Sunday Morning First Service | Unburdened #3 | Pastor Rob Thomas

Pride says, I'll wash myself. Let's put that on the screen. There it is. And Jesus says, unless I wash you, you have no part of me. Independence keeps you outside his grace. Surrender brings you in. Guys, where are you still saying, no, lord. I've got this. Where in your life do you still sound like Peter? What? No. I've got this. What belonging with Jesus are you missing by refusing his service? [01:22:58] (38 seconds)  #SurrenderToBelong

Jesus is saying, if you won't, let me serve you. You can't truly be mine. That's the cost of independence that everybody seems to want so badly. It separates us from the very grace that saves us. So, again, this is the last supper. This is the night before the crucifixion. The disciples guys, the disciples had just been arguing over who was the greatest. Are y'all seeing the context here? They're arguing over who's the greatest on on Passover. [01:20:39] (35 seconds)  #IndependenceSeparates

Jesus doesn't answer with a rebuke. He doesn't answer with words. He responds with action. The greatest will be your servant. And he kneels down. He's modeling what the church will become after his resurrection. A community where people serve one another because they've been served by Christ. The greatest freedom isn't staying clean. It's serving freely because you have been served completely. Guys, once you let Jesus wash you fully, everything changes. Who could you serve this week? [01:29:58] (41 seconds)  #ServeBecauseYouWereServed

When we let Jesus wash us, we stop managing our own mess and we start receiving his grace. We're changed and then that same grace that washed us begins to flow through us. We become people who serve others not because we have anything to earn, not because we have something to prove, but because we have been saved and washed clean completely. Jesus doesn't tell them here, try to be better servants. He says, do as I have done. He said, I set the example for you. [01:27:28] (37 seconds)  #ReceiveThenServe

Whatever it is the holy spirit just brought to the service in your life that you're still trying to manage on your own. Because the good news is this, and this is what I want you to understand. Jesus doesn't wait for you to get it all together. How many of you recognize that is the best news ever? Jesus doesn't wait for you to get it all together. He kneels down to serve so that we can finally stop striving and we can start resting in his finished work. [01:02:58] (34 seconds)  #HeServesBeforeYoureReady

Guys, it's a we talked about parables. It's a living parable of the kingdom. Greatness shown in humility. Power displayed through service. The greatest one becoming the servant of all. So it says, right, in Mark 10, for the son of man did not come to be served, but to do what? But to serve and give his life a ransom for many. Guys, Jesus isn't just teaching a lesson here. He's demonstrating the very nature of god fully revealed and that would be fully revealed on the next day on Calvary. [01:12:56] (37 seconds)  #GreatnessThroughHumility

He removes his outer garment which in Jewish culture that would have been a symbol of his a status symbol of his dignity and and and and and such. He wraps what would have been considered a slave's towel around his waist. And he kneels down to do the lowliest and dirtiest job in the room. He washes feet. Guys, this would have been shocking especially in first century Jewish culture because washing feet was a task that was so menial that even Jewish slaves were exempt from it. [01:08:51] (38 seconds)  #KingBecomesServant

We receive it and we give it and we receive it and we give it and it all flows from the cross where he served us most fully by giving everything, by giving his life. Again, this command to serve others comes right after he demonstrates it and does it himself. How many know god didn't ask us to do something he doesn't do himself? This comes right after this foot washing. This would have been revolutionary. So Jesus is establishing a new kingdom ethic that was totally countercultural. It was this idea that leadership is servanthood. [01:28:18] (45 seconds)  #LeadershipIsServanthood

He doesn't wait for them to clean up their life or to get their act together or to prove their loyalty to them. Thank goodness they didn't ask Peter to prove that because that night, Peter would prove something different, wouldn't he? He served because of who he is, not because of who they were. And that's kind of the highlight of this moment is that Jesus' love isn't earned, it's given. His service, it's it's not a reward, it's grace. [01:10:04] (37 seconds)  #GraceNotEarnings

Guys, again, this wasn't just a teaching moment. It was a living demonstration of the kingdom of god. The first shall be last. Right? And the last shall be first. So the refusal from Peter mirrors our typical human response. We wanna follow Jesus on our terms, and we wanna serve him our way. But we resist being served by him in the way that he chooses. That resistance blocks the full relationship that he offers. [01:22:16] (42 seconds)  #RefusalBlocksRelationship

And in this moment, I want you to ask I wanna ask, how has that self reliance how's that working out for you? If I had to guess, it has kept you burdened. It has kept you isolated. It has kept you exhausted. So, again, we're not camping out in this moment, but I want you to think for just a moment. Allow the holy spirit to bring to the surface. What is an area of your life that you're still insisting on managing yourself? [01:01:40] (32 seconds)  #WhereAreYouHoldingOn

In his testimony, Dave Rover describes hitting rock bottom when he finally surrendered. He allowed Jesus to come in. He received grace for his brokenness without conditions. He let his wife and his community begin helping him without shame. Pride melted. He experienced profound belonging in Christ. The refusal ended. He no longer had to manage the pain alone. That surrender freed him to live fully, speaking to millions, founding Eagle Wings Ministry, and helping wounded veterans and others find healing. He didn't earn that freedom. He received it when he stopped refusing and allowed Jesus to wash what he could not reach on his own. [01:24:23] (34 seconds)  #SurrenderTransforms

maybe dealing with it is embarrassing. We've all had that. It's still pride. Second thing I'd encourage you guys to do, we live in a culture. It's all about getting, getting, getting. It's all about what I deserve, what I want. It's all about control. I want you to do what I mentioned earlier. Just make a point now that sometime this week that you will serve someone else. But not just that, I want you to practice receiving. So this week, when somebody comes to you and says, hey. Can I help with that? Practice saying, yes. Thank you. [01:35:44] (60 seconds)  #PracticeSayingYes

And so then what does Peter do? Peter does what we often do. He overcorrects. Well, if you're gonna do that, then wash my hands and wash my head and, you know, wash me all over. So he's he's he swings from refusal to to excess. One one extreme to the other. So what he's doing is he's still trying to control the terms. You see this? He's still trying to control what Jesus is gonna do, what God wants to do. [01:19:24] (26 seconds)  #StopControllingGodsTerms

It was considered beneath them. Yet Jesus, the rabbi, the king, the one who it just said had authority over everything chooses to do it himself. Guys, this would have been obviously, this was a deliberate act, but it also would have been absolutely shocking. This is what gets Peter's attention. This is why Peter's wide eyed. Like, what in the world is happening now? Jesus asked, who am I? Peter said, you're you're the son of the living god. Right? [01:12:23] (29 seconds)  #JesusShocksWithService

In that culture, the host of the meal would generally provide a servant to wash the guest's feet as they arrived. There was dusty roads and these open sandals and feet covered with everything from dirt to animal waste. It was a courtesy, but it was also the most degrading task. So rabbis taught that even Jews should be exempt from washing the feet of others, even Jews who had found themselves as servants. [01:11:45] (38 seconds)  #FootWashingContext

Jewish slaves had to do anything they were asked except they didn't have to wash feet. It was considered too degrading. That was left for Gentile slaves. Yet, here is the son of god fully aware of his divine identity and who he is, voluntarily taking the position of the lowest of servants. He serves first. Have you glad that he doesn't wait for the disciples to earn it? [01:09:29] (36 seconds)  #ServesFirst

Pride can still say no. And when it does, it comes at a price far greater than our pride ever pays us back, if that makes sense. The price of refusing. People say, you know, because here's the deal, guys. I believe that one day, you know, we're we're gonna stand before Jesus and and and and and and we're gonna give account for our lives, and and some people are gonna say, well, maybe I didn't accept the help that was offered to me, but at at least at least I'll know I was a self made man. [01:16:22] (32 seconds)  #PriceOfPride

And I believe Jesus will respond, and he'll say, yeah, and you didn't make it half as far as you could've if you would just surrendered your pride. Guys, let's move on. Let's see what happens when Peter refuses. Number two, pride refuses, but the refusal costs us belonging. The refusal costs us belonging. So back to verse six. When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said, Lord, are you gonna wash my feet? [01:16:55] (29 seconds)  #BelongingRequiresSurrender