Jeff Miller

May 23, 2021

Knowing Jesus

Knowing Jesus - Knowing His Greater Works

Jeff Miller

May 23, 2021

Knowing Jesus

Introduction:

The Privileges of Following Jesus (John 14:7-14):

Jesus gives you the privilege of Knowing God . (John 14:7-9)
Colossians 1:15 - He is the image of the invisible God...

Hebrews 1:3 - He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature...

Jesus gives you the privilege of doing His Work (John 14:10-12)
Acts 1:8 - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Jesus gives you the privilege of Answered Prayer . (John 14:13-14)

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

00:53-00:58
You know it is a real privilege to serve Jesus Christ alongside you.
00:58-01:00
Privilege. Think about that word.
01:01-01:12
That's a concept that has been hacked and hijacked and twisted by our culture to take on a different connotation, a negative connotation.
01:12-01:16
You know privileges are supposed to be a good thing, right?
01:16-01:18
I mean aren't privileges supposed to be good?
01:19-01:23
Like if your kids behave, they get privileges.
01:23-01:29
Like, I don't know, video games or tablets or whatever the kids are into these days.
01:29-01:30
Privileges are good, right?
01:31-01:32
There's privileges for kids.
01:32-01:36
There's privileges of being an American citizen, right?
01:36-01:39
You have the privilege of voting.
01:39-01:41
And that's a good thing, isn't it?
01:42-01:44
When there's no cheating, voting is a good thing.
01:45-01:58
But privileges are supposed to be good, but again, our culture's hijacked the term to the point that now if somebody says you're privileged, that's like, I'm supposed to feel bad about that.
01:59-02:09
Well, as we come to the gospel of Jesus Christ, you know, sometimes the gospel is seen as just simply a means to avoid judgment.
02:10-02:13
Or the gospel is the means by which we get to heaven.
02:13-02:15
And yes, those things are true.
02:15-02:20
But there are incredible privileges that we have in following Jesus Christ.
02:21-02:29
Now see, right now we're in this section in John 13-16, and we're privy to a dinner conversation that Jesus had with His disciples.
02:30-02:35
And we're going through this looking at one piece at a time in order that we may know Jesus.
02:36-02:42
And last week, we saw Jesus was again talking to His disciples about going away.
02:42-02:48
He says, "But I've got some comfort for you." There's a peace that comes when you believe in Me.
02:48-02:50
And there's a place that I'm going to prepare for you.
02:51-02:52
And there's a path.
02:53-02:55
And in the passage we're looking at today, here's more comfort.
02:56-03:01
Because Jesus going away may have looked like a bad thing to the disciples.
03:02-03:10
But Jesus forecasts for them and for us, the privileges that we have in Him because of His return to Heaven.
03:10-03:13
Did you ever wonder why there are so many joyless Christians?
03:14-03:17
I think for a lot of joyless Christians, it just simply boils down to this.
03:18-03:22
At some point, following Jesus was looked at as a chore, or a duty.
03:23-03:27
And they've lost sight of the privileges that come when we follow Jesus Christ.
03:27-03:33
So that's what we're going to be looking at today on your outline if you're taking notes, and I always encourage that.
03:33-03:35
Let's talk about the privileges of following Jesus.
03:35-03:38
And I think this passage is going to be good for a lot of us.
03:39-03:42
If you've been struggling in that area, like, man, you know what, I've just been going through the motions.
03:43-03:44
I haven't been feeling it.
03:45-03:53
Man, it's just been kind of a joyless thing that I, hey, there are privileges that we should be rejoicing in.
03:54-03:57
And following Jesus Christ, here's one, number one, right off the bat.
03:58-04:01
Write this down, Jesus gives you the privilege of knowing God.
04:02-04:02
Talk about a privilege.
04:03-04:05
Jesus gives you the privilege of knowing God.
04:06-04:08
Now again, this is a dinner conversation.
04:08-04:09
This is the Last Supper.
04:10-04:18
And in the previous passage we looked at, Jesus said, "No one comes to the Father except through Me." And then He didn't stop there.
04:18-04:24
Verse 7, Jesus says, "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.
04:25-04:35
From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him." Now, admittedly, this is perplexing the way Jesus is speaking.
04:35-04:38
Can we just acknowledge that?
04:38-04:48
I think we've heard some of this stuff so many times, and we're like, what is said, but just stop for a second and think about the words that Jesus is using here.
04:48-04:53
He says, "You only come to the Father through me.
04:53-04:58
And if you know me, you know the Father and you do." You've seen him.
04:59-05:00
I'm sorry, what?
05:00-05:01
What?
05:02-05:03
And then Philip speaks up looking for a saint.
05:03-05:13
Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father and it is enough for us." And I'm gonna confess to you, if I would have been in the room, I would have been on Team Philip right there.
05:13-05:14
Like, yeah, yeah.
05:15-05:17
I want this stuff explained to me too.
05:17-05:20
I'm not quite sure what you're saying here.
05:20-05:24
And I'll tell you what, you show me and I'm good.
05:24-05:30
Verse nine, Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long and you still do not know me, Philip?
05:30-05:33
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
05:33-05:37
How can you say, 'Show us the Father?'" Well, now it's Jesus that's perplexed.
05:37-05:39
He's like, "How can you say that?
05:39-05:43
I've been with you for three years, and you don't get it.
05:44-05:46
When you're looking at me, you're looking at the Father.
05:47-05:54
You see, the disciples, they knew that Jesus is the Christ, and they knew that Jesus is the Son of God.
05:55-05:56
But what does that even mean?
05:56-06:00
What does it mean that He's the Christ, He's the Son of God?
06:01-06:02
What exactly is that?
06:02-06:08
Does that mean that Jesus is like, He's like God's greatest human creation, right?
06:08-06:16
Or maybe Jesus was just like so good at walking in the power of the Holy Spirit.
06:17-06:19
Right? No. No.
06:19-06:24
Jesus is telling us again that He is God.
06:24-06:27
And that's what the New Testament teaches, right?
06:27-06:32
Colossians 1:15 says He is the image of the invisible God.
06:32-07:10
Hebrews 1:3 says He is the radiance of the glory of God exact imprint of his nature. So if you're like, "Hey, I wonder what is God like? What is God the Father like?" Jesus is telling us again that everything you need to know about God is found in Jesus. Everything. Jesus Christ is God's perfect man, and he's man's perfect God. The king of the universe, the creator of all things, the almighty. He's realize He became a man and He dwelled among us.
07:11-07:13
Jesus gives us the privilege of knowing God.
07:14-07:16
Because knowing Jesus is knowing God.
07:16-07:17
That's the first privilege.
07:18-07:22
I think sometimes we need to just stop and think about that for a second.
07:22-07:23
Let's not take that lightly.
07:24-07:29
Say, "I know the God of the universe because I know Jesus Christ." What an awesome privilege.
07:30-07:31
Secondly, number two, write this down.
07:32-07:34
Jesus gives you the privilege of doing His work.
07:35-07:37
Jesus gives you the privilege of doing His work.
07:38-07:39
Pick up again in v. 10.
07:40-07:45
Jesus said, "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me?
07:45-07:48
The words that I say to you, I do not speak on My own authority.
07:49-07:52
But the Father who dwells in Me does His works.
07:53-08:36
Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me, or else believe on account of the works themselves." So Jesus points out two evidences here that He is in the Father, Father is in Him. It's His Word and His works. Look at verse 12. Jesus says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I do." Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop right there for a second. What? We are going to do the same works that Jesus did. Is that what He said? Hang on, I've got to read this again. Is that what your Bible says? "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that Is that what your Bible says?
08:36-08:41
You know, we've been walking through John and we've seen Jesus do some pretty amazing things, right?
08:42-08:43
I mean, Jesus raised the dead.
08:43-08:45
Remember the whole Lazarus story?
08:46-08:48
Jesus turned water into wine.
08:48-08:52
He multiplied the loaves and the fishes and he healed people.
08:53-08:54
What's he saying here?
08:54-08:58
Is he saying that if I believe in him, I'm going to get to do that stuff too?
08:59-09:04
I'll tell you what, if I turn water into wine, I'm going to be invited to every small group here on out.
09:05-09:10
If I can multiply the loaves and fishes, I can promise you we'll never have another potluck.
09:11-09:13
Leave that casserole at home.
09:13-09:14
I got this.
09:14-09:19
But is he saying that we're going to have the power to do those things?
09:19-09:22
Well, he's not talking about those kinds of works.
09:22-09:31
Jesus in this passage, He's not talking about us performing the signs that He performed that prove He's God.
09:31-09:33
And I want you to see something very closely here.
09:33-09:41
In this context right here, the words and the works are not two separate things.
09:41-09:42
I want you to see this.
09:42-09:43
Look at verse 10 again.
09:43-09:45
The second part of verse 10.
09:45-09:45
Look very closely.
09:46-09:58
Jesus said, "The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does His..." What does your Bible say?
09:59-09:59
Right?
10:00-10:00
Do you see that shift?
10:01-10:05
Jesus connected the words to the works.
10:06-10:09
The works are directly tied in to the words.
10:09-10:10
Did you see that?
10:10-10:11
You're like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa.
10:11-10:12
Hang on a second, Jeff.
10:12-10:15
Hang on." You can't work with words.
10:16-10:16
All right?
10:16-10:20
I don't know what you're talking about, but working with words isn't a thing.
10:21-10:22
You can't work with words.
10:23-10:29
And I would just say, "Well, then what have you been paying me for for the past 10 years?" See, Jesus is saying this.
10:29-10:30
You've got to catch this.
10:31-10:36
Otherwise, like so many people, you're going to go completely off the rails with this passage.
10:36-10:40
Jesus said, "Believe, because I'm speaking for God." And He's working.
10:40-10:41
That's what He's saying.
10:41-10:43
You see God at work through His Word.
10:43-10:49
He's talking about the Kingdom of God advancing through the proclamation of the Word of God.
10:50-10:51
Kingdom purposes.
10:51-10:52
And Peter saw this.
10:52-10:54
We saw this back in chapter 6.
10:54-11:01
Remember, a bunch of the disciples were leaving Jesus turned to his disciples, the remaining faithful, he goes, "You wanna leave too?" And you remember what Peter said?
11:01-11:02
He goes, "Where will we go?
11:02-11:06
"You have the words of eternal life." Peter was already making a connection.
11:07-11:11
There's something about your words that do the work of God.
11:11-11:13
Your very words bring eternal life to people.
11:14-11:14
It's the work.
11:15-11:17
There's power in the word of God, literally.
11:18-11:25
You know, in the Bible, in the Bible, there are only two things that are referred to as the power of God.
11:25-11:28
One of them is Jesus Christ Himself, who is God.
11:29-11:33
The only other thing that's referred to as the power of God is the Gospel.
11:34-11:41
Right? Romans 1:16 "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God." What is the Gospel?
11:41-11:45
The Gospel is words which do the work of God.
11:46-11:53
So Jesus is saying when we believe in Him, we get the privilege of doing God's work by speaking words from Heaven too.
11:54-11:55
Right now somebody's feeling ripped off.
11:56-12:11
They're like, "You know what, Pastor Jeff, I was looking at this passage, and it says right here that I'll get to do the works that Jesus did, and I was really excited to hear you tell me that I was gonna be able to do all these superhero Jesus stuff, and I am really disappointed.
12:11-12:15
I am so disappointed." You're like, "You're telling me that's the work?
12:15-12:20
That's the work?" It's like sharing the Bible with people, that's the big work?
12:20-12:22
That's the big powerful thing?
12:22-12:24
That's the privilege that we're talking about?
12:25-12:27
What's so powerful about that?
12:28-12:31
And I would say, that's the greatest miracle that there is.
12:32-12:36
Hypothetically, let's say you could heal a lame person.
12:36-12:38
Let's say you had the power for physical healing.
12:39-12:41
That's only going to last for the rest of that person's life.
12:42-12:45
But the work that God does through His Word?
12:45-12:47
That's the greatest miracle that there is.
12:48-12:48
Think about that.
12:49-12:53
A dead, rebellious sinner Here's the Gospel message.
12:53-12:56
They believe it, and they receive eternal life.
12:56-12:57
A transformed heart.
12:57-13:00
They're changed from the inside out.
13:00-13:02
And now they're ambassadors of Christ.
13:03-13:08
New channels of His love to reach and bring salvation for more people all over the world.
13:09-13:11
See, it's the greatest miracle there is.
13:12-13:16
That we literally see spiritually dead people turn into spiritually alive people.
13:16-13:19
And that's why sharing the Gospel with people.
13:20-13:24
That's why preaching the Word of God, you have to see it as a privilege.
13:24-13:28
Because often when we talk about witnessing, people are like, "Oh, here comes the guilt trip.
13:28-13:30
Jeff's going to say I should witness more.
13:30-13:35
Jeff's going to say I should invite people." And we stop viewing it for what it really is.
13:35-13:36
It's a privilege.
13:36-13:38
It is an absolute privilege.
13:38-13:43
And I've got to tell you, church, it is a privilege for me to preach the Word of God.
13:43-13:46
You see, the way I look at it, I do this for free.
13:47-14:17
You pay me to handle all those people headaches week, but this I do for free because I love this. This is the greatest privilege, to be able to stand up and say, "This is what God said," and knowing that His words are going to transform people. It's an incredible privilege. You know what? Over the years, I've heard people so many times have said to me, they're like, "Oh, you know what, Jeff? I wouldn't want your job. I wouldn't want your job, Jeff." Well, guess what? I wouldn't want you to have my job either because I love this.
14:17-14:23
In July, we have these guest speakers that are coming that are from our own church, from our own body.
14:23-14:34
We have people that have been working and studying since February, putting a sermon together and in July, they're going to get up here and they're going to proclaim the word of God.
14:34-14:42
Just grab one of these guys and ask him, "How do you feel about that?" Grab Matt Cole and say, "Hey, how do you feel about preaching in July?" Grab Mike Wolsky.
14:43-14:44
What do you think about preaching in July?
14:45-14:50
I promise you, they're going to say it is a privilege to be able to stand up and do that.
14:51-14:54
You know, in July I'm going to be sitting in the chair and be watching these guys up here preaching.
14:55-14:57
I'm going to be sitting there just going, "Man, that guy's so lucky.
14:57-15:06
That guy's lucky because he gets to stand up there and preach the Word of God." And you need to see sharing the Word of God as a privilege that it is.
15:07-15:10
Seeing God at work when we share His Word, you're like, "Man, that's pretty cool.
15:11-15:18
We get, you know, in that sense, yeah, we get to do the same works that Jesus did, proclaiming the Word, seeing God at work.
15:18-15:19
We get to do the same thing.
15:20-15:22
But it's not just the same thing.
15:22-15:23
In fact, it's better.
15:23-15:27
Look at verse 12 again, picking up where we left off.
15:27-16:08
Jesus said, "And greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father." Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me, verse 12 again, because I want to make sure we're reading this right - will also do the works that I do, speak for God, see God at work. Look at this - and greater works than these will he do because I'm going to the Father. Greater works. How in the world can we do greater works than Jesus? I mean, aren't you just a little afraid I'm about to be struck by lightning even saying something like that? Like, "Hey church, guess what? We're going to get to do greater stuff than Jesus." But that's what he said. Listen, Greater doesn't mean in kind.
16:09-16:11
Like, Jesus raised the dead.
16:11-16:12
Hey, guess what I can do?
16:12-16:13
I'll create life out of nothing.
16:14-16:15
It doesn't mean like that.
16:15-16:17
It's not greater in kind.
16:17-16:18
It's greater in scope.
16:19-16:20
It's greater in extent.
16:21-16:22
Like, what do you mean by that?
16:22-16:23
Well, look again at verse 12.
16:23-16:27
He says, "Greater works than these will He do..." Look at this next phrase.
16:27-16:39
"...because I am going to the Father." When Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, The Bible says he sent the Holy Spirit who lives in and empowers Jesus' followers.
16:39-16:42
And I wanna talk a lot more about him, but that's next week's message.
16:42-16:44
I wanna make sure we all come back.
16:44-16:51
But you know, Acts 1:8, our church spent an entire year talking about this verse.
16:51-16:52
But look at what Jesus said.
16:52-16:54
This is right before he ascended.
16:54-17:12
He said, "But you will receive power "when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, "and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth." You see, as the living Lord, Jesus is going to continue through the church what He began in His ministry.
17:12-17:18
Jesus was saying to His disciples, "Hey, I gave witness to the power of God here to you disciples.
17:18-17:23
You are going to spread out and witness to the power of God all over the world.
17:24-17:54
Because after I return to the Father, I'm going to send the Holy Spirit and He's going to live in you." And Jesus says, "Church, we're going to be doing greater works than he did. Why? Because as a man, Jesus in the incarnation, he had limits. Self-imposed limits. But you see, Jesus limited himself by being just one person, but through the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ is going to work universally. The Holy Spirit and God's people are going to reach more people than Jesus ever did.
17:54-18:26
I mean, think about it. You know, you study the life of Jesus in the Gospels. He never left Israel. And when you get to the book of Acts chapter 1, it says there were 120 disciples assembled. Forty days later, Pentecost, Peter, now full of the Holy Spirit, preached the gospel and 3,000 people were saved. And you know that never happened during Jesus' ministry. We don't see one account in Jesus' ministry where he preached and thousands of people got saved. In fact, 3,000, that's more converts than are recorded over Jesus' whole ministry.
18:27-18:28
Fast forward a bit.
18:28-18:31
1955, London, Wembley Stadium.
18:31-18:34
Billy Graham preached a message on the prodigal son.
18:35-18:37
And 3,000 people got saved.
18:37-18:38
You know what's funny?
18:38-18:40
That didn't happen when Jesus told that story.
18:41-18:43
But these are the greater works that he's talking about.
18:43-18:47
Church, we get to see greater things than Jesus saw.
18:48-18:50
I mean, let's just talk about this little church right here.
18:51-18:52
The places that we've been.
18:52-19:02
You see, Jesus didn't go to Wexford or Zillian Opal or Thailand or the Dominican Republic or India to love people and to lead them to God.
19:02-19:05
But He does do that because He's doing it through us.
19:06-19:11
What a privilege that we have that God wants to save lost people.
19:12-19:18
God wants to build up, save people, and God says, "Hey, we're going to work together on this." The church, we have this incredible privilege.
19:19-19:21
Thirdly, the privilege is of following Jesus.
19:22-19:25
Jesus gives us the privilege of answered prayer.
19:25-19:28
Jesus gives us the privilege of answered prayer.
19:28-19:30
Look at verses 13 and 14.
19:30-19:36
Jesus said, "Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
19:37-19:42
If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it." It's not that we do the works.
19:43-19:48
Obviously, Jesus is doing the works, but I want you to see here how he links it to prayer.
19:48-19:50
Jesus says that we need to pray in His name.
19:51-19:52
And what does that mean?
19:52-19:55
Some people think praying in Jesus' name is like the magic formula.
19:56-20:00
You tack that on the end of a prayer, Jesus has to do it, right?
20:00-20:03
Like what's the magic word in Jesus' name?
20:03-20:05
Okay, I gotta do it now, I'm on the hook.
20:05-20:06
I promised.
20:07-20:09
And it's not a magic phrase.
20:10-20:11
What does it mean to pray in Jesus' name?
20:11-20:12
What does that mean?
20:13-20:24
Well, many, many, many years ago, some of you know this, and some of you are about to be really shocked, But many, many years ago, I was a professional wrestler.
20:24-20:25
That's true.
20:25-20:37
And I had a good friend in Columbus, Ohio, who was, he was one of my first promoters, and we got to be really close over the years, and his name was Tom, but he went by the name Bull.
20:37-20:42
He was Wild Bull Miller, and he had passed away a few years ago.
20:42-20:45
But before he passed away, he had gotten really sick.
20:45-20:54
And I have a pastor friend in Columbus named Luke Ahrens, and some of you, remember Jay, remember many, many, many years ago, Luke spoke at this church.
20:55-21:33
Well, Bull was really sick, so I called Luke up, and I said, "Hey, I got a friend that is in your town, "and he's lost, and he's hurting, "and could you go visit him, "and pray with him, and share the Gospel with him, "and encourage him?" And Luke said, "Yeah, sure." I said, "But there's one thing, Luke." I said, "This is gonna sound really dumb." I said, "But when you go, "You have to tell him that I sent you." He's like, "All right, I'll tell him Jeff sent me." "No, no, no, you gotta use the wrestling name." They're like, "What was your wrestling name?" "I wrestled under the name Too Cool Trevor Lowe." And I said, "Luke, it's gonna sound dumb, "but you're gonna have to trust me.
21:33-21:47
"When you go to bull, you're going to have to say, "'I'm a friend of Too Cool Trevor Lowe, "'you have to say it.'" And Luke was like, "Okay." Well, Luke went and he called me.
21:47-21:56
And he was laughing, he said, he goes, "Jeff, you were right." He said, "You know, when I first went in, "he seemed so annoyed that I was there.
21:57-22:00
"And I was trying to talk to him "and he didn't wanna talk.
22:00-22:10
"He seemed completely ticked off "that I was even in the room." He said, "But as soon as I mentioned "that I was friends with two cool Trevor Love," he said, "All of a sudden his whole demeanor changed.
22:11-22:19
"He opened up, he talked to me, he cried, "we prayed, and I got to share the gospel with him." He just completely opened up.
22:20-22:27
Like, "What happened there?" You see, that subculture is a pretty tight little fraternity.
22:28-22:29
It's kind of a carny atmosphere.
22:30-22:33
And you don't just typically walk into that as an unknown.
22:33-22:35
Say, "Hey, I'm here, let's talk.
22:35-22:51
I don't know you." But you see, when my name was mentioned, the wild bull said to Luke, "You know what, based on your relationship with Too Cool Trevor Lowe, I'm all yours." There's a real sense, church, in which it's the same thing for us when we come to the Father.
22:52-22:54
We come because we know Jesus Christ.
22:54-23:00
You see, God the Father says in the same sense, like hey, based on your relationship with Jesus Christ, I'm all yours.
23:01-23:02
Let's talk.
23:02-23:04
I'm open because of Jesus.
23:05-23:12
And notice here, this relationship with Jesus, this knowing Jesus, results in answered prayer.
23:13-23:13
Do you see that?
23:14-23:15
Answered prayer.
23:15-23:27
He says, "Whatever you ask in My name." And then in v. 14, "Ask Me anything." It's based on your relationship with Jesus and it's asking according to His will.
23:28-23:29
Like, well, what's His will?
23:29-23:30
Look at v. 13.
23:31-23:42
He says, "This I will do that the Father may be glorified in the Son." You see, that statement that the Father may be glorified, that guides how we pray.
23:42-23:45
That refines how we pray.
23:45-23:46
because it's not about us.
23:47-23:53
Our prayers have to be about Jesus and the Father and His glory and gospel salvation purposes.
23:53-24:02
And the glorious result, two times in this passage, He says, "I will do it." Anything you ask in my name that would glorify God, I will do it.
24:03-24:10
What a glorious privilege that He doesn't owe us a thing, but He's willing to give us anything that we ask in His name.
24:11-24:13
What are you praying for right now?
24:13-24:14
What are you praying for?
24:15-24:17
I know what you're praying for.
24:18-24:20
I mean, I see the prayer requests.
24:20-24:22
I pray over your prayer requests.
24:23-24:24
I go to the prayer meetings.
24:25-24:26
I know what you're praying for.
24:27-24:30
But church, I think what we need to start asking is why.
24:30-24:32
Why am I praying for this?
24:32-24:38
Because you see, these verses have been so abused by churches and Christians over the years.
24:39-24:41
It's like here's this blank check from Jesus.
24:42-24:47
I just say, "Jesus, give me what I want." He does it because look right there, it says that's what He does.
24:47-24:48
And that's not what it says.
24:49-24:51
Jesus Christ is not a genie.
24:51-24:53
Jesus Christ isn't a vending machine.
24:53-24:56
I stick my money in, I push the right buttons, I get what I want.
24:57-25:03
And so often, church, our prayers are self-centered, with selfish motives, and they're purely worldly.
25:03-25:06
And there is no promise attached to that, okay?
25:06-25:17
But when your prayers are about God's glory, when your prayers are about His kingdom, and When you're asking for things that Jesus Himself would pray for, He promises that He's gonna do it.
25:17-25:21
So maybe we need to pray a little bit different in light of these verses, church.
25:22-25:26
Maybe our prayers need to start with saying, "God, please examine my heart.
25:26-25:33
"God, please remove any selfishness in me "and let my request be for the things "that exalt You in Your Son.
25:34-25:47
"God, give me the faith to believe that You'll answer "and eyes to see You at work." Church, I just think we really need to not just be focused on what we're praying for, to ask ourselves, why am I praying for this?
25:48-25:49
Am I really about God's glory here?
25:50-25:52
Is this really about His kingdom advancing?
25:53-25:55
Jesus gives us the privilege of answered prayer.
25:56-25:56
So how are we doing?
25:57-25:59
Would you say that you haven't been feeling it lately?
26:00-26:09
Would you say the following Christ has been more duty than delight, more chore than cheery, More habit than happiness.
26:09-26:11
More pain than privilege.
26:12-26:13
I can keep going.
26:13-26:19
I would encourage you to quiet yourself before the Lord and look again at these amazing promises.
26:19-26:23
That knowing Jesus, we have the privilege of knowing God.
26:23-26:25
We get the privilege of partnering with God.
26:26-26:28
Doing the only work that lasts for eternity.
26:29-26:34
And we have the God of the universe just waiting to show us things that only He can do.
26:34-26:35
It's a privilege.
26:36-26:39
This is a privilege to know and to serve Jesus Christ.
26:40-26:41
Let's pray.
26:41-26:49
Father in Heaven, I just want to pause right now and ask You, God, that You would change the way we think about things.
26:49-26:57
Father, You know, we come to You and we're baptized, we're excited, and we'll do anything for You, and we'll do it with a good attitude.
26:57-27:03
And then, Father, You know, after some time, we just start to think about it wrong.
27:04-27:11
We lose sight of these glorious things that your son was telling the disciples and telling us here in this passage.
27:12-27:17
That God, what an awesome privilege it is that we can know you, the God of the universe.
27:17-27:20
We can stop at any moment and just cry out to you.
27:21-27:22
God, thank you for that.
27:22-27:29
And that God, you've given us the privilege of doing greater works than even your son did.
27:30-27:37
God, You're using this church to reach people all over the world, going places that Jesus Christ never stepped foot.
27:37-27:42
But Father, You've given us the privilege and this promise that You're going to answer our prayers.
27:42-27:46
So I pray for a self-examination to happen in all of us.
27:46-27:53
That God, I confess to You, so many times in my life, I've prayed things to You, and I've never thought about why I'm praying them.
27:53-27:57
Or I've prayed things to You that are clearly motivated by selfishness.
27:58-28:03
I pray, Father, that You would get us thinking like Jesus when we pray.
28:03-28:15
Father, restore to us the joy of our salvation, and let us see following You, let us see worshipping You for what it really is, a tremendous blessing and privilege.
28:16-28:18
We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

Small Group Discussion
Read John 14:7-14

What was your big “take-away” from this passage / message?
Why do you think some Christians lose sight of the fact that serving Christ is a privilege? How do you get back there if you've been feeling like serving Christ is a chore?
What are the “greater works” Jesus was speaking of in John 14:12?
What does it mean to “pray in Jesus' name” (John 14:13-14)? How would you respond to someone who said, “I tried that, and it didn't work.”?

Breakout
Pray for one another to see, in a fresh way, the privileges of following Jesus.

Jeff Miller

May 16, 2021

Knowing Jesus

Knowing Jesus - Knowing His Comfort

Jeff Miller

May 16, 2021

Knowing Jesus

Introduction:

Knowing His Comfort (John 14:1-6):

Receive the peace Jesus Provides (John 14:1)
Look to the place Jesus is Preparing (John 14:2-4)
Revelation 21:2 - And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Walk the path Jesus Prescribes (John 14:5-6)

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

00:54-00:57
Open up your Bibles with me please to John chapter 14.
00:59-01:06
We're continuing our series called "Knowing Jesus." And that's what the Gospel of John is about.
01:08-01:17
It's about taking us from knowing about Jesus, some facts about a person, to knowing Jesus, having a relationship with Him.
01:17-01:19
Jesus said that is salvation.
01:20-01:21
That is eternal life.
01:21-01:27
"Knowing God and Jesus Christ whom He sent." We want to know Jesus.
01:28-01:30
That's our theme, actually.
01:30-01:34
It was last year's, it's this year's, and spoiler alert, it's going to be next year's.
01:34-01:40
And I can't think of a greater theme for us to go after as a church than knowing Jesus. Amen?
01:41-01:43
All right, so let's do it.
01:44-01:49
You know, these are really stressful times that we live in.
01:52-02:17
And it's been very sad for me, people that have, due to health issues or whatever, that have had to lock down, isolate, quarantine, whatever you want to call that, and their only communication received from the outside world, mainly, is the television.
02:19-02:27
Because what you have is a government and a media that is wanting people to be panicked.
02:29-02:33
And Aaron and I know people personally that have really suffered with this.
02:35-02:48
the horribly inflated death count, always in front, always leading, every news program, wanting people to be panicked.
02:50-03:06
And if that's not bad enough, I don't know if you've been following this in the news, but last weekend, Calgary pastor, Arthur Pawlowski, was arrested for the heinous crime of opening his church.
03:07-03:18
And you're like, "Didn't you talk about that recently?" "Oh yeah, that was a different Canadian pastor that was arrested for opening his church." These aren't things that are happening on the other side of the world.
03:20-03:22
This is happening in our neighbors up north.
03:25-03:26
These are stressful times.
03:28-03:38
I got messages this past week from a pastor friend of mine in Nepal, and if you've been following what's been happening in India, you understand, that's all we've heard.
03:38-04:02
"Oh, it's so bad! It's so bad in India!" And he's in Nepal, which is right next door, and he's like, "Oh, it's so bad, it's so bad!" And you could hear the fear coming out of his message, "It's so bad, we're locked down, and it's just so much death, and the hospitals are overwhelmed." Now Nepal is a country of 30 million people.
04:03-04:05
Do you know how many COVID deaths they've had?
04:06-04:07
3,000.
04:09-04:11
And look, I know one's too many and all of that.
04:11-04:13
I get that, and I'm not making light of that.
04:13-04:17
But is that panic-worthy in a country of 30 million people?
04:20-04:28
What is concerning is the fact that the government is locking everything down so there's no jobs and the day laborers can't eat.
04:28-04:35
So this church sent $3,000 to this pastor to feed those people this past week.
04:35-04:39
So thank you for your support in helping these people through this.
04:40-04:43
But my point is, there's just so much panic right now.
04:45-04:50
And whether you think it's justified or not, there's so much panic right now.
04:53-05:04
I mean, even for us, church, you know, this fear of our rights being taken away and the price of gas, the price of food, gas shortages, joblessness, border crisis, riots, woke culture.
05:05-05:06
Are you feeling stressed?
05:06-05:11
You're like, "I wasn't until I came in here." This isn't helping.
05:13-05:23
But let's be honest, wherever you are, your beliefs on this stuff, Are you feeling the stress?
05:28-05:30
Well, is it wrong to feel stress?
05:34-05:34
No.
05:36-05:37
It's not wrong to feel stress.
05:39-05:41
Even Jesus was troubled in spirit.
05:41-05:46
We saw that back in verse 21 in chapter 13, right?
05:46-05:49
So that's another way of saying stress, isn't it?
05:50-05:51
It's not wrong to feel stress.
05:52-05:54
See, church, we can't prevent stress.
05:55-05:56
But we can overcome it.
05:58-06:02
And it's overcome with the comfort that Jesus Christ offers.
06:03-06:11
And the comfort that Jesus Christ offers outweighs any kind of stress, any amount of stress, any duration of stress.
06:12-06:45
When you take that and put it before Jesus Christ, two will be an overcomer. So you're feeling anxious, are you feeling a little nervous, or are you outright panicked? Are you in a position right now where you're like, "What do I do?" Well, here's what you do. Know his comfort. You need to know his comfort. I'm not going to give you some motivational pep talk about how you can rise above, blah, blah, blah.
06:46-06:46
I'm not... No.
06:48-06:52
You need to know Jesus Christ, and you need to know the comfort that He gives.
06:52-06:55
It's a spiritual comfort that He gives.
06:59-07:03
And this is the most comforting passage in the whole Bible.
07:03-07:19
And I would encourage you to mark this and read it and re-read it on your outline, "Knowing is Comfort." How do I have comfort when it seems like the whole world is both falling apart and going crazy at the same time?
07:19-07:22
How do I know the comfort of Jesus in the midst of this?
07:22-07:26
I'm going to tell you, number one, you need to receive the peace that Jesus provides.
07:27-07:28
Look at verse 1.
07:30-07:36
Jesus said, "Let not your hearts be troubled." Believe in God.
07:39-07:43
Believe also in Me." Now stop there.
07:43-07:56
Literally, the tense in this language, Jesus is saying, "You need to stop letting your hearts be troubled." And Jesus knew the tension at this moment the disciples were feeling.
07:58-08:02
Now obviously they weren't dealing with the COVID stuff that we're dealing with.
08:05-08:13
But understand, right at this moment while Jesus was having this meal with them, you could have cut the tension with a knife.
08:13-08:16
It was so tense at this moment. Why?
08:17-08:21
Jesus just got done saying that one of them was going to betray Him.
08:22-08:26
He just got done saying one of them was going to deny even knowing Him.
08:26-08:29
by the way, the strongest one of them was going to do that.
08:30-08:39
And now Jesus is talking about, "I'm leaving." Jesus talked about that so many times, "I'm leaving, I'm going away." And he's starting to talk about that again.
08:40-08:50
And you could just imagine at this point, the disciples were like, "Ah, what is going on here?" You know, we left everything to follow this man.
08:50-08:58
We thought this is the Messiah of Israel, and we thought he was worth dropping everything to fall in for three years.
08:59-09:02
We followed him and now everything's falling apart.
09:05-09:08
So they were feeling some serious tension right here.
09:10-09:16
You're like, "Well, what did that feel like?" I think most of us know what that felt like.
09:17-09:21
If you can think of, I mean, we've all lost people close to us, right?
09:23-09:25
Can you think of somebody that you lost?
09:27-09:31
Can you think of the days before that person passed away?
09:32-09:39
Knowing that their writing was on the wall, and their time was coming, and you know what I'm talking about?
09:41-09:41
You just know.
09:42-09:51
I think to last year, the pastor who taught me everything I know about being a pastor, Bob Huber, he passed away last July 4th.
09:52-09:56
And I got to see him in the hospital a couple of days before he passed.
09:58-10:06
And as I was sitting there, I just knew, as much as I was trying to talk myself out of it.
10:06-10:22
I just had this feeling, you know, of like, "This is the last time I'm going to see him on this side of heaven." And it was just so heavy, you know?
10:24-10:26
And if you've been there, you know what I'm talking about.
10:29-10:34
What the disciples were experiencing here, I would suggest to you, was even more intense than that.
10:36-10:40
Because Jesus is about to be killed by wicked men.
10:40-10:46
Jesus is about to take the sin of the world on Himself, and bear the wrath of God.
10:46-10:52
And you would think for this, the Last Supper, you would have thought the disciples would have been comforting Him.
10:53-10:56
Like, "Yes, you said this was coming. You said this was ahead.
10:56-11:01
Jesus, let us pray for you. Let us encourage you." You would have thought they're comforting Him.
11:01-11:06
He's the one about to go through the worst experience possible.
11:09-11:12
But what you see here is Jesus comforting them.
11:12-11:22
He says, "Hey, don't let your hearts be troubled." It's funny, you know? It's a command.
11:24-11:48
He commanded them, "Listen to me, do not let your hearts be troubled." Like, "How do I do that?" He tells them, "Believe in God. Believe also in Me." In other words, Jesus was saying, "Hey, you know, you found comfort from God in the past, haven't you?
11:49-11:56
Haven't you found God faithful to take care of you in the worst of your circumstances?
11:58-12:02
Now you have even more reason to be at peace, because God's sitting here having supper with you.
12:05-12:14
Jesus said, "Believe in God, believe also in Me." And church, I've got to tell you, you need to learn to trust God with the things that you don't understand.
12:18-12:21
There are some things in life that we just can't understand.
12:22-12:25
"Why is this happening? Why would God allow this?
12:27-12:32
I don't understand!" And now listen, right now somebody's gonna write this off as trite.
12:32-12:34
Like, don't do that.
12:36-12:37
Don't write this off.
12:38-12:50
Listen, you just have to face reality that there are some things in this life that our only response necessarily has to be getting on our knees and getting on our face and saying, "God, I don't understand this.
12:51-12:52
And God, I don't like this.
12:53-12:57
But I trust you because you've always been faithful, God.
12:57-12:59
I believe in you God, I believe.
13:01-13:09
And even if none of this makes sense right now, and I hate every moment of it right now, if I'm being honest with you God, but God I trust you.
13:09-13:14
And I believe God, and I'm asking that you would help my unbelief.
13:15-13:16
You need to learn to pray that.
13:19-13:26
And through that you need to embrace the glorious truth that turning bad into good is God's specialty.
13:27-13:28
Right?
13:30-13:31
I'm always reminded of the cross.
13:32-13:33
When you look at the cross, you know what you see?
13:34-13:41
You see that God took the worst thing that ever happened in the history of the universe, and He turned it into the best thing that ever happened in the history of the universe.
13:41-13:41
Think about that.
13:43-13:43
It was the worst thing ever.
13:45-13:46
It was the worst thing ever!
13:47-13:52
Creator God Almighty, who loves us, showed up in person, And what did we do?
13:53-14:00
We made fun of him, we mocked him, we spit on him, we beat him within an inch of his life and then we publicly executed him.
14:01-14:02
That's horrific.
14:03-14:04
That's the worst thing that's ever happened.
14:05-14:18
But at the same time, that's the best thing that ever happened because it was part of God's preordained plan that he would come and that was the means by which the Lamb of God was going to be sacrificed.
14:18-14:23
That was how He took away our sin.
14:25-14:43
And I have to remind myself, church, and so do you, that if God can do that, if He can take the worst thing ever and turn it into the best thing ever, He can take whatever it is that's troubling you, whatever it is, and turn it around for good.
14:46-14:48
He can, and He will.
14:51-15:15
So the bottom line is this, when you and I are anxious, when we turn on the news and we just feel our blood pressure rising, and we're frustrated and stressed, or whatever you want to call it, the bottom line is when we're in those moments, the reality is you and I just aren't trusting God that we should.
15:17-15:22
In those moments, we're just not really believing that God is sovereign the way that we need to believe that.
15:23-15:33
And I think you and I maybe need to spend less time on the phone, and less time watching the news, maybe more time on our faces before the Lord privately.
15:33-15:35
Maybe more time in His Word.
15:39-15:41
Receive the peace that Jesus provides.
15:44-15:45
And He'll give it to you.
15:48-15:49
If you'll go to Him looking for it.
15:51-15:53
2. Look to the place Jesus is preparing.
15:54-15:56
Look to the place Jesus is preparing.
16:00-16:09
2 and 3, Jesus said, "In my Father's house are many rooms." If it were not so, would I have told you that I'd go to prepare a place for you?
16:09-16:25
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to Myself, that where I am, you may be also." Stop there. He says, "In My Father's house are many rooms." Now, that's literally dwelling places.
16:27-16:39
Now, some of us that maybe have grown up with the King James are used to, "In My Father's house are many mansions." And I don't want to ruin anybody's day, but that's really not the best translation.
16:40-16:48
It's not like you're going to die and go to heaven, and Alex Gianetti is going to be there as the heavenly real estate agent, and say, "Welcome to heaven!
16:49-16:52
I'm going to find you a house that is perfect for you.
16:54-16:56
Let's go." You'll see that they're all awesome.
16:59-17:00
It's not like that.
17:02-17:05
Alex, like me, we're going to be out of a job when we get to heaven.
17:06-17:06
Right?
17:08-17:09
We'll get a new one, I'm sure.
17:09-17:23
But you see, this language that Jesus was using - this is very important, church, tune in here real close - the disciples would have picked up Jesus' language and terminology and figures of speech immediately.
17:25-17:29
And we will too when we understand how Jewish weddings worked in Jesus' day.
17:32-17:36
You know, in our culture, it's a little different.
17:37-17:43
The way people get engaged and then married, and then they go to Alex and look for the house.
17:44-17:52
But in Jesus' day, when a couple got engaged, the man would go back to his father's house.
17:55-18:02
And he would spend, it could take upwards of a year, he would spend that time building an addition onto his father's house.
18:02-18:03
You see, that's what they did.
18:04-18:05
They would expand the house.
18:06-18:15
And he would build this addition so that he could take his bride back to live there.
18:15-18:20
The family lived together in their own little apartment commune thing.
18:20-18:21
But that's how they did it.
18:21-18:24
And then when the next son was going to get married, same thing.
18:24-18:25
He's going to build another addition.
18:26-18:29
But the man would go and he'd build this addition.
18:29-18:32
Again, it could take a year.
18:33-18:40
But here's the thing, the bride didn't know when He was going to come back and get her.
18:41-18:50
So she lived with that anticipation like every day, "Is this the day? Is this the day? Is this the day?" And then, here comes the parade.
18:50-19:06
He comes back, and there's a week-long wedding feast and celebration, and He takes her back to His Father's house, in the place that He prepared for her.
19:08-19:29
Now, understanding that, do you see what Jesus was saying to His disciples when He said, "Hey, I'm leaving, but I'm preparing a place for you in My Father's house, And someday I'm going to come back and get you and take you there." Do you see how that makes sense now?
19:32-19:45
And I love this, Jesus said, "If it were not so, would I have told you that I'd go to prepare a place for you?" What was Jesus saying there?
19:46-19:50
Well, Jesus was saying that He wasn't giving a false hope.
19:51-19:52
That's what we often do, right?
19:53-19:59
in times of tragedy or crisis, we give false hope.
19:59-20:10
We'll put our arms around a little kid, and we'll say, "There, there, everything's going to be okay." And deep down, we're like, "I don't know if everything's going to be okay." But we want to give this false hope.
20:12-20:14
We've all done it, right?
20:14-20:26
I remember several years ago, my wife Erin got sick, and I mean deathly sick, as in literally we didn't know she was going to make it.
20:28-20:36
And her mother took her down to the hospital so that I could take care of the kids, who were much younger and much needier at the time.
20:38-20:41
So I was getting things taken care of at the house, getting ready to go down to be with her.
20:42-20:58
And I remember Cade coming into the room while I was getting ready, and he goes, "Dad, what if mom doesn't come home?" And like, what am I gonna say?
20:58-20:59
I mean, like I said, he was little at the time.
20:59-21:03
And I just said, "You know what, buddy?" I said, "Everything's gonna be okay.
21:03-21:07
"Everything's gonna be fine." But I'm gonna be honest, church, inside I was freaking out.
21:07-21:09
'Cause I'm like, "Yeah, what if she doesn't come home?
21:10-21:13
"What if this is it?" And it almost was.
21:15-21:17
But I couldn't say that to my son.
21:17-21:18
I'm just like, okay, there, everything's gonna be okay.
21:19-21:20
Everything's gonna be okay.
21:22-21:23
And here's Jesus' point.
21:24-21:25
He's like, I'm not doing that.
21:25-21:31
He goes, if it were not so, what I've told you, I didn't come down from heaven to give you some false hope.
21:31-21:32
They're there, everything's gonna be okay.
21:32-21:34
Now Jesus says, this is real.
21:34-21:37
And this place that I'm describing is real.
21:37-21:38
It is absolute truth.
21:39-21:43
Church, this place is as real as the chair that you're sitting on right now.
21:43-21:44
This place is real.
21:45-21:50
Jesus really went there, and He's really preparing a place for you right now.
21:52-21:53
It's real.
21:56-21:59
And over and over, we've seen Jesus talked about leaving.
21:59-22:03
He talked about leaving, and here's the comfort, church.
22:03-22:08
This is the first time that Jesus specifically said why He's leaving.
22:11-22:22
He says, "I got a project to do." I'm going to build an addition onto my Father's house." And that's what he's doing right now.
22:22-22:29
And by the way, Father's house is the best term for heaven in the Bible.
22:30-22:32
And I am not even open for debating that.
22:35-22:45
The best term for heaven in the Bible, Jesus calls it "my Father's house." Because there's something just so comforting about going home, isn't there?
22:48-22:51
You know our family, Friday and Saturday we took a little two-day trip.
22:51-22:54
Went to Cedar Point, and it was great.
22:55-22:56
But you know what else was great?
22:56-22:57
Coming home.
23:00-23:04
Coming home, sitting on my own couch, with my own stuff around me.
23:04-23:08
There's just something, you know what I'm talking about, just so familiar and comfortable.
23:10-23:13
It was nice to go, but I'll tell you what, it's just so nice to be home.
23:16-23:20
Or think of like college students, right?
23:21-23:24
Like, isn't there something comforting, Christian, about going home?
23:25-23:27
You have to say yes now, because you're kind of between your parents.
23:29-23:29
(laughing)
23:30-23:35
But you know what I mean, like, you're away, you're doing your thing, you're working hard, you're...
23:36-23:38
But there's something comforting when you go home.
23:38-23:43
Like, "Ah, I'm home. I'm with Mom and Dad." And it's all familiar.
23:44-23:50
And I'm sure when, and Samuel, I'm sure when you guys go home, it's not like weird, like, you know, "Do I have to take my shoes off here?
23:50-23:53
Am I allowed to sit on this couch?" You're home, right?
23:53-23:54
So when you're home, you do what?
23:55-23:56
You make yourself at home.
23:56-23:57
Now listen, church.
24:00-24:02
Heaven is exactly like that.
24:03-24:06
It's not going to be weird or unfamiliar or uncomfortable.
24:09-24:10
I've wondered that.
24:10-24:17
Like when I die and go to heaven, is it going to be like a learning curve of trying to get used to how things are and this is weird and different?
24:18-24:26
I think one of the things that Jesus is emphasizing here in calling it his Father's house, is it's going to be so relaxed and safe and familiar.
24:29-24:31
Because going to heaven is going to be like going home.
24:34-24:35
Because we're going to be residents there.
24:36-24:37
You're not going to be guests.
24:39-24:42
Because if you're there, that means you're a child of God.
24:44-24:50
You're like, "Well, what's this home like?" Oh, we covered it back when we went through Revelation.
24:51-24:53
I just don't have time to get into it all today.
24:55-24:57
But it's a city, it's called New Jerusalem.
24:58-25:02
And it's a huge cube. Huge!
25:02-25:04
You're like, "How huge is it?" Remember that old bit?
25:05-25:16
It's huge. And if you would set, if you would look at the measurements and set this cube on the United States of America, it would cover more than half of the United States.
25:16-25:36
It's huge and it's a cube. That's New Jerusalem, it's a city, it's the place that Jesus is preparing. And Revelation gives just an incredibly beautiful description. And again, I don't I don't really have time to get into that today, but I'll just tell you the one thing you need to know about it.
25:37-25:39
There's one thing you need to know about the New Jerusalem.
25:40-25:44
The place Jesus is preparing. Revelation 21, verse 2.
25:44-25:48
Jesus' place He's preparing is described like this.
25:48-25:49
I want you to see this.
25:49-26:08
He says, "And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, "Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." Here's the only thing you need to know about New Jerusalem.
26:09-26:10
It's prepared as a bride.
26:12-26:13
Like, what does that mean?
26:14-26:15
Well, I've done a lot of weddings.
26:16-26:18
I've done a lot of weddings.
26:18-26:19
You know something I've never seen at a wedding?
26:21-26:27
That it's like, the music's playing, the groom and the men are here.
26:28-26:29
We're like, "Where is she? Is she here?
26:29-26:31
we haven't seen her, is bride here, is she here, is she here?
26:32-26:50
And then all of a sudden the door opens and there she is wearing sweatpants and a pair of Crocs and a college hoodie and her hair is up in one of those bun knot things.
26:53-26:56
And she's like, oh, was that today?
26:59-27:04
Look, I've been doing this 25-ish years or so, I have done a lot of weddings, I have never seen that.
27:05-27:05
Never.
27:07-27:10
Do you know what I have seen every single time, without exception?
27:13-27:17
She's preparing for that day months in advance.
27:18-27:26
And the weekend of that day, I mean, it is hair and nails and dress and makeup, and it's not even I trust myself to do it.
27:27-27:29
She hires the pit crew to come in.
27:29-27:30
Like NASCAR, yeah.
27:30-27:31
(imitates car engine)
27:32-27:34
And like, preparing her.
27:37-27:38
I'm sorry, was that too far?
27:39-27:39
(audience laughs)
27:41-27:43
Let's back that up.
27:46-27:55
She has this whole crew come in to prepare her every time.
27:55-28:03
I've seen it, the door opens, and here she comes, breathtakingly beautiful.
28:06-28:07
You're like, "What's the point here?" Here's the point.
28:08-28:15
Jesus is preparing this place for you the way a bride is prepared for her husband.
28:16-28:20
Meticulous, all the time, effort, energy, resources.
28:22-28:32
You see that woman on that day, she's like, "I'm going to look perfect." And that's the same mentality and mindset that Jesus is putting into preparing this place for you.
28:33-28:42
Jesus is saying, "I'm making this place on my father's house for my people, and it is going to be perfect." Jesus is not in heaven right now slapping together pallets.
28:43-28:46
It's like, "Well, we'll do shiplap. They seem to like that." That's not what he's doing.
28:48-28:56
He's like, "This place is going to be perfect in every way." And then look at verse four.
28:58-29:00
Jesus, this is just hilarious.
29:01-29:04
He's talking about this wedding terminology.
29:05-29:06
I'm preparing this place, I'm coming to get you.
29:07-29:11
In verse four, he says, and you know the way to where I am going.
29:13-29:16
Just imagine the disciples kind of caught up in this and they're hearing this.
29:17-29:20
And like, oh, he's preparing a place, he's coming to get us.
29:20-29:23
And Jesus is like, and you know how to get there.
29:23-29:32
and they're like, "That sounds awesome." "What? Whoa, what? I know how to get there?" Well, fortunately for us, we have Thomas.
29:35-29:38
Right this time, number three, walk the path that Jesus prescribes.
29:40-29:42
Walk the path that Jesus prescribes.
29:43-29:46
Jesus says, "You know how to get there." I love this verse five.
29:47-29:50
Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going.
29:51-29:52
How can we know the way?
29:55-29:59
Thomas was echoing Peter's question back in verse 36. Remember that?
30:00-30:11
Verse 36, Peter said to Jesus when he was talking about leaving again, like, "Oh, this stuff again." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, where are you going?" He was just like flat out, "Okay, you're talking about this again.
30:11-30:20
Where are you going?" And Jesus gives some more elaboration here and says, "You know how to get there." Thomas is like, "Um, yeah, question?
30:22-30:23
We still don't.
30:24-30:25
We still don't know where you're going.
30:28-30:38
How do we know the way?" In verse 6, Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
30:40-30:57
No one comes to the Father except through me." In other words, Jesus was saying, "Hey, you don't need to know how to get there 'cause I'm coming to get you." Have you ever been looking for something in Walmart?
31:00-31:06
And if you were able to find an associate, you've asked the associate or something, how many people have had this horrible experience?
31:09-31:14
Have you ever, you've asked like, you know, you're looking for something like, like maybe like washers.
31:15-31:22
They're like, "Hey, can you tell me where the washers are?" And they give you the most complicated, convoluted directions.
31:23-31:29
Well, those are in hardware, so if you go, there's the paint booth, but then there's the half aisle there, but you don't wanna go there.
31:29-31:37
It's another aisle past there, and then if you take a right and go past the rugs, and then you've gone too far.
31:37-31:39
But they're just right there.
31:42-31:43
Awesome, thanks for that.
31:45-32:02
Well, when I worked there back in the mid-90s, when it was still classy, pointing or just giving somebody directions was a huge no-no.
32:03-32:04
We were not allowed to do that.
32:05-32:08
Do you know what we were told, nay, commanded to do?
32:11-32:17
We were to say, "I'll take you there." Every time.
32:17-32:18
We're the washers.
32:18-32:24
"Hey, come with me, I'll show you exactly where they are." We would take them to the item they were looking for.
32:25-32:30
In other words, when they said, "Hey, how do I get there?" You would say, "I'll be the way to get there.
32:30-32:30
Come with me.
32:30-32:36
I'll take you right there." And you see, it's the same thing with heaven.
32:38-32:45
And Thomas is like, "How do we know the way?" Jesus didn't just tell him.
32:46-32:50
Like let me lay out for you the Roman road, Thomas, so you can understand the plan.
32:51-32:53
Or list some 26-point doctrinal statement.
32:55-32:57
Jesus didn't even just point.
32:58-32:58
Like where's heaven?
32:59-33:03
Jesus is like, "There." Like way up there.
33:05-33:06
Like way up there.
33:07-33:13
If you've gone a long time and you still haven't gotten there, don't be discouraged because I'm telling you, it is way up there.
33:13-33:14
He didn't do that.
33:17-33:18
Because He takes us.
33:18-33:19
He is the way.
33:22-33:23
Jesus is the way.
33:25-33:31
You see, you don't go to heaven to find Jesus, you go to Jesus to find heaven.
33:33-33:37
There's incredible comfort to know that I don't need to find the way to heaven.
33:39-33:40
Like, how do I get there?
33:42-33:44
I don't need to try to find the way.
33:45-33:51
I need to seek to know Jesus Christ through His Word because He is the way to heaven.
33:52-33:54
You see, that's why His reply was not a recipe.
33:57-33:58
It's about a relationship.
34:01-34:07
And this verse could be the greatest revelation about that relationship.
34:08-34:09
Look at it again.
34:09-34:13
Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life.
34:13-34:17
No one comes to the Father except through me." Look at this.
34:18-34:24
Jesus didn't say, "I am a way." Like, well, heaven's like at the top of a mountain and there are many roads up to the top of the mountain.
34:25-34:26
I'm a way there.
34:27-34:28
He didn't say that.
34:30-34:32
Jesus didn't say I'm a truth.
34:35-34:41
Jesus didn't say I'm a life or a option to get life.
34:42-34:44
As in I'm one option of many.
34:45-34:48
Jesus made a very exclusive claim here about himself.
34:48-34:50
He used the definite article.
34:50-34:53
He says, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life.
34:54-34:55
Come to me and meet God.
34:55-34:57
Come to me and find ultimate reality.
34:58-35:00
come to me and possess life.
35:00-35:15
And in case that was too ambiguous for some of us, Jesus doubled down when he said, "No one comes to the Father except through me." Let's be clear here.
35:17-35:24
Jesus said, "No one goes to heaven except through him." And with that verse, you have two options.
35:25-35:29
Either Jesus was telling the truth for Jesus was not telling the truth.
35:31-35:37
But I believe that Jesus is telling the truth, that He is the only way to heaven.
35:38-35:42
And there are some people that are gonna say, oh, well, that's so narrow-minded.
35:43-35:46
That's so narrow-minded of you to say something like that, Pastor Jeff.
35:46-35:48
You're saying that Jesus is the only way to heaven?
35:48-35:49
That's narrow-minded.
35:51-35:51
Is it?
35:52-35:53
Is it really?
35:57-35:58
See, we grew up in Shakurah.
36:00-36:02
Show of hands, how many people have heard of Shakurah?
36:03-36:04
Should be a lot more in this area.
36:06-36:07
Shakurah is a small little town.
36:09-36:10
How small is it?
36:10-36:13
That bit again, it's so small, the city limit signs are on the same post.
36:14-36:15
That's how small it is.
36:18-36:22
And if you were like, you know what, Jeff, we're gonna take a ride.
36:22-36:24
We wanna see this magical place of Shakurah.
36:26-36:28
because we've heard so many wonderful things about Shakura.
36:28-36:30
Jeff, how do I get to Shakura?
36:30-36:37
And I said, "Any road will take you there." Like, what?
36:38-36:38
That can't be true.
36:40-36:46
Sure, listen, get in your car and just get on a road and just drive because any road will take you to Shakura.
36:49-36:51
You'd be like, that doesn't make any sense at all.
36:52-36:57
And my reply to you is, look, just pick a road that you feel best about.
36:58-37:09
Whatever road looks right to you, whatever road in your heart of hearts makes you feel best about yourself, you get on that road and you'll end up in Shekura.
37:10-37:11
You think I was an idiot.
37:13-37:14
But you realize that's what people do with heaven.
37:16-37:17
How do I get to heaven?
37:17-37:23
Whatever road feels right to you, Whatever road is best in your heart of hearts.
37:26-37:28
See how dumb that concept is?
37:31-37:34
Jesus is the only way to the Father.
37:35-37:36
He's the only way to heaven.
37:37-37:41
Why? Because you and I are guilty of sin before a holy God.
37:43-37:46
And trying to be good doesn't take away your sin.
37:47-37:50
And trying to do good doesn't take away your sin.
37:50-37:54
Jesus Christ died on the cross to take away our sin.
37:55-38:01
No one else did that because no one else could do that because no one else was qualified for that.
38:04-38:07
That's why Jesus Christ is the way.
38:11-38:14
And you need to believe this because He is the truth.
38:15-38:21
And when you receive Him, When you're born again, you know. You know.
38:24-38:26
He is the life.
38:29-38:32
So if you know about Jesus, then you know about the way to heaven.
38:35-38:40
But when you know Jesus, you know the way to heaven.
38:42-38:44
I'm going to ask if our worship team would come forward.
38:46-38:48
Rich and Mark, our elders, if you guys would come forward.
38:48-39:04
We're going to gather around the Lord's table to worship, to give thanks, and to once again embrace that Jesus Christ is the way.
39:05-39:07
Because He made the way with His blood.
39:09-39:14
This is why Jesus is the only way to the Father.
39:16-39:19
The Bible says without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin.
39:23-39:37
And it was the Lamb of God who laid down His life, taking our sin on Himself, so that we could have the eternal life in his father's house that he was talking about.
39:40-39:49
God's Word tells us on the night that Jesus was betrayed, He took bread and He broke it, and He gave thanks, and He said, "This is My body, which is given for you.
39:49-40:03
Eat this in remembrance of Me." After the meal, Jesus took the cup, and He said, "This is the blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for the forgiveness of sin.
40:04-40:07
Drink this in remembrance of me.

Small Group Discussion
Read John 14:1-6

What was your big “take-away” from this passage / message?
On a scale of 1-10, how much do you need comfort right now?
(1 = I am as calm and peaceful as a human can be, 10 = I am despondent.)
What is giving you the most stress right this minute?
Why is heaven compared to a bride (Revelation 21:2)? How should this thought comfort God's people?
Someone says to you, “Jesus is the only way to heaven? Isn't that narrow minded?” How would you respond?

Breakout
Pray for one another.

Jeff Miller

May 9, 2021

Knowing Jesus

Knowing Jesus - Knowing His New Commandment

Jeff Miller

May 9, 2021

Knowing Jesus

  
  Introduction:

  3 Things Jesus Said About God's Glory (John 13:31-38):
Jesus Glorified God on the Cross. (John 13:31)
  
God Will Glorify Jesus with the Resurrection. (John 13:32a,32b)
  
Jesus Will Be Glorified Without Delay. (John 13:32c)

Knowing His New Commandment:

I Must love people how Jesus loves. (John 13:34)
- Served Them (John 13:5)
- Comforted Them (Matt 14:27)
- Prayed for Them (John 17:9)
- Admonished Them (Matt 16:8-11)
- Forgave Them (John 21:15)
- Patient
- Impartial
- Self-sacrificing
- Forgiving
- Gracious
I Can't love Jesus how people love (John 13:36-38)
John 7:38-39 - "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

00:54-01:21
John chapter 13. If you're visiting with us today, we see some new faces. It is so good to see you and if you're streaming for the first time It's good to see you too, even though you're seeing me and I'm not seeing you but you know what I mean but if you're new around here, I just Want to let you know we're in a sermon series called knowing Jesus. That's what we're going after as a church. It's nothing fancy But it is eternally significant.
01:22-01:29
That we're going after God's Word, and our goal is to move from knowing about Jesus to knowing Jesus.
01:30-01:39
Every passage that we're looking at in the Gospel of John, we're asking what do we learn so we can grow in knowing Jesus?
01:39-01:40
That's what we're going after here.
01:41-01:51
And as we get to this section in particular, John 13-16, this section is everything a disciple of Jesus Christ needs to know.
01:52-01:57
This is Jesus' last lesson to His disciples before the cross.
01:58-02:03
And He begins with the most appropriate subject.
02:04-02:06
Today we're going to talk about love.
02:07-02:08
So let's go right after it.
02:09-02:10
What is love?
02:11-02:15
You know, all week I've been practicing asking that question.
02:16-02:17
What is love?
02:18-02:22
hearing that song in my head, "Baby don't hurt me." Come on, everybody.
02:23-02:29
Okay, some of you clearly don't know what I'm talking about, but some others of you clearly do.
02:31-02:32
What'd you do this week?
02:33-02:35
Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun.
02:36-02:39
Sorry, I tried to think of another way to phrase that.
02:41-03:05
is the most overused and least understood term because we use it for everything, right? Like I could say I love my wife. We celebrated 19 years of marital bliss this past week. Big hand for Erin. Yes, yes, yes.
03:08-03:12
She deserves all that and more for the last 19 years.
03:12-03:22
We say, "I love my wife, I love my kids, I love my dogs, I love hockey, I love Chick-fil-A, we use love for everything." So what is it?
03:23-03:26
Well, I Googled it.
03:26-03:28
Boy, that was a mistake.
03:28-03:41
I went to this website, it was some psychological website explaining what love is from a very, oh, it was, you could tell, somebody thought they were being very clever and intelligent and lofty here.
03:42-03:44
But they said love is positive thoughts.
03:45-03:50
It's a physical passion that becomes a companionship.
03:52-03:55
But there are a couple quotes on this website that just cracked me up.
03:56-03:57
What is love?
03:58-04:00
Don't write this down, okay?
04:00-04:11
But if they said, "Love evolved in order to keep parents "and children together long enough "for the children to survive." And I thought that could be a Mother's Day sermon right there.
04:12-04:12
(congregation laughing)
04:13-04:14
That's why we have love.
04:15-04:17
So you don't punt those little rascals.
04:19-04:20
And then here's another quote.
04:20-04:21
Don't write this one down either.
04:22-04:28
Here's another quote about love that just warmed me in the heart of hearts of my hearts right here.
04:29-04:34
It says, "Historical evidence..." It's so stupid.
04:35-04:47
It says, "Historical evidence suggests love existed in the ancient world." And I was like, "Somebody's getting paid to write this stuff!" Can you believe that?
04:48-04:50
There are people in the ancient world that loved each other.
04:50-04:50
Can you believe that?
04:52-04:52
So dumb.
04:53-04:56
Love is the subject of just everything, right?
04:56-05:01
so many movies and books and songs.
05:01-05:03
What's your favorite song about love?
05:03-05:04
Shout it out if you got one.
05:04-05:05
What's your favorite love song?
05:06-05:07
Okay, nobody's got one.
05:07-05:08
Awesome.
05:09-05:12
How about, ♪ All you need is love ♪ Come on.
05:12-05:21
♪ All you need is love ♪ ♪ Love, love, love is all you need ♪ Oh, thank you, thank you.
05:21-05:23
Try to, come on, let's try to keep up here.
05:24-05:25
It's raining.
05:26-05:30
Like 95% of you just disqualified yourself from the worship team.
05:32-05:35
But a couple of you really shined there, I gotta tell ya.
05:36-05:38
And Darren is taking note, a couple of you really shined there.
05:39-05:40
Shout out to the Beatles.
05:41-05:42
You're like, "Are we gonna talk about the Bible?
05:42-05:46
"I think we should." Let's look at verse 31.
05:46-05:56
It says, "When he had gone out, "Jesus said, 'Now is the Son of Man glorified.'" Stop there. Gone out. Who went out?
05:56-05:57
This is talking about Judas, right?
05:58-06:00
Remember last week, Jesus called Judas out.
06:01-06:02
You're going to betray me here.
06:02-06:04
This is the one that's going to betray me.
06:05-06:08
And Jesus dismissed Judas, told him to leave.
06:09-06:11
Now Jesus can address the true disciples.
06:11-06:14
That's why Jesus wanted Judas out of there.
06:14-06:17
Look, I got a lot of things I need to say to the real people here.
06:17-06:19
So you go do what you're gonna do.
06:21-06:21
Time's running out.
06:22-06:27
But notice it says, "Now is the Son of Man glorified." Now it's time.
06:27-06:28
The moment of glory is here.
06:29-06:31
You see, Jesus sending Judas away.
06:31-06:32
Do you realize what Jesus did?
06:32-06:41
He was pulling the trigger on His own death because Judas leaving was about to start a chain of events that was about to happen very, very, very soon.
06:42-06:49
The betrayal of Jesus, Jesus' arrest, the trial of Jesus, ultimately leading to the crucifixion of Jesus.
06:50-06:55
Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified." What do we mean glorified?
06:55-06:56
What is glory?
06:56-07:06
I just want to take a second and remind us, we've talked about this so many times in the past, but I just want to give us a quick reminder because this word comes up five times right here.
07:07-07:08
And glory is just simply this.
07:10-07:12
It's God's presence made known.
07:12-07:13
That's what glory is.
07:14-07:15
That's what glory is.
07:15-07:22
God manifesting His presence so that we know God is here.
07:23-07:24
That's glory.
07:25-07:29
I just want you to see three things that Jesus said about God's glory.
07:30-07:42
Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in Him." The first thing Jesus is saying is, "Jesus glorified God on the cross." This is what He's talking about.
07:42-07:48
the cross, when Jesus Christ was on the cross, all of the attributes of God were perfectly on display.
07:48-07:53
Again, a lot of this is review because this is a theme that has come up throughout John.
07:54-07:57
But everything you need to know about God, you see while Jesus was on the cross.
07:58-07:58
You see it.
07:59-08:02
All the questions that we have, does God love people?
08:02-08:03
Does God love people?
08:03-08:04
Look at the cross.
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That tells you how God feels about us.
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He sent his son to die on our behalf.
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Does God love people?
08:10-08:11
Does God hate sin?
08:12-08:12
Look at the cross.
08:13-08:15
That shows you how much God hates sin.
08:16-08:20
His son had to die to pay the penalty for my sin.
08:20-08:21
That's how much God hates sin.
08:22-08:23
Is God sovereign?
08:24-08:25
Look at the cross.
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All of these evil men and their evil plans taking the spotless Son of God and executing Him and God sovereignly in His pen.
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That's how He offered the Lamb of God as a sacrifice to take away sin.
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Is God sovereign?
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Look at the cross.
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Yes, He is.
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Is God faithful?
08:45-08:45
Is God faithful?
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Look at the cross.
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You see God's faithfulness on the cross.
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He promised.
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He promised a Redeemer.
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He promised one that would ultimately take our sins away.
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Look at the cross.
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God's faithful.
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So, Jesus glorified God on the cross.
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Letter B, Jesus is saying God will glorify Jesus with the resurrection.
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Look at verse 32, "Jesus said, 'If God has glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself.'" In other words, we're looking, it's not just a cross, it's the resurrection.
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That Jesus' resurrection would be the way that God forever exalts Jesus.
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Full glory, King of kings, Lord of lords, Jesus resurrected.
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That's how God was going to glorify Jesus Christ.
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The third thing Jesus says, letter C, write this down, "Jesus will be glorified without delay." Verse 32, "Jesus said, 'And glorify Him at once.'" We're literally hours away from the cross at this point.
09:50-10:00
I just want to pause here for a second because at this moment, this is right in the eve of some very horrible things happening.
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Jesus Christ was about to be horribly arrested and beaten within an inch of His life before being nailed to a cross and publicly executed and shamed.
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Horrible from man's perspective.
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I just want to pause here and say Jesus saw these horrible things that were coming and what did He say about them?
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God's about to be glorified.
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And I just want to remind you church right now in our world we look around and we see a lot of horrible things happening.
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True or false?
10:30-10:30
True.
10:31-10:33
A lot of horrible things are happening.
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And I just want to remind you, church, even though, like in this day, our day now, even though it looks like there are a lot of horrible things happening, Jesus Christ is about to be glorified.
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And it might not look like it now, but write that down.
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Jesus Christ is about to be glorified.
10:54-10:59
We're going to talk more about that next week, but this week, we're talking about lessons for disciples.
10:59-11:03
We're talking about here's what Jesus wants us to know.
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Look at verse 34.
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Here's how it kicks off.
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A lot of incredible teaching in these passages.
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Here's how it starts.
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Jesus said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another.
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Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
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By this, all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." Pretty clear, isn't it?
11:36-11:40
Jesus says, "Hey, my time for earthly teaching is about up.
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I've got to tell you some very important things.
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Here's number one.
11:45-12:03
You guys got to love each other." In church, you know, I've been in the church business for 20-some years, and I can tell you and I know there are people here and watching that have been involved in church for even much longer than I have that can back me up on this.
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But when there are problems in the church, they are usually not doctrinal.
12:10-12:23
999 times out of a thousand, when there are problems in the church, it boils down to someone or someone's refusing to love the way Jesus called us to love.
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It can show up in things like gossip, you know, tearing people down behind their backs, making people think less of someone.
12:34-12:35
It can show up as criticism.
12:36-12:46
You know, instead of encouraging people, instead of, "Hey, I'm going to be a part of making things better," you think that your spiritual giftedness is just constantly pointing out what's wrong.
12:46-12:47
And it's not even wrong.
12:47-12:49
It's just not your preferences.
12:51-12:55
It just seems that so much hatred in the church shows up in words.
12:56-13:01
Getting our snarky little sarcastic comments in, getting our shots in.
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And when the world looks at the church, too often sadly what they see is anything but love.
13:09-13:16
The churches have a reputation not for the way we love each other, but for, "Do you hear all the problems they have at that church down there?
13:16-13:21
None of them can get along, not even just within the church, but between churches.
13:23-13:31
And the world looks at the church and the way that we treat each other sometimes, and the world says, "Why would I want to be a part of that group?
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There's nothing attractive about that.
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There's nothing that draws.
13:35-13:36
There's nothing different.
13:37-13:51
If I want to be around a bunch of backstabbing snakes, I'll just go to the bar or go to work or go home." So, today I want to talk about Jesus' new commandment.
13:51-14:00
If you're taking notes, which I always encourage, knowing his new commandment, number one, write this down, "I must love people how Jesus loves." It's pretty clear, isn't it?
14:01-14:03
I must love people how Jesus loves.
14:03-14:04
Look at verse 34 again.
14:05-14:10
Jesus said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another.
14:11-14:26
Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another." Now Jesus said this is a new commandment.
14:27-14:29
Now what does that mean?
14:30-14:41
You're like, "Jesus didn't have Google because if Jesus would have Googled this, he would have went to that website that said that even, what was that quote?
14:44-14:47
Evidence suggests love existed in the ancient world.
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Jesus should have Googled that.
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What does he mean new?
14:52-14:53
Well, he doesn't mean recent.
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I'm pretty sure Jesus knew that the command of love goes all the way back to Leviticus 19, 18, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Right?
15:05-15:09
So it's not new as in recent, and it's not new as in different.
15:10-15:11
It's not new as in different.
15:12-15:21
This is a concept that we all know, even if we're not great at singing it, Beatles style, yet, it's a concept.
15:21-15:27
Even people that don't know Jesus have the capacity to show love, right?
15:28-15:29
So what's new about this?
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What's so new about this commandment?
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I'm going to tell you what's new.
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It's right here in the text.
15:35-15:36
Write this down.
15:37-15:38
It's new in example.
15:39-15:39
This is what's new.
15:41-15:42
It's the example.
15:43-15:44
Did you see that?
15:44-15:50
Jesus said, "Just as I have loved you." That's what's new about this.
15:51-15:52
See, Jesus says love each other.
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Well, love each other how?
15:54-15:56
Love you the way like my mom loved me?
15:57-16:00
Love people the way, you know, my dog loves me?
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Love you the way the other elders in the church?
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Like how?
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Jesus said, "No, love others the way that I love you." That's what's new, the example.
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So the question is, well, how did Jesus love?
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I would keep you here until Father's Day listing them.
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I'm just going to give you five real quick.
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You go through the gospels, you're like, "Okay, how did Jesus love the disciples?" You know, and these are things that we're supposed to do for one another.
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Real quickly, Jesus showed love by, He served them, right?
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He served them.
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We did a whole sermon on that, John chapter 13, verse 5.
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Jesus washed the disciples' feet.
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That was a way of showing love.
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He served them.
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And in the same way, we are to serve one another.
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Talked a lot about that.
16:53-16:54
Jesus comforted them.
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That was a way that He loved them.
16:57-17:04
When they were scared, confused, fearful, anxious, Jesus was right there to comfort We're gonna talk all about that next week.
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So moving on, Jesus prayed for them.
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Jesus never lied when he said, "I'll pray for you." You know that?
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He prayed for them.
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And that's the way, one way that we love each other.
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We should be praying for each other, constantly lifting each other up in prayer, together and separately praying.
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Jesus, here's another way he loved them.
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He loved them by admonishing them.
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Like, "Ooh, that don't feel like love." No, it doesn't.
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But it is.
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And too often the church is bought into the same garbage that the world promotes and that if you don't agree with me, that means you hate me.
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Right?
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That's what the world says.
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If you don't agree with me, that means you hate me.
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No, I just don't agree with you.
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And we sort of adopt that in the church and we're shy about admonishing and certainly there's a right way to do it and there's a wrong way to do it, but there's a way to do it, to pull somebody aside and say, "Hey, I just want to talk to you about some of these things that you're doing, and is this honoring to Christ, and help me understand, and this is something that God's Word gives clear teaching that we shouldn't be doing this, so I want to talk to you about that." But it's love that admonishes.
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If you see somebody sinning, which is ultimately self-destruction and destruction to others, it would be unloving to just ignore that.
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Love admonishes lovingly.
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And Jesus, He forgave them.
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That was one way that He loved them.
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He forgave them.
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So Jesus says, "You love each other the way that I loved you." And we're like, "Okay, we have a list.
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We have our list.
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This is how Jesus loved, and these are the things that absolutely, this is what we need to do.
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And I could say, "Okay, we're done." But while it is these kinds of acts, it is also the heart behind these kinds of acts.
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You see, we could just go through and make a list of all the stuff that Jesus did, and to mechanically and legalistically promote that in the church.
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Keep the checklist, make sure you're doing those things.
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And we can put on the facade, and we're just trying to look and act nice when deep down it's not in the heart.
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And what is that when you're just putting on a show?
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What is that?
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You're pretending to be something you're not, what is that?
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Hypocrisy?
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Remember, remember when we had that message on hypocrisy?
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Remember that?
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You're like, "Oh, please don't preach that one again." You see, it's not just about going through the motions with a cold, hateful heart.
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That's how some people view it.
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That's how some people do it.
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It's kind of like when you're in a...
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Remember when you were in a fight in high school?
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Remember those fights?
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I was in one fight in high school that my mom knew about.
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the fight, the gym coach broke us up and he said, "Now shake hands!" And you know how it is. Come on, am I the only one? Okay, thank you. Thank you, Kaylee. You know how it is. He's like, "Now shake hands!" We didn't like embrace and go play Connect Four and have Doritos. It was not even looking at each other. We went through the motion, but our heart wasn't in it.
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And that's how some people, "Okay, okay, these are the things that we have to do." But it's also following Jesus' example of the heart that he had behind it.
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So let me ask you again, how did Jesus love?
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Let's talk about the heart.
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Jesus' love is patient.
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Even when they didn't get him, even when they didn't agree with him, even when they completely messed up, Jesus still loved them.
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He still loved them.
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He was patient.
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How are you doing there?
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Are you loving like Jesus that way?
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Or does your patience and therefore your love run out on people?
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It sure didn't for Jesus.
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Are you loving like him?
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Jesus' love was impartial.
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Jesus' love wasn't just for the type of people he preferred.
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It wasn't just for the type of people he preferred.
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Anybody can love their friends.
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Anybody can do that.
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Jesus' love shows up in the church when we learn how to actively and sincerely love people that we might not prefer.
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You know what I'm talking about.
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Don't point, okay?
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Don't point at anybody in the room, especially not me.
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But it's hard to love people that you don't prefer, that you don't see eye to eye.
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You have different...you're coming from different places.
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And Jesus had quite a mixed group of disciples, and he loved them all.
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Do you love like that?
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That it's truly impartial?
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Jesus loved with self-sacrificing.
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You know, I've been reading this Bible a long time, and I can't think of any verses where Jesus put his needs over anybody else's.
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I just can't think of any.
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It just seems that Jesus was constantly putting other people's needs ahead of His own.
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Constantly.
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He was constantly self-sacrificing, not just on the cross, which was the ultimate, but Jesus was constantly self-sacrificing, even leading up to the cross.
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Do you love like that?
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Or is your love only when it's convenient for you, on your terms?
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Jesus' love was forgiving.
22:53-23:01
You're like, "Yeah, you talked about forgiveness in the last list, Pastor Jeff." Again, not like shaking hands after the high school fight forgiving.
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Jesus sincerely forgave people.
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He was about forgiveness and restoration.
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Jesus didn't hold it against people.
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Jesus wasn't constantly bringing people's sins back up to them.
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Remember the time you did this?
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Remember the time you did this?
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Jesus is about forgiveness and restoration and moving on.
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How are you doing there?
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Are you loving like Jesus?
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Jesus' love was gracious.
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There's not a one of them that deserved it, but he loved them despite knowing who they really were.
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You know, you can give an excuse for not loving somebody in this church and say, you know, Jeff, you just, you don't know them like I do.
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Well, nobody knows you like Jesus does.
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He loves you anyways.
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Do you love people like that?
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Gracious.
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We could go on.
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But I want you to look at verse 35.
23:57-24:10
Jesus said, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." This is the most visible and practical mark of a disciple.
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Jesus did not say, "By this, the world will know that you are my disciple if you have perfect doctrine." That's how they'll know is when your doctrine is just right across the board.
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That's not what He said.
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Jesus didn't say, "By this, the world will know that you're my disciples if you have awesome musicians leading your worship." And we do, but that's not what He said.
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Jesus didn't say, "By this the world will know you're my disciples.
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If you don't skimp on the coffee in the guest reception." But notice Jesus didn't even say, "The world will know that we're His disciples by the way we love the world." See, that's kind of what I wanted to say.
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"Oh, they're going to know.
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They're going to know I belong to Jesus by the way I love them." He didn't even say that.
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Jesus said, "The world's going to know that you belong to Him by the way you love each other in this room." That's what they're going to see, and that's what's going to prove to them that we belong to Jesus.
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You see, Jesus Christ might not physically be here yet.
25:15-25:16
He's coming.
25:16-25:22
But until then, He might not be here physically, but His love is here.
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That's what the world needs to see, is the love of Jesus Christ manifested among the people who say we belong to Jesus Christ.
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That's what they need to see.
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How are we doing, church?
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Because the world, they might not join us, some of them will, and they might not agree with us, but they're going to know that we are truly disciples of Jesus Christ in the way that we love each other.
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So knowing His new commandment, I must love people how Jesus loves.
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But secondly, write this down, number two, I can't love Jesus how people love.
26:03-26:04
What do you mean by that?
26:05-26:05
Well, just write it down.
26:06-26:06
We're going to explain that.
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You must love people how Jesus loves, but you can't love Jesus how people love.
26:13-26:14
Look at verse 36.
26:15-26:29
Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus answered him, "Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward." Peter said to him, "Lord, why can I not follow you now?
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I will lay down my life for you." Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me?
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Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times." Verse 36, Peter's question, you know, Jesus, he talked about, he talked about leaving.
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Verse 33, little children, yet a little while I am with you, you will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, where I am going, you cannot come.
27:05-27:08
And then he launches into teaching about the new commandment, right?
27:09-27:13
And at this point, Peter's like, okay, love, Yes, yes, yes, love, got it, got it.
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But Jesus, can we circle back to that thing you said before the whole love speech about where I'm going, you cannot come.
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Can we talk about that?
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Because you know, Jesus said that a lot.
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We've seen a couple instances already in John where Jesus uses this language and he's going to use it some more.
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And Peter's just like, "Hey, I want to talk about that, Jesus," because you keep saying stuff like that, and where are you going?
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And Jesus replies, "Well, you can't follow me now, but you'll follow me later." And Peter's like, "Why not now?
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I'll die for you." And can you imagine the shock?
27:56-28:05
Peter's like, "I will die for you." And Jesus just looks at him and says, "You're going to deny that you even know me." Three times.
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Peter had to have been just completely floored by that.
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You're like, "Well, how do you know that?" Do you realize through the rest of this discourse, Peter doesn't say another word.
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Other disciples speak up, but Peter, who's usually the guy that speaks up, doesn't say a word through the rest of this teaching.
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And I believe it's because he was so shocked by this statement.
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Now listen, I believe a thousand percent that Peter was sincere here.
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And I believe that Jesus knew that Peter was sincere in this moment.
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He meant this.
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When he said it right here, I believe that Peter meant that.
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But this is a totally unreliable kind of commitment that Peter was offering up.
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Let me explain that, because you can't miss this.
28:59-29:02
Peter's statement was coming from his flesh.
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from, we'll call it, natural affection.
29:08-29:12
Now when you read about Peter in the Gospels, I believe this, I believe this a thousand percent.
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I believe that Peter probably had the same type of affection for all of the people in his life that he cared about.
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I believe that.
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I believe he would have said something like this to his wife, like, "Baby, I would die for you!" And she's like, "Oh, Peter, you're my rock." He's like, "That's what Jesus says." That's what Jesus calls me, the rock.
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I believe that Peter would have said this about his in-laws.
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I believe Peter would have said this about the other disciples.
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I believe Peter would have said this about Andrew.
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Hey, you know what, you don't mess with my brother.
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I would die for him.
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I think that's just the kind of guy that Peter was.
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Yet Jesus' reply was, you're gonna deny three times that you even know me.
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Here's the point, church.
29:57-30:00
Too many Christians believe that natural affection is enough.
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But that kind of love cannot do God's work.
30:05-30:17
Some people think if we just have this sort of eye of the tiger, like from the flesh attitude about following Jesus that that's going to do it and it won't.
30:18-30:19
What do you mean by that?
30:19-30:26
Have you ever been around a brand new believer that just has so much zeal?
30:27-30:28
You know what I'm talking about?
30:28-30:30
Raise your hand if you know what I'm talking about.
30:30-30:31
You've been around those people?
30:31-30:34
Aaron and I could give you a list of people that we've known over the years.
30:34-30:43
They're these new believers and they are so fired up that they're trying to be like John the Baptist 2.0.
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They're just like boldly in everybody's face rebuking him.
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You know what I'm talking about?
30:49-30:55
They go to their own grandma and they're like, "Grandma, you can't be spending money on bingo.
30:56-31:14
You're being a poor steward with what God's entrusted you." offense everybody. You know what I'm talking about? And they think that they're just like killing it and they look like man with that kind of zeal that guy's gonna change the world. They fizzle out.
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How many times have we seen that Aaron? Like dozens and dozens and dozens of times they fizzle out. Why?
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Because like Simon Peter they didn't understand the weakness of the flesh.
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And But the boasting is foolish.
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The natural zeal is not going to get the job done.
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And having an emotionally bold and sometimes explosive personality like Peter, not going to get the job done.
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So here's the point, church.
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You can't simply love Jesus the way that people naturally love.
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You're like, "All right, what did I learn in church today?" The preacher said, "I can't love Jesus the way that people love." I said, "What do I do?
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"What do I do?" Here it is.
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You're gonna wanna write this down.
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We must revel not in our love for Jesus.
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We must revel in Jesus' love for us.
32:15-32:16
Do you see the difference?
32:18-32:19
Do you see the difference?
32:19-32:24
That you're gonna go out and you're gonna change the world because I love Jesus so much!
32:25-32:26
Well, maybe you do today.
32:27-32:28
Maybe you're feeling it today.
32:29-32:33
Maybe emotionally you're plowing through today, but that's inconsistent.
32:33-32:35
But let me tell you something that is consistent.
32:36-32:37
Jesus loved for you.
32:37-32:45
And when you live in that, to say I'm doing what I'm doing because Jesus Christ loves me, because of what He's done for me, do you see the difference?
32:46-32:47
It's a matter of power.
32:47-32:51
It's a matter of origin and source, and where does it come from?
32:51-32:59
Because everyone has natural people love on some level, But there is a kind of love that only comes from transformed lives.
33:00-33:02
There's a kind of love that only comes from God's Holy Spirit.
33:04-33:08
And it's a love that God's Spirit pours through you.
33:09-33:15
And apart from God's Spirit, you don't have it, and therefore you can't give it.
33:17-33:18
Call back to John chapter 7.
33:20-33:27
Talked about this a while ago in our series, but this verse is just really, these two verses just really just jumped out at me.
33:27-33:29
Jesus is talking about this very thing.
33:29-33:39
Look at what He says here, "Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." What are you talking about, Jesus?
33:39-33:43
"Now this He said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive.
33:44-34:05
For as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." And I've got to tell you, like I told you back then, when I look at this verse, in my mind when I think of this verse, when I think of this passage, when I hear it in my head, what I hear is Jesus said, "Whoever believes in me, into his heart will flow rivers of water." But that's not what He said.
34:06-34:17
He said, "Out, out of the heart flows the rivers of water." When you believe in Jesus Christ, yes, He pours into you being filled with the Spirit, yes.
34:18-34:23
But Jesus here specifically was saying that the rivers flow out, and that's where the power comes from.
34:23-34:31
This is the kind of love that He's called us to, and this is the kind of love, church, that He has equipped us for.
34:32-34:37
So yes, yes, yes, Simon Peter boasted in the flesh, and he failed.
34:39-34:53
But if you turn your Bible over a few pages to the book of Acts, and you see this same man at Pentecost, Acts chapter 2, you're going to see a man who is full of the Holy Spirit.
34:54-34:57
You're going to see a different man.
34:57-34:59
So how do I fulfill the new commandment?
35:00-35:02
I would say live in Jesus' love.
35:03-35:07
How do I love the church family the way Jesus said to love the church family?
35:08-35:10
Live in Jesus' love.
35:11-35:14
How do I love Jesus in a way that I won't fail Him?
35:15-35:16
Live in Jesus' love.
35:18-35:24
Church, we can't be like Peter and revel in our love for Jesus.
35:25-35:26
Look at how much we love Him.
35:26-35:27
Look at everything we do for Jesus.
35:27-35:28
Look at how much we love Him.
35:29-35:30
We can't revel in that.
35:30-35:40
What we as a church have to revel in and glorify God in and praise Him for is this glorious And it's truth that He loves us.
35:41-35:45
Because when you know about Jesus, you know about love.
35:46-35:49
But if you want to truly know love, you have to know Jesus.
35:50-35:51
Let's pray.
35:51-35:55
Father in Heaven, what a command You've given us.
35:56-36:04
And at first glance, it might seem like, what's so new and profound about that?
36:06-36:16
When we slow down and really understand what Jesus was saying, Father, it is more new and it is more profound than we can wrap our little brains around.
36:17-36:23
So Father, I just simply pray for this church that, Father, you've given us a commandment.
36:24-36:35
This isn't optional, but you've also given us the power to fulfill it because it's not about our love for you as much as it is about your love for us.
36:36-36:41
Because your word tells us that we love because you first loved us.
36:41-36:55
So Father, I pray you would just enrapture us in this profound love of Jesus Christ and let those rivers of living water flow out as Jesus promised.
36:57-36:58
In Jesus' name we pray.
37:00-37:00
Amen.

Small Group Discussion
Read John 13:31-38

What was your big “take-away” from this passage / message?
What is “New” about the New Commandment? (John 13:34)
What are some ways you see love lacking in the church?
“We must revel not in our love for Jesus, but in His love for us.” Explain what this means. How do we go about doing this, specifically?

Breakout
Pray for one another.

Jeff Miller

May 2, 2021

Knowing Jesus

Knowing Jesus - Knowing He Knows

Jeff Miller

May 2, 2021

Knowing Jesus

Introduction:

Warnings to Hypocrites (John 13:21-30):

Jesus Knows if you are a hypocrite. (John 13:21)
Your hypocrisy will be Found Out . (John 13:22-27)
Luke 12:1-3 - Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.

Proverbs 28:13 - Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

Hypocrisy only leads to Regret . (John 13:28-30)

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

00:54-00:58
Open up your Bibles with me please to John chapter 13.
01:01-01:47
You know I want to circle back to something that Kent Chevalier said last week. He dropped a lot of truth bombs on us but there was one truth in particular that he shared that I want to circle back to and he talked about me loving this church, and I do. I love this church. I don't mean this building, you are the church, and whether you're sitting here, you're streaming this, wherever you are, I just I want you to know I love this church, and I consider it a huge blessing to be a part of this church. And I wonder, you know, why some people are just so down on the church.
01:49-01:55
You know, as a pastor, I hear all the time reasons that people give for not going to church, right?
01:56-01:59
We surveyed 100 people, top three answers on the board.
01:59-02:02
Give me a reason why people don't go to church.
02:03-02:03
Don't shout it out.
02:04-02:05
I'm gonna give you a couple.
02:07-02:10
But these are reasons that people give for not going to church.
02:11-02:13
One reason they say, well, they just want my money.
02:13-02:14
They just want my money.
02:15-02:17
And I wanna go on record to say, I do not want your money.
02:18-02:19
All right?
02:19-02:22
And the Lord certainly doesn't need your money.
02:22-02:23
He owns everything.
02:23-02:24
All right?
02:24-02:25
We encourage giving, why?
02:25-02:26
Because it blesses you.
02:27-02:27
Right?
02:28-02:31
You think you're gonna do better with the money that God's entrusted to you?
02:31-02:36
You think you're gonna do better handling it yourself than if you partner with God on that?
02:38-02:39
Good luck with that.
02:40-02:42
So no, we don't want your money.
02:43-02:48
We encourage biblical stewardship 'cause it blesses God, it'll bless you.
02:48-02:49
Testament out in sea.
02:50-02:55
Another reason that people say, I don't go to church.
02:55-03:02
They say something like, "Well, you know, I went to this church and my needs weren't met." And you know, there's a fundamental problem with that thinking.
03:03-03:06
And the problem is you think the church is about serving you.
03:07-03:14
And yes, people get served at church, true, but if your mindset is walking in here as a consumer to say, "What can you do for me?
03:14-03:15
What can you give for me?
03:15-03:17
What services can you provide for me?
03:18-03:25
We are here to serve and we are here to worship and we are here to exalt the name of Jesus Christ.
03:26-03:34
Okay, I love you, I already established that, but I love Jesus Christ way more than we are here for him, right?
03:35-03:45
So, you know, for somebody who says, well, my needs weren't being met, you might wanna check your motivation or check what you think the church is about.
03:46-03:52
You know, one of the big reasons that people give for going to church, we've heard this one a lot, haven't we?
03:53-03:55
The church is just full of hypocrites.
03:55-03:57
It's just full of hypocrites.
03:58-04:00
You don't wanna talk about that one this morning.
04:03-04:05
That's what you call an uncomfortable laugh.
04:06-04:07
Did you hear that?
04:08-04:09
Some of you are still doing it.
04:10-04:11
It's gonna get uncomfortable.
04:12-04:13
And that's okay.
04:14-04:15
That's okay, right?
04:16-04:19
People are like, we just want people to be comfortable in church.
04:19-04:21
And I wanna go on record to say that is not my concern at all.
04:21-04:23
I don't care how comfortable you are.
04:23-04:26
I want the seats to be padded, but that's like it, okay?
04:27-04:30
Because God's word should make us uncomfortable, right?
04:30-04:33
It should shake our cage a little bit, right?
04:34-04:42
Jesus in John 13, He just gave this lesson on serving others in humility by washing the disciples' feet.
04:42-04:47
And now the focus of the passage turns to Judas.
04:47-04:53
And we're gonna talk about Judas today because he is really an interesting case.
04:55-04:56
I mean, think about Judas.
04:58-05:02
He hung out with Jesus Christ, God in the flesh for three years.
05:05-05:10
How could someone so close to Jesus end up in such a bad place.
05:13-05:17
I mean Judas, he's infamous, right?
05:18-05:22
I mean his very name is synonymous with evil.
05:25-05:32
And even when the disciples are listed in the New Testament, every time Judas is mentioned there's always this qualifier.
05:32-05:34
Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him?
05:35-05:36
That's always there.
05:37-05:45
Every time the gospel writers talk about Judas, it's like, "By the way, he's the guy that betrayed Jesus." And nobody names their kid Judas, right?
05:47-05:54
I mean, I've known some Judas and I've known some Judes, but I can't remember somebody naming their kid Judas.
05:55-05:57
It's like naming your kid Hitler.
06:00-06:05
But I want to tell you this morning that Judas is a great example for us.
06:05-06:12
You're like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, great example of what?" Well, he's a great example of a lot of things for us.
06:12-06:14
First of all, he's a great example of lost opportunity.
06:16-06:23
What better opportunity could any human being have than to rub shoulders with God incarnate for three years, and Judas had that.
06:26-06:28
His story ended horribly.
06:30-06:33
This is a great example of idolatry.
06:35-06:36
Like what's idolatry?
06:36-06:42
Well, just take a look at Judas because his idolatry was tied up in his love for money.
06:42-06:44
We talked about that not too long ago, right?
06:44-06:56
Remember John 12, the whole affair with the appointment, Mary comes in, anoints Jesus, and Judas is standing there and he's like, "I can't believe she did that because that money could have been given to the poor." And John's like, "He was a thief.
06:56-06:59
He wasn't really interested in giving to the poor.
06:59-07:01
He was just interested in getting his hands on that money.
07:02-07:04
But he was a thief.
07:04-07:06
His idol was money.
07:08-07:24
And at this point in John's gospel that we're going to read today, after three years of following Jesus and realizing that Jesus wasn't going to be the lucrative cash cow that he thought Jesus was going to be, Judas is like, "I'm ready to hit the ejector seat button now.
07:24-07:34
"I want out, done." Judas is a great example of lost opportunity, of idolatry, and he's a great example of hypocrisy.
07:36-07:38
That's what we're talking about today, hypocrisy.
07:39-07:45
You know, the New Testament word for hypocrite refers to someone wearing a mask, not a COVID mask.
07:45-07:49
It refers to, literally it refers to an actor.
07:50-07:59
You know, somebody on stage at a theater that was portraying a role, they would put a mask on to portray that role, and that's the New Testament word for hypocrite.
07:59-08:04
It's somebody who is pretending to be something that they are not.
08:05-08:07
That's what the word hypocrite meant.
08:08-08:13
It sounds funny if we say it in our day, like if I stood up here and I'm like, hey, Harrison Ford is one of my favorite hypocrites.
08:13-08:14
She'd be like, huh?
08:14-08:16
But that was how the word was used.
08:16-08:19
He's a guy that is constantly pretending to be something he's not.
08:20-08:23
He's not really Indiana Jones or Han Solo, okay?
08:23-08:24
He's pretending.
08:25-08:26
He's a hypocrite.
08:29-08:44
Judas' story, even though Judas' story is unique in the way he betrayed Jesus, I want you to see this morning that the Judas' heart is not unique at all.
08:47-08:54
Because the church has always had and has and will always have Judas's.
08:56-09:07
The church is always going to have, including this church, people who appear to be on board, but secretly ain't having it.
09:10-09:12
There's some people streaming this right now.
09:12-09:12
That's you.
09:15-09:17
There are people sitting in this room right now, that's you.
09:20-09:22
These are people that aren't in church for the right reason.
09:24-09:26
Like, well, then why would they go?
09:26-09:38
Like if somebody's not having it, if somebody doesn't love Jesus, if somebody hasn't received the gift of salvation, that Jesus Christ purchased on the cross, if somebody isn't on board, why would they go to church?
09:41-09:41
I don't know.
09:42-10:04
your spouse happy? Maybe you're here to make business connections? No, that's why some people look for a church. "Oh, there's a lot of people I can get roped into business and that'll help me make money." Some people go to church to feel just to feel better about themselves. I don't know.
10:07-10:27
But I want you to know that if you're here or watching and you haven't really received Jesus Christ, and you know that, even though I might not know that, I'm talking to you today.
10:30-10:58
I'm talking to somebody that's part of this church, but really your heart's just not really in it. You're just here. And you've learned how to say what you need to say, you learned to go through the motions, you've learned the lingo and the all of the things that are expected when we come here. You've learned that, but deep down you're like, "Yeah, I'm not really into that. That's not really my thing." I'm talking to you today.
11:01-11:04
I'm talking to you, you aren't really here to worship.
11:06-11:10
The band's up here leading us in worship and you're just like, "How much longer?
11:11-11:14
Not really into this." I'm talking to you.
11:15-11:16
You're not here to seek God.
11:19-11:21
You're not here to receive the Word.
11:23-11:25
You're just pretending to care about that stuff.
11:27-11:29
And I gotta tell you, the world loves hypocrites.
11:29-11:30
The world loves hypocrites.
11:30-11:31
Do you know why?
11:32-11:35
Because hypocrites validate their unbelief.
11:36-11:37
Like, see, I knew it.
11:38-11:41
I knew those church people were nothing but a bunch of phonies.
11:42-11:45
And when they see a hypocrite exposed, the world's just like, see, see, see?
11:47-11:52
The world loves hypocrites, but I gotta tell you, God, not a fan.
11:54-11:54
Not a fan.
11:56-11:58
So again, I know we have some hypocrites here.
11:58-12:00
I know that because I would be naive to think otherwise.
12:03-12:08
So what I'm hoping for today is that Judas's story wakes you up.
12:09-12:09
That's what I'm hoping for.
12:10-12:21
That you get into God's word with me and you're like, "What the heck, man? I don't want that to be me." I believe that's why we have this.
12:22-12:27
So on your outline, if you're taking notes, which I always encourage, today's just warnings to hypocrites.
12:29-12:31
Number one, jot this down.
12:33-12:35
Jesus knows if you are a hypocrite.
12:37-12:38
Jesus knows.
12:39-12:40
Look at verse 21.
12:42-12:56
After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit and testified, "Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me." Now, Jesus knew that Judas was going to betray him.
12:57-12:58
All right?
12:58-13:03
We, even from the gospel of John, which we've studied to this point, we've seen it over and over and over.
13:03-13:06
John chapter 6, verses 64 and 70.
13:06-13:08
John chapter 13, verses 10 and 18.
13:09-13:14
Jesus pointed this out on multiple occasions, but He was always kind of vague about it.
13:14-13:16
Now, not so vague.
13:17-13:20
At this point, Jesus absolutely had to call Judas out.
13:21-13:26
You're like, "Well, why did He have to do that?" Well, think about it.
13:27-13:35
If Jesus did not explicitly and directly call Judas out, it would forever put a big question mark on his sovereignty.
13:37-13:48
If Jesus didn't call this out, don't you think the other disciples, after the arrest, the cross, the resurrection, don't you think the other disciples would have been like, "How did Jesus not know about Judas?
13:49-13:51
How did he not see that coming?
13:52-13:54
I thought he was Lord, but boy, he was sure blindsided.
13:55-13:58
We had a rat right in the middle of us and Jesus never knew about it.
13:59-14:00
So you see, Jesus had to call this out.
14:01-14:03
He had to show, "Look, I know what's going on here.
14:04-14:10
I know that one of you is not on board here." Jesus was showing he's not a victim.
14:10-14:11
This is a fulfillment of Scripture.
14:13-14:15
But here's what you have to see, church.
14:16-14:18
It says Jesus was troubled in his spirit.
14:21-14:26
was troubled in his spirit.
14:28-14:34
The whole time, everything Judas saw, everything Judas heard, and deep down he still hated Jesus.
14:38-14:40
And the response here is it says Jesus was troubled.
14:42-14:43
Have you ever been betrayed by someone?
14:45-14:46
Have you ever been betrayed?
14:48-15:29
you thought was super close to you, someone that you love very much, and they stab you in the back. It's devastating. It is absolutely devastating. And you see now the betrayal is getting closer, and it says that Jesus was torn up about it. And we need to see this because Jesus wasn't some emotionally detached robot that was like, "Now is the time that I'm about to be betrayed, but it's in the scriptures, so let's just get on with it and go about our business, because we're trying to keep a timeline here, people." That wasn't Jesus.
15:31-15:40
He's sitting here having Passover with his closest friends, and you can just see, you know, he was troubled.
15:41-15:51
It's like somebody sitting right here hates me to the point that they'd rather have hell.
15:54-15:55
He was torn up about it.
15:58-16:01
He knew. He always knew.
16:04-16:05
It troubled him.
16:08-16:10
And you know, it's the same thing for hypocrites in the church today.
16:12-16:16
Jesus knows, okay? Jesus knows.
16:18-16:25
Your secret little flirty thing that you have going on, Jesus knows about that.
16:26-16:31
Your gambling, Jesus knows about that.
16:32-16:36
Your alcohol problem, Jesus knows about that.
16:37-16:40
Your pornography addiction, Jesus knows about that too.
16:44-16:51
Your hatred or unforgiveness you have for somebody sitting here, Jesus knows all about it.
16:53-16:59
Here's the thing, you can keep it hidden from me, and you can even keep it hidden from the people in your small group.
17:01-17:04
And if you're expert level hypocrite, you can even keep it hidden from your spouse.
17:08-17:10
But you don't have anything hidden from Jesus.
17:12-17:17
If Jesus knew that one of his closest 12 disciples was a hypocrite, Jesus knows that you are.
17:19-17:19
All right?
17:20-17:22
So number one, Jesus knows.
17:22-17:25
Let's get that just like in the clear right now.
17:26-17:26
You ain't fooling him.
17:29-17:34
Secondly, write this down, your hypocrisy will be found out.
17:36-17:38
Your hypocrisy will be found out.
17:38-17:39
Look at verse 22.
17:42-17:48
The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke.
17:50-17:57
One of the disciples whom Jesus loved, that was John's way of identifying himself, by the way.
17:58-18:01
John wasn't like, when he talks about himself in the story, he's not like, "Me?
18:02-18:09
Me?" He's very humble, he's just referring to himself as a disciple whom Jesus loved.
18:10-18:10
Alright?
18:10-18:11
So that's John.
18:12-18:14
"Was reclining at the table close to Jesus.
18:15-18:20
So Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking.
18:20-18:39
So that disciple," John, "leaning back against Jesus said to him, 'Lord, who is it?'" there to try to get this scene in your head. I know when you think of the Last Supper you might think of that painting, right? That's not what it looked like.
18:40-18:45
That painting, it's like Jesus said, "Hey, everybody on this side of the table, we're gonna get a picture." All right?
18:48-19:00
That's not what it looked like. Actually, it would have been a U-shaped table and the disciples and Jesus would have laid around one side and the other side was serving, okay?
19:00-19:15
And they weren't sitting in chairs, they would have reclined on their left elbows on the pillows with their feet like away from the table, but they would have been reclining on these pillows on their left elbow so that they could eat with their right hand.
19:16-19:20
And you're like, well, wait a second, what about left-handed people?
19:21-19:23
They had to sit at the kids' table.
19:26-19:27
I'm assuming.
19:30-19:34
But Judas, he had to know that Jesus knew.
19:34-19:47
I mean, every time Jesus talked about, you know, "One of you is a devil and one of you will betray me." And these words here especially, Judas had to know that Jesus knew, but you know, none of the other disciples did.
19:49-19:49
Clueless.
19:51-20:00
That's like for me to stand up here and say, "We have a horrible hypocrite sitting in this you would look around and be like, "I can't imagine who.
20:01-20:02
I can't imagine who.
20:02-20:14
Oh, he's so nice and she's so sweet and definitely not him." And you'd be like, "No, not here, not in this church." Well, that would be the sentiment around this table.
20:15-20:22
Jesus is like, "One of you is going to betray me." And you can see the other disciples looking around like, "Not him, no, not him.
20:22-20:23
He's a little weird, but he wouldn't do that.
20:23-20:27
And he's got a little bit of a anger issue, but he wouldn't do that.
20:30-20:38
So your Bible says that Peter signals to John, like, "Hey, hey." Apparently John was sitting closest to Jesus, right?
20:39-20:41
And he said, "Hey, hey, ask him who?
20:41-20:45
Ask him, ask him." John does.
20:45-20:47
Look at verse 26, here's the response.
20:48-20:59
"Jesus answered, 'It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.' So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.
21:01-21:06
Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him.
21:09-21:18
Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly." Okay, so this morsel and this bread, what's going on here?
21:18-21:33
Well, as part of the Passover meal, They would make this paste out of like raisins and dates and figs and herbs and vinegars and they'd make this paste and then they'd take their flatbread and they'd dip it into the paste.
21:36-21:45
So Jesus did that and he handed it to Judas and your Bible says that when Judas took it, Satan entered Judas.
21:49-22:03
And don't miss this, Jesus knew that because he said, "What you're going to do, do quickly." Jesus knew right at that moment, it's happening now.
22:06-22:14
So Jesus says, "Go, do it." And I imagine at this point, Judas was probably glad to leave.
22:17-22:24
And Jesus wanted Judas gone because Jesus wanted to address things to the real people, not the hypocrites.
22:25-22:33
She's like, "Okay, I gotta talk to the real ones here." So here's a question.
22:35-22:36
Did Judas have a choice?
22:38-22:44
Or was Judas just predestined to betray Jesus and he had no say in the matter?
22:44-22:48
He was just sort of this preordained puppet.
22:52-22:56
Judas was not forced to betray Jesus.
22:58-23:00
Yes, God knew that he would.
23:00-23:03
We saw that in verse 18, quoting Psalm 41, verse 9.
23:04-23:07
God knew that he would, but Judas was a victim of his own choices.
23:09-23:10
And we even see the progression.
23:11-23:13
Look back in verse 2 in chapter 13.
23:13-23:25
It says, "During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him..." Do you see the progression?
23:27-23:28
Satan put it into his heart.
23:30-23:33
And here, at this moment, the choice is finally made.
23:34-23:35
And there's something you have to catch here.
23:37-23:39
It's the Passover meal.
23:41-23:44
The first bite was given to the guest of honor.
23:46-23:47
Wrap your brain around that.
23:48-23:50
The first bite was for the guest of honor.
23:50-23:56
So Jesus took it and he dipped it and he extended it to Judas.
23:59-24:03
And I believe that was Judas' last chance.
24:07-24:12
That when he took the morsel, that was Judas ultimately making his choice.
24:12-24:17
And you're like, "Well, why do you say that?" Because of what the text says.
24:17-24:21
It says at that moment when he took it, that is when Satan entered him.
24:22-24:23
That was his point of no return.
24:24-24:32
That was, "My decision is made, I'm selling out Jesus." You see, Satan can't enter a person without permission.
24:33-24:34
And it's sort of a paradox, right?
24:35-24:42
The gospel of Jesus Christ cannot enter a hard heart, but Satan can only enter a hard heart.
24:44-24:45
That certainly describes Judas here.
24:46-24:54
So, Jesus knows and you will be found out.
24:54-24:55
You're going to be found out.
24:57-25:06
You're like, "Do you mean like in heaven and stuff?" I mean, you'll be found out long before that.
25:06-25:07
You'll be found out here.
25:08-25:11
I want you to see something Jesus said earlier in his ministry.
25:11-25:12
chapter 12.
25:15-25:19
Jesus said, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is what?
25:24-25:31
Hypocrisy." Jesus goes, "Watch out for the hypocrites." But look at his commentary on hypocrisy.
25:32-25:33
Are you going to see this?
25:33-25:42
He says, "Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known." or is this thing you think you're hiding?
25:44-25:45
It's coming out.
25:46-25:50
He says, "Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light.
25:50-26:05
And what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops." And he's not just talking about those of you with toddlers that repeat the things they hear at home at school, and you're gonna have that uncomfortable meeting with the teacher, I've been there.
26:08-26:13
He's saying, "Hypocrite, hypocrite, "think you're hiding something?
26:13-26:19
"The day's going to come, "and God is going to make sure of it "that everybody knows what's really going on.
26:21-26:22
"It's gonna happen.
26:24-26:26
"So here's what I wanna say to you, hypocrite.
26:28-26:38
"It is better to come clean now "than for someone finding out about it, and it comes to light that way.
26:41-26:47
And I want you to ask anyone that's ever come to me for counseling for anything.
26:49-26:54
I have an addiction, I'm hooked on pornography, I cheated on my wife, I've been stealing from work.
26:54-26:56
Ask anyone that's ever come to me for counseling.
26:57-27:01
One of the first things I say to them is, I am so proud of you for stepping up.
27:02-27:08
Because most people want to keep these things hidden, but you've come to me saying, It's in the open, I want to deal with it, let's deal with it.
27:08-27:10
Whatever needs to happen, let's deal with it.
27:10-27:16
I say, "Look, I'm proud of you, and I will do anything to help you get to a better place.
27:17-27:20
Thank you for stepping up, you're doing the right thing.
27:21-27:23
There's no condemnation, I want to help you.
27:26-27:28
Ask anyone that's come to me for counseling.
27:28-27:33
Also, if you can find them, ask anyone who got caught.
27:36-27:40
Ask anyone who kept their sin hidden and it got caught and I found out that way.
27:40-27:42
Because that is a different conversation.
27:45-27:46
Those people don't stick around.
27:47-27:50
And in many cases, those people aren't welcome to stick around.
27:52-27:57
Proverbs 28.13 says this, "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper.
28:01-28:16
But he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy." you, if you want to repent, we will work tirelessly to help you get on track.
28:17-28:35
Whether it's back on track with your walk with Jesus or maybe you've never had one, I will spend any amount of time, I will do whatever it takes to make sure that you understand the gospel and not just me, talk to our elders, talk to Mark, talk to Rich, we will do anything.
28:37-28:43
For the person that steps up and says, "Look, I'm a mess, I wanna repent." We will do everything to help you.
28:47-28:56
But if you get caught, unrepentant, which you will get caught by the way, according to Jesus, then I'm gonna deal with you on that level.
28:58-29:01
And that's not near as comfortable.
29:04-29:28
Jesus knows. You're going to be found out. Better to deal with it now. I'm going to give you one more reason that you better deal with it now. Number three, write this down, hypocrisy leads to regret. Hypocrisy only leads to regret. Look at verses 28 through 30.
29:32-29:57
Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him, why Jesus said to Judas, "What you're going to do, do quickly." It says no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some Jesus was telling him, "Buy what we need for the feast." Or that he should give something to the poor.
29:59-30:07
So after receiving the morsel of bread, he, Judas, immediately went out and it was night.
30:09-30:22
So it seems that, you know, the whole Jesus handing the morsel to Judas as the means of identification, it seems that only Peter and John caught this 'cause the rest of them didn't see this.
30:22-30:23
And you're like, why are you laughing?
30:23-30:26
I just think this is kind of funny, to be honest with you.
30:27-30:27
Their conclusion.
30:29-30:31
They're sitting around having Passover.
30:32-30:42
Jesus turns to Judas and says, "What you're about to do, do quickly." And some of the disciples were like, "What's that all about?
30:42-30:48
What's going on there?" Oh, obviously Jesus wants Judas to give something to the poor because he has the checkbook.
30:49-30:50
I mean, doesn't that seem funny to you?
30:50-31:00
Could you imagine like being at Thanksgiving dinner and you're sitting down eating and like somebody says, "Hey, could you run down to Light of Life and make a donation?" You're like, "Right now?
31:01-31:04
We're in the middle of eating." Yeah, now, go now.
31:04-31:06
What you're about to do, do quickly.
31:06-31:09
But that was the conclusion that some of the disciples had.
31:11-31:16
Kind of weird timing to be charitable right in the middle of a Passover meal.
31:17-31:19
Like that's probably what Jesus was doing there.
31:21-31:24
But not as funny, verse 30.
31:26-31:27
Look at the last phrase.
31:28-31:31
Says the Judas went out immediately, but look at the very last phrase.
31:31-31:38
It says, "And it was night." I mean, that's pretty obvious symbolism, right?
31:39-31:47
All through John, we've seen this contrast between light and dark, light and dark, coming to the light of Jesus Christ, staying in the dark, keeping your sin.
31:47-31:49
We've seen this contrast throughout John.
31:50-31:58
And it says, "Now Judas immediately runs out." And he says, "And it was night." Obvious symbolism.
31:58-32:03
Judas ran out into the night and it would forever be night for him.
32:07-32:09
It's always gonna be night for Judas from this point.
32:11-32:13
Most of you probably know how Judas' story ends.
32:14-32:15
I'm gonna paraphrase it for you.
32:17-32:20
Judas was paid 30 pieces of silver.
32:21-32:25
That was the price of a slave, by the way, according to Zechariah 11, verses 12 and 13.
32:27-32:30
And then Judas went and betrayed Jesus with a kiss.
32:32-32:39
And then Judas regretted his betrayal and he threw the money back.
32:42-32:42
But it was too late.
32:45-32:46
And then Judas ran out and he hanged himself.
32:50-32:55
Even before Jesus' trial, Judas was dead.
32:57-33:02
He took his own life and is even to this very day living in a state of eternal regret.
33:06-33:08
And here's the horrifying thing, church.
33:09-33:14
You know, we said Judas' hypocrisy, His idolatry was his love for money, right?
33:16-33:17
What you think about this?
33:20-33:23
Judas got exactly what he wanted, true or false?
33:24-33:25
He got exactly what he wanted.
33:28-33:29
He got his money.
33:31-33:31
He got it.
33:32-33:33
30 pieces of silver.
33:35-33:44
In his hand, he held the very thing that he wanted most, and he hated it.
33:45-33:49
He ended up hating it so bad, he went back to the temple and threw it.
33:49-33:50
I don't want this.
33:51-33:54
And they're like, I'm sorry about Sherlock, but the deal is done.
33:55-33:58
He got exactly what he wanted and he hated it.
34:01-34:10
And I have to ask you, hypocrite, Is that how you want your story to end?
34:14-34:15
Like Judas.
34:17-34:29
Because I gotta tell you, that hidden sin of yours, I mean, Judas's was money, but that hidden sin of yours, like Judas, you might be getting exactly what you want.
34:31-34:35
Whatever that is, you might be getting it.
34:37-34:46
and you know it's wrong, and you know you shouldn't, but you love it more than you love Jesus Christ, and you may have it in your hands right now.
34:50-35:00
Getting exactly what you want in the short term, but in the end, I promise you, you write this down.
35:02-35:04
I promise you, you're going to hate that thing.
35:07-35:08
you're gonna hate it.
35:10-35:19
And that thing is going to be to you a symbol of regret because it's going to cost you everything.
35:22-35:23
So have you been a hypocrite?
35:26-35:27
Jesus knows.
35:29-35:36
It's going to be found out and it's not going to lead you anywhere but regret.
35:39-35:46
Today, it's time to step up and receive the forgiveness and healing that Jesus Christ offers.
35:49-35:50
God loves you so much.
35:52-36:01
God loves you so much that He sent His Son to die for your sin, and the hypocrisy that wants to cover up that sin.
36:01-36:02
Jesus Christ died for that.
36:03-36:05
The ultimate demonstration of God's love.
36:08-36:10
Therefore today is the day of grace.
36:13-36:18
Today is the day of confessing and forsaking that hypocrisy.
36:20-36:33
I'm going to ask our elders as the worship team comes forward, I'm going to ask our elders, I'm going to ask those of you who are going to be elders, if you would please come forward and stand in front of the platform here.
36:36-36:51
I want to ask our elders up here to pray with you, that if today you would like to take a different path than the one Judas took.
36:53-36:54
Today you can do that.
36:57-36:58
Your story doesn't have to end like his.
37:01-37:05
Regret, eternal regret and sorrow.
37:08-37:10
Your story can end in victory.
37:13-37:38
You know, in just a minute we're going to worship And I'm sure there's somebody sitting in this room that might be thinking, "Well, if I go up, what are people going to think?" And I would say, "Well, isn't the concern about what people think what got you into the problem of hypocrisy in the first place?" Who gives a rip what people think?
37:38-37:40
Aren't you more concerned with what God thinks?
37:42-37:43
And maybe that's the problem.
37:43-37:46
Maybe your problem has been you haven't cared about what God thinks.
37:46-37:48
You've only cared about what others think.
37:48-37:50
So I'm saying today's the day to humble yourself there.
37:51-37:51
All right?
37:52-37:53
Today's the day to say, "I'm coming clean.
37:54-38:07
God knows I'm going to be found out anyways, so it's better to deal with it head on." So don't be inhibited by what people think, because I've got a newsflash for you.
38:08-38:16
The people that love Jesus Christ that are here or are watching this stream, they are They're cheering you on and they are praying for you when you come up.
38:18-38:22
So I'm going to lead in a short prayer and I'm gonna ask the worship team to begin worship.
38:22-38:23
And our elders are up here.
38:24-38:26
Now's not the time to be shy.
38:27-38:30
Now's the time to say my life is not gonna end the way Judas's ended.
38:31-38:32
I'm coming clean today.
38:33-38:33
Let's pray.
38:34-38:41
Father in heaven, we are so self-absorbed and self-deceived by nature.
38:43-38:55
And I pray today, Father, that you would, by the power of your gospel, by the power of your word, Father, we would step up.
38:56-38:58
We just read about the path that Judas took.
38:59-39:03
He took the morsel and he ran out into eternal night.
39:06-39:14
And God, we thank you for the grace of Jesus Christ that our story doesn't have to be like Judas'.
39:16-39:33
So I pray Father, as we stand in a minute, we sing, I pray Father for your Holy Spirit to bring anyone who needs prayer, anyone who's going to step up.
39:35-39:46
Father, let your spirit give them a holy boldness that they've never had before, so that today can be a new day for them.
39:49-39:50
Father, we thank you.
39:51-39:52
Thank you for your grace.
39:55-39:57
Help us to receive it, Father.
39:57-40:01
We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

Small Group Discussion
Read John 13:21-30

What was your big “take-away” from this passage / message?
Why didn't Jesus make sure everyone knew Judas was the betrayer (John 13:28)?
Did Judas have a choice here, or was this predestined for him – and he had no choice? Defend your answer.
If Judas was never really on board with Jesus, why do you think he became a disciple in the first place? What does this say about why hypocrites stick around the church today?

Breakout
Pray for one another.

Jeff Miller

March 28, 2021

Knowing Jesus

Knowing Jesus - Knowing His Example

Jeff Miller

March 28, 2021

Knowing Jesus

  
  Introduction:

  The Humility Assessment (John 13:1-20):
Do I show love for people despite my own Problems ? (John 13:1)
  
Am I Secure in my identity? (John 13:3)
  
Do I serve Indiscriminately ? (John 13:5)
  
Am I willing to do the dirty Work ? (John 13:13-20)

  
  ➡ 3 Reasons to Do the Dirty Jobs (John 13:16-20):
You aren't Better than Jesus. (John 13:16)
  
There's Blessing in doing the dirty jobs.  (John 13:17)
  
Serving wins the Hearts of others. (John 13:18-20)

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

00:55-00:58
Open up your Bibles with me please to John chapter 13.
01:01-01:13
And as we turn to God's Word, we have a huge shift happening here, because John chapters 1 through 12 is about how to get eternal life.
01:14-01:22
But now we're entering into John chapters 13 through 17, and these chapters talk about how to develop that life.
01:23-01:27
In other words, the first part of John 1-12 is how to become a disciple of Jesus.
01:28-01:35
And now, we are going to be sitting around the table with Jesus as He tells us what it means to be a disciple.
01:36-01:38
How that life develops.
01:39-01:43
So look at John 13, we're going to pick up in verse 1.
01:43-01:56
It says, "Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come to to depart out of the world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world.
01:56-01:58
He loved them to the end.
02:00-02:45
During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going back to God, from supper. He laid aside his outer garments and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
02:46-03:05
Let's stop here for a second. Now this obviously is not something that we are familiar with in practice, but this was a common thing in this culture. Washing feet. Because it was a culture of dirty roads and sandals and lots of walking.
03:07-03:18
And by every Jewish front door was a pitcher of water. And it was actually the of the lowest slave, okay?
03:18-03:21
You didn't necessarily want to sign up for this job.
03:23-03:26
Lowest guy in the pecking order got that.
03:27-03:31
But interestingly, this job was usually done before supper.
03:32-03:37
But the Bible is very clear here that this happened during supper.
03:40-03:41
Well, what's the point of that?
03:41-03:45
Well, that's showing us that this is something that is very intentional that Jesus is doing.
03:48-03:50
So we see he dressed down.
03:50-04:01
Jesus took basically the attire of a slave to wash his disciples' nasty, filthy feet.
04:04-04:08
If you're not feeling uncomfortable enough about this already, can we put that picture up here?
04:10-04:11
It would have looked something like this.
04:13-04:26
I just want you to imagine for a second, if you can kind of put yourself in the scene, imagine how the disciples felt when they saw Jesus do this.
04:30-04:34
Stripped down, getting down in front of them.
04:37-04:54
I mean I'm sure there's a lot of people sitting in the room or watching the stream at home uncomfortable even seeing this picture. True or false? True. Some of us are uncomfortable looking at it like, "That's..." But just imagine being one of them.
04:58-05:07
And here comes the Messiah of Israel, picking up your foot I'm washing you.
05:09-05:14
Well it seems from the text that there was silence until Peter speaks up.
05:14-05:14
Right?
05:15-05:15
Look at verse 6.
05:17-06:03
It says, "He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, 'Lord, do you wash my feet?' Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand." Peter said to Him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no share with me." Now, not surprising, Peter speaks up.
06:03-06:05
He is usually the one that does, right?
06:05-06:08
And he actually gives like the strongest negative possible.
06:09-06:16
Peter is basically saying, "You absolutely will never, ever, ever do something like that to me, Jesus.
06:17-06:30
That is not going to happen." And before we criticize Peter here, you know, the truth is, we think like he thinks.
06:33-06:39
Authority means the person at the top has everyone serve him.
06:39-06:40
That's what authority means, right?
06:40-06:42
I mean, isn't that how authority works?
06:42-06:51
I mean, you know, Jesus is God, so he's obviously at the top, so we serve him.
06:53-06:56
That's just not how it works, right?
06:57-06:59
Jesus shouldn't be serving me.
06:59-07:26
Peter's like, "No, this isn't going to happen. Absolutely this is not going to happen." Because isn't that how authority works? The one at the top gets served, right? In the home, in the school, in the military, in politics. The person that has the most servants is obviously the one that is at the top. Isn't that how it works? Isn't that how it works? Jesus says No.
07:28-07:29
That's not how it works in the Kingdom of God.
07:33-07:42
Jesus was saying, "Peter, you have to humble yourself to allow me to clean you." And you have to see that Jesus jumped to the spiritual application.
07:43-07:47
I want you to look at this statement because this is so important.
07:47-08:09
And then in verse 8, Jesus said, "If I do not wash you, you have no share with me." Jesus said to Peter, "If you won't allow me to clean you, then you aren't really with me." And you have to understand how important this concept is.
08:09-08:19
Jesus was saying, "Peter, listen, if you're not going to accept me washing your feet, You are never going to accept me laying down my life and dying for you.
08:22-08:26
And you're never going to accept me when I ascend to the Father and my spirit comes.
08:26-08:31
You're never going to accept me being the provider for every single thing that you need.
08:31-08:32
You're never going to accept that, Peter.
08:33-08:43
If you can't accept this, and get it in your head that you need me for everything, and you've got to let me provide everything for you.
08:43-08:48
If you can't get this, then you don't have any part of me.
08:52-08:56
If you're familiar with the Bible at all, you probably can guess what happened next.
08:57-08:57
Look at verse 9.
08:59-09:06
"Simon Peter said to Him, 'Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.'" Peter totally went to the other extreme, right?
09:09-09:10
And look, give him credit.
09:10-09:16
Peter was saying, "Jesus, whatever it takes to be with You, Whatever it takes to be with you, sign me up.
09:18-09:19
I need cleansed.
09:20-09:20
Do it all.
09:22-09:40
And it's kind of funny when you think about it, because here comes Jesus to watch Peter speak, and at first, He's like, "Never!" And then like three seconds later, He's like, "Everything!" And I'm like, "Wow, Peter, would you please just let Jesus do what He wants?
09:41-10:11
please, could you let him be God? But you have to see that verse 10 says Jesus said to him, "The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean." He says, "And you," look at this, he says, "And you are clean." Not every one of you.
10:13-10:16
For He knew who was to betray Him.
10:16-10:23
That was why He said, "Not all of you are clean." Okay, now it's time for the theology lesson.
10:25-10:33
Jesus, once again, as He does throughout His entire ministry, He uses the physical to illustrate the spiritual.
10:35-10:37
I'm going to give you a little cultural context here.
10:37-10:41
In this context, everybody took their bath in the morning.
10:43-10:45
All right, you bathe once in the morning.
10:46-10:47
So you're clean.
10:48-10:57
But as you're walking through the dusty roads and sandals and all of that, you would have to get your feet washed several times a day.
11:01-11:06
And Jesus was pointing out here, catch this, this is the theology lesson here.
11:06-11:26
Jesus says, "Once you're clean, you don't need a new bath just because your feet get dirty." I mean, let's be honest, wouldn't that be a little weird if you lived in those days and you showed up at your friend's house and you're like, "Yeah, can I use your shower real quick?" Why?
11:26-11:33
"Because my feet are dirty and I would just feel better about using your shower." Jesus is like, "Obviously that's silly.
11:34-11:35
You don't need a new bath.
11:35-11:37
you just gonna get your feet scrubbed.
11:39-11:42
You're clean, but your feet are a little dirty.
11:43-11:45
And here's the spiritual application.
11:45-11:46
Here's the theology lesson.
11:48-11:51
Listen, 'cause a lot of people don't understand this.
11:51-11:59
Once you are cleansed by Jesus Christ, you do not need another bath every time you sin.
12:01-12:09
A lot of people think, Okay, I believed in Jesus, I received Jesus, I'm a follower of, I believe in him, but I messed up.
12:10-12:11
I need to be forgiven again.
12:11-12:14
I need to come to Jesus and ask for his forgiveness again.
12:15-12:21
I need to be born again again, or I'm out of the family, I'm back in the family.
12:22-12:31
Some people look at their salvation as being this, such a fragile little transaction between me and God.
12:31-12:36
And when I sin and mess up, I've got to receive salvation again.
12:36-12:38
And that is completely untrue.
12:40-12:45
Once you truly come to know Jesus Christ, once you're truly saved, nothing can take that away.
12:46-12:47
Nothing can change that.
12:47-12:48
We've talked about that.
12:48-12:49
We've seen it all through John.
12:51-12:57
You don't need to be forgiven again every time you sin.
13:00-13:07
But, occasionally, we still need Jesus to get the dust off our feet.
13:09-13:10
Meaning what?
13:10-13:13
Meaning this, positionally in Christ we're clean.
13:14-13:25
But practically, as we walk through this dirty world, on a regular basis we still have to go to God to get our feet washed.
13:26-13:37
meaning daily confessing the dirt on our feet of bad attitudes and anger and lust and crass words and whatever.
13:39-13:44
But I think we can all readily admit that, "Yeah, I believe in Jesus and yes, I'm forgiven.
13:46-13:48
Sometimes I need to get my feet washed a little bit." You know what I'm saying?
13:50-13:56
I need to go back to God to...
13:56-14:31
clean up my feet." So the disciples were clean, Jesus points out, not every one of them. Just make a mental note of this, Jesus calls out Judas here. Now understand that at this moment Judas knew, and Jesus knew, and as we are reading this the way John writes this, we the readers know what's going on, but But understand that none of the disciples at this point knew that Judas was going to do what he did.
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So imagine these words of Jesus when he's like, "Not every one of you are clean." It's like, "Who's he talking about?" So verse 12 says, "When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, "Do you understand what I have done to you?
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You call me teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am.
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If I then, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.
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For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you." So after Jesus takes His place back at the table, sits down and He says, "Okay, did you learn anything?
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You understand what I'm trying to show you?" And the lesson of the moment, and for us the lesson of the day, is humility.
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If the Lord will do this for you, you should do this for each other.
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And church, this is where it has to start.
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It has to start with humility.
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As Jay said in the video, humility is the most important characteristic that God is looking for in His people.
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You need to think of humility like the foundation of a house.
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You can't build until there's a foundation.
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Or anything you build will not last.
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And it's the same with humility, church.
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Nothing happens without humility.
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Nothing.
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Coming to Jesus Christ in the first place, what does that require?
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Humility.
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Recognizing that I'm a fallen and lost person and I'm desperately in need of the love of God because I bring nothing to the table spiritually.
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That requires humility.
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To embrace Christ.
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Growing in Christ.
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That requires humility.
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That's saying, "Look, I don't have it all figured out daily.
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I go to Him for wisdom and discernment and to get my feet washed.
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And I need Him every hour.
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That doesn't happen without humility.
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Serving Christ in whatever capacity you serve Christ in this church requires humility.
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That it's not about me and my talents and my creativity and my whatever.
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It's about God's Holy Spirit alive and at work in me.
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of everything in the Christian life is built on the foundation of humility.
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Like, all right, well what is humility? It's just simply this. It's absence of self. It's not thinking less of yourself. It's thinking of yourself less. It's that you're not absorbed with the usual sinful, selfish, self-centered, self-interest, promotion of self, what's in it for me?
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You're so outward thinking, like, you know, what does God want me to do?
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How can I serve others?
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You're not thinking about what's in it for me.
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But I got to tell you, when it comes to humility, very clearly in God's Word, it is a command repeated over and over and over and over.
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Humble yourself.
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Humble yourself.
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When God commands you to humble yourself, He's saying forsake your pride, forsake your selfishness, forsake your self-sufficiency, and humble yourself.
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It's a command.
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But there is a huge problem with humility.
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That is this.
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just as everyone thinks they're a good driver, just as everyone thinks they're a great singer, no one greater than me, at least how I think.
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Aaron will tell you that is definitely not true.
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Just as everyone thinks they're a great driver or a great singer, everyone really thinks they're humble.
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Truly.
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If I went around the room and just said, hey, stand up, tell everybody who you are, are you a proud person or are you a humble person?
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I guarantee you almost everyone in this room would say, I like to think that I'm a humble person.
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I'm with you.
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That's how I would respond too.
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We think that we are humble.
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But we get to a passage like this, and we see the words of Jesus, and we read of the actions of Jesus, and we're like, "I'm not as humble as I thought I was." Because you see, there's a lot of things that Jesus did that we cannot imitate, right?
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Like feeding of the 5,000.
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I mean, how epic would that be?
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If I'm like, "You all just stay here.
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You know, I got my son's lunch and I'm just gonna feed you all with it, that would be awesome to imitate, but I can't do that." Or calming the storm, like my dogs won't go outside when it rains.
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So how epic would it be if I could just step on the porch and be like, "Shh," and it stops storming?
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'Cause Jesus could do that, but I can't do that.
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or turning water into wine.
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I would be invited to everybody's house many times a week if I could do that.
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And I can't do that.
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So obviously there are a lot of things about Jesus that I cannot imitate.
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But here is something, not just we can imitate it, here's something that we are commanded to imitate.
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The humility of Jesus that moves us to lovingly serve people.
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And you're like, well, how am I doing there?
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Well, that's on your outline.
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We're gonna take a little humility assessment.
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You ready for this?
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Because it might sting a bit.
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You ready for this?
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You ready for an honest examination of yourself in light of the word of God?
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Or did you come for somebody to blow smoke?
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All right, well this might sting a little bit.
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Listen, I don't care.
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I'm going to tell you why I don't care.
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I had to study this all week.
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Do you know how many times it stung me?
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Feel my pain, people!
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Those of you sitting at home watching this stream, feel my pain.
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But conformity into the image of Christ, sometimes it stings a little bit when we've got to knock off some selfishness. The humility assessment, you can ask yourself these questions in light of this passage. Number one, am I humble like Jesus?
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Number one, do I show love for people despite my own problems? Do I show love for people despite my own problems? Bible says that Jesus loved them to the end.
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You know I used to think that that meant like until his dying breath, until the The last minute, he loved them, and that's really not what that means.
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It means to perfection.
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He loved them totally, thoroughly, 100%.
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That's what that means.
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It means that everything that Jesus did for the disciples and everything that Jesus is doing in your life comes from love.
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Jesus will never do anything in your life motivated by spite or anger or bitterness.
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Everything Jesus wants to do in your life is out of love.
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That's what this means.
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In verse one, it says, Jesus knew, Jesus knew what?
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Says he knew, look at your text, verse one, his hour had come.
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And this sets the stage here 'cause you need to think about this.
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Jesus was about to suffer the wrath of God for the sin of the world.
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Wrap your head around that.
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Jesus knew that we're talking literally at this point hours away.
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Jesus knew, "I'm about to be separated from my Father and bear the sin of the world." And most people at this point would have been so consumed with themselves and their problems be thinking about other people, true or false.
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I'll tell you what, if it was me sitting at that table, knowing what was coming, I would have said to the disciples, "Don't bother me now.
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Don't you know what I'm about to do?
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I don't care about your dirty feet.
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You go wash your own filthy paws.
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I got bigger problems than your nasty feet.
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But instead of being distracted by what was ahead, it's incredible.
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Jesus was concerned with the needs of his disciples.
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It's like, yeah, I'm about to bear the sin of the world, but nobody washed their feet.
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I'll get that taken care of right now.
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This is our God!
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So how are you doing there?
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Needs pop up.
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You see opportunity to serve others in the church.
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How quickly are you tempted to say, "Yeah, yeah, I know, I know, but I got my own problems." You know, the church has these spring cleaning days that are coming.
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What's that called?
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Project Blitz?
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Like, "Yeah, I know the church is doing spring cleaning and finishing up some things and just some housekeeping, maintenance kind of stuff.
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I know the church is doing that, but look, I got a mess of my own at home.
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I mean, why should I be going down to the church?
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I got my own problems." Or someone in your small group needs help with something and you're like, "I have bigger problems than she does.
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Why would I take my time to go help her?
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Why would I do that?
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Because I got bigger problems than she does.
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And if that's your mindset, I wanna say you're not thinking like Jesus.
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Because that certainly wasn't his attitude, about to bear the sin of the world, but absolutely refused to pass up a chance to show love.
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Knowing his example, the humility assessment, how are we doing so far?
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You're like, "One question in, and maybe I'm not as humble as I thought I was." Number two, am I secure in my identity?
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Am I secure in my identity?
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Verse three tells us that the Father gave Jesus all things.
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He inherits everything because of who He is and what He's done.
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Jesus knew that He came from God, He was returning to God.
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Here's the point.
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Here's the point of verse three.
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Jesus knew exactly who he was.
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See, Jesus was never worried about what people thought about him. Have you noticed that? And when you get here, Jesus was not worried that such an act of stooping down and washing the feet of his disciples, Jesus wasn't worried that doing that might make people think negatively about him.
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Never crossed his mind.
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Like you and I, we might think, well, if I stooped down to do that, they might think, oh, I thought he was kind of somebody important.
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I thought he was, you know, kind of above that, but he's doing like the worst slave labor.
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You realize the text basically says here, to paraphrase it, Jesus knew who he was, so he did the work of a slave.
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That's what it says.
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Jesus knew who he was, so he did the work of a slave.
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And I just need to tell you, church, if you're not there and we're all a work in progress, aren't we?
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Amen.
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Are we a work in progress?
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Amen.
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Don't leave me up here.
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I'm not the only one that's a work in progress.
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I know who I am in Jesus Christ.
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He established my worth.
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I know what God has called me to do, and I'm not afraid of what people might say or think.
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That's security of identity.
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Have you ever been around an insecure person?
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Have you ever been around somebody that's insecure?
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Aaron and I know somebody from our time in Chicago.
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I'm not gonna mention their name in case they're watching this stream.
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But Aaron and I know somebody.
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Anytime you're in any kind of a group setting, he was always looking around to see how everybody else was reacting, because he wouldn't react until he knew how everybody else was reacting, so he knew how to react.
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He'd look around, oh, people were clapping?
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(claps)
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(laughs)
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Oh, he'd look around, people were shaking their head?
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(moans)
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He'd look around, and he was constantly thinking this thought, how do I think people want me to react?
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Right?
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What am I expected to do here?
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And there was just a complete lack of confidence in just being himself.
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That's how insecure people are.
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And something else about insecure people is they're unable to lower themselves.
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Like if I said, hey, we really need somebody to help clean the bathrooms at the church, who's willing to do that?
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And you think in the back of your mind, well, I can't do that.
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Like what if, like I invited some people from work to church, what if they came in and saw me cleaning the bathroom?
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Like what would they think?
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Like, you know, I'm Dr. So-and-so and I'm scrubbing the toilets, like what would they think about me?
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Or, hey, this year at VBS, we want you to wear the gorilla suit and jump around and help entertain the kids.
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You're like, I can't do that.
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'Cause I invited some of my kids from my neighborhood to VBS, what if their parents come and see me in the monkey suit?
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And what are they gonna think about me?
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And I can't do that.
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And I would just tell you, well, this wasn't Jesus attitude.
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Jesus was like, hey, God defines my identity.
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Regardless of whatever you think, Jesus said, I know who I am.
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So for me to stoop down and serve hasn't even crossed my mind what people might think of me.
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Am I securing my identity?
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How we doing?
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Number three, do I serve indiscriminately?
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Do I serve indiscriminately?
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You're like, how do you spell that?
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Just write down without showing favoritism or impartially.
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Do you serve indiscriminately?
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Here's what I mean.
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It would have been profound enough if this story says that Jesus was washing the feet of all super Christians.
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Everybody sitting around the table, they all had their acts together.
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They were perfect, holy, absolutely.
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Their conduct, their speech, their attitudes were always above reproach, no matter where they were, what was going on.
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These were the greatest, most pure, perfect people in the world.
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If Jesus was washing the feet of such a group, I would still be pretty impressed.
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But the fact that it was people like us really makes it much more impressive.
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Because not only did we see Peter being a little slow in the uptake, but did you notice the other disciple that was singled out?
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Three times another disciple was mentioned.
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Verse two, verse 11, verse 18, shout him out if you know his name.
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Judas, do you notice that?
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Like, wait, wait, wait a second, hang on.
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Why in the world in this passage about Jesus washing feet, why does Judas come up three times?
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I think it's because Jesus' love shines brighter when you have Judas as a backdrop.
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To know that Jesus even washed Judas.
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Think about that.
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Jesus knew exactly what Judas was going to do.
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Pretending to be BFFs, selling him out by identifying him with a kiss.
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Jesus knew all that was coming.
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If that was me, when I bent down to wash Judas' feet, I would have at least ripped a toe off.
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At least.
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Not Jesus.
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Everything Jesus did was from this platform of love.
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I know, I know deep down you hate me.
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I know deep down you're pretending.
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I'm going to wash you just as much as any of these other guys.
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All of them, whether they were ignorant or hateful or fearful or prideful, Jesus indiscriminately, lovingly served them all, and that's not easy to do.
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It is so easy to serve people that we like, people on our team, people we think like.
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It is so hard to serve otherwise.
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I remember years back serving in community meals in downtown Butler.
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And you think when we open the doors to serve a community meal, the people that are coming in are all going to be like, "Thank you.
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I appreciate this.
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I'm so hungry.
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I don't have anything." And you think in your mind, "I'm going to serve them and I'm going to meet a real need in the name of Jesus." That's sort of how you think the community meal's gonna go.
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And you know what usually it looked like a lot of times?
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Is people standing in line on their iPhone complaining about the menu.
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Like, "Ugh, like spaghetti again?
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"Like, are we complaining about the free spaghetti?
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"Like, I'm sorry, we're only serving people "that are needy and appreciative." But we certainly didn't.
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Take that attitude because that's not the attitude of Jesus.
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You can serve the people you like, but can you serve the person who annoys you to no end?
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Can you serve the person that you know has criticized you?
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Can you serve the person that you know hates you?
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here's the truth church most people are lousy ungrateful self-centered evil little goblins especially me you're like you know what pastor Jeff I really only want to serve nice people good luck with that because that wasn't Jesus attitude Jesus says hey you know Peter you don't understand but I'll serve you and I know Jesus was thinking Judas you hate me you want me dead. You're gonna sell me out for a handful of coins, but I'm gonna serve you. Do you serve indiscriminately? And number four, am I willing to do the dirty work? Am I willing to do the dirty work?
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Jesus clearly stated the point of all of this, right? He says this is an example, do what I do you're like even stuff that I don't prefer to do well if the Lord of the universe will wash filthy feet you should wash each other's filthy feet you still not sold on that is there somebody sitting here like yeah I'm not sold I I can start over.
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Or why don't we just look at the next couple of verses because these are three reasons to do the dirty jobs, okay?
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Not sure I wanna do this.
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I'm gonna give you three reasons to do the dirty jobs.
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Letter A, write this one down.
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You aren't better than Jesus.
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This is going to be a shock to some people here this morning, but you're not better than Jesus Christ.
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Look at verse 16, Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him." This is a verse that every single one of us should get tattooed on our forearms, or at least highlight it in your Bible, okay?
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Because when you approach something and you're like, well, that job's beneath me.
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You want me to run the garbage up to the dumpster?
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You want me to clean up the mess that the baby made in the nursery?
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That job's beneath me.
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And my response is, oh, oh, you're better than Jesus.
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Didn't get the memo.
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Because Jesus never thought any job was beneath him.
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And he demonstrated that by doing the absolute nastiest, grossest job of the day.
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Jesus is like, "I'll do that." And we have to remind ourselves, church, we are not better than Jesus.
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If Jesus is willing to do this, who are we to turn down any job?
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Three reasons to do the dirty jobs, letter B.
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Write this down, there's blessing in doing the dirty jobs.
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Look at verse 17.
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Jesus said, "If you know these things, "blessed are you if you do them." If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
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Get that one tattooed on your other arm.
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In other words, don't just idealize the teaching.
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Don't just hold this teaching as a mental principle that we come to church, we go to Bible study, we're like, yes, service is a grand old idea, and I really think that that's a wonderful thing that we should all definitely really ought to think about and embrace and applaud Jesus for.
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and do you see Jesus' clear application?
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Like do it!
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If you know it, do it!
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Jesus said there's blessing.
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You're like, okay, help me connect the dots here.
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What possible blessing could I get from doing the nasty lowest, most menial job?
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What's the blessing that could possibly come from that?
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How about being like Jesus?
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How about God's promise to exalt the one who humbles himself?
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How about that one?
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How about we do it and find out?
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'Cause here's a blessing.
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Last thing today.
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Serving wins the hearts of others.
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Jesus said, "I am not speaking of all of you.
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I know whom I have chosen.
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But the Scripture will be fulfilled.
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He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me." That's from Psalm 41.9.
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That figure of speech, lifting your heel, It's about deceptively, aggressively kicking somebody.
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We would say backstabbing.
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That's how we would say.
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I am telling you this now before it takes place, that when it does take place, you may believe that I am He.
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Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me.
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And whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
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Serving wins the hearts of others.
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Because I totally believe that this event changed the disciples in more ways than getting clean feet.
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The disciples saw who Jesus was in a whole new way.
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Because he served them in the most radical way.
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and they willingly obeyed because he's sacrificially loved.
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And you're like, well, what does this have to do with me?
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Verse 16, Jesus made it very clear.
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He goes, I'm sending you.
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Do you get the connection here?
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Jesus says, God sent me.
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Now I'm sending you.
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And Jesus says in this last verse, hey, I'm sending you out.
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He said, if they receive you, they receive me.
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And if they receive me, they receive my father.
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And it's a reminder, church, that you are sent to win people.
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Like, well, how do I do that?
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Well, Jesus gives us the example to follow.
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When you love people through humble service, you win their hearts.
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Let's pray.
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Father in heaven, I don't know Father, this passage to me is almost more staggering than some of the big miracles like feeding the 5,000 or healing the lame.
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This passage just seems almost more amazing to me.
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that the God of the universe would serve His people in such a way.
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Even reading it and studying it and preaching it, there's still a part of me that's just like, "What?" But Jesus made it so clear that this is an example.
42:40-42:54
And I just pray, Father, for myself, and I pray for my brothers and sisters here, And I pray for my brothers and sisters who are watching this stream, that you would give us the faith to obey the command to humble ourselves.
42:56-43:01
That we'd stop thinking so much of ourselves, or so highly of ourselves.
43:03-43:06
But to Father, we would find our identities in Jesus Christ.
43:07-43:09
We would find our joy in imitating Him.
43:11-43:15
We find the blessing of being a servant.
43:18-43:30
Thank You, Father, that You could have just given us a dissertation on humility, but instead, You showed us.
43:33-43:35
Praise You in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
43:36-43:37
Amen.

Small Group Discussion
Read John 13:1-20

What was your big “take-away” from this passage / message?
How did you do on the assessment? Where do you personally struggle in serving people lovingly and humbly?
Define humility. Why is humility the most important characteristic God is looking for in people?
How does being secure in your identity help you humbly serve others (John 13:3)?
Explain Jesus' spiritual application of foot washing from v10. What was He referring to in talking about “bathing” and “foot washing”? What does this mean to us as Christians?

Breakout
Pray for one another.

Knowing Jesus - Knowing His Greater Works

Introduction:

The Privileges of Following Jesus (John 14:7-14):

Knowing Jesus - Knowing His Comfort

Introduction:

Knowing His Comfort (John 14:1-6):

Knowing Jesus - Knowing His New Commandment

Introduction:

3 Things Jesus Said About God's Glory (John 13:31-38):

Knowing His New Commandment:

How did Jesus love? (His action)

How did Jesus love? (His heart)

Knowing Jesus - Knowing He Knows

Introduction:

Warnings to Hypocrites (John 13:21-30):

Knowing Jesus - Knowing His Example

Introduction:

The Humility Assessment (John 13:1-20):

➡ 3 Reasons to Do the Dirty Jobs (John 13:16-20):

Upcoming Small Group Questions CLICK HERE

How much of the Bible have we covered since 2011?

Introduction:

The Privileges of Following Jesus (John 14:7-14):

Audio Transcript

Introduction:

Knowing His Comfort (John 14:1-6):

Audio Transcript

Introduction:

3 Things Jesus Said About God's Glory (John 13:31-38):

Knowing His New Commandment:

How did Jesus love? (His action)

How did Jesus love? (His heart)

Audio Transcript

Introduction:

Warnings to Hypocrites (John 13:21-30):

Audio Transcript

Introduction:

The Humility Assessment (John 13:1-20):

➡ 3 Reasons to Do the Dirty Jobs (John 13:16-20):

Audio Transcript