Two Scriptures: In John 13:1-17 NKJV – Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet to demonstrate love in the Immediate and in the Forever and in John 15:9-17, Jesus talks about our LOVE and JOY being perfected in Him – that is both Immediate and Forever…
Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.” Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.” So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
John 15:9-17 NKJV – Love and Joy Perfected “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. – These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another.
SERMON:
Recently I was on a trip. Settling down by the window of the 3rd floor room, I cracked open my laptop to start working. I looked out just at the right time, apparently, saw that my car was right below 3 floors down – and I saw what I am sure the Lord wanted me to see just at that moment – three older people slowly going past the car – I could not hear the conversation but imagined what it was – I saw one woman stopped a foot from the back of my car – called out to the others and pointed directly and purposefully at my magnet on my hatch – in the middle – I could imagine their conversation – she was pointing out my bumper sticker type magnet: “Jesus is Coming, Everybody Look Busy.”
Yes, I like that magnet for the multiple reasons – it always makes me chuckle but the first best truth of having it is true, Jesus IS coming back. I am blessed to state that – which others may not know. The next reason is because it makes people laugh – humor in our lives helps – and yet that magnet statement makes us ponder: do we need to “look busy” as if the teacher is watching – or do we have to BE BUSY in God’s business? Or simply “be” because God already did His business of salvation – it is up to us to try to accept it. And the magnet saying most simply states that we need to be living our lives in SHOWING THE LOVE OF JESUS TO OTHERS. We need to both be aware of the time drawing short (number our days, Lord) and be busy showing the LOVE that Jesus taught us to show. We need to be working in this world even if we are short for this world. And the world’s days? Growing shorter and shorter by the moment. Jesus really IS coming back No One Knows the Day or Hour – Jesus said: “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. …… Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. [This was from the book of Matthew – who is a gospel of identity, teaching about how to live as a new Christian then and now. And the scriptures we heard this morning about the feet-washing servant of Jesus and of Keeping Jesus in us to share and know the JOY of serving Him – those were passages from John – John is the gospel of Wisdom – [I highly recommend these 4 accounts of the gospel with the actual scripture then commentary by author Michael Card (the singer)] – John had the wisdom to impart from 90 plus years of living as a Christian and those 3 crucial years of living WITH CHRIST…]
Showing Love is SO important – it will point others to Jesus. ALL LOVE from God to us is sent THROUGH us – from us to others – is to be kindled by knowing Jesus. Jesus said IN the book of Matthew: “the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved” – know that even in the worst of times, we must endure, we must accept what our second scripture reading stated: but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit… We are called to listen to Jesus to catch as many fish on the side of the boat that Jesus is telling us to fish on – Jesus did not put us on autopilot – we pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit – still listen to His direction – and still be the fishers of men. There are people who are lost and we must help them know that they are found – found by the love of Jesus. This change shows.
THE LOVE OF JESUS AFFECTS US IMMEDIATELY AND FOR FOREVER – ACCEPTING HIM INTO OUR LIVES MAKES US BE CHANGED OURSELVES, NOT SURFACE BUT DEEP LOVE. “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” PEOPLE WILL WANT TO TAP INTO THAT SHOW OF LOVE! We have to take it out to them and show it.
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We are to remember that we WILL be in troubled times and hear of troubled times. Jesus said: you will “hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are “the beginning of sorrows.” …. “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.”
JESUS IS WARNING US – NOT (just) FOR THE TRAGEDY BUT WARNING US TO NOT GIVE UP ON LOVING – URGING US TO CONTINUE TO SHOW LOVE. Jesus is talking about TO head warnings about the end – but don’t grow cold in love – keep loving. both because Jesus commanded it – and because why wouldn’t we? We show love because Jesus showed us love first!
We heard the first read scriptures of Jesus SHOWING LOVE to Peter and to the disciples by the foot washing – it was needed and also symbolic: both Jesus SHOWING how He serves and how we are to serve each other even in the worst of jobs – to be the servant that people don’t expect – and to tap into that LOVE of JESUS in order to do these things. Most importantly Jesus wants to BE THAT LOVE INSIDE OF US – for us to accept it. Like Peter we MUST accept it – not just the washing but the whole humbling of ourselves to be low in our spirit and full of His.. Jesus tells us and enables us to be the LOVE that people don’t expect to get. TO go against the grain – go against the world of ignorance and apathy – Live out the command to love – (like my previous sermon t-shirt – “go against the flow”) Jesus has great reason in telling us – because He commands that we accept His Love in order to be most fruitful: “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
HOW? How can we keep going – how can we be effective in LOVE?
Be AWARE – BEAR and SHARE – that is a great rhyme – bear and share the fruit of the spirit that God gives us – remember back to my last sermon – we created a tree with a vine wrapping it – the Vine being Jesus – there is nothing we can do without Jesus – we don’t just learn from Him – we have to be His Hands and Feet for He is the true vine – and then remember the FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT coming off of the branches. Remember from Galatians 5 the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering (Also Called Patience), Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control.
Remember Jesus speaking in John 15 NKJV – “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. – HERE IS A PARALLEL TO THE VERSE WE HEARD TODAY: You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
WE MUST ACCEPT THAT JESUS IS THAT VINE GIVING US THE ABILITY TO BEAR FRUIT… AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS INSIDE FRUIT? SEEDS – THAT IF WE DO NOT USE THE FRUIT THAT GOD GAVE US – IT WILL ROT – AND NO SEEDS WILL BE DISTRIBUTED – AND WE ALL KNOW THAT GOD WANTS US PLANTING SEEDS – SEEDS OF KINDNESS AND LOVE.
Ah – Vacation Bible School – I LOVE VBS – love it – I am in the middle of 3 BACK TO BACK weeks of VBS – it is not as much work as you could imagine – I used to run the whole thing for 120 kids for 7 years after being the preschool games leader for my then 3 year old and up – SO just helping in just one aspect or station at a time is much more simple – I LOVE JUST SHOWING UP AND SEEING HOW JESUS uses us – AND the VBS’s these days like what I have done this summer are usually 25 kids or less. Sad but true – but even a small crop of harvest is good in the eyes of the Lord.
[Show VBS slide of the scriptures and no-sew blanket creation as a mission project] Here in this slide is what blessing of scripture points that we got to share in the first VBS in the first week of July “God gives us HOPE”, “God gives us WISDOM”, “God gives us SPECIAL ABILITIES”, “God Gives us WISDOM”, “God gives us a FAMILY”.
We learned about the perseverance of Joseph and the LOVE and Forgiveness and showing of LOVE he had even when his brothers and many others did him wrong. Joseph persevered to keep worshiping the One True God – we appreciated these bible points – words to live by – and children as young as 3 were helping in mission work – we made a no-sew blanket to share with the many homeless of the area – and then the kids went to the food pantry and packed bags of food.
This story of Joseph and forgiveness was so moving and has parallels to Jesus everywhere – and if you remember that Joseph, son of Jacob Israel had the connection thru his mom to the youngest brother, Benjamin, and Benjamin was used as a test for the genuineness of his other older brothers – did they remain evil or had they matured in the many years – and yes they changed – they grew to have compassion and when Benjamin was “framed” for stealing – they laid down their lives to save his as a substitute – so that Jacob their dad would not suffer again – the scripture that we read this morning about Jesus: “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” is an ultimate showing love – Jesus laying down His life – Jesus allows us and shows us THAT forever LOVE and He gives us Forever Life – if we accept it. He also gives US IMMEDIATE LIFE.
An IMMEDIATE LIFE to SHOW LOVE is ours thru Jesus when we ask for that filling of His Holy Spirit – less of us more of Him – that is us laying down our lives (meaning our plan or our wants and our selfishness attitudes) and picking up and adopting His – all because He wants to instill it in us. No matter who we are or what we have done or how fragile we think we might be or how thick skulled sometimes – Jesus wants to shine in us – and wants us to shine the LIGHT that He put in us.
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I have a great book “Fragile Stone” by Michael Card – which is my beach book for this summer – about Peter being the ROCK on which the church was started but Peter was SO human – so fragile – so rash – so NOT strong in the times of trouble until Jesus really thrived in HIM – it took a while and even took Jesus reinstituting Him three times – during that beach breakfast after Jesus’s Resurrection – telling Peter that He needed to “feed my sheep”.
Peter like us may have gone from “wash me here and wash me there” rash and “oh no, Lord, don’t leave me out!” – to returning to being rash in cutting off the ear of the soldier in defending Jesus – to becoming fragile again in denying Jesus “NO, I didn’t know Him” three times after Jesus was arrested and the rooster crowed
When Jesus said ““If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” – Jesus is also saying: If you don’t humbly accept me the master to be your servant then you can’t ever live. Jesus asks for our repentance yes and crucially also asks us to be humble enough to take His Way over thinking we could do this ourselves (Jesus said He HAD to wash – HE HAD TO SHOW LOVE)… Peter HAD to accept it – and so do we… THIS IS A “SHOW LOVE” MOMENT for each of us – to humbly ACCEPT – AND KNOW WE ARE AS FRAGILE AS the fragile stone that Peter was – BUT IS NOW THE ROCK ON WHICH JESUS BUILT HIS CHURCH. In the days we read about Peter in Acts – Peter would be strengthened by Jesus – by the Holy Spirit in him.
IF WE DON’T ACCEPT JESUS THEN WE ARE IN A STICKY SITUATION – AND THIS SOUNDS LIKE A VBS EXPERIMENT TO ME – MAKING SLIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WON’T MAKE SLIME TODAY BUT WE COULD WITH BORAX – AND GET STICKY – INSTEAD LET ME SHARE A COOL EXPERIMENT OF JESUS SHOWING LOVE – OF NAIL POLISH REMOVER (ACETONE) AND STRYOFOAM…
VBS experiment: THE ACETONE DISSOLVES THE STYROFOAM LIKE– Jesus wants to make us clean
DO Next VBS EXPERIMENT – water and cards that say “Others”, “ME”, and a heart with arrow – and without the water in the jar we see the arrow of love point to us – like we want the love from others to us. And then add LIVING WATER of Jesus – and the image of the heart and arrow reverses and we see our love towards others BECAUSE of JESUS.
Immediately before this experiment – I was helping out at crafts – wearing my “Be Kind” t-shirt and teaching of Jesus love – not judging – tell the story of the dog and the man – and the clean up – grumble grumble yet we are called to SHOW LOVE when no one is watching – only the Lord. (see the post previous)… Remember that sermon we talked about of MLK JR about dimming the headlights – someone has to have sense to reduce the hate… SO YES, the pouring of Jesus into us and into a situation – SHOW LOVE.
My next VBS SLIDE: SHOW LOVE – yes we can show love by giving gifts and food and care – but wow imagine giving JESUS GIVING HIMSELF? and I want to wrap up my sermon with this image from VBS – Jesus gave of HIMSELF by dying and rising – but LOOK AT THE MACRO VIEW OF THE ultimate giving of Jesus – HE SHARED HIS OWN SELF IN THE WORD – JESUS IS THE BIBLE – JESUS IS THE SCRIPTURE AND THE FULFILLMENT OF THAT – WOW – Imaging us now sharing HIS WORD and the GOOD NEWS. We share it by the love that we show ourselves – I always remember what my friend said to me – “you are the only bible most people will open up and read’ – because people read our actions… YES! Show to Love to point to Jesus.
This image is the first time little camper (maybe 7yrs?), opened the new dollar store bible from a treat bag at the end of VBS – on Monday he said he would ask at home if they had a bible – (and Grandma on Friday said he did ask) – that bible was at the home and not at this vacation home for the week. Well, on Friday, I saw His immense JOY – the JESUS JOY JUMPING INSIDE OF HIM – and asked my friend to quick grab the photo – imagine the gift of people getting to know Jesus immensely themselves – sharing the Good News with others… a JOY of Jesus SHOWING HIS LOVE by helping us learn about HIM.
Jesus reminds us to keep working on showing the Love – and to attribute it to Him – maybe that bumper magnet should say: “Jesus is Coming – Everyone SHOW my LOVE”
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LEAD CLOSING PRAYER – Lord, Keep Showing us the WAY – Help us to KEEP SHOWING THE LOVE by letting YOUR LOVE shine – and let us see a glimpse of the seeds we spread – but either way Lord, keep us SHOWING LOVE – Lord Help us to SHINE and live Your LIGHT by LOVING… AMEN
Debbie Upper 