Welcome to Hub City Vineyard. To get connected
or to give online, go to connect .hcv .church
or give .hcv .church. If at any point during
this message you feel called to make a change
in your life, text CHANGEME to 9700. Thank you
and enjoy the message. Hey, good morning everyone.
So good to see you. It felt good to walk outside
this morning and feel a little bit of warmth.
We may be taking the turn towards springtime.
I want to begin this morning by watching a really
short advertisement that you may have seen before.
However, this commercial has actually caused
a lot of uproar and controversy within the Christian
community. So let's watch. Don't ask me what
you know is true. Don't have to tell you. I love
your precious heart. I, I was standing. You were
there. So as you're watching that, you may have
seen an inner city policeman washing the feet
of a young black man. You possibly could have
seen an oil rig worker washing the feet of a
climate activist. Maybe you saw an older woman
washing the feet of a young woman outside an
abortion clinic. And I find it interesting that
as that commercial played, Once it was debuted,
the biggest uproar and complaints came from the
church, the Christian community. The ad was made
by He Gets Us. It's a campaign of establishing
a story, and their goal is simply to reintroduce
our society to Jesus. I personally believe this
ad made Christians uncomfortable because it made
them realize that Jesus would have actually washed
the feet of those said individuals, and they
wouldn't. They wouldn't find themselves near
them. And for Jesus to wash the feet of these
individuals, the Christian community would deem
that unimaginable. Impossible. When in reality,
the commercial wasn't about he getting us. It
was more about do we get him? Do we truly understand
the way of Jesus? Because foot washing is what
Jesus is all about. See, Jesus did the unimaginable.
He washed the feet of his disciples to demonstrate
to his followers this unglamorous act is actually
how we should treat each other. And more importantly,
how we should love our enemies. I mean, just
think about it. Jesus washed Judas' feet who
that very night would betray him. Jesus knew
it was coming. Yet he chose to wash Judas' feet
anyway. And when Jesus washed the remaining feet
of his disciples, that simple act caused an uproar
from them because rabbis don't wash feet. And
more importantly, the Savior, the Messiah, would
never be caught washing feet. And see, the disciples
couldn't... They couldn't handle the power reversal,
the upside down nature of the kingdom. Because
this simple act of humility, which Jesus instructed
his followers to continue, is still causing an
uproar in our society today. Why? Well, because
the way of Jesus goes against the grain. It does
not follow political agendas. It especially doesn't
follow humanity's selfish tendencies, and it
challenges people to change. And I believe that's
what God is inviting us all to this morning.
So welcome to HCV, where for the month of March,
we've been discussing the way of Jesus in our
series, Rooted. If you're joining us from home,
thank you for welcoming us into your Two weeks
ago, I kicked a series off discussing what it
means to be devoted to Jesus. Last week, I shared
about how we are all created for community. Now,
by a show of hands, did anyone do your homework?
About four. So thank you for making me realize
that I'm failing in my job. Some of you are thinking,
what was my homework? If you remember, I encouraged
you to have someone over for dinner or take someone
out for lunch. And I believe the week's not over
yet, so you can still do it today. So let's all
get 100%. Can I get an amen? Thank you. This
morning... We will be looking at serving others
with humility, which, if we're honest, is probably
one of the most challenging aspects of following
Jesus, but one that Jesus lived out every single
day. We're going to be reading through the original
gospel account of Jesus' foot -watching, which
took place on the night of Passover, just hours
before Jesus would be betrayed into the hands
of religious leaders. As I was standing in the
back worshiping this morning, a sense of expectancy
came over me. And I'm not really sure what that's
about, but I believe that God has something special
for us this morning. And I'm expectant to see
the Holy Spirit move. So Holy Spirit, come. God,
unplug our ears. Open our minds. More importantly,
reveal our hearts to us as we desire to draw
close to you. Move in this place, God. We give
you this time, this space to have your way. In
Jesus' name, amen. Our first thought this morning.
See, God's kingdom is upside down. We will be
reading from the book of John. And of course,
John was one of Jesus' original 12 disciples
and one of his biographers. And in chapter 13,
he wrote about a time when Jesus was having dinner
with his disciples celebrating Passover. It would
be the last time that Jesus would eat with them.
before his death. John describes the account
this way in John chapter 13. Jesus knew that
the Father had given him authority over everything
that he had come from God and would return to
God. So he got up from the table, took off his
robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured
water into a basin. Then he began to wash the
disciples' feet, drying them with the towel he
had around him. Just a question for you to ponder.
What would you do if you were the most powerful
person in this room? Would you host a party for
yourself and invite everyone to come? If you're
an artist, Would you announce that your album
is dropping? If you're all over social media,
would you post an Instagram reel of just how
talented and special you are? See, powerful people
within our society may do those things, but Jesus,
Jesus wrapped a towel around his waist, got down
on one knee, and watched dirty, stinky feet.
Now we're talking about the king of the universe,
the God who set our world in motion, actually
creating the disciples' feet. And where do we
find it? At the lowest possible position, washing
their feet. Now why would he do this? Because
see, in ancient times, people traveled by foot
everywhere they went. Now the wealthier individuals
would be wearing sandals, but you and I, chances
are, we'd have nothing on our feet. And the dirty,
dusty roads left their feet coated with dirt,
grime, and mud. Which is why travelers, upon
reaching their destination, they would be greeted
by a host carrying a basin of water. to wash
their feet. It was a simple gesture of welcome
and kindness, not to mention the means of keeping
dirt out of the home. Now in the homes of the
wealthy or the powerful, this task was given
to a servant or a slave or maybe the wife of
the host. Which is why Jesus' decision to wash
the disciples' feet It wasn't just humbling.
It actually would have been viewed as humiliating.
The Son of God intentionally chose the lowly,
demeaning task of a common house servant. Lord
Jesus literally kneeled down to wash, rinse,
and towel dry the dirty, cracked, smelly, sore
feet. of a group of outcasts and forgotten within
that society. The lowest of lows. And this was
the man the disciples believed to be the long
-awaited ruler, who, according to biblical prophecy,
would deliver Israel from its oppressors, the
Romans. This was the God -man. So when Jesus
begins to wash their feet, it was so incomprehensible
to their way of thinking, so contrary to the
culture which they lived, so offensive to their
understanding of who this person should be that
they just didn't even get it. They didn't understand
it. Why? Well, we now know it's because God's
kingdom is upside down. Both cultural custom
and religious etiquette dictated that only a
common slave, not even a Jewish slave, should
perform this degrading task. No exalted man of
God would stoop so low and perform such a lowly
task. We know that from reading through the Gospels.
When we read the parable of the Good Samaritan,
the religious leaders walked on the other side.
But Jesus was unlike any other king or revolutionary.
His choice to wash the disciples' feet is a vivid
demonstration of how Jesus' followers should
live every day in this upside -down kingdom.
See, the reason the commercial drew so much negative
feedback from the Christian community? Conviction.
conviction from the Holy Spirit that that's how
I should be living. Because in God's kingdom,
the way up is the way down. You want to be great?
Then serve the least of these. And that is why
Jesus washed Peter's feet, who would later deny
him. That is why Jesus washed Judas' feet, who
would later betray him for 30 silver coins. See,
our second thought, Jesus, he was a servant leader.
He knew that the Father had given him authority
over everything. He'd come from God, would return
to God. So he got up from the table, took off
his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and
poured water into a basin. He began to wash the
disciples' feet, drying them with a towel he
had around him. See, for Jesus, nothing was beneath
him. It's the way of downward mobility. And he
is demonstrating for his disciples, this is the
way of abundant life. This. He's challenging
his followers to lay down their pride. Get over
yourself. Sacrifice your egos, your very lives,
humbly serving one another. Listen to Jesus'
response to two brothers arguing over who would
be the greatest in the kingdom in Matthew chapter
20. But Jesus, He called them together. You can
almost view this as a huddle. And He says, you
know that the rulers in this world lord it over
their people and officials flaunt their authority
over those under them. But among you, church,
it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader
among you must be your servant and whoever wants
to be first among you must become your slave.
For even the Son of Man came not to be served,
but to serve others and give his life as a ransom
for many. See, in God's kingdom, serving is not
about control or power. It has nothing to do
with it. When it comes to following Jesus, it's
supposed to be different. We're to view ourselves
as servants or slaves of others. And you're like,
Chris, why would I be a slave to someone else?
So they can see Jesus inside of us. When it comes
to our relationship with Jesus, our focus becomes
the kingdom. The kingdom of God forcefully advancing
and how one decision can change a life for eternity.
But unfortunately, we now know our third thought,
the church, is full of spiritual consumers. See,
Simon Peter knew this task of foot washing should
not be performed by Jesus when he spoke these
words in John 13, 6 -10. When Jesus came to Simon
Peter, Peter said to him, Lord, are you going
to wash my feet? So he's questioning what Jesus
is doing. Jesus replied, you don't understand
now what I am doing, but someday you will. Now
notice Peter's response. No, Peter protested.
You will never, ever wash my feet. Exclamation
point. Literally, he's raising his voice. He
is getting riled up towards Jesus. But you can
picture Jesus replying, well, unless I wash you,
you won't belong to me. But again, look, Simon
Peter exclaimed, John is writing this narrative
where we see Peter lashing out, then wash my
hands and my head as well, Lord, not just my
feet. Again, Jesus replies, a person who is bathed
all over, does not need to wash except for the
feet to be entirely clean. See, Peter, he was
only focused on himself. He was focused on what
he was going to get out of Jesus' actions to
wash feet. And in Peter's response, we unfortunately
see the way of the Western church, which has
become consumer Christianity. Feed me. Give me
what I want. Make me feel good. Give me that
encounter. But don't expect anything from me
on Monday. And see, when Jesus asked the disciples
in verse 12, do you understand what I was doing?
The answer, of course, is no. They didn't understand.
Because their mindset was that people would be
serving them. No, Jesus, you don't serve me.
We get served. After all, we're following the
Messiah, the Savior of the world. And now suddenly,
though, with this example, Jesus is telling them,
no, you have to serve each other. That's the
way of following me. But unfortunately, this
attitude the disciples had has become a part
of the Western church, and many in the church
have become spiritual consumers. People who look
for churches to meet their needs. They come in
and they listen to the music. Are they playing
the right songs? Do they sing classic hymns?
Is it modern worship? Are the vocals too loud?
Are the drums too loud? Do I need earmuffs? What
is happening here? Is the message built around
how I feel? Or does it only focus on truth? Because
if it focuses on truth, I'm out. I have children.
What does the church do for them? Are they cared
for? Are they safe during the service? Because
I need my time to focus on God. See, spiritual
consumerism places one's personal needs and desires
at the center of God's universe. Instead of Jesus'
example to us here, with foot washing. See, Jesus
isn't looking for members to casually join an
organization and occasionally attend their meetings.
He is looking for people who will lay down their
lives to follow him on mission together with
others. He wants imitators, not admirers. He
wants followers, not consumers. He wants family
members on mission, not casual meeting attenders.
See, Jesus is showing his disciples, you and
me, the entire church, how to move away from
being spiritual consumers to spiritual contributors,
which is our final thought. See, God, he desires
his church to be spiritual contributors. In the
final verse of this teaching, we see Jesus challenging
his disciples, do the same. John 13, 14 to 15
and 17. And since I, your Lord and teacher, have
washed your feet, you ought to wash each other's
feet. I've given you an example to follow. Do
as I've done to you. And then verse 17. Now that
you know these things, God will bless you. for
doing them. See, in other words, don't be consumers
focused on yourselves and what you want. Be focused
on others as Jesus was and what is best for the
kingdom of God. See, Jesus doesn't just wash
the disciples' feet. We all know he goes on to
suffer and die on a cross as a means of giving
you and me eternal life. Jesus sacrifices everything
for us. And that, friends, is the invitation
of the kingdom. That is the way of serving others
with humility. See, serving isn't something we
do. It becomes who we are. A servant leader pointing
others to Jesus who lives inside of us. Spiritual
contributors understand the church does not exist
for them. It's not just an organization. The
church is a living, breathing organism that possesses
abundant life to what? Be given away. Not kept
from the world. Not to hoard it inside of here.
Now we're to go love the world. In Matthew 22,
Jesus replied, you must love the Lord your God
with all your heart. All your soul and all your
mind. This is the first and greatest commandment,
and the second is equally important. Love your
neighbor as yourself. See, God created you and
me to be a blessing to others. He sends us out
on mission every single day to do the stuff by
first loving others, serving them, and inviting
them into the kingdom. See, spiritual contributor's
worldview, it has to change from, well, what's
in it for me, to know I'm living in this world
by pointing others to him, by being focused on
Jesus. And I'm so blessed to be a part of a community
of faith that's full of servant leaders. You
know, as you pull in, we have a parking team
and a welcome team at the door and a cafe team
at the coffee bar and a kids team and a youth
team and a worship team, tech team, camera teams,
you name it, we have a team. And they are the
ones that make this place go. They are the ones
that are setting the example for all of us. To
follow. Which leads to our simple action steps.
And I want to be honest with you this morning.
I'm going to lay out the difference between spiritual
consumers and spiritual contributors. And there's
five differences that I have found. And my challenge
to you this morning as I share them is, if in
one of them you find yourself as a spiritual
consumer, That's the Holy Spirit inviting you
to change. That's the Holy Spirit whispering
in your ear, hey, it's time to lay it down. It's
time to jump on the team and be a part of all
that God is doing, which leads us to our first
one. Consumers are spectators. Contributors are
participants. See, church, Jesus followers are
not called to sit in the stands, watch the game,
and celebrate what Jesus is doing as fans. No,
we're not fans. We're followers. We're called
to be on the field making a difference. Now,
Paul, I love Paul because he lays out my job
description in Ephesians chapter 4. Would you
like to hear my job description? Ephesians 4
.12. Their responsibility, and should I say Chris's
responsibility, is to equip God's people to do
his work and build up the church, the body of
Christ. Did everyone see that? See, Paul clearly
stated that the purpose of church staff, church
leaders, is to equip you, God's people, to do
his work. I'm not called to do all the work.
Thank God. Because it's not physically possible.
I'm not the only one called to share Jesus with
others. We are all called to do that because
as followers of Jesus and as contributors, We
can help those in our sphere of influence who
are young, stagnant, unstable, forgotten, confused
in their faith get off the bench and in the game.
And it's the best thing you'll ever do. See,
I'm called to be the coach. And I often view
our Sunday gatherings as a halftime talk. And
we're down by 10. We're down by 10, church. But
the good news is, I know we're going to win.
I know we're going to win. But we win when we're
all participating. Which leads us to number two.
See, consumers are cisterns of truth. Contributors
are conduits of blessing. So I want you to reflect
on your personal life this morning. I did a celebration
of life this week. And the son of, it's actually
my uncle that passed away, shared a poem called
The Dash. And the poem was about how on a tombstone
there's a start date where you were born and
an end date where you died. But between those
two, there is a dash, your life that you're living
this morning. So this morning, is your life the
Jordan River or the Dead Sea? Because see, the
Jordan River is an active body of water flowing
from north to south. The Dead Sea, on the other
hand, has no outlets. Water comes in from the
north to the lowest point in the world and doesn't
flow out. The water is stagnant, smelly, and
dries up. So you're either flowing like the Jordan
River as God uses you to impact the lives of
other people for his kingdom, or you're stagnant
and lifeless like the Dead Sea. And see, if we're
continually growing closer to Jesus and learning
more about him, you have one or two options.
You can hoard what you've learned and keep it
for yourself, or you can give it away as a benefit
to others. Because see, here's the reality. You
can read through the Bible a hundred times, and
I'll give you a high five and tell you to do
it a hundred more. You can learn all about Jesus
throughout the Gospels, how he lived his life.
But if you only do it for your edification and
so that other people look up to you, you're a
consumer. You're not a contributor. But if we're
conduits of the Holy Spirit, listen to what is
produced in our lives, Galatians 5. But the Holy
Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness. and self -control.
And see, I personally believe that we all agree
that's what life is supposed to look like. So
this morning, let's choose to be conduits, not
consumers. Which leads us to number three, consumers
criticize, contributors appreciate all that God
is doing. By show of hands, have you ever met
anyone with the gift of constructive criticism?
In other words, a person in your life that always
finds something wrong. Yep. We all know them.
Unfortunately, critical spirits divide churches.
And unfortunately, the consumerism mindset leads
people to be critical about everything. And let's
be honest, does HCV do everything right? No way!
Of course not! We're far from perfect, and we
recognize that there are changes that we need
to make. But we all pause and reflect on what
God is doing in our community of faith. It's
evident that his presence is in this place. It's
evident. Just yesterday, we opened our doors
for a memorial service, a celebration of life
for people that don't even go to this community
of faith. And it was over 500 people here to
celebrate a woman of God. And we do that because
we welcome the community. Last week I shared
about a man that God supernaturally healed his
heart. Every single week I give words of knowledge
and people come up here to our prayer team and
receive healing every single week. Last January
we baptized 63 people. And we already have upwards
of 30 signed up for Good Friday. And some of
you need to make that decision because you're
realizing you're a consumer. See, God is motivating
us. to change, and we're called to celebrate
what he's doing in our midst. The author of Hebrews
writes it this way in Hebrews 13. Therefore,
let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice
of praise to God, the fruit of lips that give
thanks to his name, and don't forget to do good
and to share with those in need. These are the
sacrifices of what pleases God. See, when Jesus
followers aren't investing in others, aren't
serving others, and you know what it allows for?
Idle time. And idle time leads to the focus on
the negative, in other words, becoming critical.
So who are you serving? What team are you on?
Because, see, we're not perfect. Our community
of faith never will be perfect because you and
I are in it. But it will improve when all of
us are on a team. Which leads us to number four.
Consumers sit and get. Contributors go and serve.
Now notice 1 Peter 4 .10. God has given each
of you, say me. That was really bad. Say me.
Thank you. God has given you a gift from his
great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them. Use
them well to serve one another. See, it's completely
fine to sit and be filled by biblical teaching
and engage Jesus in worship, but that can't be
all. If that's all, that becomes religion. Spiritual
contributors take it a step further. They know
they're being filled. for a specific purpose
of filling others who are still empty. I mean,
think about it. Think of the potential this team
has if all of us sitting in these seats, which
is probably close to 400 people, choose this
week To go and serve someone in our sphere of
influence that is hurting. You're talking about
another 400 people that are being encouraged
to join the community of faith and experience
the abundance of God. See, we're not called to
sit and be filled and then leave. We're called
to sit and be filled and give it away. Who are
you giving it away to? Which leads us to our
final step. Consumers take for themselves. Contributors
give to others. I'm just being honest with you.
Following Jesus can be hard. It can be difficult.
Jesus even told us, hey, you're going to have
trouble. And you know why we have trouble? Because
we have to deal with each other. Dealing with
people is challenging. But that is why it's increasingly
crucial to be sure that we're being filled from
the only source who can sustain us to do the
work. And who is that source? Jesus. See, think
about it. If you think about your life, if you're
in a relationship with Jesus, the good news was
shared with you by someone, right? That was meant
for someone else, which is you. And if you stop
the story, then the kingdom of God is not forcefully
advancing. See, what you were given, you're meant
to be given away. It's meant to be shared. And
if we believe the church is simply this building
or a destination, then all the people, Outside
of these walls, who are hurting and desiring
for someone to give them hope, will never hear
it. See, church, we're called to do the stuff.
And some of you are thinking, okay, well, what's
the stuff I'm called to do? Matthew 10, 7 through
8. This is what I want you to do this week. This
is your homework. Go and announce to them. That
the kingdom of heaven is here. It's here. Heal
the sick. Raise the dead. Cure those with leprosy.
Cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received.
See, that's what it looks like to give it away.
That's what it looks like to do the stuff. Right?
Sharing the good news first starts that our actions,
who we are, is a reflection to the world that
we're different. When our actions are different,
then our words that we speak will be heard and
we can speak the good news. But then God will
give us opportunity to lay hands on and heal
the sick. And that's intimidating. But that's
where faith comes in. That's where we take a
big step of faith to see God move. And when God
uses you, to be a conduit of his healing, the
miraculous, or the gift of new life to someone
else? Listen, you'll never be the same. You will
never be the same. Will you stand with me? So
I said earlier, I said earlier that I had an
expectancy this morning. Did you guys hear that?
And what does that mean? An expectancy is like
an excitement. It's butterflies in my stomach.
I used to get it all the time. I used to be a
wrestler when I was a kid. I started wrestling
when I was like four and wrestled until I was
14. And every time, I'm not making this up, whenever
I was about to wrestle, I would go in the bathroom
and vomit. I was so expectant and nervous. That's
expectancy, right? If you have that type of expectancy,
I want you to come up front here. If you have
like an expectancy, yeah, come up front. If you
have an expectancy, like you're excited, there's
something happening here, it's different. You're
not sure what it is. You're just kind of like,
I'm not sure, but I'm just going to do it. If
you have like an expectancy, come up forward.
Make room. Mike's coming. Come, Holy Spirit.
You have an expectancy. There's just something
in you that's just, ooh, it's stirring. You're
just, I mean, I'm not sure what's going on. I've
never felt this before. It's different. It's
going to wait. Don't worry. You won't miss lunch.
Everyone just calm down. Anybody else? Expectancy.
Anybody else? Yeah. I love it when young people
come. Anybody else? Just have an expectancy,
an excitement. That's it. That's it. We'll wait.
It's all good. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, they're still
coming. Make room. They're still coming. There
we go. Come on. Yep. Come on. That's it. That's
it. And you feel that, don't you? It's like this
tangible presence, this excitement, and you don't
know what to do with it. Is that what you feel?
Is that what you feel? All right, well, I want
to read this over you. You ready? And over all
of us. Everyone close your eyes. Matthew 23,
11 to 12. The greatest among you must be a servant.
But those who exalt themselves will be humbled.
And those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Now see, by you coming forward, you just humbled
yourself. You just said, I have this expectancy
because I know that God wants to use me to do
something. That's what you came forward to do.
And now the Holy Spirit has just been poured
all over you. And you can sense this tangible
presence, which is a beautiful thing. Okay, now
you guys up front here, look at me. Look at me.
Okay, here's what you're going to do. Okay? You're
going to go out there, and you're going to pray
for the person that God leads you to. You got
that? All right, go. All right, now, the rest
of us, you may get ready, because they may find
you, and they're excited. They're excited. The
rest of us, As I do every week, we're going to
pray a simple prayer because I believe there's
someone here that wants to give their life to
Jesus. Amen? So for those of you that are not
being prayed for, let's pray this simple prayer
together. Jesus, I'm broken. I'm full of doubt,
shame, regret, sin. Change me. I believe. You're
God's son. I believe you died for me. Make me
new. Set me free. Fill me, God, with your spirit
and anticipation. In Jesus' name, amen. All right,
before we go, there was several words of knowledge.
Our prayer team will be here on my right. You
have discomfort behind your left ear. You have
a right knee muscle or tendon tightness on the
outer side of your right knee. You have left
arm muscles or nerve condition causing loss of
mobility. You have pain in your left eye that
extends to the back of your head. So if any of
those are you, our prayer team will be here on
the right. Okay, listen. I am full of expectation
of what God wants to do in your life. And my
prayer for all of you is, this week, you contribute
to someone else's life. Amen? That there's not
400 of us in here celebrating, proclaiming God's
promises and greatness, but there's, by the end
of the week, 800. Because that's how the kingdom
of God works. So next Sunday, You get a special
treat. Jess will be sharing at all three of our
Sunday gatherings. So be expectant for God to
move. Thank you for joining us online. I'm going
to my left side door. So keep that door shut.
I love you guys. Have an incredible Sunday. And
if someone's praying for you, don't leave.