Serve With The Heart

Introduction

Explain what has been happening up to this point

John her is already focusing on the passion week before Jesus death. This is a passion narrative.

Serving must come from a heart of service

John 13:3–5 NIV

3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

Here comes another one of those interesting transitions John uses. Jesus knew that everything was in His power and under His control, but yet he chose to submit himself to this lowly disgusting task of washing his disciples feet. Foot washing was regarded as a job for the slaves of the household and it would have been extremely degrading. People’s feet would have been covered in dirt, spit, feces from animals, and what ever else covered the street. So it was given often times to the lowliest slave of the household to wash the guests feet. This is what I believe makes this statement so absolutely remarkable.

John 3:35 NIV

35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.

Jesus having everything under his control and under his power chose to put that aside to wash the feet of his disciples. What does this show us?

Jesus showed what it looks like to really serve. Service must come from a place that is in full realness of heart. True servanthood can not come from a place of forcefulness or requirement. True servanthood can not come from a place of anger or lack of desire. True servanthood looks like Jesus example here in . He had every ability to choose something else, but he lets all of that go for an opportunity to serve. There was nothing in it for him besides truly serving His disciples.

Now some of us may be thinking like okay cool my motives aren’t right for serving in this certain area of my life so I should probably stop nice. That is not what I am saying and if that is what you are experiencing it is time to really press back into why God put you there in the first place because you were placed there to serve because God valued you for that service.

Focus on the service God has called you to now

John 13:6–10 NIV

6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” 9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” 10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.”

Peter was always jumping the gun to what he thinks Jesus wanted rather than what Jesus was actually telling him or what Jesus actually wanted for Peter’s life. I think a lot of us have had that Peter like quality about our lives where we say something before we have really thought it through. I know I personally have. Later I’ll go back and say man why did I say yes. Sometimes I believe we say things without thinking first when it comes to serving.

From personal experience I have found myself spread thin when it comes to serving. Just here in this Church I have overwhelmed myself with events, worship, and speaking and one day I had this realization with the help of my wife. You can never give yourself 100% to serve in a specific area when you are spreading yourself thin across multiple areas. If God has called you to serve in an area it is because He wants you to serve 100% with true passion and love and focus.

Peter is getting ahead of himself here. He is like Jesus wash all of me and Jesus is like I just want to focus on the feet. You are missing the point of this Peter.

Don’t jump to serve in a different place or area in your life unless you know God has used you to the fullest in the place you are serving right now. There is a different legacy with those who leave before their time is done in serving or because they aren’t giving it their all than those who have served well and faithfully. If you don’t believe me just look at people like Billy Graham. Look at the Apostle Paul. Legends for the Glory of God because they stepped in and finished what God called them to finish.

If God called you to wash dishes for the gospel and you were faithful that will be much greater in bringing people to Christ than in your preaching without God’s calling you to serve in that area.

Serve to what you have been called and finish to what you have been called.

True service comes from a place of complete humility and love.

John 13:15–17 NIV

15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

John

As we actually start this chapter there are two themes that are present. One Jesus is preparing himself and his disciples from his departure fom this world and the other is Jesus deep love for his followers.

What is actually interesting from chapters 2-12 words for life and light are much more dominate than the amount of words for love, but in chapters 13-17 it is the reverse. Love is the dominate word. John wanted us to understand that it wasn’t just light and life that Jesus was giving. It was light and life that was motivated by love for us.

You will never be able to stand in a place of service if you constantly see yourself as above others. If you see yourself as constantly greater than your acts of service are constantly about what is in it for you rather than what is in it for the person I am serving. Jesus showed such love and such humility and this was a teaching moment for His disciples. This is what true leadership looked like. To lay oneself down for their friends. This was the kind of love that drove Jesus to the cross and this is the love He wants us to show in our daily life and definitely in our service of others and the church.

Let’s look at how shocking this moment would have been. Essentially Jesus was sitting at the head of the table at the meal. He was acting as “father” over that meal time. Jesus was God and all of the sudden he gets up and takes the towel, water, and basin, and basically becomes slave.

Now imagine this. Jesus actually had to wash the feet of Jesus. I mean cmon man! Through this act that Christ esablished with us internally He is saying we aren’t just a group that believes the same thing we are family. To serve is to bring into the family. Because we are bound to Christ we are bound to each other.