Better Together #4 ~ Humility & Forgiveness John 13:1-15; Hebrews 10:19-25

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1 Better Together #4 ~ Humility & Forgiveness John 13:1-15; Hebrews 10:19-25 [1] Have you ever watched the TV show dirty jobs? Host Mike Rowe is shown doing difficult, strange, and disgusting jobs alongside the folks who do them on a regular basis. Each time I watched the show I couldn t help but be thankful that job isn t my regular occupation and that there are folks willing to do the job. I m curious, what kind of job wouldn t you be caught dead performing? What tops your list? responses What if performing those tasks were the best way to serve the body of Christ? Would you do it?... Jesus would. In fact, he did. One night while Jesus was having supper with his friends, he got up from the table, set aside his outer garment, put on an apron, got down on his knees and began to wash their feet (John 13). You can t get much lower than this! But our Savior, Jesus, the King of the universe, the One who created the sand and the seas, stopped to wash the grit from his disciples feet. In doing so, he modeled another ingredient i essential to our life together = [2] humility. There can be a lot of confusion about humility. It seems like people today tend to equate humility with quietness, submission and thoughts of inadequacy. It s as if we think being humble means we shouldn t have any self-worth and that we need to demote ourselves and downplay our abilities. But I don t think that is what Jesus was modeling for us. I appreciate how the Urban Dictionary defines humility: [3] True humility is to recognize your value and others value while looking up. to serve others and be for their good as well as your own. To be humble is to have a realistic appreciation of your great strengths, but also of your weaknesses.. ii God created each of us with special gifts and abilities. It s okay to recognize God has given us some abilities, that we are good at 1

2 some things. It s also important to know and acknowledge that we are not good at everything and there are people who have strengths in areas where we are weak. God created all of us this way. Our gifts are meant to compliment each other while bringing honor and glory to God. True humility is recognizing your value and others value while looking up. At the same time, we need to hear [4] Paul s words in Romans 12:3: Don t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. (NLT) We need to have an honest assessment of ourselves where we don t become too puffed up, too arrogant, too prideful thinking we re better than we are, or even that we are too good to do things to help others. Stooping low, washing feet, (.other unpleasant jobs.) to lift up another in Christ. Humility is using our God given talents and capabilities to serve others while giving glory and honor to God. It's a balancing act knowing we have value and worth but keeping the focus on God. So how do we practice humility? Let s look closer at the lessons we can find in John 13. iii [5] Humility must be prompted by love What motivated Jesus to reach for the towel and basin? Three words in John 13:1 give the answer He loved them. Love prompted Jesus to willingly bathe filthy feet. Love prompted Jesus to lay down his life on the cross. Love was the reason. Some of us would gladly wash feet, but for all the wrong reasons promotion, recognition, scoring points with God. But real humility goes beyond looking humble. It springs from others-centered love. [6] Humility needs no announcement Notice when Jesus got up from the table, he didn t make any grand announcement about what he was going to do, he just did it. Humility has the greatest impact when it isn t announced. The moment humility calls attention to itself, it stops being humility. 2

3 [7] Humility sees beneath the surface Just before the dinner scene, the disciples had been arguing about who was the greatest and who deserved the seats of honor. Jesus choice of foot washing was a lesson for the disciples in not merely washing away dirt from their feet but scouring the pride from their hearts. They had been competing for position and Jesus saw beneath the surface to see the real problem. The lesson for us is in the importance of taking time to listen to others and making sure we listen to more than what they say. Humility is asking God to make us sensitive to the condition of other s hearts so we can lovingly encourage, advise, instruct, even confront when we detect a deeper need beneath the words. [8] Humility is as comfortable receiving as giving What if we re the ones in need? Peter didn t want Jesus to wash his feet, he didn t want to admit that he was in need. Most of us are like Peter, we don t like to admit we have a need especially in public. It seems to us that having a need is a sign of weakness. But true humility is being honest about both our strengths and our weaknesses and that includes being willing to admit when we need help. [9] Humility is a mark of strength, not weakness As evident in the conversation between Jesus and Peter, the allpowerful God, all-knowing God served with a humble servant s heart. Doing acts of service (especially the unpleasant jobs) is not a sign of weakness but of strength. [10] Finally, Humility must be expressed before Joyful fellowship can come. Jesus finished his task by instructing his followers to demonstrate humility to one another. Wash one another s feet. It s a clear instruction, a command. This is how you are to live at church, at home, at work, at school. Only when we re living what we ve learned will we experience joy. Humility it means stooping low once in a while washing some feet, (..other..) to lift up a brother or sister in Christ. But it s worth it. 3

4 Since worship was cancelled last Sunday due to the blizzard and Lent begins this week, I want to briefly touch on the 5 th principle important for us being better together- Encouragement. [11] You ve heard of Paul, a major player in the New Testament. But have you heard about Barnabas? The name means Son of Encouragement and the name fit. Barnabas was a living emblem of encouragement. Barnabas believed Saul had turned from persecuting Christians to become a Christ follower even when no one else did. When new believers in Antioch needed a leader, the apostles sent Barnabas and the church bloomed under his leadership. When young John Mark needed someone to believe in him, Barnabas was there, even putting his relationship with Paul on the line by giving Mark a second chance. iv Barnabas was an encourager. We need more of these in the church, don t we? More encouragers, fewer discouragers, more cheerleaders, fewer hecklers. People who point out potential more often than flaws. Those who enrich the fellowship of believers by helping others be all they can be in Christ. v What makes an encourager? According to Hebrews 10, the secret is knowing the greatest encourager of all, Jesus Christ himself. Christ is our encourager. He is devoted to guiding us into the fullness of life. So much so that he died on the cross for us cleansing us of our sin and giving us new lives with unrestricted access to God. When we know the greatest encourager, when we truly know his love for us and all people, it will overflow from us into the lives of others. [12] Hebrews 10:24-25 suggests four ways to put encouragement into practice. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. NLT 4

5 1) We are to motive one another to acts of love and good works. When I was in high school, I remember being asked by a member of the congregation to help with a special project. What made the request special was the person telling me why they were asking me because of specific gifts and abilities they could see in me. Talk about encouraging it s almost thirty years later and I can still remember the feeling of those encouraging words! What gifts and abilities do you see in others? How can you be a cheerleader encouraging them to use those gifts to bring glory and honor to God? 2) We should not neglect meeting together. I remember hearing a story about a man who had stopped going to church. After a few weeks, the pastor went to see him. They sat together before a blazing fire. They sat in silence for a while. Then the pastor took the fire tongs, picked up one of the burning embers and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. They continued to sit in silence. The one lone ember s flame soon went out. After a while, the pastor took the cold ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire where it immediately began to glow with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it. The pastor then got up to leave. The man said, Thanks for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I ll be back in church next Sunday. God never intended believers to isolate themselves. Yes, you can worship God anywhere, but we need each other. We need support and encouragement from each other to keep our faith alive and growing. 3) We need to encourage one another. In the church, God gave each of us gifts and abilities so we can minister to others. Yes, you are a minister, a valuable member of God s family who has something to offer. There are various ways to be an encourager, to help others walk more closely with God. It might be an uplifting word at just the right time; laughter; lunch with a heartsick friend; complimenting someone s unique contribution to the body of Christ; going to bat for someone, giving of your time, energy or resources; crying with someone; or just being there, saying 5

6 nothing. Encouragement is all about enriching the church by helping others be all they can be in Christ. Charles Swindoll suggests Encouragement takes place when we let the joyful appreciation of what Christ has done for us overflow into the lives of others. vi [13] Conclusion Love, forgiveness, restoration, humility, encouragement. These five ingredients are essential for followers of Jesus to implement in our daily lives and they are essential for our life together as the church. When we put these principles into action we are truly better together. Loving God, transform our hearts and minds so that we might be a church that lives love, forgiveness, restoration, humility and encouragement. Lead us and guide us to be a people who bring you honor and glory as we seek to be faithful to your teachings. Amen i Charles, Swindoll, Koinonia: A Recipe for Authentic Fellowship, (Anaheim, CA: Insight for Living, 1995), 25. ii iii Swindoll, iv Swindoll, 50. v Swindoll, 50. vi Swindoll, 54. 6