would

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depend on disciples to, to be hospitable,

to have church inside their homes,

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to, to support and provide for them.

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And guys was one of those, uh,

disciples who are doing that.

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And then we have, uh, a leader here

named, uh, uh, de atrophy and de atrophy.

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He's here described as a prideful leader.

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He is a, a drama driven

man who loves to be first.

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And then we have Demetrius

and Demetrius here.

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He's a trustworthy man with a great

reputation and he wants to bring peace.

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And you know, people, scholars

believe that actually that

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Demetrius, he's carrying the letter

from John to deliver to Gaas.

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You know, and the purpose of this,

as I mentioned, is to encourage Gaas

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for his faithful support of traveling

Christian missionaries and to address

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the harmful be behaviors of the

Tropic who rejects church authority

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and refuses to offer hospitality.

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And he wants to lift up Demetrius to, for

Gaas to keep following, uh, the example

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of Christ, but also Demetrius who'll be

delivering the letter to him as well.

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And as I mentioned before,

you know, yes, I know this.

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You know, as we read, uh, this

chapter here in Third John, it

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talks about drama within the church.

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But I really hope, uh, we can also

see outside of that as well, of, of

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not just handling drama in the church,

but handling drama in our own lives.

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So if you're with me, please turn

your Bibles to Third John, and

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we'll pick up here in verse one.

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And it reads, uh, the Elder to my dear

friend Gaas, whom I love in the truth.

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Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy

good health and that you may go well with

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you even as your soul is getting along.

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Well, it gave me great joy when some

believers came and testified about

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your faithfulness to the truth.

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Tell me how you continue to walk in it.

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I have no greater joy than to hear that

my children are walking in the truth.

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Amen.

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I love John right here.

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He, he opens up not as like a

distant apostle, not as someone

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who's like, uh, a dictator.

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But he's writing as a spiritual father,

someone who genuinely loves Gaia.

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Think about it.

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He says, there's no greater

joy for me than to hear that

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you're walking in the truth.

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And I think that's so beautiful.

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'cause even back then, and especially

today, man, there's so much noise.

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There's so much things that's

trying to grab our attention.

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I know there's like drama at work,

there's family tension, there's social

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media debates, conflicts within here,

friendship, misunderstanding, and it gets

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so easy to get pulled into that noise.

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And when drama hits, usually

the first thing that happens is

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we stop walking in the truth.

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I would say, I know I can

stop walking in the truth.

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We can stop living the way

that Jesus calls us to live.

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We can let our emotions dictate

our life rather than God's word.

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You know, we start choosing sides.

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We start making assumptions.

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We can start spreading gossip.

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We can avoid people

instead of pursuing peace.

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But what I love here is that John reminds

us to not stop walking in the truth.

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Yeah, to stay faithful,

to stay centered on Jesus.

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Why?

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Because the truth is

what keeps us grounded.

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When life gets chaotic.

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The truth helps us see things

clearly when things get cloudy for

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us, you know, when we walk in the

truth, we walk above the drama.

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You know, for myself, and maybe

for you guys, we can relate.

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You know, we can probably spend

so much time walking rather than

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in the truth and walking in the

right, in the wrong direction.

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You know, I can walk in frustration.

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I can walk in anxiety, I can walk in

bitterness, and then, you know, I catch

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myself, I dunno about you guys, but when

I take a shower, I start having shower

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thoughts where, oh, if this brother says

something to me, I'm gonna say this.

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And if she says this,

then I'm gonna say this.

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And then Savannah knocks on the door and

say, hurry up, I gotta use the bathroom.

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And then my shower

thoughts ends right there.

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But when that happens though, when I

get myself going in that situation,

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I'm like, man, I get tired very easily.

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I'm like, why am I so drained?

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It's because.

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Possibly I'm not walking in truth.

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And possibly some of us here

probably aren't walking in the truth.

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You know, John, he's encouraging

guys, Hey, don't stop walking.

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Don't lose your stride.

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'cause life, life is gonna bump us.

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People are gonna step on our toes.

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They're gonna try to knock us off the

path, but we have to stay faithful.

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You know, GAAS was experiencing that.

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And here's something, what

I love, also what John says.

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He's John's joy.

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You know, his happiness, it's tied

to Gaas and his walk with God.

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He says, I have no greater joy

than to hear that my children

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are walking in the truth.

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When I read that, I was like, man, that

is so incredible, John, because I think

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about what, what, what ties, you know,

what, what are some of my greatest joys?

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You know, what are some

of your greatest joys?

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What what brings you great joy?

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You know, is it success?

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Is it comfort?

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Is it a good reputation maybe,

or is it seeing people that

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you love walking the tree?

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You know, for John the greatest win

was not, you know, growing the church

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or how influential he was as a leader.

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It was seeing someone like

Guy, someone he loved to stay

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faithful and walk in the truth.

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And honestly, I think that's probably

my greatest joy as well, too.

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Nothing excites me more

than seeing people.

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I love seeing close friends of

mine, seeing family member, seeing

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youth wanting to study the Bible

and actually walk in the truth,

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not just talk about it, not just to

show up, but to really live it out.

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You know, when I see someone take

real steps, real steps of faith

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to work through conflict, to build

something, man, that is a huge win.

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Not just for me, but really

I think for all of us here.

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You know, that's the kind of

joy I want to continue to chase.

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That's the kind of joy I want

all of us to continue to chase.

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That's the joy I want to

build in my life around.

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You know, I really want to courage this.

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Let's be people to find

joy in the right things.

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Amen to walk, you know, to, to have joy

in the right things and to walk in the

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truth, especially during times of trouble.

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But we know that walking in the Truth

church, it's not just about what we

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avoid, it's also about what we build

as we continue on here in verse five

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through eight, excuse me, uh, it says,

dear friends, you are faithful in what

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you are doing For the brothers and

sisters, even though they're strangers

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for you, they have told the church

about your love, please send them on

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their way in a manner that honors God.

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It was for the sake of the name

that they went out receiving

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no help from the pagans.

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We ought therefore to show

hospitality to such people so that

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we may work together for the truth.

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You know, in other words, here, to sum

it up, guys just didn't talk about love.

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He practiced it.

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It's so easy to, you know,

to, to talk the talk.

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I can always tell my wife, man, I

love you so much, thank you for this.

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But it doesn't mean anything without

practice, without action to it.

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Yeah.

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You know, guys here, he welcomed people.

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He served people, he supported

people, people he didn't know.

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He's just like, okay,

you're, you're a missionary.

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Alright.

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Hey, let, let's do this.

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Come on in, let's have

church service right here.

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You know, when traveling missionaries

came through, he didn't hesitate

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to show hospitality, to build them

up, to support them, to send them

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out with the things they need.

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You know, GA has kept building,

even though there was drama

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in the church around him.

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You know, the temptation in life when

drama shows up is to stop building.

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God shows us a better way.

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He's saying, no, we gotta keep building.

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And John lifts him up for it.

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He says, pretty much when people

start tearing you down, we

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gotta keep building when the

environment gets tense for you, man.

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Church, we still gotta keep building.

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When life gets messy, man, we

still have to keep building.

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We have to keep building our

relationship with one another,

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our relationship with God.

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We have to keep building trust.

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Keep building your family.

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Keep building the good church.

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Keep building the good around you.

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Because what we're building matters.

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You know, in verse eight it says,

we ought to therefore to show

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hospitality to such peoples that

we may work together for the truth.

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You know, when we serve and

support each other, we're

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working together for the truth.

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We're not just doing a nice thing, we're

partnering with God and his mission.

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And you know, guys who I love, he

understood that he kept building

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and he knew what he was building.

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Mattered.

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You know, church, what?

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What are we building right now?

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Are we building connection

with each other?

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Are we building connection with God?

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Are we just building walls,

trying to protect ourselves?

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Are we building trust?

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Are we building distance?

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Are we building peace or are we

building or even adding on to

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the drama going on in our lives?

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I know it's easy.

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It's so easy to tear down and to walk

away, but what I loved about Guyon, his

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character, he stayed and kept building.

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And when you keep building, guess what?

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Church I find myself that when I keep

building, when there's stuff going

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on around me, I have no time to be

consumed with it because I'm too busy.

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I, I wanna keep serving, I wanna

keep loving, you know, I want to

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keep, you know, partnering with

God and what he's trying to do.

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I wanna encourage to, let's be

like guys, people who keep building

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despite the messiness going around us.

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You know, it's easier

said than done, right?

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Let's keep being like Gaas.

367

:

But even John here, he was like,

you know what, uh, I pretty much

368

:

know not everyone can be like Gaas.

369

:

And this is where the drama as we

talk about gonna, uh, undersurface

370

:

here in verses nine through 10.

371

:

He writes, I wrote to the church, but de

atrophy who loves to be first refuses to

372

:

welcome him or his messengers, he even

spreads malicious gossips about them.

373

:

Not satisfied with that.

374

:

He stops other from welcoming them and

puts those people out of the church.

375

:

You know, we see here, this is where

the phy, as I mentioned earlier,

376

:

this is the church leader here and,

you know, he loved the spotlight.

377

:

He wanted the power, he

wanted the authority.

378

:

He wanted to be first, no matter the cost.

379

:

He wanted to be right.

380

:

And interesting enough, when you

break it down, his, uh, name in, uh,

381

:

Greek, excuse me, sorry, I gotta keep.

382

:

Stop doing that.

383

:

But if you break it down here,

uh, Dio meaning from Zeus and

384

:

trespass means to nourish.

385

:

So literally his name

translates nurtured by Zeus.

386

:

That's, I don't know, when I read that

and when I studied that, I was like,

387

:

wow, that is such a powerful name.

388

:

That even sounds very God-like.

389

:

But he didn't use his influence

to build, you know, the kingdom.

390

:

He didn't use it to build the church.

391

:

He used it to build his own

kingdom and right there, church,

392

:

that is such a scary place to be.

393

:

Because he went as far to even

reject the teachings from John, and

394

:

this is the same John who walked

with Jesus, who saw the empty tomb.

395

:

He was with them with the early ministry.

396

:

He saw the growth, and now

he's seeing everything.

397

:

You know, he wrote much of the

New Testament and Theatro is

398

:

basically saying, you know what?

399

:

No, no, John, like, I know you

did all those things, but I

400

:

don't need to hear from you.

401

:

That's a dangerous place to be.

402

:

I don't wanna miss this, but the

oc, you know, with, with this

403

:

character right there, I hope we

know that it didn't just start there.

404

:

It didn't just start in third John.

405

:

It didn't start that day where

he was like, you know what?

406

:

I'm not gonna listen to John.

407

:

I'm gonna march the beat of my own drum.

408

:

No, it started as a slow, gradual drift.

409

:

You know, it happens when we stop walking

in the truth and start walking in pride.

410

:

We start walking in control

into self-preservation.

411

:

You know, here's the root of it all.

412

:

You know, the roots of drama is

pride when you think about it.

413

:

Drama grows when pride takes the wheel.

414

:

When we have to be right, when we

have to be seen or refuse correction.

415

:

I think about, you know, the arguments

that I've been in with maybe my

416

:

wife or my, my, my roommates at,

uh, in the brother's household

417

:

or even with my own family.

418

:

You know, a lot of it started

for myself with pride.

419

:

Yeah, the drama wasn't really about

the issue in itself, but it was

420

:

about who had to be right and prove

they were correct in that time.

421

:

I mean, how often do our arguments and

drama come down to our own pride when we

422

:

insist on being right on what happens?

423

:

You know, when we do that, we close our

hearts, you know, we stop listening.

424

:

We build walls instead of

bridges, and we miss out.

425

:

More importantly, what God

wants to do through us, you

426

:

know, John's message is clear.

427

:

Pride is the root of drama.

428

:

And walking in truth, though, walking in

truth means choosing humility over pride.

429

:

Because pride puts ourselves first,

it puts our opinions, our own

430

:

reputation, our desire to be right.

431

:

It makes us stubborn and defensive.

432

:

It blinds us to God's correction,

even correction from other people.

433

:

Walking in truth though means, you

know, walking in humility, being

434

:

willing to listen, to admit when you're

wrong, to put others above yourself.

435

:

You know, humility, it is not

weakness, it's strength under control.

436

:

It's trusting God enough to

let go of our pride and follow

437

:

his way instead of our own.

438

:

You know, when we choose

humility, we open the door for

439

:

peace, for healing, for growth.

440

:

You know, when we do that,

we stop feeding into drama.

441

:

We start building peace.

442

:

You know, pride fuels the

fire, but truth puts it out.

443

:

You know, one last thing about

Theatro, I just wanna mention

444

:

that, you know, after this letter.

445

:

His name was never brought up again.

446

:

And I like to think that maybe, you

know, he learned his lesson, maybe he

447

:

repented, you know, maybe he changed,

but more than likely, I don't wanna

448

:

assume, but I think this story Dre, it

sort, it serves as a warning that pride

449

:

can cut us off from each other and it

can cut us off from the work of God.

450

:

You know, pride, it starts small.

451

:

It starts when we stop listening

and we stop seeking advice.

452

:

Think we know better.

453

:

We're addicted to just being right.

454

:

It's a quiet disease that

just grows in the background.

455

:

And at some point the atrophy

stops submitting to Jesus and

456

:

starts submitting to his own ways.

457

:

And once again, church, that

is such a scary place to be.

458

:

So when we get caught up in pride that

we know we're gonna listen, that we

459

:

reject Godly leadership and become the

final authority of our own lives, that's

460

:

when our hearts are the most vulnerable.

461

:

So I wanna ask you guys, you

know, are we still open to advice?

462

:

Are you still listening to people

God has placed in your life?

463

:

Are you still soft to correction?

464

:

Are you quick to, to justify what

you're doing and trying to be right?

465

:

You know how we quietly crown

ourself, kings and queens of our

466

:

own lives because pride, pride,

it just always grows in isolation.

467

:

When you think about the more we

are distant from one another, the

468

:

more we are distant from God, the

more pride really grows and it's

469

:

no longer a background character.

470

:

It's the main character of our life.

471

:

But what I love here is that John, you

know, he doesn't ignore this problem.

472

:

He doesn't ignore the

the problem of pride.

473

:

He says, when I come back, I will

call attention to what he's doing.

474

:

We can't let pride, we can't let

division, we can't let all of

475

:

those things go unchecked here.

476

:

We can't let the de atrophy moments in

our hearts grow within ourselves, but

477

:

also within our church here as well.

478

:

You know when drama shows up, I

think we do one of three things here.

479

:

You know, the first thing we

can do is we can just avoid it.

480

:

We ghost people.

481

:

We pretend the issue's not there.

482

:

We sweep it under the rug.

483

:

You know, the second thing is

we could join in on the drama.

484

:

So easy to do that.

485

:

Let just jump into this gossip.

486

:

Let me start picking sides.

487

:

Let me stir the pot up a bit.

488

:

And then lastly, we can leave.

489

:

It's so easy to leave

because of the drama.

490

:

We walk away from that friendship.

491

:

We walk away from that job, we,

we walk away from that church.

492

:

We try to find another one.

493

:

And if I'm being honest, church, I

think my struggle has always been

494

:

the first one, which is avoidance.

495

:

You know, the church that raised

me all my life, pretty much.

496

:

It went through a really hard season

and, uh, you know, there, there was

497

:

a church split happening and many of

the friends and mentors, and even my

498

:

family, some of my family members, they

were affected by this church drama.

499

:

And I remember, you know, the more

people started to talk about the

500

:

drama around the church, the more

I wanted to walk out the room.

501

:

You know, I didn't want to hear it.

502

:

I didn't want to deal with it.

503

:

I thought if I just don't

engage, it will go away.

504

:

And that tendency, it didn't just

stay there at my home church.

505

:

I actually, I feel like I carried

it here in Orange County for sure.

506

:

You know, I moved into

the brothers apartment.

507

:

Same pattern.

508

:

I figured I should have, you

know, maybe I'll be done with it.

509

:

Like, you know what, there, there,

there won't be drama with five

510

:

grown adult men living in a house.

511

:

No.

512

:

No way.

513

:

Right.

514

:

Oh man.

515

:

Like first month, you know,

everyone's arguing about something.

516

:

And yet for me, I was like, you know what?

517

:

I'm just gonna retreat.

518

:

I'm gonna avoid it.

519

:

I'm gonna pretend like everything's good.

520

:

You know, I chose silence over resolution.

521

:

I chose distance over honest

conversation, you know, but, but what

522

:

I love, what John here shows us here

in Third John, is he, he's saying

523

:

that it doesn't have to be that way.

524

:

That drama doesn't just have to

be that elephant in the room.

525

:

That we need to lean in, that

we need to address that drama.

526

:

We need to speak the truth.

527

:

We need to seek peace.

528

:

'cause that's what we all want.

529

:

We want peace.

530

:

Yep.

531

:

Because avoiding drama

doesn't heal wounds.

532

:

It just buries them.

533

:

Joining drama doesn't solve problems.

534

:

It just multiplies them.

535

:

And if you leave drama and you're trying

to find a place where there's peace, it's

536

:

just gonna relocate the drama with you.

537

:

You know, sometimes we think if

we just leave this situation,

538

:

I'll find a drama free place.

539

:

But if we never deal with it in our

hearts, drama will just follow us.

540

:

You know, it's not

about a drama free life.

541

:

It's about becoming a drama free heart.

542

:

It's about watching over pride, watching

over division, and the places where

543

:

we might be drifting towards our own

hearts, become like the tropics because

544

:

drama doesn't just live out there.

545

:

It can also live in here.

546

:

It can live in your hearts as well.

547

:

And John knows this, so he leans in

and he gives guys a clear challenge

548

:

and the decision as well, which I love.

549

:

Here in Third John chapter, uh, in verse

11 here, it says, dear friend, do not

550

:

imitate what is evil, but what is good.

551

:

Anyone who does what is good is from God.

552

:

Anyone who does what is

evil has not seen God.

553

:

You know, when drama, when conflict

shows up in our lives, we have a choice.

554

:

What will you imitate?

555

:

Because I think drama, it's a lot like,

like a cold, it, it's very contagious.

556

:

It, when someone gossips, you can gossip

right back 'cause it's so tempting

557

:

When someone shuts you out, it's

tempting to do the exact same thing.

558

:

Match fire with fire there.

559

:

Yeah, when someone stirs division,

it's tempting to pick a side

560

:

or even stir that pot as well.

561

:

But John is saying is guess what?

562

:

You don't have to repeat

the same toxic mistake.

563

:

You don't have to copy the

worst behavior in the room.

564

:

You can imitate what is good.

565

:

You can mirror your life after Jesus.

566

:

Let me ask you, church, will

you imitate good or evil?

567

:

'cause drama is a choice.

568

:

We either become part of the

problem or part of the solution.

569

:

And what's beautiful here is John doesn't

say, you know, do the right thing.

570

:

It's not a Spike Lee movie.

571

:

He says, imitate the right thing.

572

:

John is saying, imitate

your life after Jesus.

573

:

Not after the gossipers, not after the

prideful people, not after the dividers.

574

:

And because of that, that gives us hope.

575

:

You know church, that means if you grew up

in a family that loved drama, guess what?

576

:

You can break that cycle.

577

:

If your work environment is, and

gossip is the norm, you can stand out.

578

:

In your friend group, if petty

conversations is the conversation,

579

:

you can shift the tone.

580

:

Even if the church has gotten a messy,

you can still lead with humility,

581

:

but it won't happen by accident.

582

:

It happens when you decide,

I'm gonna imitate what is good.

583

:

I'm gonna imitate my life after Jesus.

584

:

So with that church, what

are you imitating right now?

585

:

Is it the loudest voice in the room,

or is it the strength of Jesus?

586

:

Because what you imitate will

shape who you become, and drama.

587

:

Drama doesn't create our character.

588

:

It just reveals our character.

589

:

It shows what's already in us.

590

:

It shows us what we've

been imitating all along.

591

:

You know, as I mentioned earlier, I've

been part of this church for five years.

592

:

I'm grateful for so many people

who help me grown in this area.

593

:

But I'm especially grateful for

the brothers I that I lived with.

594

:

I'm grateful for, for guys like

Dallas, for Chris, for Eli, for

595

:

Derek, for Song for Justice.

596

:

You know, they really helped me.

597

:

They really challenged me.

598

:

They showed me what it

was worth imitating for.

599

:

After Jesus, they helped me fight for

peace and not feed into the drama.

600

:

You know, we all need people

like that in our lives.

601

:

People who show us the better way.

602

:

So let's be the people who choose

good, who trace our lives after

603

:

Jesus, who decide to be part of the

healing and not part of the hurt.

604

:

You know John right here, he gives

us a real life example of, Hey, what

605

:

does that look like to imitate good?

606

:

He mentions it here in

his letter in verse 12.

607

:

He says, Demetrius is well spoken of

by everyone, and even by the truth

608

:

itself, we also speak well of him, and

you know that our testimony is true.

609

:

You know, John begins to close this

section by lifting up a man named

610

:

Demetrius, a man with a solid reputation.

611

:

He says Everyone speaks well

of him, even the truth itself.

612

:

You know, his life

lines up with his words.

613

:

His character speaks louder

than the drama around him.

614

:

You know, Demetrius, he's the kind of

person that everyone needs in their life.

615

:

We need a Demetrius in our family, in

our workplace, in our friend group.

616

:

'cause he's not chasing the spotlight.

617

:

He's not choosing sides,

he's not feeling the gossip.

618

:

He's steady, he's trustworthy.

619

:

He brings peace.

620

:

You know, the world that is

so quick to stir the pot.

621

:

Dmitri shows up to cool things down.

622

:

He's a person who's

really trying to listen.

623

:

When someone is screaming loud,

he's a person who says, let's

624

:

slow down and let's work this out.

625

:

And what's awesome about Demetrius is

he didn't just earn approval of people.

626

:

He got earn the approval from the truth.

627

:

It was confirmed by it.

628

:

He lived in, stepped with Jesus.

629

:

He was the peace maker, not a peacekeeper.

630

:

'cause.

631

:

Peacekeeper, they avoid conflict.

632

:

They avoid drama.

633

:

But peace makers, they step into the

tension to try to to, to bring healing.

634

:

To try to, uh, work

conversations out through Grace.

635

:

You know, that's who Demetrius was.

636

:

So the challenge for us is simple.

637

:

When drama shows up, we have a choice.

638

:

We can follow the path of dea atrophy.

639

:

We can march the beat of our own drums.

640

:

We can do our own thing.

641

:

We can make the final a

decision in our life, or we can

642

:

follow the path of humility.

643

:

We can walk in truth, we can

build peace and welcome others.

644

:

You know, let's be people who

build peace wherever we go.

645

:

I.

646

:

Let's not avoid the hard conversations.

647

:

Let's not join in on the gossip.

648

:

Let's not run on the

first sign of conflict.

649

:

But people who walk in truth, they lead

with humility and choose peace even when

650

:

it's hard because that's what Jesus did

and that's what he's calling us to do.

651

:

You know, John begins to close his letter

here with something really important,

652

:

which is something very small, but I

thought, man, this really does apply.

653

:

He's saying everything can't be

resolved through paper and ink.

654

:

Or in today's term, it can't be resolved

through a text message or an email.

655

:

It has to be done face to face.

656

:

You know, verses 13 to 15, he says, I

have, uh, much to write to you, but I

657

:

do not wanna do so with pen and ink.

658

:

I hope to see you soon and

we will talk face to face.

659

:

Peace to you.

660

:

The friends here send their greetings,

greet, uh, the friends each by their name.

661

:

And I love this.

662

:

You know, John could have said more,

he could have made this book a lot

663

:

longer, but he was like, you know what?

664

:

No, I'm gonna do this when

I see you guys face to face.

665

:

You know, resolving

tension, building peace.

666

:

It's not something you can

always do from a distance.

667

:

Some things just can't be

handled through a text message,

668

:

through a social media post.

669

:

Some things need to be addressed up.

670

:

Close in person.

671

:

Real conversations with real people.

672

:

You know, John, he wasn't

avoiding the situation.

673

:

He wasn't ghosting the church.

674

:

He wanted to sit down face

to face with the tropic.

675

:

He was like, I want to

talk to him face to face.

676

:

I wanna help bring peace, not only

to him, but also to the church.

677

:

And I love, that's how he

closes out his letter here.

678

:

Peace to you.

679

:

Not more division, not more gossip,

not more heat, but peace, you know?

680

:

That's what Jesus wants for us.

681

:

He wants peace in his church.

682

:

He wants that in our families.

683

:

He wants that in our friendship.

684

:

But more importantly, he

wants that for our hearts.

685

:

He wants peace for us, but peace,

it doesn't just magically appear.

686

:

Peace is built through people

like Gaia that we just read about.

687

:

Peace is protected by

people like Demetrius, but

688

:

ultimately peace is disrupted.

689

:

It can be destroyed by

people like Theatro.

690

:

So the question isn't today really?

691

:

Will there be drama?

692

:

I think we all know there will be

drama, but really the question is

693

:

what will you do when it shows up?

694

:

Will you walk away?

695

:

Will you get pulled in?

696

:

Will you rise above?

697

:

You know, as we close out, uh,

this morning church, before we

698

:

take communion, I really wanna

encourage us to, to, uh, practice

699

:

some, some action steps this week.

700

:

And I really thought hard about

this 'cause I really believe that I

701

:

need to do the action steps as well.

702

:

I, I can't ask you guys to

do something that I can't do.

703

:

So as we, uh, close out the action

step this week is, how can I bring

704

:

peace and build others up this week?

705

:

You know, where can we intentionally

speak life instead of tearing down?

706

:

How can we be a builder and not a divider?

707

:

Where can we choose to build

instead of joining the drama?

708

:

You know, once we answer that question,

I really want us to practice this

709

:

Next one, I really want us to do this

next one is, who do I need to have

710

:

that face-to-face conversation with?

711

:

Is there someone that

you've been avoiding?

712

:

Someone you need to clear the air with,

someone you need to to apologize to, or

713

:

maybe just listen to, to not avoid it.

714

:

Don't send a text message.

715

:

Maybe a, a phone call if you have to,

but man, go in person, get some coffee.

716

:

Seek peace because peace

is not billed by accident.

717

:

It's built with purpose.

718

:

It's built through face-to-face

conversation with one another.

719

:

And what I love about it is Jesus

didn't walk away from the drama.

720

:

He stepped into it to bring peace.

721

:

And I wanna pray for us that we

can follow his example as well.

722

:

You know, at this moment, we're

gonna take, uh, communion right now.

723

:

And if you, uh, have the emblems,

uh, you can bring it out.

724

:

If you don't have it, uh,

maybe you can raise your hand.

725

:

I believe the ushers, uh, will

bring, uh, a communion cup for you.

726

:

But I wanna encourage us, let's be

people who build peace, who carry

727

:

peace and protect peace wherever we go.

728

:

Amen.

729

:

Amen.

730

:

Amen.

731

:

Well, with that, uh, I'm gonna say

a word of prayer for the communion.

732

:

Uh, father God, just thank you for today.

733

:

Lord, thank you so much,

God, for your word.

734

:

Thank you so much for your son Jesus.

735

:

God, uh, God, we're just so grateful.

736

:

I'm grateful for your faithfulness,

Lord, even when in moments

737

:

we're not faithful to you.

738

:

God, thank you for just reminding us

through it that through your word to

739

:

that we're called to walk in the truth,

to keep building and to bring peace.

740

:

Lord, I pray as we take community, we take

the bread that represents your son's body

741

:

and the juice that represents his blood.

742

:

God give us a humble heart to seek

and imitate Jesus in every situation.

743

:

Lord, give us courage to

have those hard conversation.

744

:

Give us courage, God to have a

soft heart, to correction God.

745

:

God help us to be like gaas

and faithful and loving.

746

:

Help us to, uh, be like demetrius's, God

being a peacemaker, but ultimately, Lord,

747

:

help us to be just like you, father.

748

:

I pray that we can imitate you.

749

:

God, Lord, I pray that you can fill our

hearts with peace and understanding.

750

:

God, me your love.

751

:

Guide us, uh, throughout

this whole week, Lord God.

752

:

It's your son's name we pray.

753

:

Amen.

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