Serve One Another

In this message, Pastor Aaron shares about Jesus washing the feet of the disciples right before the last supper. In it we learn, it doesn't matter your position or level of authority, God has called us to serve one another. 

Transcript

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If you would open up your Bibles to John chapter 13, we're in our one another series. And, you know, I've been trying to drive home how important this is that God gives these not as suggestions, but as commands. And there's over 66 commands in the New Testament for how we are to treat one another. When Jesus was asked in Matthew chapter 22, he was asked, What is the greatest commandment? Do you remember what the greatest commandment is? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And the second is like it love your neighbor as yourself, right? And so he said, the second is just like the first. Again, this is a command that we see throughout the Ten Commandments because what if you if you broke down the Ten Commandments, you would see the first four are in regards to our relationship with God, and then the last six are in regards to our relationship with one another. And one of the things that the Lord has taught me recently is to not just embrace serving my fellow neighbor, but to also accept service. You know, it's a prideful thing when someone wants to serve you and yet you don't want it to be about you. And so we decline. Have you ever been put in that position before? Where someone wants to serve you and you just feel like I can't allow this to happen. Lord, I need to be serving them, not them serving me. And the Lord can work in all of us to serve our neighbor and to serve one another, which means from time to time, you might be the one getting served, and that can be uncomfortable. That's kind of what we're going to read about in our passage today. And Jesus is the ultimate example of service. And we should look to him as how to serve one another and understanding that it comes from sometimes the lowest places that we choose to serve. And, you know, I have a lot of opportunities to meet a lot of people all over the world. And as the director of Move Ministries, you know, I travel to a lot of countries, and the goal that we have is that we never want to be a burden on the local leadership. We're going to many impoverished countries, and we want to make it clear we we pay for everything. Please don't roll out the red carpet for us. We want to be there and we want to be a blessing to you. And because of this, I have also found that there are definitely leaders in other nations that take advantage of that. They're like, you're the one with the money, and this is what we want to do. And so it's walking a real fine line in understanding how to minister to them and make sure that we're not taken advantage of, but we are blessing them and we're doing something good. But our ultimate goal is that we want to make no financial impact on that ministry whatsoever. We want to go in, go out, and bless along the way. And there's been many people that I've worked with, but some of my favorite people are in Costa Rica. And Move Ministries is getting ready to build a church there in January. And they're going to put up a picture up on the screen. And the couple that is sitting on the right, their names are Marcelo and Bernardo Rodriguez. And I've been so blessed to not only build a few churches with them, but we go to Cuba and there's a pastor's conference that we do, and there are speakers at the pastor's conference, and I make sure that they have everything they need while we're there. And there was a couple years ago that Wendy and I decided that we were going to go to Costa Rica early because let's be honest, it's a really nice place to go. And we were hanging out with Pastor Marcelo and Bernard, and I said, Pastor Marcelo, I want to see the country. Show me what I need to see. And I'd I'd been there a few times, but never taken the time to just go around and see what the country is all about. And everywhere he took us, I'd go to pay, and he wouldn't let me. And I'm getting frustrated. I'm like, I know this isn't cheap. And we he he takes us to a nice hotel. We spend the night at the hotel. Every restaurant we go to, he is not letting me pay. And I said, Pastor Marcel, you don't understand. Like, you do not understand. You don't pay for us. We pay for you. And I'm trying to get it through to him. And then that Saturday night, we were speaking at his church, and they've just shown us such an amazing time. And he's got a church of about 600 people, and there we are getting ready to minister. I was the speaker for the evening, but I hadn't spoken yet. And he got up front. It was one of the most humbling things that Wendy and I have ever experienced. He comes up and he says, I feel like we're supposed to pray for Wendy. And they bring her down front, and there's a bunch of ladies in the church that gather around and they start praying for her. And he said, God's also telling me we need to bless Wendy. And they take a basket and they put it in her hands. And I'm standing there next to her, and everything inside of me wants to be like, No, no, let's not do this. And we stood there as I'm not exaggerating, the entire church lined up and dropped money in the basket as we just stood there, as this processional came right up front. And everything inside me wanted to say no. But I I went on, I preached, and uh it was a it was a great service. And we go home and we're staying at Pastor Marcella and Bernardo's that night, and I said, Pastor, we don't need this. He said, I know you don't need it. I know you don't need it. But the Lord told me to bless you. Don't rob me of a blessing.

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And I'm like, well, you got me there.

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And the thing that I realized in the Lord was doing in me in that moment, what he was doing, he was lowering my pride and asking me to set aside all my pride and let them serve us. It's so hard. It is so hard when we feel naturally within us that we desire to serve and we want to serve well, but we also have to accept service well, and that's where it's difficult. And the secret to both of these, I believe, is to never approach it with this motivation of self-gain. But in both cases, humility. So in the story that we're gonna read today, as I ask you to turn to John chapter 13, Jesus displayed the ultimate sign of humility by serving his fellow disciples. So we're gonna read 17 verses this morning. John chapter 13, verse 1 through 17. Who loves the word of God? All right, so if you don't have a Bible, there's one in the seat in front of you. We do not have it up on the screen. Encourage people turning into the hard copy Word of God. Let's read. Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to the Father. He had loved his disciples during his uh ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the and now he loved them to the very end. It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything, and 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. When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, Lord, are you going to wash my feet? Jesus replied, You don't understand now what I'm doing, but someday you will. No, Peter protested, you will never, ever wash my feet. Jesus replied, Unless I wash you, you won't belong to me. Simon Peter exclaimed, Then wash my hands and head as well. Lord, not just my feet. You love it how Peter just all of a sudden flips on a dime and he's all in. I love that. Jesus replied, A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash except for the feet to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you. For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, Not all of you are clean. After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, Do you understand what I'm doing? You call me teacher and Lord, and you are right because that's what I am. And since I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other's feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. I tell you the truth. Slaves are not greater than their master, nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them. Let's pray. Father, we just thank you so much for your word. And Lord, there's so much to be learned. Lord, your son's character that he demonstrated. Lord, that act of service, may we understand why we should put ourselves in that position. What it means to those that we are serving. And God, more than anything, how to be just like you. I thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. First off, I don't think we really have a great picture of how dirty of a job it is to wash feet. You know, I wear closed-toed shoes about everywhere I go. I'm one of those guys that I wear closed-toed shoes. We've we've got we've got hardwood floors in the house, and I wear closed-toed shoes. Even throughout the house, I never take my shoes off. My wife thinks I'm weird, and I think the rest of them are weird because they're like hillbillies. They go everywhere barefoot, you know? And I just I think about back in this time the conditions of their sandals, the condition of the roads, they're walking where donkeys walked. And then even when they're taking showers, even when they're taking their baths, they're just doing the field kind of bath, right? So they're getting everything clean, but they're not taking time to truly get because their feet never truly get clean. And so what we're gonna do is we're gonna examine this story today and really what it means to get our feet washed by the Lord. And the position that Jesus was in and how he is able to serve from this position of authority. And the first place it starts that if you really want to enter into this world of service and serving one another, it has to be driven by love that motivates us. It has to start there because Jesus He is serving from this place of a settled knowledge and love. He's got this firm relationship with the Father. And so Jesus is operating out of knowing God the Father and knowing his love. He's secure. And what we see, listen to John 5, 19 through 20. I'm also going to read verse 30. It says, So Jesus explained, I tell you the truth, the Son of God can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished. Then he says in verse 30, I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me, therefore, my judgment is just because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will. So what we read and what we learn is that Jesus is continually demonstrating the heart of God to people around him, and he is in constant communion with God the Father. He is secure in his relationship and he is following the direction that God takes him. Now, as you really dive into the word of God and really study and really know, you can learn that Jesus, he always was. He was always with God, he was always present with God. And according to Hebrews chapter 2, verse 9, he was sent to the earth by the Father. We're gonna read that a little bit later. And so, from the very foundations of the earth, Jesus was, and Jesus operated out of the security of who he was with God the Father. Church, true service flows from security from God, not from our insecurity or our need for recognition. See, here's the thing a lot of people can do service. A lot of people can. But Jesus proved it was the heart of God. The original phrase in verse one it says, He loved them to the very end. Did you see that? If we study the original Greek, the original meaning means he loved them to the full extent, to the limit, completely, utterly. So he was showing them the full extent of his love by taking this humble position and washing their feet. Church, your service has to come from a place where you desire to serve him first. It can't be about one another first. It can't. Lots of people use service to try and get ahead in life, but Jesus, what how he operated, he operated from this vertical orientation. It always started with his relationship with God and how he reached out to other people. And so he came to the Father first because he also knew he would be returning to the Father. So he can't operate, beginning by this place of what we'd like to call horizontal service, where he's just focused on the people in front of him. It was always that vertical relationship that was settled first. Listen to Galatians 5.13. Galatians 5.13 says, it says, for you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters, but don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. And church, that freedom is only settled in us when we understand who God is, when He understand when we understand He needs to be a part of our lives daily. You cannot get by by saying, It is enough for me to show up to church on Sunday, my cup is full, I can go out through the week, and then God will refill it next Sunday. I can almost promise you, the moment you leave this church, something is going to occur that's going to withdraw from that cup. You have to seek God daily to have your cup filled daily. It shouldn't be up to a church service to fill your cup. It shouldn't be. Your heart better be captivated that God knew you and formed you in your mother's womb. Your heart better be captivated by all the all the intricacies in your life and the way that God is always working. He's always doing something. And service without eternal perspective eventually demands payment. It does. Eventually we get to the point where it's like, eh, it's not worth it. Who's ever heard the phrase a good deed never goes unpunished? Right? And so we have these good intentions, we say we want to serve, and then eventually we're like, oh, that got old really quick. What we learn from Jesus though is authority doesn't cancel service. Just because he's the Son of God, just because he came down to the earth and soon would enter into Jerusalem, being celebrated and praised, his authority did not cancel the need for him to serve. And the disciples couldn't fully grasp the authority of Jesus. And I think even us today, we don't understand what it took for Jesus Christ to be lowered out of heaven and come to this earth. Because when you're in the presence of God, you don't want to be anywhere else. Hebrews chapter 2, verse 9 and 10, it kind of tries to put in a bit of perspective for us. Listen to this. It says, What we do see is Jesus, who for a little while was given a position a little lower than the angels. And because he suffered death for us, he is now crowned with glory and honor. Yes, by God's grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone. God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory. And it was only right that he should make Jesus through his suffering a perfect leader fit to bring them into their salvation. Jesus Christ was present in the throne room of God since before the foundations of the world. And he's part of the Godhead, he's worshiped, he's praised, and then he's made a little lower than the angels. And in our understanding, it's going from that high, he's always had that highest form of authority and power, and now he is choosing to take this position of service where it is one of the least, where it's one of the lowliest. It's basically the CEO of the company saying, I'm gonna scrub toilets today. Jesus knew his authority and his destiny, and he's serving because of it. He's operating under the full knowledge of his origin, his destiny, his authority, and knowing his return takes him back to the Father. All of a sudden, that knowledge frees him to serve in the lowest position. I want you to see how that frees you to serve. Knowing what God has prepared for you. See, God doesn't care if you make six figures. He doesn't care. He doesn't care if you paid your Dues. He doesn't care if you've been used as a doormat in your service. As this was before the Last Supper, even the scriptures implied. He knew Judas wasn't following him. It says it right there in scripture. He knew. He knew that there was going to be men in that party that were about to deny him. He knew that. And yet he washed everyone's feet. He didn't say, no, not you. Don't find yourself serving based out of who you are serving. Don't find yourself serving based out of who you want to become on this earth. Serve to honor God. It needs to be in direct response to what God is doing in your life. Mark 10, 45, it's one of my favorite verses in scripture. It's my life verse, for even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. So it's basically saying if if Jesus Christ, the Son of God, lowered himself to serve, how much more should I lower myself? Get your vertical service to God healthy, then horizontal service, the service to other people, becomes natural. It becomes so natural. The other thing that we need to learn to do in our service is walk in humility in it. It's that humility that demonstrates the service. Because here Jesus, in his highest authority, he takes that lowest service. In the culture in Israel at the time, the lowest servants' responsibilities was washing the feet of the master and all the guests of the house. That was the lowest service responsibility. And so we see a great glimpse of how Jesus teaches. He didn't say, You guys, you need to be more humble. Jesus didn't say that. He says, You need to be more humble, you need to serve me. Jesus didn't say that. He took on the humility and he took on the service. And those hands that are about to be nailed to a cross are right now, they are scrubbing the feet of dirty men. Think about that. If we were in that position, we might be saying, Man, do you know what I'm about to go through? No, feed me. That's what our flesh wants to say. Take care of me. But Jesus needed to demonstrate to him one last time. Because the human heart, without that perspective of knowing who you are, knowing where you're going, becomes proud and haughty. Speaking of proud and haughty, Peter's reaction to Jesus washing their feet, you shall never wash my feet. Lord, you, you it's coming from a good place. And what do you think about that? He's looking at him, he's claimed him as Lord, he's followed him, he's trusted him, but he says, You shall never wash my feet. And I want to say, on the surface, it seems good. The Lord isn't gonna wash my feet. It's basically saying, I'll wash his. But it also reveals that natural pride. And I mentioned earlier about having to set aside that pride for Pastor Marcello and Bernarda and what they wanted to do for us in Costa Rica. Here's the thing when it comes to Christ, we are a lot more comfortable with the idea of serving a God who is high and lofty above us, seems far away. We have a hard time serving a God that seems low and near to us. And Jesus' response should make us take a step back. Listen to verse 8. Jesus replied, Unless I wash you, you won't belong to me. You won't belong to me. Basically, what Jesus is saying is if you can't receive this, if you can't receive what I'm doing, you have no share in my kingdom. Which I find stunning on the surface because he's saying that to Peter, and we've seen Peter demonstrate his faith time and time and time again. But this is ultimately what Jesus is saying. This is what my relationship with you looks like. The intimacy of the relationship that I want to have with you. And the fellowship of Jesus Christ and what he wants to do in your life is he wants to go to the greatest depths so that he can show you how much he loves you. And food for thought. This operation of of truly being in service to God, him serving us, and then going out and serving others in his name. This is continual in our lives that as we are pouring out, we are being poured into. Don't need to read my Bible anymore. Don't need to pray. Don't need to do any of that stuff. I'm good to go. I was at a conference here back in March. I hate conferences. You guys like work conferences? Okay, so we're on the same page a little bit, right? So I'm going to a conference, and my attitude is these conferences, they're all the same. And they're they're they're speaking usually to church hurt or they're speaking to pastors on specific areas of need, soul care, and stuff like that. And I'm like, I've heard it all before. And as I'm sitting there, all I feel is there's this big target right on my chest. And every word the speaker is saying is speaking right to me in my situation. And I remember God speaking, and it was so clear. He says, You have been trying to offer nourishment to people while you're malnourished.

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And I thought, Lord, that can't be.

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God, you've used me. Lord, I've watched you work, I've watched you do all these things. And the Lord started opening up to me all these areas where I was just too busy. I put the priority of serving others over my relationship and private time with the Lord. And church, I want you to know you need that continual communion with God if you're gonna enter into his service. You have to have it. It's not this one-time event. It's not like, wow, God did something amazing in me at the altar, and now I can go out and now I can do great things. That's not the way it works. We need to constantly be seeking the Lord and allowing him to pour into us. And so receiving the service of God is the path to fellowship with him. And so we need to be fellowshipping with him daily, but there's heart issues that we have to deal with. And the first major heart issue is we have to get to this point where we are denying ourselves to follow Christ. And here's the thing: we want it both ways. We want to be able to live our life, and there's then there's times where we want to do things for God. Can't do it that way. You can't do it that way. There's times where we want to serve, but we also kind of want others' approval in our service. Or we might be serving because we want to gain position. And what we find with Jesus is he laid aside his garments. Did you see that? He laid his garments aside, he wrapped himself in his towel and he washed their feet. And that towel is uh the the ultimate visual of self-denial. When you take off your garments, something's happening. And Jesus made it clear with the towel. I'm about to get dirty, and I'm about to do dirty work, and I'm taking on a different position in order to lower myself. And Jesus, he had every right to demand to be honored, but he refused to let self sit on the throne. And he recognized the message, who he was, and the message that he had to drive home to his disciples. The second thing that we need to check our heart in is service does not desire reciprocity. It's not like, hey, if I do this for you, then you're gonna do this for me, right? It's not what it's about. He is washing the feet of men who will deny him or even the one who will betray him within hours. And so when you and I serve, we're not just keeping a debt ledger. We're not saying, okay, I I moved them, so I'm going to remember to call them when I move. Or I paid for their meal, so next time we go out, they better be buying. When we serve, you don't keep a debt ledger. It's not a service of mutual benefit, but pointing people to the ultimate servant. And so it's you choosing to lay yourself down time and time and time again. Do it with no desire for gain. Are you hearing me? Thirdly, we can't serve out of selfish ambition. The moment service becomes about advancement or controlling others or applause, it ceases to be service of Christ or bringing honor to God. Here's the thing: I think about Jesus in Matthew chapter six. Jesus has three statements of what he expects us to do as believers. He says, When you give, when you pray, when you fast, and in those three examples, he cites people who do it for others to notice. And he said, I tell you, that's all the reward they're ever going to get. But when you go in private, when you do this without without anyone noticing, then I'm going to reward you in eternity. And it's the same with entering into this service where we're serving one another. It's like I am going to choose to do this no matter how they respond, no matter how they react. I'm not going to do it because I want something back. I'm not going to do it because I want them to notice me. First Peter 4 10, it says, God has given each of you a gift. Everyone say gift. God has given, he didn't say it that well, and I know we're I'm lulling you to sleep today because of my throat. But God has given each of you a gift. Say gift. There we go. From his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. When the kingdom of God comes together on earth, it should be an unstoppable force. But here's the thing we get in the way. His church gets in the way, doesn't it? It gets in the way. But you and I were to be stewards of grace, not owners who seek any credit. And so let God bless you without expectation of your service. Because Jesus made it so clear in this passage that God will pour out a blessing for you just being obedient and doing what you're supposed to do as a part of your genuine service. And Jesus was that ultimate example of that command service. The more we understand Jesus, the more we serve. That's why you should be in your word every day. That's why you should be reading the Bible, praying to him every day. Because what we see as as we're as we're understanding who Jesus is, and he opens our eyes more and more and more, we see there are more lessons to be learned. And Jesus decided to totally instruct them after he was done washing their feet. I'm gonna read 12 verse 12 through 16 of John chapter 13. Says, after washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, Do you understand what I was doing? You call me teacher and lord, and you are right, because that's what I am. And since I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other's feet. Did he say you now ought to wash mine? No, he said you ought to wash each other's feet. I have given you an example to follow, do as I have done done to you. I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master, nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. The world outside the realm of the church displays a different response to authority and understanding. Think about it. Authority in the world is to be served. It's to expect service at every step when you're in a position of authority. It's to make sure that you're heard each and every time, it's to make sure that you're honored. And it is often a refusal to lower yourself. I'm not gonna do that. That's what someone in authority might say. But God, in his foresight for our lives, he demonstrates with the knowledge of the Father in eternity that if we continue to give ourselves over to service, it doesn't just demonstrate who Jesus is, it keeps our heart in check. Do you realize how important that is? The apostle Paul, he was so concerned of that happening to him. And he mentions this story in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, where he gets caught up in this vision where it says he describes that he went up to the third heaven and listened to his response after he had this vision. It says in 2 Corinthians 12, 5 through 7. Paul says that experience is worth boasting about, but I'm not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses. If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so because I would be telling the truth, but I won't do it because I don't want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message. Even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God, so to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. What is God wanting to do in you that's going to drive home that humility? Because I find that when I go into acts of service for other people, it grounds me. It also keeps my heart set on eternity. Once you have determined that in your heart, once you have accepted that's who I'm going to be, that's what I'm going to do. Blessing flows from this true place of honoring God. I'm going to do it because I want to honor Him first. Jesus has given us this pattern, and in verse 17, he says, Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them. And so, Dennis, if you could come. He served in this authority, but in this authority, he served in self-denial. He served without reciprocity or selfish ambition. And so what happens is that you and I are naturally now indebted, not to each other, but to him to likewise serve one another. Think about it. They didn't have an opportunity the next day to say, okay, Jesus, now it's my turn to wash your feet. That opportunity was gone. And Jesus said, now do this for one another. Because the ultimate blessing is that you and I, in our acts of service, when we surrender our time, when we're willing to lower ourselves, when we're willing to get dirty, is that it's going to lead others to Jesus. That's the goal. So when we choose to take that low place, we're not just being nice. We're not just trying to display the character of the one who washed us to clean, but it's to point them to him regularly. And people are going to notice you when you choose to put that towel in your hands and say, All right, let's get dirty. Church, let that humility find yourself modeling Jesus to the world. It's not going to be in your pride. It's going to be usually at your lowest point. At your lowest point of service. I want you to think about that. Those low moments in your life. Where it's just easy to get so focused on yourself. I have learned some of the greatest challenges of my life when I've chosen to serve through those, displayed ultimately who Jesus was. Jesus, at your lowest point, at your denial, at your betrayal, he chose for you where he picked up his towel, an offering to wash your feet. And so ultimately, the lesson here is, church, choose to embrace Jesus. Choose to embrace his love and choose to embrace that sacrifice. He freely gave it. Just embrace it. Don't think you can earn it. There's nothing you can do to earn it. Just choose to receive it. Choose to allow him to just clean you. And you'll be accepted into his kingdom. And I've found I desire to serve more the more I fall in love with Jesus. The more I see his humility. That I've seen no king lead like that. I've seen no priest lead like that. I've seen no prophet speak like that. It's where Jesus demonstrated this perfect love that you can't find anywhere else on the face of the earth. And it's only by that ministry that I think Jesus can truly put us on this path to righteousness. And so for us today, what I want to ask you first and foremost is how dirty are your feet? How dirty are your feet? Because before you can ever wash someone else's, you gotta let Jesus wash it. And you gotta recognize when your life doesn't quite measure up to who Jesus is. And what I found is the best thing I can do is be quick to repent and say, Lord, forgive me.

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Forgive me for who I've been and what I've done. And just claim that love.

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And that care and that sacrifice for you. It can never be about serving others until you're in right relationship with him. So I want everyone in here to just bow your heads. And I want you to make opportunity for God to just speak into your life. Because it's all the difficulties of life that can take our focus off of Him, or we can just feel so confused and sometimes trapped by our situations that our lives don't really reflect or much about Jesus until God just awakens us. And the Lord Jesus Christ right now is standing before you.

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And he's got his towel ready. And he's wanting to wash your feet.

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And will you start out like Peter saying, Lord, no, you not you, no, you can't do that. Or be more like the way you did. Well, then do my head, do my whole body.

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Be open to the Lord making you clean and new.

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And it is out of that relationship that people are going to come to know Jesus and you're going to demonstrate him well.

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And so if you're here today and you say, Pastor, I just need a right relationship with Jesus. I need to let him clean me. I need to let him do a work on my heart.

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And if that's you and say, Pastor, I need that.

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Would you look up at me so I know who I'm dealing with? Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. I see those.

SPEAKER_01 46:41

I want to start out by saying the Lord cares about you as an individual. He cares about you. And that care that He demonstrated to His disciples, He would demonstrate equally to you. He loves you. And know that it seems like a simple act, sometimes almost too easy. But if we just open up our heart to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, that God sent him for us, that He died for us, and that God raised him from the dead. His word makes it clear that we're saved. All we have to do is confess it. And then what God starts doing is he starts working on us by the power of his Holy Spirit and cleansing us and making us more like him. And so you looking up at me is ultimately saying, as Pastor, I'm choosing to believe in that Jesus. And so what I want you to do, if you're a believer in the room or you're praying this prayer again because you've just found yourself so distant from the Lord, or you're praying this prayer for the first time, I'd ask that you pray this prayer, repeat after me what I'm about to pray. Before I do that, though, I want you to know that this is not a formula. Again, it's simple. If you confess with your mouth Jesus, Lord, and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. It's as simple as just belief in public confession of faith in him. But we do need to learn how to pray. So it starts somewhere. And so if you would, whether you're praying this for the first time or you're needing to go to the Lord again, or you're just a firm believer in the room, pray this prayer after me. Father God, I thank you for sending your son to take the lowest possible position to show his care for me. Lord, I choose to believe in him, his death, his resurrection. I ask, Lord, that you will take my sin. I believe it's up there nailed to the cross. And I am cleansed from that sacrifice that Jesus gave. Lord, may I learn to walk in his footsteps daily and be a good reflection of him. I thank you so much, Lord, for sending your son for me. May I live for him.

SPEAKER_00 49:59

In Jesus' name. Amen, amen.