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Now Genesis 18 is a long chapter in the Bible and we've got several sermons actually that we're gonna preach from it So I've kind of divided it into sections and what I want to talk about in this sermon is the topic of hospitality Hospitality that's kind of the first theme you see in the first third of the book of Genesis chapter 18 But before we go to Genesis 18, let me just kind of give you an overview on hospitality in general turn to Romans chapter 12 Romans 12 Romans chapter 12 Romans chapter 12 And in Romans chapter 12 in verse number 9 Romans 12 verse 9 the Bible says let love be without Dissimulation now some people might wonder what does it mean to be you know, what does dissimulation mean? Well think of something It's like a simulation. It's not real It's basically fake right what the Bible is saying there is don't have love but don't let it be fake, right? Don't just kind of put on a show but not actually mean it. Let your love be real Don't be a fake person and then it says abhor that which is evil cleave to that which is good Be kindly affection one to another with brotherly love and honor preferring one another so we should have brotherly love towards people They care about them as their brothers and sisters in Christ not slothful in business Fervent and spirit serving the Lord rejoicing in hope patient and tribulation continuing instant in prayer distributing to the nest necessity of Saints given to hospitality and Many of the things that are mentioned there kind of deal with hospitality having brotherly love and honor preferring one another Let your love be without dissimulation. And so the Bible tells us we should have hospitality in our lives Now, what does it mean to have hospitality? Here's a definition from online The friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests visitors or strangers It's the definition of hospitality is that when you have visitors or guests or strangers that you treat them Well now in the US when you do bookkeeping and accounting There's a lot of different technical terms that you're supposed to use just for organizational purposes. And one of them is Hospitality it's kind of a form of money that you're giving hospitality and then there's also benevolence These things are two different things Benevolence would be when you give money to someone who's basically down on their luck. They need money. They need help They can't pay their rent. So you give them maybe a hundred dollars to help them out Hospitality is basically when you give somebody Some money or some help but they don't really need help is just kind of a warm generous thing to do So for example, you have a competition you have a gift card that goes out somebody wins the game to get $50 They don't need that money for survival, but you're just being hospitable you're showing that you care for that person Okay, so when it comes to hospitality when you have visitors that come over This is not saying somebody comes over and they need a glass of water or they're gonna die What it's basically saying is somebody comes over and you just treat them. Well, okay Romans 12 verse 1. Mm-hmm Romans 12 verse 1 and The Bible reads here in Romans 12 verse 1 I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice Holy acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service now This is in the same chapter talks about hospitality and it says that you present your bodies a living sacrifice and part of being Hospitable is the fact that you lay down your own life and care about somebody more than yourself Later on the chapter said preferring one another and when you're doing that you're making yourself a living sacrifice You're saying your life is not as important as somebody else's if you have a guest that comes to your house What you're doing is taking care of them. You're not taking care of yourself That's what it means to be hospitable go to Philippians chapter 2 Philippians chapter 2 Philippians chapter 2 Mm-hmm Philippians chapter 2 verse 3 The Bible reads Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory But in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves Now what this verse is saying is that we as God's people should be lowly in mind and what that means is we humble ourselves We don't look at ourselves as being so special but Lowliness of mind and what that means is we esteem others better than ourselves See God tells us we should look at other people as being more important than ourselves That's what God has called us to do even Jesus Christ when he was here on earth He didn't come to be an all-conquering King. He actually came to serve other people Then it says this look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others So once again the idea is don't be concerned about your own things and what you want But be concerned with what the things are that other people want let this mind be in you Which was also in Christ Jesus who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and Was made in the likeness of men and being found in fashion as a man He humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the cross See the greatest example we have of this of laying other people before yourself and caring about other people Is obviously Jesus Christ who came here. He died. He paid for sins go to 1st Timothy 3 1st Timothy chapter 3 1st Timothy chapter 3 And I'm just quickly showing you a lot of references to hospitality in the Bible then we'll go back to Genesis chapter 18 But one of the things actually the Bible mentions as a requirement to being a pastor Is to be hospitable and see in our modern day people look at things like a Bible college degree and they say well You know You got to have a Bible college degree to be a pastor and yet the Bible actually has certain Requirements that are you know far more difficult than getting a Bible college degree because last I checked You know what as long as you pay money, they're gonna give you the degree They don't really care whether or not, you know, you know the Bible whether you memorize the Bible read the Bible What they care about is are you paying money then they'll give you the Bible college degree See what the Bible says in 1st Timothy 3 verse 1 This is a true saying if a man desire the office of a bishop He desires a good work. So the Bible says if you desire to be a pastor, that is a good work. You're desiring It's good to desire that now notice. It doesn't say you desire the title of a bishop Right because I feel like there's a lot of people in 2022 They want to be a pastor because they want people to call them pastor so-and-so right Here in the Philippines. There are a lot of people that are not biblically pastors, but then they have people calling them pastor Right and yet the Bible has direct requirements and it says if you desire that office You desire a good work. It would be like desiring the office of you know, an engineer or of a doctor It means you desire to do the work of an engineer right or if you desire You know to be a doctor you desire the work of being a doctor if you desire to be a pastor Then it's a good work You desire you need to desire the work entailed or required with being a pastor then it says this in verse 2 a bishop Then must be blameless The husband of one wife vigilant sober of good behavior given to hospitality apt to teach so one of the requirements mentioned is Given to hospitality being a hospitable person meaning you put other people Above yourself and you're not the most important person in the world go to 1st Peter chapter 4 1st Peter chapter 4 1st Peter chapter 4 1st Peter chapter 4 verse 8 1st Peter chapter 4 verse 8 Hmm and The Bible reads in 1st Peter chapter 4 verse 8 and above all things have fervent charity among yourselves For charity shall cover the multitude of sins use hospitality one to another Without grudging so you notice that hospitality something that's mentioned a lot in the Bible and what it says in this verse is use hospitality one to another without Grudging meaning don't just be hospitable, but inside of your heart. You're like, I don't want to do this It's not fair. It's not right. I don't want to care about other people Don't just go through the actions. Don't let your love be with dissimulation But actually mean it right and see you must realize that God called us to lay down our lives for other people So when you're being hospitable to other people, you're actually doing what God has called you to do and look Don't do that with a bad attitude When you're being hospitable and you're taking care of guests and visitors and caring about them more than yourself Don't develop this attitude like Martha in the Bible where she gets mad. She's cumbered about with much serving. It's not fair It's not right now. You should have a good attitude about it. Go back to Genesis chapter 18 Genesis 18 Genesis 18 So Let us look at three points here from Genesis 18 about the idea of having hospitality Genesis chapter 18 Genesis chapter 18 point number one when it comes to being hospitable point number one it requires efforts it requires effort to be hospitable Genesis 18 verse 1 and the Lord appeared onto him in the plains of Mamre and He sat in the tent or in the heat of the day and he lift up his eyes and looked and lo Three men stood by him now. We have this story here where Abraham gets visited by three men Realize Abraham does not expect this. He's not expecting this to come He's just kind of going about his day and then three people just happen to show up, right? We'll be similar is if you're just kind of at your house and then all of a sudden You have like people show up at your house and you're not expecting it, right? Then it says this and when he saw them He ran to meet them from the tent door and bowed himself toward the ground now notice the immediate reaction of Abraham is When he saw them he ran to meet them from the tent door, right? It's not like when he saw them He just like hit well, I don't want them to realize I'm home or whatever No, once he saw them he ran to meet them the Bible says and bowed himself toward the ground now Look when you do something like this that shows effort, doesn't it? Doesn't it take effort to greet someone doesn't it take effort to run to someone so right when Abraham sees them He runs to them and he bows himself toward the ground verse 3 and said my lord If now I've 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 now I will say this that I do believe that Abraham is aware that this is the Lord amongst those three people that is coming to Greet him. But what we're seeing is a template on being hospitable There's no indication of Abraham being fake or just putting on a show Because his character throughout his life showed that he was hospitable person But he says, you know, I thought now I've found favor in thy sight pass not away I pray to you from thy servant let a little water I pray you be fetched and wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree So basically once they come he says, you know what? I want you to rest under the tree. Don't do any work We're gonna wash your feet. We're gonna take care of you. Basically, you know what? I'm here to serve you I'm here to help you. Anyway, that is what being hospitable is Verse 5 and I will fetch a morsel of bread and I will fetch a morsel of bread and Come for ye your hearts after that you shall pass on for therefore you come to your servant and they said so do as thou has said and Abraham hastened into the tent on to Sarah now when you see this word hastened or Haste what it means is doing something very quickly. So basically these three men show up Abraham runs out to meet them. He greets them. He says sit down under the tree. Just rest. We'll get some water We'll wash your feet. We'll all get some bread he quickly runs into Sarah the reason why is because they're going to basically make a meal for them and Said make ready quickly three measures of fine meal needed and make cakes upon the hearth and And Abraham ran under the herd and fetched a calf tender and good and gave it on to a young man and he hasted address It so basically, you know, he tells Sarah you know what we have guests. You need to make a meal right now Look Abraham did not expect these men to show up Neither did Sarah she had no idea she was making a meal for company But basically there's guests that are there and Abraham says hey, you know what you need to make a meal right now We should put ourselves in this sort of situation Now I think obviously any of us if the Lord actually appeared to us, we'd probably do whatever was necessary, right? But just if people show up and I'm not just talking about some random homeless person knocks on your door That's not what I'm saying Okay But I'm saying you know people that are people that you know people that are Guests or people that are acquaintances or whatever they show up How would you greet them right and see Abraham is ready immediately to help out and he comes to Sarah and says Sarah You know, you need to make you know need it and make cakes upon the hearth and then Abraham ran onto the herd So Abraham is not just ordering his wife around Abraham's going and actually working himself and it says in fetch the calf tender and good and gave it on to young men And He hasted to dress it and so Abraham took this job very seriously he did this very quickly He didn't waste time. He looked at as being a very very important task, right now look Abraham could have just said well, you know what? Let us just get some, you know Saltine crackers and put them on the table, right? Let us just get some you know bread. Here you go Just plain white loaf of bread or whatever I mean, he could have just not put in much effort at all, but that's not what he does, right? I mean when you're fetching a calf tender and good and then you're basically preparing it and killing it and cooking it I mean that's actually putting in some effort, isn't it? It's not just simply well, you know Let's just see what we haven't eaten in the refrigerator that we need to throw away right, but actually putting in some effort to actually take care of the guests and Verse 8 Hmm and he took butter and milk and the calf which he addressed and set it before them and he stood by them under The tree and they did eat and so basically as they're doing putting in all this effort They're basically caring about these visitors more than themselves. Now. Let me just say on a side point. I do understand That obviously you could have you know unwelcome guests or people that overstepped their bounds, right? You know, let's say for example, you know Your your neighbors are your family or whatever because this is actually a very common situation and then every single day You know your your family's coming over to the point of annoyance. Well, obviously that can go to a bit of a different situation I'm not talking about an extreme version I mean if your neighbor knocks on your door every single day and you're rolling out the red carpet and cooking a meal Eventually, it's got to get to the point where you say hey, you know what this is too much We're just saying when you have guests that come over and it's from time to time you should actually treat them Well go to Luke chapter 19 Luke 19 Luke chapter 19 Luke 19 And here's the thing when there's certain things that God commands in the Bible like he commands us to be hospitable And to lay down our lives when God's commanding us to do something Usually that means it's something that doesn't come easily Right, and if something's requiring effort to do it's obviously something that you know what it's not going to be an easy thing to do Right being hospitable is not the easiest thing The easiest thing would just be not to care about the people that show up or whatever But God tells us to be hospitable Luke chapter 19 verse 1 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho and behold there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans and he was rich now When it comes to being the chief among the publicans, that's not exactly the best job title for being a godly person Right. I mean being a publican Was not exactly the best career choice if you wanted to serve God, right? Zacchaeus is a man who has a lot of money. He's a chief among the publicans He was rich the Bible says and he sought to see Jesus who he was and could not for the press Because he was of little stature now one thing that's great about this story This story shows that there can actually be people that are rich people or even people not even just rich But maybe even have a sinful job, but actually do want to seek the Lord, right? I mean, there's many reasons why people might go down certain career choices. We don't necessarily know why I mean Most people pick their college degree based on one thing what career is going to give me the most money, right? Most people aren't choosing their college degree based on you know What what career field is the godliest to choose? Most people basically will have a few different options which of these that I I somewhat enjoy is going to make me the most money Right, you know I remember hearing the story of someone who majored in pharmacy in college and they have like first-day orientation And the professor was asking people, you know, why did you choose this career field? and you know people are trying to give answers to look good and everything and the the first person gave an Answer about I've just wanted to dedicate my life to serving other people to helping other people Went on and on and on the professor said no really. Why did you choose and Because it would make me a lot of money, right? That was the actual reason and they admitted it once it went down to it It's just like well, that's the reason why you chose it right now. Obviously there's exceptions to this, but I'm just saying in general I mean most people are going to choose based on what's going to make them a good amount of money Right and look honestly that that should be part of why you would choose a degree There'd be no reason to get a degree in college. That's not going to make you money So I'm not saying that's that's completely bad or anything like that What I'm just saying is, you know people pick career fields for different reasons and here's the thing people change over time Right. I mean you start a career in something maybe ten years later. You're a different person. Maybe Zacchaeus We don't necessarily know how old he was. Maybe if he could go back in time He would have said hey, I wouldn't have become the chief of the publicans. It's just kind of where my life led me, right? but Then it says this in verse 4 and he ran before and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him for he was to Pass that way and when Jesus came to the place He looked up and saw him and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down for today I must abide at thy house. Now. This is kind of an interesting story because we've got a grown man Who's not very tall and he climbs a tree to see Jesus, right? Now look, he's already showing some humility It's kind of embarrassing for a grown man to climb a tree Right when other people are around because he can't see them because he's shorter than everybody else So basically he climbs a tree to see Jesus. I'm sure most people in the crowd probably wouldn't have climbed a tree Just for the fact they wouldn't humble themselves to that point but Zacchaeus says you know what I want to see Jesus and he climbs a tree in order to see the Lord Jesus Christ and What Jesus said to him is make haste and come down for today. I must abide at thy house So he tells Zacchaeus, you know what Zacchaeus, I'm gonna go to your house and this is what you call an unexpected guest Right Zacchaeus has no idea that Jesus is gonna see him because it would be one thing to say I want to see the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to talk to him It's another thing to basically invite somebody over for dinner and put in that effort and put in that time Verse number six and he made haste and came down and received him joyfully. So he does this with joy. He's not upset about it He's happy to have Jesus Christ dine at his house. And when they saw it they all murmured saying That he was gone to be guest with a man. That is a sinner Now here's the thing They're criticizing Jesus for eating with Zacchaeus Right. Here's the thing about this though. I don't believe most people would have climbed a tree to see Jesus. I Don't believe most people would have joyfully received an unexpected guest into their house either Because that takes effort I don't think most people wanted to do that They'll criticize when Jesus eats with Zacchaeus, but they wouldn't have invited Jesus over Right. I mean, I think there's a reason why Jesus said hey, I'm gonna eat at your house Zacchaeus He knew Zacchaeus would receive him joyfully right now, of course Zacchaeus was a sinner and he did have a bad job However, once again people that have bad jobs can get saved and here's the thing if you eat dinner with someone in order to preach The gospel there's nothing wrong with that Right. I would never advise you to be best friends with any unsafe person Right. I wouldn't advise you to be close friends with someone who had major major sins in their life either But if you're eating with someone to preach the gospel, there's nothing wrong with that Right whenever I've tried to preach the gospel with co-workers I've had in the past what I would do is just invite them out to lunch on the lunch break and just say hey You know what? Can you come to lunch with me? I'll pay for your meal I wanted to talk to you about something and so basically when you do that Even if they don't get saved they don't get super mad at you because you paid for their meal So they're willing to listen to you and it's not at work So you really can't get in trouble. You're off the clock for that hour I mean, there's many reasons why to do something like that But basically what I'm saying is this there's nothing wrong with eating with someone to preach the gospel to them Now look if it's the same person and now you're going to bars with them and going to movies and going to You know, whatever and clubs. Well, then I'd say yeah, that's wrong But just inviting somebody out to eat to preach the gospel to them. There's nothing wrong with that. Go back to Genesis chapter 18 Genesis 18 Genesis chapter 18 So point number one when it comes to being hospitable which Abraham shows that he is what Abraham shows is that he puts in Efforts being hospitable requires efforts if it didn't require effort It probably wouldn't be difficult, but it requires efforts. See another thing being hospitable can require is It can require money It can require money knows what it says in Genesis 18 verse 5 and I will fetch a morsel of bread and Comfort ye your hearts after they shall pass on for therefore you come to your servant and they said so do as Alice said and Abraham hastened in the tent on to Sarah and said make ready quickly three measures of fine meal needed make cakes upon the hearth and Basically, he tells Sarah, you know, I need you to make bread and he's saying make high-quality Don't make cheap stuff. I want you to bring out something. That's very nice Verse 7 and Abraham ran under the herd and fetched a calf tender and good and Gave it on to a young man and he hated to dress it So when they get a calf they get one that is tender and good and the indication is he gets the best He doesn't get the worst. He doesn't get low quality. The indication is they get the best food to prepare So it's not just that they're putting in efforts. They're also putting in money Right, they're taking the best they have because it would be very easy to just get the worst calf Right get the one that nobody wants get the one that's rejected get the one of low quality, but no They fetch the calf tender and good verse number eight and He took butter and milk and the calf which he addressed and set it before them now look Butter is something that was a very precious commodity Right milk is something that's a precious commodity. Those are things that take time Those are things that take money that are worth a lot of money Very valuable right and he took butter and milk and the calf which he addressed and set it before them and he stood by them Under the tree and they did eat so it's not simply that they're putting in effort for unexpected guests They're also putting in money Right. They're also bringing out the best Okay Number one point number one we saw this they put in efforts point number two Money money is part of hospitality Hospitality sometimes, you know one thing that kind of humbles me is Sometimes you know you go soul winning and sometimes you're so winning in areas that are kind of lower income areas And you know you knock on a door you start preaching the gospel to someone and it's very interesting To me the same people that are pretty hospitable are also often receptive to the gospel You knock on some doors and then they'll say oh come on in and then they'll pull up a chair for you And then they'll offer you something to eat and something to drink and what sometimes the people that do that. They don't have a lot Right. I mean some of the I mean what you find is a lot of the low-income Areas where people have very very little they're the ones that offer you stuff and honestly when I see that It humbles me because I think all of us inside of ourselves Would love to have a little bit more right a little bit more money a little bit nicer this a little bit nicer that and then you go so winning in areas where people don't have a lot and Then all of a sudden they're really generous and hospitable to you and it humbles you Right now this is not always the case but you do run into those people that you know You knock on their door and they're like sure and they say come on in they, you know, pull out a chair for you I I feel bad when when there's a family that maybe only has like a couple chairs or whatever and they're standing and Then you're sitting preaching the gospel and it's like they want you to sit though They're they want to stand because they want to be hospitable. So it's like, you know, you're sitting there You're preaching the gospel to them, but it's just like they they have little and yet they're very humble They're very hospitable and they offer you something to drink and Something to eat and it's it's kind of like a tough situation because I kind of feel guilty if they give me You know water because I feel like they don't have much but it's very rude If somebody offers you something and you don't take anything either it's kind of like a middle-of-the-road position But it always humbles me when I see that and what's interesting is those same people that are very hospitable They tend to be pretty Pretty open to the gospel and often get saved and I guess it shows the humility they have because it requires Humility to be saved. You've got to humble yourself and admit that you're guilty and you need a Savior And you can't make it on your own point. Number one. We looked at effort Point number two, we looked at money Being part of hospitality point number three, and I'm not going to show you any of the verses but we already kind of cover this is time is part of Hospitality see number one is effort. It puts in a lot of effort They hasted meaning they did it quickly. They ran they're putting in effort They're putting in money, but also time realize that if you pay attention to what's happening here, they're preparing and cooking a meal Hours and hours and hours are going by at the very least We don't have the exact amount of time But you can read this story and just kind of think that they live in the days of the microwave Or they just put something in the microwave and it's done but actually hours and hours and hours are going by So there's a reason why Abraham says hey basically sit under the tree and rest and you know We'll fetch you water and wash your feet because they're going to be taking a long time before they actually eat Right now turn your Bible to Matthew 20, Matthew 20 You Say well brother Stuckey, I'd be a hospitable person if I realized the guests were already coming ahead of time Well, I do think in general that you know, it's good for people to let people know if they're coming ahead of time But I will say that in Genesis 18. They have no idea Right. I mean in Genesis chapter 18 They have absolutely no idea Abraham has no idea that the Lord is going to be appearing to him, right? No idea whatsoever. Sarah has no idea I'm sure Sarah's thinking I already cooked a meal for the family and now I have to cook again Right. I mean that's that could easily be the attitude but it's just kind of like well, you know what? It's the job I have to do. It's the job I do Right being hospitable something God calls us to do Matthew 20 verse 24 and when the tin heard it there move with indignation against the two brethren But Jesus called them on to him and said, you know that the prince of the Gentiles exercised dominion over them and they that are great exercise authority upon them and What that means there in verse 25 they that are great exercise authority upon them Is that in general people that are in power will? Exercise or use their authority right if you are in a position of power, you'll boss people around They that are great Exercise authority upon them and so by the world standards if somebody's powerful or great They will basically use that to be above other people Right and what Jesus is trying to say is it's not the same thing though with being a Christian Because the idea is if you want to be a great Christian, it's not about basically saying well, I'm up here Then I'm above you you got to do this and this that's that's not what it is when it comes to being a great Christian Verse 26, but it shall not be so among you but whosoever will be great among you. Let him be your minister So see in the world if you're great people serve you Right. I mean if you're the CEO of a company people serve you if You're the president of a country people serve you Right. If you're a high-level person people serve you Right, that's the way it works What the Bible saying is with Christianity it's different with Christianity if you want to be great What the Bible says is let him be your minister be a servant be a minister And that's actually what makes you great because the idea was this the sons of Thunder James and John are saying basically You know what? They wanted to be great basically They wanted to be the right-hand men of Jesus up there in heaven and everything and Jesus letting them know Well, here's the thing if you want to be great if you want to get a lot of rewards in heaven, that's a good goal Here's the thing though be a servant Be a minister, right? That's what it's about It's not about reaching a position where you're above everybody else and look I'm not against authority structure because authority structure is there for a reason What I will say is this if you want to be a good Christian It's all about basically laying down your life for other people being a servant being hospitable Being a minister on to other people. That's what the Bible says. I would also say this though I do believe that if you worked at a company and you were the CEO You would actually do yourself a favor if you actually did serve your people a little bit as well and what I mean by that is, you know an example in the Bible is With Boaz actually, you know turn to the book of Ruth real quickly I think we have a bit of extra time. So we'll go here Ruth chapter 2 Ruth 2 Ruth chapter 2 in your Old Testament And In the Bible Boaz kind of pictures the Lord Jesus Christ in a lot of ways But Boaz was a pretty well-liked man when you read the book of Ruth You can tell he's a well-respected man, and he's also a very powerful man. He's got a lot of money He's got a lot of influence and in Ruth chapter 2, this is kind of a verse You just kind of read over but it's pretty significant to me. It's pretty interesting And what it says in Ruth chapter 2 verse 4 is this Ruth chapter 2 verse 4 Behold Boaz came from Bethlehem and said unto the reapers the Lord be with you and they answered him the Lord blessed thee now This is significant to me because when you think of people that are reapers of a field They've got kind of a lowly position. They're not a powerful position They're not famous They're not rich or anything But Boaz just basically shows up and he just tells all of them Hey the Lord be with you and what that's similar to is if let's say for example your boss at a company He shows up to work and the first thing he does is just greet all the employees and say hello You know, here's the truth. If you had a boss like that you would want to be a good employee for him. I Mean if your boss showed up to work and just said hello and then just would ask you every once in a while You know, how's your family? How's your wife doing? You know, how are your kids doing? Wouldn't you want to serve your boss? Right and see the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ died for us and served us does make us want to serve him Right. And so here's the thing. Even if you are the head CEO of a company I do believe you do yourself a favor if you actually Humbled yourself a little bit and didn't just like lift yourself up above all your employees But actually show them that you cared about because I've had bosses I liked and I've had bosses I did not like when you have a boss you do not like that's rude to you What you do as a Bible believing Christian is you try to be a good employee because God requires you to right But I've had bosses I liked and when I'm saying boss, I like I'm just saying in the secular world I'm not saying underneath the church setting I'm just saying I've had jobs in the secular world where I had bosses I really liked and you know what? I tried to be a good employee because I wanted to do a good job for them because they were nice to me I had a boss that would talk to me, you know, probably once a week and just say hey, how are you doing? And he just kind of humbled himself and it made me want to be a good employee because of how he acted towards me Go back to Matthew chapter 20 Matthew 20 Matthew 20 Now of course I understand That there's this balance because if you are the boss, you're not just buddy buddy with people. You're also the authority So I understand there's this balance there same thing with being a father or mother, right? I mean you want to be friends with your kids and care about them But you also have to show that you're the authority as well. So there is a balance there but Matthew 20 verse 26 But it shall not be so among you but whosoever will be great among you Let him be your minister and whosoever will be chief among you let him be your servant even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered on to but to minister and To give his life a ransom for many now turn to 1st Kings 10 1st Kings chapter 10 1st Kings chapter 10 So We looked at hospitality in general and I want to just kind of close up with the idea of hospitality in a church setting You know, how does hospitality work in a church setting now 1st Kings 10 is the Old Testament However, I would say that it's really kind of the ideal chapter for what a church should be like I've actually preached a sermon before on the perfect or the ideal church and I use 1st Kings 10 as the example and Notice what it says in 1st Kings 10 verse 1 And when the Queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord she came to prove him with hard questions and She came to Jerusalem with a very great train with camels that bear spices and very much gold and precious stones And when she was come to Solomon she communed with him of all that was in her heart and Solomon told her all their questions There was not anything from the king which he had told her not now What the major thing people focus on 1st Kings 10 is the fact that Solomon was so wise and He answered everything Queen of Sheba had asked him and that is one aspect of 1st Kings 10 But if you read this chapter, that is not the only thing that the Queen of Sheba notices verse 4 and when the Queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom in the house that he had built and the meat of his table and the sitting of his servants and the attendance of his ministers and Their apparel and his cupbearers and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord There was no more spirit in her and it talks about here in verse 5 The attendance of his ministers and everything mentioned everything here was organized. It was well-ordered Everything was done perfectly you say why because there's people that are just serving and ministering and helping Right and when it comes to us as a church, this is something that's very important when we have guests at our church We need to be hospitable, right? We need to show people that we actually care about them being here, right? Now, of course, there's this balance because we don't want to make them feel pressured like whoa You know, let me just sit down or whatever But what I'm saying is this, you know, we don't want to have this situation where somebody comes and visits our church Nobody says hello to them Right. Nobody says hello to them before the service or after the service and then they just leave it's like well That's the wrong attitude Right now, let me just give you a kind of a general idea when we get visitors one thing We always want to do when we have a visitor is that they hear the gospel now it could be somebody visits our church and they're already saved and praise the Lord for that, but When somebody's saved we don't see a sign on their head that lets us know that we have no idea The other thing is this let's say, you know, you ask somebody. Oh, how'd you hear about church? And then you hear well, you know You know brother stockier brother red or brother Raji invited me right or brother Dante invited me. Well, here's the thing That doesn't mean that they're saved though Right because I remember one time in Sacramento I brought somebody to church and the way the system is at Sacramento is basically, you know Various people meet and greet people and then the goal is at the end of the service to preach the gospel Someone just assumed since since they had been invited by me that they were saved but they weren't saved now I'd given them the gospel the day before but they didn't get saved and So just because somebody comes to church because one of the soul winners invites them. That doesn't mean that they're saved and I'll be honest even if I preach the gospel to someone and I think they get saved if they come to church I'd like to double-check it right I'd like to just make sure that they actually got it because there are false conversions Or maybe you talk to people and they're not quite sure they're kind of on the fence or whatever And say it's always good to double-check that to make sure that they get it. So here's the number one We want to preach the gospel to anyone that comes but at the same time we don't want to have this attitude For people to think that all we care about is for them to hear the gospel. Hopefully that's not all we care about Right. So hopefully the goal is if they show up early that we say hello before the service get to know them a little bit And then if there's time afterwards, we preach the gospel to them and here's the thing if they're saved Let's say we talk to someone they're saved well, then you don't just say okay great and walk away right now ask them Okay, great. You know, where do you live? Where are you from? Right? You know, what do you do for work? Right, you know just do you have a family or whatever, you know? Just say general things to try to get to know them to make them feel comfortable, right? So we need to make sure we're hospitable with get with guests verse 6 and she said to the king It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom how be it I believe not the words until I came in mine eyes had seen it and behold that half was not told me thy Wisdom and prosperity exceeded the fame which I heard happy are thy men Happy are these thy servants which stand continually before thee and that hear thy wisdom And so the Queen of Sheba not only notices King Solomon. She also notices all the other people as well, right? What she's noticing is Hospitality that these people actually care about the Word of God, but they also care about just greeting guests just being good people Being nice being hospitable. Look when it comes to hospitality This is not the easiest thing in the world It's not always fun to put in effort and money and time But it's what God tells us he wants to do and realize this you don't always know when guests are actually going to come Right Sometimes you do know ahead of time But in Genesis 18 they didn't so even if you do not feel like being hospitable because you're not prepared You're not ready. It's what God tells us to do. Let's close in word of prayer your Heavenly Father Thank you for allowing us to be here today and getting you see your word in this topic and ask you to help all of us Apply this to our lives help us to be hospitable people