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Bread of Life Church of Fresno
Welcome to the Bread of Life Church Podcast! This podcast seeks to bring the Bible to life through teaching and sharing what God has given us in His word. The goal of these messages is to obtain a functional spirituality that is worked out on a daily basis through the love and power of God.
Bread of Life Church of Fresno
Pursuit: God's Ways | Doug K
Listen as Doug presents a heartfelt exploration of the early church's model of community, reflecting on the importance of hospitality and meaningful relationships. Emphasizing that God is building a family, not just a congregation, we dive into how sharing meals can nourish faith and connection.
• Discussion of Acts 2 and the birth of the church
• Importance of devotion and shared living among believers
• The concept of family and the heart of God
• The difference between secular and biblical hospitality
• Addressing the curse of Cain and its implications for community
• Strategies to practice hospitality in everyday life
• Understanding God's actions versus His ways
• Emphasizing the theology of eating as a means of connection
• The impact of welcoming others and building relationships
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But in Acts, chapter 2, we'll just read this together in verse 41, we know, the Holy Spirit fell and the church was birthed, and then it started talking about the life they lived, and in verse 41 it says so. Then those who had received his word were baptized and there were added about 3,000 souls and they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship and to breaking of bread and to prayer, and everyone kept feeling a sense of awe and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And look at the result here. And all those who believed were together and had all things in common. They began selling their property and possessions and were sharing with them all, as any might have need.
Speaker 1:Let me just pause there for a moment. You know that why they were doing that? One of the things was people came from all over the world, the Jews, to celebrate that Passover. They left homes. They thought they were only going to be there a short time for those Passover weeks, but then the church was birthed and all of a sudden we had to take care of a bunch of people. They didn't go back to their homes, but they stayed and they began to be involved in what God was building. So they began to even sell property to share and make provision for the people that were there that had become their brothers and sisters in Christ.
Speaker 1:Okay, and it says for verse 46, day by day, they continued with one mind in the temple and breaking bread from house to house they were. So we see this first expression of the house of God in Christ Jesus and it's pretty amazing because it uses these terms here. They were added, they were continually devoted and day by day, in the temple and house to house, they were taking their meals together. They were serving God together. What we see in this first expression of the house of God is that it's a way of life.
Speaker 1:I want to, I really want to emphasize that, because I'm going to talk about pursuing a culture that includes day by day hospitality and having meals together and things like that. That's what we're going to look at here this morning. But they were added and devoted to a way of life, not to a building, not to a creed, but to a relationship with Jesus Christ, with the Father and, through Holy Spirit, with one another. So it's a day-by-day experience. Now I want to emphasize that here this morning as we're looking at that, because we have this idea. When you say why, why are you emphasizing this this morning? As we're looking at that, because we have this idea. When you say why, why are you emphasizing this this morning? Well, I want you to know, when you look in the scripture, there's this revelation of something where God has actions that he takes, but then he has ways, or why he's taken the action.
Speaker 1:The unfortunate thing is, we're charismatics. Can you turn to someone and say, are you a charismatic? All right, but that means we believe in the actions of Holy Spirit. He comes, but a lot of times the deficit in charismatics is we can know God's acts but not necessarily know his ways. You hear me, you know.
Speaker 1:It says about Moses. If you're taking notes, I'm going to read this in Psalms 103. Here's what it says about him Psalms 103, verse 7. It says God made known his ways to Moses, but his acts to the sons of Israel. Now, that's different. It's different. They understood the actions of God. They could see it like we do as charismatics, but it says Moses knew the ways, not just the actions.
Speaker 1:Now you look at that. That's very near even in the beginning of Moses doing what he did and leading the children of Israel. If you remember the story, he would have that tent of meeting. He would go out there and Joshua would go with him and he would spend time in the presence of the Lord. But you find in that tent of meeting why this is written of him, because of his heart, in that this is found in Exodus 33. You may know this, but he says he said, god, if I wrote it down here, I pray God if I found favor with you. This is Moses by himself, meeting with God with thousands of people. He was going to lead to the promised land and he said, god, if I found favor with you, let me know your ways so I can know you. This is important and I'm talking to me and us as charismatics. He didn't just want to know actions, he wanted to know the ways of God so he could truly know him as he leads the people forward.
Speaker 1:We can't just be content with the acts. We have to know the ways. The acts is simply what he does, but the ways is ax is simply what he does, but the ways is why was he doing this? What's behind all these actions? What is in God's heart that causes him to do these actions and, unfortunately, in the charismatic world, we're very deficient on the ways of God. It's quiet here, we charismatic, what are we here? But that needs to change. We want the ways of God. Now, what I want to do this morning is, as we unpack this area, we're going to look at, I believe, the ways of God are behind this, and so I want you to turn to Psalm 68. What are the ways of God? Why does he do what he does? The ways of God are like it's understanding what's in His heart when he does things. And Psalm 68, it's all through the Scripture. But if there's one verse that really exemplifies the ways of God, it's Psalm 68. Are we there?
Speaker 1:In verse 5 and six, god's describing himself through the psalmist, and he says a father of the fatherless or a father of orphans, a father of those that don't have family, a father of orphans and a defender or a judge for widows. Is God in his holy dwelling place, god makes a home for the lonely. He leads out the prisoners into prosperity. Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land. In this short passage, god is. It's through the Bible, but I love this one because it puts it all together. God is a father of the fatherless, and when he builds his house or his dwelling place, he's making it a home where people can find a walk with him and a life with him and with the people he joins them to. This is the ways of God.
Speaker 1:Boy, am I getting too excited here? I want to really hit this one. I know we've got a limited amount of time so I'm kind of punching forward, but you've got to understand the idea of family. God is a family that he provides us. Family, this isn't family, and relationships isn't just something God provides. It's who he is. I want to did somebody clap. Thank you, brother. I'm trying to get at something of the ways of God that, if we don't get this because a lot of people think, oh yeah, I'll go to that church because they're kind of like a family and I can get some family out of it, get family out of it, or I can get some relationships out of it You've got to understand this. Family, relational life of God is not just something he gives us, it's something he is. God is not just something he gives us, it's something he is, and out of who he is, he leads us into this way, boy, this is important, it's who he is.
Speaker 1:This was the beginning. God was a family before anything was created. That's why in the scripture it says everlasting Father was created. That's why in the scripture it says everlasting father. Do you know what everlasting means, without beginning or end? A son forever. When it speaks of Jesus, do you know what that means forever? A son forever? That means that it's eternal. It's in God. He was a family, holy Spirit, the spirit of adoption. Forever they existed and I know I do this all the time Dave Richard really gets me on this, but I always start in Genesis.
Speaker 1:It's the beginning. And how did it begin? God said let us us the family of God, the eternal family in heaven, let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness. And he made a family because that's who he is and he joined them together in Him and with one another, because that's who. That's the way of God. Then he gives them the commission fill the earth with my glory, let them be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Fill the earth with what? People walking in the image and likeness of God. If we don't have this way of God in us, we'll give up on it. I don't need to walk with people, it's just me and God.
Speaker 1:Oh really, how do you handle the family dynamic of God? I mean, look at the person you're most aggravated with right now. Look, come on, look at him in the eyes, come on. Okay, you're looking at me and I'm getting nervous. Look at the person. No, you know, I'm, of course, I'm facetious, but it's like when I look at the eye and I'm not looking at anybody because I'm aggravating, but it's like, no matter what you're like, it's about what he's like, and I'm walking with you because of him, not because of something I get out of it, because of something he wants in it. Well, that's a big one. It's not because of something I get out of it, it's because of what he wants in it, and that's why we walk together with God and walk together with one another. Are you getting this?
Speaker 1:Now what I want you to do is turn to Ephesians. Yeah, okay, all right, I want you to look at the book of ephesians because and let me give you a quick background of what happened paul started the church in ephesus. He was there three years. It was the church he spent the most on-site time with and they were raising up and growing. But then we see in acts 20 when he meets the elders of that church for the last time on his way to Rome, and he said hey, there's going to be some rough things coming here, so I want you to shepherd the flock of God and there's going to be people come from the outside trying to draw you away. And then he does this one I always have a. He says and some of you it wasn't a big group, I'm sure it was like the 12 when Jesus said one of you is going to betray me. He said some of you are going to rise up and try to pull people away, but stand firm. Now. Paul gave that, knowing what was going to happen.
Speaker 1:And then, of course, a short time later, the church in Ephesus was facing challenges. People were trying to draw them away from the ways of God and the plan of God, and so his first thing to try to help correct the problem in the church is he wrote the Ephesian letter, and that's why I want to read just a couple of places in the second and third chapter, because this is so important the first three chapters of Ephesians. He's writing about the ways of God, the why we are doing what we're doing. And then in chapter four, five and six he talks about the how, walking together. But let's look at the way part. Okay, we can't read the whole thing I'd love to, but Ephesians, chapter two, he's talking about the ways of God. He says so. Then chapter two, verse 19,.
Speaker 1:So then you are no longer strangers and aliens. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but your fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household. That means family, that's that word, that household word. You are of God's household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you are also being built together, into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Talking about what God is doing, and he gets into the idea of the why or the ways of God.
Speaker 1:I love the message translation, the way it describes this very accurately. In this one it says you're no longer strangers and outsiders, you belong here. God is building a home and he's using all of us, irrespective of how he's got here. How many of you know, you can get married, but that doesn't mean you're going to have good marriage and you can have a family. And it doesn't mean you're going to have a good marriage and you can have a family, and it doesn't mean you've got to have a good family. It's got to be built. It's both born and it's built. If you just think, well, I just had kids. So I'm a good family? No, no, no. I'm a good mom because I had kids, or a good dad? No, no, no, no. You have to. Family is the way of God, but it must be built into the people of God. And so he's describing this here. He's building a home and he's using all of us in the process.
Speaker 1:Turn to chapter 3. For time's sake, just giving these this kind of a foundation, as he's writing this church, reminding them of God's ways. And in verse 14, boy, I love this one. Praise God. Sorry, I'm going back to moments when God was revealing this to me in my early days. He said for this reason, just for time's sake, verse 14. For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom the whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. He's talking about this eternal family of God that he's building both in heaven and earth, from the whole family, the father from whom the whole family on heaven and earth derives its name, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power through the spirit in the inner man. So Christ would dwell in your hearts through faith.
Speaker 1:Now look at this. And that you being rooted and grounded in love. Tom's talked so much about love this trip. I love it. I love you're talking about love, hallelujah. But he said that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints. He's talking about the family of God that God is building with the saints.
Speaker 1:I'm going to tell you something If you have a Christianity without the saints, you ain't got biblical Christianity. A little bit of southern dialect there, okay, but you would comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and the length and the height and the depth, and to know the love of God, or the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up with the fullness of God. There's that word again from Genesis 1. Fill the earth. Fill the earth, the fullness of God. It's in the sense of him as family. Now look at verse 20. I love how he winds this part up. He says now to him, who's able to do far more abundantly, beyond all we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus, forever and ever. Amen. God's building a family on earth called his church. He joins us. If we don't get this way of God, then we'll chase acts of God and we'll never see the acts connected to the why he's building a family and he's choosing all of us. It's his dwelling place on the earth. It's a family. Now, I want you to get this. This is so important.
Speaker 1:There's a difference between a house and a home. I've already alluded to that, but I want you to think about this for a moment. There's a difference. In the church world, we often worship physical structures and sometimes even in our natural family we worship our houses. But you can have the multi-million dollar houses, but it's about the life that goes on that those houses serve. We can have the most amazing church buildings with all the bells and whistles. I'm going to make a joke here. I'm not going to that Torah or the apocryphal book. Make a joke here. I'm not going to that Torah or the apocryph book. Yeah, okay, I don't want to do that. But we can have the best, slickest building with the best, but I want you to know if the life inside of that building isn't reflecting a home, then that building's worthless. It costs a lot of money, but in God's design it's worthless. There's a difference between a physical structure and the life that goes on, and God is about the life. Yes, he's concerned about the physical structure, but mostly about the life.
Speaker 1:Tell you a story I heard one time there was a guy that he was kind of a traveling minister and he actually had a camper. This is years ago, you know, back in the and he had a camper and he would travel around with his wife and daughter she was probably about 12-ish and so they would go from church to church. Well, the wife got sick and declined rapidly and ended up dying, leaving a 12-year-old daughter Well, she was probably about 11, an 11-year-old daughter and a dad. But the wife, before they passed away, you know, she would call them by the bed and they had wonderful, warm times. She said to her husband and daughter whatever you do, what we're doing is God's. Will you keep doing this? I may not be here to be able to do it but you keep doing this. That was kind of her admonition. So then, because she wanted him, that's, the life was in God.
Speaker 1:So she goes ahead and passes away and the husband's faced with a dilemma. He knows he's going to have to relocate to be around other family to help him, but it was right in the springtime of the year, so they were facing the summer and the wife had kind of indicated to him no matter what happens to me, you keep doing this. So he made the decision that they would move out of the house that they were renting and they would continue to travel for these few months before they move closer to family and get get a home right. You can imagine this. So he felt he didn't like it, he didn't want to do this. But the wife kind of honored it's kind of like what Glenn Berry's first wife did, if you remember that gave a prophetic word so they continued this traveling through the summer 12 year old daughter and the dad and a camper, all right.
Speaker 1:So they go to this one church and they're in the church and they decide to do a kind of a meal after the service. So there, here they are, after the service and you know you've got a line with all the food and we're going to talk about food in a moment, but you've got a line with all the food and you know how that that kind of goes if you've ever been around that. So they had all done their first meal and the daughter decides she's going to go up and get seconds. Right, and there were some people up there and there were some church ladies. Can you look at somebody female and say church ladies? And I want you to say this to them Don't be a church lady. Can you do that right now? So the daughter goes up to get seconds and here's these two older ladies and I can talk that way because I'm older and they're having a church lady talk.
Speaker 1:I can't believe what that guy's doing with his daughter. Can you believe it? No, he's got her traipsing all over the country. They just lost their mom. I know this is sickening.
Speaker 1:The daughter's hearing this while she's getting her seconds. And here's what one of them said that girl, that girl, needs a, needs a home. He needs to get out of that camper and get back and give that girl a home. She needs a home. Well, the daughter's kind of feisty and you can imagine stuff and she says, hey, she gets right and starts looking at them both. Hey, you wait just a minute. My mother told us to continue doing this and I want you to know something You're you're wrong. We may not have a house, but we've got the best home anybody could ever provide. We may not and she said it more than once we may not have a house, but we've got a great home, because my dad's a great dad and my mom was a great mom, so you shut your mouth. I added that one. I don't think she said shut your mouth. I added it because I'm you shut. Guys, you can have the best physical structure in the earth, but that doesn't mean it's a home, and the ways of God as he's trying to build a home Are you hearing me this morning Reminds me of another story I had.
Speaker 1:This is a couple we know. I just texted him yesterday and they were a couple that were involved in a great church when they started out, but they started drifting away from God. The church was more meeting-centered, so they weren't really connecting with relationships. They got away from the church and they started having marital problems and then the next thing, you know, it was all messed up and they ended up divorcing Really sad. And so years later I get to know them as they were coming back to the Lord. And they came back and they begin to see that, look, part of our problem was we weren't walking with people. We started to take that it's just about me and Jesus, not us and Jesus. And so they realize that and they're repenting and they're trying to see a family life among the people of God. But they had a daughter that was backslidden out of this and she was living with a husband and they were having problems. So the mom's desperately trying to get her back in. It's like honey, honey, look, we messed up. We know we did. We found out what some of our problem was. We needed to walk with God and walk with people that are encouraging us. So the mom's preaching to the daughter as she's having marital problems.
Speaker 1:Then they go to the beautician shop. The mom thought she would just take the opportunity, take her daughter, get her hair done. The beautician was a Christian, right, is this okay, tom? And she sent me the email on the heels of this. You know I don't go to beautician shops, as you can probably tell, but sometimes you can have some good dialogue there. Well, that's what the lady was hoping. So she takes her daughter there and here's what she wrote me. Hey, doug, I wanted to share this story with you.
Speaker 1:I was at the beauty shop with my daughter getting our hair done on Saturday. Of course, there's always conversation, and in the three or four hours we were there, our hairdresser's a Christian and we've talked many times at length about the Lord. She even shared her testimony about how she was saved in her early 20s and battled a demonic presence and finally overcame it through the Lord. So my daughter's in the chair and she asked her if her and her husband were going anywhere to church, and my daughter shared a little of her story about how they're coming back to God. But she said, no, we don't really go anywhere, but we need to find one and start going.
Speaker 1:Now the mom's listening to all this, and here's what the beautician said. That's my addition there. Oh girl, you should come to my church. It's so big. No one even hardly notices you're there. No one asks you to do anything. You can just come and go as you please and you don't have to be responsible for anyone or anything. I said wow, and then I pulled my daughter later and made some comments to her about what this lady was saying, because this isn't how the life of God works. This isn't His ways. It isn't about finding a place where I can just. It's about being a family. God's not building a house, he's building a home.
Speaker 1:Now, where I'm getting at today is I want to talk a little bit about this. Acts, chapter 2, and the idea of being together day by day and that idea of eating and hospitality. Okay, is that all right? This is a very important aspect of how God builds us into family. That's why they live day by day life, because it wasn't about just going to a meeting once in a while. It was about living a way of life with God and his people.
Speaker 1:And I want to talk to you about what I call the theology of eating, or you can change that name, the theology of meeting M-E-A-T-I-N-G. Now, this may sound crazy, but I'm a systematic guy, so I thought I want to look in all the Bible where it talks about eating and stuff like that. I was shocked. In the New Testament you can email me and I'll send you some notes on this if you would like but the theology of eating and you know, in the Bible there's three places where it says in the Gospels, the Son of man came. Okay, and describing that Three places. And here's what it says the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve and give his life a ransom for me. The second one, the evangelist like this one the Son of man came to seek and save the lost. But then we often overlook the third one the Son of man came eating and drinking. One of the three, this is in Luke 7.34. The Son of man came eating and drinking. The first two is kind of purpose statements, but the last one is a statement of method. Getting quiet here, he ate and drank and some people got mad at him for doing that. He came eating and drinking.
Speaker 1:When I was doing this theology of eating, obviously it took me to the book of Luke. The book of Luke is an incredible book because it's the writers writing to people that were not necessarily Jewish, they were of a Greek origin and stuff like that. So he is trying to show what Jesus' life was like when he walked on the earth. So you know, this isn't some kind of weird religious thing. And the book of Luke you can look at the entire thing. Here's what you find. I've got this down too. You can text me or send me an email. In the entire book, jesus is either going to a meal, at a meal, or leaving a meal. All the activity is around him either heading to a meal, at a meal or leaving a meal. Even the end of the book, chapter 24, you find him on the Emmaus Road. He's talking to guys. He starts telling them he goes to their house and he eats with them. That's how the book of Luke ends. He was trying to show us something.
Speaker 1:This vital function of eating together and all that it entails is important. I like this, as you can tell the theology of eating, but it's very important that we understand that. So what we do together and that's why they were devoted to breaking of bread house to house kind of stuff Can you hear this? I like to say it like this eating was central to kingdom extension. Are we okay? Have I lost you? Okay, stay with me just a little. It's essential to kingdom extension.
Speaker 1:In Luke, when he sends the disciples out in Luke 9 and 10, what did he tell them to do? Hey, go give people blessing If they open the door, go in their house and eat with them. And he said don't keep moving from house to house, stay in that one. Eat their food, pray for them, let's see the move of God happen and then proclaim the kingdom. Kind of an interesting strategy, isn't it? Some of us like that, I think today. He would probably add eat healthy food. Okay, but it's very important. Eating's important because it helps facilitate something of the family life of God among his people. Think about the Bible.
Speaker 1:The first sin was around eating, so consequently, god's going to restore that issue. Oh, my goodness, stay with me. This is important. Let me share one other thing why this is there. When you look at what happens when we come together now we don't have to eat every time, but when there's that daily life where it's a way of life together, which includes, at times, eating, something happens that starts to reverse something that started in the Garden of Eden or after the Garden of Eden. How many of you know Adam and Eve fell Sin, came in the Garden of Eden or after the Garden of Eden? How many of you know Adam and Eve fell Sin, came in, it, corrupted them and all of a sudden there was family problems in their marriage. Then they started having children. And guess what? That same corruption of sin began to destroy their natural family. That's what sin does. It destroys family.
Speaker 1:And you find Cain and Abel in that first sin, where Cain becomes jealous of his brother. Abel, have your kids ever been jealous towards each other? That's that corruption. And what happens in that? Well, cain rises up and he kills his brother. I'm just going to reference these passages. And then God comes along and he says hey, hey, hey, cain, where's your brother? I don't know. Well, god knew what was happening. He said wait a minute, your brother's blood's crying out. What did you do? And then, cain, finally, how many of you have seen this kind of disturbance in your own family? That corruption of sin comes in and turns family members against each other. We've got a whole thing about alienation and people that are separated from families.
Speaker 1:But when Cain finally faces that, god says something to him in chapter 4, he says because you've done this, there's a curse coming. This curse is what's destroyed Any of you that's had destruction in your family. This is the curse, the curse of Cain. And what did he say? He said you are going to be a vagrant and a wanderer. This is the only time in the Hebrew that those two words are used together.
Speaker 1:I read a fascinating Old Testament scholar on this and he was talking about vagrant and wanderer, and whoever you find will turn against you. And this scholar I was reading one time. He says it was talking about the vagabond, orphaned life that Cain lived and that's the nature of sin. It's like when you find relationships that you think are going to work, they don't end up working. Why? There's a curse associated with the sin and the nature of sin. But thank God we don't have to live under the curse of Cain. But thank God we don't have to live under the curse of Cain. God, just come on. God doesn't just forgive us, but he restores. He restores how many of you have had your families restored? You know what I'm talking about. So part of us moving as a people of God, where we live life together and we eat together and we pray together, what we're doing is helping reverse the curse of Cain, to break that off of people. There's two things God does that are amazing. By the Spirit, we are adopted Right and then, by the power of God's beloved love, we begin to see each other as the beloved of God. That's a fascinating term.
Speaker 1:Have you heard the term beloved? Tom has read some scriptures about that. That idea of beloved is so, so important. It's used like over six, probably a hundred times in the Bible. But it means dearly loved, dearly wanted, everything that orphans don't feel. The beloved comes along and says no, that's not you, this is you, I love you and I want you and I want to be around you. Aren't you glad God wanted that with us?
Speaker 1:I remember the first time I reached out to God. It's like I didn't feel like I could approach him, but then I heard he wanted me, even in my messed up, screwed up sin-. Then I heard he wanted me, even in my messed up, screwed up, sin-filled life. He wanted me and I turned to him and I reached out to him and there was that adoption that came. But it just doesn't stop with adoption. He brings us into a beloved family.
Speaker 1:God calls the churches many times my beloved, my beloved. You know what beloved means. It means deeply wanted. Come on, there's people sitting in this room. You've not experienced that in your natural family. But God doesn't relegate us to our natural family. He brings a spiritual family along. Where we live this concept of the beloved and as we walk together with people, we help them get healed from what the curse of Cain brought into their life. Can somebody say amen to that? Now? What I want to end with is I want to real quickly just go through.
Speaker 1:How do we practice this idea of meeting and walking and living together, even eating meals together? The Bible calls it hospitality. It means making people feel welcome as beloved people. That should be the atmosphere of the church. That should be our atmosphere. We want people around. So how can we move in these things? Let me give you some quick pointers. Are you ready? Then we'll be done. All right, ready here. Number one Okay, how do we walk in this kind of beloved, house-to-house daily life?
Speaker 1:Number one we've got to walk with God, and as we do, we know His ways and it compels us to have love for people, to love the unlovely. Now, if you don't walk with God, you're not going to be able to do this, because there's people you don't care for. You don't walk with God. You're not going to be able to do this because there's people you don't care for. You don't like their personality, you don't like how they, but you know what. God's bigger than all that and as he loved us. We have that debt of love where we loved others as I loved you.
Speaker 1:Jesus said love one another. It's not my love, my love's about what I like, but his love is about who he is and what he wants. So as I walk with him, as I walk with him, it compels me to love the unlovely. Come on, you know this, to love the people that you can't stand. You know, it's possible to love someone you can't stand. Why? Because can't stand is about what you like. We're talking about what God loves. All right. So, number one, we've got to walk with him. So we'll have his heart. Man, you know what it's like. It's such a wonderful thing.
Speaker 1:When you don't like somebody, what do you mean? You scheduled a meal with them. That means we're going to burn at least an hour and a half. Oh, whoops. Sorry, god, I forgot about you. I was thinking about me. Forgive me, god. You love that one, just like you love me, and just like you put up with all my garbage, you put up with his garbage. Forgive me, god. I'll spend an hour and 45 minutes instead of an hour and a half. No, number two minutes instead of an hour and a half. No.
Speaker 1:Number two we've got to understand the difference between secular and biblical hospitality. This is a big one. This is a big one Because, even as I talk about house to house and eating meals, you're going to go, holy cow, I can't even hardly fix meals for me and my wife. How am I going to have other people in? Okay, understand this. It isn't secular hospitality. Secular hospitality is about me impressing you with my house and my food. We don't have enough room. Well, tell them to come on in, take their shoes off. We're just going to hang in the living room, because I'm not trying to impress you with how great my house is or how great my food is. I'm trying to extend to you the welcome of God, and if we're burdened by secular hospitality, we'll never engage in biblical hospitality. Have you ever had that thing? I don't have enough room, come on now, all right.
Speaker 1:A third thing is we have to be aware of either strangers or those that are struggling in our midst. Boy, this is a big one. You look at Jesus. It says that when he looked at people, it said he felt compassion for them, as they were like sheep without a shepherd. They were downcast. He said come on, guys pray to the Lord of the harvest that there would be a bunch of laborers working in this. You hear, this is so important that we understand this. We've got to be aware of the struggling. We've got to be moved with compassion. I don't, I don't know if we have them over our house, that's okay. Swing through Taco Bell, greg. Swing through Taco Bell, get some tacos. It isn't about the greatness of the meal, it's about the greatness of the love of God that we're going to extend to someone when they're struggling.
Speaker 1:So be aware when you come on Sunday mornings. Be aware of people that don't know you or you don't know them. Get up to them. They're probably battling with orphanhood. They're battling with the curse of Cain. Say hey, man, good to meet you. Hey, let's try to get some coffee sometime, let's try to get together. And you know, in their mind they're going. Why Doesn't he see I don't have any good clothes on or anything? Doesn't he see I can't offer him anything? That's the love of God. Are you getting this Number four real quick? We're almost done Number four.
Speaker 1:We've got to learn how to practice both strategic and wartime hospitality. This is a big one. Strategic versus wartime. What do you mean strategic. Sometimes you have dinners here strategic. Sometimes you have dinners here, right? They fed 5,000 people at the end of that. Acts 2 and Acts 4.
Speaker 1:We used to go on a mission trip every year where we had to feed 5,000 people. It took three days just to accumulate the food and then another day to prepare it and then we had the event. It took a lot of work. I've got pictures of 5,000 people sitting at tables. It's fantastic pictures. But that's strategic. We had to plan, we had to serve.
Speaker 1:When there's a hospitality venture here where you're serving food, guess what? Get involved with the administrator. How can I help? How can we do this? How can I offer my service to help prepare this food? But then the other side of hospitality is we've got to be able to practice wartime hospitality. My dad was a World War II vet and they were just coming out with the cans, you know, and in wartime it wasn't about a fancy place or a fancy meal, it was just cans and you popped them up and you ate on the fly. That's called wartime hospitality.
Speaker 1:Sometimes we have to be content with this Okay, this is wartime, let's just do it. Swing through the drive-thru, whatever. We're just going to put it together. Come on over. What are we going to have? I don't know. I don't have anything, but we'll have some tomato soup. That's $1.25 a can. I've got four. Be able to walk in that. Both strategic, where there's planning, and get involved in that, but also wartime, get involved in that. Okay, I'm almost done.
Speaker 1:I got to tell you one story. I can't pass this one up. Sometimes wartime hospitality, god will move in ways that you just don't expect. I'll give you an example. We're big on we've always been big on having people over to our house. So one Sunday, my wife and I, you know we're going home and I invited some people over and I failed to tell her we get home and we didn't have much to eat for ourselves. And then I said hey, honey, hunter and Emily are coming over. He says what Now? My wife is normally where's she at? Are you here, honey? She's normally an incredible person, but she'll remember this. She's what Our daughter, abigail, was there. What dad? And I said no, it's okay, I'm just gonna drive down to Walmart. I'm gonna Stormy. We've got to do it, honey. We've invited them over.
Speaker 1:I'm walking between the kitchen and the dining room. God, come on, guys. I hope you hear from God, because I did. And I'm walking back and forth and trying to dispel their arguments. And then I walk outside and at the door there's Henry and Emily. They'd been knocking, looking at the door, wondering what was going on with all the loud noise. Guess what? That wartime hospitality caused this couple to become a part of the church because we invited them in. Okay, guys, come on in. We are fighting right now because I did a wartime hospitality on my wife. I didn't prepare. She's upset. We want you to feel welcome, but we're having a problem. And there's Abigail, denise and me. Remember honey, right, do you guys mind watching us and helping us with repentance? They got to watch us walk through repentance. And that couple today they are a dynamic couple in God. I'm so thankful for that. So practice wartime hospitality. And the last thing is this, and I'll turn it over to Tom Make sure that you incorporate the universal language of the welcome of God hospitality.
Speaker 1:What is the universal language? I did a systematic study on this as well. I went all through the scripture and looked up places where it talked about smiling. Do you know, smiling is very important. I mean, even the psalmist said Lord, smile on me, smile on me. I got to see something that lets me know that I'm not crazy. The smiling is a universal language and we've got to make sure we practice this.
Speaker 1:Now you, you look at me. I'm an introvert, you're an introvert, but I've got this thing about me where, when I'm in my thoughts, I just walk fast and have a scowl on my face. And I had a brother one time that says Doug, I'm going to help you with this, because that's not a good thing you're doing. What do you mean? Look at you. You look like you're going to beat somebody up. How is that drawing people to you? I don't do that. Yes, you do so for probably about a year and a half to two years. Every time he'd walk up to me he'd say Doug face, just like that. I mean, it would be an impromptu. I'd just be doing stuff and he'd just walk by me Doug face, what was he doing? He was trying to get me to realize that.
Speaker 1:Wait a minute, you're communicating to people because you're not smiling. Could you imagine walking in a government office where you're nervous and you know you might have some bills due, and you're there and you're feeling nervous and then everybody there is like, and it's like, well, who do I talk to here? You've got about 20 people. Have you ever had that? I've had it happen. It's like, well, who do I talk to here? You know, you've got about 20 people. Have you ever had that? I've had it happen.
Speaker 1:It's like, oh my gosh, I'm going to have to pay a bill and then they're going to hurt me and then, all of a sudden, somebody looks up and says hey, there, didn't see you. Hey, come here, I'll help you. How many of you know? Something comes off of you with that and you run to that desk. Oh, thank you, I thought they were going to beat me up. What can I do to help you?
Speaker 1:Smiling is a universal language of the love of God. Turn to someone right now. We're closing. Turn to them right now. Look, put a scowl on your face. Come on, put a scowl on your face. Do it Now. You're Now. You did that to someone that didn't know you very well. Guys, keep the universal language of the beloved of God when he looks at us. Come on Now.
Speaker 1:He's not always happy with us, but something that's like your baby, even when they're fussing and crying, and you're in the middle of the night and you want to throw them out the window. I had a guy say that one time. He goes I just felt like throwing my kid out. You look at them and there they are. They blink their eyes right in the middle of the cry and they go. Oh, I love this child. I've been up for two hours trying to get him to go to sleep. They're precious. That's called beloved. Can we do this? Can we practice the love of God, the life of God, and let's build a home, not just a physical structure. Let's not settle for a house, let's have a home. That's what Jesus intends. You're something else. This guy is something else. Can we thank God for this one more time? Thank you, doug.