WEBVTT 00:00:10.039 --> 00:00:12.699 Hey everyone, this is Josh from Encounter Church 00:00:12.699 --> 00:00:15.279 Henley and thanks so much for tuning into our 00:00:15.279 --> 00:00:19.000 podcast. Our prayer is that through this podcast 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:20.820 you can have an encounter with Jesus that will 00:00:20.820 --> 00:00:24.379 change your life. And now get ready for an inspiring 00:00:24.379 --> 00:00:28.739 message from our preaching team. You go out to 00:00:28.739 --> 00:00:30.600 coffee with someone and they go, don't worry 00:00:30.600 --> 00:00:33.179 about it, I'll grab coffee. And your brain starts 00:00:33.179 --> 00:00:36.549 to do the maths, right? That's what I mean these 00:00:36.549 --> 00:00:39.350 you got to lunch Sex don't worry about it lunch. 00:00:39.729 --> 00:00:43.170 It's pay week That should be okay. Yeah, that'll 00:00:43.170 --> 00:00:45.909 be okay. And how about this one the phone call? 00:00:45.990 --> 00:00:48.789 Hey, I'm outside I've got bags of groceries for 00:00:48.789 --> 00:00:55.149 you and you go Yeah Man when I did that was $100. 00:00:55.149 --> 00:00:57.590 Is that a tub of raspberries? I am never gonna 00:00:57.590 --> 00:01:02.030 financially recover from this ever And then how 00:01:02.030 --> 00:01:04.290 about this one? A text message. Hey, I borrowed 00:01:04.290 --> 00:01:07.609 your spare key. Bathrooms are clean. Your towels 00:01:07.609 --> 00:01:08.950 are in the washer. They'll need to go in the 00:01:08.950 --> 00:01:10.650 dryer when you get home. What am I meant to do 00:01:10.650 --> 00:01:12.790 with that? Yeah, come on. Jenny receives that. 00:01:13.129 --> 00:01:15.310 How am I meant to repay that? I don't even have 00:01:15.310 --> 00:01:18.829 anybody's spare key. I have no idea how to do 00:01:18.829 --> 00:01:24.019 that. So why, why, with all that in mind, why 00:01:24.019 --> 00:01:26.620 is it so hard? Why can we not simply just do 00:01:26.620 --> 00:01:29.359 or receive these acts? Why is there such this 00:01:29.359 --> 00:01:32.159 weird balance? And I think the answer is because 00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:35.920 there is a cost in doing genuine service. And 00:01:35.920 --> 00:01:38.359 I think for most of us, we're kind of okay with 00:01:38.359 --> 00:01:40.799 that idea. And the reason we don't necessarily 00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:44.140 love receiving acts of service is because we 00:01:44.140 --> 00:01:46.739 know there's a cost, but the cost is unknown. 00:01:48.620 --> 00:01:51.439 When we're serving someone more often than not 00:01:51.439 --> 00:01:55.099 we will pick that thing that is right in the 00:01:55.099 --> 00:01:58.219 sweet spot Right where it's just enough of a 00:01:58.219 --> 00:02:00.859 cost to me that I recognize the inconvenience 00:02:00.859 --> 00:02:03.040 and truth be told I kind of hope they're gonna 00:02:03.040 --> 00:02:06.840 recognize the inconvenience as well, right? but 00:02:06.840 --> 00:02:11.479 truthfully For most of us it's never so much 00:02:11.479 --> 00:02:13.719 that it means we actually miss out on anything 00:02:18.009 --> 00:02:22.629 It has a cost, but it's a controlled cost. I 00:02:22.629 --> 00:02:25.870 get to pick the value. I get to pick the sacrifice. 00:02:28.110 --> 00:02:30.969 But when I'm being served, it's completely different. 00:02:31.449 --> 00:02:35.650 Completely different. I'm not in control anymore. 00:02:36.750 --> 00:02:38.610 How much did this cost? How much is a tub of 00:02:38.610 --> 00:02:40.870 raspberries right now? How much does this cost? 00:02:41.930 --> 00:02:44.289 What does it mean? How much did it put them out? 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:46.659 Does me getting these groceries mean they don't 00:02:46.659 --> 00:02:49.580 get groceries? What is the expected response 00:02:49.580 --> 00:02:52.759 from this? When is the expected response from 00:02:52.759 --> 00:02:55.639 this? Is that going to come at a time where I 00:02:55.639 --> 00:03:00.759 can afford to do that? We've turned someone serving 00:03:00.759 --> 00:03:03.439 us, someone doing something hopefully out of 00:03:03.439 --> 00:03:06.419 a genuine good place into a millstone that we 00:03:06.419 --> 00:03:09.500 put around our neck and carry around. We are 00:03:09.500 --> 00:03:12.340 hesitant to receive in such a way because we 00:03:12.340 --> 00:03:15.400 have a fear. of when it may be expected to be 00:03:15.400 --> 00:03:18.360 returned or when or how that may hit and what 00:03:18.360 --> 00:03:24.580 that cost may look like. Now in today's teaching, 00:03:25.500 --> 00:03:29.039 with all that in mind, we find Jesus with His, 00:03:29.300 --> 00:03:31.819 He's gathered His 12 disciples, His 12 closest 00:03:31.819 --> 00:03:34.180 followers and friends to partake in a meal. This 00:03:34.180 --> 00:03:36.599 is part of the Passover. This is the Holy Jewish 00:03:36.599 --> 00:03:39.400 Festival. It's a meal that would soon become 00:03:39.400 --> 00:03:42.300 the most famous meal in history. It's the Last 00:03:42.300 --> 00:03:47.539 Supper. And as Jesus stood from the table and 00:03:47.539 --> 00:03:51.580 removed his outer robe and then proceeded to 00:03:51.580 --> 00:03:56.539 wrap a towel around himself, there was just absolutely 00:03:56.539 --> 00:03:59.120 no way for anybody in that room to be prepared 00:03:59.120 --> 00:04:05.719 for what was to follow. Jesus stood from the 00:04:05.719 --> 00:04:11.240 table. He poured water into a basin and then 00:04:11.240 --> 00:04:15.419 he knelt to the floor. and he began to wash and 00:04:15.419 --> 00:04:22.980 dry the feet of his disciples. It's actually 00:04:22.980 --> 00:04:27.040 near on impossible to really explain the gravity 00:04:27.040 --> 00:04:31.600 of what this means, of just how scandalous an 00:04:31.600 --> 00:04:36.170 act this was. Ancient Israel is a time of dusty 00:04:36.170 --> 00:04:38.689 roads and sandals, friends, not fancy nice white 00:04:38.689 --> 00:04:42.370 sneakers. Washing feet was seen as the lowest 00:04:42.370 --> 00:04:45.790 act of service that you could perform, undertaken 00:04:45.790 --> 00:04:52.529 by servants and slaves. It was an act that guests 00:04:52.529 --> 00:04:57.870 and kings were the recipients of, and never, 00:04:58.470 --> 00:05:01.069 ever the ones actually taking out that service. 00:05:01.129 --> 00:05:05.259 They were never the performer. And yet, yet, 00:05:05.800 --> 00:05:08.480 in the face of that, in spite of that, here kneels 00:05:08.480 --> 00:05:18.220 Jesus, brother, teacher, Saviour, King, saying, 00:05:18.600 --> 00:05:24.040 come, I will serve you, and I will do so with 00:05:24.040 --> 00:05:28.040 an act so low that it absolutely beggars belief. 00:05:30.860 --> 00:05:34.180 It was an act that was so scandalous and so just 00:05:34.180 --> 00:05:36.240 out of the realm of possibility that he just 00:05:36.240 --> 00:05:38.579 knew there would be pushback. How could there 00:05:38.579 --> 00:05:42.160 not be? There was no precedent for this, ever. 00:05:42.379 --> 00:05:46.740 Acts of service weren't seen as an act of kindness 00:05:46.740 --> 00:05:49.740 in ancient Israel. They were seen as a sign of 00:05:49.740 --> 00:05:54.160 weakness. They were affirmations of your obedience. 00:05:57.680 --> 00:06:02.660 They were a representation of stature. Again, 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:05.600 with that of a foot washer being about as low 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:12.560 as you could go. And Jesus knows this. He's expecting 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:15.800 this pushback. He's expecting this reaction because 00:06:15.800 --> 00:06:18.800 He stops and He says, you do not realize now 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:22.819 what I am doing, but later you'll understand. 00:06:26.439 --> 00:06:28.779 This act is so, so far out of left field that 00:06:28.779 --> 00:06:31.420 when it comes to Peter's turn, he actually refuses. 00:06:31.629 --> 00:06:35.629 He says, no, you shall never, ever wash my feet. 00:06:36.250 --> 00:06:39.230 Peter couldn't believe what was happening. He 00:06:39.230 --> 00:06:42.290 couldn't possibly allow Jesus to do such an act, 00:06:42.509 --> 00:06:45.129 to continue to do such a thing. This is his King. 00:06:45.470 --> 00:06:47.670 This is his Lord. This is his friend. This is 00:06:47.670 --> 00:06:49.970 his brother. This is the Messiah. And he cannot 00:06:49.970 --> 00:06:54.149 allow him to lower himself to such a station. 00:06:57.850 --> 00:07:00.110 No doubt it made Peter incredibly uncomfortable. 00:07:01.399 --> 00:07:03.339 No doubt there was the thoughts in his head of 00:07:03.339 --> 00:07:05.420 this is an act that shouldn't be taking place 00:07:05.420 --> 00:07:07.639 that alone How can I ever repay an act such as 00:07:07.639 --> 00:07:11.019 this and does my part taking in such an act make 00:07:11.019 --> 00:07:20.399 me complicit? So Jesus makes it incredibly clear 00:07:20.399 --> 00:07:28.959 unless I wash you you have no part of me Peter 00:07:28.959 --> 00:07:34.589 has missed the point entirely Jesus' act of washing 00:07:34.589 --> 00:07:37.170 the feet is designed to make it so incredibly 00:07:37.170 --> 00:07:41.129 clear. The baseline message of nothing else which 00:07:41.129 --> 00:07:45.850 is no one is above being served and no one is 00:07:45.850 --> 00:07:50.000 above serving another. With this act of servitude, 00:07:50.100 --> 00:07:52.899 of washing His disciples' feet, Jesus is just 00:07:52.899 --> 00:07:56.120 yearning to make it as clear as He possibly can. 00:07:56.360 --> 00:07:58.540 He's going to remove any fears of discomfort 00:07:58.540 --> 00:08:01.399 around this act at all. Service, both in giving 00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:04.199 and in receiving, when done with a pure intent, 00:08:04.360 --> 00:08:07.720 is an act of humility. It is designed to lower 00:08:07.720 --> 00:08:13.220 and then completely remove barriers. And this 00:08:13.220 --> 00:08:16.139 act of service had to be so extreme. This act 00:08:16.139 --> 00:08:17.819 that He was doing to make this point had to be 00:08:17.819 --> 00:08:20.220 so beyond belief as to ensure that the point 00:08:20.220 --> 00:08:22.420 was not misconstrued, that it wasn't missed, 00:08:22.560 --> 00:08:25.000 that it wasn't lost, and that it would be remembered. 00:08:28.819 --> 00:08:31.600 Jesus is saying, again, allow me to be clear, 00:08:31.819 --> 00:08:34.860 in receiving this service, in allowing me to 00:08:34.860 --> 00:08:37.899 do this act for you, you are acknowledging that 00:08:37.899 --> 00:08:41.399 no one is above receiving acts of humility and 00:08:41.399 --> 00:08:44.730 service. And no one is above performing these 00:08:44.730 --> 00:08:52.769 acts of humility and service. No one. It really 00:08:52.769 --> 00:08:56.049 got me thinking like Jesus, Jesus performed so 00:08:56.049 --> 00:09:01.309 much of his ministry in public. Why not this? 00:09:01.389 --> 00:09:03.750 Why not this act that it was so important, so 00:09:03.750 --> 00:09:07.490 vital? This act was designed to just completely 00:09:07.490 --> 00:09:13.279 subvert expectations and standards. Was he ashamed? 00:09:14.600 --> 00:09:18.960 No, absolutely not. This act wasn't for show 00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:22.620 though. It was an act of great humility and the 00:09:22.620 --> 00:09:25.259 reason it wasn't for show is also because it 00:09:25.259 --> 00:09:30.080 was an act of great intimacy. It was an act of 00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:36.159 great love. Within this act, Jesus is saying, 00:09:36.259 --> 00:09:40.820 if you're worried about the cost here, don't. 00:09:43.689 --> 00:09:47.029 The cost in me doing this that you have assigned 00:09:47.029 --> 00:09:50.169 to me in this moment is a cost that you have 00:09:50.169 --> 00:09:56.509 assigned to me in this moment. I am doing this 00:09:56.509 --> 00:10:00.730 willingly. I'm doing this born out of humility 00:10:00.730 --> 00:10:04.990 and born out of love. And that is how you can 00:10:04.990 --> 00:10:07.009 recognize that this is a genuine act of service 00:10:07.009 --> 00:10:09.789 and why it's a model that now in turn you must 00:10:09.789 --> 00:10:20.440 follow. This deliberate act by Jesus undertaken 00:10:20.440 --> 00:10:24.840 to completely subvert any ideas we may have about 00:10:24.840 --> 00:10:28.139 control, about power, about sovereignty, and 00:10:28.139 --> 00:10:32.519 about what love actually looks like. This act 00:10:32.519 --> 00:10:38.139 designed and served by the same God. That they're 00:10:38.139 --> 00:10:41.200 past and not so far of what we think that that 00:10:41.200 --> 00:10:51.179 cost might look like. It requires that little 00:10:51.179 --> 00:10:55.000 bit of thinking, a little bit of digging. When 00:10:55.000 --> 00:10:57.200 you realize that this act by Jesus is undertaken 00:10:57.200 --> 00:11:00.100 to leave, no doubt that our God is not cruel. 00:11:00.600 --> 00:11:03.200 He's not a taskmaster with a list of rules to 00:11:03.200 --> 00:11:07.019 follow. He's a relational God who desires to 00:11:07.019 --> 00:11:10.659 be close to us, each and every one of us, who 00:11:10.659 --> 00:11:14.399 came to us, who stooped down and said, child, 00:11:14.679 --> 00:11:21.610 let me wash your feet. He is a God who loves 00:11:21.610 --> 00:11:27.629 us. And in reality, the only thing that causes 00:11:27.629 --> 00:11:30.429 distance between us and Him are the barriers 00:11:30.429 --> 00:11:37.389 that we put up. And God's heart seeks to break 00:11:37.389 --> 00:11:40.870 down those barriers one after another, time and 00:11:40.870 --> 00:11:49.000 time again. The biggest barrier being one that 00:11:49.000 --> 00:11:52.820 He destroyed forever, with the most extreme act 00:11:52.820 --> 00:11:58.480 of service imaginable. When Jesus willingly went 00:11:58.480 --> 00:12:02.480 to the cross. The ultimate act of love. Deceive 00:12:02.480 --> 00:12:06.679 these acts with uncertainty. In this instance, 00:12:07.159 --> 00:12:10.179 let me tell you, we do know the cost. The cost 00:12:10.179 --> 00:12:13.740 is very clear, the cost is very apparent. your 00:12:13.740 --> 00:12:16.039 sin to be dealt with so that we could be reconciled 00:12:16.039 --> 00:12:18.820 to God once more, the cost to Jesus, God's one 00:12:18.820 --> 00:12:29.500 and only Son, an act of service. Despite that 00:12:29.500 --> 00:12:31.480 lack of understanding, Jesus just paid it in 00:12:31.480 --> 00:12:50.100 full anyway. with no way to pay it back. It was 00:12:50.100 --> 00:12:55.019 a gift. It's a gift. To all of us who believe 00:12:55.019 --> 00:13:11.299 it's a gift. And God, God has served us so well 00:13:11.299 --> 00:13:16.250 and so wholly and with so much love. So completely. 00:13:18.570 --> 00:13:20.850 Yet we do still have that option to respond. 00:13:26.409 --> 00:13:31.129 Jesus knows that we struggle, both to serve and 00:13:31.129 --> 00:13:36.409 to be served. So after He washed the feet of 00:13:36.409 --> 00:13:39.509 His disciples and prior to His final and greatest 00:13:39.509 --> 00:13:42.690 act of service and sacrifice, He issued a commandment. 00:13:44.519 --> 00:13:48.440 He issued this commandment, love one another 00:13:48.440 --> 00:13:52.960 as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 00:13:56.259 --> 00:14:02.200 Not a suggestion, not a pretty good idea. He 00:14:02.200 --> 00:14:05.940 commanded us to love one another as He had loved 00:14:05.940 --> 00:14:11.059 us, in the same way that He had both loved and 00:14:11.059 --> 00:14:17.120 served us. And tonight, I'm going to give you 00:14:17.120 --> 00:14:23.539 all the opportunity to be served, to step into 00:14:23.539 --> 00:14:48.740 that uncomfortable space. Thanks again for listening. 00:14:49.299 --> 00:14:49.899 God bless you.