Beach Life - Selfless Service
Throughout this “Beach Life” series, we will explore Jesus' mission and values and how he calls us to follow him and make his mission and values our own.
We kicked off this series by discussing the Mission of Beach Church. Our mission is to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.
Our Mission is the reason we exist. Our five guiding values guide us in fulfilling our mission. At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus invited men to follow him and learn from him. He showed his disciples the way to live.
1 John 2:6 (NLT2)
Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.
Our Guiding Values are rooted in Jesus's life. The more we allow these guiding values to shape our character, the more effective we will be in leading people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.
Our Guiding Values are:
Life-Changing Truth
Transparent Living
Uncomfortable Grace
Captivating Celebration
Selfless Service
The Life Changing truth of the Word of God begins to change a person. They embrace the value of transparent living and understand when they share their wins, sins, and struggles, they find accountability.
That leads to Uncomfortable Grace. We show grace so powerfully, its unusual and a bit uncomfortable when we first begin to demonstrate it.
And, that leads to Captivating Celebration. We celebrate forgiveness, honesty, and reconciliation. That life of celebration centered on Christ leads us to our final guiding value: Selfless Service. Today, we are going to talk about our fifth guiding value:
Selfless Service
FOLLOWERS OF JESUS BEST DEMONSTRATE LOVE TO OTHERS THROUGH ACTS OF KINDNESS AND SERVICE.
Love is best demonstrated through our ACTIONS, not through our words. If you love somebody, you show them that you love them by doing things for them. If you are married, you show your spouse you love them by serving them and doing nice things for them. You go out of your way to show them how much you care for them.
And if you are a follower of Jesus…by that, I mean …you believe that God created you. You believe that you were separated from God because of your sin. You believe that Jesus paid the price for your sin when he died for you on the cross. You believe that Jesus rose from the dead, went into heaven, and will return one day. And because you believe, you surrendered your life to Jesus and received forgiveness for your sin.
Then, you try to live out the greatest command: to Love God with all your heart. You strive to love your neighbor as yourself.
The entire life of Jesus demonstrates God's love for us, but one story stands out among all his miracles and teachings.
Let’s read together.
John 13:1-17 (NLT2)
Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. 2 It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him. 6 When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.” 8 “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!” Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.” 9 Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!” 10 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.” 11 For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.” 12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16 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. 17 Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.
I am willing to bet that the last time you entered a friend's house, you may have taken off your shoes—or offered to take them off. I am also willing to bet that your friend did not grab a bucket of sudsy water and wash your feet.
In order for us to fully appreciate the significance of Jesus washing His disciples' feet, we need to understand the historical context. In Jesus' time, people wore sandals and walked long distances on dusty, dirty roads. But people were not the only living things that traveled those roads. Goats. Horses. Donkeys and livestock traveled the roads as well. And, I have never seen a potty-trained horse. When a horse has to “go,” they “go.”
They don’t get embarrassed, and they don’t care who is watching. In Jesus’ day, the roads were filled with horse and livestock filth. Sandals had a single leather strap for the toes, and a leather strap around the heel. So, feet were disgusting: Caked in mud, dirt, and who knows what else.
So, because feet were so filthy when guests entered a home, the host provided water, and the least important servant would wash their feet. (That lowly servant also had to remove human waste from the house as well.)
So, understand the significance of Jesus's act. Jesus took on the role of the lowest servant because,
DOING THE HARD DEMONSTRATES LOVE
We often don’t mind serving others when it is easy. We can let others in line in front of us at the grocery store or wave them into our lane of traffic. But, if strong winds knocked over your neighbor's trash can on trash day, and a bag had opened and was being spread around, would you go out of your way to demonstrate love, do the hard, straighten up their can, and pick up the trash?
We demonstrate real love when we choose to do the hard things for others.
When your neighbor’s dog is missing, you could go out of your way to help them find it.
When your neighbor’s grass is too high, you can go out of your way to cut it.
Selfless service often does the hard things that other people do not want to do. Jesus washing His disciples' feet was hard physically and emotionally. Jesus washed the feet of all 12 of his disciples, including Judas, whom he knew would betray him.
So, the neighbor that has hurt you in the past? Demonstrate love to them.
The neighbor who has called HOA on you for painting your front door the wrong color? Bake some cookies for them.
Washing the disciples' feet was gross, but it wasn’t physically demanding…(Unless they smelled.) The “hard” part was the emotional hard part: washing the feet of the man Jesus loved and invited to follow him, who betrayed him for a little cash. We selflessly serve our neighbor when we do the hard, physically or emotionally. Next, it is important to understand that…
SELFLESS SERVING IS A LIFESTYLE, NOT AN EVENT
Peter could not believe that Jesus would stoop to such a lowly position and do the work that the lowest of the servants did.
John 13:6-7 (NLT2)
6 When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”
Jesus wanted Peter to understand that serving is a lifestyle, not an event. Serving others should be a way of life for each of us. Doing the hard things others do not want to do should be how we live. If we truly do want to become like Jesus to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus, we must understand that serving is part of our new nature because God is love, and love is best demonstrated through acts of kindness and service.
It wasn’t just this example of washing feet that proved Jesus loves us.
And it wasn’t just his willingness to pay the price for our sins that proves he loves us.
The entire life of Jesus is an example of selfless service.
The Apostle Paul wrote this to followers of Jesus:
Philippians 2:5-8 (NLT2)
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Jesus was a servant long before he washed the disciples' feet. Jesus was a servant long before he paid the price for sin. In fact, there never was a time when Jesus was not, in his nature, a servant.
Hebrews 13:8 (NLT2)
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
If Jesus poured out his life to demonstrate God’s love to us, then Jesus is still a servant today. In fact, even now, Jesus is taking the form of a servant, and he is praying for you and me:
Romans 8:34 (NLT2)
…Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
Hebrews 7:25 (NLT2)Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.
So, if you want to live your life like Jesus, learn to live like a servant to everybody. And finally,
SELFLESS SERVING LEADS TO BLESSING
John 13:15-17 (NLT2)
I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16 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. 17 Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.
Selfless serving leads to Blessing. Can you imagine what the disciples thought when Jesus told them this? Out of the thirteen men there that evening, Jesus was the most important. They knew him as “Teacher,” but the universe knew Him as Creator. They knew him as “Rabbi,” but the Angels knew him as The Promised Messiah. They knew him as the one who held the keys to life and death in his hands.
So, why didn’t one of the disciples serve the others first? It was customary for the Jewish people to have a servant to clean guests' feet, so in the absence of a servant, why didn’t one of the disciples get up and wash their feet? The topic of dirty feet must have come up because the disciples were arguing with each other over who the most important follower of Jesus was.
During supper that evening…
Luke 22:24 (NLT2)
Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them.
The disciples refused to wash each other’s feet because they wanted to portray themselves as the greatest. I am sure they were talking trash to each other and saying things like, “You wash our feet; I’m too important.” Then, Jesus rises. Takes off his robe and proceeds to wash all their feet. Then he says, “When you live your life as a servant to others, you will be blessed.”
The disciples must have felt so dumb at this moment. They argued about who would be the greatest, and “the Greatest” washed their feet.
If you want to be blessed, live your life “washing the feet” of others.
If you want to be blessed, do the hard things others won’t.
If you want to be blessed, prove to the world you are a follower of Jesus by doing kind things.