Living Hope - Part 2: The God Who Serves | Pastor René Dekker

Good morning, everyone. Good morning. Good morning.

And happy 2 ,568. I think. No, I know. Happy

New Year and happy Songkran to all of us. I hope

you get to enjoy some time off. I hope you bought

your monster guns to make the streets of Bangkok

unsafe in the coming days. Enjoy it and make

sure to keep your phones at home because they

may get wet. Before we continue our sermon series

Living Hope, there's a few things I want you

to know. First of all, we're going to have baptism.

My clicker is not working yet. Yes, there we

go. We're going to have baptism on May the 18th.

It's the third Sunday of May. And already a number

of you have signed up. But if you want to be

baptized in May, obeying Jesus' instruction and

command, I invite you to join the baptism class

that we will have. on April the 26th, that's

yesterday in two weeks here on the campus. So

sign up. And even if you don't want to be baptized

yet, but you're just curious about what is baptism

all about, why don't you join the class, and

you can always say no to baptism for the moment.

That is all fine. So April 26th class, May the

18th, we're going to baptize. Also, next weekend

is Easter weekend. I mean, if there is highlights

during the year, there are many, but Easter is

certainly one of those highlights. We're celebrating

the death, yes, on Friday of Jesus, our Savior,

but then his resurrection on Saturday. We're

doing that in a number of ways, and for that,

we need still volunteers. Thank you for those

who have signed up to join us. to serve in either

of those events, but we need a couple of dozens

more. So if you have time, would you scan the

QR code, sign up to serve us in the coming week

to help people come to know Jesus as their Savior.

Here's the QR code. I think we have a table downstairs

as well after this service. Lastly, about next

Sunday as we gather here for Resurrection Sunday,

just for you to know, there will be a number

of ways for people to engage with Jesus. There

will be a prayer room downstairs in the Connection

Center. There will be a gospel explanation room

in room 1101. And there is a room for those who

know Jesus, but who kind of need renewal in 1204.

So this picture is all to say, get ready. Bring

your friends. Jesus, our living hope, will reveal

himself. And there's a number of ways that he

will minister to us. Got it? Wonderful. Well,

today is Palm Sunday. But you kind of figured

that, right? On the basis of the songs that we

were singing and the kids that came in with the

palm branches. Palm Sunday. We celebrate today

the day that Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem

about 2 ,000 years ago. And the people back then

were ready for King Jesus. They were fed up with

the oppression by the Roman Empire, so they were

excited that the King was finally there. Thank

you for coming, Jesus. Now, Hosanna. Save us.

But as we will see today, The picture that they

had in their minds of the king, King Jesus, didn't

quite align with the kind of king that Jesus

really was. Oh yeah, he would save them, but

not by fighting. He would save them by serving.

Indeed, a couple of days after Palm Sunday, Jesus

would free the people from their oppression,

but a much larger scale oppression than just

the Romans. He would free them from their oppression

and our oppression of sin and death. The God

who serves, that is part two of our sermon series,

Living Hope, that we will look at today. A portrait

of Jesus. as our servant king. And we will do

that by delving into a story, a well -known story,

that we find in the Gospel of John, chapter 13.

John 13 · chapter mention

But before I read the story for you, I want to

give you some context, which I believe is very

helpful for us to understand. John 13 marks a

shift in Jesus' ministry. In the first 12 chapters

of the Gospel of John, John covers three and

a half years of Jesus' ministry. But from John

13, Jesus' public ministry is over. It's finished.

He's done with his traveling. He's done with

his preaching. He's done with his miracle doing.

And now he is getting ready for the final climax

of his ministry on earth. His death. And his

resurrection that would follow a few days after.

And John covers that, death and resurrection,

in his last four chapters of his gospel. But

right in the middle, in chapters 13 through 17,

John describes the things that took place on

the final evening before Jesus' death. As he

was having dinner with his 12 disciples. Not

just dinner, of course. It's never just dinner

with Jesus. Okay? He still had some important

things to tell to his disciples. His public ministry

was over, but he had a lot to say still to his

men. It's like a coach calling his team together

for one final talk about the game plan. Jesus

chose to spend the last evening before his death

privately. with his closest friends to teach

them the last things they needed to know about

him, about Jesus, as well as about their future

ministry before all the craziness of Jesus' arrest

and crucifixion would happen. We know this part

of scripture, John 13 through 17, as the upper

room discourse. And we get a lot of amazing nudges

from Jesus' teaching. from just these couple

of hours of Jesus' ministry. You remember where

Jesus was saying, I am the way, the truth, and

the life. You can only come to the Father, but

through me, this is where he said it. Remember

where Jesus was speaking about divine himself,

as divine us as the branches, to remain in him

and his Father as the gardener? It was here at

this dinner table where Jesus taught it. Remember

when Jesus was sharing about the Holy Spirit

who would come? It was here at this table. Remember

about Jesus instituting the Lord's Supper, breaking

bread and wine, and for us to remember him? It

was here at this dinner table where it happened.

Remember Jesus praying this heartfelt prayer

over his disciples? It was in these couple of

hours of Jesus' life and ministry where all of

that happened. deep stuff happened at this dining

table. This was not a fast food dinner. This

was a slow food and long food dinner because

Jesus still had a lot of profound things to tell

to his disciples. And even before Jesus began

to speak, it already was a special evening. It

was the evening of the Passover. It was the evening

on which the Jews would eat the Passover meal.

It was for them to remember and to celebrate

their freedom from slavery in Egypt many years

before. It was a custom on those evenings in

Jewish families that the youngest child would

ask his or her dad, Dad, what is it that makes

this night... So different than any other night.

And it was for those children to engage and understand

the significance of what they were doing on that

evening. And I wonder, I just wonder if one of

the disciples was wondering this on that evening.

What is it that makes this night so different

than any other night? Something is up. I can

feel it. I can tell. But what is it? Well, we

will learn from today's story in John 13 that

what made this night different than any other

nights is that it would change the meaning of

Passover for good. That's what made this night

so special. So let me read the story for you

as we find it recorded by John in chapter 13

of his gospel. By the way, John, one of Jesus'

disciples, he was there. At the table, he was

an eyewitness to all that happened. It was just

before the Passover festival, and Jesus knew

that the 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. The evening meal was in progress, and the

devil had already prompted Judas, the son of

Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. And Jesus knew

that the Father had put all things under his

power and that he had come from God and was returning

to God. So he got up from the meal, took off

his outer clothing and wrapped a towel around

his waist. And after that, he poured water into

a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet,

drying them with the towel that was wrapped around

him. He came to Simon Peter. who said to Jesus,

Lord, are you going to wash my feet? Jesus replied,

you don't realize now what I'm doing, Peter,

but later you will understand. No, no, no, no,

no, said Peter. You shall never wash my feet.

But Jesus answered, unless I wash you, you have

no part with me. Well, then, Lord, Simon Peter

replied, not just my feet, but my hands and my

head as well. Jesus answered, those who have

had a bath need only to wash their feet because

their whole body is already clean and you are

clean. Though not everyone of you, for he knew

who was going to betray him. And that was why

he said not everyone was clean. When he had finished

washing their feet, he put on his clothes and

returned to his place. Do you understand what

I have done for you? He asked them. You call

me teacher and Lord, and rightly so, for that

is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and teacher,

have washed your feet, you should also wash one

another's feet. I have set you an example that

you should do as I have done for you. Very truly

I tell you, Before we take a look at what Jesus

is saying through the foot washing of his disciples,

let's first look at what Jesus is not saying.

Jesus is not asking us to incorporate foot washing.

as one of the principles in our weekly worship

gatherings. That's good news if you have hammer

toes or fungus nails. Don't worry, I'm not going

to do that. That's not what Jesus meant. If that

was the case, then we would have read about this

in the book of Acts or in the letters of Paul

as one of the ordinances like baptism or like

the Lord's Supper. That's not the case. That's

not the point that Jesus wants to make here.

But what Jesus is illustrating through the foot

washing of his disciples is the essence of his

ministry, as we will see in a couple of moments.

Not only the essence of his ministry, also the

essence of our ministry. So what is that? What

is the essence of Jesus' ministry that we learn

today from John chapter 13? Well, there is five

John 13 · chapter mention

things. I want to highlight with you today that

explain to us, that illustrate to us the essence

of what Jesus came to do. This is what we read

at the beginning of the passage that we just

read. Having loved his own who were in the world,

he loved them to the end. I hope you know that

Jesus loves all people. Did you know that? He

loves all people irrespective if they love him

back. But Jesus has a special love for those

who he calls his own. Those who have come to

him in faith, who have chosen to trust him. And

it's this own, his own, as John says, that he

has loved to the end. Now, to the end, if you

go to the Greek translation, to the end is not

so much an indication of a timeline as, okay,

Jesus loved them all the way until... The end

of his life. That's not what it means. What it

means is he loved them to the full. To the limit.

To its fullest extent. That's what the Greek

translation means. And Jesus would show them

at this dinner what it meant to love them to

the full. He got up from the table. Took off

his outer clothing. Wrapped a towel around his

waist, and after that, he poured water into a

basin and began to wash his disciples' feet,

drying them with the towel that was wrapped around

him. To see the profoundness of what Jesus is

doing here, you need to understand some of the

common practices of the Middle East in the first

century. When people would move from place to

place, they would walk, okay? No cars, no bicycles,

sometimes a horse, but they would walk on roads

that were dusty and dirty. And as they were wearing

open shoes, sandals, their feet would get dirty,

really dirty. Even the animals walked on the

same roads and they would leave their pee and

their poo everywhere. So you would pick up a

fair share of that as well as you were walking

from A to B. And nobody wants dirty feet in the

house, right? Especially not where you're going

to have dinner together. I mean, it's a matter

of hygiene. You're unclean. It's disgusting when

you eat dinner with dirty feet. That's why today

we still ask our children, maybe even adults,

to wash their hands before going to dinner because

you never know where these hands were stuck in

right before dinner, right? So here's the deal.

When guests would arrive at the place, where

the dinner was, the host of that place would

have someone on staff, a servant, a slave, someone

who held the lowest position on staff to do the

dirty job of cleaning those feet from dirt, from

dust, from pee, from poo, from everything. And

that slave would have a towel wrapped around

his or her waist and then would dry it off. And

then the guests... could go to dinner. It's this

dirty job that Jesus took on on this evening.

He got up from the table, took his clothes off,

put the towel on, stooped down, washed the dirt

of the feet of their disciples. And in so doing,

Jesus demonstrated the full extent of his love

to his friends by becoming a servant. As we will

see in today's story, he demonstrated, he illustrated

in this a much greater service that he would

do less than 24 hours later, where he would wash

us with his blood from our unrighteousness. That's

how Jesus demonstrates his love to its fullest

extent to us by becoming a servant to us. And

that preview that I just mentioned, That preview

of the things that would happen less than 24

hours later gets an even more profound meaning

when you consider what John says next in verse

3. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things

under his power and that he had come from God

and was returning to God. Do you see that? God

had given Jesus all power, all the authority

over everything. Well, Jesus, now you have all

that power. What are you going to do with all

that power? You know what Jesus could have done

with all that power? Jesus could have stopped

the whole thing that was waiting for him. Jesus

could have used his power to stop his arrest,

stop the humiliation, stop the false accusations,

stop the suffering, stop the torture, stop the

nails through his hands, stop this painful suffocation

that he suffered for us on the cross. He could

have said, I'm out. I'm not going to bother about

these people. I'm not going to save them. I'm

going to use my power to save myself instead

of them. That's what Jesus could have done with

all that power that had been given to him. It's

not what he did. As Paul reminds us in Philippians

2, Jesus, being in very nature God, didn't consider

equality with God something to be used to his

own advantage. Rather, he made himself nothing

by taking the very nature of a servant, being

made in human likeness, and being found in appearance

as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient

to death, even death on a cross. Do you see the

impressive reality of the sacrifice that Jesus

took for us? Do you see the profoundness of the

love, the ultimate love that he revealed to us?

He could have used his power to stop it all and

to save himself. But instead he chose to lay

down his glory, to lay down his power, to lay

down his life to save you and me instead. That's

Jesus, our servant king. That is Jesus, our living

hope. The third aspect of the essence of Jesus'

ministry that we find in today's story is this.

We're never too far off to be washed by Jesus.

If you look at the men who were there, these

12 guys at the dining table, you wonder why on

earth. Would Jesus serve these men? Why would

he become a servant and wash their feet? We get

some more intel from other gospel writers of

some other things that happened at that dining

table. Luke, for example, he describes the same

events, the same couple of hours, but he uses

a somewhat different angle. And also in Luke's

story, things started off pretty well. The time

had come that Jesus and the apostles sat down

together at the table. And Jesus said, I've been

very eager to eat this Passover meal with you

before my suffering begins. For I tell you now

that I won't eat this meal again until its meaning

is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. What a precious

setting. Do you see it? Jesus at the dining table

with his friends. pouring out his heart and said,

oh, guys, I've so longed for these couple of

hours with you. It's going to be the last time

that we're going to eat together until we're

going to see each other or be with each other

again. And the kingdom of God has been fulfilled.

Beautiful setting. And after this, Jesus breaks

the bread and the wine and he institutes the

Lord's Supper, precious time, intimate time with

his friends. And then this. Then they, the disciples,

began to argue among themselves about who would

be the greatest among them. Really? Really? Your

Savior is pouring out His heart. Your teacher

and friend is explaining, guys, I'm going to

die. They're going to torture me. They're going

to accuse me of things that I have not done,

but I have to die. And all they care about is,

hey, is it me? I think it is, right? I'm going

to be the gracious. All they care for is their

own ambition for greatness, while their dearest

friend will be suffering and dying. Well, if

you're like that, certainly Jesus will not serve

you, and he will not wash your feet, right? And

yet, it was these men whose feet Jesus washed.

You know who else was there? A guy named Judas

Iscariot. He was the guy who would betray Jesus.

In a couple of hours, a bunch of soldiers led

by Judas would go to the Garden of Gethsemane

to arrest Jesus from where he would be tortured,

from where he would be murdered. He had already

received his rewards, 30 pieces of silver from

the Jewish leaders. And he was... at that table,

ready to betray Jesus. And Jesus knew it. Jesus

knew that Judas was the guy who would soon betray

him. You're not going to wash the feet of a guy

like that, will you? And yet, Jesus washed the

feet of the guy who would betray him. What a

picture of Jesus, our living hope. You're never

too far off to be washed by Jesus. Some of you

can identify with the disciples, some of you

here today. You care more about your ambition

for greatness, your podium, power, and influence

to be used to your own advantage, applause, audience,

recognition. Some of you may identify with Judas.

On the outside, you look as one of Jesus' intimate

friends, but when you're honest with yourself,

you're living a life of betrayal. You're living

a double life. Your thoughts, your actions, of

course, all done in secret, reveal that your

heart is not in it. And in so doing, you're betraying

Jesus and probably you're betraying some other

people as well. And yet you're never too far

off to be washed by Jesus. Whether it's your

ambition for greatness or recognition or power

or wealth or glory. Or whether it's your life

of betrayal and secrecy, the double life. It's

no reason for Jesus to turn his back on you.

As a matter of fact, he says, let me serve you.

I want to show you my love. I want to wash you.

I just need you to want me to be your servant.

I need you to turn to me so that I can serve

you and wash you clean. And turning to Jesus,

as we also learn from today's story, it requires

humility. As Jesus is making his round, To wash

the feet of his disciples, he arrives at Peter.

And as you may know, with Peter, things are often

a bit more complicated. He came to Simon Peter,

who said to him, Lord, are you going to wash

my feet? Jesus replied, you don't realize now

what I'm doing, but later you will understand.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, said

Peter. You will never, ever, ever wash. my feet

peter resists being served by jesus peter feels

uncomfortable with the idea that his messiah

would would stoop down kneel down for him and

do the dirty job of cleaning his feet maybe peter

caught himself at a moment wondering ah i should

have been that guy who had asked a slave to do

this job and we don't know what peter was thinking

but peter resists being served By Jesus. And

in response, Peter does what he always did. He

takes things in his own control to manage the

situation. He always did that. Remember the time

when Jesus told his disciples, I'm going to be

arrested. They're going to accuse me. They're

going to kill me. What is it that Peter said?

Oh, no way, Lord. I'm not going to let that happen

to you. Remember that moment when Jesus was arrested

in the Garden of Gethsemane and Peter pulled

his sword, chopped off an ear. I think he went

for the head, but it was an ear eventually where

Jesus had to stop them. Peter wanted to reveal

to Jesus, I've got it all covered, Lord. I'm

going to save you. It seemed that Peter had a

pattern in his life of always knowing better

than Jesus did. I wonder if there ever was a

moment in Jesus' life where he thought, Peter,

would you just stop? telling me what I should

do and should not do, and just listen to me and

do it? It's not what Jesus said that evening.

He said it more gentle. Peter, unless I wash

you, you have no part with me. Peter, it's time

to let go of thinking that you know better than

I do. Peter, it's time to stop your resistance.

You can't be mine. If you don't allow me to serve

you, if you don't allow me to wash your feet,

you can't be mine if you don't let me do what

you cannot do for yourself. It were these words

of Jesus that broke Peter's resistance. And the

pendulum shifted from one extreme all the way

to the others. Well, if that's the case, Lord,

not just my feet, please. Do it all. Complete

me entirely. My hands, my head, everything, Lord.

I want to be cleansed by you. Peter's resistance

broke. Uncomfortable as he had been at first

with the idea of Jesus washing his feet, he now

sees that it has to be this way for him to belong

to Jesus. And he went from, I've got it all covered,

to Jesus. I'm yours completely. Wash me. Wash

me. The realization that you need to be served

and washed by Jesus begins with a humble recognition

that we are dirty and that we need to be washed.

That's where it starts. I've got it all covered.

Doesn't cut it when you're under the power of

sin, you know. And neither does downplaying the

influence of sin in your life by making promises

to yourself and to others that you will never

be able to keep. The proper response to Jesus'

offer to serve you and to wash you is, Oh, Lord,

I need you. Lord, I need you to wash me, not

just my feet, please. Do the whole thing. Wash

me completely. What it takes on our end to allow

Jesus to serve us is humility. Acknowledging

that we don't have it covered. But trusting that

Jesus has got it covered on our behalf. One more

thing we learn about the essence of Jesus' ministry

in John 13. In response to Peter's desire to

have everything cleansed, this is what Jesus

says. Those who have had a bath need only to

wash their feet because their whole body is clean.

And you are clean, though not every one of you.

And he was referring to Judas in saying the letter.

In this verse, Jesus gives us the full picture

of what he was illustrating by... The washing

the feet of his disciples. He is speaking about

the greater reality of his cleansing work. Soon

after this evening as I already told you. A couple

of hours after. Jesus would do a much bigger

cleansing work. Not with water. With blood. With

blood he would cleanse us from our dirt. Our

dust. Our dung. All of our unrighteousness on

the cross. And here Jesus tells us in this verse.

that Jesus' cleansing work involves an initial

bathing as well as an ongoing washing. An initial

bath and an ongoing washing. When you believe

and trust in Jesus as the Savior for your sin,

you've had a bath. You may even have experienced

it as a bath. You felt washed clean entirely.

And when that has happened to you, You don't

have to wake up in the morning wondering, hey,

am I still saved? I was saved yesterday, but

did I get unsaved between yesterday and today?

No, no, no. You did not get unsaved, okay? You've

had your bath. But you do get dirty feet. As

we walk through this world, We pick up dirt through

the conversations we have, from the things we

are exposing ourselves to, the things we think

and do, the desires that we let, you know, rise

up every once in a while and give into. We pick

up dirt and we get dirty feet that need to be

washed by Jesus, which is an ongoing washing.

You know what we need to do when our feet get

dirty in walking through this world? We go to

Jesus, we say, Jesus, I have to be honest, look

at my feet, they're dirty. They're full of dirt,

dust, and dung again. I need you to clean my

feet. Would you serve me? And that's when Jesus

says, Dear son, dear daughter, I'm faithful and

just. I clean your feet. I forgive you all of

your sin. I purify you from all your unrighteousness.

That's the ongoing washing, even after having

the initial bath. that Jesus serves us with.

That's the essence of Jesus' ministry. Serving

us feels a bit uncomfortable, does it? Jesus

serving us? Yes, it's the essence of his ministry.

He is our living hope. He is our servant king

who stooped down to wash you and to wash me clean.

But it's not the end of the story in John 13.

Jesus has more to say. It's in verse 14 where

he says, Jesus was done illustrating the essence

of his ministry. And now he turns to us and he

says, you're my own. I want you to follow my

example and to serve each other. Jesus' desire,

no, not just desire, Jesus' calling for us is

to serve each other, to serve people, encourage

people, love people, forgive people, talk to

people, pray with people, support people. We're

called to have the mindset of Jesus, says Philippians

2, in our relationships with each other. The

essence of our ministry. There's four things.

I'm going to be quick in these. Don't worry.

I'm not going to be as long as I was for those

who say, it's already half an hour. Four things

that I want us to know about what it is to be

a servant of each other. That we learn from John

13. Here's the first thing. Serving others is

never beneath any of us. No matter how important

you are, wealthy you are, powerful you are. Serving

other people is never. Beneath you. Remember?

Jesus. The God of the universe. Who has all power.

All glory. All authority. Kneel down. To wash

the dirty feet. Of sinners. He laid down his

glory. He laid down his power. He laid down his

life. To wash dirty sinners. So if any of us

thinks that serving each other is beneath us,

somehow we think that we're better than Jesus.

Let me tell you, we're not. Jesus calls us to

serve each other, and none of us is able to rise

above that calling. Second thing, serving others

is not about who they are, it's about... who

Jesus is and what he calls us to do. If Jesus

would leave it up to you and me who to serve,

we would be very selective in who to serve. Those

who have been kind to us, of course, check. Those

who honor us, check. Those who have been kind

to my family, oh, check. Those who have helped

me when things were really hard, definitely going

to serve them. Those who have hurt me, what do

you think? Those who talk bad about me behind

my back, go figure, no way. Those who mistreat

me or my family, forget about it. I want to remind

us, Who were the people that Jesus served on

that evening? People who were more occupied with

their own greatness and who would soon desert

him at the most difficult hour of his life. Those

were the people that Jesus washed the feet of.

A guy who pretended to be a friend but who would

cause Jesus to be arrested leading to his torture

and death. Judas and Jesus. Served him. And Jesus

washed his feet. We don't serve others for who

they are. I know. It's hard. We don't serve others

because they treat as well. We serve others because

of Jesus and what he has done. And what he is

calling you and me to do. That's why we serve

others. Third thing. Serving others requires.

Humility, yes, it's a humbling thing, right,

to get on your knees and to wash the dirty feet

of someone else or whatever shape your sacrificial

service to somebody else looks like, to your

friend, your spouse, or even a stranger. It's

a humbling thing to serve each other. And it's

also a humbling thing to be served by others.

For some reason, many of us get all awkward when

people want to serve you. There's a friend who

wants to pay for dinner that you just had, and

you say, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. I will only

allow you to pay for my dinner when you promise

that I get to pay next time. Right? Or someone

who has helped you in a really hard time, a time

when you could not make ends meet, and you say,

I'm going to pay you back until the last bat

in Satan. Many of us, when we could really need

help, and being served by other people, go even

as far as to isolate ourselves. Because we don't

want to ask for help. We don't want to receive

service by anyone else, because they may think

that we're weak, that we don't have it together,

and that we have failed. And many times, especially

to us guys, it's just pride outright. that we

don't want to receive service by Allah. This

is why in the days before GPS, we would never

stop our cars to ask for directions and rather

figure things out ourselves, even if that meant

that we would get lost and it would take an hour

more to get to our destination. Whatever it is,

it takes humility, yes, to serve someone else

as well as to be served. By someone else. And

there is this beautiful model. A godly principle

that Paul speaks about in Philippians 2. Which

says don't be selfish. There we have it. Don't

try to impress others. But be humble. Be humble.

Thinking of others as better than yourselves.

Don't look out only for your own interests. But

take an interest in others. Have you ever wondered

what would happen to the quality of your life

if we were to decide to collectively apply this?

Imagine, picture, that from today, all of us

here at ECB would apply this godly principle

to our life and our community life. I guarantee

what would happen is that your life would get

much easier and significantly less stressful.

Why? Because you're no longer the only one who

is looking after your interests. All of us will

be looking with you after your interests. Wow.

That's a relief. And by the way, you will be

doing that to me and to others as well. So all

of us get to experience that easier life, much

less stress, because we're applying one of those

beautiful principles of Scripture. Makes sense,

doesn't it? What it requires is humility. Humility

for us to serve each other as well as humility

to be served by each other. I will ask Pastor

Pablo, maybe he wants to launch a project like

this here at ECB so we just, you know, can begin

doing this. Okay, one more thing for us to learn

about serving. Especially for those who wonder,

is there something in for me in this whole serving

others thing? Actually, There is. The person

you serve is not the only one who is blessed

by your service. In serving others, we also bless

ourselves. Look at what Jesus says at the end

of today's passage. Now that you know these things,

you will be blessed if you do them. This is scripture,

right? We're not just listeners of the word.

We're doers of the word. And here Jesus says,

hey. I've now told you what this serving each

other is about. You know it now. But if you do

it, you will be blessed by doing it. And no,

this is not Jesus' promotional campaign to get

us to serve, okay? Saying, hey, hey, there is

a benefit. Just go do it and you will receive

it. That's not what Jesus is telling us here.

The blessing that Jesus speaks of here is that

when you align yourself with the purposes of

Jesus, you live a life of alignment with the

purpose you have been created for, and that alignment

brings deep satisfaction. Deep joy, deep blessing

to your soul and therefore your entire life.

Jesus gives the recipe to us here for leading

a happy life. How? Serve each other. Crazy, right?

Doesn't make sense in our world, right? But with

Jesus, it does. It's better to give than to receive,

is what he says. He calls us. to serve each other

and promises us that we will be blessed by doing

that. It's what I call living hope. Jesus came

to serve us, to wash us clean of the dirt and

dung of our unrighteousness. What a living hope

we have. And Jesus calls us to imitate him by

doing the same to each other, serving each other.

And in closing, I want to ask you two questions.

First question is this, have you recognized your

need for Jesus to serve you? Your need for Jesus

to bathe you in his love? to wash you clean of

your sin. Whoever you are and whatever your story

has been up to today, you're never too far off

for Jesus. Jesus came to serve you and it's his

desire to save you and to welcome you as one

of his own. If that's your desire, I welcome

you. A couple of moments after this service.

to come to one of us here at the front of the

worship center so that we can pray together for

you to welcome Jesus, living hope into your life.

Maybe it's not a bath that you need. Maybe you've

had your initial bath already a while ago. Jesus

saved you years ago, but your feet got dirty.

You have picked up stuff on the way that you

know to be cleansed of. confess your sins to

Jesus, he will turn to say, dear son, dear daughter,

I forgive you of all your sin. I purify you of

all your unrighteousness. And if you need help

in praying these things, come, come after the

service. We're here for you. Here's my second

question. Are you imitating Jesus' example by

serving others? If this is a convicting question

to you, because your answer is, no, not really.

I'm glad you're here, and probably God wanted

you here to hear what he had to say to you today.

Although as God's people, we have been set apart.

We're a holy nation, you know. We're heavily

influenced by a culture that surrounds us, a

culture that encourages you and me to serve nobody

else but ourselves. And it takes a firm stance

for followers of Jesus, each of us, not to allow

that propaganda to overtake our lives. So whatever

has caused it, if you sense, if you notice in

yourself this, this hesitation, even unwillingness

to serve each other because you rather serve

yourself, that I encourage you to make this your

daily prayer. Lord, break my heart for what breaks

yours and give me the capacity to love people

and serve people the way you love people and

serve people. It's a prayer that God can work

with really well. to change your heart and to

shape you, to form you into becoming more like

Jesus. I want to ask us to bow your heads and

take a few moments in quiet to think about the

things that you've heard this morning. Lord,

you've come to seek and save those Who are lost.

Hallelujah Jesus. We praise you. For you are

the one who has set us free. And as we will be

proclaiming those words Jesus. I want to ask

you. Would you be near. Not just near. Would

you continue to speak. Truth. in the lives of

those who are here in my life, the lives of my

brothers, my sisters, my friends who are here.

Lord, and if the truth involves a moment today

where it involves saying yes to you, Lord, wash

me, wash me entirely. Lord, extend your invitation.

Lord, if the truth involves speaking to one of

us about dirty feet, Holy Spirit, I ask you that

you will Not let us go from this place. Let us

leave this place before we have come before you

and ask you to wash our dirty feet. Thank you,

Jesus, our living hope. Thank you for kneeling

down, stooping down for us to serve us, to wash

us clean, and to give us new life. We love you,

Jesus. And we praise your great name. Amen. If

God is calling you to support our ministries,

you will find giving options on our website.

And remember to join us next week. God bless

you.