Title

Does Diotrephes Attend Your Church?

Scripture
I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us.
(3 John 1:9)
Devotional
There is only one to have the preeminence in the Church and it isn’t you or me, it’s Christ. “He is the head of the body, the Church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.”(1) Any time we demand or even desire to be noticed, recognized, or entitled, we are seeking a level of preeminence. If we get offended, hurt feelings, or sense that we are being snubbed, it is most likely because we are thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to think. It is a good thing to desire to serve. For example, “If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.”(2) However, if a man desires a position to be noticed, he desires the wrong work. Let us never seek any form of preeminence. Remember, God knows, and He will reward. If we seek the acclaim of heaven, we will not need the accolades of man.
Thought For The Night
“Be not proud of race, face, place, or grace.”  C. H. Spurgeon, (1834–1892) was a great preacher and pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, England. 
Evening Text
3 John 9: I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us.
Looking for Answers
 
Evening Study Guide
Defining: “Preeminence”: Superior above all others; that which is to be attributed to Christ.
 
Referencing: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation… He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence,” Colossians 1:15-18.
 
Applying: “Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips,” Proverbs 27:2.