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Good morning. If you have your Bibles, and I hope you do, I want to invite you to join us in Titus
chapter 3. As many of you know, we had a missions team that I was a part of that traveled to India,
and we've been serving there for the last 11 days, and it's good to be home. It's good to be home back
in the U.S. I did not necessarily appreciate that wonderful cloud of yellow that kind of welcomed us
into Atlanta yesterday. It was funny, over there and all the dust, all the things that can kind of get
stirred up in India, my sinuses were able to be just fine, good, was able to work through that.
We had a short walk from where we arrived to our parking garage, and by the time I got into the car,
I was sneezing and coughing and dealing with that. So welcome back to South Carolina, right? When we
got the pollen that's there. Well, I'm glad that each and every one of you are here with us today.
If you're a first-time guest, I want to echo what Pastor Dave said. Thank you for being here.
Thank you for worshiping with us. At the end of the service, I will be back here at this table
to my left. I would love for you to stop by and to visit for just a moment so that I could learn
your name, and thank you for being here personally. And then if you've got any questions about Willow Ridge
Church, wonderful opportunity for you to get those answered. So thank you so much for being here.
Before we go into God's Word this morning, let's go to Him in prayer.
God, I thank you for this wonderful time that we have where we can gather together. God,
I thank you for our discipleship classes as they started off this morning. Just a wonderful time. Men,
women, children, youth gathered together in your name, talking about your Word and seeking to grow
stronger in our faith. God, as we open up your Word and tie this this morning and reflect on the truth
that you have for us. God, I pray that the truth that you have would penetrate our minds and our hearts
and through the power of your Holy Spirit, Lord, would continue to change us more into who you would
have us to be as we surrender to you daily, Jesus, Lord and Savior of our life. God, I thank you for
this past week. I thank you for the stories. I thank you for the team that served with me. God, as we share
over the next coming days, weeks, and months with those around us, Lord, may we boast in the powerful
work that you're doing that you allowed us to be a part of. God, we want to thank you for all that
you are, for all that you're doing in us and amongst us. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen.
Well, if you've never traveled with me to India, I do want to take some time to kind of update a little
bit about what happened with the trip. And what I want to start off with is kind of what you're looking
at and facing and dealing with this morning. So one of the things that I've started over the last
couple trips that we've been on is I set a timer on my phone and run the timer from the time we begin
to head to the airport to the time that we arrive here at Willow Ridge Church. So just so that you
know, if I fall asleep during my own message this morning, here's what we're working off of.
This is travel time. 42 hours, 33 minutes, and 50 seconds. Which is, in fairness, four hours shorter
than the last trip that we had going there. Yesterday, I tell everybody, if you've never traveled
from east back to west on multiple time zones, that day becomes the longest day of your life.
And so Saturday was 39 hours of day is what Saturday turned into us. So it is good. We are
glad to be here. I'll be honest with you. There's a lot of people on the team that I didn't know that
I'd see this morning. And it is just evident that God really working in their heart because I see a lot
of them here and just encouraging me as they're here. Well, here's what we had an opportunity
to be a part of. As you guys know, if you don't know if you're visiting, we partner with a church
in India, in Jaipur. Jaipur is the ninth largest city. Population-wise, it's a little less than the
city of Los Angeles. Ninth largest city in India is Jaipur. And it is in the state of Rajasthan. So we
partner with the church there. And then from that church, there's a Bible college, there's a Christian
kindergarten through 12th grade school. There's a girls' home in South India. There's a retirement
home. There's church planning that's happening all over the country of India. So just a wonderful
opportunity. And y'all have met, many of you have. Pastor Sam, he's always here with us at least
once a year. And he comes and he preaches here. And just a wonderful blessing for us to be able to have
him. And so when we go, we come alongside and try to partner with them to do something maybe that they
see benefit in doing, but they don't have maybe the time or the energy or the capability of doing
those things. And so lately, what we've been doing is going there and primarily working at the
kindergarten through 12th grade school. And so this week, we're able to provide what we're calling
like a health science camp, which was a wonderful time for the kids. So they do school differently.
So they just had their final exam. So teachers are grading them so they don't have to be back at
school. So we were able to come in. And what schools will do during that time is they'll provide camps
that they charge to be a part of. And so what we were able to do is come in and provide a little
financial, take away a little bit of a financial burden from parents and be able to provide a free
camp. And so we had about somewhere between 100 to 150 kids kindergarten through 12th grade show up
every single day to be a part of this camp. And they're able to walk through and hear for some
real-life American professionals working in the healthcare fields and to experience some activities
to help strengthen that. So on Monday, we taught about nutrition. And I'm probably going to get
these topics wrong of what we did. But we talked about nutrition. We talked about the brain. We
talked about the heart. We talked about muscles and our skeletal system. And then we would do
activities with them that would teach them of how to grow and how to strengthen those and how to care
for those parts of the body. And then we also then every day ended with Dale Collins teaching first aid
training, which was just really neat to kind of hear the stories and also when that's Q&A time. So
this is twice that we've kind of done a Q&A with medical people. And it just kind of shows like
different parts of the world, man, we're struggling with different things. And we got it. We understand
that. But the number one question that comes up in first aid every single time we do this is the
question of dog bites. Like, what do you do to a dog bite? I don't know about you, but that's not
necessarily a common thing here. So Dale did some research on that. And what he found out was,
I think last year, 2.7 million people got bitten by dogs. And then from the 2.7 million people that
got bitten by dogs, at least 20,000 or the number that he was able to find was 20,000 died from
rabies. Right? It's a big issue. So he was able to walk through, cover a lot of those things and
really bless them with what they are able to do. And then while the team was at the school doing that,
Pastor Sam wanted me to come to the Bible college and teach through a book of the Bible with the
students. And so I didn't do Genesis, right? Because I only had three days. Not three years.
So we did Titus. And I taught on Titus for three days. I taught for three hours, 9.30 to 12.30.
Just me. Right? But that's a lot. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We won't be three hours a day. But three
hours, chapter a day, working through with 24 Bible college students. Wonderful, wonderful opportunity
to teach and to engage with them and to be able to pour into them and allow them to ask questions,
which just humbled me as they would come in and just talk about different battles and different
things that they were facing. But we did get to open up on the last day. And I was like,
any just questions not Titus related that you want to know? And they were really timid with that.
And then one of the girls in the front row, her name is Mary. And Mary kind of like, she's real
shy. She raises her hand. And she says, is it okay to listen to worldly music? And I'm like,
oh, I don't know if they're ready for this answer, right? And I was like, well, sure. Kind of.
Who are you listening to? And so we took the full circle that ended with Eminem. And
it was funny talking with Sam afterwards. He was laughing. He was like, he said, you know,
when they start dealing with these, they're more listening to the beat than they are the lyrics
because they don't understand the lyrics because we're having to work with the translator. So,
but it was funny with different things. I think they thought the old man in the room wouldn't know who
some of these artists were. And I'll be honest with you. I didn't know who a lot of them were,
but I knew who enough of them were. So we did that. And then every evening, there was just an
opportunity for us to go and do some ministry as well. Monday night, Jennifer Babb and Joanne C.
went over and ministered to the ladies of three different churches and did a women's ministry event
for them. And Jennifer was able to speak and teach from God's word. And Joanne was able to sing and do
some things there. And so that was wonderful. And then on Tuesday night, we had a gathering of
multiple people in the Bible college for a concert and had some of ours. Wyatt Coulter sang and Joanne
sang some more and just different ones and just a beautiful, wonderful time of gathering together.
And then on Wednesday, we gathered together back with them that evening again for their small group
leaders. Their small group leaders come together once a month for some encouragement and those things.
And so Kevin Adams was able to speak to a testimony through small groups. So was Brent Hawkins.
And then Josh Nix got up and did a wonderful theology on the importance of discipleship and the model
of what that looks like. And so just a wonderful, wonderful night of doing all that. And so I kind
of tell you a lot of, there's so much more that we were able to do. But I just wanted to kind of give
you guys a snapshot of what this looks like. Because number one, it's important that we know
that God is using churches that think missionally minded to impact the kingdom for the gospel in
areas that we can never possibly imagine. If you had told me 10 years ago that I would be standing
here today, just finished my sixth trip to India, I would tell you you were absolutely crazy. But what
God continues to do, and then as God continues not to just mobilize pastors, but church people. And so I
want to thank you for embracing the call that this is what we do, that this is who we are, that we are
called to fulfill the great commission. That when Jesus says into the ends of the earth, that is not
a suggestion, that's a command. And that's what we're going to be about. We're going to be about
carrying the gospel to your neighbor and to your neighbor that we've never met. And that's the
whole point of what we're to be. And that's the whole point of what we're to do. And that not only
were we able to go and do this in India, but even this Wednesday, we got a team going to Salt Lake
City. Like no greater need of the missionaries than there, where there are less than 2% of the
population in Salt Lake City right now is professing evangelical believers of Jesus Christ. And so we
need to continue to saturate not just the Indias, but the USAs and the cities and all that are around
for the gospel. And so I want to thank you for being a church that gets that. And I want to thank you
for a church that goes and that is committed and that's committed to praying, but also a church that's
committed financially to doing that. These trips, they're not cheap. And no one who goes on a
mission trip with Willow Ridge Church pays the full amount. We just don't do that because we've got
brothers and sisters in Christ who give sacrificially and who give faithfully. And so I want to thank
you for doing that and for being a part of that and mobilizing. And so when you hear the stories and
you see the pictures and all of those things, man, God, you might not have been on this trip, but you
were with us and you were praying for us and you had contributed for us and you were using your gifts
and talents back here so that we could go to do all of the things and to see that come
out through so many of our different people just humbled me and blew me away as a pastor.
But I do, over the course of my message this morning, and I know you're like, man, this is a long
introduction. This is going to be a short message, I promise. I'm going on minimal sleep, so we're going
to do a short message. But I do want to introduce you to a couple of people throughout the message
for you. Again, I think it's so important that our mind be set on some of these individuals. And so
if we could go ahead and pull up that first picture, I want to show you this.
Look at that fella. Right? So I wasn't able to go to the school every day, but I was able to go to
the school Thursday and Friday. And so I go and I don't know if I see a guy wearing blue jeans and a
sport coat, I think he knows how to dress. And so I walk up to him and I looked at him and I said,
you're looking good. And he looks at me, and I'm going to try to say it like in the way he said it,
with his very soft voice. He says, this is my blazer, sir. And I said, yeah, it is. And I don't know if
you can tell, but he's like a step above, because he's got a pocket square, right? And there's a chain
that runs from that pocket square back to his blazer. And so he had that. And his name is Anand
Saini. And so the next day I come back and let's look at the next picture.
And that's his brother. His brother's two years older than him. And he's like, well, I'm going to wear
my blazer too. And so he wore it. And I was like, man, these are the best dressed kids in India.
And here's why I showed these two boys to you. Because they are one of the only handful of families
at this school who are believers. And so every single day, these boys show up to a school to live
life on mission amongst Hindus who will not befriend them and not engage with them and not be invited to
parties, but they'll live their life passionately for Jesus on mission right where they are.
And so part of the reason why we go is to share. But part of the reason why we go
is to encourage other believers like this. Because we get to come back and we get to gather with so
many people who have heard and who know Jesus Christ. But every day they wake up amongst the
darkness, right? To live life on purpose for the mission that God has for them. So thank you for
allowing us to go. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of this. And there's one more person that
I'm going to introduce you to, but that's going to happen here in a little bit in our message.
So I want to start off, let's read Titus 3 verses 1 through 2.
Paul, right in Titus, says this, remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities,
to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling,
to be gentle, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.
Here's what we see is happening here. Paul is pressing into Titus to press into his congregation
to make sure that not only are they living for the boldness of Christ in and amongst themselves,
right? False teachers have invaded. Elders need to be appointed. Defending the sound doctrine
needs to be a priority of who they are. But as they gather, there's always going to be a scatter.
Within the application of God's Word, what He's called the church to be is that we are called to
gather together, but we are called to scatter. That we are men and women who are called, who are saved,
who are chosen by God, not just to become spiritually fat and obese in our spiritual walk,
but to come and to be fed amongst the people of God, to be encouraged amongst the people of God,
but then we're called to scatter to share the name of God. And what happens within there is oftentimes
Christians, by our reputation, through our negative perception of what people have for us,
not because we're standing for the boldness of Christ, but because we're standing for the pride
and the sin of ourselves, we lessen the name of Christ instead of glorifying the name of Christ.
So Paul's addressing Titus for this group of pictures to say, you know what, make sure, like how you live
in culture for the name of the Lord matters. And so he says this, he says, remind them, remind them.
Here's the, this word means this, keep on reminding them. I don't know about you, but, but, but I know
what I need continually in the goodness and the graces of God, what he does is says over and over and
over to me, but I'm going to tell you this, but I'm going to tell you this, but I'm going to tell you
this, right? Like, like growing up, like, you know, that scary phrase that your mom used or your dad
used. I'm only going to tell you this one more time and then I'm done.
That's not God. God ain't done. God says, remind them, remind them, remind them, remind them,
remind them continually over and over and over again. Remind them of the gospel, remind them of
the expectation, remind them of who they're to be. And then we as a church, what we have to do within
this is don't sit there and listen to the reminders and our own spiritual arrogance thinking, do I need
to hear this again? Because the answer is if you or I ever think, do I need to hear this again? Guess
what? The answer is yes. Yes, we need to hear it again. We need to hear it again and we need to hear
it again. And then he uses two of the hardest words in his reminder of what they're to be. He says,
be submissive. Remind them to be submissive to the rulers and authorities and in that to be
obedient to them. Now it's not just that Titus is reminded to instruct that, but God's word
beautifully reminds us to do this. I want to give you some, some passage of, of, of scripture that
reinforce this. Romans 13, one, let every person be subject to the governing authorities for there's
no authority except from God and those that exist have been instituted by God.
1 Peter 2, 13-17. Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the
emperor as supreme or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who
do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of
foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as
servants of God, honor everyone, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the emperor. Here's what's remarkable
about this. Every single one of these instances, every single one, as Paul writes in Romans, as Peter
writes in 1 Peter, as Paul writes in Titus, he's writing to people who are severely persecuted for their faith in
Jesus Christ. And here's what he says. Submit. Submit. Submit. Submit. And I know what's coming to your head
because it's what comes to my head. Well, Bo, what about the exception? What about the exception?
What about the 1% of the time that it's not my sinfulness that doesn't want to submit,
but what about in the small minority of time that it is that they're trying to make me move
from my walk with the Lord in order to submit to them? Okay, well, the Bible covers that.
Do what the law of the land requires without becoming disobedient to the Lord. Acts 5 29.
But Peter and the apostles answered, we must obey God rather than men. So the question is,
obey man or obey God? Always obey God. Always obey God. But within our citizenship here on this earth,
that there are governing authorities who are over us, who are ordained by God to be over us, whether we
agree with them or not. And our positioning is to submit to them, whether you like it or not.
It doesn't mean that we don't fight for justice, that we don't stand for what's right, that we don't seek
to love and honor God within doing that. And we can talk about the exceptions, but I want to appeal to you
this morning of a picture of an exception. Can we show the next one?
This is Tung Tsang Chin.
You're thinking his name. Does it sound like he's from India? He's not.
He's a student at the Bible college.
He's a tiny fellow.
He's a worship leader.
He props up. He doesn't like using a strap.
So he props up his guitar and holds his foot off the ground the entire time that he leads worship.
And he plays that guitar as hard as he can. I don't know how he doesn't tear through the strings.
And he sings with passion.
And I asked Jacob, Jacob's the president of the Bible college.
I said, tell him about that guy leading.
And I was like, man, he's got some lungs on him.
He can sing.
He says, remarkable.
He said, um, he said about four years ago, he developed a condition in his throat.
And he went to the doctors.
And the doctors told him he had this condition that was going on.
And that within the next two to three months, he'd completely lose the ability to speak.
There's no treatment.
There's nothing possible that could cure this.
And so Tung began to pray.
And five years later, he not only leads God's people in worship,
but he preaches and proclaims the truth of God's word.
So how does a guy with a name like Tung San Chin end up in Jaipur at a Bible college?
Because he's from Burma.
And I don't know if you're aware with what's going on in Burma.
But as much as persecution takes place in India,
the Christian church from Burma is fleeing Burma to come to India
because of the persecution that they face.
The goal in Burma is genocide for Christians.
And their number one strategy is the burning of the churches.
on our last day,
I'm teaching through Titus.
Read through.
Remind them to be submissive
to rulers and authorities.
And he raises his hand.
And he said,
how does that apply to me?
You see,
because he's not,
he hasn't come to India
so that he can get an education
and minister to the Burmese church in India.
He's there so that he can get an education
so that he can go back.
And he said,
I don't know how I do that.
How do I do that?
And he's crying.
And in that moment,
I knew every theological answer
and it just honestly didn't seem to matter.
Every strategy that popped up in my head
because I cannot begin to fathom
that his goal
is to go back to a country
and share the gospel
with people who have killed those that he loves.
Here's the point.
When you and I
begin to think of the reasons
why we should not submit,
I pray that we would run it
through the same filter that Tong did.
Because I asked him,
brother,
I'm having a hard time
answering that question for you.
What do you think?
And he began to lay out
how the church there
loves those who oppress them.
He began to lay out
this unconditional love
and mission to God
that at 22 years old
that he gets
that I have a hard time
implementing in my own life as well.
So,
when you begin to think,
should I pray for that leader?
Should I stop speaking evil
of that leader?
Should I love those
who are different from me?
Should I lay aside my rights
for the rights of others?
Should I surrender?
And we begin to think
of all the 1% reasons
why we shouldn't.
I just want this young man's face
to resonate in your heart.
Because the Apostle Paul
writes to the church at Ephesus
and he says,
this is the positioning
of the church.
Ephesians 5, 21,
submitting to one another
out of the reverence for Christ.
This is who we are to be.
Number two.
Ready for every good work.
This ready
doesn't just mean
are you capable.
When he says it's the church
who were to be out
in the community,
who were to be out
in the world,
this isn't just a church
that is ready and capable.
This is a church
that's ready
and our readiness
is marked with eagerness.
Are you ready?
Are you capable
to go out
and to be the hands
and feet
and voice of Jesus
that he's called you to be?
Yes, you are ready.
Our educational,
Christian educational training
that you and I
have received
in discipleship
and the power
of the Holy Spirit
that we have within us
has made us ready.
The question is not
just simply are you ready
but it's are you eager
when we look out
in this world
and we see those around us
where God has placed us.
Do we view them
as an inconvenience
or would we view them
as the point,
as the purpose,
as the goal
of why God has us
where he has us?
Are you eager
for the sharing
of the gospel?
Are you eager
for every good work
that God has told you
that before he saved you,
Ephesians 2.10 tells us
that God had chosen
the works
for where he would position
and where he would place you.
So before you even knew you,
before you even knew Jesus,
what God has
is right where you are
to be the light,
to be the mission,
to live right where you are
for his name
and for his good
and he set the good works
before you.
Oftentimes we think
I need to be capable.
No, no, no.
We are capable
because we have
the Holy Spirit in us.
Are we eager
to do the work
that God has for us?
Paul says to Timothy,
I'm sorry, to Titus,
make sure you're ready.
Make sure you're eager.
And if you're not,
if you're not,
maybe not question
your capability,
but maybe ask God
to search your heart.
And why aren't you?
Why aren't you and I
eager to be
who God's called us to be
and do what God
has called us to do
right where we live,
work, and play?
To live on the mission
for God.
The third thing
that Paul then says
to Titus
is to speak evil
of no one.
Speak evil
of no one.
You know,
I like how God's word
functions in absolutes
because this really
doesn't give us
the, well, what about?
Speak evil
of no one.
Well, what if they
no one?
But come on,
what about this?
Of no one.
Have you ever thought
about the power
your speech has?
You see,
the truth of what
God's word teaches us
is that our words
are not neutral.
That we have the capability
and the power
through our words
to either build up
or tear down.
That the words
of God has given us
are powerful words
and he says this.
He says,
speak evil
of no one.
Don't speak slanderous.
Don't speak evil.
No malicious talk.
That's not who we're
to be.
As people of God,
that is not what God
has put in our mouth.
That's not why God
has put in our hearts
because people,
the people we are
speaking to,
the people we're
speaking about
are made in the image
of God.
James 3, 5-9
says this,
so also the tongue
is a small member
but yet it boasts
of great things.
How great a forest
is set ablaze
by such a small fire
and the tongue
is a fire,
a world of unrighteousness.
The tongue is set
among our members
staying the whole body
setting on fire
the entire course of life
and set on fire
by hell
for every kind
of beast
and bird
of reptile
and sea creatures
can be tamed
and has been tamed
by mankind
but no human being
can tame the tongue.
It is a restless evil
full of deadly poison.
Look at this contradiction.
With it we bless
our Lord and Father
and with it we curse
people who are made
in the image
and likeness of God.
And I'm not pointing
fingers at you
and I don't have
a bunch of them
coming back at me.
We gather in these places
and we talk about
how good and how great
and how wonderful God is
and then we walk out
into this world
and abuse,
tear down,
and attack people
with the words
the same mouth
that we just used.
You heard the phrase,
you know,
you kiss your mother
with that mouth?
You praise God
with that mouth?
People that are made
in the image
and likeness of God.
People who are
different than us,
people who have
a different belief than us,
people who have
a different understanding
than us,
people who have
a different morality
than us,
but still made
in the image
and likeness of God.
You see,
because we can
play up all of our actions,
we can play up
all of our things,
we can try to clean up,
we can try to pretty up,
we can try to do
all the things,
but what the Bible
teaches us is that
our mouth tells us
who we really are.
Matthew 15,
17 through 19,
do you not see
that whatever
goes into the mouth
passes into the stomach
and is expelled?
But whatever comes
out of the mouth
proceeds from the heart
and this defiles a person.
For out of the heart
comes evil thoughts,
murder,
adultery,
sexual morality,
theft,
false witness,
slander.
Does the testimony
and the mouth
match?
Does it match?
Again,
what about,
what about?
No one.
Paul writes
in Ephesians 4,
29,
talks about the goal
of our mouth.
Let no corrupting talk
come out of your mouths.
Let no,
but only such
as is good
for building up
as fits
the occasion
that it may
give grace
to those
who hear.
Now,
does that mean
when we don't
have conflict?
We don't address?
No,
no,
we see Jesus
all the time.
Jesus speaks truth.
Jesus speaks hard truth.
Jesus deals
with what people
need to hear.
Jesus speaks hard truth
to the people
sometimes that they're
most vulnerable
because that's
when they're
going to listen
to it.
He forgives
and then says
and go and sin
no more.
He gives grace
and speaks truth
all in one.
Grace and truth
are never,
ever intended
to be separated
because then grace
ceases to be grace
and truth
ceases to be truth
when we remove them
from one another.
But the goal
of the mouth
is this,
for building up,
for covering
in grace,
for speaking the truth
of who God is
and what God
has done.
Remind them.
He then says this.
He says,
avoid quarreling.
Avoid quarreling.
He says,
and here's how you do this
is how this sentence
is structured.
He says,
it's to be gentle
and it's to show
perfect courtesy
to all.
Be gentle
and show perfect
courtesy
to all.
I read a commentator
this week
that described
this sentence structure
that Paul uses
to Titus
as
sacrificial
kindness.
I love that.
Sacrificial
kindness.
That you and I
under the gospel
are called
to set aside
our personal rights
and privileges
for others
both in the church
and out of the church.
Those who will persecute us
and those who will praise us.
That's who we're called to be
to show
sacrificial
kindness
to even those
that want to attack us.
We're to live
our life
for the desire
of the righteousness
of God
and not
out of our own
selfishness
to make ourselves
right before man.
Sacrificial
kindness.
I'll close with this.
Do you remember
the story
in scripture
of Jesus
washing the disciples' feet?
It's found
found in John 13.
It's one of my favorite
pictures
and images
of Jesus'
ministry.
He's gathered
in this room
with this group
of followers,
the group
of disciples.
And what
almost immediately
awaits him
is his betrayal,
his arrest,
his beating,
his crucifixion,
and his death.
I can't imagine
the weight
that in his humanity
that he was dealing with.
And so the Bible
tells us
in his story
that there was
five acts
that Jesus did
in the washing
of the disciples' feet
in John 13
that I think
are significant
for you and I
to understand
what sacrificial
kindness
looks like.
Jesus,
the King
of kings
and the Lord
of lords
stepped out
of heaven
and took
on flesh.
Became humble
in the form
of a man
and led
in a lot
of ways
this earthly
ragtag
dysfunctional
group of guys
to pour
into them
when they
didn't get it
and they
didn't get it
and they
didn't get it
over and over
and over again
because he knew
that he would ascend
and they would be
the leaders
of the church.
And they failed
time
and time
again.
So Jesus
gathers
with them
and here's
the first
thing he does.
He took
off his clothes
the Bible
tells us.
Becoming
completely
physically
vulnerable
before them
and he
picked up
a towel
and he
wrapped
the towel
around his
waist.
Literally
what he
is doing
is Jesus
is identifying
as a servant.
If you
walked into
someone's house
and you
saw a man
standing there
with simply
a towel
wrapped around
his waist
he was the
lowest of
the lowest
servants
in the
house.
And that's
what Jesus
does.
Taking on
the form
of a servant.
He then
would begin
to get
down
and serve
them
in the
lowest form
with the
filth
of washing
their feet.
You see
they lived
and walked
in cities
and streets
that were
not
paved
that were
covered
with
the manure
of animals
the filth
of the
cities.
The dust
and the
dirt
that would
stick to
the moisture
of their
sweat on
their feet.
Filled
and
covered
and
bacteria.
And Jesus
would take
what he
was wearing
and wipe
their feet
and make
it completely
clean.
Literally
washing
the filth
and feces
off of
them
by putting
it on
himself.
And Peter
said,
that Jesus
isn't right.
You
shouldn't do
this to
me.
I should
do this
to you.
She said,
you don't
get it.
You don't
get it.
It is
exactly
I
who need
to do
this
to you.
And I
must do
this for
you,
Peter.
Rejecting
the
opportunity
for it
to be
done
to them.
The
fourth
thing
that
Jesus
does
is he
says,
I'm
doing
this
as an
example
for you.
As an
example
for you.
I'm
doing this
to you,
but I'm
doing this
as an
example
for you.
And to
be
the man
of God
that he's
called you
to be,
this is
what you
must be
about.
To be
vulnerable,
to be
willing,
sacrificial
kindness.
All of
that is
more than
my earthly
mind can
comprehend.
But then
Jesus does
one more
thing.
hey
Judas,
come here.
And the
man who
had
betrayed
for a few
pieces of
silver,
Jesus
holds
his feet,
pours the
water over
him,
takes
his
garment,
and he
wipes
them
clean.
Sacrificial
kindness.
Well,
Bo,
what about
this person
in my
life?
They don't
deserve my
kindness.
Lord,
what about
the people
that have
hurt me?
Why should
I do
this for
them?
Because
Jesus
did it
for
Judas,
and Jesus
did it
for you,
and Jesus
did it
for me.
remind
them,
remind
them,
remind
them.
Be
who God's
called you
and created
you to be
for his
name and
for his
glory,
no matter
the cost.
Would you
pray with
me?
God,
I thank you
for this
opportunity
where we
could gather
here together
to study
the truth
of your
word.
God,
I thank you
that you
gave me the
opportunity to
travel 8,000
miles to the
other side of
the world
where I
thought,
Lord,
what I was
going to
do was
going to
teach a
bunch of
18 to
24-year-olds
about the
truth of
your word
found in
Titus,
and Lord,
I thank you
for the
opportunity
for doing
that.
But God,
I thank
you.
I thank
you for
tongue-signed
chin.
God,
I pray
that I
will never
forget his
face.
that God,
his name
will be
burned into
my memory
and will
be lifted
up often
in my
prayers.
I thank
you,
Lord,
that what
he taught
me there
was much
greater than
what I could
ever teach
him.
That God,
to be
obedient to
you for
him meant
that he
didn't just
have to give
up his
pride,
his goals,
it wasn't
just about
an inconvenience
in a
moment,
but Lord,
it was
literally
willing to
give up
his life
for the
work of
the gospel.
So God,
I pray,
I pray
that we
would echo
the teaching
of Paul,
the teaching
of Peter,
the teaching
of Jesus,
the teaching
of tongue
in our
lives,
to surrender
our rights
for the
work of
the gospel,
to embody
and embrace
the sacrificial
kindness.
Jesus,
not just
that we've
seen from
you,
but God,
that we
live in,
because God,
it's not just
Judas that
doesn't
deserve,
but it's
me,
what I
don't
deserve,
but day
after day
after day,
Lord,
you've made
me clean.
When I want
to roll
back in the
mud,
when I want
to dive
back into
the sin,
when I want
to cover
myself with
the waste
and refuse
of this
world,
God,
you continually
make me
clean time
and time
again.
And God,
as I've
experienced
your sacrificial
kindness,
may that
be who I
am as a
child of
God.
And what a
privilege and
honor it is
to have
that.
May we
live in the
authority of
that.
For your
name and
your renown.
It's in Jesus
name we pray.
Amen.
That's it for
this week's
message.
Be sure to
check back
next week for
a new episode.
And in the
meantime, you
can visit us
online at
willowridgechurch.org
or by searching
for Willow Ridge
Church on
Facebook,
Instagram,
and YouTube.
Thanks again
for listening.
Thank you.