Victory Church

Mark 12:30-31 (ESV)

30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

I Peter 4:8-10 (NIV)
8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

Hospitality is not about the CONDITION of your HOUSE, but the POSTURE of your HEART

People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.  -Maya Angelou

1 Timothy 3:2 (ESV)
2 Therefore an overseer[a] must be above reproach, the husband of one wife,[b] sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

How do we have a hospitable heart?

Create moments where others feel loved and welcome.

Romans 12:9-13 (ESV)
“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”

Hebrews 13:1-2 (ESV)
Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

How do we have a hospitable heart?

Create moments where others feel loved and welcome.

Create spaces and places of safety.

What does a hospitable heart do?

Yields – to the Holy Spirit, and to the needs of others.

Acts 16:25-28 (NIV)
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

What does a hospitable heart do?

Yields – to the Holy Spirit, and to the needs of others.

Brings Healing

Acts 16:29-32 (NIV)
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.

What does a hospitable heart do?

Yields – to the Holy Spirit, and to the needs of others.

Brings Healing

Brings Fulfillment

Acts 16:33-34 (NIV)
33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.

God has given us the assignment to love the people around us so they might know the love of God through us. He tells us specifically, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” What does that look like? Join us as we continue exploring one of God’s greatest commands in part two of our Open Doors series!

What does God mean when He says that He wants us to bear fruit in our lives? The fruit of the Spirit is the evidence of His presence within us. When we yield to the leadership and counsel of the Holy Spirit, He shapes our character to be like Christ’s. When we make Him the center and source of our lives, the world will experience the fullness of His goodness through us. As long as we are living, fruit is being produced. While the fruit of our flesh and the ways of this world will waste away, the fruit of the Spirit is life-giving and everlasting. Which one is growing in you?

The Holy Spirit is God WITH us and IN us. Even more than that, the Father wants to empower us by His Spirit to do the same works that Jesus did in the earth! But how? We can only fulfill the mission of God through the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Let us position our hearts to receive the very power and boldness Christ had to minister to a world that so desperately needs Him.