WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.060 Well, evening again. 00:00:02.419 --> 00:00:05.679 If you want to turn your Bibles to 1 Peter, chapter 4. 00:00:07.459 --> 00:00:11.060 We'll be looking at a few verses from this book 00:00:11.060 --> 00:00:16.379 to launch our sermon on hospitality this evening. 00:00:18.460 --> 00:00:21.440 Just want to remember, there is a little video testimony at the end. 00:00:21.559 --> 00:00:24.560 I may forget in the heat of the moment that's happening at the end, 00:00:24.660 --> 00:00:26.179 but you guys keep me right at the back. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:32.859 So 1 Peter 4, going to read God's word to us. 00:00:33.020 --> 00:00:34.920 I'll pray and then get stuck in. 00:00:35.780 --> 00:00:36.600 Verse 7. 00:00:38.780 --> 00:00:40.019 This is God's words. 00:00:40.019 --> 00:00:41.880 The end of all things is at hand. 00:00:42.259 --> 00:00:47.340 Therefore, be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:51.679 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, 00:00:52.179 --> 00:00:54.700 since love covers a multitude of sins. 00:00:55.700 --> 00:00:59.039 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:03.600 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, 00:01:04.340 --> 00:01:07.299 as good stewards of God's very grace. 00:01:08.219 --> 00:01:11.519 Whoever speaks as one who speaks oracles of God. 00:01:12.460 --> 00:01:15.939 Whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies, 00:01:16.620 --> 00:01:21.240 in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. 00:01:21.939 --> 00:01:25.560 To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:26.299 Amen. 00:01:27.519 --> 00:01:28.500 Let me just pray. 00:01:28.500 --> 00:01:28.840 Amen. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:36.200 Father God, I want to thank you and praise you for your goodness and faithfulness to us. 00:01:36.980 --> 00:01:39.219 Thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:01:39.460 --> 00:01:42.819 who laid down his life for us, even though we did not deserve it. 00:01:43.379 --> 00:01:45.819 Thank you for his love as vast as the ocean. 00:01:45.819 --> 00:01:53.319 Thank you for the opportunity we have this evening to open your word and think about hospitality. 00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:57.579 Pray, Lord, that by your spirit you might take your word, 00:01:57.699 --> 00:02:00.259 plant it deep in our hearts and change and transform us, 00:02:00.359 --> 00:02:03.799 so that we might be more Christ-like in our attitudes and actions. 00:02:03.799 --> 00:02:11.900 Lord, we look to Jesus this evening and be changed. 00:02:11.900 --> 00:02:13.900 In his name we pray. 00:02:13.900 --> 00:02:14.740 Amen. 00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:26.240 I still remember the smell when I came back from school to my house, my family home. 00:02:26.240 --> 00:02:33.460 It was a combination of deep blue cheese and BO. 00:02:33.460 --> 00:02:37.920 It smelled horrible like a rat had died in our house. 00:02:38.480 --> 00:02:39.900 Where was it coming from, I thought? 00:02:39.900 --> 00:02:49.920 Well, sat in the living room was a middle-aged man who looked like he'd been living on the streets for the last decades. 00:02:49.919 --> 00:02:54.259 Who is this, I asked to my parents. 00:02:54.959 --> 00:02:56.979 And they just turned around and said, this is Neil. 00:02:59.000 --> 00:03:00.279 He's coming to stay with us. 00:03:01.719 --> 00:03:02.839 He's got nowhere to stay. 00:03:02.919 --> 00:03:08.379 He's had a rough life, but he's down in London and he's studying at the Bible College. 00:03:08.899 --> 00:03:13.099 They put an email out and asked, could anyone take him in? 00:03:13.139 --> 00:03:13.959 And we said yes. 00:03:15.079 --> 00:03:17.279 Turned to my mom and dad as a teenager at that point. 00:03:17.359 --> 00:03:18.519 Does he have to stay with us, really? 00:03:19.039 --> 00:03:19.699 I mean, he smells. 00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:22.879 Yes, he's coming to stay with us. 00:03:24.099 --> 00:03:25.899 And we want you to make him feel at home. 00:03:27.839 --> 00:03:30.419 There's that old song that we sing called, 00:03:30.539 --> 00:03:35.159 Take my life, let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee. 00:03:36.159 --> 00:03:41.879 Basically, the song talks about handing over our whole lives to the Lord in service to him. 00:03:42.779 --> 00:03:47.819 And if you read through the verses, the song talks about letting the Lord dictate our footsteps 00:03:47.819 --> 00:03:55.739 and our voices and our intellects and our hearts and even our silver and gold. 00:03:55.740 --> 00:04:01.219 And we sing it as a prayer to say, Lord, do whatever you want with my life. 00:04:03.080 --> 00:04:06.040 But I wonder this evening if that's really true of us. 00:04:06.039 --> 00:04:11.799 If you had a meal wanting to stay with you, would you take him in? 00:04:14.599 --> 00:04:17.560 Would you open your house to him? 00:04:17.560 --> 00:04:25.560 This evening is not about our voices or our steps or even our money. 00:04:26.019 --> 00:04:29.280 This evening is about our homes. 00:04:29.279 --> 00:04:38.579 Can we sing, take my home and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee? 00:04:38.579 --> 00:04:48.939 Are we willing to practice biblical hospitality for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ as it's set out in the New Testament? 00:04:50.300 --> 00:04:51.680 I just want to look at this evening. 00:04:52.399 --> 00:04:57.680 And we're just going to have three questions in our brief time together. 00:04:57.839 --> 00:05:00.240 Firstly, what is biblical hospitality? 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:01.419 What does that mean? 00:05:01.819 --> 00:05:02.680 Why is it important? 00:05:03.819 --> 00:05:06.439 Secondly, who should we be showing hospitality to? 00:05:06.439 --> 00:05:09.719 And then why is this so difficult for us? 00:05:10.660 --> 00:05:11.319 What is hospitality? 00:05:12.319 --> 00:05:14.899 Who should we be showing hospitality to? 00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:20.160 And three, why is this such a battle for us as Christians? 00:05:21.519 --> 00:05:24.720 So firstly, what is biblical hospitality? 00:05:25.240 --> 00:05:34.139 Well, you'll see in verse 9 of the text I read out that Peter encourages the believers to show hospitality to one another. 00:05:34.139 --> 00:05:39.659 And the word hospitality in the Greek is a Greek word called philoxenia. 00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:43.899 And it literally translates as love of stranger. 00:05:44.939 --> 00:05:46.639 Love of stranger. 00:05:47.099 --> 00:05:48.899 Philo means love. 00:05:49.500 --> 00:05:51.120 And xenia means stranger. 00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:52.379 Don't ask me any more Greek. 00:05:53.060 --> 00:05:53.759 That's all I know. 00:05:54.399 --> 00:05:55.199 Love of the stranger. 00:05:55.199 --> 00:06:01.420 And this was important for the early Christians because traveling was dangerous. 00:06:02.180 --> 00:06:04.740 And it was difficult to find a good place to stay at night. 00:06:04.860 --> 00:06:08.839 It's not like today where you have a travel lodge or a premier inn to go and stay in. 00:06:08.920 --> 00:06:10.360 Or if you've got a bit of money, the Hilton. 00:06:10.939 --> 00:06:11.759 They didn't have that. 00:06:12.500 --> 00:06:14.740 There were inns and there were motels. 00:06:15.120 --> 00:06:17.279 But usually these were doubled up as brothels. 00:06:18.199 --> 00:06:19.500 They weren't good places to stay. 00:06:19.500 --> 00:06:26.100 So if you were a traveling evangelist, for example, 2,000 years ago, and you're traveling from city to city, 00:06:26.680 --> 00:06:32.980 you depended on other believers to take you in and to give you a night stay. 00:06:33.939 --> 00:06:35.459 And you might not know anything about them. 00:06:35.540 --> 00:06:37.259 And they might not know anything about you. 00:06:37.860 --> 00:06:41.399 And so hospitality was love of the stranger. 00:06:41.399 --> 00:06:48.120 And so hospitality, biblically speaking, if you want a proper definition of it or biblical definition of it, 00:06:48.139 --> 00:06:52.679 it's not primarily inviting your friends or your family over. 00:06:53.439 --> 00:06:57.859 It's not primarily having the church members over who are your best pals. 00:06:58.919 --> 00:06:59.279 No. 00:07:00.039 --> 00:07:04.739 Biblical hospitality is inviting the stranger into your home. 00:07:05.259 --> 00:07:08.179 It's inviting the outsider into your life. 00:07:08.659 --> 00:07:09.620 And it's loving them well. 00:07:09.620 --> 00:07:19.100 Hospitality, I think, biblically speaking, is the principle of having an open home where anyone is welcome anytime. 00:07:20.879 --> 00:07:27.860 It's the principle of opening up your home so that the world can see your life and your faith and your doctrine. 00:07:29.139 --> 00:07:30.180 And we see this through the Bible. 00:07:30.259 --> 00:07:31.100 It's not just one verse. 00:07:31.420 --> 00:07:33.399 We see in the Old Testament and the New Testament. 00:07:33.780 --> 00:07:39.300 For example, in Leviticus 19, verses 33 to 34, the Lord says to the people, 00:07:39.620 --> 00:07:43.699 When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall do him no wrong. 00:07:44.240 --> 00:07:49.300 You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself. 00:07:50.100 --> 00:07:55.259 In other words, if there's an outsider who comes in, don't reject them, but love them as yourself. 00:07:55.259 --> 00:07:58.019 Because they were strangers in the land of Egypt. 00:07:59.159 --> 00:08:00.579 And now they have a home. 00:08:02.259 --> 00:08:04.060 Hebrews 13, verse 2 says, 00:08:04.259 --> 00:08:12.579 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 00:08:13.879 --> 00:08:15.259 Romans 12, 13. 00:08:15.740 --> 00:08:20.019 Share with the saints in their needs and pursue hospitality. 00:08:20.019 --> 00:08:28.120 And even in Titus and 1 Timothy, one of the qualifications to be an elder is that of hospitality. 00:08:29.599 --> 00:08:34.259 So this principle is not just for New Testament times, but it's for us today. 00:08:34.819 --> 00:08:40.519 We may not have as many travelling evangelists, and we may have good hotels to stay in, 00:08:40.919 --> 00:08:45.899 but opening our homes to people is an important and needed ministry. 00:08:45.899 --> 00:08:54.279 It's important to open up our homes and our lives to fellow Christians, whether that's the stranger or the friend. 00:08:55.439 --> 00:09:00.059 And I think hospitality encompasses a whole load and range of activities. 00:09:01.059 --> 00:09:06.899 It could include inviting someone over to have a cup of tea with you so they can talk through 00:09:06.899 --> 00:09:09.779 maybe their struggles and their issues and what they're going through. 00:09:09.779 --> 00:09:14.740 Could include having people over for a meal with us. 00:09:15.480 --> 00:09:19.259 Could include having people come and stay with us. 00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:26.360 Hospitality includes inviting the believer in, but I think it also includes inviting the non-believer in as well 00:09:26.360 --> 00:09:28.779 and letting them see our houses and our lives. 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:33.939 And notice here, hospitality is a universal command. 00:09:33.940 --> 00:09:40.060 Peter doesn't say to some of them, just a few of you practice hospitality. 00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:42.880 He says, all of you. 00:09:43.520 --> 00:09:45.160 All of you practice it. 00:09:45.380 --> 00:09:46.000 Not just women. 00:09:48.660 --> 00:09:50.080 Not just married couples. 00:09:51.660 --> 00:09:52.980 Not just those who have money. 00:09:54.580 --> 00:09:56.140 Not just those who have big houses. 00:09:57.080 --> 00:09:58.300 Not just the leaders. 00:09:58.299 --> 00:10:05.759 No, he says, above all, show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 00:10:05.859 --> 00:10:10.219 In other words, it's something that we all should be thinking about, no matter what our stage of life is. 00:10:11.500 --> 00:10:13.379 Now, of course, there's different stages of life. 00:10:13.740 --> 00:10:17.519 That looks like, hospitality looks different in different circumstances and scenarios. 00:10:18.859 --> 00:10:21.099 Some of us are sick. 00:10:21.199 --> 00:10:22.359 Some of us have just had a baby. 00:10:22.500 --> 00:10:24.259 Some of us are older or whatever. 00:10:24.259 --> 00:10:29.720 But during our life, is our lives open? 00:10:30.379 --> 00:10:31.980 Are our homes open? 00:10:32.480 --> 00:10:37.319 Are we willing to share them with those around us? 00:10:37.379 --> 00:10:38.100 It's a mindset. 00:10:38.960 --> 00:10:41.659 It's a mindset more than anything else. 00:10:43.179 --> 00:10:45.840 And hospitality, I think, is important for two reasons. 00:10:46.779 --> 00:10:50.059 One, I think it's an amazing discipleship tool. 00:10:50.840 --> 00:10:52.439 I think it's an amazing discipleship tool. 00:10:52.440 --> 00:10:58.820 Hospitality allows us to get people in our homes so that we can talk about the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:10:59.340 --> 00:11:02.440 It's a chance to edify one another. 00:11:02.520 --> 00:11:05.220 It's a chance to build one another up in Christ. 00:11:06.540 --> 00:11:10.640 For example, in my home, when lockdown restrictions are not happening, 00:11:11.280 --> 00:11:15.340 we have a single mum from our church and her two kids come over to us 00:11:15.340 --> 00:11:18.020 who have been saved miraculously from this scheme. 00:11:18.280 --> 00:11:21.640 And they come and have dinner with us every Wednesday night. 00:11:21.639 --> 00:11:24.720 They come and eat with us. 00:11:24.939 --> 00:11:25.840 We have fellowship. 00:11:26.019 --> 00:11:26.740 We open the Bible. 00:11:26.899 --> 00:11:27.340 We pray. 00:11:27.460 --> 00:11:28.240 Sometimes we sing. 00:11:29.600 --> 00:11:34.740 And there's a chance for us as a family to model what biblical family looks like. 00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:37.699 It's a wing of discipleship. 00:11:38.639 --> 00:11:41.659 I can teach her on a Sunday the scriptures. 00:11:42.419 --> 00:11:44.519 But how much better is it to see it in action? 00:11:44.519 --> 00:11:49.279 Hospitality is also a great evangelistic tool, I think. 00:11:49.699 --> 00:11:53.500 Because it allows us non-Christians to come and see what we're really like. 00:11:54.860 --> 00:11:57.259 To really see if we walk the walk and talk the talk. 00:11:57.740 --> 00:11:59.740 And to show them that it's not just a Sunday thing. 00:12:02.939 --> 00:12:03.919 We are believers. 00:12:04.779 --> 00:12:08.079 And Christ impacts every area of our lives. 00:12:08.080 --> 00:12:13.660 Hospitality is about sharing our lives with people. 00:12:14.780 --> 00:12:18.780 And where better for Christians and non-Christians to see that than in our homes? 00:12:19.120 --> 00:12:21.379 Our world is lonely, isn't it? 00:12:22.840 --> 00:12:25.240 Our world is craving authenticity. 00:12:26.360 --> 00:12:28.620 Our world is looking for answers. 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:35.360 Where better to show them the love of Christ than in a Christian home? 00:12:35.360 --> 00:12:44.460 Hospitality helps us fight against this insidious individualistic society and worldview that we have in the West. 00:12:44.600 --> 00:12:46.500 That keeps people at arm's length. 00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:49.639 Which is not biblical at all. 00:12:52.879 --> 00:12:56.080 If you look at Jesus' life, this is exactly what Jesus did, didn't he? 00:12:57.060 --> 00:13:00.240 He opened up his life to people. 00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:02.820 He didn't just teach the scriptures on a Sunday. 00:13:02.820 --> 00:13:06.600 And say, you lot, you're on your own the rest of the week. 00:13:07.300 --> 00:13:08.080 What did he do? 00:13:08.180 --> 00:13:10.960 He said to the disciples and to others, 00:13:11.300 --> 00:13:12.840 Come eat with me. 00:13:14.100 --> 00:13:15.020 Come drink with me. 00:13:15.860 --> 00:13:16.900 I'm going to walk with you. 00:13:16.940 --> 00:13:17.980 I'm going to be with you. 00:13:18.060 --> 00:13:18.720 I'm going to love you. 00:13:18.800 --> 00:13:19.660 I'm going to teach you. 00:13:21.240 --> 00:13:23.320 And this is where I think hospitality is great. 00:13:24.180 --> 00:13:25.680 I already know some of us are thinking this. 00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:29.919 I don't have time to share my life with people. 00:13:30.899 --> 00:13:31.759 It's all right for him. 00:13:31.799 --> 00:13:33.599 He's the pastor at the front, giving the advice. 00:13:33.719 --> 00:13:36.120 He's got lots of time on his hands to invest in people. 00:13:36.179 --> 00:13:36.779 That's what he does. 00:13:37.199 --> 00:13:38.019 He has to do it. 00:13:38.859 --> 00:13:39.719 I've got a job. 00:13:40.739 --> 00:13:41.620 I've got a family. 00:13:41.719 --> 00:13:42.299 I've got a pet. 00:13:42.299 --> 00:13:47.679 How am I going to share my life with those around me? 00:13:48.199 --> 00:13:51.899 I get no time for myself, let alone anyone else, 00:13:53.019 --> 00:13:56.059 to invite them into my home or to show hospitality to others. 00:13:58.159 --> 00:13:58.939 This is where it's good. 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:02.199 Think about it in this way. 00:14:02.979 --> 00:14:05.159 Think about how many meals you have in your week. 00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:08.539 I don't know about you, but I like to have four or five. 00:14:08.539 --> 00:14:11.259 But usually it's three meals, isn't it? 00:14:11.299 --> 00:14:12.079 We have our breakfast. 00:14:12.620 --> 00:14:13.699 We've got our lunch meal. 00:14:13.959 --> 00:14:14.860 And we've got our dinner. 00:14:16.219 --> 00:14:17.819 Seven days a week, three slots. 00:14:18.360 --> 00:14:20.459 In my mind, that's 21 slots. 00:14:21.579 --> 00:14:25.099 I don't think it's too difficult in our week to invite a new believer 00:14:25.099 --> 00:14:27.679 or maybe someone who's new to the city 00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:30.639 or even a non-Christian to one of those slots. 00:14:31.759 --> 00:14:33.959 To make time for the outsider. 00:14:34.360 --> 00:14:36.500 To make time for someone suffering. 00:14:36.500 --> 00:14:38.459 To make time for someone struggling. 00:14:39.539 --> 00:14:40.839 One slot out of 21. 00:14:41.959 --> 00:14:43.120 I don't think it's that hard. 00:14:45.299 --> 00:14:50.240 See, hospitality can be planned if you make it a priority. 00:14:52.299 --> 00:14:53.959 It's like anything in life, isn't it? 00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:55.939 You make time for the things you want to make time for. 00:14:56.319 --> 00:14:57.919 You make time to watch your box set 00:14:57.919 --> 00:15:01.980 and watch 10 hours of whatever it is on Netflix. 00:15:01.980 --> 00:15:09.000 Can you make time to love those around you well and open up your home? 00:15:10.159 --> 00:15:11.279 Let me ask you some questions. 00:15:12.279 --> 00:15:14.060 Do people really know you in this church? 00:15:14.860 --> 00:15:16.519 Yeah, they know on your Sunday, hey, how are you doing? 00:15:16.620 --> 00:15:17.100 I'm fine. 00:15:17.320 --> 00:15:19.279 But do they know you any more than that? 00:15:20.120 --> 00:15:20.920 That's not fellowship. 00:15:20.919 --> 00:15:27.899 Have we invited people into our homes and into our lives? 00:15:28.479 --> 00:15:30.039 And don't use lockdown as an excuse. 00:15:31.379 --> 00:15:32.179 You've still got your garden. 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:34.639 You've still got walks. 00:15:35.599 --> 00:15:37.159 You've still got ways that you can serve people 00:15:37.159 --> 00:15:39.620 by cooking a meal and getting alongside people. 00:15:39.620 --> 00:15:43.039 If you're married, do you invite single people to come along 00:15:43.039 --> 00:15:45.340 and see your family and spend time with you? 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:48.879 If you're single, do you invite families to come and help them out 00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:50.379 and maybe offer with childcare? 00:15:50.700 --> 00:15:54.379 There's so many different ways that we can show hospitality to each other 00:15:54.379 --> 00:15:56.279 if we think about it creatively. 00:15:58.200 --> 00:15:59.259 So that's the first thing. 00:15:59.879 --> 00:16:01.360 Hospitality is love of the stranger 00:16:01.360 --> 00:16:03.440 and opening up our lives to those around us. 00:16:03.860 --> 00:16:06.659 Who should we be showing hospitality to then is the second question. 00:16:07.299 --> 00:16:09.580 Who should we be showing hospitality to? 00:16:10.620 --> 00:16:15.139 The simple question on one level is, is everyone? 00:16:17.940 --> 00:16:20.320 I mean, Jesus couldn't show hospitality per se 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:22.299 because he didn't have a house, did he? 00:16:22.360 --> 00:16:23.519 He had nowhere to lay his head. 00:16:24.460 --> 00:16:26.580 But Jesus did a lot of eating and drinking with people, 00:16:26.679 --> 00:16:29.480 so much so that people called him a glutton and a drunkard. 00:16:30.060 --> 00:16:32.539 He was so busy out with people. 00:16:33.639 --> 00:16:36.960 And in Jesus' culture, who you ate with and who you drank with 00:16:36.960 --> 00:16:38.320 was a sign of welcome. 00:16:39.020 --> 00:16:40.340 It was a sign of association. 00:16:40.700 --> 00:16:41.900 It was a sign of commitment. 00:16:42.120 --> 00:16:43.100 It was a sign of belonging. 00:16:45.140 --> 00:16:47.200 And meals are the same connotations today, I think. 00:16:47.760 --> 00:16:50.520 What you eat, where you eat, who you eat with, 00:16:50.740 --> 00:16:53.920 tells the world a lot about you and your social circles, doesn't it? 00:16:55.220 --> 00:16:58.500 The meals of Jesus, therefore, represented something much bigger. 00:16:59.640 --> 00:17:02.940 They represented a new world, a new kingdom, a new outlook. 00:17:02.940 --> 00:17:07.960 Who he spent time with shows us who we should spend time with too. 00:17:09.380 --> 00:17:10.720 And who did he spend time with? 00:17:10.840 --> 00:17:15.059 Well, everyone in general, but especially the poor. 00:17:16.240 --> 00:17:17.080 Especially the poor. 00:17:17.079 --> 00:17:19.619 Yes, he spent time with the religious leaders, 00:17:20.220 --> 00:17:22.500 but he also spent time with the prostitute. 00:17:24.439 --> 00:17:26.439 He went to the Jew and he went to the Gentile. 00:17:26.679 --> 00:17:29.539 He spent time with the high and mighty, but he spent time with the lowly. 00:17:29.879 --> 00:17:33.079 He spent time with the respected and he spent time with the dregs of society. 00:17:34.119 --> 00:17:35.039 That was his life. 00:17:37.139 --> 00:17:39.879 And what did he say in the Power of the Good Samaritan 00:17:39.879 --> 00:17:43.019 when the lawyer asked the question, 00:17:43.019 --> 00:17:43.700 who is my neighbor? 00:17:46.900 --> 00:17:49.400 He said, this man, the Samaritan is your neighbor. 00:17:50.180 --> 00:17:50.639 Your enemy. 00:17:52.799 --> 00:17:55.220 In other words, not just the Jew next to you, 00:17:55.480 --> 00:17:56.720 not just the guy that you respect, 00:17:57.740 --> 00:17:58.599 but even your enemy. 00:18:00.599 --> 00:18:01.000 Everyone. 00:18:05.779 --> 00:18:08.279 Listen to what Jesus says in Luke chapter 14, 00:18:09.400 --> 00:18:11.900 verses 12 to 14, the parable of the great banquet. 00:18:11.900 --> 00:18:13.460 Listen to this. 00:18:13.540 --> 00:18:13.759 He said, 00:18:14.220 --> 00:18:15.519 Then Jesus said to his host, 00:18:16.340 --> 00:18:18.500 When you give a lunch or you give a dinner, 00:18:19.860 --> 00:18:21.019 do not invite your friends, 00:18:21.900 --> 00:18:24.220 your brothers or sisters, 00:18:24.759 --> 00:18:28.000 your relatives or your rich neighbors. 00:18:28.980 --> 00:18:29.700 If you do, 00:18:30.300 --> 00:18:32.140 they may invite you back 00:18:32.140 --> 00:18:34.220 and so you'll be repaid. 00:18:34.620 --> 00:18:35.680 But when you give a banquet, 00:18:36.360 --> 00:18:36.960 invite who? 00:18:38.220 --> 00:18:39.000 The poor. 00:18:40.340 --> 00:18:41.300 The crippled. 00:18:41.299 --> 00:18:42.859 The lame. 00:18:42.859 --> 00:18:43.099 The blind. 00:18:43.099 --> 00:18:44.139 The blind. 00:18:44.619 --> 00:18:46.700 And then you will be blessed. 00:18:47.480 --> 00:18:49.119 Although they cannot repay you, 00:18:49.680 --> 00:18:51.519 you will be repaid 00:18:51.519 --> 00:18:52.940 at the resurrection 00:18:52.940 --> 00:18:55.619 of the righteous. 00:18:57.059 --> 00:18:59.240 That's astonishing when you think about it, isn't it? 00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:03.779 Don't invite your friends first and foremost. 00:19:04.740 --> 00:19:06.000 Don't invite your relatives. 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:09.880 Don't invite the rich. 00:19:09.880 --> 00:19:10.400 and they're respected. 00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:11.320 Don't invite your relatives. 00:19:11.320 --> 00:19:11.480 Don't accept your brothers and sisters. 00:19:11.480 --> 00:19:15.500 Try to ask, 00:19:17.760 --> 00:19:18.440 your chars == 00:19:18.440 --> 00:19:18.740 The chars 00:19:18.740 --> 00:19:20.200 You will regard to 24 minutes. 00:19:20.200 --> 00:19:21.360 Don't echo my products fromنا 00:19:21.360 --> 00:19:22.360 I Belliss. 00:19:22.360 --> 00:19:23.700 Don't command posic 지난 00:19:23.700 --> 00:19:25.460 the blessed Robert 00:19:25.460 --> 00:19:26.120 the last, and the lost. 00:19:28.140 --> 00:19:31.779 Not the first, not your favorite, not the found. 00:19:33.340 --> 00:19:35.240 The least, the last, and the lost. 00:19:35.519 --> 00:19:37.039 The broken, the struggling, the sinner. 00:19:38.980 --> 00:19:42.180 See, biblical hospitality is not primarily about entertainment. 00:19:44.019 --> 00:19:46.279 It's not inviting people to a party, 00:19:46.360 --> 00:19:48.160 although it can include that, of course. 00:19:48.680 --> 00:19:49.720 Let's have a good time together. 00:19:51.019 --> 00:19:52.920 What's the root of the word hospitality? 00:19:52.920 --> 00:19:55.319 The root of the word hospitality is hospital. 00:19:55.460 --> 00:20:01.640 Our homes, as Christians, should be hospitals for the weak. 00:20:02.160 --> 00:20:04.480 They should be hospitals for the lost, for the broken, 00:20:04.660 --> 00:20:06.480 for the outsider, and for the struggler. 00:20:08.299 --> 00:20:12.120 They should be places where Christ is present through our lives and our words, 00:20:12.200 --> 00:20:16.960 and we are offering up our lives in an ointment that soothes people's weary souls. 00:20:19.579 --> 00:20:25.000 A lady called Rosaria Butterfield, who practices this in her home in America, writes this. 00:20:25.460 --> 00:20:31.100 Our homes are not castles, but incubators and hospitals. 00:20:32.539 --> 00:20:38.299 Our homes are not castles, but incubators and hospitals. 00:20:38.299 --> 00:20:44.099 So the life that the Lord calls us to live is sacrificial and costly, 00:20:44.099 --> 00:20:47.000 and it even includes our homes. 00:20:47.000 --> 00:20:51.900 This is where it's difficult, isn't it? 00:20:53.099 --> 00:20:54.000 This is where it's difficult. 00:20:54.180 --> 00:20:55.299 And it means we're on my third point. 00:20:55.400 --> 00:20:57.059 Why is it such a struggle for us? 00:20:57.859 --> 00:21:03.740 Why is hospitality such a battle for us as believers, particularly in the West? 00:21:03.740 --> 00:21:09.039 Listen to what Peter says here again. 00:21:09.980 --> 00:21:15.059 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 00:21:15.819 --> 00:21:18.359 It's almost like he already knows it's going to be difficult for them. 00:21:19.120 --> 00:21:21.980 It's almost like he knows it's going to be difficult for generations after him. 00:21:22.980 --> 00:21:29.620 Practice hospitality without grumbling or complaining. 00:21:29.619 --> 00:21:35.439 Because he knows that when you invite another person into your home, 00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:37.859 it's going to be difficult, isn't it? 00:21:39.099 --> 00:21:41.459 I mean, many of us, I'm sure this evening, are married. 00:21:41.899 --> 00:21:43.059 And we know this intimately. 00:21:43.579 --> 00:21:45.279 As soon as you get married, what happens? 00:21:45.279 --> 00:21:55.099 The love that you had at the engagement quickly dissipates as it moves into struggles and fights and battles, 00:21:55.539 --> 00:21:57.700 and your selfishness is exposed, isn't it? 00:21:58.899 --> 00:22:03.779 So inviting any other person into your home life is going to be a struggle, isn't it? 00:22:04.799 --> 00:22:07.740 Because you're bringing another sinner into an already sinful home. 00:22:07.740 --> 00:22:16.460 Here's one of the big reasons that we don't practice hospitality is this. 00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:17.740 We're selfish. 00:22:20.440 --> 00:22:22.920 We like our me time, don't we? 00:22:24.120 --> 00:22:26.019 We like our own space. 00:22:26.700 --> 00:22:31.160 And we don't want to invite anybody else into that space that we have. 00:22:32.859 --> 00:22:34.779 And people are annoying, aren't they? 00:22:34.779 --> 00:22:39.740 I know we're in a richer area over here. 00:22:39.799 --> 00:22:40.259 I'm a bit posh. 00:22:40.339 --> 00:22:41.359 But people are annoying, aren't they? 00:22:42.920 --> 00:22:43.639 Very annoying. 00:22:44.500 --> 00:22:45.139 Very annoying. 00:22:45.700 --> 00:22:46.779 They do annoying things. 00:22:46.839 --> 00:22:47.759 They say annoying things. 00:22:47.819 --> 00:22:48.619 They get on our nerves. 00:22:50.420 --> 00:22:55.859 And so opening up our homes to those around us is going to be a battle, isn't it? 00:22:57.019 --> 00:22:58.819 It's also a battle because it's costly. 00:22:58.859 --> 00:22:59.980 It's going to cost us something. 00:23:01.119 --> 00:23:03.440 You see, it's easy to preach a sermon. 00:23:04.299 --> 00:23:06.180 It's easy to lead a Bible study. 00:23:06.360 --> 00:23:08.120 It's easy to do a quiet time. 00:23:08.519 --> 00:23:11.700 But it's far, far harder to practice biblical hospitality. 00:23:12.840 --> 00:23:15.400 Because it's going to cost us financially. 00:23:15.400 --> 00:23:25.100 If you have extra guests at your dinner table, it means you have to factor in your budget extra money to spend on them, don't you? 00:23:25.460 --> 00:23:26.360 So there's extra food. 00:23:27.720 --> 00:23:30.720 It's not like at the end of the meal you can hand them a bill and say, actually, that was 10 quid. 00:23:32.460 --> 00:23:34.120 And I want a five-pound tip as well. 00:23:35.759 --> 00:23:36.820 You have to budget for it. 00:23:36.819 --> 00:23:42.200 It's going to cost us personally as we invite people into our home that we wouldn't usually spend time with, that we don't usually like. 00:23:42.819 --> 00:23:46.159 Or even our enemies. 00:23:48.379 --> 00:23:50.139 It means bringing people into our families. 00:23:50.659 --> 00:23:52.339 It means sharing our time with them. 00:23:52.339 --> 00:23:54.699 It means hanging out with people we don't hang out with usually. 00:23:55.039 --> 00:23:56.919 It means taking people's burdens on. 00:23:57.139 --> 00:23:59.879 All of this saps energy and all of this is tiring. 00:24:02.339 --> 00:24:03.299 And so it attacks, doesn't it? 00:24:03.319 --> 00:24:04.399 It attacks our me time. 00:24:04.779 --> 00:24:06.279 It attacks our selfishness. 00:24:06.599 --> 00:24:09.019 It attacks our self-centeredness. 00:24:09.019 --> 00:24:10.019 It attacks our self-centeredness. 00:24:13.299 --> 00:24:14.400 But it's necessary. 00:24:16.259 --> 00:24:19.680 We're going to live a life that's following the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:21.079 I mean, we've had everything at our home. 00:24:22.440 --> 00:24:26.920 We've had heating left on all night, which has cost us an arm and a leg. 00:24:27.960 --> 00:24:32.799 We've had non-stick pans that we got for our wedding, scrapes and ruins. 00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:38.420 My wife has had to clean wee off the floor when she's five months pregnant, 00:24:38.420 --> 00:24:41.500 because one of our guests missed the toilet time and again. 00:24:42.360 --> 00:24:44.580 I've had to chuck people out of my house. 00:24:46.080 --> 00:24:49.279 We've had people come back late in the night drunk. 00:24:49.779 --> 00:24:52.680 We've had the police around our house countless times. 00:24:53.400 --> 00:24:59.080 I've had a glowing thing of spit outside my house from someone's lungs 00:24:59.080 --> 00:25:01.259 they left on the floor, which wouldn't go away for months, 00:25:01.300 --> 00:25:03.279 even though I put boiling hot water on it. 00:25:03.779 --> 00:25:06.220 And my little girl used to walk past and say, 00:25:06.220 --> 00:25:08.200 oh, there's Colin's spit on the floor again. 00:25:08.420 --> 00:25:14.960 We've had difficult and tricky conversations at night and everything in between. 00:25:16.480 --> 00:25:17.820 It's going to cost you your life. 00:25:18.759 --> 00:25:21.779 It's going to cost you your space. 00:25:23.420 --> 00:25:26.400 But it's also difficult because we're going to get hurt along the way as well. 00:25:26.440 --> 00:25:30.120 When we open up our lives to people and they come into our lives 00:25:30.120 --> 00:25:31.420 and they become part of our family, 00:25:32.360 --> 00:25:34.759 we're going to get hurt along the way because, again, they're sinners. 00:25:34.759 --> 00:25:38.980 We're going to say silly things and do stupid things. 00:25:38.980 --> 00:25:45.240 I remember the first person that we had in our house, 00:25:46.039 --> 00:25:47.319 and he comes straight from jail. 00:25:48.360 --> 00:25:50.700 He had professed faith in jail, come to Christ there. 00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:54.839 We managed to get in contact with him through another pastor. 00:25:55.579 --> 00:25:58.720 And he came to live with us for a year, and he had food with us every night. 00:25:58.720 --> 00:26:01.519 He did social stuff with us. 00:26:02.120 --> 00:26:03.400 He became part of our family. 00:26:05.500 --> 00:26:08.440 And then, slowly but surely, he began to go back to his old life. 00:26:09.200 --> 00:26:11.839 He dabbled back into drink and drugs. 00:26:12.860 --> 00:26:15.200 And then he left our house completely. 00:26:15.339 --> 00:26:18.360 And they left us devastated as a family because we'd invested in him so much. 00:26:18.359 --> 00:26:21.099 And he'd become one of us. 00:26:22.219 --> 00:26:23.500 It felt like a slap in the face. 00:26:25.159 --> 00:26:27.839 But, again, opening up your life to people around you, 00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:30.259 especially people that are not like you, 00:26:31.179 --> 00:26:33.619 is going to be difficult because you can get hurt along the way. 00:26:35.799 --> 00:26:38.759 And, finally, it's difficult because it's going to reveal our idols, isn't it? 00:26:39.039 --> 00:26:42.099 It's going to reveal the things that we really love in our lives. 00:26:42.599 --> 00:26:45.559 Because, again, your life is put on display when you open it up. 00:26:45.559 --> 00:26:48.980 When you open up your home to people, people get to see everything about you, 00:26:49.039 --> 00:26:49.659 your warts and all. 00:26:50.919 --> 00:26:53.240 I know on a Sunday we like to give our Sunday best. 00:26:54.960 --> 00:26:58.019 When people come to your home and they see you 24-7, 00:26:58.879 --> 00:27:00.359 they see the real you. 00:27:01.859 --> 00:27:04.500 Not just the person who says, I'm fine, and that I'm walking in the Lord. 00:27:05.899 --> 00:27:07.579 Again, who you are, warts and all. 00:27:09.019 --> 00:27:09.960 Can't hide anything. 00:27:11.679 --> 00:27:14.480 When you rub up against other people, when you're living in community, 00:27:14.480 --> 00:27:17.640 it reveals the idols of our lives. 00:27:17.880 --> 00:27:18.960 It reveals what we love. 00:27:20.220 --> 00:27:21.559 I mean, I'm no good at hospitality. 00:27:22.240 --> 00:27:23.920 I'm saying all these stories, but I'm no good at it. 00:27:25.360 --> 00:27:26.360 I like my space. 00:27:29.079 --> 00:27:30.779 I don't like to be pestered too much. 00:27:31.680 --> 00:27:32.420 I'm a quiet guy. 00:27:32.519 --> 00:27:35.640 Let me sit in my room and read my books, and I'll be happy. 00:27:35.640 --> 00:27:41.120 But community is important, isn't it? 00:27:42.500 --> 00:27:46.620 Community is important for the building up of the body of Christ. 00:27:47.460 --> 00:27:49.540 And so that we might grow in godliness. 00:27:52.040 --> 00:27:55.540 As community reveals our sinfulness and we grow in Christ. 00:27:55.539 --> 00:27:57.839 So let me end with this. 00:27:59.119 --> 00:28:00.500 We've seen what hospitality is. 00:28:01.480 --> 00:28:04.180 We've seen who we should show hospitality to. 00:28:04.319 --> 00:28:05.399 We've seen why it's difficult. 00:28:06.539 --> 00:28:07.740 Ultimately, let me end with this. 00:28:08.180 --> 00:28:09.079 Hospitality is a joy. 00:28:11.180 --> 00:28:16.440 We miss out, the Lord says, when we are selfish with our time, 00:28:16.960 --> 00:28:18.099 when we are selfish with our money, 00:28:18.480 --> 00:28:20.359 when we are selfish with our homes. 00:28:20.359 --> 00:28:25.159 Hospitality is a joy because Jesus said this, 00:28:25.579 --> 00:28:28.199 it is better to give than to receive. 00:28:29.740 --> 00:28:34.039 It's better to give than to receive. 00:28:37.240 --> 00:28:38.679 Question is, do you really believe that? 00:28:40.719 --> 00:28:43.559 That is not a principle I don't think we hold up on the West. 00:28:46.139 --> 00:28:49.819 We are taught from a young age, it is better to take. 00:28:50.359 --> 00:28:51.399 Than to give. 00:28:52.659 --> 00:28:54.939 But to be selfish is to be joyless. 00:28:57.099 --> 00:29:00.679 Why is it that in the West we are richer than we've ever been, 00:29:01.319 --> 00:29:05.539 and yet more lonely, and joyless, and depressed? 00:29:08.599 --> 00:29:12.859 Maybe it's because we've shunned the life the New Testament calls us to 00:29:12.859 --> 00:29:15.119 in the pursuit of individual happiness. 00:29:15.119 --> 00:29:22.939 When you think of yourself first all the time, 00:29:24.079 --> 00:29:25.379 it's to live a life of misery. 00:29:27.359 --> 00:29:28.959 To give it all up is costly. 00:29:30.719 --> 00:29:32.359 But in the end, you receive your life. 00:29:33.839 --> 00:29:35.199 When we hold the world loosely, 00:29:35.639 --> 00:29:38.459 because we believe everything is a gift from the Lord, 00:29:38.460 --> 00:29:43.640 it helps us to be ridiculously generous with everything that we have. 00:29:45.039 --> 00:29:46.840 The problem is we're entitled, aren't we? 00:29:47.420 --> 00:29:50.840 We think the house we have, the car we have is ours. 00:29:52.559 --> 00:29:53.539 I've earned it. 00:29:53.980 --> 00:29:54.680 That's mine. 00:29:54.680 --> 00:29:58.120 That's not a biblical concept. 00:29:59.740 --> 00:30:02.680 Everything you have is a gift. 00:30:03.200 --> 00:30:04.799 Your house is a gift. 00:30:05.500 --> 00:30:07.019 Your car is a gift. 00:30:07.340 --> 00:30:08.940 The food you eat is a gift. 00:30:09.019 --> 00:30:10.100 Your life is a gift. 00:30:10.220 --> 00:30:11.759 Your salvation is a gift. 00:30:11.759 --> 00:30:15.279 If we understood that as believers, 00:30:16.799 --> 00:30:18.900 the gracious hand of the Lord in our lives, 00:30:19.259 --> 00:30:22.000 how much more would we be willing to give up our lives 00:30:22.000 --> 00:30:25.259 for Him and those around us? 00:30:34.400 --> 00:30:35.359 Ultimately, it's a joy. 00:30:36.259 --> 00:30:38.799 Because when we follow the Lord Jesus Christ 00:30:38.799 --> 00:30:41.419 in the way that we live our lives, 00:30:41.859 --> 00:30:42.779 we reflect the gospel. 00:30:44.979 --> 00:30:46.139 Why do we do any of this? 00:30:46.339 --> 00:30:47.659 It's not a guilt thing this evening. 00:30:47.799 --> 00:30:48.639 I don't want you to go away thinking, 00:30:48.779 --> 00:30:51.019 oh, I need to do this, I need to do that. 00:30:53.979 --> 00:30:56.619 Any hospitality we do needs a flow from the heart 00:30:56.619 --> 00:30:58.879 that has been changed and transformed by the gospel. 00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:01.459 The reason we open up our lives, 00:31:01.899 --> 00:31:03.339 the reason we live up our homes, 00:31:03.339 --> 00:31:05.819 is because we were God's enemy. 00:31:06.899 --> 00:31:08.359 We were lost in the world. 00:31:09.339 --> 00:31:10.459 We were strangers. 00:31:12.459 --> 00:31:14.379 And yet through the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:31:14.639 --> 00:31:15.799 He has brought us in 00:31:15.799 --> 00:31:17.799 and He's brought us to the table, hasn't He? 00:31:19.539 --> 00:31:22.500 Christ has made His home in us 00:31:22.500 --> 00:31:25.740 even though we were sinful wretches. 00:31:28.980 --> 00:31:30.519 Are we doing the same with our lives? 00:31:30.519 --> 00:31:33.920 Do we say in response to the cross, 00:31:34.279 --> 00:31:37.339 take my home and let it be 00:31:37.339 --> 00:31:43.220 holy and consecrated, Lord, to Thee? 00:31:45.119 --> 00:31:46.960 Let me end with a story I started with 00:31:46.960 --> 00:31:49.339 about Neil. 00:31:49.420 --> 00:31:51.539 Neil came to live with us for the next few years. 00:31:53.000 --> 00:31:54.779 He would go home during the week 00:31:54.779 --> 00:31:56.099 and come back at the weekends 00:31:56.099 --> 00:31:57.639 and do his Bible. 00:31:57.640 --> 00:31:59.980 Of course, my dad sat down with him 00:31:59.980 --> 00:32:00.259 and said, 00:32:00.320 --> 00:32:01.120 you need to have a wash, son. 00:32:02.200 --> 00:32:02.900 He had a wash, 00:32:04.060 --> 00:32:05.060 did his Bible training 00:32:05.060 --> 00:32:07.180 and now he's happily married 00:32:07.180 --> 00:32:08.720 in England, 00:32:08.920 --> 00:32:10.280 serving in his local church. 00:32:11.620 --> 00:32:12.880 That's the power of hospitality. 00:32:14.800 --> 00:32:15.940 Who could you bless 00:32:15.940 --> 00:32:18.540 by opening up your home to them? 00:32:20.620 --> 00:32:21.360 Let me pray. 00:32:21.360 --> 00:32:21.400 Let me pray. 00:32:21.400 --> 00:32:27.840 Father God, 00:32:27.900 --> 00:32:28.800 I thank you so much 00:32:28.800 --> 00:32:31.519 that although we were your enemies, 00:32:32.240 --> 00:32:34.280 lost in the world and strangers, 00:32:35.780 --> 00:32:37.140 that you, by your Spirit, 00:32:37.259 --> 00:32:38.160 drew us to your Son 00:32:38.160 --> 00:32:41.400 so that we might have our sins washed away 00:32:41.400 --> 00:32:45.900 and so that we might have eternal life 00:32:45.900 --> 00:32:50.500 and also a family to be part of. 00:32:51.620 --> 00:32:53.940 Help us to use our homes 00:32:53.940 --> 00:32:55.300 and to use our lives 00:32:55.300 --> 00:32:57.960 to show biblical hospitality 00:32:57.960 --> 00:33:00.800 to one another without grumbling. 00:33:02.120 --> 00:33:03.019 We're sorry for the times 00:33:03.019 --> 00:33:04.000 when we'd be self-centered. 00:33:06.940 --> 00:33:08.019 We're sorry for the times 00:33:08.019 --> 00:33:08.840 that we're selfish. 00:33:10.840 --> 00:33:12.240 We're sorry for the times 00:33:12.240 --> 00:33:14.440 where we've neglected community. 00:33:16.079 --> 00:33:17.339 Help us to love 00:33:17.339 --> 00:33:18.680 one another well. 00:33:20.319 --> 00:33:21.380 Help us to love 00:33:21.380 --> 00:33:23.640 our communities well, 00:33:24.319 --> 00:33:24.740 particularly 00:33:24.740 --> 00:33:26.220 the least 00:33:26.220 --> 00:33:27.700 and the last 00:33:27.700 --> 00:33:29.559 and the lost. 00:33:30.859 --> 00:33:32.240 In Jesus' name we pray. 00:33:32.779 --> 00:33:33.180 Amen.