54. CovenantCommunityLivingd

Covenant Community Living: Intentional Hospitality

When we look at the news and see the economy with inflation and ever increasing costs of living there is a temptation to fear. People on a fixed income don’t get an increase just because everything else is going up so there is a tendency to br anxious, to withdraw and hunker down to weather the storm of the present day. There was a storm in the time of peter writing this letter. It wsa a storm of suffering and persecution. But Peter did not say ‘every man for himself’; no, what he said was in essence, we weather the storms by coming together. After all Paul said in Ephesians that we are one body with Christ as our head. There is a unity that cannot be understated. Last week I hurt my lower back but the pain was also in my hip and up toward the middle of my back as well. Even though I hurt one area other parts were affected as well. And so it should be with us. There is a built in unity that comes as being in Christ. But it also has to be cultivated. We have seen earlier in Peters letter that the churches had a love of the brethren but then the command was given to love one another fervently from the heart. 1Pe 1:22  Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart. We have the command restated in chapter 4:8 ‘have a fervent love for one another’. How do we accomplish this? We accomplish it in the following verses. Turn in your Biblles to 1 Peter 4. This morning we will read from verse 1 through 11 and will have a brief review.

1Pe 4:1-11  Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,  (2)  that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.  (3)  For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.  (4)  In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.  (5)  They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.  (6)  For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.  (7)  But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.  (8)  And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "LOVE WILL COVER A MULTITUDE OF SINS."  (9)  Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.  (10)  As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.  (11)  If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

As Christ suffered in the flesh – why? He suffered in the flesh for us. That we might die to sin and live to righteousness and that He might bring us to God.

So arm yourselves also with the same purpose. – As Christ lived and died for us so we ought to suffer for one another.

The world hates us because our living for righteousness, as imperfect as it is, shines a light on their deeds of darkness and they cannot bear it, so they malign us.

They will in the day of judgement give and account to the righteous Judge.

Verse 7 begins with encouragement. The end of all things is near. The time of our suffering is almost done and Christ’s return is immanent. As a result of that we are to, as the covenant community of saints, be of sound mind and sober spirit in regards to how we live and how we are to pray – how we relate to our God.

Verse 8 relates how we are to one another, fervently love another. Verses 9-11 after further study is how that love is expressed. In hospitality to and in serving one another.

So if you are keeping an outline. You may want to head it Roman numeral

II. Intentional Hospitality

Hospitality Defined

The Who of Hospitality

The Attitude of Hospitality

1. Hospitality Defined – philoxenos. Literally means brotherly affection for strangers. It is more than theoretical but is a practical working out of doing good to others. This is primarily manifest in the opening of our families and homes to others. It isn’t in the sense of renting a room to someone like you might do in Airbnb or Vacation Rentals by Owner where it is an impersonal business transaction but it is an engaging and I would even say embracing of someone who is not a family member as though they are.

The importance of hospitality cannot be overstated. The Scripture is full of commands and examples of hospitality. But why? Generally, it was part of the culture of the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern culture. But particularly in the OT it is because the Jews themselves were strangers in the land of Egypt. After 400 hundred years of living in the land of Egypt they were still aliens and strangers and were treated as such. And God reminded them of this fact and used it in His commands on how they were to treat the stranger among them.

Exo 22:21  "And you shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

They were not to be abused and taken advantage of simply because the were strangers. Other cultures allow and may even encourage that. Some people may do so like the mechanic my daughter took her vehicle to for an oil change. He started quoting all these things that needed to be fixed and it was going to be over $1000.00.

Deu 10:18-19  "He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing.  (19)  "So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

As God is the example so we must follow. We have the command ‘You shall be holy for I am holy. We are to mirror Him in all aspects. We tend to define holiness within the limit of not doing the things the 10 Commandments prohibit, but it also includes His compassion and His love.

Isa 58:6-7  "Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke?  (7)  "Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry, And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

For the NT saint it is the same emphasis. We have hospitality stated here in verse 9.

Luk 14:12-14  And He (Jesus) also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and repayment come to you.  (13)  "But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,  (14)  and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

Rom 12:9-16  Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.  (10)  Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;  (11)  not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;  (12)  rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer,  (13)  contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.  (14)  Bless those who persecute you; bless and curse not.  (15)  Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.  (16)  Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.

This text mirrors exactly what Peter is saying!

Heb 13:1-2  Let love of the brethren continue.  (2)  Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.

So important is hospitality that it is a qualification for the office of elder.

1Ti 3:2  An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

Tit 1:7-8  For the overseer must be above reproach as God's steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain,  (8)  but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled,

While it is a qualification of elder it is clear it must be the practice of all

Hospitality is a constant attitude of welcome. It’s the desire to cultivate community. It’s an expression of the welcome that God has extended to us lost ruined sinners in the godpel when He welcomed us.

2. The Who and also the Why hospitality? The who is ‘to one another’. We see they why’s of it in the verses we have read. It is to meet people in their need. – the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame, contributing to the needs of the saints. Consider the context of much of the NT. It was under persecution. How often were those who were saved persecuted for their faith?

Act 8:1-3  And Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.  (2)  And some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him.  (3)  But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house; and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.

Paul’s testimony before King Agrippa speaks of his persecution.

Act 26:9-11  "So then, I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.  (10)  "And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them.  (11)  "And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities.

Do you think that Paul gave them 30 day notice before coming for them? When Christians fled, many times it was only with what they could carry and sometimes not even that. When people are converted to Christ sometimes they lose everything. Think about those today who are suffering for their faith. Christians in the middle east losing everything, Muslim converts to Christ under the threat of death. Hospitality is essential to meeting the needs of the brethren.

You might be tempted to think, ‘Brother, we don’t have any of that here.’ Not yet, but that does not mean that it will never happen. But also consider this, if spiritual warfare is in persecution, is it not also found in other matters? What about financial? What about death in the family? What about health? What about trials and tribulations in marriage and parenting? There are many ways in which we may suffer. Just ask Job. How many times have we been at the end of ourselves in any one or all of these areas? Outwardly everything looks great but inwardly we despair. We are to bear one another’s burdens. The one who ministers today may be the one in need of ministering tomorrow.

It is here we must say what hospitality is not. It is not about us. It is not about how our house is decorated or about a lavish meal. It is not about pomp and circumstance, but it is about getting to know the person who you have in your home. Meeting them where there need is. It could be just the simple act of companionship that meets the need of a lonely heart.

Consider our own need. We were in darkness under the terrible task master of sin, a slave to it’s every whim. We were broken, lost, ignorant to our own need, dead in our sin. And though we knew not God and lived in opposition to God, He brought us in, cleansed us, clothed us, and feeds us daily the bread of life and water from the well that never runs dry. Adopted us and made us children. Jesus said in Mat 11:28-30  "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  (29)  "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and YOU SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.  (30)  "For My yoke is easy, and My load is light."

What greater example of hospitality do we have than that? Meeting and supplying us in our need. Are we those who will give rest to the weary as they need it? Are we so gentle and humble of heart that we will not shrink back from the lowliest of the low?

3. The Attitude of Hospitality – without complaint

Here is an acknowledgement that service in general and hospitality in particular can be difficult. Why? Because it costs. It costs financially when our circumstances may not be much better than our guests. It cost emotionally and spiritually because sometimes God calls us to minister to broken people and that it is not a one and done type of ministry but it is over a long period of time. As we have been recipients of God’s long-suffering patience and all of His tender mercies so we must be to one another. For He gives strength for that which He requires of us. He supplies all our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus. We live not for ourselves but for Him who purchased us by His own blood.

Mark 8:34-35  And He summoned the multitude with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  (35)  "For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's shall save it.

Rosario Butterfield wrote a book on hospitality. ‘The Gospel comes with a House Key”

Before Rosaria Butterfield became a popular Christian author, she was a tenured professor at Syracuse University, a lesbian feminist fighting to advance the cause of LGBTQ equality, and an unlikely convert. In 1999, her life intersected with the gospel of Jesus Christ through a friend’s radically ordinary hospitality. From hating Christians to becoming one, the transformation took place slowly and outside a church pew when the church came to her. In Butterfield’s newest book The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post Christian World, she articulates a gospel-minded hospitality that’s focused not on teacups and doilies, but on missional evangelism.

She advocates a kind of hospitality that steers clear of teacups and doilies. How does radically ordinary hospitality differ from what most people think of as “Southern hospitality?”

First of all, it is not entertainment. Hospitality is about meeting the stranger and welcoming that stranger to become a neighbor—and then knowing that neighbor well enough that, if by God’s power he allows for this, that neighbor becomes part of the family of God through repentance and belief. It has absolutely nothing to do with entertainment.

Entertainment is about impressing people and keeping them at arm’s length. Hospitality is about opening up your heart and your home, just as you are, and being willing to invite Jesus into the conversation, not to stop the conversation but to deepen it.”

Though she is primarily referencing hospitality from a perspective of evangelism the principles are the same. The primary focus of our hospitality is building deeper relationships for the purpose of being able to share what the Lord has been teaching us.

When Connie and i were living in Clinton and traveling to Yazoo Sunday’s for church every Sunday we would be in someone’s home for lunch, fellowhip, and rest until the evening service. It built a bond of frienship and love among the brethren. When we moved here we did the same. That was in part how we grew so close to Barry and Wendy Wyatt, Amy’s parents. It built a friendship and the friendship became family. Much later our son Noah married their daughter Amy. Now I am not saying that you will find a spouse for your child because of it but it is not out of the realm of possiblity.

But hospitality is something that needs, like any other spiritual discipline, to be cultivated. It is very easy to let the business of life over take us and it becomes less and less a priority until we donlt think of it at all. But being hospitable to one another is not a suggestion but a command.

May God help us in this often neglected area of our Christian walk.

Trinity Hymnal page 492