By Pastor Alex Ruelo
Luke 24:13-35 tells the story about two of Jesus’ folloers who were walking in the village of Emmaus. Jesus showed Himself to them but they did not recognize Him. They only recognized Him after eating and when they did, Jesus disappeared.
Hebrews 13:2 says, “Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!” It is very important to show hospitality. This verse says that when we show hospitality, we might not know that we are already helping angels. Or they may be helping us. At the same time, the order of God that we need to be hospitable to everybodyis not only for us to wait for angels. Romans 12:13 says, “Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” Who are those that we need to be hospitable to?1 Peter 4:9 says, “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” Give it freely without being asked. 3 John 1:8 says, “We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.” If we do not show good to others, how can we say that we are followers of Jesus?
There are 3 Ws in church that we need to practice.
Worship - the purpose why we come to church is because we want to be in the presence of God and worship helps with that.
Word - we make sure that the word comes straight from the Bible and nowhere else
Welcome - we have to make other people feel that they belong to the church; that they are loved and accepted
How do you welcome people?
Romans 14:13 says, “Therefore let us stop passing judgement on one another.” People will feel welcome if we do not judge them. No matter what they wear or what their race is, we welcome them.
Romans 14:19 says, “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” Welcome everybody even if you have issues with them because that is what the Lord will have done.
Greet one another (1Cor. 16:20, 2 Cor. 13:12)
Serve one another (Gal. 5:15)
Do not provoke one another (Gal. 5:26)
Do not envy one another (Gal. 5:26)
Bear one another’s burden (Gal. 6:2)speak the truth to one another (Eph. 4:25, Col. 3:9)
Do not speak evil against one another (James 4:11)
Pray for one another (James 5:16)
Matthew 11:28-30 says, “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”” We share the burden of others so we can make others feel welcome.
Romans 15:7-9 says, “Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors. He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote: “For this, I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing praises to your name.”” I know the world is totally different back in the days. We accept people so that they may learn to praise God as weel and give glory to Him. We welcome people the wy God welcomed us. We were not supposed to be here because we are not the chosen ones. But becaue of the Lord Jesus Christ dying on the cross, we now belong to the chosen ones. One day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.
The world is no longer how it was yesterday. But in these verses we can learn a thing or two about being hospitable; about accepting people especially those wo are not easy to like. What should we do so that we can easily welcome people into our lives?
Undersand the upside down kingdom of God. - The world teaches us not to talk to strangers, to not accept everybody, and to choose the people we trust. But God teaches us a different way. If you will notice, the two companions of Jesus did not understand Jesus’ purpose that is why they did not recognize Him. Sometimes we see Jesus with eyes that only see what we want to see. But because He loved us, there is no other sacrifice that can save us from our sins. The perfect lamb of God is the only one that can save us. He needed to die to wash away all our sins. And because of this, everything broken in our lives will b e fixed. We need to understand the upsied down kingdoo of God.
Be in God’s presence and He will open your eyes. - Sometimes we are fooled to do things for the benefit of others. When you give the your right hand, they will bite and take your left hand as well. But when you look at it from another point of view, you wil see God’s hand inn everything. That is why it is important that inn our daily lives, we bring to the Lord all of our cares. When we are in the presence of God, everything becomes holy. Most of the time, when we fail, it is because we did not pray about it. When we do things according to His will, it will prosper.
Bless others and you will be blessed. - In doing good, you are blessed.
Show hospatality to the people of God. - accept other people especially when they belong to the kingdomm of God.
Answer the call of hospitality. - God will be with you when you answer the call. It is a church thing. Be hospitable and you will be blessed.
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