 Hey man, all right, Genesis chapter 18, just keep your place there, we'll stay there for a few minutes. Genesis chapter 18, look down at your Bibles. Of course we see Abraham in Genesis chapter 18 is visited by three men in the Bible. The question is, I want to pose right away this morning, is, you know, who were these three men? First of all, if you look down at verses 13, let's just look at verse 13, the Bible says, and the Lord said unto Abraham. Again, in verse number 20, the Bible says, and the Lord said, and then look down at verse number 26, the Bible says, and the Lord said, and then look at verse number 33, and he said, oh, let not the Lord be angry, speaking back at at least one of these men. In verse number 22, the Bible actually says, and the men turned their faces from Nance and went towards Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before the Lord. So here's what we know about these three men is that one of them was the Lord, and one of them was God himself. And I'll just leave it there, I won't go into, it's not the scope of the sermon to talk about which of the trinity that this was, but the Bible does say that one of these three men was the Lord himself. Now look at Genesis 19 in verse number one, the very next chapter, the Bible says, and there came two angels to Sodom at even. So basically what happens here in this story is you have the Lord and two angels that come and visit Abraham. And then about halfway through the conversation, the two angels leave and they head towards Sodom and Abraham continues his conversation with the Lord. So there you have the two angels visiting Abraham, look down at verse number four. So this morning I bet if I took a poll of the church this morning I bet you couldn't guess what the sermon is going to be about this morning. And I was thinking about it when I was writing the sermon, I was thinking about the sermon, I was thinking about, I don't know if I've ever actually heard a sermon, just a standalone sermon on this topic. And you're like, you know, new doctrine? So yes, I found something in the Bible that nobody else has found before. Prepare yourself. Okay, no I'm just kidding. So this morning what I want to look at is I want to look at verses four through seven in the Bible. Let's read them just real quickly. The Bible says, when Abraham saw these men coming, these two angels and the Lord, the Bible says, little, little water I pray you be fetched, and wash your feet, rest yourselves under the tree, and I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts. After that you shall pass on, for therefore are you come to your servant. And they said, so do as thou hast said. And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, that means he ran into the tent into his wife, and said, make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the earth. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf, tender and good, and gave it unto a young man, and he hastened to dress it. So I mean you can imagine all the things that are happening here. Basically these three men show up, the two angels and the Lord. Abraham runs into his wife inside the tent, you know the house, and says, hey quickly make some meals, make some bread, start baking, you know, so she's got to start this whole process, and then he goes out to the field, and literally says, hey we have to slay a calf right now, dress it and make food. So I mean he's going to some extreme measures here to be, you know, friendly towards these men. So this is what I want to talk about this morning, is this topic of hospitality. I want to talk about the topic of hospitality in the Bible. The Bible actually has a lot to say about hospitality. It's actually, it surprised me a little bit when you start doing searches throughout the Bible on how much hospitality is brought up. What's the definition of hospitality? The definition is the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. So the Bible says turn to Acts chapter 2. The Bible has a lot of verses and a lot of passages, you know, talking about hospitality and that we are to be hospitable. So that's the first point, is that we are commanded to be hospitable. You know that means that you have hospitality. Look at Acts chapter 2 and verse, no I'm sorry Acts chapter 28, and verse number 2. The Bible says in Acts chapter 28, so this is of course where Paul is being brought to Rome by the soldiers on the ship, and they shipwrecked and they ended up on this island. And in verse number 2, Paul says this, he says, and the barbarous people showed us no little kindness, for they kindled the fire and received us everyone because of the present rain and because of the cold. So when Paul, and I mean imagine this ragtag group, I mean it was these Roman soldiers, I mean they were gonna, and all these prisoners, I mean they were gonna kill the prisoners just because the ship was sinking and they didn't want them to escape. So basically, you know, for Paul's sake they don't do it, and Paul, the Romans, and all these prisoners end up on this island, and these indigenous people on this island, whoever they were, were very hospitable to them. They brought them in and they were very well received. Paul says in Acts chapter 28. So here's the thing, being hospitable is actually a very important part of many people's culture. It's a very important part of many people's culture. I think it's actually being lost a little bit in the United States today, but if you go out and you visit different parts of the world, ask people who have been to different parts of the world, being hospitable is a big deal. I remember when I was in Armenia that the first thing that most of the people that I had worked with in the United States that met me in Armenia, the first thing that they wanted to do was invite me to their house, was invite me over and show me hospitality. It was a really big deal, and so I spent many of my evenings just going to different people's houses because they wanted me to come over and they wanted, it was a big deal. When there's a visitor to show hospitality, it's a very important part of many, many different cultures. And look, these people, the people in my case especially, they couldn't even afford it. They were what we would call poor people, and they still showed that hospitality. And look, it made it made me appreciate it even more, the fact that they couldn't afford it. Now look, housing people, hospitality is so important in the Bible that it's even one of the qualifications to be a pastor. Did you know that? Look at 1 Timothy chapter 3. I mean you say really like inviting people to your house and feeding them is part of the qualifications of being a pastor. Well there's a little bit more to it than that. We'll look at it this morning, but look at 1 Timothy chapter 3. I mean it's so important that it's one of the things that the Bible says that in order to be a pastor, if you want to go into the ministry, all you men, if you want to go into the ministry, you have to be this way. The Bible says, look at 1 Timothy chapter 3, look at verse number 2. The Bible says a bishop then must be blameless. The husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior. I mean those are some pretty big deals, right? You can't be a drunk if you're a pastor. You can't be married more than once. You need to be the husband of one wife. You can't have multiple wives or have been married once before and have another wife. The Bible says these are big things. You have to have your marriage right. You have to have your life right. And part of that is given to hospitality, it says in verse number 2. App to teach. I mean app to teach is pretty important, right? You can't just be this guy who just doesn't know how to teach anything, who just doesn't have that ability to teach people or show people things. These are all pretty big deals, but one of them right in the center is given to hospitality. Go to Titus chapter 1. Titus chapter 1. And it's not only that. You don't have to just show hospitality. You're like, okay, I can just, I'll just show hospitality. I want to go into the ministry and I will just, I'll just make a checklist and I will just make sure that I'm hospitable on this schedule, on these dates and I will just rotate through everything and that's what I'll do. But look what the Bible says in Titus chapter 1 in verse number 7. The Bible says, for a bishop must be blameless as the steward of God not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre. A lot of the things are repeated here. And once again, it says it in a little bit different way here, not just given to hospitality, but a lover of hospitality. A lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate. So it says, look, it says you have to be in the ministry to be a pastor. You actually have to love hospitality. You have to love it. You can't fake it. It has to come from your heart. You're like, yeah, you need to be hospitable. But ah, you too. Turn to Romans chapter 12. See, because many of the qualifications for a pastor also apply to you. You know, you probably shouldn't be a drunk. You know, the Bible teaches that too. Right. So look at Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12 is a great chapter on how we're supposed to treat each other as, you know, that just the spirit that we're supposed to have in the church towards one another. Look at Romans chapter 12 and verse number 13. In part of all that direction on how we're supposed to act towards one another, how we're supposed to treat each other, the Bible says in Romans 12, 13, distributing to the necessity of the saints given to hospitality. Sounds familiar. You are also supposed to be given to hospitality. That leads me into my second point is this. Not only are you commanded to be hospitable, but turn to 1 Peter chapter 4. Hospitality is giving. Hospitality is giving. Look at 1 Peter chapter 4 in verse number 9. We're going to do a Bible study on hospitality, what it means here for a few minutes. And then we're going to look at what it actually takes to be hospitable. You say, I don't like anybody. I don't want to be hospitable. We're going to work on that this morning. All right. Look at 1 Peter chapter 4 in verse number 9. Hospitality is giving. They're one and the same. It's a way of giving. You have this whole category of giving. Hospitality is one of those sub categories of giving. 1 Peter chapter 4. So can you really say that you're a giving person if you're just not hospitable to people? All right. Look at 1 Peter chapter 4 in verse number 9. It says, use hospitality one to another without grudging. Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 9. So it says once again, you're not only supposed to, you can't just fake it. It's like you're supposed to use hospitality towards one another. You're supposed to give to one another in this way, not grudgingly. Not grudgingly. And that's very, very similar to 2 Corinthians chapter 9 in verse number 7, where it talks about just the methodology and how you are supposed to come at giving itself. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 9 verse 7. The Bible says every man according as he purposeth in his heart. So that once again, if you don't like being a giving person, if you don't like hospitality, which is part of giving, you have a heart problem. The problem comes from your heart nowhere else. So let him give, not grudgingly or of necessity. Now look, don't be hospitable if you're like, I have to be more hospitable because Brother Jared says that I have to. No, that's not what the Bible is saying here. It says or of necessity is saying, hey, don't do it because you're told to. It's like you have to want to do it. For God loveth a cheerful giver. So don't give to the church. Don't give in any way. The Bible is saying here, don't give in any way out of obligation. You feel like you're being forced to do it. You should be giving to the church. You should be giving in general to your brothers and sisters in Christ, to your family, whoever, out of the abundance of your heart because your heart is right. So you need to understand that if someone is hospitable towards you, they are being generous towards you. They are giving you something. This will help you appreciate things in your life. Hospitality is literally somebody giving you a gift is what the Bible says. And it can't be on the other side of the person being hospitable. So if you're getting hospitality, you're getting a gift, the Bible says. And then if you're giving hospitality, you're supposed to give it not grudgingly, but with a willing heart. It's the state of your heart as a Christian. It's part of giving. So that is hospitality that we're supposed to be. I mean, I could read you a dozen more verses on hospitality, but that's the main point is we're commanded to be hospitable. It's a gift. It's a way we give to others in our lives. It's a way that we give to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Romans 12 tells us that we're commanded to be this way towards our brothers and sisters in Christ. And we're supposed to do it with a willing heart. So don't just go and just do this out of the obligation that you're trying to look a certain way or whatever because it doesn't matter then. The Bible says your heart has to be right first. So how do you be hospitable is the question. That's the application this morning. How do we be hospitable? Now for me, it's fairly easy most of the time. I like, you know, being hospitable because why? Because, I mean, I actually enjoy like visiting and and conversing with everybody here, okay? So I've always enjoyed being social. I've always enjoyed talking, having conversations. Look, having conversations with people is an important part of being hospitable. You cannot be someone who's hospitable and just have somebody that's just bad at conversation. So the first thing, the first application here in how to be hospitable is that you must learn to be a conversationalist. Turn to 1st Timothy chapter 4. Now think about this for a second. Aren't there certain people that you enjoy talking to more than other people? I mean, you know that's true, right? Have you ever asked yourself why that is? Have you ever asked yourself why I really enjoy talking to so-and-so and I really just don't enjoy talking to, you know, these different people? I mean, everybody knows that there's those cases. Look at 1st Timothy chapter 4 in verse number 12. The Bible says, Let no man despise thy youth. Be thou an example of the believers in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. So look, he's saying that, you know, not only do you have to have all these qualifications to be a pastor, but you need to be an example, which is another, you know, qualification for a pastor to be an example to the flock. What the Bible says here, he gives you specific details and where he needs to be an example to the flock. And one of those things is in word and in conversation. So the pastor, the spiritual leader, is supposed to be hospitable and examples in conversation, okay? Those two things go together. So you need to be good at having conversation. You need to be good at conversation. Turn to James chapter 3, especially, especially, look, especially if you go into the ministry, it's literally a qualification of the ministry. You need to be someone that people want to talk to. You need to be someone that, you know, people would like to have a conversation with. You know, I mean, look, that you say, is this, look, this is a problem for some people. This is a problem. They say, I want to be a pastor and I'm just going to go through my checklist of things that I have to do to be a pastor, but you know, no one can stand to be around them. No one can stand to talk to them. It's true. It happens. Okay, look, they're just not someone that people enjoy talking to. And that is a qualification to go into the ministry. Turn to James chapter 3. Look, it's something that we should work towards as Christians as well, just like many of the qualifications in the ministry. Look at James 3 and verse 13. The Bible says this. It says, who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. So look, it says who's a wise man? It says let him show that he's a wise man out of his good conversation. Look, doesn't that imply that there's bad conversation? Doesn't that imply that, you know, if there's good conversation, like he can show you, I mean, this guy can show you that he's holy and that he's wise through, you know, his conversation. Go to 1 Peter chapter 1. So, I mean, unfortunately, if you can show people those good things from your good conversation, what must that mean that we could show people through bad conversation? Okay, look at 1 Peter chapter 1. Look at verse 15. The Bible says in 1 Peter 1, 15, but as he which hath called you as holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation. So, I'm going to give you two steps here on how to be a good conversationalist. Very simple biblical steps. The first one is right here in 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse number 15. The Bible says, be ye holy in all manner of conversation. That's the first thing. So, step one, be holy in all your conversation. And you say, what? What does that mean? So, look, here's what it means. Here's what it means. It means, watch what you say and make sure that what you say is holy and not offensive or, you know, the way the world would speak. Look, I mean, I don't care how you grew up or how you talked in school or whatever. I mean, if you want to be hospitable, you need to be, you need to watch how you speak. You should watch how you speak here in church. You know, I mean, what's an example of this? An example of this is, you know, I used to be out in the world and I used to talk like a certain way and, you know, I used to work on construction sites and all these things and, you know, you say that I used to say these different words and then I come to church and I speak the same way, but I just use like the non-swear versions of the swear words. No, you still have bad conversation. You still have bad conversation. That is not a holy conversation. Just because, you know, you're using silly non-swear words or whatever, which doesn't even, doesn't even make any sense. It's still swearing. It's still swearing. But just, look, look, you shouldn't speak like that. That's not holy conversation. It's not good conversation. You shouldn't speak like that here or anywhere, by the way. Or, you know, young people. You young people. You speak like, you know, you're in a rap video. I mean, that's not holy conversation. You say I don't use swear words. Well, if you sound like, you know, you're from this hip-hop culture or whatever, look, I don't care what color you are. It's not holy conversation. You know, I mean, everybody does it of all different creeds and backgrounds. I can't figure it out personally, myself. But look, don't speak like you're, don't do that here. You say, why? Because first, first, it's not holy. It's a wicked culture. Why would you mimic it? It's not holy conversation. I don't care if you remove this swear words and you remove this. It, it, it, in second of all, it makes you sound like an idiot. It makes, I mean, people will think you're dumb. You're like, I will, I mean, raise your hand if you want people to think you're stupid. I mean, who would want that? Yet, people talk like that. People at work, people, I mean, you shouldn't do it here. Wherever, I mean, you got it bro, get rid of it. It's not, it's not holy, and it will make you sound like a fool. Turn to Proverbs chapter 17. Look, here's what you want. Here's what you want. You say, well, I just don't know much. Well, here's what you want. You want your conversation to make you sound smarter than you are. That's what you want. You want your conversation. However you prosecute a conversation with somebody, you want that. I mean, this is what I want. I mean, who wouldn't want this? I want people thinking, when I have a conversation with somebody, I want people thinking, when I walk away, that I'm smarter than I really am. That's what I want. Who wants to have a conversation with somebody and be like, my goal in this conversation is to make this person think that I'm an idiot. To make this person think that I'm stupid. To make this person think that I will probably mess up whatever I'm going to try to do for them. I mean, who would want that? Look at Proverbs 17 verse 28. And it's really easy, and here's what you do. And I use this all the time. All the time. Proverbs 17, look at verse 28. Even a fool, so you say, I'm a fool. Say, I'm a fool. Look, when it comes to certain things, I don't know the answer. When it comes to every answer that's ever existed, I don't know. Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise. If you say, I just don't know much, especially about the topic that's going on right now, you know, here's what you do. You just shut up and listen. And then people will think you're smarter than you are. Do it all the time. Sitting in some meeting or some group of people out at work and they say, and I have no idea what's going on or what they're talking about, I just shut up. You know who looks like a fool? It's the guy that's always trying to be the first one to speak. Be the first one to give the answer to the boss. He ends up looking like an idiot all the time. But the guy that just, if you don't know, just be quiet. I mean, it works. I mean, how hard is it to just be like, that was pretty easy. I just did it. I'll do it again. Watch. Don't touch your face. Coronavirus. Look, it's easy. It's easy. Just be silent. And guess what? Guess what? I'll give you young guys a little bit of a bonus here. I wasn't real good at this when I was younger. It's something you got to fight as a young person. OK, because as a young person, you're just like, I have to say everything that I think. It's in my brain. I must say now. It's like, no. No. If you don't know, here's the block that you put in there, right? Have a thought. You got to put this little function block in. I have a thought, function block. You know, am I sure about exactly what's going on? If it's not 100%, I'm sure just then don't say anything point the flow chart back this way. Right? But teenagers and young people, I'm sorry to pick on you. Look, I was like this too. It's just something about growing up. But look, just listen to me. When you're not sure, you don't know, just say nothing. That's what you do. It's easy. It's easy. You just got to put that function block in there. It just points back to say nothing. Because guess what? When you're a teenager, you're not sure about anything. So the function block should always pretty much point you back to say nothing. All right? Just listen. And people will think you're smarter than you are. It's brilliant. It's great advice from the Bible. Great wisdom. Second point. So the first one is this. Let your conversation be holy. And for young people, and for just generally all of us, holy conversation is just when we do say something, it should be holy. It should not just be the words, it should be the conversation type, the way that we're saying things, what we're talking about. Think the heart. The heart. Like look, we're going to find out who you are here. Because what's in your heart is going to come out of your mouth. So you're like, I got some hard issues on certain areas. Well then, shut up. Don't say anything. When it comes to those issues, fix your heart. Fix your heart. Don't just spew everything that comes out of your mouth. Or you know, I mean you're just going to make a fool of yourself. Basically. So that's the first one. Let your conversation be holy. Which is, you know, being silent a lot of the time. Okay? But the second one is this. Turn to 1 Peter chapter 1. 1 Peter chapter 1. The second one is this. This was pretty easy too. Don't talk about yourself all the time. I mean you're like, is that a biblical? Is that biblical? Yes. Go to 1 Peter chapter 1 and look at verse number 18. 1 Peter chapter 1, I mean look, this is very simple, this methodology. Basically you let your conversation, if you do say something, let it be holy. And second, don't talk about yourself all the time. Look at 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 18. The Bible says, for as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition, tradition from your fathers. So it's saying, look, it's saying that, you know, you were brought up with this vain conversation. It's not good. What's vain conversation? It's conversation where I just get with you and we're having a conversation and all I talk to you about is like myself, in everything that I do, in how great things are, in all this, and you know this is your, you know this is, I mean nothing's worse than this guy. This is your one upper. Right? This is like no one can say anything and you're like, oh yeah, well I did that like way better than that. I don't know. At some point. Right? There's always something. I mean this is the guy that just knows everything. Right? But this is the guy that's going to make himself to be a fool because nobody knows everything. So look, the whole point is that it'd be very difficult to be hospitable if people don't enjoy talking to you and people don't enjoy talking to somebody that talks about themself all the time. They just don't enjoy it. And here's the thing. Listen to people. It's actually enjoyable to listen to people. If you start doing it, it's very enjoyable. Look, I love, I love hearing about people's lives and their ideas. I mean when we sit around in the circle in the evenings and it gets real late, that's when the real good stuff comes out by the way. I mean I just love hearing like all these, you know some of the ideas that you guys have and some of the things that you guys have done. Look there's a lot to learn there for everybody. Look and it expands your horizons. It expands your horizons. And really, I mean, really it's all about those two things that make a good conversation list. You don't have to be the most interesting man in the world. You just have to be holy in what you say and just listen to others. Ask people about themselves. And you might actually be interested in what they say. I mean it is very interesting listening to other people's ideas and experiences and the things that they've learned from that. I mean who wants to learn everything the hard way? I mean people have learned lessons that you've not learned. So look, those are the two things. It's pretty easy. So being hospitable you need to be a conversationalist. It's pretty easy to be a conversationalist. All right. Now look, here's another thing that you need. Not only conversation, but you must be polite. I mean it seems obvious but you must be polite to be hospitable. You say that's obvious. But look, if you start to become hospitable, you will test the levels of your politeness in telling you. Because if you're a hospitable person and I mean some of you are not in your heads right now and you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you're a hospitable person, you have people as guests. And look, this is a benefit in my opinion. It's a learning experience for your life. But look, you're going to see some crazy behavior. You're going to see some crazy things. My wife and I talked for over an hour the other night on just some of the crazy things that we've had. And I had to limit a little bit. I'm just going to tell you one story. But I mean, if you have people over to your house and you're hospitable to people, you will see things that you just wouldn't believe exist. I remember, you know, back in North Dakota we had some people over to our house and you know, my wife made chili. My wife made chili. That was the meal. I mean there was like side dishes and everything. But chili was like the main meal, right? She made this big thing of chili. My wife makes good chili. I mean, I'm defending her even to this day. But I mean, here's the thing. She made chili and these people come over and they had a bunch of kids and they come over and the first thing that the mom of these kids says the dad was there is like, oh, my kids hate chili. And you're like, what in the world? It's like awkward. And I mean, what are you saying in that situation? My wife's like, oh, you know, there's nothing else to eat. This is what we were having chili. You know, and then it gets even worse because there's no other food. You know, I mean, it's not like we could go quick. We were eating like right now and she's like, oh, my kids just hate chili. And then we sit down to eat. I mean, this really happened. Okay, we sit down to eat and these kids are there and the kids weren't that even weren't even that small like five, six, seven years old. And the kids, you know, the mom says to the kids, you know, so we're eating chili because that's the meal. So the mom says to the kids, she's like, all right, you know, the dad's just silent the whole time. You know, just total beta. Just like, doesn't say a word. You know what I mean? But anyway, the mom says, we're eating, we're passing the food around and she's like, all right, kids, it's either eat the chili or get a spanking. I mean, we're at the table having dinner, right? And the kids are like, we'll take the spanking. The kids have nothing to eat. They're getting beaten after the whole thing, which I doubt they ever got spanked. Otherwise, they wouldn't act like that in the first place. But I mean, look, you're going to see some awkward situations when you're hospitable to people. All right, what do you do? You just smile. You're just like, oh, you know, I don't even think we had any candy at the time. I mean, whatever. Well, just, I wanted it to just be over. You know, it's like, it's like those commercials that used to be on like, want to get away? You know, I wanted to be somewhere else at that point because it was really, really awkward. Side note, kids, when you go over to somebody's house, you eat whatever is put in front of you. I mean, I remember you'd be thankful kids, you'd be polite and you eat whatever they put in front of you. They could put like a pile of trash in front of you and you eat the whole thing. All right. And you smile the whole way. I remember I was like five years old and it was one of the youngest memories that I have. My mom took me over to a friend's house. It was during the day my dad was at work and my mom and us kids, we went over to one of my mom's friend's house and she made this pizza. I remember this. I was like four and I remember this like it was yesterday and it was the worst thing ever. It was like made of rubber. I don't know what was wrong with it. And the three of us, we sat there and we ate every single bite. And I remember my mom on the way home just praising us. Just being like, good job. I can't believe you ate all that. And I'm like, they were like, it was terrible. It was horrible. And she's like, well, you did great. You ate the whole thing. Right. That's what you have to do. When someone puts a rubber pizza in front of you, you eat the whole thing. You just chew that tire up and it's going to be great. And then your parents will praise you. Okay. All right. Second point. Hospitality. Look, hospitality. Let's get back to being hospitable. Okay. Hospitality is going to cost you something. It's giving. Remember? It's giving. So you're like, turn to Luke chapter six. You're like, you know, I just, I don't know. I just, you know, I can't be hospitable. You know, but look, it's going to cost you something. That's why it's called giving. That's why it's part of giving. Look at Luke chapter six. Having people over, cooking a meal. Most of the time, by the way, it's a meal that you would never eat yourself. Like when you have someone over and you're being hospitable, you know, some of you have been to my house, most of you have been to my house. Like, we don't eat dessert every night. I mean, on purpose. But like, you know, all the different sides and the meals, you know, it can be expensive. But the Bible says in Luke chapter six, look at verse number 38. The Bible says, Give, and it shall be given unto you. Good measure, press down, and shaken together and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For the same measure you meet with all, it shall be measured unto you again. So it will not go unrewarded, the Bible says. So look, first of all, doing something nice for somebody, if you have your brothers and sisters over and you, you know, you do something nice in your hospital, look, it makes you feel good. I mean, there's a selfish reason for it. Because it makes you feel good to do nice things for somebody. Because look, it's a nice thing to be given a gift. And you're really helping people out. Turn to John chapter 13. And many times, many times that people have been hospitable to me is I've known that they couldn't afford it. Like when I was over in those people's, you know, in foreign countries, at people's house, I knew that it was a big deal for them. I knew that, I mean, when you walk into somebody's house and they're, they're poor and they have a tiny little place to live and you look at what they've made for food and it's just all these different things and it's all these different courses and it's all these different things. I mean, you know that those people don't eat like that and you know that they're giving you a tremendous gift. So, I mean, it helps us be thankful as well. The third point is this, hospitality is service to your brothers and sisters. It is service. Look at John chapter 13. And this matches up with our story in Genesis chapter 18 as well. In John chapter 13, this is talking about Jesus, washing the disciples' feet. In John chapter 13, look at verse number four. The Bible says he rises from supper and laid aside his garments and took a towel and girded himself. And after that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with a towel whereby he was girded. Look at verse number 14. If I then, so they're like, you know, you're not going to wash my feet, but he's trying to be an example of service towards each other and how they were supposed to treat each other when he left. And he says in verse 14, if I then your Lord and master have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you. And this is, by the way, one of the things, the washing of the feet, we don't have to wash each other's feet. This is a cultural thing. Sandals, dirt, all that. But here's the thing. The Bible says that we are to be in service to one another. And this is clearly an example of Jesus explaining to the disciples that when he's gone, they need to be in service to one another. He was concerned that they would all want the preeminence. And a couple of them had come to him saying, hey, are we the most important? He's like, no. If you want to be the best disciple, you be the one that serves the most. You be the one that does the most service for others. So hospitality is part of this. Hospitality is service towards each other. That's why it's such a big deal for a pastor to be hospitable, by the way. Because it's part of being that servant leader that Jesus talked about. So look, you say, why isn't service? I mean, it's pretty easy to have people come over and just talk all night. No, but there's a lot of work involved. There's a lot of work involved in being hospitable. You know, you have to cook a meal. You have to prepare things. I mean, think of all the work that Abraham went through for the three visitors that he had, God and the two angels. I mean, he had to go. They had to... I mean, think of it. They butchered a calf. I mean, they must have been there for a couple of hours at least while this was all being prepared. I mean, if I go into my wife and say, hey, quick, make a meal real fast. I mean, it's going to take some time, especially if she had to start a fire to do it with no matches or, you know, whatever. Right? So look, it's work to prepare all this and then to clean up afterwards. And but look, it's good for you in this sense. It's good for you to learn to be a service, just like Jesus was an example to service for other people. And you'll notice, I mean, look, you'll notice that people that aren't hospitable, they don't really understand this. I mean, there are certain people that aren't hospitable and they've just never learned to be in service. I mean, it's just, it's all about people serving them. That's why Jesus was so adamant about this and that's why the Bible talks so much about being hospitable. It's learning to be in service to each other. So it's not just about people serving you. You know, I mean, this is the, this is the transition from, you know, having people do things for you in your life to serving other people. I mean, I remember the first time I took my parents out to dinner. You know, that's a transition there. You know, that's a transition into being, you know, the next generation, you know, kind of taken over that hospitality. And, you know, from there on out, it was just like this big argument between my dad and I, and who paid, right? Or my father-in-law and I, which is crazy. It would turn into like nearly a fist fight at the table. I mean, my father-in-law, if you try to, I mean, you literally would have to go to the waiter and find that you'd have to sneak off to the bathroom, pull the waiter aside, and like threaten his life and say, listen, you have to give me the check no matter what happens in the next 15 minutes. Because my father-in-law would just lose it. And he didn't care at the table. He'd be like, no! I mean, he would just, and everyone in the restaurant was like, well, he was like, I paid for the bill! You don't! But look, he, he's like, I'm trying, it's I'm being hospitable to you is what, is what he was saying. In his gruff, extremely violent sort of way. He's a great guy. I mean, you'd have to meet him. But I mean, look, it's very, I mean, he was going to be the most hospitable one, period. All right. So don't be that guy that never reaches for the check, because that's hospitality too. Don't be the guy that gets up and goes to the bathroom right before the check comes. You ever met that guy? Some people are really good at that. They must be like, scanning the restaurant when they see that the waiter going to prepare the bill, they're like, I'll be back, you know, and they're like, Oh, you got it? Oh, no, no, well, I can, you know, it's fine. You were in the bathroom again. You know, I had a friend like that. He was like, I grew up with him, so I was used to it, but my wife never got used to it. Anyway, what were we talking about? Hospitality. It's all about hospitality. My father-in-law would cause a scene because he was adamant that he was going to be hospitable to us. And, you know, that is honorable. That is honorable, and that is biblical. All right? So look, in conclusion, hospitality is a command in the Bible. It's fun, and it's something that is to, it has to be deliberate because it's actual service. It's an actual blessing to those around you. But here's the thing, you know, it's sacrifice. It's sacrifice. I mean, look, as brothers and sisters in Christ, in this church, especially in America right now, you know, we don't have to die for each other, like Jesus sacrificed for us. But, you know, I mean, the Bible says, like, treat each other well. We can be hospitable. It should be a culture here. Just like, you know, conversation is a culture here. I love the fact that conversation together is a culture at this church. I love it. I love the conversations that happen in this church. Friendliness. Friendliness is a culture here. Right? We're to be friendly. There's going to be visitors that come in here, new people that come in here. And we're all super comfortable with each other and all this. But how many times have I said we need to be friendly? You need to step outside your comfort zone and you need to make sure that no one's ever standing by themselves, sitting by themselves, especially visitors. We need to pull those people in and always have that culture here. Right? And hospitality is just another, another one of those things. Now look, this isn't about me. This isn't about me. Maybe this is why you don't hear too many sermons on just hospitality. This isn't about me. This is how you, this is about how you treat each other in this church. This is how you treat each other. Hospitality is a way of showing your brotherly love towards one another. That's why it's in Romans chapter 12. And you know, it makes people feel good. It makes people feel good. It could be such a benefit to others. Somebody's having a hard time. Maybe it's something you don't even know is going on and it's like, you can be an incredible, I mean, who wouldn't want to be an incredible blessing to their brother and sister in Christ? This is a way to do it. This is a way to do it. All right? So look, it makes us a stronger Christians and it'll make us a stronger church. So that's why it's mentioned so many times in the Bible. Look it up. Look up how many times the word hospitality comes in the Bible. I've read the Bible several times and I was surprised at how many times hospitality is talked about. Let's bow our heads and have a word.