19. “Offer Hospitality One to Another”
My goal for today is to “Offer hospitality one to another”
God’s Word declares: I Peter 4:9 “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” (NIV)
“Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. (NKJV)
“Be hospitable to one another without complaint.” (NASB)
“Welcome people into your home and don't grumble about it.” (CEV)
“Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God's words; if help, let it be God's hearty help. That way, God's bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he'll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!” (7-11 The Message)
Cross references:
Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, (1 Timothy 3:2) (NIV)
“Be hospitable” (Titus 1:8)
“Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” ( Romans 12:13) (NIV)
“contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. ” ( Romans 12:13) (NASB)
'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; (Matthew 25:25)
Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. (Hebrews 13:2) (NIV)
The word stranger usually means a foreigner -- someone from another country or culture, also, someone alien.
"L'Abri is a French word that means shelter. The first L'Abri community was founded in Switzerland in 1955 by Dr. Francis Schaeffer and his wife, Edith. Dr. Schaeffer was a Christian theologian and philosopher who also authored a number of books on theology, philosophy, general culture and the arts.
In the early days, Edith worried about things like funding and strength and privacy. She later wrote:
In the early days, Edith worried about things like funding and strength and privacy. She later wrote:
"I was sitting at my typewriter, feeling the heaviness that went with the uncertainties ahead. I propped my Bible up on the typewriter, and asked God to give me help and comfort. My reading took me to the Book of Isaiah. Now I believe the Bible is, to the spiritual life of a Christian, what warm fresh wheat bread is to the physical life-both nourishing and appetizing! There are also times when God speaks to some of His children in the very words of the Bible, written hundreds of years ago, yet seemingly written as a message for the situation of the moment.
Let me tell you what happened that day. (As I read Isaiah 2:2-3 “In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. 3 Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.), I reached for my pencil and wrote in the margin: 'Jan '55 promise... Yes, L'Abri." For I had the tremendous surge of assurance that although this had another basic meaning, it was being used by God to tell me something. I did not feel that "all nations" were literally going to come to our home for help, but I did feel that it spoke of people from many different nations coming to a house that God would establish for the purpose of making His ways known to them. It seemed to me that God was putting his hand on my shoulder in a very real way and saying that there would be a work which would be His work, not ours. I felt that this work was going to be L'Abri."
My choosing to “offer hospitality to one another” will enable me to fulfill the law of Christ, the “new commandment” of the “new covenant” in which Jesus stated, “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another.”
“Late one night a salesman drove into a strange city and tried to get a room in a hotel. The clerk informed him that there was no vacancy. Disappointed, he started to leave the lobby when a dignified gentleman offered to share his room with him. Gratefully the traveler accepted his kindness. Just before retiring, the man who had shown such hospitality, knelt and prayed aloud. In his petition he referred to the stranger by name and asked God to bless him. Upon awakening the next morning, he told his guest it was his habit to read the Bible and commune with God at the beginning of each day, and he asked if he would like to join him. The Holy Spirit had been speaking to the heart of this salesman, and when his host tactfully confronted him with the claims of Christ, he gladly received the Savior. As the two were ready to part, they exchanged business cards. The new believer was amazed to read, "William Jennings Bryan, Secretary of State." This high government official was an ambassador of Heaven who had not failed to represent his King, the Lord Jesus.”
People who need to see a demonstration of my hospitality to them today include: (list names)
Offering hospitality to one another will help me to grow in the following area(s): (list)
Offering hospitality to one another one another will help me to gain victory over:
How am I like Jesus when I put into practice I Peter 4:9?
Some suggested practical suggestions for practicing hospitality:
Planning ahead – if you wait until you're not too busy you will rarely find time to show hospitality.
Sunday noon is suggested as a good time to plan to invite others to your home or out to lunch.
Make a list of people who would be especially encouraged by an invitation.
Don't forget your neighbors – Plan a time to get to know them.
Reach out to others on special holidays – especially to those who have no family near them.
Keep it simple – your goal is not to impress people.
Keep it inexpensive – this will allow you to do it more often.
Make a special effort to invite missionaries or travelers when they come through.
Learn the art of conversation.
Be creative; pray, read scripture, take a walk.
Buy and use a guest book – it's great way to look back and recall special times and friends.
Read some good books on hospitality
Crabb, Rachael. The Personal Touch: Encouraging Other Through Hospitality. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1990.
Mains, Karen Burton. Open Heart, Open Home Elgin: David C. Cook, 1976
Schaeffer, Edith. L’Abri. Wheaton: Tyndale, 1969.
Strauch, Alexander. The Hospitality Commands, Littleton: Lewis & Roth, 1993.
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