The Exhortation to Hospitality

odate, over 600 delegates have registered for our 3rd Zion Asia-Pacific Convention, of which 171 are foreign delegates, mostly pastors and key church leaders. We all sense that this year’s convention is going to be very different and a very pivotal time for us here in this part of the world.

The fact that so many foreign delegates are gathering together in one convention is in itself an opportunity for us to receive them as we would the Lord. Time and again in the Word of God, we are exhorted to be kind to strangers and to be hospitable to the saints. Hospitality is one of the hallmarks of the Godhead. The apostle Paul exhorts us in Romans 12:13 that we are to be given to hospitality. It is a basic part of Christian character. Not only are we called to be hospitable, but it was a prerequisite for leadership in the Early Church. Most of the Scriptures concerning hospitality has to do with leadership because hospitality is an intricate part of who God is! We see this in 1 Timothy 3:2 where the apostle Paul lists hospitality as a prerequisite for the office of a bishop or overseer. Again, Paul mentions this in Titus 1:8 where he explains that a bishop must be hospitable. The amazing thing is that sometimes, even as we entertain strangers, we are totally unaware that we are entertaining angels (Hebrews 13:2). I think that this is going to be more and more common in the last days.

Most of our foreign guests will be staying in one of your homes. So this is an opportunity to serve them, like you would serve the Lord. It is also our experience that the majority of those that we extend our hospitality to are easy and not demanding. But there are exceptions. And what do we do when we have a difficult and demanding person staying in our house? Well, the apostle Peter says in 1 Peter 4:9 that we are to be hospitable without grumbling. If we grumble, then we negate the good work that we have done to those we seek to be a blessing to!

So to those of you who are hosts for our 3rd Zion Asia-Pacific Convention, may I exhort you to ask the Lord for grace and kindness to fill your heart. This is an opportunity to be gracious to God’s servants and to follow the footsteps of exceptional men like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job, David – Men who all excelled in being hospitable. And the best thing is when we receive a righteous man in the name of the righteous man, we receive a righteous man’s reward. There is a wonderful blessing for being hospitable and it is not just an earthly blessing; it is an eternal reward. I commend all of you to the grace of God.

Pastor Yang Tuck Yoong