WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.860 As Sam's indicated, we finally get to the end of our vision series for this year. 00:00:05.139 --> 00:00:09.179 And all vision series are important for us as a church. 00:00:09.279 --> 00:00:13.780 But this one, I would say, has had a particular edge to it. 00:00:15.120 --> 00:00:22.780 God leading Sam and Sam to move interstate to begin preparations to plant a church was unexpected. 00:00:24.060 --> 00:00:27.900 And certainly a bold and radical thing that they're doing. 00:00:27.899 --> 00:00:33.000 And there's a great deal of personal cost involved in that decision. 00:00:33.759 --> 00:00:39.879 And what they are doing is simply an extension of the vision that God has put in front of us, 00:00:39.960 --> 00:00:42.339 that we've had in front of us for just over a year now, 00:00:42.759 --> 00:00:45.619 that we are desperate for the world around us to encounter Jesus. 00:00:46.439 --> 00:00:50.399 And so their move, God moving them and shake up of their lives, 00:00:50.539 --> 00:00:55.340 has caused a bit of a shake up for us as well to think about what does it mean for us 00:00:55.340 --> 00:01:00.440 to take on bold and radical decisions to fulfill the vision that God's put in front of us. 00:01:01.100 --> 00:01:04.120 And some of the things that we've been looking at through this series 00:01:04.120 --> 00:01:12.439 is a desire for us never to get comfortable and settled and content with the way things are. 00:01:12.439 --> 00:01:23.519 A desire for us to make decisions driven by mission as opposed to social relationships within the church. 00:01:24.519 --> 00:01:32.519 And so we've been looking at these themes as we've journeyed with Jesus on this road to Jerusalem in now six weeks. 00:01:33.239 --> 00:01:35.859 This road to Jerusalem for Jesus is a tough road. 00:01:36.459 --> 00:01:40.019 He's going to Jerusalem to die for the sins of humanity. 00:01:40.019 --> 00:01:44.819 And Jesus calls us, his disciples, to follow him on that road. 00:01:45.340 --> 00:01:47.879 And it is a demanding road for us as well. 00:01:47.959 --> 00:01:53.459 He calls us right at the beginning is to take up our cross and to follow him, 00:01:54.340 --> 00:01:57.479 to die to ourselves and to follow him. 00:01:58.359 --> 00:02:01.239 So he calls us to a life of radical discipleship. 00:02:02.140 --> 00:02:05.239 And radical discipleship, as we've gone through this series, 00:02:05.379 --> 00:02:07.120 is defined in a whole kind of different ways. 00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:11.140 But one of the ways is a life of radical generosity. 00:02:11.719 --> 00:02:14.819 It's radical generosity relationally. 00:02:15.259 --> 00:02:21.060 Radical forgiveness, radical grace, radical generosity with wealth and a whole range of things. 00:02:21.599 --> 00:02:32.060 Radical discipleship means that we will be characterized by a spirit of unselfish service in every aspect of life. 00:02:32.360 --> 00:02:34.520 Nothing is left untouched. 00:02:34.520 --> 00:02:43.500 And so we're going to finish this series with one of the areas that I think is crucial for us to grow in. 00:02:44.100 --> 00:02:50.620 We have been increasing in radical generosity in terms of our finances over the last number of years as a church. 00:02:50.840 --> 00:02:53.920 But this is one area that I think that we really need to grow in. 00:02:53.919 --> 00:03:02.199 And it will really touch us to the core about how desperate we are to see our world encounter Jesus. 00:03:02.659 --> 00:03:05.019 And when I say a world, I mean immediate world encounter Jesus. 00:03:05.179 --> 00:03:07.419 This one's, it's one thing to give your money away. 00:03:07.519 --> 00:03:09.039 It's another thing to open your life up. 00:03:09.039 --> 00:03:20.139 So if we are desperate for the world around us to encounter Jesus, then it will be absolutely essential for us to grow in radically generous hospitality. 00:03:20.479 --> 00:03:22.199 So Luke 14 is where we're up to. 00:03:23.139 --> 00:03:26.799 If you've got your service sheets in front of you, you've got a Bible, that'll be fantastic. 00:03:28.379 --> 00:03:31.699 Luke 14 opens with Jesus at a party. 00:03:31.699 --> 00:03:34.299 It's a dinner party, a luncheon, something like that, a barbecue. 00:03:35.139 --> 00:03:39.159 He's in the home of a prominent Pharisee. 00:03:40.119 --> 00:03:42.560 And this is not a free lunch. 00:03:43.119 --> 00:03:44.899 This is not a casual gathering. 00:03:45.060 --> 00:03:45.699 It's the Sabbath. 00:03:45.819 --> 00:03:46.679 We're told it's the Sabbath. 00:03:46.859 --> 00:03:50.859 And Jesus has been invited in amongst people who are not his friends. 00:03:51.780 --> 00:03:55.479 And he's been set up to fail by the religious elite. 00:03:55.599 --> 00:03:58.560 This is an entrapment lunch. 00:03:58.560 --> 00:04:07.020 Because before Jesus, right, you know, the odd one sitting out in the room, apart from Jesus, is this guy who's very sick. 00:04:07.620 --> 00:04:11.659 And all eyes are on Jesus to see what he's going to do with this sick man. 00:04:11.740 --> 00:04:12.960 Is he going to heal this man? 00:04:13.199 --> 00:04:17.899 And if he heals this man, he's going to break the Old Testament law about not working on the Sabbath. 00:04:18.139 --> 00:04:19.560 And so it's an awkward gathering. 00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:22.500 There are no friends for Jesus here. 00:04:22.500 --> 00:04:30.279 And so what Jesus does is he heals the man and he leaves everyone speechless in the room. 00:04:30.360 --> 00:04:31.339 They've got nothing to say. 00:04:31.480 --> 00:04:37.959 He ends up trapping these Pharisees and religious elite in their own hypocrisy. 00:04:39.100 --> 00:04:40.240 The leaders are silent. 00:04:41.899 --> 00:04:43.579 Nothing has been learnt by them. 00:04:43.579 --> 00:04:50.479 Nothing has been confessed despite a barrage of evidence from Jesus as to who he is. 00:04:51.519 --> 00:04:54.339 Their position on who Jesus is has not changed. 00:04:57.019 --> 00:05:05.180 And so in verses 7 to 11, Jesus is talking about a commonplace issue for that time. 00:05:05.180 --> 00:05:11.120 And he's using it to get under the skin of his host and his religious guests. 00:05:11.340 --> 00:05:13.160 His plan was to expose their hearts. 00:05:13.759 --> 00:05:17.259 He wanted them to see their hypocrisy. 00:05:17.660 --> 00:05:20.120 He wanted them to see their religion was a veneer. 00:05:22.220 --> 00:05:26.259 See, when people went to a party back then, they were seated relationally. 00:05:26.980 --> 00:05:29.360 The host had the place of honour. 00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:39.000 He had the big chair and everyone else was seated according to how important they were to the host. 00:05:39.660 --> 00:05:43.920 The more important you were to the host, the closer you were to them. 00:05:44.780 --> 00:05:47.540 It's not something that we tend to do at our barbecues nowadays, 00:05:47.699 --> 00:05:49.740 and I don't think we're necessarily going to do it tonight. 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:54.400 But one place where we tend to do this is wedding receptions. 00:05:54.399 --> 00:06:02.819 The closer you are to the bride and the groom, generally speaking, the more significant you are in the relationship. 00:06:04.659 --> 00:06:07.919 If you don't get invited, then there's not much more you can say about that. 00:06:08.479 --> 00:06:15.879 But what you tend to do, it might just be me, I arrive at a wedding reception and I check what table number I'm on. 00:06:16.379 --> 00:06:20.279 I mean, I want to see who I'm seated with and how long this is going to be of an evening. 00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:21.759 That's the first thing. 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:25.560 But secondly, what table number am I on? 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:28.159 And so table 13 means that you're next to the kitchen door. 00:06:28.599 --> 00:06:31.680 You're with the photographer and the uncle that no one expected to show up. 00:06:31.980 --> 00:06:34.319 It's a little awkward and it's happened to me. 00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:43.319 In Jesus' time, protocol demanded that you would not grab the seat too close to the host. 00:06:44.680 --> 00:06:49.180 You never know who's going to turn up and push you further and further and further down the line. 00:06:49.279 --> 00:06:50.439 I don't know if that's ever happened to you. 00:06:50.439 --> 00:06:57.459 I remember sitting on once upon a time, many, many years ago, I managed to upgrade a flight from LA to Sydney into business class. 00:06:57.819 --> 00:07:00.139 And I had business class to myself and one other guy. 00:07:00.540 --> 00:07:08.339 And just as we were taxing off at LA to take off, the curtains parted and this bloke jumped through from economy and sat in business class. 00:07:08.339 --> 00:07:12.359 And, you know, zipped it back, laid it back, got himself all covered up. 00:07:12.679 --> 00:07:15.139 And I think he was settling down for the night. 00:07:15.139 --> 00:07:22.959 And as we got off in the air, seatbelt signs went off and the guy comes through, the, you know, manager of the plane thingy, comes through. 00:07:22.959 --> 00:07:30.639 And he stops beside me, looks at me and looks at this guy, goes back, grabs a piece of paper, looks at me and looks at this guy. 00:07:30.979 --> 00:07:35.639 And then taps the guy on the shoulder and said, and the guy's, tap him on the shoulder and pulls his wrist. 00:07:35.719 --> 00:07:36.579 Right, get back. 00:07:37.060 --> 00:07:38.339 It was so good. 00:07:38.579 --> 00:07:40.159 It's like, yeah, yeah, get back. 00:07:40.299 --> 00:07:42.659 You know, I've used points to be here. 00:07:42.660 --> 00:07:45.860 Anyway, it's that kind of thing. 00:07:46.500 --> 00:07:48.460 You know, elevate yourself, you get pushed back. 00:07:49.980 --> 00:07:55.660 And so society in Jesus' time was extremely class orientated society. 00:07:56.200 --> 00:08:04.000 It was all about being connected to the people at the top, the people closest to the front of the plane, if you like. 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:09.780 And the people at the top would engage, they would lower themselves to engage people below them, 00:08:09.779 --> 00:08:16.799 only because engaging with those people would mean that they would be able to use them for some personal gain in some way. 00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:21.439 And all those people who were being used for personal gain in some way were happy to be used 00:08:21.439 --> 00:08:23.639 because it meant that it connected them with someone at the top. 00:08:24.099 --> 00:08:29.159 All these relationships and allegiances and power networks were conducted through hospitality. 00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:34.079 You brought them into your home and then they would owe you a favour. 00:08:35.959 --> 00:08:37.679 It's the patronage system. 00:08:37.679 --> 00:08:42.039 Advancement through connections and using people. 00:08:43.219 --> 00:08:50.239 You only invited people in you to your home or went to another person's home if you would gain something out of it. 00:08:51.620 --> 00:08:53.819 If you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. 00:08:56.120 --> 00:08:58.959 Of course, that's how our city works. 00:08:59.719 --> 00:09:00.859 That's how Sydney works. 00:09:00.959 --> 00:09:02.579 We use people for personal gain. 00:09:02.580 --> 00:09:07.100 How many times have you heard the statement, no such thing as a free lunch? 00:09:08.100 --> 00:09:09.759 There's no such thing as a free lunch. 00:09:11.700 --> 00:09:16.600 And so Jesus is using a protocol of his time, the culture, using people to gain position, 00:09:17.139 --> 00:09:20.520 to illustrate a profound biblical principle. 00:09:21.320 --> 00:09:25.180 And it's in verse 11 and the rest of this passage fits around it. 00:09:25.179 --> 00:09:32.199 All those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted. 00:09:34.719 --> 00:09:38.279 Recognition eludes those who demand it. 00:09:40.359 --> 00:09:42.599 Recognition eludes those who demand it. 00:09:43.539 --> 00:09:49.500 And that is true across society and it's true to the deepest level of salvation. 00:09:49.500 --> 00:09:53.220 Those who reckon they qualify will discover they don't. 00:09:54.659 --> 00:10:03.019 To claim God's approval as a right or the grounds of position in the church or reputation in the community 00:10:03.019 --> 00:10:06.799 is in fact grounds for disqualification. 00:10:09.639 --> 00:10:16.080 And so what Jesus says next completely trashes their patronage system. 00:10:16.080 --> 00:10:21.360 He shows us a different kind of hospitality, a radical form of hospitality. 00:10:22.320 --> 00:10:25.759 There is in fact such a thing as a free lunch. 00:10:26.440 --> 00:10:28.480 It's called gospel hospitality. 00:10:29.540 --> 00:10:30.100 And he addresses it. 00:10:30.200 --> 00:10:31.240 Verse 12, have a look at it. 00:10:31.800 --> 00:10:35.120 This is Jesus addressing the host of the dinner party. 00:10:35.980 --> 00:10:39.700 When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, 00:10:39.860 --> 00:10:41.200 your relatives or your rich neighbours. 00:10:41.280 --> 00:10:44.860 If you do, they may invite you back and so you'll be repaid. 00:10:44.860 --> 00:10:50.940 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. 00:10:51.779 --> 00:10:52.580 Now, first point. 00:10:52.700 --> 00:10:57.379 When Jesus says, do not invite your friends, your brothers, your sisters, your relatives or your rich neighbours, 00:10:57.639 --> 00:10:59.360 he's using hyperbole. 00:11:00.419 --> 00:11:08.980 He isn't saying, new rule guys, you must never, ever, ever invite friends or relatives to your home. 00:11:09.580 --> 00:11:11.680 Now, for some of us, that would be a great rule. 00:11:11.679 --> 00:11:19.039 But, so could you imagine becoming a Christian and you email all your friends and relatives and, 00:11:19.819 --> 00:11:24.859 okay guys, I've just become a Christian and you must never, ever now come back, come over to my place. 00:11:25.159 --> 00:11:27.659 I'm really working hard here on obeying Luke 14. 00:11:28.059 --> 00:11:29.979 So it's been great, but no more. 00:11:31.079 --> 00:11:32.699 I don't think that's what Jesus is saying here. 00:11:32.700 --> 00:11:36.700 But he is saying something very radical. 00:11:37.780 --> 00:11:43.820 He is saying, get people into your home that you can't pay back, or that they can't pay you back. 00:11:45.580 --> 00:11:49.180 He's calling his disciples to practice gospel hospitality. 00:11:50.160 --> 00:11:53.540 Now, the word hospitality doesn't actually show up here in this text. 00:11:53.539 --> 00:11:57.000 But it does in a number of places in the New Testament. 00:11:57.599 --> 00:12:00.500 And the New Testament makes a big deal about it. 00:12:00.679 --> 00:12:03.959 In fact, Romans 12, 13 says, practice hospitality. 00:12:04.819 --> 00:12:11.299 And what practice hospitality means, what that literally means is work really hard at hospitality. 00:12:11.679 --> 00:12:13.480 Work really hard at this. 00:12:13.480 --> 00:12:18.259 Now, one of the reasons we don't work hard at it, and we often overlook it, 00:12:18.500 --> 00:12:23.139 is because the English word hospitality is so weak. 00:12:24.240 --> 00:12:25.220 It's weak. 00:12:27.100 --> 00:12:31.519 It doesn't actually get across the actual New Testament word. 00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:44.299 When we think of the word hospitality, we think Jamie Oliver, Donna Hay, Sarah Lee, and to a lesser extent, Gordon Ramsay. 00:12:45.919 --> 00:12:51.059 Jesus is not referring here to entertainment. 00:12:51.980 --> 00:12:53.720 That's not what he has in mind. 00:12:54.699 --> 00:12:56.740 He's talking about something more radical. 00:12:58.120 --> 00:13:00.159 He's talking about gospel hospitality. 00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:02.039 And this is what gospel hospitality is. 00:13:03.079 --> 00:13:06.000 It is welcoming strangers into your living space, 00:13:07.219 --> 00:13:10.600 treating those strangers like family, 00:13:11.379 --> 00:13:15.179 so that God can turn some of them into family. 00:13:16.360 --> 00:13:17.659 That's gospel hospitality. 00:13:17.939 --> 00:13:19.039 So let's unpack that a little bit. 00:13:20.279 --> 00:13:24.559 Gospel hospitality is welcoming strangers into your living space. 00:13:24.559 --> 00:13:32.979 Now, living space here is bigger than the concept of your house or the thing that you might call your home. 00:13:33.979 --> 00:13:42.879 Living space is not just the enclosure that we do family in and the thing that we retreat into for an element of privacy. 00:13:43.839 --> 00:13:47.379 Our living space will include that, potentially include that, 00:13:47.379 --> 00:13:52.559 but it is the place where we find rejuvenation. 00:13:55.100 --> 00:13:57.379 Home is the place where... 00:13:58.379 --> 00:14:04.240 Your living space is the place where you recharge the batteries, the place where you are restored. 00:14:04.700 --> 00:14:09.200 Home is a place of warmth and food and rest and nourishment and relationship. 00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:14.800 It's as much as possible, it's a place of order and beauty, 00:14:14.920 --> 00:14:19.140 which is why it's not necessarily the home if you've got kids under five. 00:14:19.220 --> 00:14:20.920 It's not necessarily that place. 00:14:22.440 --> 00:14:27.640 Our living space is much bigger than the place that we call home, 00:14:28.020 --> 00:14:32.340 but for our culture, it is tightly connected to the home. 00:14:32.340 --> 00:14:37.639 The great Australian dream, the concept of the great Australian dream, 00:14:37.860 --> 00:14:42.540 is tightly connected to our living space. 00:14:44.320 --> 00:14:51.200 For many people in our culture, the dream is not just to have a roof over the head, 00:14:51.680 --> 00:14:57.100 but to have a place of perfect rejuvenation and escape from the world. 00:14:57.280 --> 00:15:01.519 And this has particularly become prevalent in our culture since the 1990s. 00:15:02.340 --> 00:15:06.800 Our family homes have become security sanctuaries. 00:15:07.940 --> 00:15:11.420 The fences which we tore down in the 1950s and 60s 00:15:11.420 --> 00:15:14.600 actually started to go up again in the 1990s. 00:15:15.220 --> 00:15:17.139 Security gates, systems. 00:15:17.399 --> 00:15:21.000 The things that we used to go out to, we now bring into our home. 00:15:21.420 --> 00:15:23.379 Home gyms, home entertainment systems. 00:15:23.379 --> 00:15:27.120 We get food delivered to our home so we don't have to engage with anyone else. 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:34.360 Our homes are where we exclude almost everyone else 00:15:34.360 --> 00:15:42.779 as we seek for our homes to be places of rest, sanctuary, security, rejuvenation. 00:15:44.360 --> 00:15:47.840 And it's one of our biggest roadblocks to practicing gospel hospitality. 00:15:47.840 --> 00:15:55.820 And yet the irony of all this is that no one is entirely satisfied with their home. 00:15:56.820 --> 00:16:02.940 No one completely gets what they're looking for from their home, 00:16:03.040 --> 00:16:05.320 what they're hoping to get from their home. 00:16:05.540 --> 00:16:11.740 That's why virtually every one of us at some point in our life will have home envy. 00:16:11.740 --> 00:16:16.600 You know, you go and you look at something else's home and you go, awesome. 00:16:17.139 --> 00:16:20.659 You know, you go to a holiday home and you go, wow, I wish I had this. 00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:25.220 You know, shows like Better Homes and Gardens feed that envy. 00:16:26.620 --> 00:16:29.019 Better Homes and Gardens should just be called Better Homes and Yours 00:16:29.019 --> 00:16:31.360 because that's what they all are. 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:38.560 All those home renovation shows feed this hope that there is a place somewhere 00:16:38.560 --> 00:16:41.740 that will perfectly rejuvenate me. 00:16:42.460 --> 00:16:47.500 A place that offers me sanctuary, a safe place, a place to escape the world 00:16:47.500 --> 00:16:53.180 and in fact to escape my teenagers as well if I got a sanctuary for myself away from them. 00:16:54.500 --> 00:16:59.860 And there's no place on earth that can possibly fulfill that. 00:16:59.860 --> 00:17:06.140 You can spend a fortune building your dream home and it won't give you what you want it to. 00:17:09.079 --> 00:17:15.079 And gospel hospitality is the exact opposite of what our culture is seeking to do with its living space. 00:17:17.099 --> 00:17:21.880 Gospel hospitality is bringing strangers into our living space. 00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:27.299 The space that would normally be reserved for family and the very close people, 00:17:27.299 --> 00:17:33.740 bringing them into that space is inviting strangers to be refreshed with the same things that refresh me. 00:17:35.659 --> 00:17:39.279 And so gospel hospitality is far greater, 00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:45.799 so much more significant than having someone like me over for lunch. 00:17:45.799 --> 00:17:51.419 It involves inviting strangers into my living space, 00:17:51.419 --> 00:17:54.119 my favourite restaurants, my hobbies, my activities, 00:17:54.319 --> 00:17:56.639 the things that I do to rejuvenate me, 00:17:56.740 --> 00:17:59.720 inviting strangers into my personal space. 00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:02.279 And it is costly. 00:18:07.220 --> 00:18:11.359 Secondly, gospel hospitality is about welcoming strangers. 00:18:11.359 --> 00:18:17.179 The word that is translated hospitality all the way through the New Testament 00:18:17.179 --> 00:18:21.500 is a word that means love for strangers. 00:18:23.579 --> 00:18:26.159 Not tolerance of strangers, 00:18:26.699 --> 00:18:28.479 love for strangers. 00:18:30.479 --> 00:18:34.740 And strangers are people that are different. 00:18:34.740 --> 00:18:38.140 Different than you. 00:18:38.299 --> 00:18:39.980 They're not your kind of person. 00:18:40.180 --> 00:18:41.420 They're not my kind of person. 00:18:41.799 --> 00:18:43.359 They might be a different race, 00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:45.819 they might be from a different socioeconomic background, 00:18:46.120 --> 00:18:47.920 or they just might be different. 00:18:48.940 --> 00:18:53.180 And there are three kinds of strangers that Christians are to practice hospitality with. 00:18:54.059 --> 00:18:56.779 Christians should practice hospitality with other Christians. 00:18:56.779 --> 00:19:00.960 That's because there are a lot of strange Christians. 00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:05.119 I should finish the rest of the sentence. 00:19:05.500 --> 00:19:08.639 Who we should invite into our space. 00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:10.740 There's a lot of Christians who are very different. 00:19:11.500 --> 00:19:13.359 There are lots of Christians who are strangers. 00:19:13.940 --> 00:19:18.119 And this church is a great church to practice gospel hospitality 00:19:18.119 --> 00:19:20.299 because there's a lot of strange Christians here. 00:19:21.259 --> 00:19:23.200 For most of us at St. Paul's, 00:19:23.460 --> 00:19:25.639 the people here are strangers. 00:19:26.779 --> 00:19:28.940 They are people that we don't know. 00:19:30.220 --> 00:19:33.799 Some of them you might not even want to know. 00:19:35.039 --> 00:19:36.819 But according to the Bible, 00:19:37.379 --> 00:19:41.059 that is exactly the people you should be inviting into your living space. 00:19:43.000 --> 00:19:46.299 If they're Christians, they are brothers and sisters in Christ. 00:19:46.420 --> 00:19:48.240 And so when we practice gospel hospitality, 00:19:48.519 --> 00:19:50.259 we are treating them like family. 00:19:52.619 --> 00:19:56.220 Because family are the people that we would normally bring into our living space. 00:19:56.779 --> 00:20:00.859 Christians need to practice gospel hospitality with their neighbors. 00:20:01.740 --> 00:20:06.180 Neighbors are the people that you encounter on a regular basis in your network. 00:20:06.299 --> 00:20:08.700 They're the people next door on the street that you cross all the time, 00:20:08.779 --> 00:20:12.399 walking your dog, the workplace, the social club, whatever it might be. 00:20:12.400 --> 00:20:16.320 And most of those people will not share your beliefs. 00:20:17.519 --> 00:20:19.180 And Jesus did this all the time. 00:20:19.240 --> 00:20:20.920 In fact, he's doing it when he's telling this story. 00:20:21.360 --> 00:20:23.720 He's hanging out with people not like him. 00:20:25.120 --> 00:20:29.000 But he's always also hanging out with the sinners and the outcasts in society. 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:34.660 And the vision is to love them and hopefully love them towards belief in Jesus. 00:20:34.900 --> 00:20:37.420 Because people do not get argued into the kingdom. 00:20:37.559 --> 00:20:38.819 They get loved into the kingdom. 00:20:41.900 --> 00:20:45.180 Christians also need to practice gospel hospitality with needy people. 00:20:45.180 --> 00:20:53.740 When the great John Newton of amazing grace fame looked at this passage, he wrote this. 00:20:55.019 --> 00:21:01.200 One would almost think that Luke 14, 12 to 14 was not part of the Bible. 00:21:02.060 --> 00:21:04.560 I do not think it is unlawful to entertain our friends. 00:21:04.660 --> 00:21:05.340 I've just said that. 00:21:05.400 --> 00:21:06.400 He's just saying the same thing. 00:21:06.400 --> 00:21:26.940 Our instinct, our human instinct is to invite people we want to know who we like 00:21:26.940 --> 00:21:30.220 or who will potentially open up doors for us. 00:21:30.680 --> 00:21:33.240 And Jesus says, no, no, go for the hurting people. 00:21:34.100 --> 00:21:35.280 Look for the needy people. 00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:40.899 If we understand anything about God's hospitality, then bring them in. 00:21:42.299 --> 00:21:45.680 And the goal is to turn some of the strangers into family. 00:21:46.680 --> 00:21:53.639 You see, when you treat the stranger like family, God will turn some of them into members of the family. 00:21:54.539 --> 00:21:59.839 There's something incredibly supernatural about gospel hospitality. 00:22:01.200 --> 00:22:05.000 C.S. Lewis said that there are no coincidences for the Christian. 00:22:05.279 --> 00:22:12.940 He referred to it as there always being a secret master of ceremonies at work. 00:22:12.940 --> 00:22:19.720 Because when we practice gospel hospitality, God is the actual host. 00:22:21.600 --> 00:22:24.680 Even if we're doing the inviting and even if we're paying for the food and drinks, 00:22:25.080 --> 00:22:29.519 it is God who organizes the circumstances of the gathering of people. 00:22:29.620 --> 00:22:30.640 He puts the people together. 00:22:30.720 --> 00:22:32.279 He brings some of them into his family. 00:22:32.279 --> 00:22:34.379 So let's get really practical for a moment. 00:22:34.940 --> 00:22:39.099 You may need at the end of this to go and grab another sign up to serve card and fill it out. 00:22:39.819 --> 00:22:42.139 Here's a few ways to start right now. 00:22:42.940 --> 00:22:49.319 Start inviting neighbours and work colleagues and others that are in your network into your living space. 00:22:49.539 --> 00:22:52.559 And Christmas is a perfect time to do that. 00:22:53.519 --> 00:22:54.399 It's the festive season. 00:22:54.579 --> 00:22:55.279 Perfect time. 00:22:55.279 --> 00:22:56.460 You don't even need an excuse. 00:22:57.399 --> 00:23:02.180 And if you find that some kind of connection is building with those people, 00:23:03.139 --> 00:23:07.480 invite them to church, into another part of your living space. 00:23:11.240 --> 00:23:15.420 Start inviting each other here at St. Paul's into your living spaces. 00:23:15.420 --> 00:23:22.700 Those who have got a little bit more living space might want to invite those who don't have as much living space. 00:23:23.240 --> 00:23:32.320 Those with houses might want to consider inviting into their living spaces the uni students who live from couch to couch, for instance. 00:23:33.560 --> 00:23:35.259 Not that I'm saying you all do. 00:23:35.779 --> 00:23:41.000 Those who are long-term residents of Chatswood of Sydney, Australia, invite those who are new arrivals. 00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:45.480 Those who have been Christians longer, invite those who are being Christians for less time. 00:23:45.579 --> 00:23:50.400 Those who have been at St. Paul's longer, invite those who are relatively new to St. Paul's. 00:23:51.140 --> 00:23:51.940 Here's another way. 00:23:52.299 --> 00:23:53.640 Have a community group in your home. 00:23:55.519 --> 00:24:01.380 Why not volunteer for Grace Ministry and ESL to show love to prostitutes and new migrants? 00:24:02.900 --> 00:24:05.119 Volunteer to be part of the welcoming team. 00:24:06.660 --> 00:24:07.339 Car park. 00:24:07.900 --> 00:24:09.680 You get to welcome strangers every week. 00:24:09.680 --> 00:24:11.000 Like, brilliant. 00:24:12.759 --> 00:24:13.880 There's a couple of options. 00:24:14.560 --> 00:24:15.840 And Christmas is a great season. 00:24:15.940 --> 00:24:16.960 Here's a couple of final ones. 00:24:18.120 --> 00:24:22.580 Like tonight, when the kids go out and we get an opportunity to mingle, do it. 00:24:23.340 --> 00:24:25.220 Get out of your seat and go. 00:24:25.600 --> 00:24:32.700 And even if it's embarrassing, you've got eye contact with this person for the last six years and you still don't know what their name. 00:24:32.700 --> 00:24:38.180 Just go up to them and say, eat some humble pie, introduce myself, let's have a conversation. 00:24:38.180 --> 00:24:48.960 When we suggest you, at the end of our time together, go out and talk with people and engage with people over supper, do it. 00:24:49.160 --> 00:24:49.920 Don't rush off. 00:24:50.220 --> 00:24:52.820 Don't go into your living space. 00:24:53.779 --> 00:24:54.500 Stay protected. 00:24:54.500 --> 00:24:57.279 Stay and practice gospel hospitality. 00:24:58.160 --> 00:24:59.240 It is not easy. 00:24:59.319 --> 00:25:04.079 Can I say that this is harder than what it was last week to fill out a pledge card and give money to the project? 00:25:04.700 --> 00:25:06.200 This is significantly harder. 00:25:06.279 --> 00:25:09.079 Much easier to give money a distance than to actually draw people close. 00:25:09.079 --> 00:25:16.399 And the secret to gospel hospitality is found in the last section from verse 15. 00:25:17.099 --> 00:25:22.299 Someone at the table says, blessed is the one who will eat at the feast of the kingdom of God. 00:25:22.299 --> 00:25:33.000 He's referring there to the ultimate feast at the end of time when God renews the world and all death and suffering and evil is finally dealt with. 00:25:33.000 --> 00:25:52.859 And all the jubilees and carnivals or the banquets and fiestas or the laughter and festivity of a thousand years of human history won't even come close to the wonder and the glory and the joy of the celebration which the God of the universe lays out before us in that moment. 00:25:52.859 --> 00:26:02.400 It will be a magnificent occasion beyond human imagination and the beginning of just a whole new world of celebration and joy. 00:26:02.400 --> 00:26:05.640 That's just, I mean, I can't really say much more than that. 00:26:05.900 --> 00:26:07.300 It's just going to be magnificent. 00:26:08.300 --> 00:26:12.200 And the man in verse 15 is pretty confident that he's going to be there. 00:26:13.400 --> 00:26:15.560 He's part of the in crowd with Jesus. 00:26:17.259 --> 00:26:21.140 Sitting around the table with this prominent Pharisee. 00:26:22.320 --> 00:26:25.220 He's one of the men who Jesus says exalts himself. 00:26:26.600 --> 00:26:32.080 And so Jesus, being a great pastor, uses the occasion to tell us who in fact will be there. 00:26:32.600 --> 00:26:34.320 And to cut the guy down a little bit. 00:26:36.019 --> 00:26:41.560 He tells a story about a man who throws a big banquet and the man represents God. 00:26:42.820 --> 00:26:44.180 The invitation's God out. 00:26:44.720 --> 00:26:47.360 God invites a bunch of people but they don't come. 00:26:48.580 --> 00:26:51.360 And those sitting around the table with Jesus at this moment, 00:26:52.580 --> 00:26:56.740 they have no trouble decoding what Jesus is saying at this point. 00:26:56.740 --> 00:27:04.720 You see, Jesus is referring to the work of the Old Testament prophets who proclaimed that the kingdom of God would arrive in the future. 00:27:06.660 --> 00:27:12.599 And those that were invited then were represented by those sitting around the table with Jesus. 00:27:13.339 --> 00:27:15.480 God's historic people, the Jews. 00:27:16.900 --> 00:27:22.359 The ones who had the prophets had addressed with the promises of God for centuries about the coming kingdom. 00:27:22.359 --> 00:27:26.059 They'd heard the message of the coming kingdom. 00:27:27.159 --> 00:27:31.679 And now it says in verse 17, everything is ready. 00:27:32.879 --> 00:27:35.899 The kingdom has arrived in the person of Jesus. 00:27:36.579 --> 00:27:38.659 What has been promised has arrived. 00:27:39.339 --> 00:27:42.179 And what do these men do when they're confronted with the kingdom? 00:27:44.859 --> 00:27:45.819 They're silent. 00:27:45.819 --> 00:27:49.399 There's no response to Jesus at all. 00:27:52.779 --> 00:27:54.740 So the servant is sent out. 00:27:55.859 --> 00:27:57.839 It's party time but they don't come. 00:27:57.939 --> 00:27:58.679 They're priorities. 00:28:00.099 --> 00:28:00.939 They've got other priorities. 00:28:01.079 --> 00:28:03.980 They're the self-righteous, the religious, they're successful, they're content. 00:28:04.700 --> 00:28:08.759 God's historic people are just too busy and distracted to in fact have time for God. 00:28:09.379 --> 00:28:13.079 And they make pathetic excuse after pathetic excuse. 00:28:13.220 --> 00:28:14.039 That's what Jesus does. 00:28:14.039 --> 00:28:16.420 He sets each one of these excuses up as being pathetic. 00:28:18.420 --> 00:28:22.680 Too busy with life and business to even give a second thought for the kingdom. 00:28:24.740 --> 00:28:26.200 So who comes then? 00:28:26.460 --> 00:28:28.139 Verse 21. 00:28:28.379 --> 00:28:33.220 Go out quickly into the streets and the alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. 00:28:33.819 --> 00:28:38.700 Notice he doesn't say, go out and invite them in. 00:28:40.099 --> 00:28:41.559 Why does he not say that? 00:28:41.559 --> 00:28:54.559 Because in that time, the place and place, the only way that you could ever be invited into someone else's home is if you could repay the favor. 00:28:54.559 --> 00:29:00.779 And who are those who are brought into the kingdom? 00:29:02.819 --> 00:29:06.940 They're the ones that are not represented at the table that Jesus is sitting on. 00:29:08.819 --> 00:29:10.559 The sinners, the outcasts, the Gentiles. 00:29:11.940 --> 00:29:15.099 Those who have been historically outside the kingdom of God. 00:29:15.500 --> 00:29:17.799 These are the people who are outside the family. 00:29:18.139 --> 00:29:19.079 These are the strangers. 00:29:19.259 --> 00:29:20.059 These are the foreigners. 00:29:20.059 --> 00:29:24.000 These are the people who will eat at the feast of the kingdom of God. 00:29:25.759 --> 00:29:33.519 As Matthew 5 says, Jesus says, blessed are the poor in spirit because theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 00:29:33.879 --> 00:29:38.740 He may as well say it, blessed are the poor in spirit because they will be the ones who will be eating at the feast. 00:29:40.339 --> 00:29:44.200 There are two kinds of people when it comes to God's salvation. 00:29:44.200 --> 00:29:49.440 There's the poor in spirit and there's the middle class in spirit. 00:29:49.440 --> 00:29:57.240 The middle class in spirit might acknowledge that they're not perfect but don't think it's that much of a problem. 00:29:57.980 --> 00:30:00.940 They think that they have enough stuff in their moral bank. 00:30:01.080 --> 00:30:02.360 I've done enough good things. 00:30:02.840 --> 00:30:05.320 They figure they've got something to contribute to their salvation. 00:30:05.480 --> 00:30:08.539 They claim some element of rights and entitlements with God. 00:30:10.140 --> 00:30:12.700 A pauper in spirit knows what they've done. 00:30:12.759 --> 00:30:13.559 They've done wrong things. 00:30:13.600 --> 00:30:17.380 And even the good things that they've done, they were done with the wrong motives. 00:30:17.380 --> 00:30:23.300 Even the good things they've done were ways of trying to control people or to make themselves feel better. 00:30:23.820 --> 00:30:29.840 Or an attempt to find approval or to control God so that he will do things for them. 00:30:31.300 --> 00:30:33.460 The pauper knows that they need grace. 00:30:34.420 --> 00:30:37.740 They need to receive gospel hospitality. 00:30:39.320 --> 00:30:42.180 They need what they cannot repay or return. 00:30:42.740 --> 00:30:46.740 And they are the ones, according to Jesus, who get brought into the great banquet. 00:30:46.740 --> 00:30:48.000 Into the kingdom. 00:30:50.339 --> 00:30:58.279 God's hospitality to the poor in spirit is his radically free gift to them. 00:30:59.779 --> 00:31:01.180 They can never repay it. 00:31:02.700 --> 00:31:05.339 But his hospitality cost him everything. 00:31:07.099 --> 00:31:08.799 It's very expensive. 00:31:08.799 --> 00:31:13.500 It cost God everything to lay this banquet of the kingdom before us. 00:31:14.859 --> 00:31:19.240 He paid the price to open the door to heaven for us. 00:31:20.379 --> 00:31:24.159 A cross stood on a hill outside of Jerusalem stained with blood. 00:31:25.399 --> 00:31:30.940 You see, Jesus Christ was part of the greatest in-group in history. 00:31:30.940 --> 00:31:38.299 For all eternity, he dwelt with the Father and the Spirit in perfect unity and perfect love and perfect glory. 00:31:38.600 --> 00:31:43.740 He didn't need anyone else in his living space. 00:31:44.120 --> 00:31:45.140 It was perfect. 00:31:45.140 --> 00:31:50.220 And Jesus left that and came to earth. 00:31:50.860 --> 00:31:52.160 He came as a homeless man. 00:31:52.220 --> 00:31:55.759 Remember what he said at the beginning of this journey to Jerusalem? 00:31:56.180 --> 00:31:59.000 Remember the encounter where we began this whole sermon series? 00:32:00.320 --> 00:32:05.120 Foxes of holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. 00:32:06.340 --> 00:32:09.420 He was born in an animal shed. 00:32:10.320 --> 00:32:11.300 Not a home. 00:32:11.299 --> 00:32:15.319 The living space of holes. 00:32:16.759 --> 00:32:20.759 He was crucified outside the gates of a city on a hill, not in the city. 00:32:21.039 --> 00:32:22.859 He lived in the alleys and the streets. 00:32:23.119 --> 00:32:24.399 He was rejected. 00:32:24.559 --> 00:32:26.119 He was stripped of everything. 00:32:26.599 --> 00:32:26.919 Why? 00:32:27.539 --> 00:32:32.879 Because he was paying for our sins so that we could be brought in to his family. 00:32:33.359 --> 00:32:35.460 We could be brought into his living space. 00:32:37.019 --> 00:32:39.519 He was thrown out so that we could be brought in. 00:32:39.519 --> 00:32:45.759 The ultimate homeless man has become the ultimate party host. 00:32:47.339 --> 00:32:51.779 The feast in the kingdom of God is heaven. 00:32:52.839 --> 00:32:54.359 It is home. 00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:58.259 It is where God is. 00:32:59.700 --> 00:33:03.259 And it's where every single one of us is. 00:33:03.599 --> 00:33:05.379 It's where we're all looking for. 00:33:06.400 --> 00:33:07.859 We're all looking for it. 00:33:07.859 --> 00:33:11.740 It doesn't matter whether you believe in God or not. 00:33:12.939 --> 00:33:14.799 It doesn't matter whether you believe in God or not. 00:33:15.359 --> 00:33:17.259 This is what you are looking for. 00:33:17.359 --> 00:33:18.599 You're looking for this table. 00:33:18.879 --> 00:33:20.359 You're looking for this party. 00:33:20.779 --> 00:33:22.439 This is the home you're looking for. 00:33:22.539 --> 00:33:24.439 This is the living space you're looking for. 00:33:26.319 --> 00:33:31.240 Whatever your living space is right now, it will not give you what you are seeking. 00:33:31.240 --> 00:33:36.660 This is the home where every hurt is healed. 00:33:36.900 --> 00:33:39.000 This is the place of absolute comfort. 00:33:39.180 --> 00:33:40.700 This is security. 00:33:41.059 --> 00:33:43.740 This is absolute relational peace and warmth. 00:33:44.380 --> 00:33:45.779 This is it. 00:33:45.779 --> 00:33:51.000 This is what we're all aiming for. 00:33:52.339 --> 00:33:56.019 And this is what the disciple of the Lord Jesus is totally confident of. 00:33:56.019 --> 00:34:03.420 And so let's hear again the call of Jesus at the beginning of this journey. 00:34:04.740 --> 00:34:09.500 Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross to follow me. 00:34:09.980 --> 00:34:12.480 Whoever wants to save their life will lose it. 00:34:12.780 --> 00:34:16.000 But whoever loses their life for me will save it. 00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:25.539 All radical discipleship is expensive or radical hospitality is expensive. 00:34:26.039 --> 00:34:34.539 But Jesus' radical hospitality is the most expensive of all because he offers the very best. 00:34:34.960 --> 00:34:37.099 The very best in gospel hospitality. 00:34:37.619 --> 00:34:39.880 The eternal banquet in the kingdom of God. 00:34:40.880 --> 00:34:45.920 And this eternal banquet with the perfect host is the destination. 00:34:46.000 --> 00:34:49.980 of all people who follow the ultimate host. 00:34:53.280 --> 00:34:56.320 And so friends, I'm calling you to radical discipleship. 00:34:57.280 --> 00:35:00.260 Take up your cross and follow Jesus.