And we may have others join us electronically later. So welcome back to Devoted to God's Church. We'll be looking at chapter 9. In Dr. Ferguson's book, Devoted to God's Church, this one deals with our service. And again, I'm amazed over and over again with how well our lessons in Sunday school line up with our sermon texts. And in our sermon today in Colossians 4, we will see sort of a group photo of faithful laborers in the field, faithful servants of the gospel. And in here, in chapter 9, we're dealing with this subject of service to one another, service to Christ in the context of his local church. The title of the chapter is The View from the Foot. or Christian service. And we'll begin, I think it's helpful to begin where Dr. Ferguson does in John chapter 13, looking at the original Lord's Supper and a particular act of service that our Lord gives to us by way of example. An example that we are to follow, particularly in the mind of our Savior. Let's pray and ask for the Lord's help as we open his word. We give you thanks for your word. We thank you that you have given us a lamp to our feet, a light to our path that you've given us. Something that is certain and infallible and sufficient in terms of your own revelation to us as sinful creatures. You have redeemed us from the pit. You have set us on solid ground, which is Christ our rock. And we thank you and we ask for your Spirit's help to understand and to apply the word of life. We ask this in Christ's name. Amen. In John chapter 13, we won't read the whole chapter, but we'll read some significant portions of it, where our Lord Jesus institutes the Lord's Supper. And here he has all 12 of the disciples. We have 11 faithful men who will be rattled and shaken and tested. And we have one devil here in the room. And in chapter 13 of John, beginning in verse 1, 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 it 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 that he had come from God and was going back to God, 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 the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon 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. To wash someone's feet in the ancient world was the most menial of all tasks. In a large household, there would be a number of different servants, and all would have a number of different tasks. But it was always the low man. It was the lowest of the servants who was charged with the unpleasant task of washing someone's feet. And here you have these men gathered around the table to observe this Passover meal together, something they had done since they were little boys, something every faithful Jewish family has partaken in. And here they come in with both physically and also ceremonially just unclean. And they come into the very presence of Christ. They are, in a very real sense, on holy ground. They're in the presence of the second person of the Trinity, clothed in human flesh. And he leaves his place at the table, the place that certainly would have been the head of the table, the place of honor. He leaves that, bows himself, both literally and figuratively, and washes their feet. And of course, even if we're not familiar with the story, if I just ask you, if I told you, you know, one of the disciples protested, you have a guess which one it is, you would all say, well, it's probably Peter. He's the one who usually pops off like this, and it is Peter. And Peter's asking, essentially, what are you doing? And Jesus says, you're not gonna understand yet what I'm doing. Then down in verse 12, 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've done to you? You call me teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet, for I've 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. I'm not speaking of all of you. I know whom I have chosen, but the scripture will be fulfilled. He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me. I'm telling you this now before it takes place, that when it does take place, you may believe that I am he. Truly, truly I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. So here we have the Lord Jesus Christ knowing full well that Judas is a betrayer, and yet he stoops to wash even Judas' feet. And so what John tells us is true. He has loved them to the very end. He served them to the very end. And His love was not some wishy-washy, ambiguous kind of love. It was a definitive and tangible expression of His love. So what we learn, and what Jesus is giving to us by way of example, is not what He instituted here by ordinance is the Lord's Supper. There are denominations who practice the foot washing as part of that ordinance. And I think there's a confusion here in terms of what Jesus has instituted. He's instituted the supper. And we have confirmation of that, for example, in 1 Corinthians 11, when Paul gives to us the supper as the ordinance. I've received from the Lord that which I've also given to you. and he gave the supper. The foot washing was an example of humble service. That's what Jesus has done. That's the point of the foot washing, is not so that we can repeat the literal foot washing, but what he's done is demonstrated to his disciples. There's nothing that ought to be beneath you when it comes to serving one another. There's nothing that you should consider too meaningful. to do out of love for Christ or for one of your brothers or sisters. That's really the point. Dr. Ferguson gives to us three principles, three things that he draws out from this example, and I won't go through it this morning for the sake of time, but I do commend to you, he has put in a side-by-side comparison Philippians chapter two and this, example from John 13, and seeing how much those things are similar. As Paul's describing the humiliation, the earthly humiliation of our Lord Jesus, and here we see John's description of it in the gospel. I would commend that to you. It's an interesting comparison. But first of all, we notice Dr. Ferguson notes the mind of Christ. Here's what's central in this example, is the mind of Christ. And this doesn't mean that we take on his intellect per se, or that we take on certain aspects of his personality, but rather we take on his attitude. of humble service. It is that attitude of humble service. Ferguson gives three points that describe this mind of Christ. First, Jesus saw what was needed. Jesus saw that there was a need. He looked around the table. He saw that the disciples' feet were unclean. They needed to be washed. There was no servant there to do that, and Jesus said, I'll do it. I will take that responsibility upon myself, I will take the initiative to do that. And secondly, Jesus was willing to leave a position to which he was entitled. Jesus was not just at the table, he was the head of the table. And every time the Passover feast was observed, there would have been a head of that table. Jesus was at the head, and rightly so, and having left that position. He goes from the top position to the lowest position. Remember the parable that Jesus tells? He says, if you are invited to a feast, don't take the best seat at the tables. Remember what he said? Because when the master of the feast comes, he may ask you, he may embarrass you by telling your friend, you need to move down to this other seat. But rather, take the lowest seat. And then, if the master tells you to move up to a higher seat, you're actually honored instead. And he concludes that with the last shall be first and the first shall be last. Well here, our Lord Jesus was at the head of the table, and he doesn't take the lowest seat at the table. He takes the position of a lowest servant who would not have even been permitted to be at the table. That's what it means to have the mind of Christ. And thirdly, Jesus was prepared to engage in such a humble task because he was committed to even greater acts of humility. So to have the mind of Christ means that those things that we do are not just an end of themselves, but an indication of our willingness to go even lower. Now think about David. As David danced before the Lord and his wife was embarrassed because his nakedness was shown, and he basically told her, you've not seen anything yet. I'm willing to humiliate myself in far worse ways than this for the sake of my Lord. And that's what Jesus is saying here. He's saying by his example, by engaging this humble task, he's indicating there's nothing beneath him when it comes to his love for his people. And the example that he gives to his disciples is that for the sake of the gospel, there ought to be nothing that you're unwilling to do with respect to your own humiliation. You shouldn't sit back and allow your pride to prevent you from serving someone else because a task seems, in your own mind, beneath you. So that's the first principle. What we learn from this from John 13 is the mind of Christ. We're going to take on this mind of Christ with respect to an attitude of humility when it comes to our brothers and sisters, when it comes to serving and worshiping the Lord. Then he gives several principles of service He says, I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done to you. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. And again, he's not pointing to or only to the limited, narrow scope of literal, physical, tangible foot washings. He's using that representatively, because that was the most menial of tasks, and that points to something else. And I think Ferguson is very helpful on page 142 and 143. He states in both negative and positive terms these principles of service. And this is, I think, an encouragement to me, hopefully is to you as well. Negatively, he says this, service is not a matter of others recognizing our gifts, but positively, service is a matter of us recognizing others' needs. I mean, how many times have we thought those things, and we've seen that in the life of a church, when someone says, yeah, but my gifts, my gifts, my gifts. We need to be thinking more in terms of what are others' needs rather than what are my gifts. Secondly, again, both negatively and positively, service is not a matter of doing things for others at our own convenience. Positively, service is a matter of us helping others when they are inconvenienced. I mean, the whole point of service. is to meet the needs of someone else, not ourselves. If we're serving just so that I feel better about myself, or so that I'll serve when it's convenient for me, is that really, who am I serving at that point? I'm serving the convenience of my schedule, or the convenience of my time, rather than the needs of someone else. Thirdly, again, negatively and positively, negatively, service is not a matter of feeling we have special gifts. But positively, service is a matter of us seeing that others have very special needs. So rather than looking at the world and the opportunities to serve the Lord through the lens of, this is what God has really gifted me to do, this is what I enjoy the most. We need to look through the lens of, what are the needs? What do my brother and sisters need? What does my church need? What do the people of God need? And fourthly, Negatively stated, service is not an optional extra for a member of the church. Positively, service is written into the definition of being a member of the church. Service is not something that we decide whether or not we plan to do it. It's a necessity. It's part and parcel of what it means to be a Christian, what it means to be a part of the body of Christ, is to serve one another. He goes on to say, to our fellow members, we are called to love. And here, loving includes seeking to fulfill all the responsibilities of belonging together in fellowship. So we would all, part of our church covenant, we confess together that we have a duty to love one another. And all of us would agree, that's what the scriptures say unambiguously and repeatedly, love one another. A new commandment I have given to you, love one another. But what does that mean? Love is not just that I feel a certain warmth and affection towards my brothers and sisters, but it's that I'm willing to physically, prayerfully, tangibly serve them. Here's three principles he gives. Committing ourselves to never neglecting worship and fellowship on those occasions the church is called together as a whole unless hindered by God's providence. Again, what does it look like to put skin on this? What does it mean to love our brothers and sisters? Well, we've got to be together. You know, Kabbali and I were talking about this just before Sunday school, about this idea of virtual church, this meta-church, and the lack of the ability, tangibly, physically, to connect with one another, to look each other in the eye, to experience that kind of one-to-one, face-to-face fellowship that God has designed us to do. And there are certainly times when, by way of illness or travel or some other means, we are providentially hindered. But how many other times are we just, noncommittal to the life of the church. And we think, we tend to think, by default, because that's our human nature, we tend to think in terms of, well, if I don't go, I'm only missing X, Y, or Z, and I'm willing to live with that. But in our calculus, we're not calculating what are my brothers and sisters missing, because God has appointed me to serve them and meet their needs. Secondly, committing ourselves, what does it mean to love? It means committing ourselves to prayer, both individually and corporately for each other and for the extension of God's kingdom. As we saw over the last few weeks in Colossians 4, Paul admonishes the Colossian church to continue earnestly, steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. This is the command that rests upon every one of us who are in Christ. This isn't, again, an optional extra. This isn't that we pray when someone else leads us in that way, but that we are devoted to calling upon the Lord on behalf of one another. And thirdly, Dr. Ferguson, I think helpfully flushes out, what does this mean to love our fellow church members? Thirdly, committing ourselves to serve our fellow believers and to serve with them, employing the gifts God has given us for their blessing and for the sake of others. He says, a willingness to serve is not to be confused with high levels of activity in the church. You know, sometimes we think and we hear the words service and church together, we tend to think programmatically, that there's got to be a program for everybody has an opportunity to serve. Here's a sign-up sheet for this and that, and here's the nursery, here's the parking lot crew, here's the greeters, here's the sound team, all these different areas of service. And that's necessary in some context, and he goes on to talk about the differences even between a large church and a small church, and some of those needs and opportunities. But beyond those formalities, what are our duties to one another to serve? It's not about activity, it's not about busyness. Again, what's the mind of Christ here? Is there a willingness? When God calls upon us, and usually, it's kind of like having a plumbing emergency, that doesn't usually happen Monday through Friday, eight to five, does it? That happens on those off hours, right? And so too are many of those opportunities to serve one another. It doesn't come with a convenient time. It doesn't come when I'm just sitting around with a clear schedule for the next two days with nothing to do. And an opportunity comes to serve a brother or sister. I'm going to turn with us, turn to our confession of faith. You can grab one of the Trinity Hymnals if you don't have this with you. Chapter 27. This is part of a larger section in our confession that begins in chapter 21. Chapter 21 is the chapter on the liberty of conscience, where we confess that Christ alone, through his word, is the only Lord of our conscience, and we are not subject to the doctrines and commandments of men. Dr. Jim Renahan, I think very helpfully, defines this greater section beginning in chapter 21. He calls it freedom and boundaries. And in this section we have the idea of worship, we have marriage, the civil magistrate, and in all those contexts you have freedom and you have boundaries. You have liberties, God-given liberties, and you also have responsibilities. Chapter 26, which is the church, also falls in this same section. There are liberties that we are given, and there are also obligations. Then we come to chapter 27, which is entitled Of the Communion of the Saints. And using this word communion in its older sense, communion means sharing together. It means fellowship together. It really means a combining together of one another's resources, both in spiritual and tangible physical ways. There are two paragraphs here, so it's a short chapter and yet it's a profound chapter. And again, think about and listen to the language. You'll hear words like bound and duty. And you'll also hear language that indicates privilege. Paragraph one says, all saints that are united to Christ, their head by his spirit and faith, although they are not made thereby one person with him, have fellowship in his graces, sufferings, death, resurrection, and glory. So in other words, we're not just subsumed into the very essence of Christ, but we have a holy fellowship with him. We have a fellowship in his gifts and graces. We have a fellowship in his sufferings. We have a fellowship in his death, resurrection, and one day in his glory. And being united to one another in love, they, this is all those who were true saints, They have communion in each other's gifts and graces, meaning they have a sharing together, they have a fellowship in one another's gifts and graces, and are obliged. See, that's that language of duty. They are obliged to the performance of such duties, public and private, in an orderly way, as do conduce to their mutual good, both in the inward and outward man. By virtue of us being Christians, See, here's the cause and effect. The cause here is Christ's redemptive work in us. The fact that we've been united to Christ and we have fellowship in His graces, His gifts, His sufferings, and His death, burial, and resurrection, and one day His glory, that then obligates us to everyone else who has the same fellowship in Him. We have an obligation, we have a duty to the performance of such duties, public and private, in an orderly way. What are those duties? Well, some of the things we've just talked about. Prayer, committing ourselves to being physically present with one another, to be in the assembly together, committing ourselves to employing the gifts that God has given to us for the service and blessing of one another. Well, paragraph two, makes this more specific. So we have the general concept in paragraph one, that because of our union with Christ, we are also in union with one another, and therefore, here's the cause and effect, we have duties to one another. God has given to us various gifts, spiritual and otherwise, resources, spiritual and otherwise, and opportunities, spiritual and otherwise. Listen to paragraph two. Saints by profession, that's us, right? Those who confess the name of Christ. Saints by profession are bound to maintain a holy fellowship and communion in the worship of God and in performing such other spiritual services as tend to their mutual edification. And I want to pass over the very first part of this. Saints by profession are bound to maintain a holy fellowship and communion in the worship of God. Church membership is not optional. Church membership is not optional for the Christian. It is optional which church you join, but it is not optional that you join a church. You have a duty to do that. Unless there's some crazy providential circumstance that hinders you, that is your normal, ordinary duty as a Christian. It is my duty as a Christian to maintain a holy fellowship and communion in the worship of God and performing such other spiritual services as tend to their mutual edification. as also in relieving each other in outward things according to their several abilities and necessities. So here it speaks to not just spiritual things, but very tangible physical necessities. which communion, according to the rule of the gospel, though especially to be exercised by them in the relation wherein they stand, whether in families or churches, yet as God offers opportunity, is to be extended to all the household of faith, even all those who in every place call upon the name of the Lord Jesus. So there is, Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert wrote a book years ago called What is the Mission of the Church? And they introduced a concept that was very helpful to me, the concept of moral proximity. And it's not a difficult concept to understand. Those to whom I am closest in the providence of God are the ones to whom I have a greater responsibility. So obviously, 1 Timothy 5, for example, obligates us to care for our own families. And Paul says, in fact, you've denied the faith and you're worse than an infidel if you will not care for your own family. If a man will not work and provide and care for his own family, he's denied the faith. So there's that principle there of moral proximity. I'm not obligated to care for every family on the earth, but I am obligated to care for mine. and I'm obligated within the context of a local church to be willing to meet the needs of other brothers and sisters as they arise. So there is that idea of duty that extends outward. So that's what's being communicated here. And the language is somewhat antiquated, but it says according to the rule of the gospel, which is a rule of love. We remember from our study in 1 Corinthians 13 that Dr. Rinnehan helped, it was helpful to me to think of it, love is law. Love is not just a feeling, love is law. It's a command given to us. So this is the rule of the gospel. Though especially to be exercised by them, that's us, professing Christians, in the relation wherein they stand. So in God's providence, he has placed us in particular circumstances. And in those circumstances, we have responsibilities. So if you're in a family, depending on whether you're the father or the mother or the child, your responsibilities will vary. In a church, depending on your position, depending on your standing within that body, the necessities upon you may vary. Not everyone is called to teach, not everyone is called to lead in those ways, but there are responsibilities that rest upon everyone. And he says, as God offereth opportunity, that is to be extended to all the household of faith. You see the concentric circles working outward. Nevertheless, the last phrase in paragraph two, nevertheless, their communion with one another, their sharing with one another as saints, does not take away or infringe the title or propriety which each man has in his goods and possessions. So this isn't socialism. It isn't collectivism. Everyone is entitled, in fact, commanded to maintain their own personal property and be good stewards of it. and be willing to hold it loosely, and give of it generously. Even as we see the example in Acts, to sell it if necessary. To sell a portion of land, or to sell a stock, or to sell something of value that you could use to help another brother or sister. So this is the language of love. This is the example that our Lord Jesus gives to us. We see the foot washing is more than just the physical act of washing someone's feet. It's a willingness to get our hands dirty, both literally and metaphorically. It's a willingness to humble ourself, to leave our place, that we feel like, I've worked hard to get here. Yes, you have. And the Lord's asked you to give it up, maybe, or to give freely of what he has given to you for the sake of someone else. There's a third thing that Dr. Ferguson gives to us with respect to this lesson from John chapter 13, And he's entitled this, Finding Your Place. This is where he gives this, I think, a helpful perspective on larger churches versus smaller churches. I'll leave that to you to read through. But he says, we often hear people say, this church is too large, I can't find a place to serve. But listen how he responds. In fact, this is never true. And sadly, sometimes when such a statement is decoded, what it actually means is that the person feels they are not receiving the recognition they deserve. The whole idea of service is not to gain recognition. And I think about in the sermon text today, we'll see a man named Jesus called Justice. He's listed as a faithful servant. Do you know that's the only thing we know about him? Is his name and Paul commended him. His name is known in heaven, but no one else knows him. No one else knows what he did. Paul knows. Paul was blessed by him. The people of Colossae know. But how many of us are willing to labor in that kind of obscurity? Or are we doing it in our own pride, looking for that notoriety, looking for the recognition? He says, and where they exist, there are usually, he says, back up, we are, after all, rarely under any compulsion to become members of large churches. And where they exist, there are usually smaller churches around, crying out for people to serve, since, sadly, some of their own complaining members have believed that the grass is greener in the larger church. But again, it often comes because we come at church as a service provider. And the larger church can provide more services. We have a very statist worldview. And the church is, in many ways, rather than seeing the church as superior to the state, we see it as just an alternative to it. He goes on to say, do not complain about the thighs when you should be opening your eyes to see the needs of others and how you could be meeting those needs. So he gives three principles of service. Again, under this heading of finding your place. And I get this question. Pastorally, I'm sure our deacons hear this question from people from time to time. As people visit, where can I serve? What can I do? Well, here's principle number one. Be willing to do anything that needs to be done. It's a crazy idea, isn't it? Be willing to do anything. Because often, and you get this sometimes, well, you probably don't. I don't either. Kids say, I'm bored. Okay, I have some suggestions. Oh, I don't want to do that. Because the grass needs mowing, the windows need washing, the trash needs taken out. That wasn't what I had in mind, Dad. but sometimes church members communicate in a similar way. I'm bored, I want something to do. Okay, bathrooms need cleaning, carpets need scrubbing. Oh, that wasn't what I was thinking about. You want to do anything. Ecclesiastes 9, 10, whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might. He gives, Unfortunately, he gives an anecdote that's common, and he says, Christians often approach the leadership in a church in such terms, if I were to become a member here, would I be able to fill in the blank? Often the blank is teach, he says. Obviously, those who ask this have no idea that it is usually a question calculated to make any wise leader nervous. There's something uncomfortably egocentric rather than church-centered about it, isn't there? The idea that one would become a member of a fellowship on condition that there was a position of influence to occupy or so that one could use one's gift rather than being willing simply to serve in whatever capacity would help is often a warning sign that a person is more interested in themselves than they are in the fellowship. They're looking out for more for their own gifts to be used than for Christ to be honored and others helped. Well, that's not always the case, but it is not an infrequent phenomenon. Principle number two. Principle one is do whatever needs to be done. Principle number two, seek to develop the graces that are essential to exercising your gifts for others. And he gives two questions. When we think about Someone saying, we really need to get Mr. X to do some task, to serve in some way, or we need to get Mrs. Y to serve in this capacity. There's two questions we ought to ask. Is this person really gifted and equipped for this ministry? Are they able to do the job? Were they able to do this? Question two, is the person humble-minded towards the body of Christ? Is he or she willing to serve? So to state this as a biblical principle, he says, all the gifts of the Spirit require growth in all the fruit of the Spirit, otherwise we grieve the Spirit. I like that. You won't see that on a bumper sticker, I doubt, but it would be a good one. All the gifts of the Spirit require growth in all the fruit of the Spirit, otherwise we grieve the Spirit. And again, he points us back to the Lord Jesus as the model here, willing to do whatever it took to redeem his people from their sin. Willing, according to his humanity, to grow in his knowledge and understanding of the scriptures. Principle number three, it is by serving, by doing whatever needs to be done, that space is created for the exercise of the gifts of the Lord has given us for the church family. It is actually by bidding ourself to doing even those menial tasks. And I think in real life, this is working out the parable that I mentioned earlier, where Jesus says, if you'll take the lowest seat at the table, you'll have opportunity to move up. And I think that's true in any organization, but certainly in a church. If someone comes in and says, I'm willing to serve in any way you ask me to do it, that person becomes known as dependable, trustworthy, reliable, faithful. And then they're asked to do more and more and more. And those opportunities will begin to abound. But it requires patience. I've heard from a number of employers that talk about hiring, particularly young bucks right out of college, and they're eager and have a sense of entitlement and don't want to do those menial tasks. The ordinary laborers. They don't want to put in the time. of learning their skill or learning a trade, and they want to be operating at a master level right out of the chute. And what's the right path there? Start low, work hard, and work your way up. Do your time. We've told our kids there's no shortcut for T-I-M-E. The skills that you learn and your abilities develop, and the word we use, those means to sharpen your gifts. Do you see in yourself, well, I think the Lord has gifted me in these ways. Great. Develop them at the foot of the table and see how the Lord uses you and develops those gifts. He closes, shortly before his close with a poem from Katie Barclay Wilkinson. He says, perhaps, we should be slightly more allergic than we often are to speaking about my gift, or its contemporary equivalent, my gifting. The New Testament nowhere joins the personal possessive pronoun my to the word gift. It does join, it does join it to the word ministry or service. The difference may seem slight, but it can be significant. The idea of gift is never seen in that possessive sense. You don't see anybody in the New Testament referring to my gift or my gifting. But we do see gift applied to the words ministry or service. So it's a helpful, perhaps corrective to us, it's a good admonition to us as we think about life within the body of Christ. I had coffee with a brother recently and visiting a new church and he was talking about how the first time they visited, they got an email from the church with all these different committees and activities and no one's allowed to just come. You have to be signed up on some sort of service committee and that's really their model. And the idea is, and I get the idea, is to draw people in and you don't want anybody out on the periphery. Give everybody a job to do. And the idea this is not a cruise ship, it's a battleship. And I get that, but sometimes that becomes very programmatic. Rather than training people and encouraging people and praying for one another, to seek out those opportunities, to do those most menial tasks. Because if you give somebody a buffet, here's the choice. Well, everyone's going to choose what they perceive to be the most suitable areas of service, rather than what is the Lord, in his providence, what opportunities has he given to you? What opportunities has he given to me to serve according to his leading and calling? What are your thoughts on this topic, this chapter, with respect to service in the body? Things that are most convenient to my schedule maybe never something that you might be good at but you don't know that. You never attempt because you have something else that you would like unchecked in the box. And we could also tend to think, because we see something that we perceive as more menial or more basic, we think, well, that's not even, not really worthy of my time, because that's not that important. maintenance and upkeep of a building or being devoted to praying and writing encouraging notes and checking on one another and serving one another in all those various ways. A simple text message or a phone call to a brother or sister during the week to check on them, follow up on a prayer request. Those ways of serving that may seem insignificant, And the word may use those to have profound implications, a profound effect, positive effect on our brothers and sisters. What else? I think sometimes when you have these drastic changes, like for us, it's almost like you want to jump in right at the same spot you were instead of It's almost disorienting. Yeah. uh... uh... uh... Right. And submitting ourselves to his providence, his wisdom and all those things. Yeah. You mean today? that I've done before, and so to be put in another position and trying to figure out how to get your place. Finding how to set up your outside note. And I remember being in that place, too, when we came to GOPT. Yeah, I remember that. Using a different context and trying to figure out, what are we doing? And, yeah. Hey, I'm really good at scrubbing toilets. And some we've sent back to their home and others who still may be here that find it important to top themselves even though they're not members. not sit on the couch not watching the Stanley or whoever and not saying anything's wrong. They're coming to church and we're gonna bear with each other. They may not like the way I seem, but we're gonna bear with each other. And going back to that metaverse and thinking about that, okay, now I get to make this perfect image of who I think I wanna be. And there's no sanctifying elements because I'm perfect, you're perfect, and we're all just coming together, and we're never gonna love each other more, right? And if we do, then next week I'm gonna go sit Do marshmallows sharpen one another? you know, something as simple as I'm going to get the vacuum cleaner and I'm going to vacuum the chairs may not seem you never know. But you know, it's, it's an intentional act to make sure that the chairs are presented. And he doesn't ask. He doesn't. And who's going to go about that? Right? Oh, I can get my name in lights. Yeah. how he and Sister Laurel, the way they served the church, and things that people never see or just take for granted that, oh, there's no cobwebs. You don't think like that, but there probably was some cobwebs around here just a day or two before, and somebody took care of that for you. And so those small ways to serve that never are really noticed, and no one's bragging about it. But it's encouraging to me to see others participate in that way. So yeah, I've been grateful for that. until somebody says something, and then you're like, oh, well, I didn't think about that. Well, I could have done that. I just didn't think about that. So there's a balance between some of those things that we just take for granted easily. I mean, all of us, the stay-at-home moms know this, that there are things that just get taken for granted because you do it. And you don't think about it. You just do it. You're not looking for anybody to say, hey, thanks for putting that away today or sweeping the floor. You just do it. where everybody should be pitching in, how do we make that known in a way that people could say, oh, well, I didn't know that needed to be done. I can do that. As opposed to thinking, not ever thinking about it. I think it's in our communication with one another. I mean, some people could come and just be unaware that there's money. We can't, rightfully, have an expectation without putting it out there. Well, and some people will more easily notice things that need to be done and take that initiative. Others are more than happy to work and say, hey, could you get that? Oh, yeah, I'd be glad to do that. I would have never noticed it, but I'd be glad to do that. So there's a little bit of both that's needed. It's a busy show. Uh huh. Yeah. I think also that asked to be in positions that, you know, they weren't prepared for. You know, they still barely knew themselves, and now they're teaching, and you have a conversation with them, and, you know, you just kinda wanna tell them. I've been that guy. Yeah, maybe you oughta be in Sunday school, you know, as a student, and grow a little bit more, and that's okay, you know. And see that over time, but sometimes maybe those people leave the church for whatever reason. And so, yeah, having, and me being in the trades and coming up through an apprenticeship, I see the value in allowing time to mature. Yeah, people die if you don't get that maturity. And, you know, and starting out at the bottom, I've worked with, you know, young guys early in the trade, and you can tell early on, a lot of the times, who's probably gonna go job, maybe it's been raining like it has been, and there's a hole, and someone has to get in that hole. And you know, you get an apprentice that kind of hem-hauls and runs back to the truck, and you know, okay, I'm going to have to tell him. And then you get someone that just, okay, I'm an old man here, and I've seen this literally. I'm diving straight in. I'm letting everyone know that I'm willing to do this. because they went under and come back up and, okay, this kid is gonna be here. I'm not gonna have to push him, he's gonna push me probably to teach him. And they grow and they mature and they become pretty proficient in their training. And I think a lot of times in the church, we have to allow that, allow that growth. We don't just trust people. But at the same time, I've heard Pastor Boggum say, take a, oh, I've been a 40-year Christian. I don't know nothing. We wouldn't allow that in any other profession, so it shouldn't happen in the church either. There has to be that balance. Yeah. We push one another to grow, but then we also are patient while that growth is taking place. Again, just what you would do with an apprentice. You're going to push him, but you also have to be patient that things that you know didn't happen overnight. It took a long time to get there. Amen. Well, let's pray and we'll start worship here pretty quick. Father, you are so good to us. We thank you for the privilege of serving you. And I pray that you would grant to us the mind of Christ, that we would have this mind among ourselves, that while he did not exalt himself, our Lord did not chase after, the things of this world, the recognition of this world, and yet in due time, you exalted him, and you've seated him at your own right hand, and you've given him a name above every name, and you've set upon us a promise that we will one day rule with him, we will reign with him in glory, we will be given a glorified body like his, and we pray that you will teach us in this laboratory of life to discipline ourselves, to serve one another, and to trust that you will use those means as one of the means that you use to perfect us, to reveal to us our faults, the hidden pride, our worldly motives, and that you use these, even the humbling acts of serving one another to encourage our hearts, to strengthen our faith, and to be a blessing to one another. We ask all this for Christ's namesake. Amen.