Preparing the church for gospel missions: Christian Hospitality.
Text Hebrews 13:1-3 ; Luke 10:1-7
What does it mean to be hospitable? Welcoming guests, strangers, sick people etc and being received by someone as a guest.
Why you should be hospitable
Be hospitable because someone has been kind to you before (Deuteronomy 24:17-18)
You may entertain angels without knowing (e.g., Abraham (Genesis 18, Lot Genesis 19)
You become the person of peace heaven visits (Luke 10:5-7). E.g, Abraham (Genesis 18, Lot (Genesis 19 )
God will bless you, and the peace of God will be in your house (e.g., Sarah, the widow in 1 Kings 17:7-12). N.B Hostile families always have misfortunes.
Challenges in Christian hospitality
What about if the person is bad? How can I live with a total stranger?
Ans: God did not design hospitality to be a means to live with wicked strangers; the idea of hospitality is that there are godly people out there, who need help, and if you are hospitable, God will bring them to you to help ( 1 King 17: 7-12). Wherever you find yourself, remember that God has instructed someone to help you.
HOW TO BE HOSPITABLE
It’s a decision: If you want to be kind, God will help you. If you want to be wicked like Pharaoh, God will harden you (Exodus 4:21).
Offer hospitality without grumbling (1 Pet 4:9).
Put God first, not the service ( e.g., Mary and Martha in Luke 10: 38-42). Mary put Jesus first and was commended. Most people, neglect their relationship with God and think that helping people is all that is important. This is wrong. Your relationship with God is the number one priority, helping others is only one of the things we are to do. Jesus gave His life as a ransom for sins, but He also had the Father (Mark 10:45)
Receive God's offer of salvation in Jesus Christ ( e.g., Cornelius in Acts 10:39-48.); else your good deeds will take you to heaven. You will be hurt by those you help if you neglect God. This is because human beings are ungrateful.
In this church, how can we be hospitable?