Room for the Stranger

Have you ever been the new person? We all know what it’s like to be on the outside of a room where everyone else is on the inside. Maybe you’ve been the new person at church. Or, the new employee at work. Today, I want you to see what God does with this very common feeling and see how he builds a command on it. He doesn’t ask us to imagine what the stranger feels — He wants us to remember.

1. Israel Was Told to Remember

   1. Leviticus 19:33-34: Two commands:

      1. Don’t oppress the stranger, 19:33.

      2. You are to love him as yourself, 19:34.

   2. See how He ties it all back to Egypt. for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God, 19:34 See also Exodus 23:9; Deuteronomy 10:18-19.

2. The Church Has Inherited This Command

   1. Hebrews 13:1: Let brotherly love continue. Brotherly love (Philadelphia)

      1. Hebrews 13:2: Don’t neglect to show hospitality, …describing the love of a stranger.

   2. Notice how he phrases the second command: Don’t neglect to show hospitality, …

      1. Romans 12:13: Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality.

         1. Chase it. Go after it. Don’t wait for it to come to you.

   3. The reason for the pursuit: Hebrews 13:2…for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it. He’s thinking of Abraham in Genesis 18:1-10. You never know who is at the door.

3. So, How Far Does it Go?

   1. Galatians 6:10: let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.

      1. Especially sets a priority. Those in the brotherhood come first.

      2. But this is inside of the good of all. It needs to be a priority.

   2. 2 Corinthians 9:13: Corinthian generosity in sharing with them and with everyone.

4. Now, the Harder Part

   1. Matthew 5:44: But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

   2. Matthew 5:47: And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? Loving the people who love you back is no achievement.

5. What This Looks Like Tomorrow

   1. Who’s the stranger you already know about?

   2. Most of what we’ve talked about today is not dramatic.

      1. Titus 3:14: Let our people learn to devote themselves to good works for pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful. We have to be taught this. Nobody’s born hospitable.

6. Look to Jesus.

   1. He was the stranger.

      1. Matthew 8:20: Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.

      2. John 1:11: He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

   2. On judgment, He will put Himself in the stranger’s place.

      1. Matthew 25:35: For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in;

      2. The stranger at your door and the Lord at the judgment are closer together than you think.

7. As We Close…

   1. Israel was told to remember. So are we. You were the stranger once. Somebody made room. Go and do the same.