Illus: A lady was walking down the street to work and she saw a parrot on a perch in front of a pet store, and to her surprise, the parrot said to her,
• "Hey lady, you are really ugly," The lady was furious! She stormed past the store to her work.
• On the way home she saw the same parrot and it said to her, "Hey lady, you are really ugly," She was incredibly upset.
• The next day the same parrot said to her, "Hey lady, you are really ugly."
The lady was so upset that she went into the store and told the manger she would never buy anything from that store again. The store manager apologized profusely and promised he would make sure the parrot didn’t say it again. After she left, the store manager got all over the parrot for insulting her.
• When the lady walked past the store that day after work, the parrot called to her, "Hey lady." She paused and said, "Yes?" The bird replied, "You know."
Life is full of all kinds of things that unexpectedly happen to us. We have to live our life daily expecting the unexpected.
Can you imagine how Abraham must have felt when he was sitting outside his tent and THREE MEN SUDDENLY STOOD BEFORE HIM? He did not know who these men were!
When such things happen to us, the Bible tells us in Hebrews 13:2, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
Abraham must have immediately suspected that these were not three ordinary men.
Look at Genesis 18:1-2, we read, “And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground.”
I would like for us to look at two things about Abraham in this passage when this unexpected company arrived. First, we need to consider:
I. ABRAHAM’S HOSPITALITY
Today when you go to a home, 9 out of 10 times you are interrupting a television program. Most of the time they will turn it off or turn it down, but you know you are intruding and you need to make your visit as brief as possible.
Illus: The last thing you want to do is visit a home where some of these fellows who love cowboy movies are watching “Matt Dillon.” The best thing you can do is state your business and get out as fast as you can.
Illus: Sometimes when I visit homes, I feel like I am in a restaurant that has very uncomfortable chairs and is named, “Eat It and Beat It!”
Our society has been labeled as impersonal and self-centered. Before they had television, radio, and computers, most people would invite you into their homes and make you feel welcome. But for many homes today, it seems as if they have taken the welcome mats inside.
The Bible has a lot to say to Christians about Christian hospitality.
We read in 1 Peter 4:9, “Use hospitality one to another without grudging.”
WHAT IS HOSPITALITY? In the dictionary, the word “hospitality” is wedged between two words.
• The word “hospital”, a place of healing
• The word “hospice”, a place of shelter
The root of all 3 words is the Latin word translated “guests”. Our homes are meant to be places of shelter and healing, havens of rest.
The Greek word for hospitality (philoxenia) in the New Testament means “a love of strangers”. We need to turn our homes into homes of hospitality.
Look how Abraham greets these three strangers that came to his house.
Look at Genesis 18:1-8, we read, “And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.”
Believing in the providence of God, Abraham regarded these strangers as divinely sent. This was quite true, as they turned out to be angelic messengers from God.
For his humble graciousness, Abraham received a rich blessing.
Listen, at no time should a Christian feel they have a right to be unkind when someone comes to their home.
Illus: Many Christians will have Jehovah Witnesses or Mormons knock on their doors. Some Christians will brag and say, “I slammed the door in their face.”
Illus: Did you hear about the two Mormon missionaries walking down the street one sunny morning? Coming from the opposite direction is a Priest. As they meet the Priest, the Priest says, "Good morning, Sons of the Devil." The Mormon missionaries reply, "Good morning Father."
These are lost folks and we certainly should not give them any money or encourage them to peddle their damnable doctrine. WE SHOULD BE CHRIST-LIKE AND BE KIND TO EVERYONE!
In Bible times, it was custom among Christians that the host would wash the feet of a guest. I am thankful that this custom among Christians is something we no longer practice. Humor: I am for footwashing, but I believe it is something we should do before we come to church.
In order to understand what hospitality is and what it is not, we need only look to Luke 10 and observe two women who welcomed Jesus into their home — Mary and Martha.
Here we learn that whatever is important to a person is the thing they will do. For example:
• Martha thought it was important to do the chores and things
• Mary thought it was important to sit at the feet of Jesus
Hospitality is putting the guest ahead of chores and things.
Today we have many people like Martha in this world that have chosen chores and things above the task of being a good host.
HOW CAN WE USE OUR HOME TO BE HOSPITABLE FOR THE LORD JESUS?
Illus: Some Christian couples use their home to witness for the Lord by inviting a lost couple over for a wonderful meal.
Now I want to stress, A WONDERFUL MEAL. WHY A WONDERFUL MEAL?
Because of two reasons:
• When we go out of our way to do something nice for someone, it let’s them know how much we think of them
• When we provide a wonderful meal, it makes the lost person feel somewhat compelled to listen to what you have to say
Illus: Have you ever been invited to one of the “Pots and Pans Parties?” They cook a wonderful meal for you in these stainless steel pots and pans. After you enjoy the good meal, you feel compelled to listen to them tell you that you need to go home immediately and get rid of those aluminum pots and pans, and buy their wonderful stainless steel pots and pans before you died prematurely!
We looked at ABRAHAM’S HOSPITALITY. He knew how to make his guests feel welcome. But also let’s look at-
II. ABRAHAM’S HOPE
Our text begins by revealing Abraham is a typical man. Notice, Sarah is hard at work in the tent, and Abraham, having misplaced his remote for the television, decides to kick back on the porch and take a load off his feet.
And who should appear, out in the middle of nowhere? Three guests. Abraham greeted his guests and went about preparing something for them to eat and drink. He did not know who these strangers were.
Then something very interesting happens; they asked Abraham, in Genesis 18:9, “Where is Sarah thy wife?” And Abraham said she was in the tent.
WHY DID THEY ASK ABOUT SARAH? Because many years before, when God promised Abraham he would make of him a great nation, the promise was also made to Sarah.
Look at Genesis 17:16, we read, “And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.”
In Genesis chapter 12, God called Abram, a seventy-five year old man, and promised to make him into a great nation. Sarah would obviously have a great part to play in this call.
• According to Genesis chapter 15, at the age of eighty-five, they still no offspring.
• According to chapter 17, Abram is now ninety-nine years old and still has no offspring.
WHAT KIND OF FOLKS WERE ABRAHAM AND SARAH?
They were the kind of folks that could laugh at themselves. When they heard they were going to have a child in their old age they both laughed.
• Abraham REALLY LAUGHED. The Bible says in Genesis 17:17, “Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?”
• Sarah LAUGHED also. The Bible says, in Genesis 18:12, “Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my Lord being old also?”
It is good when folks can laugh at themselves.
Illus: Did you hear about the fellow in the electric chair that had the ability to laugh at himself under any situation? The warden's just about to pull the switch when the guy gets the hiccups. The warden says, "Do you have any last requests?" The guy says, "(hic) Yeah... (hic) could you please do (hic) could you please do something to scare me?"
The Bible says that Abraham and Sarah, LAUGHED when they were told they were going to have a child at their age.
Illus: Maybe Sarah could see herself in the doctor’s waiting room with all the young pregnant moms. When the doctor tells her she is next, she walks across the room with all the young mothers looking at her in disbelief.
The Bible says Abraham was asked another question after she laughed in verse 14. He was asked, “Is any thing too hard for the Lord?”
That is a question we all need to ask ourselves. Is anything too hard for the God we serve??
Illus: A little girl listened attentively as her father read the family devotions. She seemed awed by her parents’ talk of God’s limitless power and mercy. "Daddy," she asked, placing her little hands on his knees, "How big is God?" Her father thought for a moment and answered, "Honey, he is always just a little bigger than you need."
How big is your God? Can you depend on Him to meet your needs?
If you do not serve a God that meets your needs, you are in trouble.
Illus: Little Suzie finished her prayer and said, “Dear God, before I finish:
• I want you to take care of mommy,
• Take care of daddy,
• Take care of my sister and my brother, and please, God, take care of yourself, because if you don’t we’re all sunk. Amen!”
Without the power of God in our daily lives, we are all “sunk”!!
Conclusion:
It is not by coincidence that Abraham became the great servant he became.
• He used his home for the glory of God
• He used his faith to believe in the promises of God
We have looked at -
I. ABRAHAM’S HOSPITALITY
II. ABRAHAM’S HOPE
Note: You can hear many of Dr. Odell Belger sermons on you tube. Type Youtube Lykesland
