Title: The Self to Abandon
Contents
The self to be abandoned (3 John 1:9-11)
The apostle John praises Gaius in his letter.
On the other hand, he rebukes Diotrephes using firm language.
Then Gaius and Diotrephes are spiritually comparable.
How does it compare?
Gaius is spiritually healthy, while Diotrephes is spiritually ill.
Spiritually healthy people make others happy.
When John thinks of Gaius, he is very happy and happy.
On the other hand, Diotrephes caused pain in the heart of the apostle John.
Although John was nicknamed the Apostle of Love, thinking of Diotrephes was so heartbreaking and painful.
In the image of Diotrephes reflected in the eyes of the apostle John, we can identify the following characteristics of a spiritually ill person.
(1) It likes to be first.
(2) They compare themselves to others and have a sense of inferiority.
(2) Blame others.
(3) We do not sacrifice because we are selfish.
(4) Control people and use violence.
The problem is that these people are not outside the church, but inside the church, and worse, they have influence in the church.
We are all at risk of falling into the trap Diotrephes fell into.
That's why the Lord said, "Deny yourself daily and take up your cross."
The key here is “every day”.
If we settle for yesterday's victory, we will fail today.
We cannot win today with yesterday's victory.
If you want victory today, remember that you have a self to deny today.