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Hospitality
One to Another 1 Peter 4:9 1 Peter 4:7-10 9Be hospitable to one
another without grumbling. Introduction: A.
The One Another
Statements 1. The one‑another
statements are God’s specific instructions on how we are to relate to
believers in the body. 2. Some worry that an
emphasis on fellowship will divert from the important task of evangelism. 3. But God has two ways of
reaching the lost: a) preaching (“How shall
they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear
without a preacher?” Rom. 10: 14) and b) fellowship (“That they
also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me,”
John 17:21). 4. Acts 2:46‑47, John
13:34‑35, and many other passages stress what most churches have
forgotten: a) The lost are won not only
by hearing the gospel (preaching) but also by seeing it (fellowship). b) B.
The Exhortations 1. Thus 1 Peter 4:9 exhorts:
“Use hospitality one to another.” a) Of all people, the
Christian is have an open heart, an open hand, and an open door. 2. Romans 12:13 says we’re
to be “given to hospitality.” a) That is, we’re to have a
knack, a desire, and a budget for hospitality ‑cultivated, of course,
by much practice. 3. Titus 1:7‑8 says
ministers should be lovers of hospitality. a) Hospitality ought to
occupy such a special place in our hearts that we took for opportunities to
render it. C.
The Meaning of the word 1. But, what is hospitality?
The South is supposed to be famous for it, but do we really know what
biblical hospitality is? 2. The Greek word for
hospitable is philoxenos – a) philos, meaning brotherly love, and b) xenos, meaning a
stranger. c) Literally, then,
hospitality means a brotherly love toward strangers. 3. But doesn’t 1 Peter 4:9
have fellow believers in mind when it says “use hospitality one to another”? a) Yes, but keep in mind the
church is filled with strangers who have known each other for years. b) What a contradiction to
Christian fellowship! c) God wants his people
loving one another past the superficial exchanges strangers give. 4. Hospitality is more than
Southern charm. 5. Hospitality is an
investment of time in which we’re used of God to meet one another’s need. The Biblical Application of Hospitality Hospitality Usually Involved a House The New Testament church
met in houses. The Roman decree issued
by Nero made it unlawful for believers to build a church. The first church building
we know about wasn’t erected until 265 AD in The church‑without
temples, without cathedrals, without sanctuaries‑experienced such
remarkable growth that historians claimed the evangelization of the whole
world was clearly in sight. Then the church
experienced a blessing which turned out to be a curse. With that decree,
Christians stopped meeting in houses and started meeting in sanctuaries. The church grew stronger
as an institution, but weaker as a church. Historically this period
is called the Dark Ages. Under institutionalism
(which we still have today) the church lost a dimension which needs to be
recovered. Believers need to recover
an intimate sharing around the Word, where there’s an enmeshing of lives in
the power of the Spirit. Since real hospitality
has been covered up, where’s the best place to uncover it? Biblically, historically,
and practically, hospitality involves a home. Of course, hospitality
may express itself outside of your house. But when you bring
somebody into your home, your hospitality takes on an inclusiveness which God
blesses in a special way. In an article entitled
“Where are the visitors?” Lyle Schaller says, “The most influential question
that can be asked of a first time visitor is, ‘Would you like to come home
with us for dinner?’” For those not interested
in knocking on doors Schaller notes, “Just open your own door!” The purpose of
hospitality is to deepen relationships, to meet needs, to share in the sufficiency
of Christ, and to rejoice in his creation. Hospitality may take the
form of a meal, or an evening discussion, or a day at the beach, or a trip to
the zoo. It may mean sharing the
witness of the Word or spending time in prayer with someone. It may mean a bed, some
clothes, some money, or even a shoulder to cry on. Always, though,
hospitality means sharing you. And ultimately,
hospitality means sharing Jesus. Hospitality is
cultivating a relationship in order to share the riches of Christ. With Whom Are We to Be Hospitable? (Deuteronomy 10:18-19;
Luke 10:25-37) There’s no formula to
this, so I don’t want to be too rigid. The principle is that
every Christian is to give hospitality. But Christians gifted in
hospitality are to invest themselves in the more difficult situations. The Christian who is not
gifted in the area of hospitality should be growing in the use of
hospitality. He should expand his
hospitality to include those people who don’t give an immediate, gratifying
response. Often this means a
stranger and more often this means an unbeliever. Since hospitality is
closely linked with strangers, let’s study what the Bible says about them. The people of They suffered one exile
after another. By experience, they knew
how vulnerable and abused strangers were. Because of these
experiences and because of the message God gave them, Deuteronomy 26:12
instructs God’s people to give food and clothing to the stranger. Deuteronomy 10: 19 sums
it all up by saying, “Love ye therefore the stranger.” Deuteronomy 10: 18 notes
that God “loveth the stranger.” The psalmist declared,
“The Lord preserveth the strangers” (146:9). No doubt about it, God is
on the side of the stranger. Who is the stranger? The stranger is the one
who is different, the one who doesn’t know anybody, the one just passing
through. Away from home, away from
family, away from friends, the stranger is understandably lonely, maybe even
a little bit anxious. What an opportunity! God wants us to treat
strangers like brothers and sisters in the Lord (3 John 5). We are to give the
stranger a home away from home. Now of course, you must
be cautious. But don’t look for a risk
free situation because you won’t find it. Hospitality always
involves risk‑physical risk, property risk, ego risk, and spiritual
risk. Are we willing to take
those risks? The Good Samaritan was! In Luke 10:25-37 Jesus
said that by taking care of the stranger, the Samaritan became his neighbor! Is hospitality a regular
part of our ministry? How will we answer God on
that last day when he asks us about our ministry of hospitality? Hindrances to Hospitality Motives (Matthew 12:30) I think there are two major hindrances to the ministry of
hospitality: the hindrance of time and the hindrance of motive. Actually, the two are
related. If you don’t want to be
hospitable, you certainly won’t find the time. So let’s focus first on
motive. Do we want to open our
homes and hearts to those people who need us? Do we want God to use us
as we venture beyond self, family, and friends? Most of us probably don’t
have any enthusiasm for this ministry. That is because we’re not
especially excited about what God is doing in our lives. We need to go beyond the
staleness of sin and self and let God use us in a new, uplifting way. Jesus said, “He that
gathereth not with me scattereth abroad” (Matt. 12:30). In other words, we’re
either gatherers or scatterers. Which
are you? Do you draw people in? Do
you make them feel welcome? Or do you repel people?
Do you split them up? Do you bring about division? Time How do we spend our time:
“in the flesh to satisfy your lusts” or “to the will of God”? The answer to this says
something about your life in Christ. How does your calendar
and clock testify of the lord‑ship of Jesus? Don’t turn down the
ministry of hospitality with “I don’t have time.” Time is the only thing we
do have. Here is one way to assess
how you’re spending your time. Write down all of the
demands of your schedule. List every investment of
time. Divide your list into
three categories: activities which are of
the Lord, those which are not of
the Lord, and those which you’re not
sure about. Put into your schedule
the tasks that God says every Christian should be performing, such as
hospitality, evangelism, and discipling. As you pray and plan, let
this be your guiding principle: Say no to the lesser, yes to the greater. Be
tough. Whatever keeps you from
doing what God wants you to do, lay it aside, cast it off, put it down. That’s what we must do if
we’re to be good stewards of time. The rest of time . . . to the will of God. Is that the prayer of
your heart? If so, you have the mind
of Christ. Why Hospitality? Fervent Love (1 Peter 4:8-9) Notice the emphasis Peter
gave, “above all things have fervent charity.” The Greek word for
“fervent” means “stretched out.” Have you ever seen a
runner about to cross the finish line? He stretches out, giving it all he’s
got. That’s what we’re to do. Instead of running with
the pack going to hell, we’re to run God’s race with a stretched out love for
fellow believers. This love, Peter said,
covers a multitude of sins. Peter also said, “Use
hospitality one to another without grudging (grumbling)” (v. 9). It really cost something
to be hospitable. Hospitality is often
inconvenient, but if you focus there you might as well quit. Remember, our motive must be
gratitude; our attitude, the mind of
Christ; our plan, to meet others’
needs; and our goal, to bring them
to Christ. Jesus said: “When you
give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or
relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back again
so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the
crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed (Luke 14:12‑14,
NIV)”. Loving friends is not
wrong, but Jesus is calling us to something greater. Is there a lonely person
you need to love? Grandparents – tv –
couple – lived in shack in the woods – had nothing! They fed them – Grandma
and Papaw were blessed! That’s what hospitality
is all about, going out of your inner circle to be a blessing to others. The Rewards and Consequences Blessings Unknown! (Hebrews 13:2) Hebrews 13:2 admonishes,
“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained
angels unawares.” This verse, which uses
the same word for entertain that Peter used for hospitality, probably refers to
the time when Abraham was hospitable to three strangers, only to learn that
one was God and the other two were angels. Extending ourselves in
hospitality, opening our homes to strangers, may result in blessings so rich
that you’ll consider it (like the angels) to be the nearest thing to God. God wants us to do what
the natural part of us will never do‑to be hospitable. A criterion for judgement (Matthew 25:31-46) Jesus made hospitality
the criterion for judgment. 31“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with
Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will
separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats
on the left. 34Then the King will
say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and
you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36I was naked and
you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came
to Me.’ 37“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You
hungry and feed You, or thirsty and
give You drink? 38When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to
You?’ 40And the King will answer
and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My
brethren, you did it to Me.’ 41“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you
cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and
you gave Me no drink; 43I was a
stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick
and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ 44“Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You
hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not
minister to You?’ 45Then He will
answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you
did not do it to Me.’ 46And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the
righteous into eternal life.” The Test of Love Hospitality, or the lack
of it, is a litmus test of our love. Erwin W. Lutzer says,
“Hospitality is a test for godliness because those who are selfish do not
like strangers (especially needy ones) to intrude upon their private lives.” They prefer their own
friends who share their life-style. Only the humble have the
necessary resources to give of themselves to those who could never give of
themselves in return. To those people who
prayed, studied their Bibles, and never missed a Sunday at church, but who
never gave themselves to hospitality, God will say, “Depart from me; I never
knew you.” Be clear on this!
Hospitality isn’t the basis of salvation - It is the result of it! So, won’t you show your
love for Jesus by making room in your heart and in your schedule for this
godly ministry, the ministry of hospitality? |
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Copyright © 2008, by
ToBeLikeHim Ministries