Hospitality

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Closed  Door  Conversations:  Generosity/Hospitality    

 

 

 

 

 

   June  24,2012  

Sermon  Series  Discussion  Guide   By  Mike  Watson     At  one  of  the  first  churches  I  served  after  seminary,  one  of  my  primary  responsibilities  was  helping  those  who  were  new  members  of   the  church  find  an  avenue  of  involvement  and  connection  with  their  new  church  home  through  either  a  Bible  study  fellowship  or  an   area  of  service.    The  church  was  located  in  one  of  the  larger  metropolitan  areas  in  the  country,  so  as  you  might  expect,  the  people  I   repeatedly  tried  to  connect  were  extremely  busy.    The  general  practice  I  followed  was  to  contact  them  after  they  joined  the  c hurch   and  offer  to  meet  them  through  a  variety  of  means.    One  of  the  options  I  always  extended  was  making  an  appointment  to  visit  them   at  their  home,  which  involved  a  small  gift  from  the  church  –  usually  a  couple  of  coffee  mugs  and  a  free  book.     Being  predisposed  to  an  appreciation  for  free  stuff,  I  was  amazed  at  the  remarkably  small  number  of  people  that  took  advantage  of   the  home  visit  option.    However,  in  my  tenure  there,  I  did  make  several  home  visits  in  which  I  learned  several  things  about  the   importance  of  hospitality.    In  perhaps  the  most  formative  instance,  I  made  an  appointment  to  visit  someone  in  a  neighborhood  that   was  just  across  the  street  from  the  church.    On  the  night  I  was  to  visit  them,  I  gathered  all  the  items  for  the  visit  and  drove  to  t heir   home.    The  neighborhood  was  an  upscale,  newer  development  with  carefully  manicured  landscapes  and  signage.    As  I  arrived  at  the   house  I  saw  four  cars  in  the  driveway  and  that  the  front  door  was  open,  with  only  the  glass  exterior  door  closed  to  keep  the  heat  of   the  summer  day  outside.     I  walked  up  to  the  front  porch  a  full  minute  early  for  our  appointment  (an  oddity  for  me)  and  rang  the  doorbell.    And  stood  there.    It   was  a  large  house,  so  I  was  guessing  that  they  were  on  the  other  end  of  the  home  and  were  on  the  way  to  the  door.    After  a  couple   of  minutes  of  standing  in  the  summer  heat,  I  rang  the  doorbell  again  to  remind  them  of  the  fact  that,  just  in  case  they  had  forgotten,   they  had  actually  not  answered  the  door.    I  figured  there  were  multiple  family  members  with  the  four  cars  in  the  driveway,  so  they   all  most  likely  mutually  assumed  that  one  of  the  others  in  the  family  were  going  to  the  door.    While  I  was  waiting  after  the  second   ring,  I  double-­‐checked  to  make  sure  I  was  at  the  right  house.    Finally,  after  another  couple  of  minutes  of  standing  in  the  summer   heat,  now  sweating  quite  profusely,  and  looking  forward  to  speaking  with  them  for  altogether  different  motives,  I  knocked  rather   loudly  on  the  doorframe  of  the  glass  exterior  door.    Immediately  after  I  had  finished  knocking,  four  heads  popped  into  the  hallway   from  the  room  immediately  inside  the  front  door  where  they  were  watching  television.    Bearing  in  mind  that  we  had  made  an   appointment,  I  was  astounded  that,  after  seeing  me  with  church  logos  all  over  everything  I  was  holding,  the  four  heads,  in  unison,   disappeared  again  and  resumed  watching  television  with  no  intention  of  honoring  the  appointment  or  even  saying  hello.    I  decided   not  to  call  and  reschedule.    Hospitality  is  important.     As  we  continue  in  our  Closed  Door  Conversation  sermon  series,  this  week  we  look  at  what  3  John  tells  us  about  the  importance  of   how  we  treat  those  who  are  sent  out  in  the  name  of  Christ.    John  had  strong  words  for  the  treatment  that  missionaries  and  teachers   were  to  expect  and  receive  from  those  that  had  the  privilege  of  hosting  them.    Namely,  those  who  were  sent  out  for  the  cause  of   Christ  were  to  receive  warm  hospitality  and  even  provision  for  the  continuation  of  their  journey.    In  looking  in  the  Gospels,  however,   we  find  that  this  direction  from  John  is  not  new,  but  reflects  what  Jesus  Himself  told  His  disciples  to  expect  when  He  sent  t hem  out   in  Luke  9:1  –  6.     LEARN   Up  until  the  beginning  of  chapter  9  in  Luke’s  gospel,  the  group  we  commonly  known  as  Jesus’  disciples  have  called  by  Jesus  to  follow   Him  as  fishers  of  men.    Since  that  time,  however,  though  they  followed  Jesus,  there  is  no  real  record  of  them  doing  anything.    They   were  mostly  watching  Jesus,  usually  in  bewilderment,  like  the  rest  of  the  larger  group  of  disciples  had  up  until  this  point.    As  we   begin  reading  in  chapter  9,  though,  we  come  to  the  first  real  assignment  for  the  disciples  from  Jesus.    This  is  their  first  opportunity  to   really  participate  in  ministry  with  Jesus.    As  we  look  at  the  elements  of  the  twelve  being  sent  out,  we  notice  some  important   precedents  being  set  with  regard  to  how  Jesus  expects  those  who  go  out  in  His  name  to  be  treated.  

Verses  1  –  2  set  the  stage  for  the  sending  out  with  some  crucial  verbiage  that  links  the  twelve  and  their  ministry  to  Jesus  and  the   ministry  He  had  performed  up  until  this  point.         “And  he  called  the  twelve  together,  and  gave  them  power  and  authority  over  all  the  demons  and  to  heal  diseases.    And  He  sent  them   out  to  proclaim  the  kingdom  of  God  and  to  perform  healing.”  (Luke  9:1  –  2)     There  can  be  no  mistake  that  this  is  a  commissioning.    Jesus  definitively  sets  the  twelve  aside  as  His  unique  emissaries  and  bestows   equally  unique  power  on  them  for  the  task  they  are  to  undertake.    The  phrase  that  Luke  uses,  “gave  them  power  and  authority”  is   the  same  wording  used  to  describe  Jesus  in  Luke  4:36  as  He  cast  out  unclean  spirits.    Luke  is  making  it  as  clear  as  he  can  that  what   Jesus  was  doing  was  empowering  the  twelve  to  minister  as  He  did.    What  is  more,  the  power  and  authority  Jesus  gave  them  was  for   the  explicit  purpose  of  providing  deliverance  and  freedom  of  the  same  kind  that  He  has  offered  o thers  up  until  this  point.    In  Luke’s   gospel,  Luke  draws  no  line  of  distinction  between  healing  and  exorcism,  viewing  both  as  diabolic  forms  of  bondage.         While  the  initial  description  of  the  empowering  of  the  twelve  deals  with  their  ability  to  heal,  the  second  facet  of  their  task  is  to   proclaim  the  kingdom  of  God,  according  to  verse  2.    As  scholar  Joel  Green  notes,  “The  shape  of  Jesus’  ministry  has  been  one  that   held  in  tandem  both  word  and  deed,  and  this  is  the  form  of  their  missionary  activity  as  well.”    Jesus  did  not  just  cure  disease,  restore   broken  bodies,  and  cast  out  demons;  He  made  it  explicitly  clear  that  all  of  His  activity  was  inexplicably  linked  to  the  salvation  of  God   entering  the  world  through  Him.    The  why  was  always  as  important  as  the  what.     After  giving  the  twelve  the  divine  authority  and  ability  to  fulfill  that  for  which  they  were  commissioned,  Jesus  instructs  them  about   the  explicit  guidelines  with  which  they  are  to  conduct  themselves  as  they  embark  on  their  various  journeys.    The  instructions  include   three  directives  in  verses  3  –  5  that  are  grounded  in  how  they  interact  with  the  various  people  they  will  meet  in  there  travels.     “And  He  said  to  them,  ‘Take  nothing  for  your  journey,  neither  a  staff,  nor  a  bag,  nor  bread,  nor  money;  and  do  not  even  have  two   tunics  apiece.    Whatever  house  you  enter,  stay  there  until  you  leave  that  city.    And  as  for  those  who  do  not  receive  you,  as  you  go  out   from  that  city,  shake  the  dust  off  your  feet  as  a  testimony  against  them.’”  (Luke  9:3  –  5)     The  first  directive  deals  with  the  issue  of  provision.    The  short,  unqualified  command  is  that  the  twelve  are  to  take  nothing  with   them.    Each  of  the  items  subsequently  listed  after  that  deal  with  some  way  of  providing  for  their  own  needs.    The  twelve  are  not   even  to  take  a  change  of  clothes,  money,  or  food.    Their  journey  as  Jesus’  emissaries  is  to  be  characterized  by  their  faithful  going,   trusting  God  to  meet  even  the  most  basic  of  their  needs.    The  unspoken  expectation  between  the  first  directive  and  the  second   directive  is  that  the  method  through  which  God  will  meet  the  needs  of  the  twelve  is  their  faithful  dependence  on  hospitality.     The  second  directive  addresses  their  conduct  in  the  home  of  a  host.    Specifically,  they  are  to  stay  in  the  first  house  that  o pens  its   doors  to  them  for  the  entirety  of  their  visit  in  any  particular  city.    In  other  words,  they  are  not  to  be  constantly  looking  for  an   upgrade  on  their  accommodations.    They  are  to  trust  in  God  to  present  the  gift  of  hospitality  to  them  and  then  honor  that  gift  by   staying  at  the  home  for  the  duration;  not  using  it  as  a  place  to  crash,  so  to  speak,  until  something  bigger  or  nicer  comes  available.     The  third  and  final  directive,  presents  not  only  the  possibility  of  rejection,  but  also  the  consequences  for  those  who  reject  those  that   are  sent  by  Jesus.    The  act  of  shaking  the  dust  off  one’s  feet  is  an  act  of  condemnation  of  the  inhabitants  of  a  specific  place.    It  is  a   custom  that  was  most  frequently  used  by  Jews  that  were  forced  to  walk  through  areas  populated  by  Samaritans.    The  shaking  off  of   the  dust  was  to  declare  a  village  and  its  inhabitants  unclean.    In  this  instance,  the  shaking  off  of  the  dust  of  those  who  refused  the   messengers  of  God’s  salvation  signified  that  they  were  outside  the  people  of  God.     Having  received  their  instructions  and  the  power  to  carry  them  out,  the  twelve  “began  going  throughout  the  villages,  preaching  the   gospel  and  healing  everywhere.”  (Luke  9:6)     LIVE   Both  from  3  John  and  our  passage  in  Luke’s  gospel,  it  is  clear  that,  while  not  every  believer  is  necessarily  called  to  a  life  of  traveling   ministry,  each  believer  has  a  role  in  the  spreading  of  the  gospel  throughout  the  world.    Some  are  sent.    Some  send.    There  is  no   biblical  mandate  to  merely  observe  or  acknowledge  the  sending.    As  part  of  our  ongoing  Outlive  Your  Life  emphasis,  one  of  the  ways   that  we  are  choosing  to  outlive  is  by  Going  like  never  before.    One  aspect  of  the  Go  component  is  the  providing  means  for  those  who   are  called  to  go.    There  are  a  variety  of  ways  that  we  can  fulfill  the  precedent  set  by  Jesus  by  providing  for  the  means  and   encouragement  of  missionaries  all  over  the  world,  on  college  campuses,  and  in  our  own  community.    Here  are  some  important  steps   to  take:   1. Become  aware  of  those  to  whom  you  can  show  hospitality.    If  you  would  like  to  follow  this  biblical  mandate  of  sending  those   whom  God  has  called,  a  crucial  step  is  knowing  where  the  needs  are.    The  Pinelake  Missions  team  does  an  incredible  job  of   providing  networks  and  opportunities  for  our  folks  to  support  and  give  to  the  proclaiming  of  God’s  Word  in  ministries  

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throughout  the  Jackson  area,  across  the  United  States,  and  around  the  world.    One  simple  phone  call  or  e-­‐mail  can  put  you   on  the  right  track  of  providing  hospitality  locally  and/or  globally  to  missionaries  in  a  variety  of  locations.   Budget  for  hospitality.    One  of  the  greatest  hindrances,  practically  speaking,  to  our  being  able  to  send  and  support  the   missionaries  that  take  the  Gospel  all  over  the  world  is  not  preparing  to  do  so.    If  you  think  about  it,  it  doesn’t  make  sense  to   not  plan  to  support  something,  whether  it  be  ministry  or  anything  else,  without  making  preparation  to  do  so.    The  sheer   desire  to  be  obedient  doesn’t  mean  that  resources  will  automatically  be  there  to  follow  through  with  obedience.     Preparation  is  critical.    The  preparation  necessary  can  be  as  simple  as  creating  a  household  budget  that  has,  as  part  of  it,  a   regular  portion  of  your  resources  set  aside  for  supporting  mission  work  in  the  area  that  you  feel  most  strongly  about.    If   setting  up  a  budget  is  not  your  strong  suit,  the  Financial   Ministry  Team  at  Pinelake  can  help  you  with  personal  coaching  and   tools  that  will  get  you  started.   Support  missionaries  by  helping  further  their  work.    The  number  of  opportunities  to  participate  in  local  and  global  missions   opportunities  has  never  been  greater.    If  you  choose  to  be  involved  with  a  Pinelake  Missions  partner,  there  are  numerous   options  for  local  and  global  work  on  a  short-­‐term  basis  that  will  allow  you  to  support  the  work  of  those  God  has  called  to   serve  as  missionaries  by  actually  lending  the  encouragement  of  your  presence  and  effort  to  their  work.    Your  presence,   encouragement,  and  manpower  can  go  along  way  toward  helping  missionaries  accomplish  the  vision  God  has  given  them  to   reach  people  group  God  has  led  them  to.  

  These  steps  are  beginning  steps,  but  your  questions  or  desires  for  fulfilling  God’s  command  could  lie  beyond  them.    If  that  i s  the   case,  the  Pinelake  Missions  Team  would  love  to  provide  guidance  for  your  questions  and  help  shape  the  way  in  which  you  follow   God’s  leading  in  your  life  to  support  His  missions  efforts  in  the  world  with  generosity  and  hospitality.     LEAD   Small  Group  Leaders,  our  goal  for  this  session  is  to  make  sure  that  our  groups  understand  that  the  way  we  treat  and  support   missionaries  is  extremely  important  to  God  and,  in  no  way,  just  a  suggestion  for  possible  obedience.    As  your  group  time  draws  to  a   close,  use  the  following  questions  to  guide  your  discussion  around  what  it  means  to  support  missions  with  hospitality  and   generosity.    After  your  discussion,  brainstorm  some  ways  your  group  can  begin  doing  this  together  as  a  part  of  your  summer   meeting  schedule.   1. How  often  does  missions  cross  your  mind  during  your  regular  routine?   2. Do  you  feel  more  passionately  about  global  missions  or  domestic  missions?    Why  do  you  think  that  is?   3. Describe  your  first  mission  experience.    How  did  that  change  your  perspective  on  the  importance  of  supporting   missionaries?   4. What  commitments  to  the  Go  component  of  Outlive  Your  Life  did  you  make?    How  are  you  fulfilling  that  commitment?   5. What  are  some  hindrances  to  your  offering  hospitality  to  others?  How  can  you  address  those  hindrances?   6. 3  John  mentions  the  work  of  those  who  were  sent  out  for  the  sake  of  the  Name.    What  in  your  life  do  you  currently  do  for   the  sake  of  the  Name  of  Jesus?   7. What  are  some  ways  you  can  prepare  to  be  faithful  to  the  biblical  mandate  to  aid  those  whom  God  has  sent  on  their  way?   8. Read  1  Corinthians  16:10  –  11.    How  does  Paul’s  instruction  to  the  Corinthian  church  undergird  this  week’s  sermon?   9. Which  one  of  the  three  beginning  steps  above  strikes  you  as  the  best  beginning  point  for  you?    Which  one  will  take  the   most  adjustment?