10112020 The God of the Towel Al Robertson

beautiful good morning church uh it's uh great to have everybody here today missy it's nice to have you uh back home missy and jason me have been splitting time between here in texas this year me is going to school down there so it's always nice to have her voice back to join him and thank you john for what you guys do every week thank you fellowship center ryan and your crew over there i love to worship the hardest thing now is i can't be in two places at one time but one day one day right in the resurrection will be there well what a year 2020 has been right i woke up this morning as i'm stumbling around my closet in the dark still no power trying to find my pants to put on and clothes to put on for you because you don't want to see me otherwise right thank you at least one amen that's really good that'd be a loud amen i just realized i was like man what else right i mean you know this is the third tropical storm to come across here at least i have a place in gulf shores we've had a hurricane come across there i'm starting to feel like jonah uh i feel like something's going on but i'm running out of places to hide what about you uh we live in a place as i've said before that's not fit for human habitation and yet we're here and we're praising god and we're helping other people so we're either tough dumb spiritual or all three so i'm gonna take it as the lord just says i want you to keep serving me i want you to keep helping your neighbor and helping other people and i think that's the way you have to view this whole thing 2020 will be in the rear view at some point but we're going to keep giving god praise and glory through the process right now over there in the fellowship center give over ryan a little bit of love his canes went down last night in a big thud and so i know he's going to be a little bit down but i hope everyone lsu fans too remember my two hour rule you don't want to be you don't want to let 18 year old kids dictate your mood for more than two hours okay so two hours after that game whether win or loss you just let it go those of you that have raised kids you know what i mean right you don't want 18 year olds determining your mood so remember that right lynley come on up it's lindley loveland she's 14 years old she goes to ocs she serves in kingdom kids it says here lindley that you love photography art you play basketball you play baseball and you cheer she's a busy girl right it also says here well you can give her a round of applause that's good it also says here you can do seven backhand springs in a row is that true yes sir that's pretty impressive i can do one and uh but i don't really spring back it just i just fall down it's not nearly as impressive all right read our scripture for us lyndon it's all right we got time um john 13 3-5 says jesus knew that the father had put all things under his power and that he had come from god and was returning to god so as he got up from the meal took off his outer clothing and wrapped a towel around his waist after that he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples feet drying them with a towel that was wrapped around him thank you lindy she did great she does a great job right she reads well also so let me get this straight we're on the eve of the passover feast we're in an upper room and the image of the invisible god the firstborn over all creation the creator of all things in heaven and on earth visible and invisible the one who is above all thrones all powers all rulers and all authorities the alpha and the omega the first and the last the beginning and the end the one who is before all things and in him all things hold together this being this man is down on his hands and knees and he's washing the dirty feet of 12 of the most consistently confused young jewish men the world has ever known is that the setting does that sound about right i would say that this is what you call a moment something to teach us the bible says in john 13 1 having loved his own who were in his in this world he now showed them the full extent of his love later manuscripts say he loved them to the end to the last so the human jesus loves these guys because they're family they're brothers they're he's you know he's been with him this time you know they've seen so much they've done so much together the divine jesus sees them as he does everybody he said in this upper room we have 12 lords and only one servant and he was right that was the mindset you see there were three different mindsets that were going on in this moment and i want to show you all three of them the first one was the 11 11 of the 12 disciples they had a mindset going we know from luke chapter 22 that a dispute arose among the disciples as to which of them was considered to be the greatest now think about how embarrassing that is that they're having an argument amongst themselves about who's going to be the greatest and then jesus is going to get up get down on his hands and knees and wash their feet that's embarrassing right and yet that was their mindset in the moment of the creator of the universe serving them they were arguing about who was going to be the greatest among themselves quite the mindset the 12th disciple who wasn't thinking about that was thinking about betraying jesus verse 2 says the devil had already prompted judas the son of simon iscariot to betray jesus and we also know later in verse 27 as soon as judas took the bread jesus is revealing who he is satan entered him that's one of the most frightening verses in the whole bible that a person can get to a point in their conscience and in their heart to the place where they allow satan in whether that's evil spirit i don't exactly know how he got in but i know he was allowed in i don't want satan in my house do you that's frightening that's scary well what about jesus's mindset he knew his time had come to do what he'd come to do he was going to die a terrible death be beaten terribly in the process physically to endure as much as any human being could endure but also in that moment to take on the sins of all humanity at the same time in his spirit so he's got that going on he knew he would die he knew his body would be put into a tomb his spirit would go somewhere for three days and then be re reunited back with his body he knew all this he knew that he would be eternally glorified that's the biblical phrase for what happened to jesus and what's going to happen to us and we won't know what that's going to look like until he comes back he knew he was going to leave planet earth by levitation he flew out of here i can't wait to do that he knew that he loved these guys so deeply and you know why it wasn't just what they had been through you see jesus existed and exists outside of time and space as i said that before now he has space still outside of time he knew what these guys were capable of he saw it all he knew he saw peter preaching that first sermon he saw these guys helping people find him discipline people messing up but still loving him he saw them build the foundation that was built for us to this very day he saw all that still sees it whenever i speak to audiences around the country because you know our story but they don't they know about a tv show they know about a podcast they know about other things they don't really know how it all happened and what i like to show people is that jesus sees the best always even we're not the best even when we're debating about how great we are among ourselves he still sees something better i like to show a picture from the last night we filmed the show because most people in audiences where i go to speak are there because we had a tv show right i'm connecting to them because of dynasty first or duck commander but i want to have a spiritual message obviously i want to be able to get the gospel so they'll understand what we're really about so show them this picture it's a stately picture of the whole family generational faith the end of this mission that god gave us for a tv show and people love that picture they love that family they'll tell us over and over and it's very humbling to us when somebody says we just love your family we love what you stand for we love this we love this so i love showing them that picture because i say yeah that's why i'm here to hear how but then i show them a picture from 1972 not so stately not too far from here family a complete mess this is before we found white's ferry road and found christ but see in this picture god always knew the potential of what that 2017 family and now 2020 family could do but in those as we call them humble beginnings we didn't know christ mom didn't know christ dad didn't know christ therefore al jase and willie don't know christ later jeff letter phyllis so i love that picture because they say wow they just look like a little poor family who doesn't have much that's what they were and the thing they were missing the most was christ but jesus knew that about a year and a half later mom would come to christ out of desperation because of how bad things were this happened to be the place that she was introduced to jesus we would flee here as a family broken no dad only to have dad follow finally out of desperation they came to christ we grew here we were taught here we were trained here and then we had a 35 year humility training on the ouachita river about working hard in getting manna day by day you know why i think that happened church because god wanted to teach this particular family that if you ever think you're a big deal and you're ever on television and you ever have a lot of people listen to you it's not you it's me that was our training now you got to go through it every day it never stops i want people to know that jesus christ can change anything and everything and not only can he change it but he can see it before you see it so you're in the worst possible place my family's terrible my marriage is on the rocks there's no way i can get through this there's a picture waiting to be taken of what can happen when god is in control that's what he can do and that's what he knew in this moment that's why he got down his knees and said i'm going to teach you something you're not going to understand it but one day you will and you're going to do great things you know what else he knew he also knew what jesus what was going on in judas hard mind too he knew he'd seen it and you know what he washed his feet anyway what even when i have thoughts of betrayal and the worst possible things i could be thinking he says i'll wash your feet anyway because i love you that much i'm sure he was heart sick over what judas was doing and what would happen to his life he knew he was is and always will be god he knew where he came from he knew where he was going back and he knows what's going to happen at the end all that is in that moment i think jesus had the best mindset what about y'all that's what he was thinking this whole time so the character of christ is on full display and we see that when he did exactly what lindley read he took off that outer clothing he wrapped that tower at his waist he poured water in a basin and he began to wash their feet he even dried them what a moment and it's not just the washing of the feet people have tried to replicate this and it's not our cultural thing i mean i've been in some settings where people have done it it's a moving thing but it's about the idea about getting down on your knees to serve somebody that was the point more than just the washing of the feast see that's what servants do and yet the creator and the lord of the universe is doing it jesus christ hebrews 13 8 is the same yesterday today and forever see we'll say well you know i came from humble beginnings that's the phrase we use but now i'm kind of a big deal no see jesus taught us something different he came from humble beginnings even as a human being but he lived humbly and he's still humble that's what we want to do that's what we want to pull off same yesterday today and forever paul would put it this way in philippians chapter 2 verse 5. in your relationships with one another have the same mindset as christ jesus you want to know how to live i'm going to tell you how his mindset which we've already read about he was in very nature god but he did not consider staying there equality with god something to be held onto he couldn't help us from heaven he had to become one of us and die for us to get us to heaven that's what he did what if i woke up every day and i thought how can i help lisa and myself and my children and grandchildren get to heaven what if that was my mindset every time my eyes open i'd be a pretty good husband pretty good dad pretty good granddad mindset rather he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant being made like us and as he was one of us he humbled himself and became obedient to death even on the cross see the character of christ has always been the same before he got here while he was here and it's still that way it's never changed he does it every day for us so the full character is on display but something else happened in this room which i think is very important for us he told his disciples basically that you can't serve unless you're served by me which tells me that one can't serve without being served by christ as was read earlier he's our only way it's not going to happen with you on your own now you may serve a little but have have you noticed how hard it is to serve even understanding christianity in christ in the spirit of god that lives in you try it without him you'll find selfishness and pride you won't find this he came to simon peter verse 6 who said to him lord are you going to wash my feet peter's always a little bit one behind step behind right you're standing there got the water yeah he asked the obvious question jesus said you do not realize now what i'm doing but later you will understand no said peter well i tell you what he's brassy i'll give him that he just told the creator of the universe no that's a ded don't ever do no you will never wash my feet now we understand why he's doing it we would probably feel the same way i don't think i would be have enough moxie to say it out loud but i'll be thinking jesus i mean come on jesus said unless i wash you you have no part with me in other words you have to allow me to do what i came here to do or you're not going to be part of what we're doing going forward you think about that statement that's a big one and then so peter's like okay then lord not just my feet but my hands my head as well just i take a whole bath in jesus jesus said those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet their whole body is clean and you are clean i love that because he knows what peter's going to do right he says you're clean i know your heart though not every one of you but well there's one in there where satan was already in scary again and then john tells us that was judas of course so later you'll understand later i want to read something that later peter said in first peter 5 5. in the same way you who are younger submit yourselves to your elders now we've got elder peter older man been through the wars looking at his own demise coming soon he says i want to tell you something submit yourselves to your elders all of you clothe yourselves with humility towards one another sounds like what was said to him in that room right because god opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble you ever think that older peter wishes he could go back and just slap that young guy in the face i know i've been there and done that the last thing that we learned from this text in verse 12 is if we have to be served by christ to serve others then we should be ones who pay that forward right have you ever thought that you could pay back any of the gifts that god has given you have you ever thought that way you can't pay it back one there's you don't have anything big enough to offer the cleansing of sins the washing of your heart the the deposit of the holy spirit to get your body out of the ground how do you pay that back some people say well you know i'm going to submit to christ now and follow him so i can start paying him back for the rest of my life that's not the way this works there is no paying back it's a gift therefore there's only one way to pay what is it for forward that that's what we do we help other people see that and know that and we cut trees off of houses and we give people hope and we pray with them and we sit with them when they're dying or say heaven is going to be awesome that's what we do that's what we pay for jesus said in verse 12 after he had finished washing their feet he puts on his clothes he returns to his place he said do you understand what i've done for you you know they answer that question no not then but they would 11 out of these 12 men built the foundation that made it possible for us to be in christ today these are great men they got it you call me teacher and lord and rightly so for that's what i am now that i your lord and teacher have washed your feet you also should wash one another's feet you know she said he said wash feet he said one another's feet ten minutes ago you're griping and complaining about who's going to be the best among you now he's saying wash each other's feet in other words serve and start with this group and keep serving i have set you an example that you should do as i have done for you no servant is greater than his master nor messenger greater than the one who sent him now that you know these things you will be blessed and here it comes here's the word if you do them anytime you see the word if in the new testament then that's your action call because you had to make a decision am i going to do this or not if that puts the ball in your court and in my court i want to read you one more from later peter because he got it first peter 4 verse 10. each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others a lot of gifts here a lot of gifts out there use it to serve i love this phrase as faithful stewards of god's grace in its various forms faithful stewards you can't change grace you can't do anything about grace but you can sure steward the grace that god has given you and you can extend it to other people that's what a steward does they manage the blessing and the gift of god stewards if anyone speaks they should do so as one who speaks the very words of god he's speaking to me that's what i'm doing this morning i'm speaking on his behalf now if i mess something up that's on me because the holy spirit's message is pure and perfect and that's what i'm trying to do let him speak i'm just the messenger and i'm certainly not greater than the one who sends the message it took me a long time to learn that folks when i was first sitting down there on that same pew as a 25 year old man i was scared to death and i thought man al you got to have the right illustrations you got to tell the right stories you got to get that text just right you got it you got it you got it you got to through the years i realized it was never about me i am but a conduit for the holy spirit it's his message all i can do is get in the way of it you say well yeah that's what you do you get jugglers up here and all yeah that's me that that part's on me but when the holy spirit speaking through his word and truth that's his message so if you speak do with grace if anyone serves and we all can right they should do so with the strength that god provides here it is so that in all things god may be praised through jesus christ every service that we perform is for the glory of christ and the glory of god that's your motivation to him be the glory the power forever and ever amen and the church says amen to that come on up john in the praise in the praise reading the fellowships if you'll go up so what's our takeaway from today other than we serve an amazing god who will get down on his knees and wash your feet because he loves you well we know we must follow his example by loving serving and giving because he wasn't just teaching those guys those 11 guys in the room that night he was teaching us too see he sees all this he saw 2020 before the creation of the world it's almost like they wait till 2020. boy these folks are going to really see something that year he said later greater love has no one than to lay down their life for someone else as we toast disciples do you realize that 99.99 of the time you will never have that opportunity while you walk this earth to literally give your physical life which is what he did but that 100 percent of the time you have the opportunity to give your spiritual life for someone else if you're married it starts with a person laying next to you when you wake up in the morning or the kiddos down the hall and then it just builds every day with everywhere you go the work the convenience store whatever it is you do you have an opportunity to lay down your life the question is this morning if you're not doing that why if you're on the wrong side of the if the question is why if you have the holy spirit of god in you and you're not quenching him and quenching his fire and you you should be the greatest servant the world has ever known and i challenge you this morning to be just that our god and savior not only gave his life for us but he showed us what we must do and i encourage you to do that there's something that's holding you back from serving christ and serving other people we want to give you an opportunity today to give that to him if it's a prayer of saying i'm holding on to some sin some burden some past thing that's hurt my life let's give that up to him and let's walk out of the room saying who can i help today that's the challenge of this text if you have any of those needs we're going to give you an opportunity this morning in these physical places but also out there in computer land as dad says to just give it up to him this morning and don't hold on any longer why don't you do that while we stand and while we sing

Channel: Whites Ferry Road Church

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Length: 28min 47sec (1727 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 14 2020