Good morning. It's good to see you. I know we've got a team. A whole bunch of people are away today.
Chris and Fiona have taken a team to Taiwan, Franklin and Teresa in Taiwan. So people are
everywhere, but it's good to see you. And what a grand weekend, right? This is definitely the
best weather I've experienced in Hong Kong in the three months we've been here. A beautiful day.
So it's good to see you with us this morning. Now, if you're new, we as a church are going through
this mini-series called Who is This King? And we're going through the Gospels and we're looking at the
life and the impact and the claims that Jesus Christ made. And last week we looked at the chapter
before, John chapter 12, and we looked at how Jesus said this most unusual thing. He spoke about his
imminent death as the moment of his glory. And we looked at how Jesus said he's come to
inaugurate a kingdom, but he hasn't done it through a coronation service or by wearing a gold crown.
He's come to do it by bearing a cross. Now this morning we look at another passage of scripture
in which Jesus says some very unusual things. And today we're going to see how Jesus serves his people
by saving them. And how his death on the cross washes them, washes us, not just for all eternity,
but even for today, for right now, for this week as we go into our city. Now this passage that Freya
and Jonathan read to us is a favorite passage for followers of Jesus throughout the centuries.
A passage that talks about humility and Christ-like service. And that's true. But as we look at this
passage, we're going to learn a couple of other things about Jesus. We're going to learn about
Jesus the King. And there's four things in particular I think Christ wants us to see.
We're going to learn about Christ the serving King, or the servant King, Christ the saving King,
Christ the cleansing King, and then fourthly, Christ the commissioning King. Okay? So let's dive in
and Christ the servant King, Jesus the servant King. Now in verse 1, Jesus talks about how he knows
that his hour has come, and he loves his disciples. And then in verse 2, if you look at the first three
words of verse 2, and the first three words of verse 4, it says this, during supper, Jesus got up from
supper. Okay? So Jesus is having this meal with his friends, his disciples, and he gets up. But John
wants to tell us far more than just Jesus got up. He wants to tell us something of there's a showdown of
power that's going on here, right? So let's read verse 2 to 4 completely. It says this, during supper,
when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Jesus,
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, that he had come from God,
and that he was going back to God, rose up from supper. Okay? So John is telling us here, verse 2,
that Satan has come and seduced Judas Iscariot. Judas has willingly gone along with that. He wants to
pursue his own glory. And then in verse 3, he tells us that Jesus has come from God the Father. He's
going back to God the Father. And the reason is because Jesus is nothing less than God himself.
Christ left the throne room of heaven and has come to earth, but he's nothing less than God himself.
And so with this imminent showdown of power, what's going to happen? On the one hand, you've got Satan
seducing Judas. You've got Jesus Christ, raw power and status and authority, the God of all creation,
in this showdown of power. And what's going to happen? Well, ordinarily, I'll tell you what I would do
if I was Jesus. I would smite my enemies. I would destroy those that are opposing me, and I would
establish my rule and authority. Right? Am I the only one that would do that? Or is there one or two others?
Perhaps I see that smile on your face, and I know what you're thinking, right? If I were the sovereign
God of the universe, and here is someone that I know is busy calculating how to betray me into my enemies,
I would take them out. But what does Jesus do? What does Jesus do? Well, he gets up from the table,
he undresses, he lays aside his respectable gear. He then does what no respectable man would do.
He gets on his knees, and he washes the feet of his disciples. Now, washing someone's feet is something
that's not very common in our culture, I'm assuming. It's not very common in South African culture,
and I don't think it's very common in Hong Kong culture. But it was something that was very popular
and common in Jesus' day. And if you were a respectable member of society, it was something
that you would have experienced fairly often. It was something that was fairly common. And the reason
is obvious, right? You're walking these long days on dusty roads, hot Middle Eastern climate.
Your feet are getting sweaty and dusty. And at the end of the day, as you go to somebody's house,
someone would be waiting there to wash your feet so that your feet feel clean as you enjoy a meal
with your guests or with your hosts. Now, let me just interject here and say we as a family have
been living in Hong Kong for three months now. Tomorrow will be three months since we left. And for me
personally, it's been probably three of the most exciting, exhilarating, fun-filled months of my
life. I'm absolutely having the time of my life. And there have been a couple of tough days.
There have been a couple of moments where I thought, God, I don't know if I can do this.
But as a whole, I'm having the time of my life. And I think our family, we really feel at home here.
We're really enjoying Hong Kong. It's been amazing.
But there's one thing about Hong Kong which I'm struggling to get used to.
There's one thing that makes me a little bit squirmish. Do you know what it is?
It's not the food. Okay, the food is amazing. It's not the people. People are amazing, right?
It's not the long hours. That I can do with. It's not even the chicken feast that Carlo and Justin
allowed me to order this week without warning me. Okay, even that I can put up with.
Do you know what it is? It's when I walk down the pavement, down the sidewalk, and I get that smell.
That smell that dogs have been there just before me, right? Do you know what I'm talking about?
The smell of dog urine and dog fowl. Has anyone else experienced that?
And sometimes you walk down the pavement and a few minutes later you're thinking,
what is that smell? And you look under your shoe and you know exactly what that smell is, right?
You're looking at me like you've never experienced that. Okay, well I experienced that quite early on
and I'll stay here. Now, think about this, right? What's happening in Jerusalem in John chapter 13?
Verse 1 told us, the time for Passover had come. What's happening at Passover?
Hundreds of thousands of animals are being brought to Jerusalem to be sacrificed for the Passover meal,
which is going to happen this very night. So Jesus is having his Passover meal.
Jerusalem is just filled everywhere with animals, mainly sheep, lambs, some cattle, some goats.
Jerusalem is filled with animals, which means Jerusalem is filled with animal fowl, right?
And there aren't cute little signs saying, please clean up after your dogs or, you know,
everyone walking around with a water bottle.
Jerusalem is filled and these people are wearing open sandals.
And so think about it, hot Middle Eastern climate, dusty roads, animal fowl all over the place,
open sandals. How clean do you think your feet are at the end of the day?
Not very clean, right? Don't smell so good.
And so customarily, someone, when they come to your house, what do you do?
Your servant, as an act of service and love, gets a bowl of warm water, a towel wrapped around them,
and they wash your feet.
They wash the dust and the sweat and the grime and the muck off of your feet.
However, this is a job that no Jewish servant would do.
No matter how lowly the servant, no matter how esteemed the master,
this is a job that no Jewish servant was required to do.
Only foreigners would do this. Only Gentiles would wash the feet of their masters.
Remember John the Baptist comes to Jesus, or before Jesus comes, and he says,
after me is coming someone who is so worthy, I wouldn't even be worthy enough to untie his sandals.
What's happening there?
In Jewish culture, you could ask your Jewish servant to do almost anything,
but there are two things they couldn't do.
You couldn't ask them to untie your sandals or to wash your feet.
But here John the Baptist says,
when the Messiah comes, when the King comes,
He is so worthy that if He asked me to wash His feet, to untie His sandals,
I would gladly do it.
But in fact, so unworthy am I of Christ the Messiah,
that I wouldn't even consider myself worthy enough to untie His sandals,
to wash His feet.
So amazingly majestic is this King,
I wouldn't even dare wash His feet.
And friends, this sovereign, amazing, majestic, Messiah King
gets on His knees,
and He washes the feet,
the muck, and the grime,
and the foul,
and the sweat,
and the dust,
off of the feet of His disciples.
Who is this King?
Who is this King that would do such a thing?
You know, one of the astounding things about this passage
is how many people are present with Jesus at this meal?
It's Jesus and His 12 disciples, right?
Now are there 12 of them, or are there 11 of them?
Verse 30, a little bit later on,
tells us that Judas Iscariot is still there.
And later on, Judas gets up to go and consult with the leaders
how to betray Jesus.
But right at this moment,
Jesus Christ, the supremely sovereign God,
the one who holds all power,
the one who the New Testament tells us
will one day destroy His enemies
with a mere breath of His nostrils,
Jesus Christ,
the most supreme act of selflessness,
gets on His knees
and washes the feet of the very man
who right now is calculating
how to betray Jesus
for a few silver coins.
You know, in the Psalms,
there's a Psalm 68,
it says this,
Lord, teach me your ways
that I may walk in your truth.
Oh, friends,
how desperately we need Christ
to teach us His ways.
How desperately we need Christ
to teach us how to swim upstream,
to be the men and women
that are countercultural,
that follow the way of Jesus
in a world which is so fixated
on glory and power
and me and my rank.
Oh, God, teach us your ways.
Teach us your ways.
Jesus Christ,
the servant king.
Secondly,
Jesus,
the saving king.
Now, this idea
that Jesus
is this servant king
is not very new, right?
I think if we were
to really understand it,
it would blow our minds.
But the fact that Jesus
is this selfless,
humble,
servant-hearted king
is something
that's not very new.
It's one of the reasons
why Jesus
is somewhat respected
in culture,
especially in Western culture.
People think of Jesus
as a good moral man.
But there's a problem
with separating Jesus' actions
from His claims,
separating who Jesus was
from what He claimed
to do on the cross.
Because look at what happens
in verse 5 and verse 6.
Verse 5,
Jesus gets this bowl of water
and He starts to wash
His disciples' feet.
And then in verse 6,
Peter says to Him,
Lord,
You shouldn't wash my feet, right?
Peter's like John the Baptist.
He's seen something
of the majesty of Jesus
and He says,
It's not right
that You wash my feet.
And Jesus says to him,
Peter,
you might not understand
what's going on now,
but afterwards,
you'll understand.
Now, after what?
After the meal?
After He's washed their feet?
No,
after I've been crucified.
So Jesus is specifically linking
what He's doing now,
the washing of feet
with what He's about to do
in 24 hours time,
which is be nailed to the cross,
right?
But Peter still doesn't get it.
And so He says,
Jesus,
You will never wash my feet.
And what does Jesus say?
He says,
Peter,
if I do not wash you,
you have no share in me.
You have no part of me.
Friends,
the reason why we can't just
admire Jesus
as a good moral man
or as a good moral teacher
is because Jesus tells us
He never came to be
a good moral teacher.
If you think of Jesus
as just a respectable man
that we can look up to
and learn some good things from,
you don't understand
who Jesus is
and what He came to do.
You see,
what Jesus says to Peter
is actually what He says
to each of us.
He says,
I didn't just come to wash your feet.
I didn't just come to demonstrate
humility or servant-hearted leadership.
What I came to do
is nothing less than
to wash you of your sin
and your self-glory
and the self-awareness
which has marred your life.
I've come to wash you
of the sin that clings to you
even though you try everything
to eradicate it from your life.
The stain which marks
every thought,
every motive,
every ambition,
every word,
every deed that you do.
You see,
in this story,
if you're anything like me,
it's so easy
to look at Judas Iscariot
and think,
there's someone
that needs Jesus, right?
There's someone
who's self-centered,
self-righteous,
living for his own glory.
If there's one person
that really needs
to understand who Jesus is,
there it is.
Cole Truman writes this.
He says,
we must be careful, friends,
at pointing the finger
at them.
In fact,
if we're honest,
most,
if not all of us,
feel the attraction
of self-glory.
And that's not surprising
given that self-glory
is the default position
for fallen human nature.
See, friends,
in a sense,
there's a little bit of Judas
inside all of us,
isn't there?
And Jesus Christ
is trying to teach his disciples
what he's trying to teach us.
He says,
I haven't just come
to give you
a leadership lesson.
I haven't just come
to tell you
to be servant-hearted
and to be humble.
I've come to show you
that the way
I've come to serve you
is to wash
not just your feet,
but to wash your hearts.
I've come to wash
the inner motivation
of your lives.
We sang it earlier.
Jesus has paid it all.
All to him I owe.
Sin had left
a crimson stain.
He washed it
white as snow.
Remember,
Paul,
the Apostle Paul
writes in 2 Corinthians,
and he says this
in chapter 6.
He says,
Don't you realize,
friends,
brothers and sisters,
that our sin
is an affront
to God.
Our unrighteousness
is offensive
to the holiness of God.
Don't you realize
that idolaters
and adulterers
and the sexually promiscuous
and thieves
and the greedy
and drunkards,
such people
have no place
in the kingdom of God.
He says,
if that's the trajectory
of your life,
you haven't met God yet.
And then he says this.
He says,
But such were some of you.
Such was I.
But Christ has washed us.
Christ has sanctified us.
That means cleanse us.
Christ has justified us.
He's given us
his righteousness
in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the Spirit
of our God.
Peter says this.
Peter,
Jesus says,
Peter,
unless I wash you,
you have no part of me.
Friends,
this is why Jesus
is washing his disciples' feet.
He's showing that
he came to wash them
of their sin
and their unrighteousness.
He came to atone
for the sins
of those who
would believe in him.
This is why Jesus
came to die
for the sins
of the world.
As the prophet Micah
says in Micah chapter 7,
he came to wash our sins
into the depths
of the ocean.
Friends,
what Jesus says to Peter,
he says to each of us,
unless I wash you,
you have no part of me.
And I think we need
to be careful
about moving on
too quickly.
We ought to examine
ourselves
because as we said earlier,
here in the midst
of this table,
as they stand around
and Jesus washes their feet
is none other than Judas.
And as we said earlier,
there's a little bit
of Judas inside all of us,
right?
But here is Judas.
Judas,
isn't it astonishing
that Judas,
who had walked with Jesus
for three years,
listened to all
of his teachings,
seen the miracles,
Judas,
who had handed out
fish and bread
to the 5,000
and then collected
up the scraps afterwards.
Judas,
who had given money
to the poor
and helped serve
those that were struggling.
Judas,
who had walked
in the feet of Jesus
and yet Judas
would not come to Jesus
to be washed by him
and so still carried
his own sin.
Friends,
Jesus makes it abundantly clear.
He didn't come
to be merely a role model.
He didn't come
to initiate
a religious right
or an institution.
He didn't come
not just to say,
hey,
follow me
as a humble,
servant-hearted leader.
He came
as the perfect Lamb
of God,
as the ultimate Passover Lamb
to wash away
the sins
of the world.
Jesus,
our serving,
sanctifying,
saving King.
Third thing is this,
Jesus,
the cleansing King.
Now,
this is very important.
Look at what happens
in verse 10 here.
If you've got your Bible,
look here.
Jesus says to him,
to Peter,
in verse 8,
he says,
if I do not wash you,
you have no share in me.
And Peter then,
in his very,
you know,
exuberant self,
Peter's always the guy
that says these crazy things,
right?
Peter says,
okay,
Lord,
then have all of me.
Wash my hands,
my head,
my feet,
take it all,
right?
Which is a good response.
That's how we should
respond to Jesus.
But then Jesus says
something very interesting.
Look at what he says
in verse 10.
He says,
Peter,
the one who is bathed,
does not need to wash again,
except for his feet.
But he's already
completely clean.
Now,
I want us to think about this
because Jesus is saying
something very important.
Scripture tells us
that sin
is not so much
about our behavior,
you know,
lying,
cheating,
stealing,
et cetera,
et cetera.
Those things are sinful,
but actually the Bible tells us
the root of all those
is far deeper.
It's actually our heart,
right?
It's the motivation
of our hearts.
It's the fact that we live
for our own glory.
It's the fact that we don't
love our maker like we should.
We don't trust our maker
like we should.
And the motivation
of our hearts
is actually the essence
of sin.
And that plays itself out
in a whole lot of behavior.
But what that means
is that
actually,
we probably,
each one of us,
sin many times a day.
And maybe not
an outward behavior,
but the motivation
of our hearts,
many times a day,
we are self-seeking,
self-glorifying,
self-justifying.
Now the question is this,
if we all happen
to sin many times a day,
what do we do
with that sin?
Do we need to be baptized
freshly every time?
Do we need to freshly
come to God
and be born again?
Do we need to be justified
by Jesus
every time we sin?
Otherwise,
you know,
our eternal safety
security is in danger?
Well,
you know,
Martin Luther,
one of the great reformers,
before he discovered
the gospel,
he thought this was the case.
He was a monk
in Germany
at a monastery.
And he had a very acute
sense of conscience.
And so every time
he used to do something wrong,
he thought,
I'm in danger of hell.
And he used to drive
the priests mad
because he would go
to the confession booth
and he would stay there
for hours.
And they would be looking
at their watches thinking,
dinner time's coming.
How long is this guy
going to hold us here?
And he would say,
you know,
Father,
I think I probably
didn't have the right attitude
towards that person.
And he would just spend
there for hours
confessing every tiny
little thing.
And then he would leave
the confession booth.
He'd be walking back
to his room.
He'd think of something.
He'd run back and say,
Father,
I've forgotten something.
And there's one more thing.
And the monks
used to try and hide from him.
They saw Martin Luther coming.
They would hide out the way
and say,
you know,
don't let him see us.
Otherwise,
he's going to ask
to go to the confession booth again.
And there are even stories
of sometimes
he would wake up
in the middle of the night
and you'd think of something.
And they go,
no,
what happens if I die
between now and the morning?
And you go and wake up
the priest,
Father,
I've got to confess my sin now.
And you'd wake them up
in the middle of the night.
Well,
friends,
is that what we need to do?
Every time we sin,
we need to quickly make men's
in case our hearts,
our souls are in danger.
Well,
look at what Jesus says here.
He says,
unless I wash you
of your sin
and your self-glory,
you have no part of me.
Peter says,
okay,
then wash all of me.
Quickly,
take it all.
And Jesus says,
don't worry,
Peter,
you are really clean.
The one who's been cleansed,
who's had a bath,
doesn't need to wash himself
again and again
and again.
You are really clean.
Friends,
when you come to Christ
in faith and repentance,
when you come
and you bank your life
on him,
you say,
Jesus,
have all of me.
Jesus doesn't just
wash away your sins
that you are now
morally neutral
until the next time
you sin.
It's not like you've got
a chalkboard
and then he wipes it clean
and the next time you sin,
he writes up
the next sin again.
You know,
the reformers spoke
about this
great exchange.
You give your sin
to Christ
and Christ puts
his righteousness,
his perfect track record
of obedience
onto you
and so when God
sees you,
he sees you
nothing less
as holy and righteous
and perfect in his sight.
It's this dual exchange
that takes place.
We give our sin
to Christ,
Christ gives us
his righteousness.
Jesus makes
a covenant,
an eternal commitment
based on his own character
that we are forever
his beloved,
his sons and daughters.
So think about it
like this.
Claire and I got married
10 years ago or so
and when we got married
we made a covenant,
an eternal commitment
that as long as we both live,
I'm hers,
she is mine,
right?
And when we have
a disagreement
or when I'm being
a lousy husband
or I say something silly,
is my marriage in jeopardy?
No,
of course not.
We're together,
our union is intact,
right?
Signed,
sealed,
on the dotted line
for better or for worse,
she's stuck with me,
okay?
No options.
We end this thing together.
But when I'm being an idiot
and when I say silly things
and when I'm self-centered
and when I think about myself,
our marriage is in jeopardy
but is the relationship
as good as it could be?
No,
of course not.
What happens
when I'm being self-centered?
It robs some of the sweetness
out of the relationship.
It erodes some of the joy,
right?
It corrodes some of the grace.
It takes away
some of the gentleness.
It means we get defensive
to each other quickly
until such time
as you utter those
fateful words.
You know what they are?
I'm sorry.
Oscar,
you've had to do that
once or twice,
right?
I'm sorry.
Will you forgive me?
Right?
Now friends,
Jesus is saying
exactly the same thing.
He's saying
when you come to Him,
you are clean.
He's washed you.
Your marriage to Christ
isn't in jeopardy.
He's not going to kick you
out of the kingdom.
You've been born again.
You don't need to be born again,
again and again
and again every day.
He saved you.
What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Right?
Remember the Apostle Paul?
He says,
if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation.
The old has gone
and the new has come.
Every time we sin,
we don't need to be born again.
But Jesus says,
you do live in a real world
and there is still
a sinful nature inside of you.
And the world in which we live
is still broken.
And the self-glory of the world
and the brokenness of the city
in which we live,
it starts to rub off on us.
And it starts to,
as we walk the streets of our city,
it starts to rub off on our feet.
And we pick up some of the grime
of our city
and some of the foul
and the muck
starts to attach itself to us.
And it corrodes the grace
between us and God.
It affects the sweetness
of our relationship with Jesus.
It starts to erode the joy.
Does it affect our union?
Is God going to kick us
out of his kingdom?
No, of course not.
But it does affect
our communion with him.
Until we come to Jesus
and we say those faithful words,
Father,
I'm so sorry.
Won't you forgive me?
Friends, my guess is that
some of us here today
feel the effects
of the sin in our lives.
And most of us
are probably aware
of the brokenness of our world.
And we may have been washed by Jesus.
We may have been saved.
We may have been born again.
Christ maybe has given you
his righteousness.
But I guess that for many of us now,
we know that we're saved,
but we probably don't feel that clean.
We probably still feel
the guilt of our sin.
I guess there's some of us here
that still feel the shame
of having lived in a broken world
and our sinful nature
is still inside of us.
Jesus says there's a day coming
you'll be in heaven
where every sin will be wiped away.
Every tear will be wiped off your face.
There'll be no more sin,
no more wickedness,
nothing wrong.
But until that day,
you live in a broken world.
Friends,
Christ our King
comes to us
and he says,
if you've come to me
in faith and repentance,
if you've banked your life in me,
you're clean.
I've washed you.
You are forgiven.
But then he says,
come to me afresh today.
Let me come and wash
the muck
and the grime
and the sin
and the dust
and the sweat
from off your feet.
Come and let me wash you.
Let me apply
the blood of Jesus
to your life today.
Friends,
if you're a follower of Jesus,
I hope you have
a sharp conscience.
I hope that you feel
acutely
sin
and the pangs of sin
whenever we do sin.
But friends,
don't let that
stop you coming to Jesus.
Come to Jesus
freshly today.
Come and let him wash you.
Come and let him
set you free.
Come and let the blood
of Christ
cleanse your conscience
from a guilty conscience
and let him restore
the sweetness
and the joy
of your relationship.
Psalm 32
is the great psalm
of confession
and in it,
David writes
and he says this.
He says,
when I kept silent
about my sin,
my bones wasted away
even though I groaned
all day long.
He says,
my strength dried up
as the heat of summer
and I was no longer,
he says,
until such time
as I acknowledged
my sin to you.
I no longer covered
my iniquity.
You've become
a hiding place for me.
You preserve my soul
from trouble.
Friends,
Jesus Christ calls us
to live a lifestyle
of confession
and repentance.
to live a life
where day in
and day out
we come before
his throne of grace
and say,
Father,
forgive me.
Father,
come and wash me.
Jesus,
I acknowledge
my shortcomings.
Truly,
we come and admit
our sin.
And friends,
this is something
that the modern church
doesn't do very well.
We don't like
to admit our sin
but Jesus says,
come to the throne room
of grace
and there you will find
healing
that you so desperately need.
Friends,
may we come to Jesus
day in and day out.
Come confess our sin
and find the healing
that we need.
Fourth thing,
finally,
Jesus,
the commissioning king.
Now this is short.
Now look at what happens
in verse 12
of John chapter 13.
Let me just go there.
Verse 12,
Jesus says this.
It says,
when he had washed
their feet
and put on his
outer garments,
he resumed his place
and he said to them,
do you not understand
or do you understand
what I've done to you?
You call me teacher
and Lord
and you are right
for so I am.
If then I,
your Lord and teacher,
have washed your feet,
you also ought to wash
one another's feet.
For I've given you
an example
that you should do
just as I've done
to you.
So Jesus now
commissions his disciples.
He says,
go and do what I've done.
Now is Jesus saying,
you disciples
need to go and die
on the cross
for one another?
Do you need to save
one another?
No,
of course not.
There's only one
saving king,
right?
There's only one
perfect sinless man.
There's only one
God man.
His name is Jesus.
Jesus did for us
what we could not
do for ourselves.
But Christ does call us
as his followers
to go and wash
each other's feet,
to serve each other
by washing one another
with the gospel.
In Hebrews chapter 3,
there is one of the
most important verses
in the Bible
for anyone that is
part of a local church.
Okay?
It says this.
It says,
take care,
brothers and sisters,
lest there be
in any of you
an evil,
unbelieving heart,
a hard heart,
which leads you
to fall away
from the living God.
So he says,
in a church family
like ours,
Watermark,
hey,
some of us,
the brokenness
of the world,
the sin of our lives,
it causes our hearts
to get hard
before God.
And that causes us,
if we're not careful,
to fall away from God,
to get hard towards Him
and to slowly drift away.
So he says,
be careful of that.
Then he says this,
and I'll put it up there.
Therefore,
encourage one another
every day,
as long as the day
is called today,
right,
which is every day,
as long as it's called today,
encourage one another
so that none of you
become hardened
by the deceitfulness
of sin.
Watermark,
I want to issue
this challenge to you.
If this is your church,
if you consider
Watermark your home,
I want to issue
you this challenge.
Can you make it your goal
that every single day
as long as the day
is called today
to find one person
in the church
that you can
send a text message to,
give them a phone call,
write them an email,
write them a note,
somehow find somebody
that you can wash their feet
with the gospel
of God's grace.
Find one person
that you can wash them
with the word
of God's grace
and encourage them
and help them
to fix their eyes
on Jesus
and to lay aside
every sin
so that they can run
with endurance
the race that is set
before them.
Friends,
Jesus looks at each
one of us in the eye
and he says,
I've washed you
white as snow
but not only that,
I've come to wash you today.
I've come to remind you
of my grace
and my gospel.
I've come to remind you
of the good news of Jesus
to wash your feet today.
He says,
what you've seen
I've done for you
now do for one another.
If I then,
your Lord and teacher,
have washed your feet,
so you also
ought to wash
one another.
Watermark,
I want to call us this.
Can we love,
whoa,
sorry.
Can you love,
really love,
can we love Christ
our servant king?
Can we worship
and honor Christ
our saving king?
Can we revel
in the wonder
of Jesus
our cleansing king?
and can we obey
Christ our commissioning king?
Let's do that together.
Let's pray together.
Heavenly Father,
Lord,
when we look at this passage,
we revel
and we marvel
at the wonder
of who you are.
God,
thank you
that you didn't remain
in heaven.
Thank you
that you didn't leave us
to our own devices.
thank you,
Jesus,
for not just sending us
the prophets
or your scriptures,
but you,
God himself,
came to earth
to wash us,
God,
not just of
the dirt of our world,
but the dirt
of our hearts,
God.
You came to wash us clean.
Jesus,
we celebrate you.
We revel in you.
We are in awe of you.
We worship you.
We thank you.
Jesus,
thank you
that you set us free.
And Jesus,
thank you
that you still wash us.
Every Sunday
as we come to church
and we sing the gospel
and we demonstrate
the gospel in communion,
you wash us afresh.
Thank you,
Jesus,
that every morning
when we come to your word
and devotions,
you wash us
with the gospel.
Thank you,
Jesus,
that as we gather
in CGs together,
you wash us
with the gospel.
God,
we're so grateful
for you.
Thank you,
God,
for not only being
the most magnificent
role model
and example
of a humble servant king,
you also are saving king.
You are cleansing king.
Jesus,
as a church,
we want to obey you.
We want to follow you
and we want to wash
one another
with the gospel.
Help us,
I pray.
God,
I pray for Watermark Church.
Won't you make us
a family
and a community
that washes
one another
with the word of grace,
with the good news
of the gospel.
people.
We ask you this
in your name.
Amen.