Relationships And Hospitality (Twelveth Sunday After Pentecost, August 28, 2022)

RELATIONSHIPS AND HOSPITALITY

Text: Hebrews 13: 1- 8, 15 -16

Hebrews 13:1-25 Let mutual love continue. (2) Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. (3) Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. (4) Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. (5) Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you." (6) So we can say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?" (7) Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. (8) Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. …………… (15) Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. (16) Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Hospitality is a big deal for relationships. Relationships build or crumble based upon good or poor hospitality. How many times have you seen a show where the owner of a company showed up incognito to test his or her employees success as well as hospitality skills?

? Imagine if Ray Kroc went incognito to test a local McDonald’s like that.

? Imagine if Dave Thomas went incognito to test a local Wendy’s like that.

? Imagine if Harland Sanders went incognito to test a local KFC.

? Imagine if Truett Cathy went incognito top test a local Chic Fila.

? Imagine if Lee Loccoca showed up incognito to test a Chrysler dealership.

First of all, if any of these guys showed up at all it would be like Scrooge’s intimidating meeting the ghost of Christmas past to us because all of these guys are no longer with us. Second of all, it could be a good meeting or a bad meeting depending on the hospitality factors.

Today we want to explore relationships, hospitality as they relate to kingdom etiquette, kingdom priorities and kingdom building because they all matter.

KINGDOM ETIQUETTE

How many of us know what etiquette means? Etiquette is about custom and manners. I looked up a list of etiquette on Bing and got a list of fifty things. Let me share ten of them with you.

1) hold the door for the person following you;

2) never lick your knife;

3) be punctual;

4) don’t groom yourself in public;

5) be kind to your server;

6) don’t talk with food in your mouth;

7) don’t double dip;

8) treat janitors [servants] like CEOs;

9) treat others as you want to be treated [the Golden Rule see Matthew 7:12]

10) always say [“please” and] “thanks” or “thank you”.

50 Etiquette Rules, Examples and Tips to Live By - Parade: Entertainment, Recipes, Health, Life, Holidays

How well do we follow those rules?

What about etiquette in God’s kingdom?

1) Kingdom etiquette: Etiquette in God’s kingdom is about humility. Avoid selfish ambition and pride as Paul said, “Don’t think more highly of yourself than you ought to think” (Romans 12:3). “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than you. Each of you should look out not only for your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3 – 4). It is as if Paul were echoing Jesus when He told us to “treat others as we wish to be treated” (Matthew 7:12).

2) Character: Doesn’t our etiquette say something about our character? When Jesus taught the parable of the Wedding Feast in Luke 14:7 – 14, He was teaching about not pridefully taking the seats of honor that the host might have prepared for another so as not to exalt one’s self and then be embarrassed when the host reseats you. How many people pridefully seat themselves instead of waiting for their host?

3) Pulling rank: Have you ever known of a leader to pull rank by saying something like, “Do you know who I am”? How many leaders today act just like that, asking “Do you know who I am?” when they are being confronted with breaking the rules or the law? I once had a church member whose son was a SC Highway Patrol Officer. One day he pulled over a leader for speeding and the guy pulled rank with his ”do you know who I am?” question. The officer reminded the local leader of who he was and then handed him his ticket. “For everyone, who exalts himself will be humbled and everyone who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11).