back to index2021-09-26 Holy Response to God's Calling Pt2
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If I can ask you guys to turn your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 13 and we'll be reading 00:00:34.760 |
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without 00:00:41.120 |
Remember the prisoners as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, 00:00:50.680 |
Heavenly Father, we ask the Holy Spirit to anoint this time. 00:01:01.120 |
May your people, your children, hear the voice of Christ and follow him and him alone. 00:01:08.400 |
Lord, you warned us that in the end times, because the increase in wickedness, that love 00:01:17.940 |
Help us, Lord God, to not to drift, not to neglect this great salvation that you've given, 00:01:24.040 |
that all that we do may be a reflection of your grace in our lives. 00:01:31.360 |
I'm just going to give you a heads up ahead of time that I'm going to be in the introduction 00:01:35.480 |
a little bit longer than normal today, because I feel like this is something that needs to 00:01:46.400 |
In the past maybe about six to ten years, I don't know exactly when it became prominent, 00:01:54.080 |
but the term social justice has spread like wildfire, especially in the last maybe year 00:02:00.680 |
and a half to two years with all the political and social unrest that churches have become 00:02:07.160 |
divided, that are you for this or against this? 00:02:15.840 |
And then you have the other churches who say, "No, we're about the gospel." 00:02:18.760 |
And so this has become a hot topic in our generation. 00:02:23.440 |
And I want to point out something before we jump into the clear teaching of this text, 00:02:29.200 |
that we need to understand what the Bible says about this particular subject, because 00:02:37.160 |
Tim Keller in his book called Generous Justice. 00:02:45.360 |
It's made a huge impact, especially in the younger generation for the social justice 00:02:53.000 |
I don't want to talk about what's happening outside the church, because movements come 00:02:58.080 |
What's popular in one generation is not popular in the next generation. 00:03:01.840 |
I'm concerned about what's happening inside the church, how what is happening outside 00:03:09.000 |
I want to read you a quote from that book, because I've had so many conversations with 00:03:13.760 |
people about this book and certain things that he said in here that I want to make sure 00:03:20.840 |
He says in this book, "If you do not actively and generously share your resources with the 00:03:32.640 |
Now I'm not taking a phrase out of context, because the whole book is about expounding 00:03:39.640 |
That it is not simply a call, but a mandate, and if a Christian does not share his wealth, 00:03:54.720 |
We're Bereans because our challenge and encouragement is test everything, even test what I'm saying 00:04:00.480 |
Test it with scripture, because especially right now, there's so many things that are 00:04:04.280 |
being said in the general atmosphere that has some truth to it, and because it's being 00:04:14.880 |
said in certain contexts and through certain people that are respected, that we just assume, 00:04:21.440 |
It must be true, and there's certain things about that that is true, so it must be true." 00:04:32.120 |
If you've been with us studying the book of Titus, it says one of the qualifications 00:04:36.040 |
of an elder is that he cannot seek sordid gain, meaning unjust gain, that he does not 00:04:42.120 |
cheat people out and cut corners and does not have integrity in the way he makes money. 00:04:47.920 |
Jeremiah 22, 13, God says, "Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness and 00:04:53.760 |
his upper rooms without justice, who uses his neighbor's services without pay and does 00:05:01.440 |
So clearly, the Bible calls us to justice, but justice he's referring to are people who 00:05:07.280 |
are taking advantage of the poor, who are causing them to work and not giving them their 00:05:13.480 |
Leviticus 19, verse 13 says, "You shall not oppress your neighbor nor rob him. 00:05:18.800 |
The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning." 00:05:24.000 |
These are texts that are quoted in this book as an argument for his point, that if you 00:05:31.000 |
do not give to the poor, you are robbing, you are in sin. 00:05:33.840 |
And so that the term social justice is being thrown around in our generation, which I believe 00:05:41.840 |
needs to be corrected because it is not justice that the Bible calls us to when it comes to 00:05:47.880 |
helping the poor, unless you actually robbed somebody, unless they work for you and you 00:05:53.160 |
didn't give them their fair pay, then you need to practice justice. 00:06:03.360 |
Now if you remember, justice is getting what you deserve. 00:06:09.480 |
Whether that is penalty of your sin, that's justice. 00:06:12.760 |
Or whether you worked and a certain amount was promised to you, that would be justice. 00:06:23.960 |
Maybe you deserve to be punished, and God withholds the punishment, and so you are receiving 00:06:29.320 |
Charity, or the word grace, is receiving something that you do not deserve. 00:06:35.640 |
That they are not required to give it to you, but they give it to you. 00:06:37.960 |
And that's the love that you and I have experienced in Christ. 00:06:41.840 |
And so the Bible calls us, the way that we discuss this topic, when we use the term justice, 00:06:49.880 |
there's a confusion in the church that if we don't do this, we are in sin. 00:06:56.280 |
Now let me tell you, the first problem that the church experiences in the book of Acts 00:07:01.200 |
is recorded in Acts chapter 5, where if you remember, Ananias and Sapphira is inspired, 00:07:08.800 |
for whatever the reason, other people, other rich people who are selling their land, they're 00:07:12.960 |
giving it to the poor, and it's being distributed. 00:07:16.080 |
And so they were being very gracious and generous with the wealth that they had, voluntarily. 00:07:22.640 |
Ananias and Sapphira decides that they're going to do the same thing, but the problem 00:07:27.080 |
with them was, instead of selling and then donating it all to the church to be distributed, 00:07:32.980 |
that they kept some of it, and they lie to the church, pretending that all this was given 00:07:40.260 |
And as a result of this lie, they are punished. 00:07:44.760 |
But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to 00:07:53.360 |
While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? 00:07:57.160 |
And after it was sold, was it not under your control? 00:08:00.420 |
Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? 00:08:06.480 |
So this punishment wasn't because that they withheld some. 00:08:13.480 |
And the way that he describes it was, when before you sold it, the land was yours, meaning 00:08:20.180 |
When you sold it, nobody commanded you to do it. 00:08:23.160 |
You could have just held on to it, and you wouldn't have been guilty because it was not 00:08:28.300 |
So the sin was that he pretended to be generous while lying, holding some back. 00:08:37.800 |
The term justice, and then using that term to say that this is the mission of the church, 00:08:44.120 |
this has to be one of the missions of the church, is a mistake. 00:08:53.440 |
If you study history, you'll know that there has been back and forth of the rich people 00:09:01.880 |
and the poor people, and the poor people rising up and overthrowing the rich, and then after 00:09:06.720 |
a while the poor people will get rich, and then the poor people will come up and rise 00:09:11.140 |
And this social justice movement that we have seen in our generation reminds me a lot of 00:09:16.200 |
what I studied and saw for myself what was happening in China during the Cultural Revolution. 00:09:24.520 |
In 1966, after the Communist Party took over, they had this thing called the Cultural Revolution 00:09:30.600 |
under the leadership of Mao Zedong, and it was a movement of the poor. 00:09:36.400 |
And so poor farmers got together, and they felt that it was not fair. 00:09:42.000 |
It was unjust to have a certain portion of the population to be filthy rich, and then 00:09:47.960 |
the farmers have such a struggle in paying their bills because they were having such 00:09:54.240 |
So this Cultural Revolution basically ignited poor young people, and they wanted basically 00:10:05.280 |
During this period, they went after anybody that represented the previous generation, 00:10:10.520 |
anybody who had wealth, anybody who was religious. 00:10:14.080 |
And so the Communist Party ignited these young people, and during this period between 1966 00:10:19.120 |
and 1976, they said anywhere from several million to up to 40 million people got executed. 00:10:25.820 |
We don't know the exact number because the Communist Party has never reported that, and 00:10:29.720 |
we know that it is always underreported because this is not something that they want people 00:10:34.920 |
But the information that leaked out from China, people who were there, they said it was probably 00:10:40.440 |
closer to anywhere from 20 to 40 million people got executed. 00:10:46.160 |
When I was there in 1993, I went to visit major sites because part of our trip was a 00:10:52.880 |
mission trip to kind of have a vision trip toward China, because at that time Christianity, 00:10:57.960 |
at least the outsiders, were just starting to come in. 00:11:04.420 |
So those of you who visited Beijing, you know the Forbidden City is one of the main attractions 00:11:09.240 |
And half of the Forbidden City was not open because during the Cultural Revolution, it 00:11:14.120 |
We would go to the Summer Palace, and the majority of the Summer Palace was not open 00:11:21.600 |
We would go to the countryside, and any monument that represented the previous generation's 00:11:28.440 |
And so it took years for them to rebuild that. 00:11:31.680 |
Since then, they've spent billions of dollars rebuilding the Forbidden City, rebuilding 00:11:38.680 |
But what's ironic about all of this are the people who are rebuilding this are the same 00:11:46.360 |
The young people who went and executed and forced themselves into power because they 00:11:51.320 |
wanted to make it equal, they're the ones who are in power now, and they're using billions 00:11:55.000 |
of dollars to rebuild the very things that they tore down. 00:11:59.480 |
Now I say this because the idea and the practice of justice in the eyes of the world always 00:12:07.800 |
leads to disenfranchisement in the next generation, the next generation. 00:12:13.460 |
Does that mean that God doesn't want us to be charitable, not to care about the poor, 00:12:20.880 |
that you can just, if you're rich and you have all this money, that you have the freedom 00:12:28.440 |
I say all of this not because I'm trying to convince you that you can chase money and 00:12:37.160 |
But what is happening right now in our generation, in our culture, is not a biblical movement. 00:12:46.680 |
So even the very language that we use to say it is social justice is unbiblical. 00:12:52.160 |
We would say it is social charity that God calls us to. 00:13:00.360 |
When I was younger, and I shared this with you before, when I first came into ministry, 00:13:05.000 |
Esther and I, we thought we were going to commit to homeless ministry. 00:13:10.560 |
In fact, to this day, my Costco card says Acts Homeless Ministry because I got the Costco 00:13:16.360 |
card because it was a cheaper way to buy hot dogs. 00:13:20.360 |
And I would find Farmer John hot dogs, I don't know how much it is now, but it was for $6 00:13:28.760 |
But I bought two packs of those and we were able to feed about 100 homeless every week 00:13:32.240 |
and then got some hot chocolate and then some people would donate some old stale donuts 00:13:37.320 |
and that's what we took out in the street every Tuesday. 00:13:40.160 |
But during that period, I was very upset with the church. 00:13:46.680 |
In fact, I was up in Canada and we were attending this service and there was a homeless man 00:13:52.080 |
outside begging for money and I saw all these people, hundreds of people just walked by 00:13:57.040 |
and I would be angered because I was so wanting to see this ministry take off and I really 00:14:05.920 |
And so there was a slogan that I picked up and I would preach this everywhere I go. 00:14:13.240 |
And the slogan was, a condemnation to the church, how can you worship a homeless man 00:14:18.600 |
on Sunday and ignore a homeless man on Monday? 00:14:26.440 |
If I had, if I could make t-shirts, I would have made hundreds of t-shirts and passed 00:14:30.640 |
How can you worship a homeless man on Sunday and ignore that homeless man on Monday? 00:14:38.960 |
And my preaching was as angry as you can get because I felt like, how can you take the 00:14:44.640 |
gospel seriously if you don't care about the poor? 00:14:50.240 |
How can we possibly go out there and represent Christ if you don't actively give attention 00:14:56.720 |
I was a youth pastor and then a college pastor, but my real passion was to try to help the 00:15:01.320 |
homeless and try to get as many people involved. 00:15:04.240 |
And that's why I started ACTS ministry and ACTS stands for Alliance of Christians Trained 00:15:13.600 |
But after years of trying to help people off the streets, I gathered enough money and I 00:15:21.560 |
remember Gin, Gin sitting back there, we had a, we had a, I forgot what it was, we had 00:15:25.800 |
this fundraiser and we sold tapes, you know, and Gin was, Gin was there when we did that 00:15:32.480 |
and we had bands that performed and we would sell that and the proceeds that came from 00:15:41.000 |
But after years of doing that, I ran into frustration after frustration after frustration 00:15:45.040 |
because I thought, just like probably many of us here think, they're homeless, so if 00:15:50.440 |
I can get them off the street, feed them, help them get a job, and then disciple them 00:15:59.800 |
After years of offering and some even, you know, putting them into hotels, paying their 00:16:06.720 |
bills, I would run into moms who had young children living out of their car and then 00:16:12.080 |
we would put them in a hotel, buy the food, pay for the motel, and then try to meet up 00:16:19.720 |
After years of doing this, and again, some of them even at our house, after years of 00:16:25.200 |
doing this, I've never seen any progress and the biggest frustration that I ran into 00:16:30.960 |
is more than that, they didn't want to get off the street. 00:16:33.960 |
I said, "I'm offering a place to stay for free, help you get a job, food, discipleship," 00:16:45.080 |
And what I learned from that was homelessness was the symptom, not the problem. 00:16:52.500 |
Our natural inclination is because we have homes and we're wealthy and they don't 00:16:56.480 |
have it, so if we give it to them and then they get off the street, problem solved. 00:17:03.260 |
Most of the people that I met out on the street were out on the street because they'd lost 00:17:12.320 |
Drugs, family tragedy, something happened and they no longer want to run this race and 00:17:20.040 |
And what I realized, that this problem was not simple, that this problem of homelessness 00:17:30.900 |
And so as much as I didn't want to be involved with the church, as much as I was angered 00:17:36.220 |
with the church, my paradigm started shifting because I realized until the church is healthy, 00:17:43.840 |
all we're doing is plugging up holes in a dam that is going to break. 00:17:47.840 |
And we're not fixing any problem, all we're doing is solving surface problems, but we're 00:17:54.360 |
First Corinthians 1, 21-25 says, "For since in the wisdom of God, the world through its 00:18:03.720 |
The problem with mankind is that we've been separated because of our sins. 00:18:08.620 |
And God, who is the author of life, that mankind has no access to him. 00:18:13.680 |
And he says, "Through all of man's wisdom, all the man's effort could not bring him to 00:18:20.280 |
And so homelessness, drug addiction, sex trafficking, family issues, all of it is related to this. 00:18:28.840 |
And this problem because we have been separated from the God of the universe, who's the author 00:18:34.400 |
He says, "All through mankind, history through their wisdom could not come to know God. 00:18:40.040 |
God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who 00:18:45.500 |
For indeed, Jews ask for signs, Greeks search for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified. 00:18:50.760 |
To Jews, a stumbling block, and Gentiles, foolishness, but to those who are called, 00:18:54.640 |
both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. 00:18:58.480 |
Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than 00:19:04.560 |
And I realized that until the church is reformed, until the church is healthy, that all the 00:19:11.480 |
work that we're doing, all the mission work, and all the mercy ministry that we do, eventually 00:19:21.680 |
And we just recycle the problem that came down from us from generation to generation. 00:19:27.080 |
That's what caused me to commit to the church. 00:19:30.440 |
Because what I wanted to see, not because I've given up on the mercy ministry, but until 00:19:37.280 |
the church is reformed, until the church is healthy, like I said, I realized all we're 00:19:41.880 |
doing is plugging up a hole in a dam that eventually is going to break. 00:19:47.680 |
Does this mean mercy ministry is not important? 00:19:52.600 |
Everything that I felt at that time was because I was seeing it in Scripture. 00:19:59.120 |
It wasn't because I had some sort of special affection for homelessness. 00:20:02.000 |
It wasn't because, "Oh, I was homeless, so now I know how they feel." 00:20:07.840 |
I was doing inductive Bible study, and I would go passage after passage after passage, the 00:20:12.680 |
Bible calling us to care for those who are suffering, just like the text that we're looking 00:20:19.800 |
I want to show you from this text two things that we need to know in order to practice 00:20:28.120 |
what the Bible says, social charity, not necessarily social justice. 00:20:32.280 |
Number one, we practice charity to reflect who God is. 00:20:37.160 |
Remember, we talked about Jesus said to his disciples, "They will know you," by what? 00:20:45.960 |
By the love that you practice with them, "as I have loved you." 00:20:51.200 |
Remember we talked about that last week, that this commandment to love your neighbor was 00:20:57.960 |
It was not a new commandment that all of a sudden, they've never heard this before. 00:21:01.520 |
No, it's repeated all throughout the Old Testament. 00:21:03.880 |
The new commandment was, he said, "As I have loved you." 00:21:11.520 |
Love people who may not be able to pay you back. 00:21:24.960 |
And so the kind of love that he calls us to is what reflects who he is. 00:21:36.880 |
Imagio Dei, that's what the theologians call it. 00:21:42.940 |
And Jesus says, "That image that I want you to bear is the kind of love that I practice 00:21:50.000 |
In Luke chapter 14, 12 to 14, he says, "And he also went on to say to the one who had 00:21:53.840 |
invited him, 'When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your 00:21:58.080 |
brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors. 00:22:01.080 |
Otherwise they may also invite you in in return, and that that will be your repayment. 00:22:07.520 |
But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and 00:22:11.400 |
you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you, for you will be repaid 00:22:18.480 |
The word that he uses here last week was philadelphia, love of brethren. 00:22:24.560 |
Here it's philazenia, and the word zenia basically means strangers, people who are 00:22:33.000 |
So the scripture tells us that we practice charity because it reflects his charity for 00:22:39.920 |
And it is clear that in the old covenant and the new covenant, it's the same God. 00:22:46.120 |
In Deuteronomy chapter 10, verse 19, it says, "So show your love for the alien, for you 00:22:53.080 |
Because God was merciful to you, be merciful to the aliens." 00:22:58.360 |
"When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners 00:23:03.300 |
of your field, nor gather the gleaning of your harvest. 00:23:06.120 |
You are to leave them for the needy and the alien. 00:23:10.480 |
I don't know about you, but I remember the first time reading that, and I was thinking, 00:23:19.880 |
I mean, imagine in his mind, at some point, he's going to have to sacrifice his son to 00:23:28.700 |
But in the process of this redemptive history, he gives attention to nobodies, just aliens, 00:23:39.620 |
He said, "When you harvest your field, leave a portion of them so that the poor and the 00:23:44.060 |
needy and the orphans can have some of that." 00:23:47.060 |
Now you and I don't farm, so it's kind of the imagery doesn't really hit us like it 00:23:53.060 |
I think what's equivalent to now is if you're getting a paycheck, you give a portion to 00:23:57.980 |
the government, you pay your tithe, and then God says, "Another portion of your paycheck, 00:24:06.780 |
That makes it more real, because we don't farm. 00:24:12.060 |
We'll gather this and this part, we'll give it to them." 00:24:17.580 |
That's what they harvested to feed their children. 00:24:22.500 |
So when he says to leave a portion of that, basically he's saying, "Take a portion of 00:24:38.500 |
God had always concern for those who are in need. 00:24:45.420 |
In Psalm 146.9, it says, "The Lord protects the strangers. 00:24:49.140 |
He supports the fatherless and the widow, but he thwarts the way of the wicked." 00:24:55.120 |
And the Bible says that he counts the very hair on our head. 00:25:05.180 |
And so he calls us that because you and I were strangers at one point, you and I were 00:25:09.940 |
recipients of this love that you and I didn't deserve. 00:25:12.860 |
He says, he calls us as Christians that we ought to reflect this love. 00:25:18.000 |
Not just the love of your neighbor, not just the love of your children, but strangers. 00:25:22.300 |
That you went out to be hospitable deliberately. 00:25:27.620 |
In 1 John 3, 17-18, "But whoever has the world's goods and sees his brother in need and closes 00:25:33.900 |
his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?" 00:25:39.140 |
How can you proclaim the love of God and how gracious he's been and yet not reflect that 00:25:45.840 |
How can you say that you won the lottery and be so stingy with your money? 00:25:52.140 |
James 1, verse 27, "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this, 00:25:57.700 |
to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world." 00:26:06.500 |
That word, philisania, is to invite people into your homes. 00:26:12.860 |
That's literally to love people who cannot help you, love people who can't pay you back. 00:26:20.940 |
You know, one thing that I learned is as I was doing homeless ministry, that you are 00:26:29.500 |
I've never heard anybody say, "What is wrong with you trying to help the poor?" 00:26:36.060 |
And it was never really that hard to raise money, to collect, "Hey, we're going to go 00:26:42.660 |
And people are generous, especially if you're doing orphan care. 00:26:48.960 |
I've been praying about helping the orphans, so can I give you some money?" 00:26:53.820 |
What I realized was as long as I went out on the street to help them, I got praise and 00:27:01.700 |
But when I started getting pushback was when I started bringing them to the church because 00:27:10.060 |
And I remember the first guy that I brought to church, you know, and he was hooked on 00:27:15.300 |
crack and so he would lose his shoes out on the street. 00:27:20.900 |
So our church guys decided to celebrate his birthday and they bought him $120 Michael 00:27:27.180 |
$120 now may not sound like a lot of money, but back then it was like buying this guy 00:27:30.780 |
who's hooked on crack, buying like $250, $300 pair of shoes. 00:27:36.300 |
He was good at basketball, so he fit right in, you know. 00:27:39.580 |
And so we're doing that, but after a while, people start feeling uncomfortable because 00:27:46.060 |
Every time we went out to eat, somebody had to spot him. 00:27:48.980 |
I mean, it's one thing to have him and do mercy ministry out there, but it's another 00:27:57.660 |
And then when we brought him into my house, people who were like, "Oh yeah, Peter, that's 00:28:04.660 |
You know, you're doing mercy ministry, homeless ministry." 00:28:05.940 |
And all of a sudden, it's like, "What are you doing? 00:28:12.340 |
As long as we're keeping our home safe, we can be generous. 00:28:20.780 |
As long as we're comfortable, as long as we have all that we need and out of abundance, 00:28:26.740 |
And we're the same way when we go to short-term missions. 00:28:29.860 |
We go out there and we're bold for Jesus Christ, out there. 00:28:34.660 |
But we have such a hard time even mentioning Christianity to our coworkers. 00:28:39.620 |
So we have a tendency to practice love from a safe distance. 00:28:44.700 |
But this word, "As Christ in every way being God, did not consider equality with God something 00:28:56.300 |
to be grasped, but he emptied himself, became nothing, and he walked among us." 00:29:02.420 |
Imagine how uncomfortable it is for us to come out of our comfort zone and to be somewhere 00:29:13.620 |
Where we buy our house, where we work, where do we go, where we go on vacation, because 00:29:22.660 |
This word, "Philisania," is a challenge to go beyond that, as Christ did for us, to bring 00:29:30.540 |
them into not just our homes, but to break beyond our comfort zone, that our love would 00:29:42.060 |
Now the Bible is not, I mean, there's nothing that says, "Oh, we can't help the poor. 00:29:48.860 |
But again, we need to understand biblically what he's talking about. 00:29:53.100 |
Secondly, one, charity is to reflect his nature and who he is, and "Philisania" reflects that. 00:30:00.820 |
But number two, and this is the part that I really want you guys to understand, because 00:30:04.940 |
the way that social justice is being practiced today completely misses the mark of what the 00:30:13.540 |
Number two, we practice charity to advance the gospel. 00:30:23.020 |
Never in the New Testament will you find where the church is challenged to go look out for 00:30:33.580 |
I'm going to explain that, and some of you guys are just like, "What?" 00:30:37.740 |
Find me one passage in the Bible, and we'll have a conversation, where God calls the charity 00:30:43.800 |
to help the poor outside of the context of the gospel being spread. 00:30:50.460 |
Charity is to be practiced in the context of sharing the gospel. 00:30:53.740 |
He said, "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers." 00:30:58.340 |
Now who are these strangers he's referring to? 00:31:00.660 |
Was it just at that time, just a lot of homeless people just walking around, and he's saying 00:31:04.420 |
just generically, if you find homeless people, that you would open up your home, bring them 00:31:12.240 |
If you know how things worked at that time, today, if we were going out of town, and we're 00:31:16.700 |
going into the city, the first thing you would do is you would book your flight, book a hotel, 00:31:22.900 |
find out the nice places to visit maybe, and then you find food, and then you come back 00:31:28.900 |
Then if you happen to have a friend there, you might go to their house just to save some 00:31:32.340 |
Well, at that time, it was almost impossible to travel if you didn't have help from the 00:31:41.220 |
When he says to show hospitality to strangers, and I'm going to prove my point through Scripture, 00:31:47.620 |
that he is specifically referring to people who are coming into town in the context of 00:31:51.680 |
sharing the gospel, just like Apostle Paul, just like all the apostles who went from village 00:31:59.060 |
When Jesus sent out his 12 disciples on a short-term mission trip, this is what he instructs 00:32:07.340 |
Matthew 10, 40 to 42, "He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives 00:32:15.600 |
He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward, 00:32:19.380 |
and he who receives a righteous man in the name of the righteous man shall receive a 00:32:24.980 |
And whoever in the name of the disciples gives to one of these little ones even a cup of 00:32:29.980 |
cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward." 00:32:34.540 |
He told his disciples that when you go on this mission trip, don't take food, don't 00:32:38.580 |
take things because you're going to go in, and if they receive you, then bless this home, 00:32:42.780 |
and if they don't receive you, shake off your dust and continue to go. 00:32:49.700 |
This is how information and the philosophers ended up spreading the right doctrine and 00:32:58.060 |
So to receive a stranger means that you are receiving not only the stranger, but what 00:33:07.860 |
Now the negative part of that in 2 John 10-11, this is what he says, "If anyone comes to 00:33:14.380 |
you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house and do not give 00:33:19.460 |
him a greeting, for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds." 00:33:26.060 |
So to practice hospitality, meaning you bring somebody into your home, basically means to 00:33:36.260 |
So this was not devoid of the spreading of the gospel. 00:33:40.460 |
In fact, he gives the same instruction in Luke chapter 10 when he sends out the 70 disciples, 00:33:45.380 |
and he says, "When you go out, do not carry money or bags or shoes." 00:33:49.500 |
And he says, "If they receive you, bless them, and then receive their help. 00:33:53.860 |
If they don't, shake off your dust and go move on." 00:33:58.620 |
And he says, to remember and be hospitable, he's telling within the context. 00:34:03.340 |
Now this does not negate, it's not saying that we shouldn't help the poor whether they're 00:34:14.800 |
That charity is not a separate ministry from the gospel ministry, the way that it is being 00:34:22.620 |
Where you have mission department, and then we have a mercy department. 00:34:33.540 |
I remember years ago when we first started going into India, and I asked Pastor Matthew, 00:34:38.940 |
some of you guys who were with us, and I wanted to find out. 00:34:42.700 |
I wanted to hear about his testimony because I kept on hearing about his testimony through 00:34:47.340 |
So I had an opportunity to talk to him, and I asked him, "What was it like early on?" 00:34:52.020 |
Because he just went from village to village with his four small children to preach the 00:34:58.700 |
So he said, "Those guys who went to India with us, we're in a remote area in the city, 00:35:05.420 |
but we have to take the van somewhere anywhere between an hour to two hours just to get into 00:35:12.520 |
But with no support, he would walk from village to village. 00:35:16.660 |
So him and his four children, who used to be a Hindu priest, and now he's excommunicated 00:35:22.620 |
from his family, and he's just doing this on his own because God laid this burden to 00:35:27.860 |
And he told me that he would go to the village and he would share the gospel, and if they 00:35:31.420 |
received him, they would feed them and they would house them. 00:35:36.820 |
If they didn't receive them, sometimes they would be hassans, and they would throw rocks 00:35:42.100 |
And I would ask him, "So what would you do when that happened?" 00:35:44.500 |
He said, "Well, we would just sleep out in the field, and we weren't able to eat. 00:35:52.420 |
So in my mind, it's like, "This doesn't sound real. 00:35:55.620 |
This is the kind of stuff that you read in history books." 00:35:59.500 |
So I asked his children when I had time, just to kind of... 00:36:04.620 |
I'm being a detective, trying to like, "Is this guy making this up? 00:36:11.640 |
And they would tell me, they said, "How much they hated going to these villages with his 00:36:17.860 |
Because they remember so vividly when they were children, sleeping out in the field and 00:36:23.840 |
And so when they grew up, they determined not to follow Christ. 00:36:32.820 |
You guys know Pastor David, he was in pharmacy school, in the middle of that, he dropped 00:36:39.740 |
And then the youngest daughter ended up marrying a pastor. 00:36:43.760 |
But they were telling me how much they hated going to village to village with their dad. 00:36:47.620 |
And so I went and talked to Pastor Matthew, and I asked him, "Man, that must have been 00:36:52.820 |
And he said, "Yeah, I actually considered taking my life." 00:36:57.820 |
I said, "That's a weird thing to say as a pastor." 00:37:03.820 |
He said, "At that time, I considered taking my life because this burden to preach the 00:37:07.380 |
gospel was so heavy on him that he saw what it was doing to his family. 00:37:13.220 |
He saw his children not being able to eat, sleeping out in the fields. 00:37:17.900 |
And so he thought that if he disappeared, that this burden would be lifted from his 00:37:34.900 |
We were very slow to get involved with India because of my skepticism. 00:37:40.780 |
Through the years of interacting with these pastors, that's exactly how the gospel spread 00:37:46.800 |
They went from village to village, walking without support, gospel spread. 00:37:51.380 |
In fact, majority of human history, majority of the church history, the gospel spread in 00:37:58.280 |
What you and I have now, just getting on an air-conditioned airplane, sometimes business 00:38:03.100 |
class to get over there, sitting in a nice hotel while we're texting with our friends 00:38:06.700 |
and taking selfies and putting it up and for people to see way over here, I mean, that's 00:38:11.340 |
fantastic that we have the avenue to do that, but that's not how the gospel spread. 00:38:17.260 |
For majority of human history, people picked up their cross, literally gave their life. 00:38:23.020 |
Some of you guys are old enough to remember when we said bye to missionaries when we were 00:38:33.020 |
Many of them couldn't afford airplane tickets, so they got on boats. 00:38:36.620 |
Some of you guys were old enough to remember that. 00:38:39.500 |
When they said bye, we all said bye, thinking we're not going to see them again. 00:38:46.980 |
He's talking within that context to be hospitable when they come into town. 00:38:51.980 |
It is in that context he says, he says to them, he says, "Remember the prisoners as 00:38:59.980 |
though in prison with them and those who are ill-treated since you yourself also are," 00:39:08.060 |
Is he just talking about anybody who committed a crime who happens to be in prison? 00:39:13.020 |
He's referring to Christians who are being dragged in. 00:39:15.860 |
The reason why they were drifting is because it became hard to be a Christian. 00:39:19.500 |
And he's reminding them, remember, in Hebrews chapter 10, 32-35, "But remember the former 00:39:24.380 |
days when after being enlightened you endured great conflict and suffering, partly by being 00:39:28.940 |
made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers 00:39:37.020 |
For you showed sympathy to the prisoners, accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, 00:39:40.700 |
knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one. 00:39:43.780 |
Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward." 00:39:47.460 |
So he's not randomly saying, "Go visit prisoners." 00:39:50.500 |
He's talking about Christians who have been caught and they are suffering for the purpose 00:39:55.320 |
of their faith in the context of sharing the gospel. 00:39:59.420 |
So the show of charity clearly is in the context of the gospel ministry. 00:40:03.940 |
In Acts chapter 11, verse 29, Paul says, "And in proportion that any of the disciples had 00:40:10.300 |
means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea. 00:40:17.060 |
Romans 15, 26, "For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the 00:40:23.900 |
First Corinthians 16, 1, "Now considering the collection for the saints as I directed 00:40:27.860 |
in churches of Galatia, so you do also the same for the saints." 00:40:31.460 |
Second Corinthians 8, 3-4, "For I testify that according to their ability and beyond 00:40:35.540 |
their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor 00:40:44.860 |
Repeatedly over and over and over again, every challenge for us to practice charity is within 00:41:02.580 |
We are called to be charitable, to reflect who He is. 00:41:08.340 |
One of the texts that we probably use the most to challenge churches to be mindful of 00:41:14.700 |
those who are in need is found in Matthew chapter 25, and you know the text. 00:41:21.020 |
The text goes, "He who has done it unto the least of my children has done it unto me." 00:41:25.540 |
He who has done it basically has done it unto me, right? 00:41:30.580 |
And we use that text in saying, like, when you see the poor and you take care of them, 00:41:35.420 |
that this is our way of showing support to our God, right? 00:41:39.980 |
Which is not wrong, but if you remember in Matthew chapter 24, what's Matthew chapter 00:41:49.820 |
It's Jesus' final teaching about the end times, and this is where He says that all 00:41:54.420 |
the tribulations, all these things are coming, and persecution is coming, and He says, "Because 00:41:59.260 |
there's going to be increase in wickedness, the love of most will grow cold." 00:42:02.700 |
And in chapter 25, He goes into the parable of the end times. 00:42:07.980 |
And so it's in that context, the last thing that He says is here. 00:42:12.660 |
So the context of this parable, the context of this teaching is preparing for the coming 00:42:17.140 |
of Christ and being faithful and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, and it's in that 00:42:21.900 |
context that Jesus says in verse 35, "For I was hungry and you gave me something to 00:42:27.100 |
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. 00:42:36.340 |
Then the righteous will answer Him, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or 00:42:42.540 |
And when did we see you stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothed you? 00:42:46.820 |
When did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?" 00:42:52.380 |
Jesus responds in verse 30, "The king will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, 00:42:56.060 |
to the extent that you did it to one of these, what, brothers of mine, even the least of 00:43:06.700 |
He's telling us this in the context of the gospel ministry, being faithful, to be fruitful. 00:43:12.700 |
And at the end, as we are being faithful, He who has received them are hospitable, visited 00:43:18.620 |
them while they were in prison, while they were suffering for His name. 00:43:27.100 |
Does this mean that He is telling us that we don't need to worry about those who are 00:43:42.260 |
But the primary call to Christians and to the church to be charitable is in the context 00:43:51.500 |
Because until people are transformed and regenerated with the gospel of Jesus Christ, thinking 00:43:57.980 |
that we are somehow going to move somebody from homelessness to homelessness, that we've 00:44:05.480 |
The problem with sex trafficking isn't simply the lust of certain men. 00:44:13.260 |
Poverty, sex trafficking, homelessness, political unrest, these are not disconnected from each 00:44:21.500 |
The Bible says that sin, when it came in, it reigns over mankind. 00:44:31.580 |
It affected our economy, our politics, our sense of right and wrong, the rich and poor. 00:44:41.300 |
Until the gospel comes into an individual's life and there is a transformation that takes 00:44:46.680 |
place in their heart and in their lives, they will not and cannot practice the charity that 00:45:02.100 |
But the love that He tells us to practice can only be practiced by those who are recipients 00:45:13.620 |
We need to be charitable to reflect who He is. 00:45:17.860 |
We also need to be charitable and engage in the ministry that God called us to. 00:45:26.380 |
I have shared with you, like every once in a while I'll share with you, about the persecution 00:45:36.100 |
I'm not telling you this just so that you can feel bad or just so that you can have 00:45:44.620 |
That the calling that He has given us, that in the context of sharing the gospel, that 00:45:48.540 |
you and I, whether they live in North Korea, whether they live in India or China, that 00:45:54.900 |
That even though we may not know them, they are our neighbors. 00:45:59.660 |
And as they suffer, we ought to suffer with them. 00:46:02.180 |
As they pray, as they are spreading the gospel, we ought to pray with them. 00:46:07.380 |
But our tendency, if we're not careful, is to, "I don't see them. 00:46:14.420 |
Because I don't see them, they're not my neighbor." 00:46:18.140 |
I remember years ago, I had a sister in the church, years ago, and I think this is one 00:46:23.140 |
of the most honest confessions that I've heard. 00:46:28.500 |
We were on this topic of talking about mercy ministry and about caring for the poor and 00:46:33.980 |
And she said to me, honestly, "I didn't know." 00:46:43.820 |
She said, "I didn't know because I didn't want to know. 00:46:51.300 |
Because every time I hear about the suffering of our brothers and sisters around the world, 00:46:57.700 |
And so she said, every time information would come, she would either ignore it or give a 00:47:10.460 |
She said, "I didn't know, but it was deliberate. 00:47:18.420 |
You know, I've been preaching long enough to know. 00:47:23.060 |
I've been preaching long enough to be able to see in your face whether the Word of God 00:47:34.580 |
Because you can tell, when the Word of God is preached, it makes some people uncomfortable. 00:47:39.780 |
And there is a glazed look because they don't want to know. 00:47:44.320 |
And so it's better to kind of have a vague understanding of who God is. 00:47:49.980 |
Because we don't want God's Spirit coming into. 00:47:53.700 |
Like I will meet God in the porch, but not inside the house. 00:47:59.140 |
Maybe I'll invite Him into the living room, but I don't want Him to see my bedroom. 00:48:04.380 |
Maybe I'll allow it, but don't open the closet. 00:48:08.260 |
And so we have a tendency to deliberately remain in ignorance and keep God at distance 00:48:17.820 |
That word, hospital, love of strangers, hospitality, is to go beyond just a superficial band-aid. 00:48:27.940 |
And to recognize that He, in every way God, consider equality with God not to be grasped, 00:48:38.140 |
We usually think about His suffering on the cross. 00:48:41.420 |
But Him, the King of kings and Lord of lords, just walking among us, putting on flesh. 00:48:48.140 |
How much does it take for us to even just get on our knees to talk to little children? 00:48:53.260 |
When we're in neighborhoods that we're not familiar with. 00:48:56.660 |
When we have food that we're not familiar with. 00:49:01.600 |
It's hard for us to be humble, even with our wives and our husbands. 00:49:07.260 |
Jesus stepped off of His throne and walked among us, humiliated Himself, in order that 00:49:24.840 |
To live in such a way where His love is being reflected above us. 00:49:31.020 |
Non-Christians practice love for their brothers and sisters, for their children, for their 00:49:40.580 |
Christian love is what He's talking about here. 00:49:47.660 |
I had a friend who asked me to come out to India. 00:49:49.780 |
You were heavily involved with China, and we're busy here. 00:49:52.860 |
I went to India because he asked me to go and preach and to train the pastors who were 00:49:59.620 |
I happened to go because I wanted to connect with him. 00:50:01.380 |
Then while I was in India, my eyes got opened. 00:50:05.020 |
The way it got opened was I found out the heaviest concentration of unreached people 00:50:13.180 |
I always thought it was a 1040 window in the Middle East, and I found out it was in India. 00:50:18.640 |
The heaviest concentration of poverty was also in India. 00:50:26.660 |
Heaviest concentration of illiteracy in the villages, right? 00:50:30.060 |
There's parts of India that's getting very wealthy. 00:50:33.020 |
But the heaviest concentration of poverty was also in India. 00:50:38.340 |
I found out that the heaviest concentration of sex trafficking was also in India. 00:50:47.860 |
Even though I didn't have a heart, God opened the door and said, "Okay, I could either 00:50:55.300 |
It just happened that we had connection with the pastors, and we went. 00:51:06.100 |
Since we've gone there, I can honestly tell you that some of the things that we've experienced 00:51:09.900 |
and seen, and it helped me to understand what was going on in the early church. 00:51:15.700 |
I remember in one village in particular, we were doing our work, and I could hear there's 00:51:23.940 |
a buzz, and some of the pastors came and ran to get me, said, "We need your prayers." 00:51:29.860 |
So I went with the pastors, and I could see this young lady, and she must have been no 00:51:35.420 |
She had a very limp child in her arms, probably no more than about three to four months old. 00:51:41.400 |
The child was breathing, but you could tell it was struggling to breathe. 00:51:50.240 |
So she basically was asking us to pray, pray for this child, for a miracle. 00:51:55.820 |
As we were trying to hear the story, and obviously all of us, the pastors that called me to that, 00:52:01.140 |
we were all compelled, but we're also very saddened because we could tell whether the 00:52:06.740 |
child lives another few days or a few months, that it wasn't going to make it. 00:52:12.680 |
But what really was heart-wrenching was that the problem that this child had was a very 00:52:23.620 |
That if she had access to the hospital early on, the baby would not be in this position. 00:52:31.940 |
And she was in tears, and as we were praying, she was crying, the pastors were crying. 00:52:37.020 |
And after we prayed, we gave her the hope, but at the end of the day, it was already 00:52:41.660 |
And the whole time I was thinking, if this was in the United States, it would have just 00:52:48.540 |
But because she didn't have access, her child was going to die. 00:52:54.020 |
We were in Romania one year, and we were out in the remotest parts, and this older lady 00:52:58.940 |
came out, and we found a big hole in the side of one of her legs because of the infection. 00:53:06.480 |
And then she said she had the same problem on the other leg, so we opened that up because 00:53:09.380 |
we had medical workers there with us, and the nurse looked at it and said, "This is 00:53:15.620 |
And most likely, in order to save her, that she has to amputate her legs. 00:53:25.860 |
She was out in the field, and she got bit by a mosquito. 00:53:29.020 |
She had no access to medicine, and all she probably needed earlier on was some antibiotics, 00:53:38.640 |
So we didn't know if she was going to be able to live or not. 00:53:42.940 |
After we left, was she going to be able to go to the hospital, even the amputation is 00:53:48.320 |
And I remember coming back from that trip thinking, "Wow, over here you get bit by 00:53:57.260 |
But we have brothers and sisters around the world who are dying because of mosquito bites. 00:54:04.900 |
We have children dying in their mother's arms because they don't have access to a 00:54:15.460 |
If you remember, also in India, there was this young lady, another lady, and they might 00:54:27.860 |
He said that she became a Christian, and she joined the church, and her family was infuriated 00:54:38.480 |
And soon after she became a Christian, her husband fell into some kind of illness, and 00:54:45.600 |
And as a result of that, the family blamed her. 00:54:47.980 |
They said, "Tragedy came into our home because you disrespected our God." 00:54:53.220 |
And so they disowned her and basically kicked her and her children out. 00:55:01.140 |
Some of you guys may remember, I came back and I asked and collected some funds to send 00:55:12.440 |
Some of you guys were very generous, so we sent the money back and asked the pastor to 00:55:18.180 |
And because she was taken care of, she had enough to not only feed herself, she started 00:55:21.900 |
feeding her in-laws, because her husband was a primary breadwinner. 00:55:27.980 |
And as a result of the generosity, her in-laws not only received her back, her in-laws called 00:55:37.940 |
They called the pastors and asked, "Tell me about your God." 00:55:43.120 |
And they were able to share the gospel with the in-laws, and that whole family came to 00:55:46.180 |
faith as a result of some of your generosity. 00:55:57.260 |
The gospel ministry and the mercy ministry are not separate things. 00:56:03.180 |
He calls us to be charitable, to be gracious, to be merciful. 00:56:10.580 |
We cannot live in a world with all the resources that you and I have, and to plan all of that 00:56:20.260 |
for our selfish gain, and somehow think that we are being the aroma of Christ. 00:56:27.860 |
But it is not justice that he calls, it's charity. 00:56:38.300 |
Not simply because they're hungry, not simply because people are in need, because it gives 00:56:44.580 |
us a platform to tell them about Jesus Christ. 00:56:56.580 |
What's sweeping the world in our generation that has penetrated into this church, or churches 00:57:06.300 |
And I want to warn you and I want to encourage you, because so many false teachings that 00:57:13.700 |
is only skewed just a little bit, that sometimes is hard to tell, is penetrating into the church 00:57:20.580 |
in every which way, that you have to be Bereans. 00:57:35.940 |
Don't tell me that this is what church history practiced. 00:57:38.500 |
Don't tell me all your other Christian friends believe this. 00:57:41.260 |
You must not turn from the Word of God to the left or to the right. 00:57:49.860 |
Examine the passage that I quoted and make sure that it's the voice of God that we're 00:57:54.580 |
following, not the movement of our generation. 00:57:58.640 |
So yes, in conclusion, we must be charitable for the sake of His name. 00:58:04.900 |
And I got, remember I told you I had this slogan that I live with and I used to pound 00:58:10.660 |
How can you worship a homeless man on Sunday and not worship him, you know, and forget 00:58:20.660 |
I picked up from a friend a while back and this is the slogan. 00:58:24.180 |
And I'm not going to explain it to you, so if you don't get it, let it sink in and then 00:58:32.300 |
If your face is bigger than your cause, then your face is too big. 00:58:42.460 |
If your face is bigger than your cause, then your face is too big. 00:58:50.160 |
If you are compelled when you see the poor, if you're ignited and you have compassion, 00:58:57.820 |
then preach the gospel in season and out of season. 00:59:07.100 |
I'm going to pray for us as our worship team leads. 00:59:10.140 |
And usually I'll just give a few minutes for you, but I want to pray for all of us. 00:59:14.460 |
And then after our worship team comes, we'll finish with the final song. 00:59:22.780 |
Heavenly Father, we thank you that we live in a country that's free. 00:59:29.780 |
We thank you that our children are taken care of. 00:59:33.300 |
We thank you, Lord God, that we have wealth that others do not have. 00:59:39.260 |
To live in a warm home, not to worry about what we're going to feed our children each 00:59:46.140 |
To be able to gather in a nice building without concern of a physical threat. 00:59:52.300 |
Help us, Lord God, to be good stewards of everything that you've given us. 00:59:56.820 |
Help us, Lord, to open our eyes to see the suffering around us, Lord God, that we do 01:00:00.460 |
not insulate ourselves from the suffering of the world. 01:00:04.260 |
As you saw the multitudes, Lord, and you had compassion on them because they were like 01:00:08.940 |
sheep without shepherd being tossed back and forth. 01:00:12.800 |
As you pleaded with your disciples, Lord, to beseech the Lord of the harvest to send 01:00:18.140 |
Lord, we beseech you that you would raise up men and women, Lord God, even in this congregation, 01:00:24.540 |
that you would help us to take our eyes off of ourselves and know, Father God, that eternity 01:00:30.320 |
is coming, that we would not be satisfied with our bills being paid, with our children 01:00:36.660 |
being safe, but that we would truly live to proclaim the gospel to the fullest. 01:00:43.380 |
Lord, that those who are suffering, those who are lost, those who are hungry, those 01:00:50.980 |
who are orphaned, Lord, that they may know that there is hope in your name. 01:01:03.740 |
Help us to see our wealth, Lord God, not to be a trap, but to be used, Lord God, for the 01:01:12.580 |
I pray for my brothers and sisters who are around the world, Lord God, who are suffering 01:01:16.460 |
because they have boldness and courage to stand up for their faith. 01:01:20.820 |
Give them the faith that they need, strength that they need, Lord God, to stand up even 01:01:24.700 |
for their life, that their testimony would bring others to Christ. 01:01:29.340 |
Lord, we pray for the North Koreans, Lord God, who are in secret reading your word and 01:01:44.680 |
Give them courage to know, Father God, that you are their refuge, that whether they live 01:01:50.540 |
here for a long time or a short time, that eternity is coming, that when you come in 01:02:00.220 |
Lord, we pray for our brothers and sisters who are hungry around the world. 01:02:05.540 |
We pray for the young ladies, Lord God, who are being violated, Lord, because of this 01:02:10.500 |
Lord, give us compassion for them as you had compassion for us. 01:02:16.860 |
Help us, Lord God, to intercede on their behalf, that we would be broken, that we would be 01:02:26.980 |
Lord, help us, help us, Lord God, to break away from this rat race, this temptation to 01:02:34.900 |
think, Lord, that if we have nice homes and nice cars, that we're good. 01:02:43.020 |
Lord, give us broken hearts, that we may pray effectively, we may live purposefully, that 01:02:50.700 |
your name may be honored, that eternity will be more real to us than ever. 01:03:02.380 |
May Christ and his name be exalted through us.