Hospitality: The Simplest Way to Change the World: Counter Attack (Week 2)

Series Takeaway

Not all dwelling places posses the same capacity of square footage but all possess the same capacity for hospitality.

English Standard Version Chapter 12

A Living Sacrifice

12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

When I coached high school sports or

Passage Takeaway

Hospitality requires us to live with intentionality which is a counter attack to the cultural norms of isolation.

To be clear, living as a disciple of Jesus is to live counter cultural.

To serve God means your allegiance is to him and him alone.

Chapters 1-11 Paul is laying a foundation for what Christians believe. He is making a doctrinal statement about God, man, and how one is justified or made right with God.

In chapters 12-15 his general concern is the life of the believer.

The Epistle to the Romans VI. Christian Living, 12:1–15:13

the Christian life is dependent on the great Christian doctrines

His flow shows us that what we believe directly shapes and influence who we are as believers

present your bodies as living sacrifice = wholehearted commitment lived in service to him.

Sometimes we compartmentalize our walk with God. Meaning, we sometimes rent out sections of our lives to the Holy Spirit while trying to maintain ownership in other areas.

This effects our ability to be hospitable because many of the areas we’re holding onto are the areas God wants to use to leverage for his mission to reach others. But many times we want to say “mine” when in reality its really “his.”

Here Paul urges or strongly encourages the believers at Rome with some very generic

offer/present your bodies as living sacrifices - differences for us is that we don’t offer sacrifices on the altar to God as did those in the Old & New Testament reader in that time would have. People in the first century heard this language and would have immediately understood it whereas, we must do the work of finding out what Paul means.

Present in multiple ways = Romans 6:13, 16, 19

living is not to be separated from “holy and pleasing/acceptable”

“Do not be conformed to this world” or another translation says “the pattern of this world”

Here Paul’s tone in a negative one that reveals the nautre of the world’s systems as diamertrically opposed to God’s

do not be conformed”

instead,

“be transformed”

what’s the difference?

conformity has to do with the external and is limited to time

transformation has to do with the internal and

What transforms you, you conform too.

those things that are most valuable to you internally have the tendency to manifest themselves through external conformity.

So that when people see you

How do you renew

Counter Cultural Hospitality requires

Gospel Perspective (v.1) - by the mercies of God or in view of God’s mercies. Perspective is how you see things. It is the lens through which you see life. Paul is admonsihing the believers at Rome, that “God’s mercies” are the lenses for the believers

doctrinal defense in chapters 1-11 set up his discipleship response in chapters 12-15

Living Sacrificially (v.1) - He over me ; it’s a lot easier to live sacrificially when you have a gospel perspective because you view your life through the lens of what God has done for you and now what he desires to do through you.

It goes back to our passage last week.

Q: What do you have in your life that you can present/offer to God?

Home

Apartment

Finances

Job

Intentional Habits (v.2) - these habits are a shift from cultural conformity to Christ-centered transformation.

Be aware of the cultural currents.

Current #1 - Isolation

How is are you personally conforming to this current?

Current #2 - Relaxation

How is are you personally conforming to this current?

Current #3 - Entertainment

How is are you personally conforming to this current?

Current #4 - Busyness

Q: How is are you personally conforming to this current?

Current #5 -

Q: How is are you personally conforming to this current?

Looking at each one of these currents, how can you intentionally create a habit to swim against them so that God can use you to reach others?

Here’s what we know, hospitality won’t just happen.

If it won’t happen, and you are now aware of some cultural currents that you’ve been swimming in, how might you counter attack so that you can have greater impact?