Seven characteristics of a servant. Number one, a servant places his master's will above his own will. Secondly, he performs his tasks without motive for recognition or service. Three, he's not easily discouraged because he finds his strength in serving his master. Number four, he's willing to do menial tasks. We see that here, don't we, in the life of our Lord. Number five, he's willing to have his plans and schedules interrupted. He doesn't have his own agenda. He's humble and he sees himself through God's eyes. In 1904, the heir to the Boston dairy estate. His name was William Borden. He graduated from Chicago High School and he was a millionaire. The son of a millionaire. His parents gave him a trip around the world just to see the sights. During that trip, he began to look with spiritual eyes Burdened for all of the hurting people that he saw in Asia, that he saw in Europe, and in the Middle East. He made a decision. Knowing Jesus Christ as his personal Savior, God led in his life and he made a decision to prepare for the mission field while he was on this world tour. even against adversity and discouragement from his own family members, he wrote in his Bible of his commitment for missions when God called him. And in his Bible, he wrote, no reserve. No reserve. William Borden was giving his all for his calling. God called him to serve the Lord. When William Borden arrived for college, remember he was just a high school graduate at the time, he went to Yale University, Ivy League school for the big bucks, you see. Well, the next year as a freshman, his passion for Christ was tested because the school was filled with non-committed Christians, those who he sought to fellowship with. During the semester, he decided to be a blesser of the light rather than a cursor of the darkness, so he started a Bible study right in Yale University. Announced it in the student union and in all of the bulletins of the dormitory. Bible study, student union. People began flocking in. As a result of William Borden's leadership, keep in mind this is a young college student, Other prayer groups began to spring up throughout the campus, some in the dormitories, others in the more public classrooms. By his senior year, 1,000 of the 1,300 students at Yale University were meeting in prayer groups. And many of those young leaders came to receive Jesus Christ as personal Savior. You see, William Borden believed in preparing for God's calling, but he also believed in serving where he was, blooming where he was. Upon graduation from Yale University, just because of who his parents knew, job offers came flocking in. and I'm talking about high-paying job offers, threatening God's call upon his life. But while making those decisions, he wrote two more words in his Bible. You remember the first words that he wrote in his Bible when God called him to the mission field? He wrote, no reserve. But this time, with the temptations and the allurements and the financial attractions that came his way, he wrote these next two words right under that same Bible on the fly leaf. No retreat. For the servant of God, there can be no retreat. No going back. I think of the chorus that we used to sing on college campus groups. I have decided to follow Jesus. Do you know it? Let's sing it together, shall we? I knew I'd get you to sing sooner or later. I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back. No turning back. William Borden. No reserve. No retreat. So then God called him to seminary after his college training. He went to Princeton Seminary back when it stood for a lot more. And he sailed and got his theological instruction. Then he set sail to China to work with the Muslims. And on the way, he stopped to Egypt because he needed to study Arabic. But there in Egypt, William Borden was stricken with spinal meningitis. How ironic that one so prepared, so intelligent, so sharp, so committed would be terminally ill at age 25 before he even knew the fullness of life and ministry. Within a month of its diagnosis, he went home to be with the Lord. But that's not all of the story. When his parents came to pick up the body, they found among his belongings his Bible. And they saw no reserve, no retreat. But they saw a third inscription on the fly leaf, no regrets. No regrets. John the Baptist had a short ministry of six months and yet Jesus said of John the Baptist, among those born of women there is none greater than John the Baptist. And I know the devil jumps on some of your shoulders like a monkey on somebody's back and says, you know, what can you do? You were saved later in life and you've messed up your life and you've done this and you've done that. And you know, the devil likes to remind us about our past. Well, first of all, you make sure that the past is under the blood of Jesus Christ. Then next time the devil begins reminding you about your past, you remind the devil about his future. His is that of judgment. He is a vanquished foe. William Borden is an example of a person who entered into the ministry, and at the end of his life, he had finished the course that God had laid out for him. You remember in our message on John chapter 13, we had given four characteristics of true servanthood. Four characteristics of a servant's heart, a mindset for ministry. We saw, first of all, number one, the example of Jesus. He was steadfast. He was steadfast. The Bible tells us, having loved His own that were in the world, He loved them until the end. Think of it. He loved them until the end. Steadfast. What is it that's going to keep you from serving the Lord Jesus Christ? faithfully. What is it that's going to keep you from writing like William Borden wrote on his Bible? No reserve. No retreat. He was steadfast. Verse 2 gives us The opposition of Satan whenever we have a mindset for service. We saw satanic warfare. In verse 2, it says, the devil put into the heart of Judas Iscariot Simon's son to betray him. But did that dissuade Jesus from serving God? From doing the work of the Lord? Of course not. It did not. We saw last week the third characteristic of a mindset for service. not only steadfastness and the presence of satanic warfare, but sobriety. Jesus knew His relationship to the Father. And you know, in times of testing, we need to keep in mind before us the fact of our salvation and the fact of God's call in our life. And we need to keep our eyes on those focal points that we not be distracted from the satanic warfare that we see in this passage in verse 2 and in the latter part of chapter 13. But then, on the fact of the mindset for service, today we're going to be looking for the remaining time that we have at the fourth characteristic of a mindset for service, and that is a servant's heart. Look at verses 4-17. I'm going to show you four things regarding a servant's heart. They all begin with the letter P in order to facilitate our retention of this subject of a servant's heart as Ron Hamilton wrote the beautiful words of a servant's heart. First of all, let's look at the portrait. The portrait of a servant's heart. And that is exemplified in the life of our Savior. Notice, He rises from supper and He laid aside His garments and He took a towel and He girded Himself. Someone once said the mark of leadership is the towel and the basin, not the scepter. It is the attitude of service and the towel and the basin. We have a beautiful imagery here in verse 4 of the incarnation as well. Because did not Jesus come with a servant's heart according to Philippians 2 when He came in the form of a servant and He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross? Doesn't it say in Philippians 2 that He laid aside all of the extravagances and beauty of heaven, and He came in the form of a servant. And isn't the incarnation pictured here in verse 4? He rises from supper, lays aside His garments. It's almost a picture of what He did when He came into earth and He traded the regal garments of heaven for the swaddling clothes of the manger. And it says here, He took a towel and He girded Himself. the portrait of a servant's heart, serving and finding joy in serving others. He took the place of a servant. Back in the New Testament times, the roads weren't paved. Aren't we spoiled? I remember when I took a trip to the Central African Republic, every one of the roads was just dirt and ruts. and potholes and I remember I had a camera that I had taken with all of my pictures and we were traveling from one end of the CAR to the other and that camera for hours on end was just bouncing, bouncing, bouncing, bouncing, bouncing and then it bounced open and exposed all of my film. And oh, I was so sad because they were irreplaceable films that I wanted to use for the presentation as I came back to the church, but we're spoiled with the roads today and the pavement and getting from one place to the other. Well, back in New Testament times, the streets were filled with dirt, dirt roads, and your feet would get dirty. Some teenagers would say you got a lot of toe jam. Well, the truth of the matter is you had to wash your feet a lot. and you had to take your sandals off. And it was a servant that was designated that responsibility of washing the feet. You wouldn't take a bath when you entered in. You would have had that at home. You'd wash your whole body, but from the ankles down. You would be so soiled. And there needed to be a frequent cleansing of the feet. And it was a servant's position to do that. Can you imagine? Jesus. What a portrait of a servant's heart. Then look at verse 5. Let's see the procedure here. Not only the portrait, but the procedure. He pours water into a basin. And you can see him bending down and washing the disciples' feet. The word that is used is the word niptoe. The word wash is used in two ways in this passage. But the word niptoe speaks of the specific washing of the feet, you see, not the entire body, but the feet. And he washes their feet and he wipes them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Look at the protest, the third aspect of our study today. in verses 6-11. It's interesting, whenever Jesus did good things, people protested. You remember when Mary broke the alabaster box, Judas protested. And here we have protesting here as Jesus is washing His disciples' feet. Then cometh He to Simon Peter. He's coming around to wash Peter's feet. Lord, dost Thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now. There are a lot of things that Jesus did that they didn't understand. But thou shalt know hereafter. That's why Jesus said, I have many things to share unto you, but you're not able to bear them now. You can't learn everything all at once when you come to know Christ as Savior. It takes time. But Peter says unto him, Thou shalt never wash My feet." His motives are good. His understanding deficient. Jesus answered him, if I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me. It's the Lord and only the Lord that can cleanse our hearts from sin. Not human works of righteousness. Not penance. Not indulgences. not going to a priest for confession, not going down the Via Dolorosa, not any works of righteousness save the blood of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and its cleansing power. Simon says, Lord, You know I want to have a part in You, and if that's the case, Lord, You can wash not only my feet, but, Lord, You can wash my hands, and my head." And Jesus gives a spiritual truth. And He uses the other word translated wash. It's the word luo, which means a complete, once-for-all body wash. Jesus says to him, he that is washed, and that speaks of a once-for-all washed, the entire cleansing, needeth not save to wash his feet. Because it was the feet that would become soiled in the highways and corridors of life. He's clean everywhere else, but then referring to Judas, he says, you are clean, but you know, some of you have never been cleansed. And he's referring to Judas Iscariot. Judas was not a picture of someone who lost his salvation. Judas was a picture of someone who never had it. He was a professor, but not a possessor of salvation. He knew, verse 11, who should betray him. Therefore said he, ye are not all clean. Now in verses 12 through 17, we see the pattern. We've seen the portrait, v. 4, the procedure, v. 5, the protest, v. 6-11. Now look at the pattern that He gives us in v. 12-17. And once again, just like in v. 4, we have a beautiful imagery, a beautiful illustration, not of the incarnation, but His ascension into heaven where He was once again raised up in glory to sit at the right hand of God. So after He washed their feet and had taken His garments, He was set down again." Doesn't that sound like Philippians 2? Set down again at the right hand of the Father. After He accomplished His redemptive work, which includes both types of Luo. Because Jesus died on the cross, we receive the once-for-all cleansing, Luo, but we also receive the daily cleansing, the Nipto. And it's because of Jesus and His ministry. But now, He's at the right hand of God making intercession for us. But notice the pattern here. It continues. He asks them a question. Know ye what I have done? unto you?" In other words, what he's saying is, do you know what I've done? What I've illustrated to you? Now, the Grace Brethren Church, a church and a group of believers that I dearly love, and they love the Word of God, they make what Jesus did an ordinance. Just like baptism and the Lord's Supper, and they observe what we call a three-fold communion service, and they have the foot washing right along with it. But Jesus is not giving an ordinance here. He is setting an example. And what He says is this, you call Me Master and Lord, and you say, well, for I am. In other words, I have the right to expect the adulation and the worship. I have a right to be recognized as the Savior and the Son of God. But if I, being your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet." Our Lord wasn't establishing an ordinance, but what He was doing was establishing an example. He was saying this, yes, you have the right to say, I am the head of my home. Yes, you have the right to say, I am the employer. Or, I have the right to say, yes, I'm the pastor. But, title set aside. Whatever authority God may have given all of us, and we all have many, many hats, the key in the exercise of that title is always to be the towel and the basin, not the scepter. Now, in the flesh, there's always the desire to pick up the scepter, to drive the sheep, to drive our kids, to drive our employees, to seek to establish position rather than establish the leadership and the love for the brethren. But the Word of God says here, I have given you an example that you should do as I have done unto you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord." Just a little while earlier, one of the synoptic comparison Gospels, specifically Luke, tells us that in the upper room, before Jesus washed their feet, they were arguing who's going to be the greatest. They were concerned about position and power rather than service. He says, The servant is not greater than his Lord, neither is he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If you know these things, happy are ye. Did I read that right? I'm going to say it again. Look closely at verse 17. And listeners, listen carefully. Am I reading verse 17 right? If you know these things, happy are ye." What's missing? Ah, happiness is found not in knowing, but in doing. Sometimes we as Bible students and as church members and fellowship studies, we have the idea that somehow we want to just stuff our heads. I want to hear new things. I want to know more about the Bible. I want to stuff my head with facts and information. That's great. That is important because the Word of God says, sanctify them through thy truth. Thy Word is truth. However, happiness and contentment comes not through just knowing, but what? Doing. It's important that that word do is there, you see, because that is the pathway of happiness. The pathway to joyful Christian life is not only knowing, but doing. I'd like to close with this illustration of a servant's heart. Most of you are acquainted with Elizabeth Elliot. She wrote a book entitled The Mark of a man. You ought to get that book and read it. The mark of a man undoubtedly influenced by the life of her deceased husband. She gave an excellent illustration of leading by serving in her book. And I want you to catch this illustration. She told of a relative who was the dean of a Christian college in the Midwest. One night, as oftentimes will happen in a college, one night on the weekend, the kids got a little rowdy in the dormitory. They smeared the walls of the dormitory. That was the center receiving room. They smeared the walls with shaving cream and peanut butter and jelly. That's about all the college students had, you know. Shaving cream, peanut butter and jelly. Nowadays, they'd probably throw in ramen soup noodles. But that's what they had back in those days. And they just made a mess with shaving cream and peanut butter and jelly. As a matter of fact, they, I don't know if I ought to give some college students maybe hearing, you know, they take a paper bag, they fill it with shaving cream, and then they close the bag and they put it under the door, the mouth of the bag, and then they go, And that shaving cream propels across a room and just, well, peanut butter and jelly and all of these things. The dean always finds out. In comes the dean. And he began thinking as he was driving over, because he got word of this mess that was going on. And interestingly enough, all of the students scattered. They were all in their rooms listening to the radio and reading from their King James Bibles. And he was thinking as he was driving to this mess, as he was driving from his home to the dormitory, he began to think, you know what? I could force those young men to clean it up. Or I could give a late night phone call to the custodian that lives another three miles away and I could have him clean it up. But something convicted him like a bolt of lightning. He took off his tie and his coat. He took off his white shirt and dressed in his slacks and a t-shirt and his wingtips. He went into the closet and he found a pail and he found soap and he found a mop and sponges and he started cleaning the facility himself. And as he began working, suddenly doors started opening up down the dormitory one by one. And sheepishly, those students started coming down the hallway. They picked up a sponge and they joined in. Those perpetrators had been convicted by the mindset of service and they had seen the love of Christ. I just want to challenge you. Would the dean have had the right? To call that custodian out of his warm bed in the middle of the night to clean up a mess that other kids had made? Sure, he would have had a right to do that. Would he have had a right to grab the kids by the scuff of the necks and tell them that, you know, they're going to be disciplined and grounded? And yes, he would have had a right. But he chose the mindset of service because he saw down the corridors of time that there was a deeper message that he wanted to deliver. And that was a Christ-like message. And I want to challenge you. You may be facing trials and testings and difficulties, and you could come down and deal with it in a harsh spirit, Be so coarse, maybe with your children or your employees, and come down heavy-handed. But I challenge you to exemplify the Christlike spirit of a servant's heart. And be part of the solution in going that extra mile, because you want to give the greater lesson, not the lesson that comes out of anger, but the lesson that comes out of love. Next week we're going to look at the remaining verses, but we're going to do some real explaining on verses 34 and 35. And I just want to read it as a capstone for our thoughts. A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another as I have loved you. And that you love one another By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples." That you have the right sign outside of the church. That you have the right doctrinal statement. That you know all things about the Bible. No? It says here, if you have love, one towards another. In our service, let's demonstrate the love of Christ. Let's pray. Father, we thank You for Your Word. And Lord, we thank You for the Spirit of God that indwells us. And Lord, for the example that Jesus gives us of service. Lord, He who could have called a myriad of angels from heaven to smite Judas and destroy him, He was willing to wash his feet. Later in the passage, we'll see He extended unto him the sop the place of honor, the expression of honor. And Father, we just pray that You would give us that humility of heart and love towards one another and even, Lord, towards those that do us wrong, that, Lord, may even despitefully use us, whether knowingly or unknowingly. Lord, we keep before us the example of our Savior. Lord, speak to our hearts as we serve You. And may others see the love of Christ in our hearts and be drawn to Your love so that they might receive You as personal Savior. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.