Luke 14:12-14

Luke chapter 14 verses 12 to 14 this morning for our text and study. Then said he, Jesus, also to him that bade him, when thou makeest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen nor thy rich neighbors. Thus they also bid thee again and a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call thee poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and thou shalt be blessed, for thou thou. They cannot recompense thee, for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. God blessed to us his sacred and holy word this morning. When Elisha, the prophet, went by and stopped at Shunum to do his work of the ministry, He met there a great woman who was never named, but showed him hospitality. You’ll recall that this woman constrained him, according to scripture, that he would eat bread with him. And then she went so far as to build a room onto her house so that when Elisha came through, he could stay there. and sleep overnight there. And she took care of him the best she could. And so Elisha was not only fad, but he had a place to stay overnight. All this is an example of showing hospitality. Christ’s teaching in our text of scripture. about how to show hospitality should be carefully studied by you and I that we may learn from it and benefit in our showing of hospitality. Christ encourages you to go beyond the common custom of inviting those who are your friends and so forth and showing them hospitality, but you are to think of the poor or the maimed or the blind and so forth who cannot return the favor. Few people do so. It’s common in our day to invite those who are friends or our peers, our peers, but he shows that this is common in our day to invite is commendable in the eyes of God if we do this because it is a true charity. Christ promises a reward at the last day at the resurrection of the just. By topic this morning is showing hospitality. Now let me say this, that the duty of hospitality. hospitality goes beyond inviting those who can repay you according to verse 12. Now you are not absolutely forbidden here to invite friends and relatives and even the rich to feast with you. There’s nothing evil or wrong with that. There are in scripture several prohibitions which are given and they seem to be in the absolute form, but the truth is we have to understand that there are certain restrictions associated with them. For example, the scripture says, I will have mercy and not sacrifice. But God’s word commands sacrifice as a way for dealing with sin. So it means that mercy, is preferred to sacrifice. In other words, it is better in some ways for us to show mercy than the sacrifice because we sin. Notice this, take no thought for tomorrow. There’s another verse of scripture for us to consider. Now, this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t think about what’s going to happen tomorrow. The Bible tells us to think ahead and what’s going to happen if we don’t repent of our sins in the broad way and where it leads and so forth. But the point of this is that we should not worry about tomorrow. That’s the point of the text. We also read in scripture, labor not for the meat that perishes, but for that perishes, but for that which endureth under everlasting life. Now, the Bible doesn’t mean to tell us that we shouldn’t labor for our daily bread that we put on the table and provide for our families. But he encourages you to think and work for those things for those things associated with eternal life. That’s more important than just the physical life. material things of life. The Bible says if a man doesn’t work, neither should he eat. So working for your daily bread is certainly something the scripture talks about. But if that’s all we do, then we’re missing much with regard to the soul in its state of well-being. So Jesus here is not absolutely forbidding or condemning you. from entertaining relatives or friends or even the rich. But he’s showing you something better. In other words, he’s providing something for you to do that grants eternal rewards. Christ does not intend to forbid you from having your relatives over or something like that. But I think the whole idea is that if you do these things, That’s not proof of charity. So while the language is strong here, Christians by no means are prohibited from asking their friends or relatives and so forth over. But you have the reward because somewhere along the line they’ll probably invite you back. There are those who invite others to their so-called feast in order to show off their wealth. look what I have, look what I can provide, so forth. But consistently inviting only those who are able to invite you in return, where is there any room for you to practice biblical charity? Now look with me at Romans chapter 12 and verse 13, if you would. Romans chapter 12 and verse 13, if you would. says here, distributing to the necessity of the saints given to hospitality. Here we have people who are in need. That is the hospitality he mentions. And he encourages us to consider. Also look with me at 1. Peter 4.9, if you would. First Peter 4. In verse 9. Use hospitality one to another without grudging. Here the idea is because you invite these people over and you show them hospitality, you may think, well, they’re not going to invite me back, so I don’t like to do this. Well, that’s not the right way to show hospitality, is it? It doesn’t matter where they can invite you back or not. You show hospitality because it’s the right thing to do. And on and on we could go. We can talk about Job this morning. If you read through the book, you see how that he took care of those who didn’t, you know, that didn’t have enough clothing or didn’t have food. He, you know, slaughtered his own animals that he might get some wool or something to make clothes for them. And he provided food for them when they needed it. Whatever, whoever’s in need, he seemed to be one that helped out. wherever he could. So you’re not absolutely forbidden to invite friends, relatives, and the rich, to feast with you. But notice also here that your feast should not be for personal show of wealth. Jesus reproves the host of this feast for inviting so many rich for inviting so many rich. Now, in scripture, remember, Rich Nabal, had a feast like that of a king. He had so much abundance. And we read in scripture about the rich man and Lazarus that the rich man fared sumptuously every day. He had plenty of food and goods. But the Lord teaches you. that the using of what you have for works of charity, true charity, is better. It seems that the host’s motives in inviting the friends and the brother and neighbors that are rich and so forth, it was in many cases these people did this to show extravagance. Look what I have. Look what I can provide and so forth. It was a way to, exalt yourself. Display how rich you are. It was a way of drawing attention to yourself, perhaps just as much as blowing the trumpet before you gave your arms to others. In the book of Esther, you remember, the first chapter opens with King Azuaris, who was the king of the Medes and the Persians, that vast kingdom. And what is he doing? The Bible says he’s having. this huge feast for his kingdom. And he showed the riches of his kingdom in the honor of his excellent majesty many days, the Bible says, honor and a native. And if you read the rest of the chapter, he had white and green and blue hangings fastened with cords of fine linen. He had marble floors of fortified. from colors. He had gold cups that they drank out of and mugs, if you would. And all of them were different. They weren’t even the same. Every mug was different from another. And so he was showing off his wealth, his provision. And that’s what he was up to. And there, I guess, was a common idea or a theme even in Christ’s day that people would do this. And so the duty here of hospitality goes beyond inviting those who can repay you. Secondly, the duty of hospitality should make you eager to help the poor. Now let’s look at verses 13 and 14 here in Luke. But when thou make us to help us to help the poor. But let’s look at verses 13 and 14 and 14. the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. Thou shalt be blessed. For they cannot recompense thee. For thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. Commendable hospitality requires us to help those who are in need. Such charity will not only be useful to the poor, but if it flows from faith in Christ, we find that it will be a sense of Christian duty that we do this, and it will be commendable and acceptable to God. This is an important duty, which you should be eager to comply with because it pleases your Lord. This required you to pay attention to the people around you and who may be in need and who may be benefited by your help. Who is it that God’s providence has placed in your path that needs your help? What good does it do to acquire the reputation of giving extravagant feast. This is vain and selfish and so forth. But you ought to do good to all as you have opportunity, but especially to the household of faith that Scripture tells us. And since the poor shall never cease out of the land, according to Deuteronomy 15-1, it’s your duty to help them. A little help inferred upon the Christian poor. will often add tremendously to their happiness and to their thankfulness to call. You know, when I was growing up, my mother used to give enormous dinners on various holidays. And she made what I would call feast with all kinds of food set before the guests. There was plenty of meat, usually with ham or turkey. There were a variety of vegetables. You know, we’d have corn and peas and carrots and sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes and it’d be all kinds of stuff. And there’d be various kinds of breads. There’d be rolls and there’d be stuffing and there’d be maybe muffins. But we always had a strutum. Being German, I guess. That was like a real treat to get strudels. She made a big strudel for us. Various kinds of pie, apple, you know, cherry, maybe even rhubarb, topped with ice cream. He’d either have chocolate or vanilla. And then at the end, we always had box candy from Polax, which was a really good, high quality brand. And then, you know, we had to have dark and light in case you wanted to do. dark my mom always liked the dark my dad always liked the light but he would have chocolate at the end now as a teenage boy with a healthy appetite I have to say that even when I sat down to eat I could not eat everything it was on the table I would cut out the mashed potatoes and that’s like I could eat more stuffing you know I would pour on the gravy and whatever but various relatives would be there too I’d have an uncle there my grandfather my grandfather my grandfather grandmother were all invited every time they were always present. But there was one guest who always ate with us, probably, I don’t know, 15, 20 years, I guess, at the holidays. It stood out. Her name was Flo. She happened to attend our church. She was a single woman in her 50s who didn’t drive. She was an orphan. growing up and she really didn’t have much money. She was extremely poor. She never owned a house. She would rent some small apartment somewhere. She made a meager paycheck. She worked for a local bakery. And my parents never failed to invite her, even picked her up and brought her to the house. She was always happy to be there. And she didn’t get invited much to anybody’s house, but she was a permanent fixture at our house on the holidays. And as I thought about that, I I thought about this text, and that’s the idea, isn’t it? That we would not leave out those who are in need or poor. She could never have anybody back to her home. and feed them. And our Lord here is, I think, reminding us of the needs of people, especially our fellow believers, that we would help them. I realize there’s a lot of con artist in this world. They’ll, you know, they want this or that or that or that, some other thing from you. I’m not saying that we should help them. But I am saying that truly people who are in need, they are the ones that we should try to help. There is a reward altogether of grace given to those who care for the poor. You will be recompensed, Jesus says, at the resurrection of the just. He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth under the Lord. And that which he hath given will he repay him again, Proverbs 1917. When the poor leave your table, hopefully they will thank the Lord for the provision that they’ve received. The poor cannot invite you back, as I said. They can’t recompense you. But that doesn’t mean you’re the loser because God says he will recompense you. He will provide for you. Works of charity may not be rewarded in this life, but they will be in the next. And that’s what the scripture tells us. When Christ returns, there’ll be a resurrection and a final judgment. And Matthew 25 speaks of this, and Christ rewards those who took care of their Christian brethren who were poor. Let’s look at that again in Matthew Chapter 25 and verse 34. Russell read of this this morning. Matthew 25. Let me pick up with verse 34. Then shall the king say unto them on his right hand, come, you blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom, prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungered and you gave me meat. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. Naked and he clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him saying, Lord, when saw we thee and hungered and fed thee or thirsty and gave thee drink? When saw we the a stranger and took thee in? were naked and clothed thee. Or when saw we be sick or in prison and came unto thee? And the king shall answer, say unto them, verily I say unto you, and as much as you have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, you have done it unto me. So here is the charity that Christ points out. And here is the resurrection where we have the people standing the sheep and the goats before God. And they are going to be rewarded for what they have done. Remember that this life that you live in this world isn’t all there is. God won’t forget your labor of love. Now, let us live then like those who believe in the resurrection of the just, who believe that God will compensate us in the end for the charity that we show in this life and therefore don’t do it grudgingly. Showing hospitality is an important Christian dude. Like the woman of Shunum, showing hospitality to those who need it and cannot repay is commendable in the Lord’s sight. Christ’s teaching about how to show hospitality should be carefully studied by you and I as Christians. He would have you gain an internal reward and not just be socially acceptable. So he’s looking beyond this, the material, the social situation in the world, he’s saying this is how one can have eternal rewards and benefit others spiritually as well. And bring praise to the Lord God. Well, may God bless to us his sacred word this morning. Now, let’s have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. We pray, Lord, that we may think more about those in need around us, especially in our church, and may you provide for them as you are want to do. And we look to you, Father, for you give others more that they may help those who have less, and that we may benefit one another in this process and grow in grace and avoid coveted as well. We ask these things in Jesus precious name with Thanksgiving. Amen.