Baptist Church. If we can go and find our seats, we'll get started. If you could, turn
with me to song number 207 in your hymnals, song number 207. Song number 207 while singing
Great singing everybody. Let's open up the service now together with a word of prayer.
Lord we love you and we just thank you so much for this church. Thank you for everybody here.
Thank you for the singing, the hymns, the psalms, and Lord most importantly your word. Lord in the
preaching with you hear from it. We love you and we just ask you to bless everything that this
church does and fill it with your spirit. That's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. All right for our next
Song number 112 a little bit of a slower song, but one of my favorites be still my soul song number 112
Let's all sing it together on the first
Hello and welcome to Steadfast Baptist Church.
If you need a bulletin, just raise your hand.
One of the ushers should be able to get you
on if there are any left.
Pastor Shelly is out of town tonight.
He's preaching at Faithful Word Baptist Church.
And I recommend you check out his sermon
after we're done here, because I think
he's going to bring the heat.
On the front, we have our Bible memory passage.
We're working on Matthew 28.
Anybody who can quote this to a non-family member will receive a special prize and tonight any kids younger than 18 who can quote this will get ice cream
And it's already freezing out, but kids still want ice cream anyway on the inside. We have our service times
We have regional soul winning and church stats
Additionally, we're in prayer for our expecting ladies. I want to call your attention to the back of the bulletin our prayer list
We're praying for
my grandmother-in-law, also for the Carl Sins,
for Ms. Tienica's mother, for Ms. Faith,
her friend's mom, going through cancer treatment,
for the Scots, some health requests there,
for the Garcia's, and in fact,
we have a praise report there for Ms. Eva's daughter.
giving birth to a healthy baby girl, that's great news.
We're also in prayer for Brother Samuel's fiance,
the visa process, and there was an update on that.
I can't remember what it was, so Samuel,
I'm gonna call on you, could you give us an update
on your fiance?
It's approved that we're waiting on it from the mail.
Visa's approved, waiting on it to come to the mail.
There you go, so prayer works, all right?
We have the good wins with the request there for their friend Sarah's
recovery from surgery and some of the follow-up visits. Brother Nick for his mother's salvation.
For brother Sue Hale, his wife specifically, unfortunately
her father has passed away. Brother Billy as well, praying for his co-worker and for his co-worker's son rather.
Additionally, Brother Tanner Furr, for his brother and his niece, custody rights for that person's daughter, there's a court date listed, and Ms. Ginger, again unfortunate news here, she had posted in the chat group that
Her brother did pass away. The way she worded it was that it was, you know, he went to his forever home and so sad situation there, but I'm going to lift up these requests and prayer now. Father in heaven, we just ask Lord that all of these requests be met by you.
Sometimes things happen and we don't quite understand why, specifically health situations, deaths.
Things of that nature, but Lord we ask that you would comfort those who need it now that you would give them strength to go through the difficult times that they
Are enduring right now
And Lord also for all the other prayer requests on this list father God that you would answer them that you would
Give an answer
That they are looking for Lord God and that you would comfort those specifically who really really need it right now
And so we know that there was nothing too difficult for you, no situation too difficult for you,
and certainly these requests are no exception. And Lord, we ask for your intervention now. In Jesus
name I pray. Amen. On the inside of the bulletin, we have upcoming events. The cruise mission trip
is happening now. On March 8th, there is a Spanish soul winning marathon on the 9th. So the next day,
There will be a Spanish breakfast. That sounds fun March 2nd
The kids choir are gonna begin practicing and then on the 22nd. There will be a spring recital
Which I'm looking forward to and be mindful of the church reminders on the bottom of the bulletin
We want to make sure everybody's safe in the building. That's all I have for announcements
Brother Dustin if you would lead us in our next song
All right for our next song let's go to our black binders here and find where the spirit blows
should be at the back of the binder where the spirit blows
where the spirit blows is all singing out together on the first
chapter number 18 as the book of Genesis chapter number 18.
Genesis chapter number 18 the Bible reads and the Lord appeared into him in the plains of Mamre and he sat in the tent door in the
Heat of the day and he lift up his eyes and looked and lo three men stood by him and when he saw them he ran to them
From the tent door and bowed himself toward the ground and said my lord if now I have found favor in thy sight
Pass not away. I pray thee from thy servant let a little water
I pray you be fetched and wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree and I will fetch a morsel of bread and comfort you
Your hearts after you shall pass on for therefore you come to your servant and they said
So do, as thou hast said, and Abraham hastened unto the tent in DeSera, and said, Make ready
quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.
And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf, tender and good, and gave it unto
a young man, and he hasted to dress it.
Which he had dressed and set it before them and he stood by them under the tree and they did eat and they said unto him
Where is Sarah thy wife and he said behold in the tent and he said I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of
Life and lo Sarah thy wife shall have a son and Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him now
Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women
Therefore Sarah laughed within herself saying
After I am waxed old, shall I have pleasure, my Lord being old also?
And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying,
Shall I of assurity bear a child which I am old?
Is anything too hard for the Lord?
At the time appointed, I will return unto thee according to the time of life,
and Sarah shall have a son.
Then Sarah denied, saying, I laugh not, for she was afraid, and he said, Nay, but thou didst laugh.
And the men rose up,
from thence and look towards Sodom and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?
seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the
earth shall be blessed in him, for I know him that he will command his children and his household
after me, and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may
bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. And the Lord said, because the cry of Sodom
and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now and see whether
which is coming to me, and if not, I will know." And the men turned their faces from
dense and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before the Lord. And Abraham drew near and said,
will thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Perventure, there be fifty righteous
within the city. Will thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are
therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner to slay the righteous with the wicked.
And that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee.
Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?
And the Lord said, if I find and saw them fifty righteous within the city,
then I will spare all the place for their sakes.
And Abraham answered and said,
Behold, now I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord,
which am but dust and ashes.
Peradventure there shall lack five of the 50 righteous.
Will thou destroy all the city for a lack of five?
And he said, If I find there forty and five,
I will not destroy it.
And he spake unto him yet again and said,
Peradventure there shall be forty found there.
And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake.
And he said unto him, O let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak, for adventure there shall be
thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it if I find thirty there. And he said,
Behold, now I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, paraventure there shall be twenty found
there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. And he said, O let not the Lord be
angry, and I will speak it but this once. Paraventure ten shall be found there.
And he said, I will not destroy it for ten sake.
And the Lord went his way as soon as he had left communion with Abraham,
and Abraham returned unto his place. Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, Lord, thank you for this church.
And thank you for allowing us to be here.
I just pray that you'd be with Brother Ben,
filmed with your Holy Spirit, to preach your word unto us
and help us to receive it, Lord, and make application into our lives.
Pray us in Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen.
I want to open by thanking Pastor Shelly for the opportunity to fill in for him tonight.
We're there in Genesis chapter 18.
There's a lot going on in this chapter, but I'll be focusing on the beginning portion
of it where it says in verse number one, and the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of
and he lift up his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood by him, and when he saw them,
he ran to meet them from the tent door and bowed himself toward the ground and said,
my Lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee from thy servant."
We have here Abraham, who was met by
Two angels and an appearance, an Old Testament appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And of course we know that this is Jesus because the Bible tells us
no man had seen God at any time, the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father,
he hath declared him.
And this is one of several different Old Testament appearances of Christ.
That's not the scope of the sermon though.
Rather, what I'll be talking about is something a little different for me, but still a subject
that is brought up in Scripture repeatedly at its hospitality.
And the title of my sermon is, Hospitality, Hospitality.
There's lessons we can derive from the Bible on this subject, but on the onset, I want you
The reality is when it comes to hospitality I'll get into some practical lessons in a moment
When it comes to hospitality, we have to remember that in the ancient world it was necessary
To dispense this to people because there weren't hotels back then
And so when someone was coming from out of town a foreigner coming from out of town as a visitor
Often, they had no choice but to stay with someone, and it was a demonstration of hospitality
to open up your home to that stranger, to that foreigner, to that out-of-town visitor.
Today, we use this word...
a lot more broadly.
We use it to mean different things
and we can apply it in different ways.
I would look at it this way.
I would say that there are,
you could argue different degrees, if you will,
of hospitality.
There's the kind of hospitality that you would show to,
like I've been talking about, an out-of-town visitor.
There's the kind of hospitality that you would show to somebody when you just invite them
over as a guest for dinner.
Or you invite them for fellowship.
You invite them for lunch.
You invite them to your home for a few hours.
And hopefully they don't overstay their welcome, right?
But the idea is that you're inviting somebody into your home for dinner for fellowship.
One of the ways we can show people hospitality and it is within the scope of the sermon tonight
Also taking people out to eat doing good under them outside of your home
I think you could use hospitality in that way as well. You can show people hospitality
one to another in this
vicinity in church or by taking them out to a restaurant doing things for people outside your home
where you're meeting their needs, their needs rather,
you're meeting their needs.
And really, the broadest way possible
to look at this concept is simply
that you're meeting other people's needs.
You're placing their burden on yourself.
And that's really the theme of the message,
is placing the burden of others on yourself.
And if you have that kind of mentality,
you'll be well on your way
person. Meeting other people's needs. That's so important. An online definition I found is the
friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. And I think
that's an accurate one. Obviously, that's why I put it in the notes. But...
By way of introduction, let's actually look at what the Bible says on the onset about this concept of hospitality
Turn to Romans chapter 12 in the New Testament Romans chapter 12. We'll be going back to this story. I want to
Look at the enthusiasm of Abraham in a moment.
I want to look at some principles that we can extract from this story in Genesis chapter 18 and
talk about lessons we can learn about hospitality that we can apply to our lives.
But before doing that, I want to look at what the Bible says.
Let's talk a little about what the Bible says on this subject.
In clear terms, verse 9, Romans 12 verse 9, let love be without
dissimulation, up whore, that which is evil, cleave to that which is good.
So we have an
exhortation to love without the veil of deceit, without the veil of deceit.
We want our love to shine, we want it to be apparent, but it can't
shine, and it cannot be apparent to others if it's veiled by deceit, if it's fake, if
you have a fake love, and I think that is what the Bible is describing in Romans chapter
12, but let's continue in verse 10, and I'll explain why that's relevant.
It says, be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love and honor preferring one
another.
So we started the passage by talking about what?
love that is veiled by deceit and then it continues I think expanding on that
concept by mentioning this idea of being kindly affectioned
and showing brotherly love.
So important, let's look at verse 11,
not slothful in business,
fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope,
patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer.
Now here's what I really wanted to highlight,
distributing to the necessity of saints.
And again, when we look at
Hospitality, that's what it's all about,
meeting other people's needs,
alleviating their burden.
But then it says, given to hospitality.
Given to hospitality,
something all of us should be as Christians.
receiving strangers, entertaining them with kindness,
not expecting a reward in return,
showing brotherly love to each other,
showing brotherly love, preferring one another,
preferring one another, providing for each other.
Again, bearing each other's burdens,
a crucial concept we see in the Bible.
Let's look at Job 31.
Turn, if you would, to Job 31.
And hospitality, so important, so impactful that it's even brought up multiple times in
the qualifications of a bishop, which tell us that someone who wants to pastor should
be a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, by the way, sober, just, holy, temperate.
You say, well, it seems like your pastor really loves all these other pastors, especially
in the new IFB movement and outside of it as well.
Well, that tells me that he's meeting this qualification right here.
He is a lover of good men.
And that's what we should be as well.
And one of the ways we can demonstrate that is by showing hospitality to good men.
as well when they're coming from out of town to visit,
opening up our homes to them,
whether it's just for a few hours for dinner
or maybe they need a place to stay lodging.
This is a great way for us to really show our charity,
to show our charity.
Lodging strangers is brought up actually in the—you could call it the qualifications
of a widow to receive assistance from the local New Testament church.
If she had lodged strangers, it says, this is someone worthy of assistance, also exemplified
in the book of Acts multiple times, but once by Lydia, a seller of purple who constrained
Job 31 brings this up again in verse 32.
Job 31 verse 32, the stranger did not lodge in the street,
but I opened my doors to the traveler.
Again, speaking to travelers,
those who are out of town coming in
and staying lodging temporarily,
an act of generosity, an act of generosity.
That's what I'm talking about tonight.
And you know some people they've been blessed. We know Job certainly
had a nice-looking bank account.
And there are people who've been blessed with beautiful homes.
Well, you can use that as an opportunity
to open them up to foreigners,
out-of-town visitors,
to come in and stay temporarily,
inviting people also over for dinner,
sharing what you've been blessed with with others.
sharing what you've been blessed with, with others.
Of course, if you're comfortable.
It's important that we vet those that we allow
into our lives in this way,
because unfortunately it is a dangerous world
and people have been taken advantage of.
People's kindness, people's generosity.
It's been taken advantage of in this wicked sinful world we live in and
Turn it to turn to Roman 16
Romans chapter 16. So we should take precautions
We should be sure those we are opening up our homes to wanting to show hospitality toward
We should be sure that when we do this our kids are protected
Don't take it for granted
that your kids will be safe with anyone, anyone.
We wanna make sure our kids are protected,
especially when we have unfamiliar people
or those who maybe you don't know them
that well coming into your home,
that would be common sense.
Be sure that if you're gonna open up your home to someone
that it's not someone who gives you the creeps.
We have an intuition for a reason don't we and let me tell you something every single time
I've tried to suppress that feeling in my gut that says stay away from this person danger danger danger danger
And I didn't listen to it. I should have listened to it
Now look, obviously we shouldn't just go around and assume every single person is a potential
Judas and be
Jaded against people or anything like that. That's not what I'm talking about. That's not what I'm endorsing at all
But you just look there's an unmistakable feeling and if you get that with someone perhaps that's not a good candidate
To have stay over for multiple nights in a row and to be around your family
And especially if you're going to allow people to get close to you in this way and be a regular visitor inside your home to stay overnight, multiple nights in a row, perhaps, I would say just at the very least make sure it's someone who shares your values.
You know, the Bible says can two walk together except they be agreed.
And as far as someone coming in to my home and corrupting my children, it'll happen over my dead body.
I will have to die before I lay down and allow that to happen.
So that's the mean part of the sermon.
I'm going to go back to being nice now.
Romans 16, it says in verse number one,
I commend unto you Phoebe, our sister,
which is a servant of the church, which is at St.Crea.
This is a woman to be commended.
Women...
have so many really awful role models they could potentially look up to in this world.
Well, I would say that rather than those people, let's look at a woman like Phoebe.
Let's look at this commendable woman here and one of the attributes she has is that she's a servant of the church.
In verse 2 it says that you receive her in the Lord as become a saint and that you
assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you, for she hath been a
of many and of myself also.
What's the reputation Phoebe has?
She was a suckerer.
She was a helper in other words.
She's commended for this.
She provided assistance.
She provided help.
The attributes of a hospitable person.
And a hospitable person is someone essentially
who has a servant's heart.
And if you want to be known as a hospitable person,
if that's the reputation you want to have for yourself,
then you need a purpose in your mind now
to have a servant's heart.
Put other people's needs even above yours.
James chapter two, let's turn there next.
James chapter two.
And I just want to preach what James two is actually saying.
There's a lot of sermons about what it's not saying and there's a need for that.
No question, because of how often this passage is twisted.
But let's actually just preach what it is saying in verse 14.
What does it profit my brethren, though a man say, verse 14 in James 2, though a man
save him. If you have faith without works, then don't expect to be saved.
The individual actually that it's talking about here is
receiving carnal salvation in the next verse. Don't expect anyone to be saved
carnally. Don't expect their needs to be met if you're not adding any works to your faith.
Verse 15 I think exemplifies this it says if a brother or sister be naked and
destitute of daily food and one of you say unto them depart in peace be ye warmed and filled not
Withstanding you give them not those things which are needful to the body
What doth it?
Faith without works didn't save that person.
Faith without works isn't going to help other people.
It's not profitable for other people.
It's not going to do good to other people.
And we see that if you want to add some works to your faith,
one of the ways that you could do that is hospitality.
Meeting other people's needs as described in James chapter 2
and verses 14 through 16.
Verse 17 says, even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead being alone, a faith that doesn't have
works. And in this context, we're talking about meeting other people's needs, quote, unquote,
saving their flesh. Then that faith is a dead one, meaning it's not producing anything. It's
not profitable for anyone else. Let's go back to Genesis 18 and we'll get into some specific
So I think I've highlighted the importance of this concept and what the Bible says about it
But I think it's important to realize that
You may want to
Invite people over you may want to even offer your
abode
You know some folks in the hood may call it a crib not me though
You may want to offer that to visitors
But they may say no
So it's it's important to not have an entitlement attitude about this and get all bitter and angry with someone if they do say no
My philosophy is this if I invite somebody over and they say no and there's zero attempt at a
Reschedule right they don't say anything like I'm busy on that day, but what about this other date?
They don't give me a reschedule then maybe I'll try
After a while one more time. I'll just try one more time and then if they say no again and
Again, don't reschedule with me. I got the hints. They ain't interested
That's just my personal philosophy. It's my personal opinion
You know, you could do things a little different if you want, but I think in general
I'm getting the hint at that point.
They're not interested.
So, hey, just take note for an answer.
They don't want to have that kind of close relationship.
Maybe they just want to see me here in church,
not necessarily outside of these walls.
That's okay.
And sometimes that happens, you know?
And that's fine.
Look, at the end of the day,
even if no one in here ever wants to see me
outside of these walls, I'm still showing up.
Y'all are gonna have to do a lot more
than that to get rid of me, all right?
Because we're here for the Lord Jesus Christ ultimately, okay?
Let's keep the main thing the main thing. This is all tertiary stuff here
But hey, if somebody doesn't want to have that kind of relationship no problem you move on to the next one
I'm sure somebody else will be interested
As long as you show yourself friendly,
as long as you're not a weirdo,
as long as you know how to talk,
just like a normal person, just normal,
I think the parameter is low to make friends.
It is, just be a normal person,
walk up to someone, talk to him.
Easy, I think at least.
Genesis 18, let's look at verse number one,
we'll get into some specific applications.
And I'll read verse one again.
I know we already read it, but let's do it again.
And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre,
and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day.
And we have an opportunity for Abraham
to show hospitality to the Lord, to the Lord himself.
And think about this.
What if I told you that you had
that exact same opportunity that Abraham had?
Right?
We all do have that opportunity.
And I'll explain more in a minute.
Verse two.
And he lift up his eyes and looked and lo,
three men stood by him.
And when he saw them, he ran.
Notice that he ran to meet them from the tent door
and bowed himself toward the ground.
Jesus, two angels appear to Abraham,
who runs to meet them.
Quickly, bows.
Offer your guests a warm welcome.
You have no idea the impact that can make.
I know it sounds like something that we could potentially overlook.
Maybe it doesn't seem that important.
But offer your guests a warm welcome.
That's what Abraham does.
He greets his guests here with...
You could argue exuberance.
He meets his guests with warmth, with kindness, with enthusiasm.
And there's no indication, I think, on the onset, in the very beginning that he even
knew this was God.
I think he figured it out very quickly, though, and it's very welcoming.
Now, remember, we all have this same opportunity.
We have the opportunity to actually greet the Lord.
You say, what are you talking about?
I'll read this for you.
You don't have to go there.
Colossians 3 it says, and whatsoever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto
men.
So the Bible says that we should do what we do whatsoever we do, should be done heartily,
should be done with vigor, with fervor, with 100% effort, and that includes welcoming people
into your home.
Do it as you would to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
You know it was Jesus who said verily I say unto you it as much as you have done it under one of the least of these
My brethren you have done it under me and just as Abraham
greets the Lord with
Enthusiasm and he displays hospitality toward him in that way hey
We have that same chance to do that in our life toward the brethren
Because there's a concept that exists in Scripture.
How you treat the brotherhood is how you're treating the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
How you treat the brotherhood is how you're treating Jesus.
So keep that in mind before you answer the door,
looking like you'd rather see anyone else when they come visit you.
Some of you are like, when did I ever do that to you?
I'm not necessarily talking about anyone specific, all right?
Some of this is just preventative.
I'm just preaching the Bible.
You know, if you want to get offended, that's your choice.
Look at 1 Peter 4, 1 Peter chapter 4.
How we treat others is how we treat Jesus.
So yes, Jesus literally isn't going to come knocking
on your door.
I get that.
But his brethren will, if you invite them over.
So be careful how you treat the brethren.
God is watching how you treat the brethren,
how you treat other Christians.
1 Peter 4, it says in verse 9.
1 Peter 4 in verse 9.
1 Peter 4, 9, use hospitality one to another.
But pay attention to this, without grudging, without grudging.
So we have to offer this selfless service without grudging, meaning that you do it without this weird apprehension, with a bad attitude.
But rather, you do it out of charity, out of love, without grudging.
Here's what grudging would look like.
Oh, great, you're here.
Come on in, I guess.
No. How about a handshake? How about a smile?
Great to see you. Come on in.
You know, here's another way that people can have a grudging attitude about hospitality.
When they start asking questions like this, when are you going to return the favor?
Now look, if it's just a joke, I've done, I've said this as a joke, that's fine.
But when you're really serious...
And you get a bad attitude about inviting people over
because you start questioning like,
why are they gonna return the favor?
You know, that's not right.
That's not right.
And, look, ideally, yes, we should use hospitality one toward another, meaning that you do return
the favor.
If somebody lets you stay at their house, especially overnight, you know, logic would
dictate you do the same thing when you're in their area.
I get that.
And even when it comes to inviting people over for dinner, if they did that for you, ideally,
you would do that for them.
Trust me, I get it.
And I'm not downplaying that or claiming that it's unimportant.
We shouldn't get overly obsessed with getting repaid.
In fact, the Bible tells us it's more blessed to give than to receive.
And so actually, true love, true charity is doing good to people not expecting anything in return.
It's a bad attitude to keep score at home.
And have a little notepad that says,
well, I invited this person over 30 times.
They invited me over two times.
This is well out of balance.
I am now angry.
No, that's not how it should work.
Rather, we should just be thankful for the chance
to bless other people hoping for nothing again.
So the Bible says hoping for nothing again, you know, it's Jesus the Lord Jesus Christ himself who extols the idea
Of doing good to those who cannot necessarily do good to you doing good to those who cannot necessarily
Return the favor back to you doing good to those who may not immediately make you feel so great about it and give you the
attention that you're seeking
Just doing good to those who
frankly, may never repay you ever.
But Jesus still says to do good to them anyway
and offer a warm welcome to them,
regardless if the score at home reads 100 to 0
in terms of invitations.
That doesn't matter.
That doesn't matter. We're here to bless people.
Just wash the saints' feet
and stop worrying about it so much.
That's what I would say.
Let's go back to Genesis 18.
My second point is make your guests comfortable.
Make your guests comfortable
Abraham did this for sure. Let's look at verse 3 when we get back there. Make your guests comfortable
Not uncomfortable right verse 3 it says in Genesis 18 and and said my Lord if now I have found favor in thy sight
Pass not away. I pray thee from thy servant let a little water
So he's comforted with the drink because it was hot folks. All right
So the Middle East it was hot and he offers him some water. I pray you
Be fetched and wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree
A home is ultimately a place of rest.
You want to make sure your guests can experience that for themselves, provide them with rest.
Abraham provides them with that.
He provides them with water as well.
He tells them to wash their feet and a chance to wash their feet.
But really what I wanted to focus on is that he offers him water offers him a drink the Bible tells us and what so ever
Excuse me. I misquoted that and whosoever shall give to drink on one of these little ones a cup of cold water
Only in the name of a disciple he shall in no wise lose his reward. And so we see that
offering even a cup of cold water to offer someone comfort in an act of hospitality is
an act that will lead to a reward that you can't lose because you can't lose your rewards anyway.
But this is something that God will bless you for. This is something that God will reward you for.
Once again, place the burden of your guests on yourself. And that's what he does. Verse 5.
And I will fetch a morsel of bread,
so now he's offering him food.
And comfort ye your hearts.
After that ye shall pass on,
for therefore are ye come to your servant.
And they said, so do as thou hast said.
What's Abraham's mentality?
Comfort ye your hearts.
That should be how we react to visitors coming over.
Comfort ye your hearts.
Refresh yourself.
Refresh yourself provide food provide provide drink so that your visitors can be strengthened and
Also, if it's the summertime crank that HVAC up, don't be cheap
If it's winter put that heater on don't be cheap, you know, I shouldn't be seeing my breath if I'm coming to visit
All right
I get it, inflation, the bills can catch up sometimes,
they can get a little expensive,
but for a couple of days, you can bite the bullet
and make sure that it's comfortable
in terms of heating and cooling.
But what's the idea?
You make your guests comfortable
by making them feel ultimately at home.
Just make them feel at home.
You know, as the Mexicans say,
mi casa is to casa, right?
Mi casa is to casa.
Let's look at verse...
Actually, before we do that, I wanted to mention one other thing here.
We know the good Samaritan brought the Levite to an inn and took care of him.
That's hospitality, taking care of people.
A good host revives the spirits of their guests, offering them comfort, sustaining them, caring
for them.
Make your guests comfortable.
Be mindful of your pets. Let's look at exodus 21 exodus 21. I
Want to give you a disclaimer right now. All right, I am not a dog guy
So you may argue what I'm about to say include some bias
I'm just being totally transparent with you. I don't really like dogs. Now. There's some cute dogs
I'll pet him
They're friendly, I get it.
I'm still never owning one, all right?
I'm never owning one.
But I think everyone should be able to agree
with what I'm about to say.
Even if you love dogs,
even if you think dogs go to heaven,
even if you are in love with your pet dog Fred
or whatever you named it,
you should agree with what I'm about to say here.
All right, this shouldn't be controversial.
Let's look at verse 28.
You're in Exodus 21.
The Bible tells us if an ox goer a man or a woman that they die then the ox shall be
surely stoned and his flesh shall not be eaten but the owner of the ox shall be quit.
So if an ox kills a man or a woman you put the thing to death, all right?
You line it up against a wall and you do what needs to be done to the ox.
I'm glad you're with me so far.
Let's look at verse 29.
But if the ox were want to push with his horn in time past,
he has a reputation for hurting people.
And it has been testified to his owner
and he hath not kept them in, no precautions taken,
but that he hath killed a man or a woman,
the ox shall be stoned.
and his owner also shall be put to death.
So if the owner is aware that his animal
has a proclivity to hurt people, to kill people,
and he doesn't place any safeguards
to prevent that from happening,
what does the Bible say?
The ox and its owner are liable, both are put to death.
So what's the principle here?
Be mindful of the animal you own.
You say, I love animals, great, God bless you.
I hope you own 50 of them.
Just if you know that they can bite someone's head off,
it may be a good idea to place a safeguard
so that they don't do that to a visitor.
That's all I'm saying.
And I feel like we can all agree on that.
And specifically, if you have an aggressive dog...
and you know that it can bite people,
that it has a propensity to bite people.
It's aggressive, it's angry.
Somebody comes over.
Now put that thing in a separate room, perhaps.
Throw it in a cage if you have to.
But make sure that there's a safe distance
between the animal and your guests
so that they feel comfortable.
Because I don't know about you guys,
but...
I feel uncomfortable when I'm afraid for my life.
So we should strive to make our guests
as comfortable as possible by being mindful of our pets.
You know, some people are like,
hey, meet my dog, Lucky.
And the thing's just like frothing at the mouth.
And I'm like, can we, you know,
keep it away from me or something like that?
Oh no, he doesn't bite, he's good.
The dog's just like, like about to pounce on you.
And it's like, dude, your pit bull is going to rip my kid's limb from limb.
Can you put it away, please?
That's all I'm saying.
And it's just important that you realize not everyone is going to be receptive to that kind of thing.
So just be careful with your pets.
Let's go back to Genesis 18.
Be mindful of the animals you have in the house, especially when kids are coming over.
You know, nothing would piss me off more than my kid getting bit by a dog.
It's already happened.
It's really annoying and it just made me very angry.
So we want to be careful with our dogs.
You say, you're picking on dogs.
Yeah, I am picking on dogs.
You're right. I am.
Because cats don't do this kind of thing, okay?
There. I said it.
Everyone's pissed off at me now.
Point number three, feed your guests a quality meal.
Feed your guests a quality meal.
You know, if you're gonna feed your visitors...
It's not the time for hungry man. It's not the time for microwave microwavable food. Let's feed him some quality
Let's make sure that we feed him some quality. That's what Abraham does notice verse 6 and Abraham
hastened into the tent under Sarah and said make ready quickly three measures of fine meal need it and
Make cakes upon the hearth and when it talks about making cakes upon the hearth, it's talking about
Excuse me making bread and first of all what I wanted you to notice is that Abraham tells Sarah what to do
There's no question who the man of the house is it's Abraham
And he's telling Sarah what to do and to get ready because some guests are coming over
We have flour for baking. It's me. It's
Basically beating it up and
You know getting prepared to bake it. I'm not a baker, so you'll have to you know bear with me here verse number seven
And Abraham ran under the herd and fetched a calf
Tender and good and gave it under a young man at he hasted to dress it now notice
It said that it was a calf that was what tender and good. Wasn't it?
Tender and good. This is a prime quality piece of meat right here a prime
quality piece of meat and
Notice the speed at which Abraham is moving. What does that tell us? It tells us he didn't have a lot of
Time to prepare neither did Sarah this seemed to be last minute
And sometimes that's what happens.
I think what we're seeing in the chapter indicates to us
that all of this was a last minute deal.
Sometimes we don't have a lot of time to prepare.
That's okay, do the best you can.
And a prime quality piece of meat is prepared.
It is tender, it is good.
Verse eight, and he took butter and milk.
It's just getting better and better.
And the calf which he addressed and set it before them and he stood by them under the
tree and they did eat.
Not only does he feed his guests, but he feeds his guests quality, a tender and good calf
is fetched.
We know that he already gave him water to drink.
We also have bread made.
We also have butter and milk mentioned here because those are good things.
So I think we should have that in our diet.
We should be drinking milk.
Butters should also be involved as well.
I know a lot of people think that butter is horrible for you,
but I really don't see that in my Bible at all.
And if you're wondering where to get some really good milk,
I recommend Costco.
I think Costco has the best milk for me personally.
Some of you only drink raw milk.
That's your deal.
I'm not going to argue with you on that.
You know if you don't only drink raw milk Costco, you know thumbs up for me there, but anyway
This is a prime quality meal. It's given to Abraham's guests
And you know, we just don't want to cheap out on something like this if we have people coming over
Let's give them some quality. Let's prepare the food. Let's make sure that it's good and
Delectable as well you could say
But we want to make sure that this is food that our guests actually want to eat right
We want to make sure they like what we are preparing to the best of our ability to our knowledge
We want to make sure that they're gonna eat what we prepare meaning ask him just ask him
Hey, you like Italian you like Chinese you like
Mexican do you like Middle Eastern? What is it that you like and I'll prepare it for you. Do you like a good steak?
I mean everybody will say yes to that I would think
But be sensitive to other people's diets though, we want to be sensitive to the way other people consume food
Maybe they're different than us and the Bible brings up in Romans 14
You don't have to turn there
But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat now walk us thou not charitably
Destroy not him with thy meat for whom Christ died so be sure whatever you serve. It's something your guest will actually
partake in and
For example, if you know they don't eat meat
Probably a good idea not to serve him that.
Go with something else.
Maybe they're a vegetarian.
Hey, that's fine.
You know, give him a salad, whatever it is that
vegetarians eat.
Verse 6.
And Abraham hastened into the tent under Sarah
and said,
make ready quickly three measures of fine meal
and eat it, and make cakes upon the hearth.
I know we read that, but I wanted to focus on a different
aspect of that verse.
And my fourth point is be prepared for your guests be prepared in general you got to have an attitude that says I am prepared
in all aspects for people to come over, not just the food,
not just the carnal meal that you're providing for them,
but you want to be prepared as a whole
for people to come over.
Just as Abraham very quickly prepared himself
for these visitors, a hospitable person
is prepared to entreat visitors.
And basically they have a house that is clean.
They got the house ready.
and presentable, it doesn't look like a hoarder lives there or anything like that,
it's nice, it's clean, it's kept, et cetera, to the best of your ability. Depending on how much
time you have to prepare, this is something you want to do, make your house look presentable.
Let's go to 2 Kings 4, 2 Kings chapter 4, and I'll show you an example of this regarding the
in 2 Kings chapter 4 and verse 9.
2 Kings chapter 4 and verse 9.
A hospitable person is prepared to entreat visitors like this
in 2 Kings 4 and verse 9.
And she said unto her husband,
behold now I perceive that this is an holy man of God
which passeth by us continually.
So this Shunamite woman recognizes
Elisha is the man of God.
And what happens next? Well, we know that she prepares for his arrival.
Elisha would often travel through this region and he receives an act of hospitality in verse 10.
It says, let us make a little chamber, I pray thee on the wall, and let us set for him there a bed,
and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick.
I mean, look at this right here, a bed, table, stool,
candlestick, and it shall be, when he cometh to us,
that he shall turn in thither.
The home is prepared for the arrival of Elisha,
and it's eventually offered to him.
This hospitality dispensed to him,
but the Shunamite woman prepared first.
A bed, a table, a stool, and a candlestick.
Go to Philemon verse 22, Philemon verse 22.
This is a positive example for us.
We need to be sure that our homes are prepared.
If the type of hospitality being offered is that which involves an overnight stay
for either one or more nights, then
You're going to want to make sure that your home is prepared.
That's exactly what the Shunamite woman did in Philemon verse 22.
It says, but with all, prepare me also a lodging, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you.
So the apostle Paul is talking about preparing for a lodging, prepare for him to actually be lodged.
That we're prepared now. What are some specific applications here? I've already brought this up
But make sure the home is clean make sure that it's kept vacuum
mop de-clutter do the things that the women in this room know about the most
Here's one politely set expectations
Your visitors aren't going to know the boundaries if you don't communicate with them what those boundaries are
So there may be certain rooms. You don't want anyone to enter. Here's a big one
Maybe you prefer that your visitors take their shoes off. You know who's big on this?
Asians they don't want you by and large
Is that right? Yeah, they don't want you by and large
To have your shoes on if you're that kind of person you want to make sure you communicate that beforehand
Politely though you don't have to be a jerk about it. Just politely remind people
Hey, you know I prefer if you maybe took your shoes off put your coat over there
You can even grab the coat for them
Etc stock up on food and drinks and desserts. You know what's annoying you go to somebody's house and it runs out of food
No, make sure that thing is stocked up man
stock that thing up with some foods, some drinks, some desserts.
And as a guest, you know, hey, be
merciful about this, alright? And don't be a jerk, but if you're a host,
go to the supermarket beforehand.
Plan any activities you may want to do together.
This is part of being prepared,
is your planning for activities that you may want to do.
You may want to play some board games.
You may have some outings you want to do with your visitors
as they stay for a few days.
Plan those out beforehand so that way
you can offer it to your visitor.
Hey, I was thinking we could go here,
especially if they're not familiar with your city.
Maybe they don't know a lot about the DFW area.
Well, you do.
offer to take them out to different museums and sites and sounds in the area, parks and
different things, different activities that are available for us here, offer that, prepare
for that beforehand.
You also want to make sure that you ask about any allergies that your guests may have so that you don't have an unfortunate
Incident where they break out in hives or something after you feed them
Of course, hopefully by that point they would you know realize they're about to eat something
They're allergic to but my point is is just communicate with them ask them if they have any
Preferences for their diet preferences in terms of allergies now. Here's one where you could argue
Okay, you're going a little over the top here, but I don't think so my wife's done this in the past make a welcome kid
Why not make a welcome kit? So you're sort of replicating the experience they would have at a hotel
That is a business of hospitality. Now, what do I mean by a welcome kit? I'm talking about hey, you could make a a
basket
Where you have some essentials in there shampoo soap different soaps things like that you could put toothbrushes toothpaste
And you could put your Wi-Fi password in there as well so they don't have to ask and be annoying
but my point is
Make a welcome kit so that they feel like they're at home. That's something you can prepare
Surprise your guests with their favorite snack. Everybody loves that
I've stayed at people's homes before,
and I was surprised with some Oreos.
And that brought a smile to my face.
You can do the same for your visitors as well.
But really, the most important one
that I wanted to provide some detail on
is we want to mentally prepare to socialize.
We want to actually socialize with people who come over
and not just doom scroll on our phones the entire time.
And I think that's a big thing today with our society is people are addicted to screens and they can't get off of them
even when they have visitors over it's like you can get off Facebook for a couple of hours and
Socialize with your visitors look at Proverbs 16 go to Proverbs chapter 16
Ecclesiastes tells us there is a time to speak and I would argue hey when you have people over it's a time to speak
It's a time to talk
I'm not saying if you glance at your phone every once in a while you're evil wicked bad
That's not what I'm saying
But if you're just stuck on your phone the whole time it may be time to rethink that
Strategy and actually socialize with the people who are coming over to see you to spend time with you
Proverbs 16 says in verse 24
Proverbs 16 and verse 24 pleasant words are as an honeycomb sweet to the soul and health
to the bones.
So we see that pleasant words, they are sweet
and comforting as well.
You know, not only do we comfort our guests
with the carnal things that we offer them,
the food and the drink and the home,
but also by our words.
We don't just meet their physical needs,
but also the need that they have for fellowship as well.
You know, in the definition that I brought up
in the beginning of the Sermon about hospitality,
it brought up entertainment.
And yeah, we should entertain our guests.
We should make sure that we are talking to them,
that we are engaging in conversation with them,
that we're present, that we're present in the moment,
wanting to spend time with them.
Proverbs 16 and verse 24 had brought up
how the pleasant words are sweet to the soul.
And, of course, we know that the soul is the part of us that
interacts with our fellow man.
It's the spirit, the part of us that interacts with God.
And we know the body enjoys that savory meat.
We know that.
Well, let's offer all three to people when they come over,
especially that fellowship, words that are sweet to the soul.
Last place I'll turn is Galatians 6,
and then I'll be done, Galatians 6.
Say, what's the point of the sermon?
Hospitality. It's that easy.
Let's show hospitality to others.
And that entails being a burden-bearer,
like I've already said.
The Bible tells us let nothing be done through strife or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other
Better than themselves look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others
You know what a hospitable person looks on the things of others. It's not selfish
Wanting to bless people without keeping score at home hoping for nothing again
That should be us look at verse 2 Galatians 6 and verse 2
Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
You want to be hospitable? Bear other people's burdens.
Meet their necessities.
Esteem others. Have a servant's heart.
This is how you epitomize hospitality, and please, please, please, please, please.
Let's fix our reputation as Christians because I am sick and tired of hearing about how hospitable Muslims are.
They have that reputation.
Even in our crowd, you'll notice, I mean, they are nice.
They're going to split hell wide open, but when you meet them out soul-winning, they could be friendly.
I get that. Certainly a lot friendlier than Jews.
They don't have a reputation for hospitality, in my opinion.
But, you know, it shouldn't be that Muslims outshine us in this area.
It shouldn't be that Buddhists outshine us in this area.
It's a weird idolatrous religion.
It shouldn't be that Hindus outshine us in this area.
That shouldn't be the case.
It shouldn't be that Catholics outshine us in this area.
We should have reputation. We should have a reputation as a Bible-believing Christian
Where people look at us and they say those people are hospitable
I may not agree with every single one of their doctrines, but these are hospitable people
They will open up their home. They're kind. They're courteous. They're loving. They have charity
That's the kind of reputation we should have
You know, have the attitude that says, you know, I'm going to be the kind of host that meets the needs of my guests.
I'm going to be the kind of host that makes their burden my burden.
I'm going to be the kind of Christian that exemplifies, epitomizes hospitality.
The kind of Christian who is given to hospitality.
The kind of Christian who uses hospitality without grudging.
who displays hospitality, a lover of hospitality,
without grudging, like I've already said,
with a good attitude, without some weird ulterior motive.
But rather, out of a genuine love for people, out of a genuine love even for the lost, if
you were to invite them over for dinner or something like that.
But certainly out of a genuine love, a genuine love for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Because how you treat each other is how you would treat the Lord Jesus Christ.
How you treat each other is how you're treating Jesus according to the Scripture.
to show some hospitality.
With that, I'll close.
Father in Heaven, we thank you so much for this church,
and I pray that all of us would be given to hospitality,
help us, Lord, in this area,
so that we're not outshined by wicked and weird false religions out there,
but rather so that we are known as truly kind, courteous,
loving, hospitable people toward others.
We love you, and in Jesus' name I pray amen.
All right, in closing, let's go to song number 217.
Song number 217, he included me.
Song number 217.