A Daily Walk

Guest (Male): As you're serving, why are you doing what you're doing? Consider that next with Pastor John Randall.

John Randall: Nobody's seeing what I'm doing around here. I'm doing a lot of stuff. Does anybody appreciate what I do? Suddenly, it's like, whoa, there's your motive. Why are you doing what you do? I'm doing it for you, God, why else? Actually, you're doing it for you because you're more concerned about what people think than what I think.

I'm just talking about conversations I've had with the Lord, not you. You guys are way more together. I'm talking about me. And God's had to just say, listen, your heart is not in the right place. Your motive is not right. You need to repent of that, and let's get back to work. God's so good like that.

Guest (Male): You can probably identify some people in your life that really have had a fantastic impact on you in a good way. Well, for the apostle John, that person was Gaius. Gaius not only had a strong relationship with Jesus and a great reputation, but he was a faithful servant. We'll be encouraged to follow this great example of walking in truth today on A Daily Walk. Pastor John Randall enters the book of Third John today.

John Randall: Third John, beginning in verse 1: "The Elder, to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."

The epistle of Third John is unique when compared to the other letters that are written within the New Testament. It's not only one of the shortest letters in the New Testament, containing only 15 verses and some 300 Greek words, but it is also one of the most personal letters in the New Testament.

In First John, John was writing to the congregations that were scattered throughout Asia Minor who were coming under the attack of the false teachers peddling the false doctrine of Gnosticism. Then, in Second John, John wrote this particular letter—some have called it a postcard because of how short it is—but he sent it to a lady and her family, the elect lady and her family, it says.

Perhaps a church that met faithfully within one of the sisters in the body of Christ within her home. But when you come to Third John, the apostle clearly names the person that the letter is addressed to, making it one of the few letters in the New Testament addressed to a singular individual. Another example of this would be the book of Philemon, also addressed to one specific person, written by Paul the apostle.

But you'll also note that there is a difference in the emphasis between Second John and Third John. In Second John, the apostle warned the church against showing hospitality to false teachers. There were false teachers that were making their way through some of these churches that were scattered abroad.

Because the church was so open and so loving, and it wasn't easy to get word to all of these churches, they would come into these churches, they would take advantage of them, and they would live off of their hospitality and take advantage of their Christian kindness. And John warned these churches: don't let them into your house.

For one thing, they teach a false doctrine that is Antichrist, so don't let them into your house, don't give them a pulpit at the church, don't entertain these guests at all. Tell them to move on and don't feel bad about it because they're bringing in destructive heresies that could divide and ruin the work of God.

So John encouraged the church and exhorted the church to not just be caring, but also be discerning, and they needed that. But when you come to Third John, the apostle will confront the lack of hospitality shown toward faithful ministers who had been approved of and recommended that they be received and cared for.

Some of the itinerant preachers who went from church to church ministering and serving, they were actually being mistreated by those who had a personal agenda. By the way, this brings up a very valuable point, and that is this: even within the early church, there were problems. I just wish I was part of the early church. They had problems too.

Why did they have problems? Because there were people there. Whenever there's fallen people, there's always going to be problems. That's just the nature of the church, the nature of fallen human beings. There are no perfect churches. We're all in the process of being transformed into the perfect image of Jesus Christ, which won't be complete until we get to heaven.

The perfect church, guess where it is? In heaven. Church up there is perfect: no problems, no divisions. Everybody's just around the throne worshipping, no comparison to one another. Everybody's face down praising God. That's the perfect church. One day we'll be a part of that. We are a part of it, but you understand location is everything.

Now, aware of the challenges within the church, John mentions three people's names within this epistle. One was part of the problem and the others were part of the solution. First of all, notice the author of the letter. It says simply, "the Elder." You may recall when we went through Second John, we pointed out that this same title was used, and it referred to John as an elder, meaning he was advanced in age.

He was the last living apostle. All the rest of them had died martyrs' deaths. So John was the elder, being advanced in age. But it means more than just being an elder in age; it also refers to a title as an overseer of the work of the ministry. The word elder is synonymous with shepherd, pastor, overseer, teacher. That's what it means. John says, "the Elder," referring to himself as an overseer within the church.

But then notice who he's writing to. It says, "to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth." John addresses this letter to a man named Gaius. The name Gaius was a very common name in the ancient world. There are three other mentions of the name Gaius within the New Testament. But the apostle John refers to this particular man named Gaius, and he attaches the word beloved.

Beloved. John used that word six times in five chapters in his first epistle, First John. He uses it four times and he connects it to this particular individual. It's the equivalent of saying my close friend, my good friend. John says to his friend Gaius, "I love you in truth."

There was a bond that had been forged between John and Gaius based upon a mutual love for Jesus and God's Word. When you have people in your life who love the Lord, who love His Word, it brings you together in a way that other things can't. There is some kind of bond, some kind of unity that happens when you get around brothers and sisters who love Jesus and love His Word.

Maybe you've been in a place where you didn't know anybody, but you just happened to come into a conversation with somebody you think, "Wow, they seem really nice. I wonder if," and they're a Christian! Suddenly it's like you've been friends for all this time, and it's just this connection that you have because you're part of the same family.

You love Jesus and you love His Word, and so there's just—I don't care where you come from, what your color is, what you do for a living. You love the Lord, so do I. We may not have the same hobbies, but we love Jesus, and that's the common denominator that brings unity to the body of Christ. When you really think about it, that's why we're here tonight.

We're here because we love Jesus and because we love His Word. That's what brings us together. I look around this room and I know a lot of you, and we are all so diverse, so different in so many ways, but there's this wonderful unity that takes place around Christ and His Word.

Now, Gaius had several characteristics that were found in his life that really made him a blessing. It says here in verse 2 that he had a strong relationship with the Lord. That is why John says, "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers." The apostle John not only had a love for this brother in Christ, but he also says, "I pray for you."

And I'm praying something very practical for you. I'm praying that you would prosper. In what way? John says, "I'm praying that you would prosper in your physical health the same way that your spiritual health is prospering." Did you catch that? "That in all things would be in health, just as your soul prospers." This was his prayer.

John knew something about Gaius. His spiritual condition was robust. This guy was spiritually in tip-top shape. The outward man could have been perishing, but the inward man—I mean, it was like this guy exercised himself toward godliness. Bodily exercise prospers for some things, Paul would write to Timothy.

But this guy on the inside was maxing out. This guy was so intense in his spiritual life. He was prospering, just spiritually healthy. And John says, "You know what I'm praying for you? I pray that you have as much physical strength as you do spiritual strength." Because if that's the case, this guy would be squatting hundreds of pounds, I'm sure of it, because of his spiritual health.

If the physical health of some believers was based on their spiritual health, they'd be extremely strong, while others with that same standard being applied, if their physical health was based upon their spiritual health, they might be in really bad shape.

The most important thing is what's on the inside: your spiritual health. The physical health, take care of yourself, etc. We understand that. But listen, what takes precedence even over the outward man is the inward man. Because I'll tell you something, one day the outward man or woman will perish. It will fade. This is a temporary life.

But there's things on the inside that can grow in strength and power and endurance and perseverance. And so it's important to exercise yourself toward godliness. John not only loved his friend Gaius and prayed for his friend, but he also was rejoicing over the life of his friend because his spiritual health was so strong.

But you know something else about Gaius as John mentions here: he had a great reputation. He was very well spoken of. For it says here in verse 3, "I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and they testified of the truth that's in you, just as you walk in truth." And I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

Again, as itinerant ministers and missionaries would pass through, they would come through where John was at, and they would tell him, "Man, we've got to tell you about this guy that we just stayed with. His name is Gaius. This guy named Gaius was amazing. He was so friendly and prayed for us and he ministered to us."

John says, "You know something? Everybody that I come in contact with keeps telling me about you. Your name comes up every time somebody makes their way through town. Apparently they stop with you and you minister to them." And the language here implies they continually keep sending good reports.

Gaius didn't have to send the reports. "Hey John, I don't know if you know it or not, but I'm doing a lot of good stuff over here with the missionaries traveling through. Here's a picture of us." He didn't do that. His reputation preceded him. He didn't have to tell John about it. But this guy was having an impact on people's lives and they were saying things about it without him sending out newsletters and so forth.

He wasn't doing these things to be known by men; he was doing these things to glorify God. And that is why what he was doing was being spoken of in so many other places. So often the people that we really influence, we don't even realize we're doing it. We don't even realize it!

If you're a Christian, you're just living your life for Christ, you're serving the Lord, doing what you do as a believer, and unbeknownst to you, people are watching your life and you're making a difference in their life. They're observing you, they're watching you, you're somehow instilling something into them that you don't even know you're doing. You're just living for Christ.

And that's Gaius. God uses us, I have found, oftentimes in ways that we are completely oblivious to. And that probably happens to you from time to time. Somebody says, "Man, I want to tell you, when this happened, when that," and you're like, "When was that? Where was I? This happened? Really? I don't remember it." But God did it!

And when you're not concerned about it, it seems like that's when God really blesses it. When you try to like, "Oh yeah, no, I remember that, and I think I have a shot of it. Here it is." No, it's different. Gaius was blessed. God was doing something in his life and through his life. He was a man of good reputation. There wasn't any questionable behavior attached to his life.

He obviously sought to live above reproach and he was a blessing. John says, "I just keep hearing great things about what God's doing in you." And I believe the reason why John was hearing about so many great things that were taking place in Gaius's life and through his life was found right here in verse 3: "because the truth that is in you, just as you walk in truth."

That's why he was hearing so many good things. Because the truth was in this man and he was walking in this truth. He had the knowledge of God's Word, but he also lived God's Word. The truth of God's Word inside of Gaius was manifested in his life outside and among people.

It's one thing to have the knowledge of the truth. It's still another thing to walk and live and conduct your life in accordance with the truth. That's really when it makes the difference. The Bible warns against being a hearer of the word and not a doer of the word, lest you deceive yourself. Don't think because you've heard it, you've done it. You've done it when you have.

It's very elementary. Think about it. That's when it's real. Not when you know about it, but when you actually live it. There's a lot of people who have knowledge, but they don't necessarily live it. But this gentleman here, he lived his life for Christ. He wasn't one of those people who said, "Of course I'm a Christian. Isn't everybody?" No, not everybody.

He lived his life for Christ. He knew he was a Christian and people knew he was a Christian, and everybody he came in contact with knew there was something different about this man, and it was Christ in him. The Bible says, let your light, Matthew chapter five verse 16, let your light so shine before men that when they see your good works, they may glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Living in truth, walking in truth, that's real Christianity. That's authentic. And so, John says, you're in the truth, you walk in the truth. And then he adds in verse 4, "And you know something, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." You have the truth, you walk in it, and I've got no greater joy than to hear that and to know that you're walking in that truth.

John not only rejoiced when he heard it, but he went on to say this was the greatest joy that he had. And listen, when it says, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth," the literal rendering is "greater joy than this I do not have."

There's nothing that makes me more thrilled than to know that you're walking with the Lord. And when John uses the phrase here, these words "my children," it's the Greek word *teknon*, the verb form of *tekto*, which means to give birth. Thus, the *teknon* is a child in relation to his parents.

Thus, when John says "my children," it is very possible and more than likely that John was the one that led Gaius to Christ. He's saying, "I have no greater joy than to know that he's still walking with the Lord and he's serving the Lord." He said, "There's nothing that brings me more joy than to see that."

And there really isn't anything that you can compare. Have you ever led someone to Christ? If you've ever prayed with somebody to receive Christ, there is something so special. You think about what a child comes into the world, when a child is born, a miracle. The joy is inexpressible. It's amazing when that child comes into the world physically.

But what about when a person becomes born again spiritually? There is a joy of seeing someone receive Christ, turn from sin, and follow after Jesus. And then there's no greater joy than to see that they continue to walk with Jesus, and beyond that, that they serve the Lord.

Listen, parents, this should be the cry of our heart: God, let our kids walk with you. Let them serve you. There is no greater joy than to see them knowing the truth, walking in the truth. And I would say there may not be any greater sorrow than to see them not walking in the truth. It can be painful.

But oh, the joy of seeing them walk with the Lord and serve the Lord. Gaius was a man who had a vibrant relationship with Christ. He was of good reputation. He lived out what he believed. But something else—and this is just a byproduct of walking in truth and walking with Jesus and living it out—not only a good reputation, he was a faithful servant.

It says here, notice this, his ministry: "Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers." It didn't matter what he was asked to do. No task was above him or beneath him. Gaius was just open to whatever was needed. If this needed, then I'm in. Does that need? For sure! Not even a question about it. You say the word, I'm going to do it.

Because he was a servant. No task was too great, no task was too small, because he was faithful. His main ministry, as I said, was caring for people who were traveling through. He would take them in, he would provide for their needs, and then he would send them on their way. He was faithfully ministering to the needs of others.

Again, friend, I encourage you, this is a byproduct of walking in truth. This is a byproduct of walking with Christ. The Bible says in Proverbs chapter 20 verse 6 as it relates to faithful people, "Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, but who can find a faithful man?" There's the question.

You can find a hundred people that tell you all the things they've done and could potentially do, but it's something else to find somebody who's actually faithful and consistent and reliable. In Proverbs 28 verse 20, it says, "A faithful man will abound with blessings," and it is true. Now, there are certain things I think if we're all honest that we find easier to be faithful in than others.

Certain tasks that are less desirable, and there may be the temptation to be less faithful in those areas. Or if the motive for what you do is that people will constantly commend you or thank you for everything you do, when that doesn't happen, rather than be faithful, you become frustrated.

Nobody's seeing what I'm doing around here. I'm doing a lot of stuff. Does anybody appreciate what I do? Suddenly, it's like, whoa, there's your motive. Why are you doing what you do? I'm doing it for you, God, why else? Actually, you're doing it for you because you're more concerned about what people think than what I think.

I'm just talking about conversations I've had with the Lord, not you. You guys are way more together. I'm talking about me. And God's had to just say, listen, your heart is not in the right place. Your motive is not right. You need to repent of that, and let's get back to work. God's so good like that.

The Bible says in Colossians chapter 3 verse 23, "Whatever you do," you might want to underline whatever, "whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men." The Bible says in Luke 16 verse 10, "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much. He who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much."

Just give me the big thing to do. I'm totally ready for it. Why don't you start with this little thing right here? That's for other people. I can't. Listen, be faithful in what is least and God will bless. Be faithful with what He gives you and do it as unto the Lord without complaining, without murmuring, and God will bless it. Don't do it for the applause of men; do it for the glory of God, and God will bless it.

Guest (Male): A word there for us as we close: to do what we do for the glory of God. Today on A Daily Walk, we've been considering the life and ministry of Gaius. He stands out in Scripture as one who walked in the truth. Pastor John Randall just introduced his study in Third John, and it's available right now online at adailywalk.org, oneplace.com, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Pastor John's teachings are also accessible through our app, too. Just search for Calvary South OC in the App Store or Google Play. Well, since Mother's Day falls within this month of May, we've picked out a special book for your moms. It's *A Mom After God's Own Heart*. Written by Elizabeth George, you'll learn 10 powerful ways to love your children.

It contains easy-to-implement principles for enjoyable and effective parenting, specific tools for teaching your kids about God's love for them, and biblical insight to encourage you along the way. The cost is just $12. Order it today at adailywalk.org or call us at 877-242-0828. And thank you for helping us get the word out on stations like this one all across the country.

People today desperately need the hope and encouragement that God's Word provides, and your support helps to make that possible. To donate to the ministry, please go to adailywalk.org or call 877-242-0828. By the way, I also want to mention Pastor John is on X and Instagram. If you are too, start following him on X at @PJRandall7, on Instagram at @JohnP_Randall. Our study in Third John resumes next time on A Daily Walk with Pastor John Randall. We're going and growing through the New Testament and nearing the finish line.