Rooted Part 3 | Do You Contribute? with Chris Schlotterbeck

Welcome to Hub City Vineyard. To get connected

or to give online, go to connect .hcv .church

or give .hcv .church. If at any point during

this message you feel called to make a change

in your life, text CHANGEME to 9700. Thank you

and enjoy the message. Hey, good morning everyone.

So good to see you. It felt good to walk outside

this morning and feel a little bit of warmth.

We may be taking the turn towards springtime.

I want to begin this morning by watching a really

short advertisement that you may have seen before.

However, this commercial has actually caused

a lot of uproar and controversy within the Christian

community. So let's watch. Don't ask me what

you know is true. Don't have to tell you. I love

your precious heart. I, I was standing. You were

there. So as you're watching that, you may have

seen an inner city policeman washing the feet

of a young black man. You possibly could have

seen an oil rig worker washing the feet of a

climate activist. Maybe you saw an older woman

washing the feet of a young woman outside an

abortion clinic. And I find it interesting that

as that commercial played, Once it was debuted,

the biggest uproar and complaints came from the

church, the Christian community. The ad was made

by He Gets Us. It's a campaign of establishing

a story, and their goal is simply to reintroduce

our society to Jesus. I personally believe this

ad made Christians uncomfortable because it made

them realize that Jesus would have actually washed

the feet of those said individuals, and they

wouldn't. They wouldn't find themselves near

them. And for Jesus to wash the feet of these

individuals, the Christian community would deem

that unimaginable. Impossible. When in reality,

the commercial wasn't about he getting us. It

was more about do we get him? Do we truly understand

the way of Jesus? Because foot washing is what

Jesus is all about. See, Jesus did the unimaginable.

He washed the feet of his disciples to demonstrate

to his followers this unglamorous act is actually

how we should treat each other. And more importantly,

how we should love our enemies. I mean, just

think about it. Jesus washed Judas' feet who

that very night would betray him. Jesus knew

it was coming. Yet he chose to wash Judas' feet

anyway. And when Jesus washed the remaining feet

of his disciples, that simple act caused an uproar

from them because rabbis don't wash feet. And

more importantly, the Savior, the Messiah, would

never be caught washing feet. And see, the disciples

couldn't... They couldn't handle the power reversal,

the upside down nature of the kingdom. Because

this simple act of humility, which Jesus instructed

his followers to continue, is still causing an

uproar in our society today. Why? Well, because

the way of Jesus goes against the grain. It does

not follow political agendas. It especially doesn't

follow humanity's selfish tendencies, and it

challenges people to change. And I believe that's

what God is inviting us all to this morning.

So welcome to HCV, where for the month of March,

we've been discussing the way of Jesus in our

series, Rooted. If you're joining us from home,

thank you for welcoming us into your Two weeks

ago, I kicked a series off discussing what it

means to be devoted to Jesus. Last week, I shared

about how we are all created for community. Now,

by a show of hands, did anyone do your homework?

About four. So thank you for making me realize

that I'm failing in my job. Some of you are thinking,

what was my homework? If you remember, I encouraged

you to have someone over for dinner or take someone

out for lunch. And I believe the week's not over

yet, so you can still do it today. So let's all

get 100%. Can I get an amen? Thank you. This

morning... We will be looking at serving others

with humility, which, if we're honest, is probably

one of the most challenging aspects of following

Jesus, but one that Jesus lived out every single

day. We're going to be reading through the original

gospel account of Jesus' foot -watching, which

took place on the night of Passover, just hours

before Jesus would be betrayed into the hands

of religious leaders. As I was standing in the

back worshiping this morning, a sense of expectancy

came over me. And I'm not really sure what that's

about, but I believe that God has something special

for us this morning. And I'm expectant to see

the Holy Spirit move. So Holy Spirit, come. God,

unplug our ears. Open our minds. More importantly,

reveal our hearts to us as we desire to draw

close to you. Move in this place, God. We give

you this time, this space to have your way. In

Jesus' name, amen. Our first thought this morning.

See, God's kingdom is upside down. We will be

reading from the book of John. And of course,

John was one of Jesus' original 12 disciples

and one of his biographers. And in chapter 13,

he wrote about a time when Jesus was having dinner

with his disciples celebrating Passover. It would

be the last time that Jesus would eat with them.

before his death. John describes the account

this way in John chapter 13. Jesus knew that

John 13 · chapter mention

the Father had given him authority over everything

that he had come from God and would return to

God. So he got up from the table, took off his

robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured

water into a basin. Then he began to wash the

disciples' feet, drying them with the towel he

had around him. Just a question for you to ponder.

What would you do if you were the most powerful

person in this room? Would you host a party for

yourself and invite everyone to come? If you're

an artist, Would you announce that your album

is dropping? If you're all over social media,

would you post an Instagram reel of just how

talented and special you are? See, powerful people

within our society may do those things, but Jesus,

Jesus wrapped a towel around his waist, got down

on one knee, and watched dirty, stinky feet.

Now we're talking about the king of the universe,

the God who set our world in motion, actually

creating the disciples' feet. And where do we

find it? At the lowest possible position, washing

their feet. Now why would he do this? Because

see, in ancient times, people traveled by foot

everywhere they went. Now the wealthier individuals

would be wearing sandals, but you and I, chances

are, we'd have nothing on our feet. And the dirty,

dusty roads left their feet coated with dirt,

grime, and mud. Which is why travelers, upon

reaching their destination, they would be greeted

by a host carrying a basin of water. to wash

their feet. It was a simple gesture of welcome

and kindness, not to mention the means of keeping

dirt out of the home. Now in the homes of the

wealthy or the powerful, this task was given

to a servant or a slave or maybe the wife of

the host. Which is why Jesus' decision to wash

the disciples' feet It wasn't just humbling.

It actually would have been viewed as humiliating.

The Son of God intentionally chose the lowly,

demeaning task of a common house servant. Lord

Jesus literally kneeled down to wash, rinse,

and towel dry the dirty, cracked, smelly, sore

feet. of a group of outcasts and forgotten within

that society. The lowest of lows. And this was

the man the disciples believed to be the long

-awaited ruler, who, according to biblical prophecy,

would deliver Israel from its oppressors, the

Romans. This was the God -man. So when Jesus

begins to wash their feet, it was so incomprehensible

to their way of thinking, so contrary to the

culture which they lived, so offensive to their

understanding of who this person should be that

they just didn't even get it. They didn't understand

it. Why? Well, we now know it's because God's

kingdom is upside down. Both cultural custom

and religious etiquette dictated that only a

common slave, not even a Jewish slave, should

perform this degrading task. No exalted man of

God would stoop so low and perform such a lowly

task. We know that from reading through the Gospels.

When we read the parable of the Good Samaritan,

the religious leaders walked on the other side.

But Jesus was unlike any other king or revolutionary.

His choice to wash the disciples' feet is a vivid

demonstration of how Jesus' followers should

live every day in this upside -down kingdom.

See, the reason the commercial drew so much negative

feedback from the Christian community? Conviction.

conviction from the Holy Spirit that that's how

I should be living. Because in God's kingdom,

the way up is the way down. You want to be great?

Then serve the least of these. And that is why

Jesus washed Peter's feet, who would later deny

him. That is why Jesus washed Judas' feet, who

would later betray him for 30 silver coins. See,

our second thought, Jesus, he was a servant leader.

He knew that the Father had given him authority

over everything. He'd come from God, would return

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

his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and

poured water into a basin. He began to wash the

disciples' feet, drying them with a towel he

had around him. See, for Jesus, nothing was beneath

him. It's the way of downward mobility. And he

is demonstrating for his disciples, this is the

way of abundant life. This. He's challenging

his followers to lay down their pride. Get over

yourself. Sacrifice your egos, your very lives,

humbly serving one another. Listen to Jesus'

response to two brothers arguing over who would

be the greatest in the kingdom in Matthew chapter

Matthew 20 · chapter mention

20. But Jesus, He called them together. You can

almost view this as a huddle. And He says, you

know that the rulers in this world lord it over

their people and officials flaunt their authority

over those under them. But among you, church,

it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader

among you must be your servant and whoever wants

to be first among you must become your slave.

For even the Son of Man came not to be served,

but to serve others and give his life as a ransom

for many. See, in God's kingdom, serving is not

about control or power. It has nothing to do

with it. When it comes to following Jesus, it's

supposed to be different. We're to view ourselves

as servants or slaves of others. And you're like,

Chris, why would I be a slave to someone else?

So they can see Jesus inside of us. When it comes

to our relationship with Jesus, our focus becomes

the kingdom. The kingdom of God forcefully advancing

and how one decision can change a life for eternity.

But unfortunately, we now know our third thought,

the church, is full of spiritual consumers. See,

Simon Peter knew this task of foot washing should

not be performed by Jesus when he spoke these

words in John 13, 6 -10. When Jesus came to Simon

Peter, Peter said to him, Lord, are you going

to wash my feet? So he's questioning what Jesus

is doing. Jesus replied, you don't understand

now what I am doing, but someday you will. Now

notice Peter's response. No, Peter protested.

You will never, ever wash my feet. Exclamation

point. Literally, he's raising his voice. He

is getting riled up towards Jesus. But you can

picture Jesus replying, well, unless I wash you,

you won't belong to me. But again, look, Simon

Peter exclaimed, John is writing this narrative

where we see Peter lashing out, then wash my

hands and my head as well, Lord, not just my

feet. Again, Jesus replies, a person who is bathed

all over, does not need to wash except for the

feet to be entirely clean. See, Peter, he was

only focused on himself. He was focused on what

he was going to get out of Jesus' actions to

wash feet. And in Peter's response, we unfortunately

see the way of the Western church, which has

become consumer Christianity. Feed me. Give me

what I want. Make me feel good. Give me that

encounter. But don't expect anything from me

on Monday. And see, when Jesus asked the disciples

in verse 12, do you understand what I was doing?

The answer, of course, is no. They didn't understand.

Because their mindset was that people would be

serving them. No, Jesus, you don't serve me.

We get served. After all, we're following the

Messiah, the Savior of the world. And now suddenly,

though, with this example, Jesus is telling them,

no, you have to serve each other. That's the

way of following me. But unfortunately, this

attitude the disciples had has become a part

of the Western church, and many in the church

have become spiritual consumers. People who look

for churches to meet their needs. They come in

and they listen to the music. Are they playing

the right songs? Do they sing classic hymns?

Is it modern worship? Are the vocals too loud?

Are the drums too loud? Do I need earmuffs? What

is happening here? Is the message built around

how I feel? Or does it only focus on truth? Because

if it focuses on truth, I'm out. I have children.

What does the church do for them? Are they cared

for? Are they safe during the service? Because

I need my time to focus on God. See, spiritual

consumerism places one's personal needs and desires

at the center of God's universe. Instead of Jesus'

example to us here, with foot washing. See, Jesus

isn't looking for members to casually join an

organization and occasionally attend their meetings.

He is looking for people who will lay down their

lives to follow him on mission together with

others. He wants imitators, not admirers. He

wants followers, not consumers. He wants family

members on mission, not casual meeting attenders.

See, Jesus is showing his disciples, you and

me, the entire church, how to move away from

being spiritual consumers to spiritual contributors,

which is our final thought. See, God, he desires

his church to be spiritual contributors. In the

final verse of this teaching, we see Jesus challenging

his disciples, do the same. John 13, 14 to 15

and 17. And since I, your Lord and teacher, have

washed your feet, you ought to wash each other's

feet. I've given you an example to follow. Do

as I've done to you. And then verse 17. Now that

you know these things, God will bless you. for

doing them. See, in other words, don't be consumers

focused on yourselves and what you want. Be focused

on others as Jesus was and what is best for the

kingdom of God. See, Jesus doesn't just wash

the disciples' feet. We all know he goes on to

suffer and die on a cross as a means of giving

you and me eternal life. Jesus sacrifices everything

for us. And that, friends, is the invitation

of the kingdom. That is the way of serving others

with humility. See, serving isn't something we

do. It becomes who we are. A servant leader pointing

others to Jesus who lives inside of us. Spiritual

contributors understand the church does not exist

for them. It's not just an organization. The

church is a living, breathing organism that possesses

abundant life to what? Be given away. Not kept

from the world. Not to hoard it inside of here.

Now we're to go love the world. In Matthew 22,

Jesus replied, you must love the Lord your God

with all your heart. All your soul and all your

mind. This is the first and greatest commandment,

and the second is equally important. Love your

neighbor as yourself. See, God created you and

me to be a blessing to others. He sends us out

on mission every single day to do the stuff by

first loving others, serving them, and inviting

them into the kingdom. See, spiritual contributor's

worldview, it has to change from, well, what's

in it for me, to know I'm living in this world

by pointing others to him, by being focused on

Jesus. And I'm so blessed to be a part of a community

of faith that's full of servant leaders. You

know, as you pull in, we have a parking team

and a welcome team at the door and a cafe team

at the coffee bar and a kids team and a youth

team and a worship team, tech team, camera teams,

you name it, we have a team. And they are the

ones that make this place go. They are the ones

that are setting the example for all of us. To

follow. Which leads to our simple action steps.

And I want to be honest with you this morning.

I'm going to lay out the difference between spiritual

consumers and spiritual contributors. And there's

five differences that I have found. And my challenge

to you this morning as I share them is, if in

one of them you find yourself as a spiritual

consumer, That's the Holy Spirit inviting you

to change. That's the Holy Spirit whispering

in your ear, hey, it's time to lay it down. It's

time to jump on the team and be a part of all

that God is doing, which leads us to our first

one. Consumers are spectators. Contributors are

participants. See, church, Jesus followers are

not called to sit in the stands, watch the game,

and celebrate what Jesus is doing as fans. No,

we're not fans. We're followers. We're called

to be on the field making a difference. Now,

Paul, I love Paul because he lays out my job

description in Ephesians chapter 4. Would you

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

like to hear my job description? Ephesians 4

.12. Their responsibility, and should I say Chris's

responsibility, is to equip God's people to do

his work and build up the church, the body of

Christ. Did everyone see that? See, Paul clearly

stated that the purpose of church staff, church

leaders, is to equip you, God's people, to do

his work. I'm not called to do all the work.

Thank God. Because it's not physically possible.

I'm not the only one called to share Jesus with

others. We are all called to do that because

as followers of Jesus and as contributors, We

can help those in our sphere of influence who

are young, stagnant, unstable, forgotten, confused

in their faith get off the bench and in the game.

And it's the best thing you'll ever do. See,

I'm called to be the coach. And I often view

our Sunday gatherings as a halftime talk. And

we're down by 10. We're down by 10, church. But

the good news is, I know we're going to win.

I know we're going to win. But we win when we're

all participating. Which leads us to number two.

See, consumers are cisterns of truth. Contributors

are conduits of blessing. So I want you to reflect

on your personal life this morning. I did a celebration

of life this week. And the son of, it's actually

my uncle that passed away, shared a poem called

The Dash. And the poem was about how on a tombstone

there's a start date where you were born and

an end date where you died. But between those

two, there is a dash, your life that you're living

this morning. So this morning, is your life the

Jordan River or the Dead Sea? Because see, the

Jordan River is an active body of water flowing

from north to south. The Dead Sea, on the other

hand, has no outlets. Water comes in from the

north to the lowest point in the world and doesn't

flow out. The water is stagnant, smelly, and

dries up. So you're either flowing like the Jordan

River as God uses you to impact the lives of

other people for his kingdom, or you're stagnant

and lifeless like the Dead Sea. And see, if we're

continually growing closer to Jesus and learning

more about him, you have one or two options.

You can hoard what you've learned and keep it

for yourself, or you can give it away as a benefit

to others. Because see, here's the reality. You

can read through the Bible a hundred times, and

I'll give you a high five and tell you to do

it a hundred more. You can learn all about Jesus

throughout the Gospels, how he lived his life.

But if you only do it for your edification and

so that other people look up to you, you're a

consumer. You're not a contributor. But if we're

conduits of the Holy Spirit, listen to what is

produced in our lives, Galatians 5. But the Holy

Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, gentleness. and self -control.

And see, I personally believe that we all agree

that's what life is supposed to look like. So

this morning, let's choose to be conduits, not

consumers. Which leads us to number three, consumers

criticize, contributors appreciate all that God

is doing. By show of hands, have you ever met

anyone with the gift of constructive criticism?

In other words, a person in your life that always

finds something wrong. Yep. We all know them.

Unfortunately, critical spirits divide churches.

And unfortunately, the consumerism mindset leads

people to be critical about everything. And let's

be honest, does HCV do everything right? No way!

Of course not! We're far from perfect, and we

recognize that there are changes that we need

to make. But we all pause and reflect on what

God is doing in our community of faith. It's

evident that his presence is in this place. It's

evident. Just yesterday, we opened our doors

for a memorial service, a celebration of life

for people that don't even go to this community

of faith. And it was over 500 people here to

celebrate a woman of God. And we do that because

we welcome the community. Last week I shared

about a man that God supernaturally healed his

heart. Every single week I give words of knowledge

and people come up here to our prayer team and

receive healing every single week. Last January

we baptized 63 people. And we already have upwards

of 30 signed up for Good Friday. And some of

you need to make that decision because you're

realizing you're a consumer. See, God is motivating

us. to change, and we're called to celebrate

what he's doing in our midst. The author of Hebrews

writes it this way in Hebrews 13. Therefore,

let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice

of praise to God, the fruit of lips that give

thanks to his name, and don't forget to do good

and to share with those in need. These are the

sacrifices of what pleases God. See, when Jesus

followers aren't investing in others, aren't

serving others, and you know what it allows for?

Idle time. And idle time leads to the focus on

the negative, in other words, becoming critical.

So who are you serving? What team are you on?

Because, see, we're not perfect. Our community

of faith never will be perfect because you and

I are in it. But it will improve when all of

us are on a team. Which leads us to number four.

Consumers sit and get. Contributors go and serve.

Now notice 1 Peter 4 .10. God has given each

of you, say me. That was really bad. Say me.

Thank you. God has given you a gift from his

great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them. Use

them well to serve one another. See, it's completely

fine to sit and be filled by biblical teaching

and engage Jesus in worship, but that can't be

all. If that's all, that becomes religion. Spiritual

contributors take it a step further. They know

they're being filled. for a specific purpose

of filling others who are still empty. I mean,

think about it. Think of the potential this team

has if all of us sitting in these seats, which

is probably close to 400 people, choose this

week To go and serve someone in our sphere of

influence that is hurting. You're talking about

another 400 people that are being encouraged

to join the community of faith and experience

the abundance of God. See, we're not called to

sit and be filled and then leave. We're called

to sit and be filled and give it away. Who are

you giving it away to? Which leads us to our

final step. Consumers take for themselves. Contributors

give to others. I'm just being honest with you.

Following Jesus can be hard. It can be difficult.

Jesus even told us, hey, you're going to have

trouble. And you know why we have trouble? Because

we have to deal with each other. Dealing with

people is challenging. But that is why it's increasingly

crucial to be sure that we're being filled from

the only source who can sustain us to do the

work. And who is that source? Jesus. See, think

about it. If you think about your life, if you're

in a relationship with Jesus, the good news was

shared with you by someone, right? That was meant

for someone else, which is you. And if you stop

the story, then the kingdom of God is not forcefully

advancing. See, what you were given, you're meant

to be given away. It's meant to be shared. And

if we believe the church is simply this building

or a destination, then all the people, Outside

of these walls, who are hurting and desiring

for someone to give them hope, will never hear

it. See, church, we're called to do the stuff.

And some of you are thinking, okay, well, what's

the stuff I'm called to do? Matthew 10, 7 through

8. This is what I want you to do this week. This

is your homework. Go and announce to them. That

the kingdom of heaven is here. It's here. Heal

the sick. Raise the dead. Cure those with leprosy.

Cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received.

See, that's what it looks like to give it away.

That's what it looks like to do the stuff. Right?

Sharing the good news first starts that our actions,

who we are, is a reflection to the world that

we're different. When our actions are different,

then our words that we speak will be heard and

we can speak the good news. But then God will

give us opportunity to lay hands on and heal

the sick. And that's intimidating. But that's

where faith comes in. That's where we take a

big step of faith to see God move. And when God

uses you, to be a conduit of his healing, the

miraculous, or the gift of new life to someone

else? Listen, you'll never be the same. You will

never be the same. Will you stand with me? So

I said earlier, I said earlier that I had an

expectancy this morning. Did you guys hear that?

And what does that mean? An expectancy is like

an excitement. It's butterflies in my stomach.

I used to get it all the time. I used to be a

wrestler when I was a kid. I started wrestling

when I was like four and wrestled until I was

14. And every time, I'm not making this up, whenever

I was about to wrestle, I would go in the bathroom

and vomit. I was so expectant and nervous. That's

expectancy, right? If you have that type of expectancy,

I want you to come up front here. If you have

like an expectancy, yeah, come up front. If you

have an expectancy, like you're excited, there's

something happening here, it's different. You're

not sure what it is. You're just kind of like,

I'm not sure, but I'm just going to do it. If

you have like an expectancy, come up forward.

Make room. Mike's coming. Come, Holy Spirit.

You have an expectancy. There's just something

in you that's just, ooh, it's stirring. You're

just, I mean, I'm not sure what's going on. I've

never felt this before. It's different. It's

going to wait. Don't worry. You won't miss lunch.

Everyone just calm down. Anybody else? Expectancy.

Anybody else? Yeah. I love it when young people

come. Anybody else? Just have an expectancy,

an excitement. That's it. That's it. We'll wait.

It's all good. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, they're still

coming. Make room. They're still coming. There

we go. Come on. Yep. Come on. That's it. That's

it. And you feel that, don't you? It's like this

tangible presence, this excitement, and you don't

know what to do with it. Is that what you feel?

Is that what you feel? All right, well, I want

to read this over you. You ready? And over all

of us. Everyone close your eyes. Matthew 23,

11 to 12. The greatest among you must be a servant.

But those who exalt themselves will be humbled.

And those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Now see, by you coming forward, you just humbled

yourself. You just said, I have this expectancy

because I know that God wants to use me to do

something. That's what you came forward to do.

And now the Holy Spirit has just been poured

all over you. And you can sense this tangible

presence, which is a beautiful thing. Okay, now

you guys up front here, look at me. Look at me.

Okay, here's what you're going to do. Okay? You're

going to go out there, and you're going to pray

for the person that God leads you to. You got

that? All right, go. All right, now, the rest

of us, you may get ready, because they may find

you, and they're excited. They're excited. The

rest of us, As I do every week, we're going to

pray a simple prayer because I believe there's

someone here that wants to give their life to

Jesus. Amen? So for those of you that are not

being prayed for, let's pray this simple prayer

together. Jesus, I'm broken. I'm full of doubt,

shame, regret, sin. Change me. I believe. You're

God's son. I believe you died for me. Make me

new. Set me free. Fill me, God, with your spirit

and anticipation. In Jesus' name, amen. All right,

before we go, there was several words of knowledge.

Our prayer team will be here on my right. You

have discomfort behind your left ear. You have

a right knee muscle or tendon tightness on the

outer side of your right knee. You have left

arm muscles or nerve condition causing loss of

mobility. You have pain in your left eye that

extends to the back of your head. So if any of

those are you, our prayer team will be here on

the right. Okay, listen. I am full of expectation

of what God wants to do in your life. And my

prayer for all of you is, this week, you contribute

to someone else's life. Amen? That there's not

400 of us in here celebrating, proclaiming God's

promises and greatness, but there's, by the end

of the week, 800. Because that's how the kingdom

of God works. So next Sunday, You get a special

treat. Jess will be sharing at all three of our

Sunday gatherings. So be expectant for God to

move. Thank you for joining us online. I'm going

to my left side door. So keep that door shut.

I love you guys. Have an incredible Sunday. And

if someone's praying for you, don't leave.