Matthew 25:31-46, "A Taste of Heaven"

“A Taste of Heaven”

“I was a stranger and you took Me in” (). The word hospitality means literally the “love of strangers.” Opening your home to take in strangers is a ministry to Jesus our Lord and Savior.

I. Hospitality is Evidence of Revival – ,

A. Breaking bread from house to house. Remember there were 3,000 new believers from all over the world –

believers from all over the world –

1. Community comes from our identity in Christ –

2. And our shared future –

3. A home is a door with hinges but also a lock

B. How can we open our home to strangers?

1. When we do not cherish and love our privacy more than others

2. When we are willing to open our lives to others

3. When we are not so anxious about what people think of us

II. Motive for Hospitality –

How can we include people in our lives who are so strange to us?

A. We must remember that God has accepted us into His family “in Christ” –

–

1. Christ has torn down the walls of separation – Ephesian 2.14-16

2. Through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father

3. Worship is at the center of hospitality –

Hospitality refreshes the stranger physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

B. See your home as a life-giving place of ministry –

1. Not merely as a “safe haven” for you and your family

2. Excuses.

 I’m an introvert

 No one would want to come to my house

 My house is always a mess

3. Do you not realize that many in this congregation are lonely?

 They feel invisible

 They want to grieve and have no one to grieve with them

 Loneliness is more of a killer than cat hair on the sofa

III. The God of Hospitality –

A. Growth in Christ

1. Open your home to those who seek to shepherd you –

2. Shepherds after God’s own heart go out to find those who are lost –

3. Apart from someone coming to your home, you may not realize your own lostness

4. Care groups are primarily held in homes because our homes are core to our ministry

B. Hospitality is an evidence of spiritual maturity –

1. A character quality of elders –

2. A qualifying factor for mature women –

Our homes are a taste of heaven. David Brainard, missionary to the Stockbridge Indians in Massachusetts in the 1740’s, said of Jonathan Edwards and his wife Sarah that their home was “a taste of heaven.” Our homes are a picture of the house Jesus has gone to prepare for you ().

Wait for the Lord Jesus as stewards who want to give an account. We must give an account (faithful or otherwise)