Video Transcript: Hospitality Practice Based On The Early Church

Henry - Welcome back to our fellowship and hospitality mini course. And we  have completed the fellowship part. And now we move on to the hospitality side  of the class. In many ways, these are two very important but related topics. They truly are there like sisters, one deals with the people you already know, believer,  and one dealing with people you may not know or may not know well. It's for  let's say in the mission, you meet someone, and you're going to share your  home with them and they're in Christ, that would still be considered hospitality,  right. But it also includes being hospitable and welcoming to people who don't  know Christ yet.  

Pam - You're welcoming.  

Henry - Right, so let's get started and see where this goes. First of all,  Pam - hospitality sharing friendship with strangers, potential future partners.  

Henry -So sharing friendship with people you do not know or that are newer to  you as potential partners. or newer to you if you know they're in Christ or maybe  newer to you.  

Pam - Right, right.  

Henry - So it's from the Greek word, Philoxenia. Philo means Greek for friends,  Philadelphia, xenia is stranger than means stranger, odd one. foreigner, the  verb, Xenizo was from that root means to be strange, or interesting or to  entertain. Kind of related. So and then we see an example of that verse. 

Pam – Acts 17:20. You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we  want to know what they mean .  

Henry -So in some ways, that in that passage that strange ideas is probably  interesting ideas. That's strange, interesting and we haven't heard about that  before, so So anyway, that's kind of at the very core meaning of hospitality. So  let's look at how  

Pam - hospitality and the human relationships approach what we're looking at  here.  

Henry - So how does the world think of hospitality, the human nature is to form  cliques and stay within your circle. New people are allowed to be in the circle  based on what they how they will specifically benefit the group. People who are  not part of the group are distrusted. Even a hospitality industry, it's a pay for 

exchange, I get a hotel, I give you something you give me something back. A lot  of times, other times when people introduce people to someone is because  some way it's going to benefit the group. The Roman view was very similar, the  Roman Empire view live with strangers, but make no effort to get to know them  unless they have a patron. 

Pam - somebody was foreign to them. Notice  

Henry - that the apostle Paul knew how the Roman Empire worked. And  somebody like Phoebe, in Romans 13. was first of all, she was the diakonos, a  minister, was the carrier of the book. Yeah, Romans 13. She was the letter  carrier as a minister. She carried the Roman letter, and the letter carrier would  explain things that writer was thinking about, so all of those things, but then it  says read that whole Romans 16 Chapter or chapter 16:1-2.  

Pam - I commend to our sister Phoebe a servant of the church in Cenchrea I  asked you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give  her any help she may need from you for she has been a great help to many  people, including me  

Henry - now, the Greek word for the word help is patron. In other words. She  was an introducer. She was a hospitality maker. She would go out there and  introduce you need to know this person. right because the way the Greek world  operated, you needed a patron to be introduced. So she was an introducer.  Very, very interesting. Well, how does the Bible understand hospitality? So we'll  talk men  

Pam – The Old Testament showed an openness to strangers, but a closedness  to ideas or worldviews that mocked God. But there was a strong belief in the  power of the practice of hospitality.  

Henry - I find it interesting that they were very open, but not to capitulating their  actual beliefs. They were not open to someone who had contempt of faith in  God. Right? You want to get Monty?. It we'll do this video to go by you  wondering. So there's a interesting passage that talks about this. 

Pam – In II Kings 6:17-22. And Elisha prayed, oh, Lord open his eyes. So he  sees, then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and he saw the  hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha, as the enemy came  down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, strike these people with blindness.  So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked. Elisha told them, This is 

not the road and this is not the city follow me. And I will lead you to the man who are looking for and he led them to Samaria.  

Henry - What has this to do with hospitality. Let's look and see what this  passage has to do with hospitality. 

Pam - me. I was wondering that person. But I do know. After they entered the  city, Elisha said, Lord open the eyes of these men, so they can see. Then the  Lord opened their eyes and they looked and there they were inside Samaria,  

which was the capital city, there in the enemy. They're surrounded by enemies,  instead of them being surrounded. And when the king of Israel saw them, he  asked Elisha, shall I kill them? My mother, so I kill them my father? Shall I kill  them? Do not kill them, he answered, would you kill those you have captured  with your sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat  and drink and then go back to their master. So he prepared a great feast for  them. And after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and  they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raidng Israel's  territory. So hospitality went a long way. 

Henry - Much is true if we reflect on our ministry, if your neighbor doesn't know  the Lord, and is an enemy of the gospel, and you invite them into Samaria, so  figuratively speaking into your home where the Lord, I remember this one time,  we invited a professor of one of our children, and we invited him, from the  community college, and he was a nonbeliever. His wife was not a believer, and  he was surprised when we asked him to our house, in fact, he was not only not  a believer, he was an athiest. So we had him come in, we had food, and then we went through the whole meal. And it was our custom we Christians, that will read a Bible verse and say a prayer. Okay? Don't want to be with the indigenous  Christians. Pray with them. So, of course he prayed, but he was he was, we  asked permission very much. Okay, when we read like a couple Bible verses,  then we prayed, we thought it'd be a little bit. Instead, all night he talked about  God, and about his children about the how they were like living a lifestyle that  was sustainable. We had an opportunity to witness all evening. Because he  came to Samaria. When his foot set food in front of him, hospitality. Now, God  takes it from there, in many cases, at least, he met a Christian who opened up  their home to him and offered food and said a little prayer and had a friendly  regard and who knows what God can do. So  

Pam - in the New Testament, hospitality was Christians shared, also the dislike  for any for an attack on God, but the love of the xenos, stranger. It's a special  form of love to your neighbor. 

Henry - Okay, so we see the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 We read the Good Samaritan. Just lots and lots and lots of times even preached  messages on the Good Samaritan. And I find the Good Samaritan is fascinating  because really Jesus, he's questioned by the Pharisees about labor and love  and all that and then he tells a story. It is a powerful story is a strange story, an  interesting or xenos story. And it's Samaritan who is the good neighbor, and he  does a lot of hospitality himself and the Samaritan  

Pam - story, right? Right. He puts him on his own donkey brings him to the inn  and had someone take care, pays for them.  

Henry - Matthew 25:43-45 This one  

Pam - I was a stranger and you did not invite me in. I needed clothes and you  did not clothe me. I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me. They  also will answer, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or  

needing clothes or sick or in prison and did not help you? He will reply. I tell you  the truth whatever you did not do for one of the least of these. You did not do for  me 

Henry – That's powerful stuff. Jesus is the stranger. So if you're not welcoming  to one of the least of these, right you're not welcoming to Jesus. powerful  

Pam - hospitality sharing friendship or partnership with strangers.  

Henry - Well, back to our theme verse, Romans 12:13. Distribute, Koinoneo, to  the necessity of the saints, given to hospitality. That's Philoxenia. What does the Bible say about the price of hospitality and given to hospitality, or I Peter 4:9,  offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. So given to hospitality. What  is given to hospitality mean to you?  

Pam - Then that is a natural link for you to do. Natural meal together let's share  a cup of tea or whatever your hospitality mode is, right?  

Henry- Well, that is a little bit of a idiomatic phrase in Greek. Actually, the word  didasko is the word given. And then it applies given to philoxenia. So it puts it  together. And given would be the it almost borders on? You don't really say it this way. But obsessed, OCD. Like it's a high priority, that it's like, given to be a  welcoming person. And again, given the word given means that is probably a  learned thing. Because it's not something we naturally would do, but it's  something that we cultivate. I remember when we first started in ministry, you  know, when I remember, you and I being called to ministry, and one of the things

you did not like is the calling to ministry, specifically in meeting new people.  You'd like to every part of it but not, we touched on that a little bit earlier. Just so  how did you get over some of that? 

Pam - I really wasn't against that. It was just scary. I want it was not against it. I  just, it scared me. It was more it was more threatening to me as far as just I was  very shy. But I realized that it didn't matter through the Holy Spirit. I mean, he  really showed me that it wasn't about whether they like me, or if I come across  me if I'm just trusting in Him and just offering friendly hospitality that will come  across the right way.  

Henry - In my struggle was sticking around, the fellowship side. And some of my fellowship manners were weak in comparison to her fellowship manners. So it's  fascinating, like I had some growing to do in the fellowship side. We helped each 

other, but it really was the Lord. It's actually not taking yourself too serious. we  really had  

Pam - to be able to you know it was not against him.  

Henry - word given also means you're actually allowing yourself to grow in the  area I have given  

Pam - you, whatever, wherever and whatever the Holy Spirit leads for you to do  is really key.  

Henry - So we've talked now about hospitality, in the biblical view. Next, we're  going to talk about how it was actually practiced in the early church. So, you  know, to stop today, is basically saying, Look, hospitality is not something that is  just an option. That it's something that's core to being a believer, because  actually, the hospitality verse that trumps all verses, is Go, therefore, and make  disciples of all nations. That alone is saying, you know, fellowship with gospel to  proclaim to all nations will be I even think about doing this mini class, I think  about all our promotions online, to get people to sign up for ministry training  courses, is a welcoming in. We're welcoming strangers  

Pam - they're unknown to us. They're new to us. But because we have the Lord  in common, they are part of those believers. So we have that deeper fellowship  with  

Henry – they're not strange as odd, they're strange as interesting. 

Pam – Yeah, unknown. We don't personally know them yet and now we are  getting  

Henry - so we're getting to know you so come in and welcome.