Hosting Scripture (Jn 8:31-38)

Opening:

Good morning! I hope your 2022 is off to a great start. Mine sure is!!! Do you have any resolutions? I do. I’ll share two of them.

Be more grateful. Gratitude journal.

Treva’s healing:

2. Shared Sabbaths. 26 intentional interactions, many of which are meals that we will host.

We’ve done a lot of meals over the years. Hospitality is a big deal in the Scriptures and I believe is a fantastic tool for the kingdom of God.

Illustrations:

Hosting at UMass. Stir Fryday. 7 years. Good and inviting, but not as intimate.

Hosting at home. Inviting students over, they see a different side of us. Pictures on the wall, homemade stuff, likes and dislikes, art, books, etc. It is more intimate.

Hosting with friends. I might wear my sweats or even my Dr. Pepper pants. There are very few people who have seen me in those. This kind of hosting is more comfortable and more real. I let my guards down. I am more myself.

The Greek word for being the receiver of hospitality is frequently translated, abide or stay or continue in. It carries all the connotations of connection, attention, and staying with someone.

I want to call our attentions, today, to hosting Scripture And the truth of God. We want to look at both it hosting us, and us hosting it.

Let’s read:

Sermon Title: Hosting Scripture

Text: Jn 8:31-38

John 8:31–38 ESV

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

Closing Hymn:: I Have Learned the Wondrous Secret

https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/564

Tough words here. Here Jesus addresses those who believe Him, but not in Him. They aren’t really His disciples. His disciples will not only be hosted by His words, but will host His Words in their hearts.

Firstly, let’s look at the concept of how...

Scripture Hosts Us

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, (John 8:31)

The word abide is a hospitality term that denotes being hosted and staying in someone’s house and being entertained, fed, etc. by the host.

The Scripture, welcomes us to its table to come and delight, feast, and enjoy its benefits of wisdom, protection, and joy. It opens its arms to us and values our questions, our seeking, our desire to know the God of whom it speaks.

Not only does Scripture host us, but it beckons us to host it as well...

We Host Scripture

I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. (John 8:37)

We are called to make room for Scripture, to host it, allowing it to penetrate, convict, and change our mindsets.

I believe this is a dance that we must all grow in. First, we are curious about the Scripture. It is new and inviting and interesting. It teaches us how to live a blessed life. But soon, it wants us to return the favor. It comes over and begins to see things in our “homes” that were previously unknown or should I say un-shown. It is here where we are called to host Scripture. We might not want to do it, for the cost is vulnerability. Do we let someone see our “house” as it really is, how it usually is, or do we pretend that it is immaculate and shiny for the special times that we host Scripture.

Hosting Scripture, Jesus, the Holy Spirit.. I’m kind of lumping them all in the same category, because to value any of them is to value all of them. If we truly are the disciples of Jesus, then we will be abiding in His Word. If we are truly abiding in His Word, then we will be abiding in Him. They are not synonymous, but they are a bit mutually exclusive.

Scripture teaches us what God likes and what He hates.

Romans 3:20 ESV

For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

Romans 7:7 ESV

What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”

Hebrews 4:12 ESV

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

The Word of God gets sharper the more we use it. It starts to penetrate, when we have it over to our house.

Romans 2:15 ESV

They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them

Gentiles were hearing the Law for the first time and realizing that as they had been pressing in to Jesus, God was pressing His laws into their hearts, even inscribing them on them. It isn’t enough to merely be hosted by Scripture, we need to host it, allowing it to penetrate and convict us.

So being hosted by Scripture is delicious and pleasant. It beckons us to stay longer and longer, but we are free to leave whenever we want. When we host Scripture, we are wanting to accommodate our guest. Our guest, however, doesn’t want to leave. Our guest wants a tour, inspect our cleaning, use our private bathroom, and investigate our collections. It doesn’t do this all at once and neither does the Holy Spirit.

Being hosted by Scripture is comfortable, welcoming and we don’t have to do any preparations, any provisions, etc. It doesn’t cost us anything. Hosting Scripture requires a cost. It allows our guest to see things they would not have seen any other way.

Being hosted by Scripture is learning the stories of David and Bathsheba, Ananias and Sephira, Peter, James, and John. Being hosted by Scripture shows me beautiful things about God and ugly things about humanity. Hosting Scripture forces me to admit that I am like these people in unpleasant ways and it welcomes Scripture to speak into that. Hosting Scripture is being real and vulnerable and welcoming my guest to reveal things that I was hiding or unwilling to look at.

Being hosted allows us to marvel at Jesus, but hosting Scripture involves allowing the teaching to “sink into our ears.” (Lk 9:43)

Luke 9:43 ESV

And all were astonished at the majesty of God. But while they were all marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples,

?? So my question to you today is, do you allow God’s Word to sink down into your ears, into your hearts? Or do you merely come over to it to enjoy the meal? Maybe you attend church, listen to sermons, Christian podcasts, and read the Bible app and do devotions, but do you skim over the applications? Do you ask yourself tough questions? Do you rush your guest out of the house of your heart before they see too much?

?? Do you welcome Scripture’s wisdom about business, finance, and blessing, but scoff at other dishes of suffering, sin, and the cost of apprenticing Jesus?

Are you always hosted and never a host to Scripture? Are you a student of the Bible, but not a practitioner? Are you the Bible professor who doesn’t believe in God? Are you the out of shape fitness instructor lecturing others on how to keep fit? Are you a hypocrite?

Peter and Judas were hosted by the words of Jesus.

Judas did not return the favor. He had an agenda for Jesus that was diametrically opposed to Jesus’ plan.

Peter was the same way, but he changed. When Jesus tells Peter how he was going to suffer and die, Peter rebukes Jesus!!! But Peter changed his mind. He repented.

Peter and Judas were both hosted by Jesus, but look at how they respond:

Look at how Jesus hosts His disciples in Jn 13. He washes the feet of all of them, those who would betray Him and sell Him out! Peter was uncomfortable , but he receives it. Judas allows Jesus to wash his feet, but not his heart.

John 13:1–5 ESV

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

John 13:6–11 ESV

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

Judas continued on with his unspoken agenda until it drove him from Jesus and drove him mad.

The Joys of Hosting Scripture:

What happens when we actually begin to meditate on Scripture, marinate in it, and let it penetrate our hearts, is we become real with God and it is there that God becomes real to us. This is where things get interesting.

John 14:21–24 ESV

Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.

John 14:25–27 ESV

“These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

I love the context of the mentioning of the coming of the Holy Spirit. The context is in hosting Scripture, being hospitable to the Words of Jesus. God shows up when He is invited to stay in your home.

Gospel:

Today, you have been hosted by the Scriptures. You have heard the Bible preached. But are you willing to receive it into your hearts and allow it to remain? Can it stay there without leaving? Will you invite it to become your roommate? To be on the lease? This is when God shows up. This is when you take the Word serious and the Father takes it serious as well. He wants to reveal Himself to you. He did it through the person of Jesus, who came down and showed us what the triune God is like in how he responded to suffering, poverty, sin, and people. Jesus was an innocent who committed no sin, but He was crucified for my sin and for yours. He died and was buried and rose on the 3rd day and offers heaven to those who will abide in Him, host Him and His word in their hearts. If you’d like to begin this adventure pray with me today...

Altar:

Hosting Scripture this week might mean, reading less and considering more. If you are in a reading plan, ask yourself if it is giving you enough time to process what you are reading. Ask yourself, “Am I able to think about what I’m reading or am I merely checking off a todo list?”

Hosting Scripture this week might mean, finding a sacred place to read, free from distractions, and ample time to think about what it means to your life right now.

Hosting Scripture might mean journaling, meditating on a verse, committing it to memory so that you can apply it throughout your day.

Hosting Scripture might mean sharing with a friend, a difficult verse for you. Perhaps the Lord is already convicting you about something.. someone you should forgive, someone you should share the gospel with, something that you should give up, something that you should begin. It might mean asking that friend to pray with you and encourage you throughout the week to follow through.

Hosting Scripture might mean acquiring some new materials. I’m going through a workbook called Silencio which is 1/4 is engaging questions to answer truthfully and another 1/4 is spiritual practices to do. Literally 1/2 the book is about hosting Scripture.

If you are willing to become a better host to God’s Word, will you say amen? Let’s pray.