A Call to Service

If someone asked you, where do you go in Scripture to explain what the church is and what it's supposed to do, where would you go? What section of Scripture, what book, where would you go if somebody asked where, where do I find what the church is and what it's supposed to look like inside? What do we do as a church? It's pretty important. Question asked, pretty important subject we need to know about if we're going to be a healthy, vibrant, God-glorifying church. Let me first say, as answering the question, the first place I would go is not the Book of Acts. So many people treat the Book of Acts as if it's a handbook and manual for what the church looks like. That's not the intention of Luke and Acts. Luke is writing in the book of Acts to show us that after Christ came, died and rose again, that the mission that God set forth for the church has accomplished. It's been accomplished. The gospel has gone to the outer ends of the earth. There's many things we can learn about the church in the book of Acts, but it's not a condensed, focused manual. One place I would think about going is Ephesians. The first three chapters of Ephesians talks about who we are. It's that identity we have in Christ as a church. And then chapters four through six gives you very clear prescriptions for now. How do you live according to the high calling? Before I went to Ephesians, I would go to our text this morning. I would go to the chapters, John 13 through 17. where Jesus is giving very clear, explicit instructions to his disciples. You see, the first half of the book of John has been a public ministry. Jesus proclaiming the gospel to the Jews, to the nation, to the world. But now, here, before he's about to be crucified, before his death, he's focused in on his disciples. It's a closed room, and he's going to get them prepared for the crucifixion. He's going to get them prepared for the resurrection. He's going to get them prepared for how they must then live because he died for them, rose again to be the head of the church. As you look at chapters 13 through 17, notice there's a new commandment. Love one another. There's a warning. Some of you will betray me. All of you will deny me. One of you will betray me. All of you will deny me. There's such an emphasis on the Holy Spirit in chapters 14 through 16. To be the church, we have to know who the Holy Spirit is and what he's doing. That's the life and the power of the church. This section concludes with the Great High Priestly Prayer, Chapter 17. This morning, we'll see the first lesson Jesus gives to his church. The message can be summarized in this sentence. Jesus serves us by saving us so we can serve one another. He serves us by saving us so we can serve one another. Again, in this section, he's narrowing down. It's not public. It's a closed room. It's only the disciples. And you can see here, he's beginning to even cleanse the disciples. This passage is about the washing of the feet. There's a cleansing theme running throughout this section. And one of the ways the church is cleansed is that Judas is removed, as we will look at that more particularly and more focused tomorrow or next Sunday. The first thing we must see in verses one through three is that Jesus loves his church. Jesus loves his church. We're in John chapter 13, page 900. If you're using a pew Bible and please feel free to take that home with you if you want the Bible. Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put 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 they had come from God and was going back to God. He rose from supper. Now, we're going to be looking at that introduction, that theological background, the setting that John gives us. There's a number of key words here that we've been seeing throughout John. First, it's the feast of the Passover. This is the main celebration, the main memorial for the Jews, where they remember God delivering them out of Egypt. where the Lamb would be sacrificed, and now we see the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, that we just sung about, He's come to take away the sins of the world. The setting, the time, the place, the event, it's all here. It becomes even clearer. Now, before the Feast of the Passover, you see, His time had come. The hour had come. We've been anticipating this for some time. Every time Jesus, they want to crown him as king or they want to declare him Messiah, he keeps putting it off. My hour has not yet come. But now we see that his hour had come for him to depart out of the world. Here's another word that's very important. The world. And John, that could mean the scope of all humanity. But usually it means that system or order of man who's rebelling against God. And here, I think that's what it means. That is, our had come to depart out of this world to the Father. And we'll see later, he calls his own out of the world. He's caring for his church, taking them out of the rebellion. Next. His father. His Father had given Him all things into His hand." Everything Jesus has done at this point has been pointed to the fact that He's the Son of God. I have come to do and to say what my Father has done. The authority of Jesus is found in His deity and His relationship to His Son. And finally, that simple phrase, His own. Now, John's made a bit of a transition here. In John 1, it says, Jesus came to his own and they did not know him. They did not recognize him. They rejected him. He came to his people, the nation of Israel, and they rejected him. And so now Jesus is focused on a more specific people. These disciples, and it'll be every disciple called from every nation. It's his own. There's a unique focus love. The focus of this is on his love. Having loved his own. who were in the world. He loved them to the end. Our passage, the background of the foot washing, it has to be seen in the fact that Jesus, the Son of God, has a unique, special love for the church. Spurgeon, in introducing in our beginning his sermon on this passage, it seems to me that the true text of this enacted sermon of foot washing is to be found in the first verse of the chapter. Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end. Our Lord washed the feet of His disciples to show that to the last moment of His communion with them, He was full of the deepest and truest love to them and was willing to perform the most menial action for their good." Everything we see here is because He loves us. It's a beautiful proclamation of the love of Jesus for His church. Now, when you talk about God's love, we need to be careful not to flatten the love of God. God has different kinds of love. He loves creation. He created it. But more than that, He loves humans within that creation. More than the creation itself, because He made us in His image. More than that, He loves the church in a unique and special way. He loves everyone in some ways, but he loves some in every way. We have to realize, as a church, we are blessed with a unique, special, specific love. It's a family love. We're going to see here later, there's an inheritance or a language. There's a desire for God to say, I am going to bestow upon you all of my blessings in Christ. Now, as I say that, I want to qualify my language. He doesn't love everything about us. We're unlovely. He doesn't love us because we're so lovely. He loves everything about us. He doesn't love our sin. When it says he loves us to the very end, he loves us with all power and all focus. What I'm saying is he loves us with his entire being. Everything about God is focused on his particular people, the church. Jesus, out of love, a deep, deep love, washed his disciples' feet. Now, the beauty of that is these disciples, they're all going to deny him. He knows they're going to deny him. He knows one's going to betray him. And what a beautiful picture already we see of Jesus modeling, loving his enemies. These disciples who he's invested in, who he's taught, who he's loved, they're going to deny him. He knows this. but he's still committed to loving them. His is a never-ending perfect love. And, praise God, it is not conditioned upon our obedience. Those he loves, he loves to the end. Now, that could be speaking of the time. He will love them to his very death. That's how Spurgeon interpreted it. Or, it could be the intensity of his love. It's a powerful, never-ending love. And finally, it says out of this world, he will take his own. We see this in the prayer of John 17. If you look at verse nine, I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. You see there, Jesus has said there's a very specific, unique people that is his church that he's praying for. That is not everybody. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you, Holy Father. Keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one as we are one." This is our calling, to be out of the world, to no longer be part of the world of the rebellion, and to be unified together in it. Now, we will discuss Judas. In more detail next week as we will look at his betrayal and Peter's denial. But I want to give a warning this morning. Judas was always with him. Judas heard everything Jesus said, just like the other disciples. Judas saw all the miracles. But Judas didn't believe. I want to challenge us all to really be introspective here. It's scary. to think about Judas, because he was always with Jesus, but never truly believed in him. He would end up selling him for a few pieces of silver. What I want to challenge is that as we speak of the church, we have to ask ourselves, there's a local church and there's a universal church. Not everybody who's a member of a local church is part of God's true church. Let me put it this way. There are hundreds of thousands of people in hell that had their name on a membership roll. Do not let your name on a membership role or on a committee list or whatever you think you've done for the church be your sole assurance of salvation. Now, being involved in a church and being active in a church and being fellows with Christians, it is a very important part of assurance. But if that's your only assurance, you should be afraid. Listen to Matthew 7, beginning in verse 21. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? And then I would declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. What heavy, heavy words. What a warning for us to to be assured that it's not what we think we've done. Do we know God? Do we know him by believing in Christ? Do we recognize that his love for us that defines us as his people? And then it's our works of righteousness that only prove and demonstrate that we have been loved. I ask you, are you workers of lawlessness? Are you a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ who saves sinners? We need to ask that question. If you are a member of a church, specifically this church, and you have questions about that, please see me after the service. The second thing we see here in our passage, and look at verse 4. Second, Jesus washes away the sin of His church. Verse four, he rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples feet and to wipe them with a towel that was wrapped around him. He came to summon Peter, who said to him, Lord, do you wash my feet? Jesus answered him, what I am doing You do not understand now, but afterward you will understand. Peter said to him, you shall never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, if I do not wash you, you have no share with me. Simon Peter said to him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus said to him, the one who is bathed does not need to wash except for his feet, but is completely clean and you are clean, but now, but not every one of you. For he knew who was to betray him. That's why he said, not all of you are clean. Jesus ends this dinner rather abruptly. This is awkward. It was custom to offer water to anybody who would come to be a guest at your house, to wash before the meal. Never during, never after. It's clearly out of custom, but it's so much more surprising than just being out of custom. Most of the disciples are still trying to wrap their heads about who Jesus is. Again, we've just come out of 12 chapters. We've just come out of three years of him demonstrating he is the son of God. And here, the master, Jesus Christ, he positions himself as a lowly servant. He dresses like a servant. Taking the outer garment off is dressing himself like a servant. And then he does what even servants aren't asked to do. He does what even the lowest servant would not be required to do. He washes his disciples' feet. He's blowing up every possible category for these disciples. This would be mind-boggling to try to wrap your head around what's happening. Not only is he a master washing his disciples' feet, which would have been gross and dirty and below a servant, but here, if he is who he says he is, God just knelt down and washed their feet. They're trying to figure out, should we bow down before him and worship him? He's the son of God. And here he is taking the form of a servant and kneeling before them and lowering himself to care for their most basic human need that no servant would be asked to do. Can you imagine how their heads are swirling? Peter captures it. Lord, Are you going to wash my feet? Never. This is unheard of. But he is blowing up our categories. And we should have the same response as the disciples. See, we have to realize something that Jesus is teaching us here. One, very basic, but we need to be reminded of this. He's God, we are not. We too need to be reminded of that. He is God, we are not. More specifically, He's teaching us what it means to be great. The great are those who serve. God's kingdom is not like this world. In this world, those who are served are the great ones. But in God's kingdom, in the kingdom Christ is establishing, those who serve are great. He's changing categories. When Christ comes, he calls us all to be servants. Now, if you're a Christian or not a Christian this morning, you may be asking, You're asking yourself, a servant? That's not for me. Actually, it is for you, and you may not know it yet. According to Jesus in John chapter 8, if you practice sin, you're a slave to sin. You see, God designed us to be servants. We are a servant of a master. We're either serving God or we're serving sin. The difference is, when we're serving sin, it makes us think we're in charge. It deceives us in thinking that we're in charge, but when we're serving God, he's of the truth. He makes it clear we're not. He makes it clear he's our master and it is good for us. Now we get some interpretation of the foot washing. Verse 7, Jesus answered him, what I'm doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand. You shall never wash my feet, Peter says. Jesus answered, if I do not wash you, you have no share with me. I love Peter because, well, if you want to do a case study on your pastor, study Peter. He speaks without really thinking, usually. And a lot of times he'll stay without thinking, I think. He speaks out, not my feet. He's rejecting this act of hospitality and service. Peter's response really represents something that's universal of us. It's a rejection of a salvation that comes so low and so humble. We think we're special. We deserve a special salvation. And when we're saved, we deserve a special place in the church. That's not the way God's plan works. Salvation comes being completely dependent upon Him. This act of service, this call to be served, this call to service is counter to everything about us in our sinfulness that thinks we're glorious. We deserve a glorious salvation, not a salvation from a man who died on a shameful cross. And when we're saved, we deserve a special place in the church and in the community. Now, the special places for those who serve. See, the church is not like the country club. The country club, you pay to get in and then you're served when you come in. The country club is a place for special people who want glory. The church is a place that is for sinners who want God's glory. You don't go and buy your way into the church. You don't go and find a special place in the church. He'd come completely dependent and seek to serve God however he would call. Jesus responds to Peter, and this is encouraging for us. You don't understand now. That's very helpful. You don't understand now. Now, he's speaking to a specific time and a specific event that's going to come up, but we don't have to understand everything now. Praise God for that. But if you do not get washed, you will have no part in me. This is inheritance language, like the prodigal son. Father, would you give me my part so I can go waste it? It's inheritance language. He's asking, Jesus is saying, if you do not let me do this, you're not part of the kingdom. You're not part of my salvation. Now, Jesus is not just setting a pattern for them by washing their feet. He's getting them ready for the greatest act of service he will accomplish. You see, what he's going to do next in just a few days is so much more humble. It's so much greater in obedience to the Father than washing their feet. He is going to go die a shameful death on a cross and be crushed for the iniquity of every disciple. That is a humble servant. If they cannot let their feet be washed by him, how could they ever trust him enough and submit to him enough and say, you can die the shameful death that I deserve. He's preparing them. He's preparing them for the greatest act of humility and service, even death on a cross. What's his obedience? Paul says. Peter, of course, being again over reactionary, over eager. Well, Jesus, if that's the case, wash all of me. He corrects them. There's two categories here. There's bathing and there's washing. If you've bathed, you're clean, you just need the regular washing. What he's saying is, if you believe in me, you're washed clean. Your sins have been wiped away, your guilt removed. But because you're continually a sinner, even though a saint declared righteous, you need to have regular repentance. You need to constantly be washed of the sins that so easily entangle you. Now, this is a beautiful picture. We really think about the big picture. Let's back out and think of the big picture. Almighty God just ate dinner with these men. He invited them, sinners unworthy of the dinner, to have dinner with him. They didn't deserve it. They weren't worthy of it. But out of grace, he called them to himself to share this special meal. And then afterwards, humbles himself to do one of the most demeaning tasks in culture. What a privileged position they have. What a high calling to be at the king's table. For this is the high calling we have, the position we have. If you're not enjoying and delighting and being in that position around that table, feasting with the King, if you're not knowing God and fellowship with God and delighting in that opportunity to be with Him and be served by Him, it's probably because you haven't been washing. It's because you're so entangled in sin that you haven't repented of that it keeps you from enjoying that sweet fellowship that He saved you for. Have you been called to the banquet table, washed and purchased by the precious blood of Christ? And have you continually played in perversity and sought your own selfish gain so that you no longer enjoy that sweet fellowship? If you're not a Christian this morning. Our sins are offensive to God. We're all sinners. We've all broken every part of his law. We've lied, we've cheated. We've been angry, which makes us guilty of murder. We've been lustful, which makes us guilty of adultery. We've rebelled against God. And those sins are offensive to God. And he has sent his son, Jesus Christ, to be perfect in every way. To be like us in every way, except he never sinned. And that allowed him to be the perfect sacrifice, the Savior. As the sinless man, he died under God's wrath. being punished for our sin so that the offense that we were to God, the wrath we deserve from God, he was counted that offensive and he was given that wrath so that what we deserve, he took. He was counted a sinner so that we could be counted as righteous, as forgiven. He takes our sin and we receive his righteousness. Believing in that is the only way you can be right with God again and have the peace that John promises at the end of his gospel. If you have questions about that, please talk to me or someone around you before you leave today. Third, our final point, Jesus calls his church to serve one another. Here we're beginning in verse 12. I'm not going to be looking at verses 18 and 19 till next week. When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, do you understand what I have done to you? You call me teacher and Lord, and you are right for so I am. If then your Lord and teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them." Now, I want to back up here, and I want to show the progression of what the text has told us. Because if you just started at chapter 12, you're just a moralist. You simply say what Jesus did, I should do. That's not hopeful. You have to go back and see it's his great love for us. It's his washing us that now leads us to being his servants who follow his example. Verse 14, he's already said you can understand now, but he asked the question, do you understand it? Do you see it? Do you get what's happening after washing their feet? He then explains. This was an example for you. Now, before we get into the application, I want to ask a somewhat technical question. Is or should foot washing be an ordinance of the church? It's a very important question. The entire Reformation was about the ordinances at some level. How will the ordinances be practiced? As Protestants, we believe there are two ordinances, baptism and the Lord's Supper. Some churches recognize foot washing as a third ordinance. And the reason being, Jesus says, do it. And so in some way it is ordained, it is commanded by Jesus. However, we do not recognize it as an ordinance, and so I want to give some explanation as to why. As we see the other two clear ordinances, they have something in common, or two things in common, that foot washing does not. Most important, what they have in common is that baptism and the Lord's Supper both point explicitly to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They point explicitly and clearly to what Christ has done for us to save us. Baptism, being buried in Him and raised to new life, the Lord's Supper, His blood and body, His blood being poured out and His body being broken. They both point to constant reminders of the Gospel. That's one. Second, there's no further instruction in Scripture that tells you about foot washing. The other Two ordinances, there's actually very clear declarations about the Lord's Supper, 1 Corinthians 11, baptism, Romans 6, Colossians 2. But, Washington, there is one reference. It's in 1 Timothy 5, and the context is Paul telling the church, you need to care for your widows. Someone you need to think about better as a church. And he starts telling them, this is how you know how to care and who to care for as a widow. And he lists requirements of what a faithful Christian widow looks like, and this is who the church should be caring for. And in that list, it's a widow who washes the feet of those she's showing hospitality to. This actually gets to one of the third reasons why it's not an ordinance. Foot washing was done in the home. The ordinances were done when the church gathered together. 1 Corinthians 11, wait till the entire church gathers. Those you expect. Baptism was done in the church context. Foot washing seems to be a custom that was done in the home. And then fourthly, and not the stronger argument, we don't see a clear practice of this as an ordinance in the early church. So I don't think it's an ordinance because it doesn't point to Christ's death. You don't see it in scripture. Clearly proclaimed as an ordinance. But let's move on and talk about what it actually means. Foot washing is something done in the home as a custom, and it symbolizes how we're called to lower ourselves and serve one another. We can look at scriptures that give this very explicit command. Galatians 5.13, for you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. You see here, it says, the serving of one another. Galatians 6, 2. Brothers, if anyone is caught in transgression, you or spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you be tempted. Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. Or a passage from Philippians 2. Think of others as more important than yourself. Consider their interests as more important than your own. This is the mind of Christ. This is a high calling. This is what the foot washing tells us, is that Jesus, who was God's serving man, a master serving disciples, he saw them and their interests as more important than his own. Jesus, our master, lowered himself. Our categories have to be changed. Who gets served is not the greatest. It's who serves. He has set the example. It's very clear. What I want to actually do is not make it clear that you're supposed to be serving one another. I actually want to start tackling what keeps us from serving. What are the things that keep us from serving? The first thing that I think keeps us from serving faithfully as our masters commanded is this, a lack of gratitude. It's a lack of thanksgiving towards Christ for what he has done for us, you see, You're supposed to serve one another, not because you think those people are worthy of being served. You serve one another because Christ is worthy of being obeyed. Our service to one another has more to do with the relationship with God than it does with us. We obey out of thankfulness of what Christ has done to serve us. By serving one another. So if you want to serve more faithfully, it isn't liking the people next to you more. It's being overwhelmed by the love of God more. It's a gospel problem. It's a God problem. You have to be moved by that deep, never-ending, always faithful love of God. That is the key motivator in what causes us to serve others. Secondly, The second thing that keeps us from serving faithfully is this, failing to see our new identity and mission in Christ. Ephesians 1 and 2, again, one of those passages I would go to to talk about what the church is supposed to be like. He begins by talking about how we're redeemed in Christ, we're forgiven in Christ, we have a new identity in Christ, and then we're His workmanship. And then Paul makes the transition from our identity In Ephesians 4, and he says this, I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you've been called. with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace, there is one body, one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all." You want to serve because you want to walk worthy of the calling. You recognize your new identity and your new mission and you want to seek out how you can live that and it's in being part of the church and being part of the commitment to the unity of the church. The third thing that keeps us from serving, this one shouldn't be surprising, we think too much of ourselves. The biggest problem is we think too little of God. We don't have enough thanksgiving towards God. But here we see the other problem, the other half of that, we think too much of ourselves. See, when you're busy keeping up the facade of self-righteousness, you don't have the time or energy to serve other people. When we're keeping up that facade that we have it all together, we can't be transparent enough to serve one another. We're sinners. But we come here dependent. That's what we all have in common. We have to stop pretending to have it all together. One of the most discouraging things I hear, and I've heard it too many times, I don't think I fit in at Jefferson Park because everybody else has it together. Friends, that means we're sick. That means we're denying who we really are. We're sinners in need of grace. There's nothing more discouraging to hear people think we look and act like we have it all together. Sam gave an analogy Wednesday night that I think we're sharing too often, the church looks like a waiting room for a job interview rather than a waiting room for a doctor's visit. In the waiting room for a job interview, you're dressed nice. You've got your best face forward. You're looking around. You're comparing yourself to other people. Am I better than them? Am I going to get the job instead of them? You're building up a facade to prove yourself. Not the doctor's office. You've got your tissues. Everybody's there sick. You know it's OK to be sick. You talk about what's wrong with you. The church needs to be more like that doctor's visit. We have to stop pretending we've got it together. We have to stop pretending everything is all right. We're all struggling with depression or self-image. We're all struggling in our marriages. We're struggling in raising our children. We're struggling in the sins that entangle us. We have to humble ourselves and serve one another by actually talking about these things. The fourth reason we don't serve one another. This was a little more practical. We're just too busy. We're very busy people and we haven't properly prioritized that which God has commanded us to do. Our passage is talking about what the local church is supposed to be like, the Christians coming together to serve one another. Now, the most important correction to our busyness is the ministry of presence. We have to be present in order to serve. If you want to stop being so busy that you cannot be serving one another, one of the things you need to focus on is saying, you know what, I'm going to start being present when the church gathers. We're going to start being present because if you're not present, you can't serve. If you're not present in regular fellowship, you can't care for one another. The vision of Jefferson Baptist Church for this church is this. Well, let me tell you what it's not first. This church isn't supposed to just exist for two hours, one day a week. This church isn't just here so that you can be led in song and then hear a sermon. That's not church. Church is much more than that. It's being involved in the saints under the headship of Christ, loving one another, serving one another, getting involved in each other's lives. The problem with life now, it's just so busy. But also just means we're not prioritizing it properly. Finally, what does it look like to serve others in this way? Generally speaking, I'll say this. To serve as Christ's example model serving, it should feel uncomfortable. That wasn't comfortable for Jesus, it wasn't comfortable for the disciples. It should take us out of our comfort zone because the love that Christ shows, the service Christ shows, it's sacrificial. Children. Your seeking to serve should be first and foremost focused on your parents. Serve your parents. All the children look at me. Nudge the children next to you. I see too many not looking. Children, your first and foremost service is to your parents. Obeying happily. Obeying fully. Obeying quickly. This is how you learn to serve by doing what your parents have taught you to do. Now, if you have siblings, you have another opportunity to serve. If you have younger siblings, seek them out and do what they like to do. Teenagers are dear, sweet teenagers. It is so impressive when I see a teenager not consumed with themselves and their peer group, but actually playing with younger children. That's amazing. One, I get benefited from it because my daughter is the one you play with. But it's amazing to see you breaking out of the pattern of being self-consumed. That's what happens when you become a young adult, and that's what happens to us as adults. We become more and more self-consumed. And it starts being a teenager. When you start thinking about yourself more, break that pattern. Refuse to follow the pattern of sin that becomes more focused on yourself and continue to seek out the younger children. The impact you have on them is immeasurable. College students. If you're a college student, the most important priority you could have is your church. There's peer groups all over campus or on grounds, but you need others that are going to remind you of the real world, of what life is like when you're younger, what life is like when you're older, to give you the wisdom, to give you the insight, Let me give you this very practical application. What you're doing to keep you up till 2 a.m. so that you can't stay awake in the service, that's what you're saying is more worthy of worship than Jesus Christ. If you can't go to bed in time to worship throughout the entire service, you're saying that thing that kept you up that late is more worthy of your worship. Stay focused on being a faithful member, faithful attender, in a church body where you'll be cared for. Parents, it's our children that we're called to serve. We're called first and foremost to care for our spouses, our children, and then others. But we have them for such a short time. Focus on your children. The final specific application I have is for our retired and elderly. What an opportunity you have right now with your time. What will you prioritize? What will you be committed to? Now, I'm going to make a very specific request, and it's shamelessly selfish. We, as the younger Christians, need the older, wiser Christians to be invested and involved in our lives. Now, I can say that somewhat because I'm getting older enough to actually realize that's wise. But I also realize that Paul commands that. That's the pattern Paul sets forth in Titus. Older women teach the younger women. Older men teach the younger men. This is the calling to be present and active and involved in serving us. We need you. As we conclude, church. We are under the headship of Christ. We've been blessed with a great love and unity here, the one another commands that are found in scripture that give us some more substance to what it means to seek and to serve others. Greet one another. Comfort one another. Forgive one another, build one another up, serve one another, bear one another's burdens. Encourage one another. Meet with one another. Be kind, tenderhearted and forgiving toward one another. Receive one another as Christ received us. Care for one another. Minister one to another. Show hospitality to one another. Pray for one another. Will you pray with me? Father, help us to be amazed by your great love for us. Help us to recognize and appreciate what Jesus has done in his never ending love, in serving us and dying for us, in renewing our relationship with you. And help us, Lord, to see the beauty of your church. The beauty of what it means to gather and to care for and to partner together for your glory with one another. Help us to have that mind that is in Christ. To seek others as more important as ourselves and to seek their interests above our own. Help us to glorify you as your church unified and may that be a gospel witness to all who see it. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Let us...