I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to the book of 3rd John. 3rd John. I've had this passage of scripture
on my heart for a week and I feel that this is the the Spirit of God has led me
this morning. I want us to look at the first
four verses of 3rd John. 3rd John chapter 1. There's only
one chapter. 3rd John chapter 1. The Spirit of God moved upon
the Apostle John to pin a letter. He wrote, I'm sure as far as
John was concerned, he wrote a letter to a friend. He was
writing to a friend whose name was Gaius. But what amazes me
is that while John, without doubt, was just writing a letter that
He had a heart to write. Write him a letter. Write his
friend a letter. The Spirit of God was moving
upon this man to pen scripture. God was going to bless. He did. He blessed this letter.
And this would be part of the scriptures, the holy scriptures.
How we need to be mindful. May the Lord make us mindful.
to contemplate as we go through this world, the impact of that
which God might be pleased to bless, where we think often too
little about what we say, attitudes, attitudes, words that we say
to other people, insinuations, thoughts that we fail to realize
What is truly going on? May the Lord guide us and direct
us. The scripture declares in verse
1, 3rd John, verse 1, the elder unto the well-beloved Gaius,
whom I love in the truth. Now, John was, in age, he was
an elder. He was aged somewhere around
100 years old. He's the last of the apostles.
All the others, the Lord's been pleased to call home. But here
was a man beloved. Here was a man beloved of God. John the Elder, he was beloved
of God. The Lord knew him before the
foundation of the world. But he's writing as an elder,
as one called of God, and taught of God, and commissioned of God. Go into all the world, preach
the gospel. So he was elder in age, yes, but he was an elder
spiritually. And he wrote to his friend, to
Gaius. And Mr. Strong interpreted Gaius's
name to mean a Christian, well beloved also by the Lord, loved
of John, and obviously loved by other believers. The Lord
said concerning the love that we have for each other, by this
shall all men know that you're my disciples, you have love one
for another. A believer meets another believer. And I'm telling you, it's just
like I've known you all my life, you know. Sit there and you talk
to them for a little while and their spirit bears witness with
your spirit and there's a There's a bond, there's a camaraderie
about a believer. You meet someone that you listen
to what they're saying, the Lord blesses that, and your heart
just rejoices. So he's writing, he said, the
elder unto the well-beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth, loved
him in Christ, who is the truth, Loved him for the truth that
Gaius held and the truth that Gaius proclaimed. And then John
said, Beloved, Gaius, you that I love in the truth, I wish,
I pray above all things. Now this, you know, whatever
he's getting ready to say, he prays above all things, above
everything. above all things, for Gaius,
that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy
soul prospereth. Now, when he was speaking to
his friend, he said, this is what I pray, above all things,
this is what I wish, I pray, You might prosper. Now, I look these up. I look these
words up to know what they mean. Prosper. He said, I want you
to be successful. Now, that's what the word means,
to be successful. I pray that you might be successful
in what you're doing. for your health. Now what does
that mean? Well, it means exactly what it
says. I pray that you might be well
and sound. You know, the scripture obviously
does not forbid prosperity. Doesn't speak of being healthy
as an evil thing. We live in a world where we have
need, and that need that we have in this world, the Lord is maintaining. Hold your place, turn to Matthew
6. Matthew chapter 6. Matthew chapter 6. I just like
to read verses 24 to 33. Matthew 6, 24. Matthew 6, conserve two masters,
for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he'll
hold to the one, despise the other. You cannot serve God in
mammon. You can't serve God in this world,
is what he's saying. Therefore I say unto you, take
no thought for your life, what you shall eat or what you shall
drink, or yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not
the life more than meat and the body more than raiment? Behold
the fowls of the air. For they sow not, neither do
they reap, nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth
them. Are you not much better than
they? Which of you, by taking thought, can add one cubic unto
his stature? Why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field,
how they grow. They toil not, neither do they
spin. And yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all of his
glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so
clothe the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is
cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye
of little faith? Therefore, take no thought of
saying, what shall we eat? What shall we drink? Wherewithal
shall we be clothed? For after all these things do
the Gentiles seek, for your Heavenly Father knoweth that you have
need of all these things. Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added
unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow
shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the
day is the evil thereof." What was he saying? He said, the Lord
knows that we have need. The Lord knows that we have provisions
that must be obtained. He knows that. John is saying
here, he said, I'm praying for you that the Lord might provide
that which we need. The prosperity of God's people
is a needful thing. We got bills to pay. Calvin and Heather, they're tinned
over at Gabe. They're building a building over
there. It's expensive. It's expensive. Big time. We got bills here. They got bills
there. We've got lights to keep on. I'm standing here, a blessed
man, this morning. I pastor a people. I got this from Maurice Montgomery. He said, I'm the most blessed
man. He said, I pastor a people that love me. support me, make
possible I'd come here every day and sit at this study, study,
seek God's direction. I'm thankful to the Lord for
his blessing upon this congregation and other congregations to study. I'm thankful for that. I thank
God for that. God's people, I pray John said,
I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper. There's
need. There's need. And God's people
give. They give. How do they give?
As the Lord prospers them. As the Lord increases them, they
give. They give according to the prosperity
of the Lord, as a purpose in their heart. That's what Scripture
says. So he said, I pray above all
things that thou mayest prosper, be successful in what you're
doing. And then he says, and be in health. You know, when we're sick, and
all of us have been there, we've got some folks in our congregation
right now that are going through some tough trials, physically,
physically. And we're sensitive to that.
We're sensitive to the struggles that we've all had, and those
that are going through right now have. We struggle in body. We struggle in thought and productivity. When we're sick, there's been
times that I just didn't feel good. And I might try to read,
and it just I just don't have the wherewithal to be able. I'm so thankful that the Lord
would give us health. Gaius, John prayed that he'd
be successful and be in health. I'm so thankful. But that Gaius
might prosper. and be in health wasn't the heart
of what John was saying. He did pray that. He said, I
pray that thou mayest prosper and be in health. I bet that
you'd be successful and that you'd be well, well. But in this light, he said, even
are in the same proportion as your soul prospers. I pray that you might be successful
in the road that you're walking on and be in health in your body,
in your mind, in proportion of how the Lord has prospered
your soul. Now, I want to just ask a couple
of questions here. What is a prospering soul? What is that? Now, this is the
standard by which John wrote to his friend, the one he loved.
I pray that you might prosper and be in health even as your
soul prospers. Well, the word prospers means
to help on the road. That's what, you know, as your
soul prospers, I pray that you might be helped to succeed in
the accomplishing of the goal. Now, what soul alone prospers? Prospers in light of God's glory. What soul? A soul is a person. We talked about how many souls,
you know, when the Titanic went down, there were 1,500 souls
lost. What are they talking about?
People. People. They're souls. Everybody's got
a soul. And where that soul is eternally
is according to God's will and God's purpose, God's good pleasure. But concerning a prospering soul,
what is that? It's a new man. New man. Turn to Ezekiel 36, 26. I'll just read one verse of scripture.
Ezekiel 36, 26. I'll tell you, this is a soul
that prospers. Ezekiel 36, 26. Here it is. A new heart also will I give
you. A new spirit will I put within
you. I'm gonna take away the stony
heart. I'll take away the stony heart
out of your flesh. And I'll give you a heart of
flesh. Hey, you know what a prospering soul is? It's a new man. It's a new man created in Christ
Jesus. One born from above. One called by the Spirit of God,
given faith to believe that which God's done for him, and kept
sealed by the power of God through faith, ready to be revealed in
the last time. That's a prospering soul. One
that prospers. in the goodness, the grace, and
the mercy of Almighty God. So a prospering soul, what is
it? It's that new man. And how is
this prospering soul, that soul that prospers, how is it How
is it evidenced? How do you know someone that
possesses a soul that prospers? I pray that you might prosper,
be successful, be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. What is the evidence? Here it
is. It believes God. It believes God. It believes
Him. And it follows the Lord. It follows Him according to these
scriptures. Walks by faith according to this
word right here. A prospering soul follows the
Lord. My sheep hear my voice and I
know them and they follow me. The Lord imparts life. The very life of Christ. Christ
in you. The hope, the confidence of glory. And this prospering soul, it's
alive. It's alive. It grows in grace. and in the knowledge of our Lord
and Savior. And it follows the Lord whose voice it hears. I've said this so many times.
You try to tell an unbeliever, you tell them, say, that the
sheep hear the voice of the shepherd. And they said, how do you hear
it? God's going to have to give you
new ears to hear, that's all I can tell you. God's gonna have to give you
new eyes to see, that's all I can tell you. I'm gonna tell you
right now that God's sheep hear the voice of a shepherd. What I've said so far, according
to God's word, God's glory, God's honor, God's praise. Not giving
man any honor, any glory. We are what we are by the grace
of God. And you know what the sheep says?
That's his voice. That's the shepherd's voice right
there. That's what the shepherd says. That's the leadership and
the guiding of the Spirit of God, the prospering soul. It grows in grace and in the
knowledge of the Lord and Savior. And it waits on the Lord. It
waits on the Lord. waits on Him. And when I say
it follows, it makes me think of when the Lord walked past
Matthew the Republican. And what did He say? Follow me. A believer hears that in his
heart and he says, you know what, I'm going to follow Him. I'm
going to go after Him. I want to go where He leads me. I want to go where He directs
me. I want to hear His Word preached. I want to obey. I want to obey. I want to obey Him who is God. I don't obey the one trying to
be God. I don't serve this Jesus that
people talk about that He died to make salvation possible. That's
not the Lord of glory that I know. I know him. And then how, I know
what a prospering soul is, it's a new man, it's a new heart.
And how is it evidenced? It hears the voice, it follows
the Lord, but here's what I want to know. What is the means, what
are the means by which a soul prospers? You know, I've got
to, for my body to prosper, there's got to be some things that are
needful for me. I need to breathe. I've got to have some air. I've
got to have some oxygen. I need some food. I've got to
have something to eat. You know, if I deprive this body
right here of that which is needful, I'm going to, I'm going to, it's
not going to go well for me. So, what are the means? What
are the means? Well, the only means by which
a soul that prospers in the Lord, the only way it prospers is by
that which the Lord Himself provides. Of myself, I can do nothing. Faithful is He who calleth you,
who shall also do it. He who calls his people, provides
for his people. Now there's some means of a prospering
soul. There's some means that, you
know, a prospering soul prospers in God's provision. What are
they? Well, first of all, I tell you,
it's what we're doing right here. We've assembled ourselves together
this morning in the hearing of the gospel. This is the means by which God
Almighty prospers his people, a prospering soul. I need to hear, I need to hear. Faith cometh by hearing. and hearing by the word of God,
hearing what God has to say, not hearing a lie, hearing the
gospel, hearing the good news. The message from heaven of that
which God has done, God has purpose, God has accomplished for His
people. Again, not in making salvation
possible and leaving it up to me. Don't leave it up to me.
I can't do anything. Without him, I can do nothing. So I need to hear the gospel. How often? As often as I can
be there. As often as I'm not truly providentially
hindered. I'm not looking for excuse to
miss services. There's times that I realize
that we're hindered. I understand that. But when God's
people meet together, as much as in me he is, be there. Be
there. As I've said before, the Lord's
here. If the Lord is here, God forbid that I shouldn't be. I
need to hear the truth. Secondly, the means. Prayer. Prayer. And when you pray, A
soul made alive. A soul that God has created from
above. A new man. A new creation created
in Christ Jesus. He must pray. It's more surely than a baby
cries. I was going to say as much as
a baby cries. More surely than a baby cries.
That baby cries and that's the evidence of life. The crying
didn't make him alive. He cries because he's alive.
A believer prays and is the first to admit, as I've told you before,
I don't know anything about it. I want to. I need to. I cry unto the Lord, and while
I cry unto the Lord, said, Lord, I don't even know what to say.
I'm just so thankful that you're letting me pray. I'm so thankful
that I want to pray. So thankful I need to pray. But
the means of God's prospering his people, puts them under the
gospel, lets them hear the truth. Let them hear it. I gotta hear
it. And to pray and to seek him. And thirdly, the private reading
of the scriptures. Now, we're sitting here together.
And I've asked you to turn to 3 John. And you turned there
with me. And you're reading these words
with me. But let me encourage you to do something. Let me encourage
you daily, daily, daily, read the scriptures. Read them every
day, every day. That's what they did in Berea.
They searched the Scriptures daily. Seeing if these things were so,
check up on what I'm saying. Check up. See if what I'm saying
is so. They searched the Scriptures
daily. Is this what it's saying? If
this is what it's saying, ask Him in prayer, Lord bless this
to my heart. Lord, teach me. Teach me what
you're saying. Teach me of your truth. So, to
a believer's soul, it prospers. It prospers in the hearing of
the gospel and seeking the Lord in prayer and searching. And
he walks by faith. He walks Believing on the Lord. He's not complacent. He's not
content to be slow full. But he progresses, not in sanctification. I've heard people talk about
progressive holiness, is what they're saying. I'm telling you
in Christ, you're as holy as you're ever going to be. You
ain't going to get above the holiness of God in Christ Jesus. The righteousness of God robed
in the righteousness of Christ, in the obedience of Christ? You're going to grow in that?
No! What we grow in is we grow in grace and in the knowledge.
I need to hear this again. I want to learn. I want to learn. I am a very ignorant person. I'm very ignorant. I don't know,
but I want to know. I want to hear. I want to hear
what God has to say. So John said, Beloved, I wish
above all things that thou mayest prosper. I want you to be successful
and be in health, but only in proportion as your soul prospers. I mean, there's a lot of folks
A lot of folks in this world, they want to be successful. And
they'll give up. They'll sell their soul out for
their success. I want to make a million dollars.
I want to make so much money I'll never be able to spend it
all. That's what I want to do. That's the thinking of the world. I want to be healthy. I'm going
to take vitamins till there ain't no more vitamins. And I'm going
to walk. And I'm going to do this. I'm
going to do that. And I'm going to do the other.
And at the total expense of the means of God's grace, I have
no heart for it, no heart for it. John said, I pray that you
be successful. I pray God bless you. I thank
God that the Lord has made some here to be truly successful.
I thank God for it and how the Lord's given them a heart to
be supportive of those in need. I thank God for that, for the
health. I'm so thankful, I'm thankful that you feel good enough
to be here today that we're here. You know, as far as we know,
nobody's sick in here, but maybe so, I don't know. But oh, John
said, I pray these things as your soul prospers, as it grows. Then he says in verse three,
for I rejoiced greatly when the brethren came and testified of
the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. Obviously, there were some traveling
preachers. that had come through and providentially sent by the
Lord to the place where Gaius attended. And obviously, Gaius
treated them with respect and helped them with their physical
needs. It says in verse 5 to 7 here,
Beloved, thou dost faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the
brethren and to strangers which have borne witness of thy charity.
before the church, whom if thou bring forward on their journey
after a godly sort, thou shalt do well, because for his name's
sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles." John
was saying, I'm so thankful what I've heard, how these preachers
We don't know who they were. It doesn't matter who they were.
But what happened was the Spirit of God was pleased to send them
by where Gaius attended church, where he was a member. And what he did was totally honoring
to the Lord. He was, you know, I rejoice greatly. When the brethren came, testify
to the truth that's in thee, they said, you know what? He
walked like a believer. He was so good. Talk to him. And what he did, he treated us
with kindness and respect and how thankful we are. He said,
and I have in verse 4, and I'll stop right here. He said, I have
no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. I have no greater joy. I'm so thankful when the Lord
is pleased to teach any of us the truth. I'm thankful that
we would know the truth of the gospel. I want to, when I preach,
I want to be sure that what I say is consistent with these scriptures.
I want that. I want you to know what the scriptures
say. But John said, I have no greater
joy but to hear that my children walk in truth. Walk in truth. It's one thing to understand five points of Calvinism. A lot of folks can quote five
points of Calvinism. They can go through the tulip
and total depravity, unconditional, limited, irresistible preservation. They understand it. But to walk
in truth, is a miracle of God's grace, to walk in that light. John says, nothing makes me happier
than to behold the faithfulness of our God, to take that which
has been preached and that which the Lord has truly taught somebody
and has given them a heart to walk in it, to walk in that light,
to walk in the truth, to walk in obedience. And that believer
that's walking in obedience, it's an amazing thing. He doesn't
find any joy or comfort in himself. He says, and I said a while ago,
he's going to admit, I am what I am by the grace of God. And
the amazing thing about it is that those that you find walking
in the truth Those that you truly find walking in the truth, there's
something about them. They grieve over that which they
see in themselves and think themselves truly as ones that are struggling
to do what they're doing. They have no confidence in themselves. They're going to say, as the
Apostle Paul, to will is present with me. I want to. I want to
walk after him. But how to perform that which
I would? Which believer would stand up
right now and say, well, if you're looking for an example of a faithful
one, right, you just look this way. No, they're not. What are they going to say? Oh,
don't look at me. Poorest example. Oh, my. God have mercy on me. That's
the heart of a believer. One that is walking dependent. Dependent upon the Lord. Giving
Him all the honor and glory. But I'll tell you what they do
want to do. They want to be where God's people are. That's what
they want to do. I'll sit on the back row and
I'll keep my mouth shut. But if I can just be there, if
I can just be it, and if I can just hear what God has to say,
if it just allow me just to be able to understand what I'm hearing,
in their hearts, they're thanking God. Lord, thank you. That's
a soul that's prospering. Glorifying Him, honoring Him,
and all the while, growing in grace. And here's where they
see themselves going. Growing in grace. They don't
see themselves as the pillars. My mind just went past through
this scripture. That scripture where that little
widow woman. You know, you're talking about
a pillar. Now here's a pillar. A pillar. Made so by the grace
of God. What she had? She had two minds. All those other fellas, they
were around there throwing all kinds of money in there, you
know, to be seen of men. And the Lord took note of her.
And here's a prospering soul. The Lord told his apostles. He said, you see that woman right
over there? That woman gave two mites. He knew what she gave. Two mites. She gave more than
any of them. She gave out of her need. They
gave out of their abundance to be seen of men. There's a soul
that prospers, prospering, and doesn't see themselves as that.
Oh, but the joy they have to be able to get together, just
like this right here. Malachi 3.16, then they that
feared the Lord, respected the Lord. They spake often one to
another. And listen to this, and the Lord
hearkened. The Lord hearkened. You know what, I think to myself,
there's so many of you here that I've had the blessed privilege
to be able to just talk concerning the Lord. We just talked about
the Lord. And it just, sadly to say on my account, I fail
to remember right here, the Lord's listening. The Lord's listening. Oh, may I be careful what I say. The Lord hearkened, heard it,
and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that
feared the Lord, that thought on his name. Oh, it's such an
encouragement when we get together and rehearse, you know, the things
of the Lord, that he's listening. And that book of remembrance,
does that mean a real book? I don't know. I don't know. Scripture
says a book of remembrance was written for them that fear Him.
I know this, He doesn't need a book. All things the Scripture
says are naked and open to Him, whom we have to do. But these
things are remembered. They're recorded. God Almighty
records them. And the scripture says in Malachi
370, and they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts. In that
day when I make up my jewels, I'll spare them as a man spareth
his own son that serveth him. John in closing said, beloved,
talking to guys, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper. I pray God prosper you. I pray
that. I pray God bless your work, bless
your efforts, that you might be in health. I pray that the
Lord grant us health according to his good pleasure. I know
one of these days we're going to die. I'm thankful right now
that we can be here. I pray that our health might
be to his glory, that we can, in health, be together. But he
said, I'm praying these things even as your soul prospers. I pray that the Lord might be
pleased to bless the preaching of the gospel to give us the
heart to seek Him in prayer. Search His scriptures again to
His glory and our good. Amen. All right.