Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] And now I ask, Lord, as we open up your word, I pray that all of a sudden your spirit would come in a supernatural way and make it alive to us. May this become a living word that we feel as we're listening, that Jesus, you're speaking right to our hearts, and we thank you for that in Jesus name. And God's people said, amen. Amen. You may be seated.
[00:00:24] We're going to continue our series from the gospel of John. We're in John, chapter 13, beginning in verse one. How many realize that transitions in life are extremely painful, but they are absolutely necessary for new chapters in our life to open up? And probably one of the most significant transition is when we lose someone we love. That's got to be the most painful, the most painful transition right there.
[00:00:53] Jesus knew that his time was at hand. He knew that he was about to go back to be with his father. And Jesus said to his disciples later on, we're going to hear this. It was far better for him to do that for a number of reasons. Not only was it better for Jesus, but it was also better for the disciples because another comforter would come and he would bring comfort to them and be with them, even though Jesus, you know, they love being with Jesus. Jesus could not be physically present everywhere at one time. But when the spirit of God comes, God's presence lives inside of us. And so he can make a promise that he will never leave us nor forsake us.
[00:01:37] And so we read here, knowing that he's leaving. Jesus does something very beautiful in this transitionary moment. He tries to prepare his disciples for his leaving. And so in chapters 13, all the way through 17, he's actually explaining to them what is about to happen, even though at that point, because of their preconceptions, they're not able to fully grasp the significance of what he's saying.
[00:02:07] He knows there's going to be a moment of terrible sorrow, and he's trying to prepare them for that moment. But he also tells them they'll come, a new season of joy. It will be restored, and their joy will be amazing.
[00:02:22] So I've already mentioned this. Another comforter would come and empower them to take on even a greater role in the life of this new institution, which Jesus was actually inaugurating, which we call the church. But the church is not a physical building. It's actually God's called out people. And Jesus is going to call out from all of humanity, people that come out of the kingdom of darkness, to be delivered from the power that's been oppressing and destroying their lives so that they could be born again and brought into the kingdom of God's amazing life. And in this introduction to the upper room teachings, we see how Jesus is going to model for us, how you and I need to and ought to love and serve one another.
[00:03:12] Yet there's a need to define a term I think that we understand, but it's often abused and it loses its fundamental meaning. And that is the word love.
[00:03:24] Cause in our society today, we think love means that we're gonna tolerate all kinds of bad behavior just because a person wants to do something. In other words, we say to people, I love you enough so that you can just do what you want or just follow your heart kind of stuff, even if it's the worst thing that you could possibly do for yourself. Because a lot of times we don't always know what's best for ourselves.
[00:03:53] And the scriptures actually teach us what's best for ourselves. So we're going to look at this biblical definition of what we call God's kind of love. And it's an amazing kind of love. It's the love that when you come into God's kingdom, you experience this unconditional love, this love that says that no matter what we do, God still cares about us and he's with us and he's for us. But that doesn't always mean he agrees with us. And that's a hard thing for a lot of people because I'm starting to realize we struggle with being corrected. How many? Oh, that's true. And yet wisdom teaches us that correction is a part of life, that to get healthy, to grow, to develop, sometimes we need to be corrected, we need to make adjustments in our lives.
[00:04:42] So Paul is actually going to give us this idea that love is not a wimpy letting people do whatever they want, as if that's the loving thing to do. He's actually describing and defining love to a church that had tolerated sin and thought that meant they were loving. And isn't that kind of where our society's at today? We're tolerating sin, thinking that that's the loving thing to do. But listen to what Paul says. Love is patient, is kind, it doesn't envy, it doesn't boast, it's not proud, it does not dishonor others. It's not, not self seeking should circle that word, not self seeking, because we're going to address that today in our chapter 13. It's not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs, it doesn't delight in evil, but it rejoices with the truth.
[00:05:36] And we know that truth is actually a person.
[00:05:39] Jesus in this chapter of John is going to address some of the unloving issues that the disciples were struggling with, namely pride, self seeking behavior. He's going to address this stuff.
[00:05:53] And so these things needed to be exposed, they needed to be addressed in order for us and for them to mature into the kind of leaders that the early church would desperately need. How many go? That's true. You know, God loves you and I so much that he refuses to leave us where we're at.
[00:06:17] That's an interesting thought. You know, some of us are very comfortable. We don't want to change. You know, I'm happy with who I am, pastor. Well, God goes, yeah, but I'm going to make you into the person that you've always were designed to be and, you know, to get there, sometimes it takes a little change and struggle to become more than what you currently are.
[00:06:39] And I said this before, that when you look back over your life, you know, it's amazing to me that who we were is not who we are today. And hopefully, if we're moving in the right direction, we're becoming a better version of who we are. It's not about comparing ourselves with other people. It's about recognizing that we're on a journey of spiritual development and growth, and we are becoming more like Jesus. Well, Jesus begins by taking the role in the story of the lowliest servant, the one who washes the feet of the guests. Not only is this an opportunity to demonstrate true christian leadership, but also to correct a misconception of christian leadership. And here was the misconception.
[00:07:25] Jesus is about to die within a week, and the disciples are jostling for who's going to be great in the kingdom of God. You know, Luke tells us that. I have to go to Luke because John isn't telling us this, but Luke is giving us some contextual background here. And he says, also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be the greatest.
[00:07:44] Wow. It was about them. It was about what I was going to become. And Jesus now has to explain to them that christian leadership is unlike the leadership they see modeled by society. It's a totally different model.
[00:08:02] They were arguing about position, and Jesus is explaining, position has nothing to do with it.
[00:08:09] Actually, the true leader is secure enough to do what needs to be done. It's that beautiful.
[00:08:16] And then he was trying to show them he was going to give them a huge amount of responsibility but he wanted them to understand how they were about to lead. And I think this question is just as relevant today. How are we leading others?
[00:08:30] Maybe the more personal question is, how are we leading our families? In John's gospel, we have an incredible insight into the way Jesus is going to lead and how it led him to the cross, which was really the laying down of his life. During that last meal with his disciples before his death, Jesus does something rather embarrassing to his disciples.
[00:08:52] He rises up and he washes their feet.
[00:08:56] Now, what are we to learn from this is that his leadership is accomplished through loving, self giving service. And though we may understand that, what we may have lost sight of is the motivation for serving what God uses our lives, when God uses our lives, we may become proud and puffed up, rather than forgetting that it's the life of Christ flowing through us, a faulty and unworthy conduit. You know, sometimes we get so excited about what God's done in our lives that we think it's us. And the reality is, no, it's not. You know, can I just say this about all of us? If you're good at something, it's because God gave you that gift.
[00:09:40] So don't walk around thinking you're so great, you know? Now, are we responsible to develop what God puts in our lives? Of course we are. That's our responsibility.
[00:09:51] But, you know, if you're healthy and, you know, you're bright, God gave you that mind, what are you gonna do? Are you gonna walk around becoming proud and arrogant, or are you gonna recognize that truly, this is a gift from God, and I'm gonna use it to bring glory and honor to God.
[00:10:09] And so I want to frame a number of questions today.
[00:10:14] How is God's love flowing through you and me? Is our earthly life solely about us and what we get out of it? Or is it more about Jesus and how we're laying down our lives on behalf of others? That's the question we have to ask ourselves. And in John 13, we find, I'm going to call it a dramatized sermon, a symbolic expression of the kind of love that ought to be motivating our lives. And so there are three elements to what Jesus is going to convey to us here and how we can experience a love that will change our life and the lives of others. How do we become that conduit? And so let's look at these three elements that Jesus is going to convey to us. Number one, his own example of his love.
[00:11:03] He's going to demonstrate for us in a selfless manner, the way we ought to serve each other. So how does jesus teach this very important lessons, in a rather unforgettable and remarkable way to these early believers? Well, he washes their feet. Now, you know, I think if we were listening in the last few weeks, and if you're following this series, I talked about how touching people's feet was.
[00:11:30] People didn't do that in that society. And the only people that would wash someone's feet was considered the lowest of all the slaves. Those are the only people that washed people's feet. Okay, so it says here, just before the Passover festival, Jesus knew that his hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the father, having loved his own who were in the world. He loved them to the end or to the fullest extent or, you know, it's the greek word there, telos. I mean, completely. He loved them completely. He loved them unconditionally. He's going to demonstrate this love. Regardless of their failures, regardless of their weaknesses, regardless of their sin, Jesus loved them. That's the way he loves us.
[00:12:18] All of us. All of us. To be like Jesus means I love and accept imperfect people, right? I mean, if I'm like him, I'm going to do the same thing. You know, how many realize that disciples have a few blemishes, that, you know, believers, they've got issues. I mean, I've read the Bible carefully, and I've been a pastor for over four decades. I can tell you people are not perfect.
[00:12:48] And, you know, I know that because I'm not perfect. There's not a perfect person on the planet.
[00:12:54] We read that even in this last hour. These guys really believe they love Jesus. But in his crisis moment, they deserted him.
[00:13:05] Peter even denied knowing him.
[00:13:08] How many know that? That feels pretty painful when everybody let you down. They're just not there for you.
[00:13:14] Jesus still loved them. Isn't that a beautiful thing? I think that's amazing. You know, he didn't write them off. He did speak personally to them about the issues that he could see in their souls that were impeding them from becoming all that they needed to become.
[00:13:31] And he was going to demonstrate to them his love for them by laying down his life for them.
[00:13:39] And he demonstrated this in the middle.
[00:13:42] Being betrayed. How painful is that? To die for friends is one thing. To die for people who are turning against you, that's a whole different ballgame. And so the Bible says, the evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the scariest son of Simon, to betray Jesus. It's interesting, when our lives are adrift, that we're open to the prompting of the enemy. How many go? That's true.
[00:14:10] If we're not where we need to be, we can be used of Satan.
[00:14:15] I'm not saying that we're possessed of Satan. I'm just saying there's not one person in this room that cannot be used of the enemy. If we're not careful and we don't guard our souls, we can say and do things that are very destructive and it can happen, you know, ff Bruce says the devil had already made up his mind that Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, should betray him.
[00:14:41] The execution of the devil's plan is then recorded in verse 27. Now, this does not excuse Judas behavior just because the devil, you know, somebody said, well, the devil made him do it. You know, or, you know, you ever heard that somebody said, well, the devil made me do it. No, no. We all experience temptation. There is an enemy. There is demonic forces. You know, we're all tempted in this room. That does not excuse Judas behavior, nor does it excuse our behavior. We're all attempted, as I said. But we need to resist and submit to God. What really is happening when we yield to temptation, what's really happening? Well, da Carson says the idea then is not that Judas was not responsible for a heart incited by Satan actually wills what the devil wills. Isn't that interesting? So we're actually in compliance with the wrong person. We're actually, you know, it says, to be a friend of the world means we're at enmity with God. We become God's enemies. So we better be careful what we're embracing as part of our values. If we're embracing the values of our society, we're gonna find ourselves at enmity or an enemy of God. I don't know about you. I want to be God's friend, not his enemy.
[00:16:00] Anybody else? I'd rather have the world against me and God for me than to have the world for me and God against me. What choice are you going to make? Who are you going to choose? You got to decide. Whose friend do you want to be? I want to be God's friend because, you know, this world is passing away. This world promises a whole bunch of stuff. But just remember, Satan's the father of lies. He's going to tell you. Everything he's offering you is good. Oh, don't be a sucker. It's not that good. But what God offers is eternal and it's great. We need to understand that so Jesus actions flowing from his sense of self identity. When we know who we are, we stop trying to be who we aren't.
[00:16:48] That's pretty liberating, you know, just be who God made you to be. Jesus knows who he is and what he's come to accomplish. In other words, he's comfortable in his own skin and he has nothing to prove. How freeing is that? It says, jesus knew that the father in verse three had put all things under his power and that he had come from God and he was returning to God. He knew where he had come from, he knew where he was headed. Isn't that freeing when you know where you've come from? Hey, you know, we've come out of a life of sin. God has set us free. We're a child of God, and we're on our way to heaven. Isn't that great? Jesus knew that, it says, because he knew these things. He got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, wrapped a towel around his waist.
[00:17:38] Well, Jesus not only knew the hour of his earthly journey, but also the father had put all things under his power and he was preparing to head back to heaven. Da Carson states that his response was very dramatically different than how people in power might respond. As a matter of fact, with such power and status at his disposal, we might have expected him to defeat the devil in an immediate and flashy confrontation and to devastate Judas with an unstoppable blast of divine wrath. Instead, he washes his disciples feet, including the feet of the betrayer. How many know that this is not how the world operates?
[00:18:19] When they have authority and power and they got problems with somebody, they just crush them. What does Jesus do? He lovingly serves. How many go? That's a totally different response.
[00:18:32] You know, now if we're going to be like Jesus, we got to think about how we're going to respond to people.
[00:18:39] This idea of taking off his outer clothing and taking on the posture of the lowest of slaves and putting a towel around his waist was shocking to the disciples. You know, how many got the picture? As we're going through John's gospel, Jesus is doing shocking things. See, we're Christians now, and we read these stories, and this isn't shocking. Oh, yeah, that's Jesus. But at the moment this was happening, this was like, this is a shocking thing going on, you know? And here John intends that we understand that the word when he was taking off and laying aside his outer garments is actually the same, and it's a picture that he's talking about. Laying down his life when Jesus was laying down his life. Isn't that a beautiful picture? So Jesus is demonstrating that what you and I need to be doing is laying down our lives.
[00:19:31] How many go? I didn't know I signed up. Being a Christian, I'm gonna have to lay down my life. Can I explain to us? And Jesus said it, whoever wants to find life must what? Lose it for his sake. And whoever tries to find his life, what will happen? They're gonna lose it.
[00:19:49] You see, we can easily lose our lives. And I watch sometimes as christians are trying to find life, what they're really doing is losing their lives. But the people who are laying down their lives and becoming more like Jesus and surrendering and serving and giving up their life for the sake of God's kingdom and for other people, I can tell you now, after serving Jesus for almost five decades, that you're actually finding life now. Patty and I were up really early this morning. We're chatting and we're talking at six in the morning here. And we're just talking about the value of laying down your life for others. You'll never regret that because in the long run it produces such beautiful life. You know, we just feel so enriched. But, you know, we've just been giving our lives away. Giving our lives away. And you know what the funny part is? We just feel like our lives are getting richer and richer. Not with things I'm talking about with meaning, with purpose, with value. And we're looking around and, you know, we have family members and they've done really well in their lives. But if they're not laying down their lives for other people, their lives are not being enriched, they're being diminished. We were chatting about that. What a sad choice. And, you know, we're not here comparing and putting down. We're just saying this is the truth, this is how the scriptures teach, and it's true. It actually works this way.
[00:21:14] You know, why had not one of the disciples, why hadn't one of the other disciples had just gotten down and done this task?
[00:21:23] Carson explains the cultural background of the situation. You're going to get a better understanding. This is what he says. It is this imagery that John wants us to understand. Jesus is laying down his rights in order to express his love and humbling service. Okay, here's Carson's quote. The reluctance of Jesus disciples to volunteer for such a task is, to say the least, culturally understandable. Their shock at this volunteering is not merely the result of being shamefaced. It is their response to finding their present, their sense of the fitness of things, that shattered. What he's saying is, culturally, you didn't do this. This was not done. And so what Jesus was doing was shocking. You know, if we were to live, let's say, in the south over 100 years ago and there was slavery, this would be like the plantation owner, Washington, the slaves feet. It's the opposite behavior. It's just, it doesn't compute in their cultural grid. That's what he's trying to tell us.
[00:22:31] What Jesus is doing is culturally, it's a shame. Honor culture, and Jesus is doing something that's blowing the fuses in their brains is what I'm trying to tell you. Nobody would even have come up with this idea. It was beyond their ability to even consider doing this. You say, well, you know, obviously for us, we've been exposed to Christianity for 2000 years. We've understood this is the correct model, but in that hour, this was beyond anything they could comprehend. Are you catching on how dramatic this action was? So Jesus action is shocking. It's a moving display of his self giving love on their behalf. It's really a portrait of what he's about to do. He's going to lay down his life not only for them as first century followers, but for all of us. Jesus gives his life for you and for me. And I don't think we always grasp how significant that is.
[00:23:33] You see, that's why Paul prayed that we'd have a revelation of the love of God. Why? Because once you understand how much God loves you, it messes with you, it changes you. It'll change you so that you now understand why you and I want to love people the way Jesus does. You'll get it.
[00:23:58] It's transformational.
[00:24:00] You know, a lot of people, you know, they're serving Jesus not necessarily from this revelation, but unfortunately, some people serve out of a sense of guilt or they're concerned about what other people will think of them. And if I don't do this, people will think less of me. Or some people do things because of what they think they can get from it. Their motive is that they'll benefit personally from it. But Jesus is showing us this is the true heart of continuous service, has to be motivated by this kind of love.
[00:24:32] You will not continue to lay your life down unless you experience God's love in your heart, because eventually you'll just say, I'm tired of it, giving up. I'm quitting.
[00:24:43] Is this making sense to you?
[00:24:46] A lot of people exhibit this kind of love initially, but after a while they wear out.
[00:24:52] Come on.
[00:24:54] But if you have a revelation, an experience of this kind of love in your heart, it never wears out because all of a sudden it's transcending who you are. You're becoming, you're allowing Jesus in you to be released through you. And Jesus doesn't wear out. He just keeps giving.
[00:25:12] Let me move on to the second element, his explanation of his actions. The response of the disciples is best reflected in Peter's response and attitude, which called for an answer from Jesus. In verses six through eleven, it says, he came to Simon Peter. The big dispute was he first? Was he last? Was he in the middle? Who knows? Who said to him, lord, are you going to wash my feet? I think that Peter expresses out loud what every disciple was thinking. You know, a lot of times we get Peter gets a bad rap, but really, aren't you glad that, you know, at least we hear what people are thinking, you know, Peter just tells you, the rest of them may be thinking it, but he's going to say it. He says, are you going to wash my feet? It's pretty indignant. Jesus said, you do not realize what I'm doing. But later you're going to understand. He said, no, said Peter, you shall never wash my feet. I'm not going to let you do this. This is too embarrassing. This is nonsense. Jesus, unless I wash you, you have no part with me. Ooh.
[00:26:13] Okay. Jesus now says, hey, peter, if I don't wash your feet, you can't be a part of my kingdom.
[00:26:20] You're not a part of what I'm doing.
[00:26:23] You're being left behind.
[00:26:26] This is a shocking statement. So what is Peter's response? Well, then not just my feet, but my hands and my head as well. Just wash all of me. Peter's really, he's the kind of character he's going to respond, well, if that's the way it is, let's, you know, give me a bath. Right?
[00:26:46] Jesus says, those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet. Their whole body is clean. And you're clean, though not every one of you. In other words, this tells us this is an indicator. Jesus knew where Judas was coming from. He already knew. But you know what's shocking? He goes and washes his feet. That's what's shocking about the story. He knows that he's against Jesus, but he's still going to wash his feet. You know, so the Bible says here. For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not everyone was clean. Gerald Bouchard says it's quite clear that Peter voiced for the disciples the sense of shock by his question, lord, are you going to wash my feet? That was not merely a question. It was more like a challenge based on a confusing set of circumstances, and it didn't make any sense to these disciples. And so there's this subtle interchange of words that English doesn't pick up, but it's brought out in the greek language. Jesus stunts Peter by replying that if he does not allow Jesus to bathe him, he will have no relationship with Jesus.
[00:27:50] Bouchard says Jesus planned words thus suggests that Peter misunderstood the meaning of the foot washing to be a mere washing of feet, whereas the washing was in fact much more.
[00:28:01] It actually refers to Jesus bathing of the disciples with a new perspective, humble love. Therefore, the disciples had actually been significantly bathed in the foot washing experience.
[00:28:14] Jesus is actually making an amazing point that this washing symbolizes the washing away of sin. This speaks to the issue of our self sufficiency to address the issues in our soul apart from the work of Christ in our lives. In other words, you and I all need to be washed.
[00:28:32] We need to be washed. We're all been tainted by, you know, not just the grime and dirt of life, but by sin. We can't address the problem. We need to have Christ's cleansing work in our lives to be set free from sin. That's what we're getting at here. All human effort leaves us entangled in our sin only as we humble ourselves and allow Jesus to wash our lives through a sacrificial death, that we can be cleansed from sin and all of its effects. Moving our vision now from self to Christ. In the broader context, we need to ask an answer to our own satisfaction. A larger question.
[00:29:10] Do I truly understand what Jesus has done for me?
[00:29:15] Has he? You know, I mean, he gave himself for us. He gave up heaven for you and me. To be like Jesus means. I realize that he did not come to be served, but to serve. Even so, I must have the same attitude while I'm on the planet. I'm here to serve, not to be served. How many of you know that's kind of a paradox. That's a major shift. It's a paradox. You have to shift your thinking. You know, it's not about me. It's about Christ. It's about bringing glory to him. It's not about what I want. It's about how I can serve him. And I serve him by serving people.
[00:29:51] Isn't that interesting? Can you imagine all the marriages, if both spouses made up their mind that they were going to live to serve the other person, could you imagine the kind of marriages we'd have? It wouldn't be about what I want. It's like, what would you like? What can I do to serve you? You have two people doing this. This is going to bring about a real transformation in the relationship.
[00:30:15] That's what needs to happen. What Jesus is challenging is human pride. That is a focus on ourselves. I'm looking at the ancient virtues.
[00:30:26] I love listening to lectures, and I remember years ago, I was listening to lectures on Aristotle's ethics. And, you know, the ancient peoples, there was one social virtue that they did not consider a virtue, and that's humility.
[00:30:40] Isn't that interesting? See, Christianity made humility a virtue, but prior to that, it was never considered a virtue.
[00:30:49] As a matter of fact, I wrote here, it's noticeably absent as a positive social virtue. Jesus makes us aware that humility is a foundational of virtue, and it's critical in each one of our lives. So you say, well, what is humility, pastor? Well, humility is not self depreciation, but a proper understanding that apart from Christ, we can do absolutely nothing. We need Jesus empowering grace in our lives to be free in order to serve in love. What I'm arguing here, real simply, is you and I can't serve like this unless we experience God's grace. It's impossible. I can't do this. This is Jesus in me doing it. How many of you ever had those moments where you've had a Jesus moment where you're going, okay, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna just do the right thing, even though I don't feel like doing it. And you start doing it, and pretty soon you feel like it. You see, I think a lot of decisions are made in our lives based on our emotions.
[00:31:50] I don't feel like it. I'm not gonna do it. And you know what? If we allow our emotions to define our lives continuously, we're gonna do a lot of wrong things, because a lot of times we don't feel like doing a loving thing, which usually means I gotta do something I don't wanna do for the sake of another person. But as you start practicing that kind of a lifestyle, pretty soon that becomes more normative.
[00:32:16] You follow what I'm saying? If you keep practicing doing the right thing, eventually it becomes normal. And after a while, this is the beautiful part, you know, things you used to hate to do and you didn't like doing. If you do it enough times and it's the right thing to do and you just keep doing it, eventually it becomes part of your default switch. I call it the default mechanism. And pretty soon you're doing it and you don't even realize you're doing it anymore. That's when you know something happened inside of you. You're not doing the same thing because, you know, years ago, you would have going, I can't believe I'm doing this and I'm actually enjoying it, because years ago, I hated doing this, and that's not what I wanted to do. I wanted to do the very opposite. But now I find myself doing the right thing and I'm enjoying it.
[00:33:03] That's spiritual growth. That's what maturity is all about. That's what God is trying to get us to learn. That's allowing the life of Christ to flow through us. Now we're free to serve in love in light of this vital area of life. To serve or not to serve. Then another question comes to mind. So who are we serving, God or myself? And why am I serving? In other words, what's my motive? Is it truly for God's glory or for my personal gain? And you could just go on and ask all kinds of questions like, am I effective in this? Am I actually doing this?
[00:33:37] You know, sometimes we gotta stop. You know, sometimes we get so busy doing, we gotta say, am I just doing, and I'm not even thinking about why I'm doing it anymore. And am I just wearing myself out, or am I. Is it, you know, I'm doing this because, you know, I've lost the real passion and motivation for doing it, and it should be for my love for Christ.
[00:34:02] And when you have a renewed encounter with Jesus, all of a sudden serving becomes easy. And when serving becomes hard, then you maybe have to step back and say, I need to reconnect with Jesus.
[00:34:14] It's just a thought. It's like our phones. If you don't charge them up, they die.
[00:34:20] You got to go back to the power source. You got to charge up. Okay, let me move to the third point. His encouragement to follow his example. Jesus now challenges or exhorts us to copy his example of self giving love. Who are we emulating and pattering our lives after? So who is your model? You know, it's fascinating. I sat down when I was a younger person and I was studying for the ministry. I decided to make Jesus my model for pastoral ministry. I'm serious, and I think Jesus is a phenomenal model, and I looked at what he was doing, and I just tried to emulate what he was doing. And after a while, it becomes part of you. You don't even realize. You just keep doing these things, and eventually it becomes more natural. It's because that's what it's all about. Jesus is saying, hey, just do what I'm doing. Just copy me. He's saying, if you don't know what to do, do what Jesus is doing. He'll help you. After serving, Jesus now challenges the disciples. Verses twelve. When he had finished washing their feet, he put his clothes, returned his place. Do you understand what I've done for you? Ask them. You call me teacher and lord, and rightfully so, for that is what I am. I'm your teacher. I'm your lord. Yes, you should be serving me. But notice what he says. Now that I, your lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. In other words, do what I'm doing. Copy me. I'm the pattern.
[00:35:42] So if you want to know how good you're doing in the christian life, just look at Jesus.
[00:35:47] You know how many know if you do carpentry, you know, to speed things up, you create a pattern.
[00:35:54] I know little about this, believe me. I'm not a builder, but I know that much. You create a pattern, and then you make all the rest of them built off of the pattern. Jesus is the pattern for the christian life.
[00:36:08] You'd copy his example. That's what he's telling us. I have set you an example that you should do as I've done for you.
[00:36:17] Very truly. I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who has sent him. So do as I've done for you. That's a great statement.
[00:36:31] Does that mean that we should be all out there, get our basins and our little towels, and walk around washing each other's feet, literally? Is that what Jesus was trying to teach us here?
[00:36:41] No, that's a cultural thing. You know, people can do that externally and not even understand exactly what this thing is all about.
[00:36:50] People have done that. It means nothing. That's. Nobody's talking about. Well, what do you mean? That's just. It's a cultural image. At that time, they understood this was something we didn't want to do. He wants them to learn these things.
[00:37:04] So Gerald Bochart reminds that the servant. What is he saying? Is, the servant does not surpass the master, nor does the sent one, which is the word apostolos, which is where we get apostles surpasses the sender. This agency statement, the reason I quoted all that because I want you to hear this part. The agency statement here thus provides perspective on the servants ability and responsibility in mission.
[00:37:32] What is he saying? He's basically saying, this is how you need to. When you're going and doing what I'm sending you to do, you need to understand that there's a certain perspective you need to have. Okay, then he says this. This is the part. Similar statements are found elsewhere in gospel settings. But the force of the statement here is to remind the followers of Jesus that there's no reason to become puffed up over their calling, accomplishments, or spirituality.
[00:38:02] Let's just stop there.
[00:38:04] How many people, after a while, think they're doing it?
[00:38:08] How many people get proud of their ministry? This is what he's talking about. He said, a problem that plagued the Corinthians and is not unknown in christian communities today.
[00:38:21] We got to get out of the superstar mentality. There are no superstars now. There are people that maybe have had effective ministry, but they're not superstars.
[00:38:32] It was Jesus doing things through them. We keep focusing on personalities. It gets us into trouble, totally. No, there's only one personality. You and I need to focus on Jesus.
[00:38:48] He's the one that's doing it. It's his spirit working through people. We need to understand that. And if you're getting proud of what you're doing, you need to say, lord, forgive me. I now I've taken your gift, and I'm trying to get glory and honor to myself. And it's not about that. It's never been about that. Let's move away from that. It'll destroy you. It really will.
[00:39:11] We're simply God's servants. And what's transpiring through us does not come from us, but from God. And let us not try to take the credit for what God's doing.
[00:39:23] Amen.
[00:39:24] Yeah. To be filled with self importance is sinful and causes many heartaches. However, when we learn to serve out of a heart of love, a love that originates from God, we become a blessing to people and thank God for that. That's all we are. We're just God's humble servants. You know, the power of God lives within these little clay pots.
[00:39:48] That's all it is. We got to understand that. Then he gives us a promised blessing. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed.
[00:39:57] What if you do them? Knowing is different than doing.
[00:40:03] And I find that sometimes, as christians, what we know and what we do is a gulf.
[00:40:09] Okay? And I'm going to just say this because, you know something doesn't mean you're doing it either.
[00:40:15] You're only, you know, because that's the difference between having an understanding. But then when you're obedient and do it, that's when the blessing comes, is when you're the doer of it. One of the great weaknesses we have as believers is that we sometimes put such an emphasis on the work of Christ, on the cross, on our behalf, that the temptation is to become passive in our service.
[00:40:36] See, there's different kinds of temptations. There's the one temptation where I try to do everything and try to merit God's approval. That's one temptation. That's the one side. On the other side, I go, oh, God's done everything for me, and then I just set on my duff and do nothing. That's the other side that's just as bad.
[00:40:54] Well, what are you trying to get us to do, pastor? I'm trying to get you to see that it's God who's working in you, both to will and to do his good pleasure. And Paul says, hey, I thank God that I work harder than all of you, but it's not me. It's the energy and the grace of God working through me. How many are catching on? So it's a balance. I'm not doing things to earn God's approval, but I'm not passively sitting around and doing nothing. I'm letting the work of God's spirit grow in my life so that I can do what God's calling me to do.
[00:41:27] You know, the evidence of a truly converted person to Christ is a changed life. One has only to read the epistle of James to realize that good works are a natural outflow of genuine faith. And James says, you know, someone will say, you have faith and I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds, and I'll show you my faith by what I do. In other words, a lot of people profess things but don't do anything. You know, that's a dangerous place to be. I believe all the right things. Well, James says, so what? The devil believes all the right things. He's not going to heaven. You know, you got to act on what you know. You see, that person is justified by what he does, not by faith alone. What is he saying? Not by just their confession. No, their confession has led to something as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. Okay, let me just move on here. I'm running out of time.
[00:42:26] The motivation of this service is love for one another.
[00:42:30] When people witness love, I think that it eliminates a lot of arguments about God's existence.
[00:42:40] How many know love is a very powerful point. People can resist our most persuasive arguments, but what people can't write off is love. That's hard to write off, folks. Jesus spent his earthly ministry training others so that they would in turn serve even as he served even now. Jesus wants to develop our lives in turn, that we may prove to be a blessing to others. Some of us know the story of Martha and Mary. Remember, Martha was upset with her sister because she felt Mary wasn't holding up her end of the deal.
[00:43:14] It revealed that Martha had lost the true joy of serving. Serving should flow from what? A loving, thankful heart. The happiest people on earth are those who are free to serve. It is not how others respond, because sometimes people are filled with ingratitude. They're critical, they're abusive.
[00:43:37] Right? You can be serving them, and that's how they're treating you. It's not how others respond, but rather the joy itself is in giving to others that God blesses his servants with. In other words, my joy isn't how you respond to it. My joy is the grace that God is giving me to allow me to do it. That's what we need to understand.
[00:44:00] Otherwise, we'll stop.
[00:44:02] Just think about this. If you're going to. If you're serving for what? You know, people's response to you, you're going to give up.
[00:44:09] Come on. You're going to say, forget, it's not worth it. I've been criticized.
[00:44:13] I mean, we have an adversary. He doesn't want you doing these good things. He's going to try to stop you. I'm just saying, when the love of God flows like a channel through your life, you're going to be an amazing blessing to other people. So let's commit ourselves to being a loving community of people, expressing that love in tangible ways. In other words, if I can say it this way, let's pick up our wash basin today and let's go out and wash people's feet. Not literally, but you know what I mean. You know, you find the things that people need help with, and you and I lovingly come alongside of and do that very thing. Let's stand.
[00:45:01] How many go, growing up is hard to do.
[00:45:06] How many say, that's true? Growing up is hard to do? You know, I just want to be a kid. I'm enjoying life. I don't want any responsibility or, you know, you're an adolescence and I don't want to be mean to adolescents because there's some very responsible adolescents, but there's a lot of, I call this an adolescent development motif and I find it even in the church amongst adults. And it's simply this, I want all the good stuff, but I don't want to do anything for it. In other words, I want all the benefits of life, but I don't want any responsibility. You know, it's an adolescent mentality. That's where our culture's at, you know, just give me all the benefits, don't ask me to do anything for it. It's an entitlement thinking.
[00:45:51] But we know that when you finally mature, you realize, you know, God graces our lives and therefore we have a responsibility to grace the lives of others.
[00:46:03] I think that's what it's all about. And then we get to the stage in our life where we have to actually receive from others as well. We move from, you know, dependency to independency, to interdependency. That's when you've matured, when you have to get to that stage in life when you're older and you have to receive help from others. You see, that takes grace too, folks. Some people think, well, these old people, you got to help them. Yeah, you do.
[00:46:33] But you know what? It's hard for them to receive help.
[00:46:37] It's true. So they have to learn that grace. Do you know, life is about learning and maturing and developing. And so this morning, as we're listening to this message, God's speaking into hearts. I believe that. And he's saying, listen, everything I've put into your life has been a gift for me.
[00:46:57] And now I want you to take my gifts and use it for my glory. And I want you to serve the people that need you to come alongside of them and help them. And that's where you're going to find your greatest joy in life. Because when you do that, you're going to be the most like me.
[00:47:16] You're going to reveal my presence into the lives that you're ministering to. Amen.
[00:47:24] So with every head bowed, let's just open our hearts. Let's just ask God to renew our strength, you know, renew our joy, renew our hope. Pour your love into me, Jesus. Would you do that, Lord? Would you give me more love? Not so that I sit down here and I just suck it all up for myself. But Lord, I want to be a channel.
[00:47:49] I want your love to flow me like a river. I want your love to flow like a channel into the lives of other people. And I want you to use me. I want the life of Christ to flow so mightily through my life that people around me will be served and enriched and enhanced in their lives. Father and I thank you for that. In Jesus name, amen. God bless you as you leave this morning.
