Gospel of John - The Full Extent of His Love - Part 2

       

The Full Extent of His Love - Part 2

John 13:6:18

 

Last week, Jesus’ love was demonstrated in humility, he now brings the next extent of the fullness of his love in the importance of emptying himself in order for God to use you. Let’s begin with the first portion of the text, “He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.”

Peter in typical fashion is full of himself. I’m the lead disciple, the rock, I walked on water, and I was the first to call Jesus the Christ. Peter’s hubris was glowing, and he didn’t want Jesus to wash his feet, and his “No” didn’t sit well with Jesus. Jesus told him, “Peter unless I wash you, you have no part in me.” But Peter in his pride wants to go the whole nine yards with the flesh. “Not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” 

Jesus’ response to Peter’s response was you are already clean. Peter’s faith in Jesus put him first, but Peter hadn’t learned to empty himself of himself.

Application - The church is talking about the need for revival. We talk about events and programs, we talk about connections and community awareness, we all agree Jesus is Lord and he wants us to evangelize and disciple. Pastors come up with inventive and inspiring topical sermons on just about every aspect of revival. But like the disciples sitting around the table, we have not seen our real need. The church began in an upper room, the same room where the disciples had their feet washed, and the same room where they had the Passover meal. Through the death and resurrection of the Savior, Jesus Christ, they had gone through a transformation. All of their hubris, expectations, and selfish desires of the sinful nature needed to be emptied out. In order for the fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit, there was no place for the past. They were new creations. They devoted their time to prayer, the lessons and the testimony of Jesus, and the promise of the Holy Spirit. Here was revival! As 120 hungry disciples emptied themselves, God sent his promise, and they exploded with power, praise, and were made full to overflowing with the River of Life. The new Peter now filled with the Holy Spirit and power, speaking in a tongue that 3000+ visitors from foriegn countries understood, here was revival, and it began in an upper room of people who emptied themselves so that God could fill them.

Last, Jesus doesn’t identify Judas in front of the rest of the disciples, but identifies that one is not clean. We will look at this later. Jesus really wanted the disciples to grasp the need for them to yield to service to God. Let’s look at the rest of the text, “For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

“Do you understand what I have done for you?” Jesus being a great teacher, begins with a leading question. The disciples were probably perplexed, but knew Jesus always gave an explanation to his cryptic lessons. He begins with their roles. The disciples had no problem making Jesus the leader, for it was obvious. But when it came to themselves, they were still arguing over who was the greatest (Lk. 22:24-30)  Even with the object lesson of washing their feet, they didn’t understand they were to empty themselves of their pride, selfish ambitions, sinful nature, expectations in order to be the vessel in which Holy Spirit would fill up. This was the lesson that Jesus wanted the disciples to emulate and make manifest to others. 

Here was the seal of understanding, “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” The rubber never meets the road without the doing of what you have been taught.

Application - I’ve been very sick the last two weeks, and I have spent time praying and his Word when my mind wasn’t foggy. It wasn’t till I was studying for this lesson and in tears, did I understand the greater need, I needed to empty myself. It was then my fever broke, and the gift of healing by the Holy Spirit began.

 My heart and soul grieves for the church. Older saints recall the revivals, the new ones are not even sure what revival is, and never experienced the infilling of the Holy Spirit. What are we doing in the churches today? I call myself pentecostal, but in my observation of the church today, I don’t see the power of the fresh infilling of God’s Spirit spoken of by Apostle Paul (Acts1:8, 2:1-4, 5:32, 10:34-46, 19:1-6), nor is there much manifestation of the Holy Spirit in service. Paul taught that the gifts were not just the church's private use, but to be used in the marketplace to reach souls. 

The Apostle Paul in Philippi, spoke to the believers and unbelievers about how Jesus emptied himself to come and serve us, and referred back to Jesus telling of the blessing of doing.  “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant,being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man,  he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! (Phil.2:5-8)

Please, Today, let us get on our knees, and humble ourselves, and turn from our wicked ways (pride, sin acts, hubristic knowledge, the mimicking of the world's ways in order to see  God’s face and the healing, and the infilling of the Holy Spirit, so we can experience the revival of Holiness and watch God fill us afresh to overflowing.

 

I’m again including the ABC’s of salvation (JD Farag). Please, Jesus, God the Son, came to this world to save all who would believe and trust in him. He desires to reveal himself to you, He is the Light that overcomes the darkness of this lawless world. He hears your prayers, and all authority in heaven and earth have been given to him. He will answer you if you will truly believe. If you haven’t asked him to be your Lord and Savior, today could be that day.

 First, A - Admit that you are a sinner. This is where that godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance for sinning against a righteous God and there is a change of heart, we change our mind and God changes our hearts and regenerates us from the inside out. Romans 3:10 - As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (We are all born sinners which is why we must be born spiritually in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven). Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The bad news is that the wages of sin is death, in other words our sin means that we have been given a death sentence, we have the death penalty hanging over our heads, that's the bad news. But here's the good news: The good news is that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Second,

 B - Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is trusting with all of your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was. Romans 10:9-10 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Third, 

C - Call upon the name of the Lord. Every single person who ever lived since Adam will bend their knee and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Romans 14:11 - For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." Don't wait until later — do this now. Romans 10:13 - For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." "O God, I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sin. I want to turn from my sin. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son; I believe that He died on the cross for my sin and that He was buried and You raised Him to life. I have decided to place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior, trusting only in His shed blood as sufficient to save my soul and to take me to heaven. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me. Amen."

Please share this with someone this week, the Lord knows that we and they need it.

If you would like other lessons, please go to http://pmdinhisservice.blogspot.com 

Until next week, In His Service Mike Davis

I am developing a new webpage on Spiritual warfare. Please give it a look. I’m adding answers each week to questions that pertain to our time today.  Thank you

http://uss-warfare3.webnode.com