The sermon titled 'Jesus is Teaching: Self-Sacrificing Love' by Jason Dohm explores John 13:1-17, where Jesus washes His disciples' feet. This act, performed by Jesus right before His crucifixion, serves as a powerful example of self-sacrificing love and humility. The sermon underscores the necessity of viewing this act through the lens of love, emphasizing that Jesus' ultimate expression of love is His sacrifice on the cross. The act of foot washing symbolizes spiritual cleansing, highlighting the need for believers to seek forgiveness for ongoing sins. It also illustrates the broader call to serve one another self-sacrificially. The sermon argues that such service is not merely an option but an inescapable duty for followers of Christ. It challenges believers to emulate Jesus' humility, serving others in ways that may go unnoticed or unappreciated, thereby cultivating a mindset of self-sacrificing love. Furthermore, the sermon stresses the importance of not only learning these truths but actively applying them in daily life, warning against the dangers of learning without change. It concludes by encouraging believers to identify practical opportunities to serve others humbly, echoing the call to embody Christ's example in everyday interactions.

Today is John chapter 13 verses 12 through 17. I'll begin reading in verse 1 to capture the context from the last two weeks. John 13 beginning in verse 1. 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've 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've 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. Let's pray.

Father, I do pray that you would help us now to to look to the example of Christ and that you would help us Lord not to not to hear this teaching and to walk away as hearers only God but that we would be doers of your word that we would be blessed as those who understand and who also do I pray that you would help us to be more like Christ and grow us in that today that you would open our minds that we may understand your word now. Please help us. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Please be seated.

The title of the sermon this morning is Jesus is Teaching Self-sacrificing service. Verses 1-17 is a single unit, meaning that there is one occurrence, Jesus washing the feet of the disciples. So you have this one physical act, but it's a symbolic act. It's a figurative act that Jesus is using as a teaching tool, an instrument to teach His disciples two great truths. We've actually broken this single unit into three parts because there is so much richness and content here.

The first was just to look at verse 1, all by its lonesome, which said that Jesus having loved his own in this world, loved them to the end. Love is the context for the whole unit of verses 1-17. So if you don't see each part of this through the lens of love, you end up with a distorted view that gives you a wrong sense of what it really is. We just keep looking through the lens of love and we'll get it right. It's not coincidental that verse 1 also contains a reference to the Passover.

Why is that not coincidental? Because the Passover, Jesus is fulfilling the Passover. He's going to the cross, He's shedding His blood to make things right between sinners and a holy God. The Passover and what the Passover really is, which is Jesus' atoning work, is the great expression of His love. There are many, many, many expressions of the love of Jesus Christ.

But above them all, far and away above them all, is His work for us on the cross. Nothing expresses the love of Jesus Christ for his people like his work on the cross. So we started there. The context of it all is love. Then last week we looked at verses 2 through 11.

We had sort of a similar sermon title last week. The sermon title last week was Jesus' Teaching Spiritual Cleansing. Jesus in this exchange with Peter is telling us two things. One, you need to be washed from head to toe. But once you've been washed from head to toe, you don't do that again and again and again.

This is a once for all time washing. His blood is so cleansing that he cleanses you through and through Your past sins, your current sins, your future sins accounted for in what He did on the cross. But there is something else as well that Christians, even when they have had that washing that in a sense makes them completely sinless, completely clean from our sins, we actually do continue to sin. And we need to apply to the Lord for fresh mercy, to put it in the words of 1 John 1.9. We are to confess our sins because He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

So as Jesus taught us to pray, we go to the Lord and ask Him to forgive us our trespasses, to forgive us of our sins. Daily we should be doing this every day applying for fresh mercy because in this world with the world of flesh and the devil there's always pressure on us. We are making compromises. We are sinning and we need to be cleansed from all unrighteousness. Jesus does that from us.

So last week's text was really about the narrow sense of the foot washing. I say it's a narrow sense because you can't come to me for cleansing and I can't go to you for cleansing. We go to Jesus Christ for cleansing. In that sense, the foot washing is figurative, representative, symbolic of something that is reduced to only Jesus being able to provide. That's the narrow sense.

This week is the broad sense. There is something broad that Jesus is teaching by washing his disciples' feet, which is that we should serve each other in a self-sacrificing way. So we've moved from the narrow sense, only Jesus can cleanse, to the broad sense, we should serve each other in the way that Jesus is picturing when he washes the disciples feet. So as we come to the text, let's ask the Lord to help us. Our God, here we are, come to your word again, so happy to be under the authority of it.

Oh, let us be under the authority of your word, happily hearing from you, desiring to not just hear but to obey you. God, we have so freely received. I pray that out of that great reservoir, having received so much grace from you that we would freely give as our Lord teaches. Help us, help us Lord. Send your Spirit to move us, we pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

Normally I would subdivide the text. We'll have a lot of the text in the sermon, but I'm not going to subdivide in that way this morning. I'm going to try to draw out what I believe are the three main truths of these verses. So here is number one. The inescapable necessity of self-sacrificing service for one another.

So if you're working off the handout, you're filling in blanks, there's only one blank, it's inescapable. The inescapable, you cannot get away from it, necessity of self-sacrificing service for one another. This is what Jesus is calling us to in this text, and there is no wiggling out of it. You cannot escape it. It is a necessity.

It is not optional for the Lord's people. It is being pressed upon us as an inescapable necessity. Jesus had washed the feet of His disciples. The implication is all the disciples, Peter the impetuous one, John the disciple who Jesus loved, Judas his betrayer, and everyone in between. I think that is the implication, is that he has washed the feet of all twelve of the disciples.

He's taken up his garments again and he's taken his place at the table. The NASB translates it most literally saying reclined again. Probably they're not sitting in chairs. Almost certainly they're not sitting in chairs. They're reclining on low couches more on that next week.

But that's just a placeholder for next week. I think the NASB renders it helpfully. He reclined again at the table. And he asked them this question, Do you know what I have done to you? Why is he asking that question?

Because he wants to explain to them. He knows they probably don't fully understand what he has done to them. So he's opening up the conversation in order to teach and explain what they've just been a witness to. It's so clear from last week's text that Peter didn't understand. Jesus says, you don't understand now, but you will understand.

So now he's fulfilling that by explaining it to them. Look at verse 13. Jesus says, You call me teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. So as Jesus begins to explain this act that he's just performed, washing all of their feet. He brings them to the truth about the two things that they call him.

The disciples call him two things. They call him teacher. In the New Testament, this is exclusively used as one who teaches the things of God and the duties of man. So this is not a math teacher. You call me teacher.

I teach things to you. Whatever subject, I'm an imparter of things you need to know. This is much more narrow and specific than that in the New Testament usage. It means one who teaches the things of God. Truth about God.

You get truth about God from me. You call me teacher in this sense, and the duties of man and how you are to relate to this God. Secondly, Lord, listen to what the lexicon says is the precise meaning of this word that is rendered Lord. He to whom a person belongs, about which he has power of deciding. So two parts to this.

If I'm your Lord, you belong to me. Or if you are my Lord, I belong to you. And the second part being, you have the power of deciding. If you are my Lord, I don't decide for me, you decide for me, and I act according to your interests and what you have decided. You call me the one who you learn truth about God and how you are to relate to God.

That's how you view me. And you call me the one to whom you belong who has the power of deciding for you." Jesus affirms that he is rightly acknowledged as both. You say well for so I am. You are right about that. I am your teacher.

You do get pure truth about God and how you ought to relate to God from me. You are right. Correct. And You are right about that. You belong to me and I have the power to decide for you.

Think about how broad ranging that is. What is not collected up in those two things? You're the source of all truth about God and man's duties towards God and you own me. That pretty much takes care of things. Just think of all that is wrapped up in those two titles.

Teacher and Lord. And Jesus says, write and write. You say well for so I am. What follows the establishment of this truth is inescapable logic. So he's going to reason in a way that I can't wiggle out of.

The logic is this. If the teacher and the Lord sees fit to stoop down and forego his rightful claim to being served, his learners must learn to do likewise. That's the logic here. That's the logic that you can't escape here. If the one that you get pure truth about God and how we ought to relate to God, and the one who owns you and has the power to decide for you, sees fit to stoop down and to forgo his rightful place of being served in order to set that aside and serve instead, Then if you're his disciple, a disciple is just a word that means pupil, or student, or learner.

If you're a learner of someone like that, then you must learn to do likewise. The whole point in being a disciple is to become like the master, is to be like the teacher. So you have to learn that. If he sees fit to stoop down and do that, then you have to learn to stoop down and do that. Jesus says, You also ought to wash one another's feet.

The word here that's rendered, ought, you ought to wash one another's feet, literally means to owe, to be in debt for. You have a debt to do this for one another. Not a suggestion, a duty. Not a nice to have, but something that is essential if you are really a learner of a master like this. By taking this master, by becoming the property of this one, who has now the right to decide for you, you are taking on a debt to others to act likewise.

Now friends, how can you deny Jesus's logic? On What basis are you going to contradict Jesus' logic? If He is so exalted as the Lord of Heaven who is Almighty God, maker of heaven and earth, all things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made, right back to the beginning of John. If He was co-equal with Father and Spirit in eternity past, and deserving the worship of 10, 000 times 10, 000 angels, every one of them greater than a man, we are created a little lower than the angels, God in heaven is worshiped by billions of these creatures unendingly, unceasingly in heaven. If he would say, I think I'll set that aside and come and subject myself to taking on the form of a bond servant and even become obedient to the point of death, even the shameful excruciating disgraceful death of the cross, what does that mean for my learners?

What does that mean for my learners? What does that mean for my learners? What will you set aside? You won't set aside worship of billions of angelic beings unceasing, unending. You set that aside to do something, a humbling service.

The logic is unbreakable. The logic is intense, strong, inescapable. How can you shrink back if Jesus did not shrink back? If Jesus didn't stay in heaven with the claims that he had a right to, rightful claims, then how can you shrink back? To what service would you say, that is beneath me, if the Son of God took on the form of a bond servant and did this symbolic act of washing the dirty, sweaty feet of his disciples.

Which service would you say this is beneath me? Look at verse 16. Most assuredly I say to you, again this is the Double Amen at the beginning. If you looked at transliteration of the Greek, you would see, Amen, Amen, I say to you. So he's pointing out what I'm getting ready to say is of utmost importance.

Amen, amen, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. Again, inescapable logic. The servant is never greater than the master. The one who is sent is never greater than the one who sends. Or as Jesus says in Luke chapter 6 verse 40, Jesus says, A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.

So almost the same words as is in our text, a disciple is not above his teacher, That's almost exactly the words of verse 16. But in Luke 640, Jesus says this, everyone who is perfectly trained, in other words, trained All the way, trained to a point of maturity, will be like his teacher. That's the object between a master, a teacher, and his disciples. He's pulling his learners up to his level. That's the objective.

When you are perfectly trained, you are like your teacher. That was the whole point of being the learner. So this is actually a great test of how your growth in grace and knowledge is going. How is it going? You want to know how it is going?

Well, Jesus sets this forth as a great test of how your growth is going. That's what we get from Peter at the end of his second epistle. Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. How do I know if that's happening? More of this or less of this?

Any of this? This is a great test. Self-sacrificing service. Humbling yourself to serve in the way that Jesus models as he washes the disciples feet is a great way to understand to what degree we're making progress in the faith. Are we growing in grace?

Are we growing in the knowledge of Jesus? Notice, this is not just service. Our text goes so far beyond serve people. This is not just service. This is self-sacrificing service.

It is a service that costs, Costly service. How would we characterize Jesus' washing of the disciples' feet? Well, it's private, it's humbling, it's for people who could never return the favor. It's private, not public. Not Jesus in front of the multitudes, Jesus with the crowds, Jesus among the people.

This is just Jesus and his 12 disciples. Have you ever served in a way that enhanced your reputation? Everyone has done that. Is it wrong to do that? No, it's not wrong to do that.

But that's not what Jesus is talking about. There are some times that you serve and people say, wow, what a great lady. What a great guy! Well, this is not what Jesus has in mind here. Again, I'm not railing against public service.

But what Jesus is doing is private service. It's humbling. It's not exalting. Have you ever served in a way that used your unique gifts and talents where people said, wow. That service that was rendered, we'd have had a hard time finding anyone else that could do that.

There's nothing wrong with that, but the whole point of the foot washing is that not only could anyone do it, you would push this down to the lowest level. I don't know about you, I like to serve at the highest levels of my competency. Just feel like It's a good use of my gifts. I like to serve in that way. And, you know, if I happen to get a little praise on the side, what's the harm in that?

Well, not necessarily anything, but again, what is Jesus modeling and what is Jesus talking about? Jesus could have, and I'm sure did serve His disciples in a thousand ways that no one else could. He was the Son of God. Anyone could have washed their feet. And a normal Jew, if they could have afforded it, would have paid to have that done by a Gentile.

This is just from last week's sermon. That's one of the things that came out in my study of that. Jews tried not to have other Jews doing this. This is not fitting for the people of God. If you can, you hire a Gentile.

If not, you push it down to sort of the lowest level in the household. You have somebody young and inconsequential do that kind of work. So this is private, not public. Humbling, not exalting, not using the best of your gifts and abilities, but a willingness to go and do dirty jobs. And for people who could never return the favor.

Have you ever served people who were very able to advance your interests? This is not a condemnation of that. Sometimes it's entirely appropriate to serve people who can advance your interest. But just understand, that's not what Jesus is doing here. Jesus knows the hour.

He's crucified 24 hours from now. This is not a favor that's going to get called in. This is not a favor to be called in. These are not the kind of people who could add anything to Jesus. This is what we know about His disciples.

Jesus is washing the feet of Judas. Talk about loving your enemies. Judas is hours away from leading his enemies to apprehend him. Jesus is washing His feet. So the criteria can't be, will the person who needs my service respond with gratitude?

You know what? They're never even thankful for it, why do I bother?" Well, suffice it to say, Jesus bothered. Jesus bothered to serve people in the most humble ways who would never thank him and who could never advance his interest. Not saying it's inherently wrong to do other kinds of service, but I'm saying the kind of service in view in our text is self-sacrificing service. In addition to any of the other kinds of service, we must be willing to do this, the self-sacrificing things, the kinds of service that cost you something.

It does not enhance your reputation. People don't even know about it. And it doesn't use the best and highest of your skills and your gifts, it's dirty work. And it's for people who might never say thank you and are not in a position to advance your interests in any way. So that's one, the inescapable necessity of self-sacrificing service for one another.

Two, the parable of the eye, parable to the eye as Matthew Henry puts it an example to follow. So if you're filling in blanks on the outline example fills in the blank. Matthew Henry looks at this text and calls it a parable to the eye. What is a parable? It's words, It's a story that paints a picture in your brain.

The parable teller is trying to stamp an image on your brain with the use of words to teach you a great truth, to really press home a central truth. When Matthew Henry looks at what Jesus does when he washes the disciples feet, and he calls it a parable to the eye. You watch that and it burns an image on your brain that you'll never forget and it teaches you about self-sacrificing service to one another. This is an example to follow. Jesus is doing something that he wants to become a pattern in the lives of all of his people.

Look at verse 15. For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you. Paul picks up exactly on this flow of thought in Philippians chapter 2. I'm too embarrassed to quote it again because we've been quoting it every Sunday. Philippians chapter 2 is about Jesus leaving heaven to take on the form of a bond servant and to become obedient to even the death of the cross.

But that section begins with these words let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. So Paul is doing in Philippians 2 exactly what Jesus is doing here. He is pointing to the incarnation and Jesus though he had the right to equality with God, setting aside the rights to the worship that he deserved to take on the form of a slave and to serve mankind by going to the cross. And Paul says, you think like that. You think like that.

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Acquire His mind so you can acquire His patterns. Acquire His thoughts so you can acquire His actions. This is about mindset, orientation of thoughts. Jesus wasn't a grasper in his thoughts.

He wasn't grasping a hold of everything he had a right to. He was willing to lay aside his rights for grander purposes. So we are being taught to think like that so that we can act like that. Until we learn to think this way, we will never learn to act this way. So you look at Christ and you say, okay, I have to retrain my thoughts because my natural thoughts are to grab a hold of anything I have a right to or have a logical claim to.

Natural inclination. If I have a logical claim to it, I'm laying hold of that. Jesus and Paul are both saying that your natural inclinations have to be put aside for new thoughts, new ways. My thoughts are higher than your thoughts. My ways are higher than your ways.

You need to stop thinking like you're thinking and doing like you're doing and start thinking like Christ, the mind of Christ. It's as if Jesus is saying, get this picture stuck in your mind. Get this picture. Here I am washing your feet one by one by one through all twelve. Never forget this.

Get this picture stamped on your mind. What a shock this must have been to their systems. This is the same week as the triumphal entry. Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, probably hundreds of thousands of people thundering praises.

And we are the special friends. We are the special friends. It's happening. The kingdom is coming. We are the special friends of the King!" Now Jesus is resetting expectations.

What a shock to the system. The same week as the triumphal entry. Okay, I'm the King, I'll wash your feet, you do likewise. I do think an element of this is humbly helping one another be free from sin. So I do think it has a level of connection with last week.

Last week was about spiritual cleansing. Only Jesus can do that. And yet, do we have a role in one another's life in helping each other be free from sin. Of course we do. Listen to Galatians 6, 1 and 2.

Galatians 6, 1 and 2. Paul writes, Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. Can you see how that fits with what Jesus is giving us a pattern for as He washes the feet of His disciples? If a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a sin in a spirit of gentleness.

Have you ever tried that and it just comes out all wrong and you come off as so self-righteous? To do it in a spirit of gentleness is a real trick. That's what we're called to. This certainly fits well with the context. We should humble ourselves to help each other be free from sin.

Going in a spirit of gentleness to help get untangled. We need to help each other be untangled from our sins. We play that role in each other's lives. This is a way in which we fulfill the command to wash one another's feet. That's symbolic.

Now there is a debate that extends throughout church history, and you might not even be aware of it if you haven't come into contact with one of these traditions. But the debate is this, is this a third ordinance? Baptism? Got it. Lord's Supper?

Got it. Foot washing? There are traditions that go all the way back to the earliest times in the church which claim this as a third ordinance. So you can find it in any century of church history, groups of people who believe that this should be practiced as a third ordinance. Most in church history have concluded no.

Baptism is everywhere. It's in all of the gospels, it's in Acts, it's in most of the epistles. The Lord's Supper is in Matthew, Mark, Luke. It's commanded with great clarity in 1 Corinthians 11. There are other examples when you look at how the breaking of bread is used.

If you do the comparison, you go a lot of places and say, yeah, the breaking of bread here in many places in the New Testament is actually talking about a celebration of Lord's Supper. So it's pervasive. It's across the New Testament. Foot washing is only in John, and there's not a single example of it outside of John as being done. So most Take that fact that it's only in John and there's no example of it being done after the Gospels.

Most have concluded that this is what Matthew Henry takes it to be, which is a parable to the eye. It's supposed to stamp an image on your mind that teaches you a fundamental truth. Here's what the Expositors Bible commentary says. Verse 15 does not say that the disciples should do what Jesus had done, but as He had done. It is the spirit of the act that is to be followed.

In other words, act in like manner. Act consistent with Jesus' washing of the disciples' feet. As Jesus self-sacrificially served, laid aside His rights to be served, if anyone in the room should have been served, and had His feet washed, it was Jesus. He laid that aside and did the washing. So go and do likewise.

Foot washing was a frequent, necessary occurrence in that hot, dusty climate where you weren't riding, you were walking. Let me say that again. Foot washing was a necessary, common occurrence, frequent occurrence in that hot, dusty climate where you were walking in open-toed shoes, not riding. To do it today is to risk doing something that is just external. Here's what I'm saying.

Here's what I'm not saying. It's wrong to ever do this as a symbolic act. I am not saying it is wrong to do this as a symbolic act. What I am saying is, you are not doing exactly the same thing as Jesus was doing. The disciples had had had had their feet washed that week, maybe that day before Jesus did, and they had their feet washed again that week, and maybe that day after Jesus did.

It was a common, frequent need. And The danger is that you would turn it into something that is just external. For instance, on March 30th of this year, the Pope washed the feet of 12 prisoners in Rome. He went into the prison and he washed their feet, twelve of them, perfect number, just like the disciples. Google it.

When you Google it, you'll get the pictures. So the cameras were rolling. Cameras were rolling. Every angle that can be had with a camera and a foot and a pope was captured in the prison in Rome. He even kissed their feet.

The pope was more Jesus than Jesus. The Pope likes to be more Jesus than Jesus, actually. He's pouring out of a golden pitcher into a golden basin. Do you understand? This is exactly the opposite of what Jesus was doing.

It was a photo-op. It was a shameful photo-op. In the article, it's called the foot washing ritual. It happens every year around Easter, the washing of the feet. What Jesus did was not instituting a ritual.

It was not ritualistic. They had a need, They had dirty feet. Their feet needed washing. He washed their feet. Even though in the pecking order, he was the last one in the room who would have been washing the feet.

A final word in this section. What is the example? I do believe it's figurative and it comes from verse 14. You also ought to wash one another's feet. Ok, I got it.

So it's figurative. So maybe I won't literally wash their feet, but I'll find ways to self-sacrificingly serve others. I got it. Ready to move on. There's something implied here that is easy to skim over and miss.

There are two ends of this. There's two ends of this. There's a hand and a foot. Someone is self-sacrificially serving, and someone is receiving the self-sacrificial service. Now remember from last week, Peter recoiled from this.

Peter said, you'll never wash my feet. In the Greek it's something like, through the end of eternity you will never wash my feet. You'll never ever ever ever wash my feet." He recoiled from the idea. I submit to you that we all have some level of this impulse to recoil from it. In Peter's case, when you drilled down, when you dug down into it, on the surface it looked like humility, but when you dug down it was actually pride that had him recoiling.

He was smarter than Jesus. So up here it looked like humble Peter. I just can't bear to have you wash my feet. You're so exalted and I'm so lowly. But under here, right at the heart of it was, I'm smarter than you.

I know what should happen here. You don't. There is a sneaky form of humble pride to watch out for. So deceitful, Pride is so deceitful. It will cloak itself in humility to gain a foothold in your heart.

There is this sneaky form of humble pride. You can be proud of your humility, proud of how you are always the one serving. Never can you bring yourself to receive the self-sacrificing service. Self-sacrificing service. So let me say this, especially if you're one of those, cultivate this phrase.

So by the way, let me explain further. When I say one of those, I'm not accusing you. Ah, I might be, but I'm not necessarily accusing you. If you accuse you, That's okay. I'm not accusing you.

By one of those, I mean someone who finds it really hard to receive self-sacrificing service. So there's multiple reasons why that might be the case. Some of them condemn you, some of them don't condemn you. I'm not sorting that out or accusing anyone of anything. I'm just saying, if you're one of those who finds it really difficult to be on the receiving end of self-sacrificing service, cultivate this phrase.

Thank you. Thank you so much. Not. But you're busy too. But I can take care of it for myself.

No, this phrase. Thank you. Thank you so much. Be willing to receive it also. Self-sacrificing service isn't just for a couple of us.

It's being set before us in this text. For all of us, that means that we all have to be willing to render it, but also to receive it. I don't know how the math works if there's not someone who's willing to receive it. That was two, the parable to the eye, an example to follow. Three, The importance of doing what we know.

So if you're taking notes on the handout and filling in blanks. It's doing, know. The importance of doing What we know. Look at our last verse, verse 17. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

If you know them, blessed are you. You will be blessed if you do them. The heartbeat of growth in Christlikeness is changing patterns that come out of what we are learning. Let me say that again. This is really important.

The heartbeat of growth in Christlikeness is changing patterns that come out of what we are learning. You learn, you change. It presupposes that we're learning. So you should never despise learning. We should love, encourage learning.

We should be learning. You can over-evaluate learning if it doesn't come with changing. What was the learning for? For not changing. Jesus wants us to learn so that we change.

It also presupposes that we intend to do something with the learning that we follow through. Christianity is not a faith of learning for the sake of learning. No. It is learning for the sake of changing. It presupposes we intend to do something with what we learn and then follow through.

Of course, the book of James is the place. So turn to James 1. We'll Close the exposition with James Wan. James Wan, I'd like to read 21-25, very familiar territory. James writes, James writes, Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

Your souls, but be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving yourselves. You see verse 22? You're kidding yourself if you just learn but don't do. You're kidding yourself. 23.

If anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror. For he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does." That's just what Jesus says. You'll be blessed. You'll be blessed in the doing of what you heard.

What you heard. Here's the last verse of chapter 4, James 4, 17. Therefore to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. Jesus is saying exactly the same thing. I'm teaching you to do good.

I'm teaching you to render self-sacrificing service costly, sometimes humiliating, humbling service. You ought to do it to one another. You owe each other that debt. To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. Here's what J.C.

Ryle says, Doctrinal orthodoxy without practical love and humility is utterly worthless before God. He's talking about fat heads and skinny hearts. That's what he's talking about. Fat heads, full heads, bursting heads, shriveled up little hearts that won't ever act on what is learned. Doctrinal orthodoxy, getting the Bible stuff exactly right without practical love and humility is utterly worthless before God.

God can see through all that. He already knows the orthodoxy. God's very orthodox. He's very competent with his Bible knowledge, but he sees through into your heart. Friends, there is a great danger in learning without changing.

So we are drowning in the means of grace here. There is a great danger in Learning, learning, hearing, hearing, hearing, hearing, and not changing. But the opposite is also true. There is blessing with learning and changing. If you want more blessing, Maybe here's a great place to start.

Do something with what we're learning. Do something with it. God says He'll bless you. Jesus says He'll bless you. As we act on what we're learning, Jesus says He'll bless us.

James said that too. Applications, I have three. Number one, if we call Jesus teacher and Lord, we are out of options on this one. It is inescapable. Unless you want to call him something that he is not.

Teacher means One who is my source of truth about God and my duty towards God. So if you do more than just call Him that by name, if He really is your source of truth, And if he's your Lord, meaning you say, I belong to you, and I recognize that you have the power of deciding for me. I've relinquished my power of decision for myself. You decide for me. If that's to be anything more than just name only, this is inescapable.

We have to do this. We owe this to one another as a debt because the Master says so. There's no wiggling out of that. Here's how Paul says it in 1 Corinthians 6 verse 20. By the way, I quoted 1 Corinthians 6 last week.

The list of sins and such were some of you, but you were washed. This is what I'm getting ready to quote, it's very shortly after that. You were washed. Then Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 6 verse 20. For you were bought at a price.

Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. You call Him Lord, you say, I belong to you, you have the power of deciding for me, I've relinquished that power over myself, you decide for me. Right on, You are bought at a price. He bought that with his own blood. Therefore, there is a consequence to having been bought by the blood of Jesus Christ.

What is that? That we ought to glorify Him in our body and in our spirit which are God's. This is grounded in Jesus' self-sacrificing service of us. In other words, what's the ground of our self-sacrificing service? His self-sacrificing service.

Matthew 10, 8, freely you have received, freely give. Out of this inexhaustible reservoir of the grace of God that has been lavished upon you, you've received so freely from it, pull from that reservoir, it won't be diminished, and go and do likewise. And go and do likewise. So what is being taught is not that this is earning, what's being taught is that this is responding. Not earning favor with God, certainly not earning heaven, but responding.

He was the initiator. He was the first mover. He was the one who dipped you into this endless reservoir of grace. And now you're just supposed to dispense out of what he's given. Freely you have received, freely give.

Remember, the context is love. The context is love, the context is love, the context is love. The whole point is that this self-sacrificing service isn't to get marks, notches in your belt. These are concrete expressions of love. This is just how we love each other.

Remember, two weeks ago what I said is, if you divorce this from love, you either get a rule that's a weight that you can never get out of under. You never humbly serve enough and you just always feel the weight of it. If you divorce this from love, you either get that or you get self-righteousness. Look at me, I'm humbling myself to serve others. It's that sneaky, humble pride.

It means that we're actually willing to pay a price to love. Number two. Identify an opportunity. Make a plan. Execute the plan.

Just, OK, I'm going to make sure I do this once. Not public, but private. What was the list? It's here somewhere. Not public but private.

Not with my best abilities and my gifts, but the dirty work. Not for someone who can return the favor, but for someone who could possibly advance my interests. So identify an opportunity for that, and make a plan, and then execute the plan, and then ask yourself the question, how can I put myself in the path of that more often, more regularly? How can I Become more like Jesus in this way? This will require some thought.

You know, it would be so much easier if this were just a ritual. It would be so much easier. Then we would know exactly what to do. We could sort of turn it into an organized thing and do it periodically and say, we follow Jesus. You actually have to give some thought to this.

The best I could come up with is cleaning out gutters for somebody who wouldn't tell anybody else. You can do better than that, but it's at least dirty. Cultivate this phrase. Thank you. Don't recoil.

Don't recoil. A lot of times when we recoil, there's actually something not good at the root of that. We have to always be the one serving. No one can ever serve us. There's something not right about that.

God, thank you for your Word. Thank you for your Son who is such a pure fountain of truth about God. For all of us who have repented and believe the gospel, we do belong to you, we are yours. You bought us at a price. You do have the power of deciding for us.

Those of us who have walked with you for a long time are so glad, so glad to be free of our limitations, knowing that you own us and you dispose of us according to your good pleasure. It's always good to us and for us. I Pray that you would help us to learn to be more like your son. So beautiful to see how your son thought and the patterns that flowed out of him because of these thoughts help us to be like him. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

Alright, men, over to you. Well, a few things come to mind. Things come to mind first they'll want to say is