B.L.E.S.S.
Eat Together
Luke 19:5-6 ESV
And Jesus came to the place,
he looked up and said to him,
“Zacchaeus, hurry and come down,
for I must stay at your house today.”
6So he hurried and came down and
received him joyfully.
Sermon Outline
Title: BLESS-Eating with others
Text: Luke 18:1-10
Big Idea:
God’s mission is to BLESS this world. Eating helps makes strangers into friends so that we might be a blessing to them
Introduction:(2-3 min.)
-God’s Mission in the world (Reach, Restore, Reproduce)
-Happens through receiving God’s blessing and being a BLESSing to others. Gen.12-Abraham
-BLESS
Text:
Luke 19:1-10 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
BIG IDEA: God’s mission is to BLESS this world. Eating helps makes strangers into friends so that we might be a blessing to them
-Eating together is talking about the Spiritual discipline of Hospitality. Spiritual disciplines are important as they liberate and shape us more into Christ’s image.
Question: What is Hospitality?
-NOT: Vacation time-Entertaining Guests (Martha Steward).
-IS: The process of turning strangers into friends….“the quality or disposition of receiving and treating guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way.” In the New Testament, the Greek word translated “hospitality” literally means “love of strangers.”
-It didn’t happen at Jesus home but at Zaccheaus…Eating associates us with others relationally.
Hospitality is a way of being in the world. It happens in our homes and at our tables. It happens in restaurants, at the Express, and at Rogers’ Bakery. It happens in our offices and classrooms, and whenever we meet another on the sidewalk. Hospitality provides a safe place where others can be at home, a place where it is safe to be yourself, say what you think, ask the questions you have, and engage in the respectful exchange of differing views. Jesus invited the stranger into his home and made them disciples….Henri Nouwen describes the process well.[6] Hospitality creates the space and carves out the time and affords the freedom for the stranger to be his own authentic self and to become a friend. It does not allow for creating people in our own image. Thoreau said, “I would not have anyone adopt my mode of living on any account . . . . I desire that there may be as many different persons in the world as possible.
-Hospitality is HARD because our our own self-gravity. “Therefore the most natural thing in the world is to neglect hospitality. It is the path of least resistance. All we have to do is yield to the natural gravity of our self-centered life, and the result will be a life so full of self that there is no room for hospitality.”
Questions: Why is Hospitality so important?
Ancient Hospitality Code: Traveling was dangerous….
- Invitation-At the Gate, Stay places and wait to be invited in
- Screening-Interviewing them….letters of recommendation
- Bring them in-Wash their feet and provide them a feast and give them refreshing rest. It was dangerous and exhausting…
- Departure-Didn’t stay longer than 2 days.
Zeus was the god of hospitality.
Basis for Christian Hospitality:
Leviticus 19:33-34”When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. The stranger who sojourns with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.“
Saved by God’s Hospitality:
-Jesus hospitality brought Salvation to Zacchaeus
-Jesus experienced the very opposite of everything described in the Bible
-Crucified outside the gate
-Was rejected by the Father
-Washed others feet but was himself given no cleansing and no rest
WHY?
So that we might be accepted, be brought close….so that we might have a home.
Ephesians 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
REFLECTS OUR GOD:-Tells Jews their hospitality is so important because it reflects the way God has shown hospitality towards them…..it was extended towards the widow, the orphan, the poor and helpless.
-Not Less than taking people into your home but certainly MORE. Using the goods God has given you and spending them on strangers and those hurting to bring them close to God…… Jesus says when we do it to the least of these we’re actually doing it unto Him. Have you every thought that your refusal to welcome others into your home/be hospitable is a refusal to welcome Jesus?……also could be entertaining Angels….like Abraham*
What are attitudes of a Host?
Intentionality-Thoughtful and purposeful in our actions. We purpose to love and welcome people. Our hope is that these strangers would become friends, people we know and care for.
Kindness/Compassion– We genuinely want others to feel welcomed and cared for.
-Know what it means to feel on the outside and to be in need.
-Encouragement for this church: Sharon-M&L-Eileen-Dagmar….
Generosity– Nothing that we own is ours. God has resources us to be generous with those around us. Generous with our time, with our relationship, financially
Who are we to show Hospitality towards?
Proximity: Look around you. Who is God putting in your context? A new co-worker, a new neighbor, family member, or a friend?
Affinity: Who is it that you can tell is interested or gravitates towards you? Who do you have favor with? Zaccaeus…
We can’t push people to the side because of their past or their present condition…..Look at who Jesus ate with constantly.
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- Matthew 11:19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”
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- Luke 15:2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
How can I apply this to my life:
Piper-“we experience the refreshing joy of becoming conduits of God’s hospitality rather than being self-decaying cul-de-sacs. The joy of receiving God’s hospitality decays and dies if it doesn’t flourish in our own hospitality to others. Or here is another way to put it: when we practice hospitality, we experience the thrill of feeling God’s power conquer our fears and our stinginess and all the psychological gravity of our self-centeredness. And there are few joys, if any, greater than the joy of experiencing the liberating power of God’s hospitality making us a new and radically different kind of people, who love to reflect the glory of his grace as we extend it to others in all kinds of hospitality. How can I draw the most people into a deep experience of God’s hospitality by the use of my home or my church home? Who might need reinforcements just now in the battle against loneliness? Who are the people who could be brought together in my home most strategically for the sake of the kingdom? What two or three people’s complementary abilities might explode in a new ministry if they had two hours to brainstorm over dinner in my house?”
1.) Be intentional to be aware and present in your surroundings. You can’t be hospitable if you’re not aware or present…..Are your families activities helping or hindering you from experiencing the grace and blessing of God. Are you bringing your family into the mission of God to reach, restore, and reproduce?
-Walk together as a family around your neighborhood….pray over houses, get to know others.
2.) 21 meals a week-Use them wisely. Consciously Invite others to share a meal with you and genuinely love and care for them. God uses the ordinary grace of eating to do amazing things
3.) Invite people into your Spiritual home. Life-Groups, Church….
-Pull out Neighborhood Block Map-
a.) Names of 8 closest neighbors
b.) Something you know about them
c.) Something that’s deeper that you know (Fears…Dreams….Struggles).