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John Chapter 13, verse 13.
He called me Master and Lord.
And ye say, well, for so I am. If I then your Lord and master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord, neither he that has sent greater than he that sent him.
If he knows these things.
Happy are ye if you do them.
I speak not of you all. I know whom I have chosen.
But that the Scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth his bread with he that eateth bread with me, hath lifted up his heel against me. Now I tell you before come, that when it has come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send, receiveth me.
And he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
Then the disciples looked one or another, doubting of whom he speak.
Now there was leaning on Jesus bosom.
One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, Simon Peter, therefore beckoned to him.
That he should ask who it should be, of whom he speak. He then, lying on Jesus breath, saith unto him, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, He It is to whom I shall give us off, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the saw, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
After the soft, Satan entered into him, Then said Jesus unto him.
That thou doest do quickly now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him.
For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag that Jesus had said unto him.
By those things that we have need of against the peace or that he should give something to the poor.
He then, having received the soft, went immediately out and it was night.
Therefore when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of Man glorified.
And God is glorified in him, if God be glorified in him.
God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall strictly glorify him.
Little children.
Yet a little while I am with you.
Ye shall seek me. And as I said unto the Jews, whither I go, ye cannot come. So now I say to you.
A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples if you have love one to another.
Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go? Thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards.
Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake.
Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down my life for my sake?
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The **** shall not crow till thou hast denied me thrice.
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Sometimes think that we understand the force of this chapter better and what it is saying to us.
If we read the last two verses again and keep on reading the next verse, let me do it.
37th verse Peter said unto him, Lord.
Why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake. Jesus answered him. Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The **** shall not crow till thou hast denied me thrice. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God. Believe also in me.
The chapters are artificial.
But we see that the Lord was above it. No matter how far we get down, how far we get away from the Lord, we cast ourselves upon him. And he says, let not your heart be troubled.
Because this is the work of Restoration that is read of in our chapter and I always like to mention that because it's an encouragement. I think when some get down and kind of sad about things, I'll just think of Peter, how low he went and the Lord says let not your heart be troubled.
Not to brush the things under the carpet, as they say, but.
To have the restoration that he alone can provide.
He called me master and Lord, and you say well, for so I am.
I often see simply the name of Jesus.
Maybe a little praise Jesus is the answer.
Various things like that. And it is a precious name, the name of Jesus, the name for which every knee shall bow.
And yet why do we not give unto him the glory that is due unto his name, the Lord Jesus or the Lord Jesus Christ? It is his Jew. And in Speaking of that blessed one, I believe we should give him his title, the Lord Jesus Christ.
We see we see an interesting reversal here, don't we, Brother Judd? In verse 13 it says you call me master and Lord, and you say, well for so I am. And then he says if I then your Lord and master.
Now that's interesting because the disciples did give him his rightful title of master or teacher or instructor, Teacher and Lord, but they had it in reverse. And he and the Lord very gently reverses that and says, if I, then your Lord and Master isn't that important, brethren, that we understand the difference there and where the emphasis should be, because it is possible that the disciples had been.
Taken up with the doctrine or the teaching to the extent that it overshadowed the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And I say that that I I believe that there's there's there's a danger of that in our lives that we can get so taken up with the doctrine that the person and the Lordship of Jesus has been excluded a little bit from our lives. And he goes on to say, now I've given you an example.
That you have to wash one another's feet, and he shows them that that lordship will cause them to bow down and take the lowest kinds of jobs.
Very specifically of washing somebody elses feet. Now, it is possible that we can get taken up with the doctrine to the extent that we might be critical of someone else. We might see someone walk in who has dirty feet, and we might be critical of them.
But you see, when the Lordship of Jesus has taken over in our lives, then we will want to wash that person's feet, we will want to help them out, we will want to bathe them with the word of God. And we're dealing with some real difficult problems today because there's a lot of.
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Laxness In that area, there's a lot of us who are not doing our jobs and there's a lot of dirty feet around. Also, there's some people who have had their feet burned.
Or scrub too hard. And then there's some people who have never had their feet washed, and it's a very kind of a shocking thing the first time you've had your feet washed. But the Lord is really He. He is. He's dealing very gently with a problem of the heart in which they've gotten taken up with the teachings more than with the lordship of Jesus Christ.
Wondering what you say driving your Lord and master. The Lord, the one who has every right over us, would, master indicate the one who has the right to direct us.
We take our direction from him too. I just suggest that he's our Lord, the one that directs us. And do we bring this thing into our daily life as a practical thing we hold this is a doctrine, or do we put it into practice day by day?
Between the Lord and each individual, that which he would have them to do. But does it become a daily force, a daily practical living out?
Of these truths.
Lordship is is always individual.
The Lord has never spoken of as the Lord of the assembly. He's the head of the assembly. But individually we have the lordship before us, the person that's been brought out, the Lord Master.
And one to whom we bow Lord. It's one thing to know Him as savior, but it's another thing to know him as the Lord of our life individually. But if each one of us here in this audience.
Had that desire in our heart to acknowledge him as the Lord of my life, there would be absolute harmony amongst us. We would all be occupied with the exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Certainly some do show carelessness or even disrespect in terms of using the word master and one of our hymns. It bothered me and some of these hymn riders because they were they were really moved and good poets. But I understand, it's been told me that in the original language that at least in some places where the word master occurs, it really means Lord Master, but it's translated Master.
And I I take that to mean like that.
That sort of rendering of the word when I read a poem such as 282 where it says Master, we would no longer be at home in that which hated thee.
That's kind of interesting to me, though.
Think a little bit about this chapter and the.
The actual physical setting of it, I think we haven't talked about it yet, but when you and I think about sitting down at a table.
We we imagine a table.
And chairs all around the table.
But brethren, I don't think that that's the setting we have here.
I don't believe we had any chairs at this table. There's no mention of any chairs in this chapter.
And where it speaks about sitting down in verse 12.
After he had washed their feet and had taken his garments and was sat down again, they the better translation is he he took his place again.
So if we kind of get in our minds, what this?
Setting really was like.
It would be good for us to imagine a table about the about the height of this platform up in front of our room. And the disciples were not sitting around the table, but they were reclining at the table. They were reclining at the table. I think that's the thought. They weren't sitting on chairs, but they were reclining on the at the table. Perhaps they even had their elbows on the table. But the point that I want to make is that their feet were behind them.
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So let's just imagine, take a look at this platform up here and let's just imagine that that was the table and there were 12.
Disciples reclining at that table.
And their their feet were behind them.
As they reclined at the table.
Well, the Lord Jesus, during the many courses of this meal, he got up during the courses of this meal and he just went around. After pouring water in a basin, he went around and washed the feet of his disciples. But you see, one couldn't see the feet of the other.
Because their feet were behind them. And our Lord Jesus just quietly walked around the circle with the towel and the basin and he would just wash the feet of the disciples which were behind them. So when he washed Peters feet, why Thomas couldn't see what Peters feet looked like? Because all their feet were sticking out to behind and they're just facing each other at the table as they reclined there. And so the point I make is that.
The washing of feet is a private matter.
And if we were wise and learned the lesson of this chapter well, we would not try to do this wash job.
In the presence of others so that we make a display of the of the needs of our brethren. And you and I know that we don't like to have our own faults made a display of. So I believe we see that in this portion too that the washing of the feet was done individually and privately as much as could be done at this point. But I think it's nice just to see the setting here there the Lord Jesus and.
His 12 disciples were reclining at the table.
During the many courses of this Passover meal he interrupts these. The meal didn't cause any commotion than doing it, but he just got up during the many courses and went around and washed their disciples feet. And then in verse 12 he took his place again but it was all part of the Passover meal. And so you you get that setting all the way through this chapter they they recline at the table.
He gets up, he washes their feet and then he takes his place again and and reclines at the table with them. And then you go on the as we come down in the chapter we see that they're still at the table. And the Passover meal was along many course meal but a lot happened during that meal. One of the most wonderful things was that he washed the disciples feet but then he takes his place again.
And then he.
Keeps on giving them good ministry and finally it comes to a point where they have a A.
A dish, a bowl of wine, and they would dip the bread in the wine that was part of it too. And so.
At the close of this meal, and he dips this salt, he moistens the he moistens the bread in this bowl.
And hands it to Judas. Well, it's all part of this long, many course meal, so I thought I would just give that little setting and help us to understand It's it's not like my mother's house where she invites us all over and we sit down at the table on chairs and our feet are under us. That's not the thought here.
But just get in our minds that there were these people reclining at the table and all of these things happen during that experience. And so many lessons are to be learned from this precious chapter. Ron I I wonder if I could just carry that thought a little further. I know that many of us have home Bible readings and we we've just put out a tape in the family series called Family Nutrition because.
There's a need of help in that family Bible reading, and I have a real difficult problem in my home where I have two very active teenagers and when the meal is over, they want to go. They don't want to sit around and wait for a Bible reading to take place. So I have gone to I've gotten to the place in life where I eat about half as much as they eat, so I'm done with my meal about 10 or 15 minutes ahead of when they are.
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And I've just taken the Bible off the shelf there and started reading and it's been a time of of foot washing right while the meal is going on. They're continuing to eat their meal and they some a lot of times they finish up eating their meal and they don't even know we're having a Bible reading. It's still going on. And they they they don't run into that difficulty of the meal is over. I've got to go. And so I think here's a special need or a special opportunity I say to you parents.
To get that little basin out during the meal and go around and wash your children's or young people's feet and it's a time when they don't really object to it a lot, they kind of enjoy it.
Find here the Lord giving them an example.
I thank your Lord and master, have washed your feet. Ye also ought to wash one another's feet, for I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord, neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. We'll go over to first Peter, chapter 2 and verse 21.
Or even here unto where he called, because Christ also suffered for us.
Leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps.
Who did no sin, neither was God found in his mouth. Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again.
When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him.
That judge of righteously.
Well, the Lord is our example.
God could set no less a standard before us, beloved. There it is.
There is the measure that, by His Grace, we should seek to follow.
And everything.
Oh, we have to stop short of those suffering in those hours of darkness.
He and he alone could go through that.
But he would have us to follow in his steps.
I have a question.
Regards the portion that we've enjoyed.
As to the feet washing.
Where we've read just now as to the example the Lord is giving us.
And he says, as has been quoted here just now, that you should do as I have done unto you.
And we've certainly seen the spiritual application of this literal.
Act that was done on the part of the Lord Jesus to his own there.
And the spiritual application of it being that we should as well do as he did to those, we should do as well to our to our brethren.
But over in First Timothy chapter 5.
In the Apostle Paul's instruction to.
Timothy he mentions in regards to widows.
Verse 9.
Let not a widow be taken into the number under 3 score years old, having been the wife of one man. Now these are the qualifications.
Well reported up for good works. I assume that's literal works if she had brought up children, actually done so if she has lodged strangers.
An actual act.
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Or service, if she hath washed the Saints feet.
If she has relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work, my question is in regard to this.
Is this an instruction from the Apostle Paul?
To Timothy.
In receiving such that this was a work that was actually done.
Or is Paul speaking in terms of a spiritual application?
Of what was done by the Lord to his disciples? And I asked that for this reason.
We literally remember the Lord Jesus in death with emblems on a table.
There are those around us who do this in a kind of an abstract way. We literally do this in this simple, blessed way of remembering the Lord Jesus as he instructed.
Could we have a thought in regards to perhaps?
The.
The value of literally doing this or do we do this and if we don't, why don't we do this literally? I'm speaking now in the thought of as the Lord took that low place and would wash he being the Lord of glory, the Son of God coming down and washing his creatures feet. Literally we've mentioned something of that the humility of the Lord Jesus.
Would there be any benefit to us spiritually to do something like this, literally to one another?
We've mentioned it, doing it to one another in a spiritual way, as a health encouragement and as a humbling. Would there be a purpose? Would there be a value to doing this literally?
I happen to be a Shoemaker and the shoes that we wear today covers us up pretty well, but at the time of the Lord Jesus, the other time, 2000 years ago, they had sandals.
And they were often, and there were lots of a street and way that was full of a dust. And when they came home, believe me, they had need to be washed their feet, they had need to be washed defeat. I think there was a very courtesy of a woolly widow to do that in the sense that it's naturally. But there is the application again over that which is spiritual, but actually the sand that they were up and the feet they were open and believe me, they got a lot of those when they went home and they need to be washed.
I would take it to Brother Bob.
This first epistle is laying out.
In specific terms, that which was in order, The church was in order, and reading down through the chapter, I would take it that there these were all literal things. This widow not only brought up our children well, but she thought of the Saints and literally washed their feet. Literally. But I was just thinking of that when you were speaking.
Satan is so clever and so deceitful that he has taken these two Christian services. Maybe I shouldn't say services, the foot washing and the remembrance of the Lord. I know groups that just have reversed these.
One brother insisted that the remembrance of the Lord was only a spiritual application, just destroying the very foundation of that which Paul lays out before us in in the in Corinthians. And also there are those Christians who literally wash each other's feet. Well, I believe that the latter one is not as serious as the first, but I believe that both of them are.
Missing the discernment from the Lord.
And I would take it that it is a spiritual application for us now.
And whereas the remembrance of the Lord remains literal.
He says the Nicodemus, he must be born again, and Nicodemus answered the Lord Jesus says.
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Man entered, mother born again. He couldn't understand Lord.
Lord Jesus said, except you eat of my body and drink of my **** He said Out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water. All those can't be literal. The question also came up, why don't we have the Lord's supper and John's gospel? This is connected with the Passover and we see Judas period immediately going out, so we recognize suffer too. So also see a lot of things.
This, this board is gone, beyond that God has given us.
And I believe, you know it's been brought out there was in that day and age of literally.
I think there's also a spiritual application. First of all this.
Middle she watched.
It felt fresh.
There's something else that took place here that we haven't talked about. My brother Chuck Hendricks mentioned that it was usually the duty of a slave to wash the feet of those that came in, but when there was not a slave, it was the host. Or as the one, the scripture that was read about, the woman that washed the feet, they would wash the feet of the guests that came in. But it was also the custom that if friends went to a hired house or some other place.
That was not where there was not a host. The first ones that went in washed the other's feet. Now think about this. All of these disciples had dirty feet. Whoever went in first didn't do that. Nor the second, nor the third. No one had gotten down and washed the other disciples feet. It hadn't taken place. So they were all there with dirty feet. And we remember that about this time and shortly before.
In other portions that they were arguing about who might sit on his left and right hand.
Their thoughts were very lofty about who should be upward, and I was thinking that they probably thought as they were there, while you should have been Bartholomew, you should have been doing that. You're one of the lesser ones. You should have done that, or somebody else should have cleansed the feet. And like us, we are likely to see dirty feet and say your feet are dirty, clean them. But we've had brought before us that when we see that, like the one that was remembered, the woman who was honored in the scripture, they have done this. They've just gotten down and done this.
Well, the disciples probably didn't realize it until later, but they had this spiritual application we've been talking about. They had it take place right there because he didn't tell them, Look, you should have washed each others feet. How come you didn't do that? Why didn't one of you get down and do that earlier? He didn't say anything like that. But in front of them, their Lord and master got down and washed their feet. And I know that they were thinking about it. We should have done this. Somebody should have done this.
And later on, by the benefit of the Spirit of God who came, as he mentioned, they would know later, I am very sure that that moment came home to them after the Lord was gone, we how we felt in our hearts. And in other portions we have them describe how they burned in their hearts when they realized the truth of things. I'm sure that they felt that and they realized that they had not done this towards one another. So they really and truly, not only physically, literally had their feet washed.
They also had its their feet spiritually washed, it took.
Avoid alienating a person. It really takes a great deal of discernment because there is kind of a confrontation. When the Prophet spoke to David and told him the parable about the lamb and then.
Then he had to tell David, He says, thou art the man, and of course the Lord Jesus Christ. When he taught there was no one that taught the way that he did and.
When he presented certain things in the House of Simon.
Why? Simon was convicted and he had to speak out of his own mouth in connection with this, and I'd like to look at that portion just briefly.
And Jesus, this is Luke 7 verse 40. And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he said, master, saying he got his permission to speak. There there was a certain creditor which had two debtors and so on. And he's asked him tell me, wherefore which of them will love most? So Simon gives the answer, and this is kind of a a real foot washing. And the answer is of course.
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I suppose that he to whom?
He forgave most, and then the Lord tells him that he had judged rightly.
I Am I right in thinking that that's kind of a foot washing thing? I believe so.
The fair fun thing about first person five, I think is significant, this matter of the widows.
10 It says that she have four children, that she has large strangers. Does she have washed the Saints feet? Not washed feet, but the Saints feet? If she had relieved the afflicted, not the afflicted Saints? I I don't know that I fully understand, but I do realize that Scripture every word is important. So the feet washing was for the Saints.
And I think that tells us something.
I was thinking in connection with this widow.
Things are done differently today as far as that goes. You don't find the literal washing of the feet, but the Lord said to Mary, or said of Mary she hath done what she could.
And that should hit each one of us my own conscience. She hath done what she could. Has there been that quiet going on with the Lord, seeking to do whatever the Hand found to do for his glory?
Just one more comment on that tenth verse. In First Timothy 5, Bob the Jew brought before us everything in that verse.
Well reported of for good works, if she had brought up children, if she obliged strangers, if she had watched the Saints feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have followed diligently. Every good work, every one of those is literal. It's not spiritual and it's not to be applied in a spiritual sense. She actually did those things. She actually got down and washed the feet of the Saints. There are countries our brother Peripatos brought before us. There are still countries.
When I was down in Mexico they don't have paved streets. It's all dirt roads and and if you wore a sandal type shoe and you entered a house there of a Saints entered a house there would be very appropriate to literally wash their feet make them comfortable. That's what the feet washing was for. So what do we do in this country where we have concrete sidewalks and so on we someone comes into the.
Home of a sister and she says be seated, take off your shoes, I'll get you a cup of coffee. She makes them comfortable. That's what answers to washing the Saints feet in our modern country. But there is something that answers to it. We shouldn't give the idea that though we don't do it literally, there isn't anything that answers to it today. It's making them feel comfortable and at home in our surroundings. And she did that, didn't she?
It's applied through the whole body of Christ. I'd like to share with you how the body of Christ washed our feet last seven months.
We had numerous people in this place who are dear Christian people.
Wash our feet with prayer. We have the place where Elaine goes shopping. They told her that they were praying for us in their little church. A man who cleaned our sewer plant in one of our places. I had to call him one night and I told him the circumstances. He said my wife's going to occur. Meeting at 10:00 tomorrow morning.
People in Colorado put us on a prayer list. The point of this is when I go by the Waterville Baptist Church, I have a tremendously warm feeling for the people inside there because I knew they were praying for us. And I, as we commented the other day, how do we reach out and wash the feet of others around us? I would just encourage you that there are many, many ways to do it, but we had a tremendous outpouring.
In our kind of discouragement of people that worshipped our people prayer. And I just wondered if our prayer meetings and our little assemblies and in our phones that people knew they could call up our Know the national Prayer if they wouldn't want to come and ask them more about what goes on. If we had a retail from a peak Washington word and I don't say this is an accusation. I don't say this encouragement. It wasn't the minister, so to speak. It was just the the common ordinary people who assured us they were praying for us.
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And carrying himself before the throne of guard, he would be sustained a tough and I just offered this as a suggestion that the way that we can reach out and washing the feet of those about us and maybe go have a desire to come if it hasn't personally too, to know more about the knowledge of the truth.
I think there are ways that it should be done in ways that it shouldn't be done.
I had an experience one time, a brother at the Lord's table, a young brother.
Not instructed in the truth very well, but had an ardent heart for the Lord.
One Lords day he got up before thanks had been given at the table, and he prayed in the assembly, little assembly and for the gospel before.
The the thanks was given at the table. An elder older brother well instructed in the scriptures.
After the meeting he made a straight line for that brother and took him to task for the unseemly subject, as he said to bring up before the Lord's table.
The bread was given thanks for the brother immediately took offense and he left the Lord's table.
Now by God's grace, a couple of years later he was restored, But that to me, I never forgot that if we are going to wash the Saints feet, that brother would have been far better advised not to have spoken.
To that brother at that time at all, but to have gotten into the presence of the Lord himself and got down, down, down. He was obviously taking a superior attitude toward the the poor brother. But we have to get like literally, as has been pointed out, down at the feet, just the same as as Mary. When she dried the Lord's feet with her hair, well, her head was right down at his feet.
And we have to always, whether we're speaking to the unsaved or to.
The believer who may not know the truth is going to seek to wash his feet. First of all, before I even approach that person, I have to get down before the Lord get down and down and down get lower than that man is, and then I'm going to be in a spiritual state to wash his feet. Sometimes we think we're valiant for the truth, and perhaps we're Mary showing some of her own defects and hostility.
It's it's sad, some of these situations where people have a kind of a dominating spirit, and when mistakes are made, they're too often willing to find a side room where they want to make some kind of confrontation with you. We've already had that chapter in Ezekiel before us. I'd like to look at one of the verses there, and I think it relates to what we have before us.
I hope it does or I wouldn't read it.
The disease, and this is Ezekiel 34, verse four. The disease. Have you not strengthened? Neither have you healed that which was sick. Neither have you bound up that which was broken. Neither have you brought again that which was driven away. Neither have you sought that which was lost. And this is the reason why it's it wasn't done graciously.
It takes a lot of meekness and humility, but with force.
And this is pretty harsh, but with force and with cruelty, have you ruled that it was something more than roiling up the waters?
As one was once gathered out of the systems of men, you come amongst together Saints, many of you have been raised in this past. We don't understand the social structure. Sometimes when we've been gathered without a young man don't know how to date, well, we basically probably don't. We don't know how to meet the young sisters and we don't know about these things. That's why we need the counseling of our brothers.
I was thinking we talked about the Master and the large shape of the Master 11.
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Versus 11 and 28 in there.
Matthew Chapter 11.
I was thinking I was thinking of verse 2829 and Michael verse 22.
Someone can hear all you.
Heavy rains, I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn.
He can have a smoke on it.
That's that the verse of brother says learn from me, I understand. Learn not of me, but learn from me.
Beautiful, Not connection. Psalm 32 and verse eight, it says.
I will instruct the first thing, secondly, and lead the the way in which thou shalt go. Thirdly, I will guide thee with mine eye upon thee. There is the example, isn't it? We need the the introduce introduction of the presence of the Lord to that person, the sweetness of Christ, and then that person is going to be receptive. But if I act in the flesh, this is going to stir up the flesh in that.
And immediately they react against that foot washing. So it's essential that for us.
First of all, to get into the presence of the Lord myself.
And that's what we don't like to do.
Salt and water hurts.
Connection with what the history is saying about weakness. In our chapter the word refers to us as servants. He says as the servant greater than his Lord. So we see an example of how a servant is to wash feet in Second Timothy chapter 2, where he gives the character of the servant and he says the servant of the Lord must not strive but be gentle, patient, and have to teach and so on. In meekness there's that word again instructing those that oppose themselves.
If God for adventure will bring them to repentance. And so the work is really the Lord's. The servant has the privilege of taking the word and meekly instructing, but the work is really God. And so when we think it's up to us to do it, that that's when it's in the flesh. I think we see a beautiful example of that humility in connection with Eudicus. When he fell down from the third loft, there was a brother who we might say had a real fall and fell all the way down to the third lot from the third loft right down to the level of the world.
You might say, but Paul didn't come and stick his head out the window and say, well, Uticus down there, why don't you come up to where we're at. But no, even though the arrest of the brethren had given him up for dead, Paul went down to where he was at and he got down to that level and embraced him and he showed him that love and Eudicus was restored. And so in our chapter here we had somebody mentioning the other day about the warm towel after the feet washing.
But I believe it goes even farther than that. And that is, as we go a little farther, we'll find that John is on the bosom of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so the whole object of feet washing isn't just to warm with a warm towel afterwards, but it's to bring that person all the way to the point where they're on the bosom of the Lord Jesus Christ brought into complete fellowship with him.
You're at this is a lovely example.
There, that young man was sitting in the window.
All sudden, somebody said, Don't you think you're in a dangerous place?
Tom's sitting down with sleep here to this.
Don't you think when you're getting sleepy or in danger of falling out? No, it went on and on and on. And finally that young man fell from what would speak to us of the Heavenlies right down to the level of the world.
00:50:04
Oh dear one, we need to start the peak washing.
Before the fall from then.
Maybe Paul was speaking a little bit too long to.
All all followed down. Follow them down.
While the.
Following call.
This could put a little cap on our Brother Bobby question about foot washing. There are two rituals in the Bible that we are introduced to in the Gospels. One is the ritual of baptism.
And the other is the ritual of the breaking of the bread. The ritual is an outward act that has spiritual significance. And both of those rituals are carried on in the Epistles. We find direction for them, we find instruction about them, so we know that they were carried on on into the church. However, the ritual and both of those, neither of those rituals are mentioned in the Gospel of John. I think someone already mentioned that.
But the ritual of baptism is and we never find any instruction for the assembly to carry this on in an outward way. But we do. I think as our brother Ron mentioned, we do find that is carried on as a as an individual act. And I just say brethren I I feel a real deep need of the individual ministries being emphasized. There are many of our older brethren that are today.
Tucked away in a convalescent home somewhere.
They're being taken care of their their food and their shelter is all being provided for, but they need a little foot washing once in a while too. And there's families and there's there are young people and there are people who are having problems and difficulties of all kinds that need this individual ministry. And I believe that the Lord is really encouraging us.
In that kind of thing.
Notice verse 17. It says if you know these things.
Happier ye if you do them. And that's where the real joy comes in. Actually practicing what we know. There's a tendency often to build more spiritual knowledge. I know I've had that problem myself, to feel that I've got to know more truth before I can actually put it into practice. Well, brethren, I think that if we have a little portion of God's Word, we may be a young person here today.
I know that young people have come up and they said someone has told me that they're getting, they're drifting into moral difficulties or someone has told me.
That they want to commit suicide. They don't know how to handle that. And I just want to encourage you that if you have a little portion of God's word, a little soothing portion of God's word or a little correctional instruction for that person, you can you can, as a young person carry out that active foot washing. It may save a person from some real disasters in their life. And I want to encourage that there there are, there are widows among us that are kind of being neglected. I know they have their, they have their own, maybe Social Security.
And the government is doing their job and so on. But are we doing our jobs and taking care of those who are in need of help among us in an individual way? It's something that doesn't get a lot of outward. Could we say reward? But it's something that the Lord notices, and it is something that he has told us to do if we want to really serve him. And he says there's a special joy associated with that kind of thing.
Verse 17 is the practical application in our lives of what we've been reading about.
If we know these things, it could read, Blessed are ye.
If you do that, there's a blessing attached to soul seeking.
Before the Lord, for we need wisdom from Him to put this to a practical application in our daily lives. But we must do it in His strength, drawing wisdom from Him. For without me you can do nothing.
The instant picture are very important, aren't they? They if.
00:55:05
I don't know whether it's oversimplified to say it, but the if is the wilderness of our life.
This is as you say, Brother John put the.
These teachings into practice in our own life and that's the if not if we know them, doesn't say happy are you if you know them, but it's if if we do them. And I was thinking of John's Gospel Chapter 7, it says, and this is in connection with what everyone of us can be as a foot washer doesn't need to we don't need to know a great deal of truth.
But that verse says he that believeth. That's the imperfect tense. It's going on and on. It's not believing for salvation, either. Believeth on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water, one hand on The Fountainhead I must have to be drawing from the person of the Lord that comes into my life, into my belly as it says there I walk in it, I live it. And then my left hand is going to be always out to seek to help others.
But it must come from The Fountainhead through our life to live it. And it comes out as present true. Not somewhat not something but what brother has said. But it comes out of our practical living of this truth that we learn personally from the Lord through the Holy Spirit. And then the Holy Spirit takes that and out it goes as a river. Not need to worry if I have any work to do. He'll give me the right work, he'll send me to the right person that for whom the Spirit is working. I don't need to give out 1000 tracks.
I need to give out a few tracks, but with prayer. But if I hand us on The Fountainhead and living it, then I'm going to be directed to those with whom the Spirit is working.
Some years ago I I asked the brother who traveled around the country quite a bit, if he would visit in such and such a place, and I was kind of surprised when he replied to me. He says. Well, I'm a coward.
Well, I just accepted that, but I think a little bit in connection with that, that we do need courage, that it takes not only discernment but courage. And I think of that little hymn in the verse. It says he makes the cowards spirit brave.
Oh brother, I think the distinction comes just a little bit later in in the question of time. He was one of those that had their feet washed. But when the Lord took some bread and dipped it into the wine, the bread and the wine were joined together. That is a picture of life, life, blood in the body. He handed it to to Judas and then Judas went out.
The others had the bread separate from the wine. They were knowing, learning a truth that wasn't for Judas Ears, but that foot washing outward could have been. And so that was before he went out, I believe.
This is the chest of this part you want to do.
This.
Very well. Someone in here.
Saying I am I performed for that or not, so they received in the house all the blessings learned from the house.
There's an exercise in the 14th 1St.
Also.
That means that sometimes my feet have to be washed too, and I believe in Galatians 6. We get an exhortation there.
01:00:07
The first verse.
Says brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such in one. Well, that's what we all would like to do, isn't it? We would like to see people restored. But the rest of the verse, I think is important.
Because it brings before us that it should be done in the spirit of meekness, and we've said that before. But the last part of the verse is an exercise to me. It says, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
I believe that if we look at the history of Peter and the history of Paul, we find that Paul had to withstand Peter because of matters which he was going on with as far as the Jewish system is concerned. I think if you look later on, you will find that what happened was the immediate earthly circumstances that put Paul in prison was exactly the same thing. He sought to be about the purifying the Jews. And so we find that in a sense.
There was the error in fall waves, exactly the same type of thing as he was seeking to guide Peter in. If Paul can do it, I can do it.
What time is up?