Keep your Bibles open there. John chapter 13 will be our text this morning. I've titled the message. Do you wash my feet? This passage of Scripture, the brother Gary just read to us is not teaching us that we ought to literally have feet washing services or we wash each other's feet and so forth. And I'm really glad for that. I mean, I've got ugly feet. I'd be just ashamed for somebody to see them. My feet are so ticklish, I can hardly wash my own feet. Just have somebody else do it. I'm thankful that that is not what the Savior is teaching us here. He's teaching us something so much better. So much better. So much better than a religious ceremony. He's teaching us who the Redeemer is. Who He is. And He's teaching us something. of what it took for him to save the likes of you and me. And then the second thing he's teaching us is giving us an example to follow. And he tells us we'll be happy if we do it. Not happy if we know it, but happy if you do it. If you know it and don't do it, you're gonna be unhappy. The Lord says you'll be happy if you do it. So first, let's look at our Redeemer. See, what did it take for him to cleanse his people from their sin? First, it took the Redeemer's love. Verse 1. Now, before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come, that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. Now, contrary to popular opinion, God does not love every son of Adam. You know, one statement of scripture should settle that forever. Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated. God loves his elect and only his elect. And what an amazing statement that the Holy God would ever choose to love any sinful son of Adam, who's the opposite of him. God's electing love is a marvel. And that's what John's talking about here. He says that the Lord Jesus loved his own, his own. Now, who were those his own? If it's his own, it's somebody that belonged to him, right? Who is his own? The elect that the father gave him to redeem. And you know, one of the things that makes God's love for his people so special and so appreciated is this. God loves sinners. He doesn't love good people. He doesn't love people who are better than others. God loves sinners. John says these that he loved were in the world. Now, who are people in the world? We're sinful men and women, aren't we? That's who the Lord loved. And there's just no way to calculate the vastness and the depth and the preciousness of God's love for his people. Scripture calls God's love for his own an everlasting love. It's a love that doesn't have a beginning and it doesn't have an ending. It's a love that never wavers up or down in its strength It's always perfect. And God's love, his eternal everlasting love means something. It means he will have everyone that he loves. He said, I've loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn you, drawn you to Christ. Paul told the church at Rome that God's love is so great, nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Nothing can. Scripture also describes God's love for his people as immeasurable. Paul told the church at Ephesus, you can't measure the breadth or the length or the depth or the height of it. It passes knowledge. But every believer knows it. How do you know it? By experience. When God shed abroad His love in your heart, you've experienced His redeeming, life-giving power, haven't you? And the Savior put His love into action. Now, love that does not act is not love. It's something else, but it's not love. The Savior put His love into action. He humiliated Himself. by coming down further than you and I can ever imagine. He humiliated himself to become a man of flesh. My dad said one time, if we compared how far we would have to go down to be a maggot, if we compare that to how far the Son of God came down to be flesh, he said that would be an insult to maggots everywhere. So much further. Oh, he humiliated himself. He humiliated Himself to become flesh. He humiliated Himself to live under His own law. He humiliated Himself to be subject to His creatures. The King of all the earth was subject to His creatures. He subjected Himself to that. He subjected Himself to being made sin for His people. The Holy Son of God agreed to be made sin for His people and to have his father turn his back on him and to suffer all of God's justice against that sin. You know why? Because he loved his people. That's why he came down that far, because he loved his people. Look at verse two. In supper being ended, the devil, having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him. Now look down at verse 18. I speak not of you all. I know whom I've chosen, I know my people. But that the scripture may be fulfilled, he that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. Now I tell you before it come, that when it is come to pass, you may believe that I am." The Lord Jesus Christ loved his people so much, he let Judas go do what Satan put in his heart to do. Now, obviously the Lord could have stopped Judas from doing that, couldn't he? Obviously he could have. He could have stopped Judas from going to betray him. He could have not let Judas know where he was gonna be, but he let Judas go do what was in his heart to do, to take him, to slaughter him, to humiliate him, to do all these things, to be taken and to be made a sacrifice for the sin of his people, because he loved his people so much, he determined he would be the sacrifice for their sins. That's the Redeemer's love for his people. Secondly, this is what it took for the Redeemer to redeem his people. It took his sovereignty. Verse three, Jesus, knowing that the father had given all things into their hands and that he was come from God and went to God. Now the man, Jesus of Nazareth knew all things. He knew what was getting ready to happen. He knew he was getting ready to be crucified, to be slain, to suffer and die, rise again the third day and go back to the father. He knew all that was going to happen. He knew the secret thoughts of men's hearts. I mean, he knew what was in Judas's heart. He knew all the secret plots and plans and things of the Jews. He knew the secret sins of all men. He knew those things, but not because the Lord Jesus was a fortune teller. No, sir. The Lord Jesus knew everything that was going to happen because everything that was getting ready to happen is what he purposed to happen before creation. Before creation, the Lord purposed every event in human history. And then time began and the events of human time are just the unfolding of God's purpose. I don't know, does anybody read a newspaper anymore? But if you want to read today's newspaper, I'll tell you what it is. It's just the unfolding of God's eternal purpose. This is what God purposed to happen today. That includes everything. Big events, small events, things we notice, things we don't notice. It includes Adam's fall in the garden. Now God's not the author of sin, but I'm telling you, he ordained that Adam would sin and fall. You know why? So that his son would get all of the glory in redeeming his people out of Adam's fallen place. God oversaw, he overruled even the sin of man to accomplish the redemption of his people and the glory of his son. This includes the sacrifice of Christ. God was on the throne at Calvary, just like he was every other day. At Calvary, men committed the worst crime that's ever been perpetrated in God's creation. They tortured, they slaughtered, they committed slander against the only holy, righteous man to ever live. They put him to death in the worst way, the most painful way, the most humiliating way they could think of to do, and rejoiced while they did it. But you know why all that happened? God determined before for it to be done. God purposed that every event at Calvary happened exactly the way that it did, so there would be a sacrifice for the sin of his people, that there would be a lamb slain. God purposed the cross so there'd be pure, precious, sinless blood that was shed to pay the redemption price of all the sin of his people. The Lord knew, he knew what was getting ready to happen. He knew who would betray him because he's the one that ordained Judas to betray him. He said in verse 11, for he knew who should betray him, therefore said he, you're not all clean. The Lord knew Judas was gonna betray him, because he determined that it would happen for the foundation of time. And he had David write about it in the Psalms. See, all this is happening here in this chapter and what's leading up to the cross, it's all happening to accomplish the will of the Lord Jesus Christ in the redemption of his people. And I want to tell you what, the same thing is true today. The same thing is true today. Everything that's happening in our world, everything that's happening in our lives is all happening for the glory of Christ and the redemption of His people. God has ordained from all of eternity that this little group will be out here on this country road, it snows and we got to cancel services and you know, you get power outages, we got to cancel service, Meet in the dark with flashlights and stuff. God has ordained this little place be right here because he's got a people he's going to save. He's got a people he's going to feed. He's got a people he's going to. He's going to instruct and comfort and he's got a people. That's everything that's happening. Whether we see the connection or not is all happening for this reason that Christ get the glory in redeeming his people and it's his sovereign power. that ordains it all and brings it all to pass. Now here's the third thing it took for the Redeemer to save his people. It took the Redeemer's humiliation. Verse four in our text says, he rises from supper and laid aside his garments and took a towel and girded himself. And he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Now the Lord and Master, he took off his outer robe, the garment that he would wrap himself in. He took that off and he laid it aside and he wrapped himself in a towel. Now this is the outfit that the lowest slave wore in a house. The lowest slave would be identified by this outfit. And the lowest slave in a household, here's what the lowest slave would do. Other slaves could even look down on this slave. wrapped in a towel, because this slave's job was to wash the feet of people who were coming into the master's house. This was the lowest job. It was the, just, it's humiliating to have this job. You just wanted to, I guess, do a good job of it so you could move up to a different job. Didn't have to be the low man on the totem pole anymore. And that's how the Lord of glory clothed himself in front of his disciples. Now you think of that. And that's a picture of what our savior did to come save his people from their sin. When the appointed time came, the father's appointed time came for his son to be born of the virgin, to be born a real baby, to be born as a man, made under the law, our savior, the son of God, arose from his throne in glory. He's the prince of glory, the light of glory, the subject of glory. He rose off of his throne, and he stripped off his glory as God. He took it all. He laid it aside for a time, and he clothed himself in human flesh. He clothed himself in flesh that's just like our flesh, yet without sin. Now, you and I will never understand, even in glory, we'll never understand how humiliating that was for the Son of God. to take off his glory as God and humble himself to become what we are. Not just where we are, but to become what we are. Limiting himself to the weakness of human flesh. Now we know he still had all power as God, don't we? But he never one time used his power of God to perform a miracle, to do something for the comfort of himself. He didn't do that because you and I can't do that. He limited himself to human flesh so that he could be the representative of his people. So he could be the second Adam, the second representative. You and I think we would be humiliated to be taken from our homes and be made the lowest slave somewhere. There was a movie, Jen and I watched one years ago, was it 14 Years a Slave? where this man was, you know, he was a pretty prosperous fellow and they took him, slave catchers took him and took him into the deep south and made him a slave again. Just how horrible that was for him to live that after he spent his life in freedom, you know. Think how awful that would be for us. And that's nothing, nothing compared to how far down the Lord of glory came to become a man. He set aside all of his glory as deity, and clothed himself in human flesh, so that people that did not know him said, this is just a man, and he makes himself God. We're gonna stone him because he's making himself God. This is just a man. We know his father, his mother, his brothers and sisters. They didn't see a glow over his head. There wasn't a glow all around him that identified him as someone different than all the rest of the sons of Adam. They thought he was just another common, ordinary man. The omniscient one clothed himself in weakness. The ancient of days became a baby. The almighty, the eternal one grew from a baby to a child to a full grown man. Now here he is. He's with his disciples who have faith. They believe he's the Messiah. They believe he's the son of God. Peter spoke for all of them, said we believe and we're sure of this. You're the son of God. They watched the son of God dress himself as the lowest servant and do the job of the lowest servant. He began working his way around the room and washing, bending down, stooping down on his knees in front of them and washing their feet. They were just shocked into silence. I mean, have you ever had something happen that's so shocking you just You can't say anything. You don't even know what to say, so shocking. There were no words for their Lord and their master, the Son of God, humiliating himself to wash their dirty, stinky feet. But really, if you think about it, everything the Savior did was shocking, wasn't it? It was shocking. Don't you imagine that the angels were shocked into silence? when they saw the humiliation of the Son of God becoming a baby, living under the rule of Joseph and Mary. Don't you think they were shocked by that? Don't you think they were shocked at how they watched Him be perfectly obedient to His own law, to make Himself under His own law and then obey it perfectly, to do everything it took? And I'll tell you that the Savior stooped that low because He loved His people. because it's the only way that they could be saved from their sin. The only way. Look back at Isaiah chapter 42. You know, this isn't just something that was revealed to us when Christ came. This was prophesied throughout the Old Testament. Isaiah 42 verse one. Behold my servant, Now who's the Lord talking about there? His Son. He didn't say behold my Son. He didn't say behold God. He didn't say behold the omniscient one, the eternal one, the omnipotent one. He said my servant, because that's what he's gonna become. My servant whom I uphold. Mine elect, I chose him to be my servant in whom my soul delighted. I've put my spirit upon him He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and a smoking flax shall he not quench. He shall bring forth judgment unto truth, and he shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he has set judgment in the earth and the isles shall wait for his law. This was prophesied to us in the Old Testament, that the Son of God would become a servant and he'd get the job done. He'd get the job, whatever job it is that the father sent him to do, this servant's gonna do it and do it perfectly. He perfectly accomplished the redemption of his people through his humiliation to become flesh and to suffer and die for the sin of his people. Now that is utterly amazing. We really ought to think about that often. how the Prince of Glory humiliated himself to save the likes of me and you. It's just greater than you and mine can comprehend, but that's what he did. It took his humiliation. Then fourthly, in order to redeem his people from his sin, the Redeemer had to do the work. Now he humiliated himself to be clothed as a servant, but as a servant, he had to do the work. It says there in verse five, after he poureth water into a basin, he began to wash his disciples' feet and to wipe them with a towel wherewith he was girded. Now the Lord of glory stooped down. Can you think of this? These disciples, he had to be so patient with them. He taught them so plainly, yet they did not understand. He taught them of his glory. He taught them of his work of redemption. Oh, the preciousness of that. And then immediately afterward, they began to argue who's gonna be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Who's gonna sit beside him in glory? Oh. And the Lord of glory stooped down on his knees in front of him and began to wash their feet. Now considering who was doing the washing, I'm just confident of this, the disciples' feet had never been so clean in all their lives. And this foot washing that the Lord did, it also refreshed his people. I bet that felt better. If anybody was like me and had ticklish feet, this didn't tickle their feet. This didn't bother me. Oh, the Lord refreshed them. You know he did such a perfect job of that because everything he did was perfect. But the Lord did more than wash the dust off their feet. He performed this foot washing as a picture of the work that he came to do for his people. The Lord of glory came down from heaven to earth to be the servant to wash his people, to make them clean and holy and pure by washing them in his precious blood. You know, redemption is not just covering up sin with a coat of paint. Tell you a little secret, whenever we do painting jobs at the house, You know, I fancy myself a pretty good painter. I can get paint on the wall where it belongs and, you know, not other places. And I'll just kind of, eh, you know, wipe off the wall a little bit, you know, and Jane says, did you wash that wall down good? You know, eh, you know, I just paint over the dirt. I figure it's fine. Jane, she washes the wall. Redemption is not covering over sin with a coat of paint. Sin is not ignored by God. in the redemption of his people. Sin is gone, washed away so that it's gone under the precious blood of Christ. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's son, cleanses us from all sin. Cleanses it away so it's gone and you're clean. Now that's a work we can never do for ourselves. We can't cleanse ourselves of our sin. We can't make ourselves presentable in God's sight. You know, we try to work out our own righteousness to present, you know, to wear into God's presence, present ourselves in our, you know, righteousness that we've woven. God said it's filthy rags. He doesn't mean just dirty. He means defiled with sin. Defiled with sin. We can't straighten up and fly right. There's no point in trying to tell people to straighten up and fly right because we can't do it. We need somebody else to cleanse us of our sin. We need somebody else to make us holy and righteous in God's sight. And that washing can only be done by the blood of Christ. See, this cleansing that our Lord's talking about, what he's picturing is making his people holy, making them truly holy, making it so they have no sin. This is vital. This is vital. This is not God pretending there's no sin there. This sin being actually gone is so vital. There's no salvation without it. This is what the Lord is getting ready to tell Peter. Peter, if I don't wash you, you don't have any part in with me. You don't have any inheritance. You don't have any part. You can't be a partaker of my righteousness and my sacrifice and everything that I'm getting ready to do. If Christ does not wash me white as snow without sin, then Christ is not my portion and I'll be damned. If Christ does not wash me, if he is not everything that I need, my wisdom, my righteousness, my sanctification, my redemption, if Christ is not my all, if he doesn't do all the saving for me, then I have nothing that I need. Scripture says that without the shedding of blood is no remission. When I quote that verse, Often, I would think, I bet you everybody here can just finish that statement, finish that verse as I start saying it. Without the shedding of blood, there's no remission. And that's so true, it's vital. But you know what? Without washing in the blood, there's no remission either. We must be washed in the blood of Christ if we would be accepted by the Father. The blood must be shed and the blood must be applied. It must be. And that's what the Lord's talking about here. The washing he's talking about is not a washing of the flesh. What he's talking about is a washing of the soul. The soul. I know he's not talking about washing the flesh. You know how I know that? The Lord washed Judah's feet. Can you imagine such a thing? The Lord washed Judah's feet. And Judah's was reprobate. So he's not talking about an outward thing, is he? It's the washing of the soul. in the blood of Christ. Everyone that the Savior washed in his blood, they're clean through and through, through and through. Then fifthly, this is such a comforting point, the Redeemer's success. Verse six, then cometh he to Simon Peter, and Peter saith unto him, Lord, does not wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do, thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit, and you're clean. but not all, for he knew who should betray him, therefore said he, you're not all clean. Now here's the question we're looking at this morning. Lord, does thou wash my feet? My feet? You know what Peter's saying is, Lord, I'm not gonna allow you to do that. Lord, this is too far beneath you. I'm not gonna allow yourself to humiliate yourself like this in front of the likes of me. You're the master. And I'm the servant. Everything's backward here, and I'm just not gonna allow it. Now I can understand Peter, his reverence. I mean, what he, you know, Peter, like so many of us, is talking before he knew what he was talking about. This came from a feeling and a thought, a heart of reverence. So I can understand Peter's reverence in that. Reverence before our Lord is so important. We must be reverent with our Lord. I'm a big fan of reverence. It's never right for us to question the Lord. It's never right. What Peter's saying, he thinks he's being reverent, but he's being the opposite. He's questioning the Lord, isn't he? It's never right for us to question the Lord. But I understand what Peter's saying, that this is not the way it's supposed to be. I bow before the Lord. The Lord doesn't bow to me. But you know what? In order to save us, our Lord had to stoop further than we can ever imagine. You know, I know people today who say, and they say it because they think they're being reverent, You know, they love to argue. I wish this would ever go away, but about Christ being made sin. I've actually had people say this to me. I'll never say that. I'll never believe that because I love the Lord too much. I'm too concerned about his glory to ever say that he was made sin. And I know they're trying to be reverent. They think they are, but here's the problem. Scripture says Christ was made sin. That's questioning God. Now listen, you're not gonna understand it and I'm not either. The Father made him sin for us. Him who knew no sin. Can't understand that. But I believe that's the only way a sinner like me can be saved. I do believe that. We can't understand it. But now we better be saying what Scripture says because to not, that's not being reverent, is it? And even though we don't understand the depths of it and how God did this, I do know this, the Savior had to stoop that low. However far he had to stoop, he had to stoop that low to take our sin away from us and put it away. And when the Savior suffered and he died, he completely and utterly cleansed his people from all their sins. You're missing the main part of the story and the glory of the gospel. If you start arguing about what it means that Christ was made sin and here's the lead of the story. His death put away all of the sin of all of his people. That's the story. That's the story, and that's why the Lord told Peter. Peter, you're clean. Now you're clean. You're clean everywhere. Because you've been washed in the blood of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. You're clean, you're spotless, because in just days I'm going to go be sacrificed for you. Shed my blood to put away your sin. You've been washed in the blood of Christ. Well, if they're clean every whit, why is the Lord washing their feet? Because every believer goes through three washings, three cleansings. First, there's a judicial washing, a washing before God's justice in law is being washed from our sin in the blood of Christ so that it's gone, so that he has made his people truly innocent of all charges. So because the law has been satisfied, God can justly bring his people in his presence. And the proof that the sacrifice of Christ did that is His resurrection. I talked about that in the lesson this morning. The Father made Him sin for His people, and Christ put away all of that sin by His precious blood. He justified and cleansed all of His people from all of their sin, and the proof of it is He was raised from the dead. If there was any sin left on Him at all, He could not have been raised from the dead. So His blood put away all the sin of all of His people. He washed His disciples Then he rose from the dead, he went back to glory. That's what's pictured when the Lord in a minute is gonna put his garments back on. See, he just humiliated himself for a short time. Then he put his garments back on. He clothed himself as who he is, in deity again, and that's the only way he'll ever be seen. Now, he's Lord Master again, because he descended back into heaven, because he did the job of a servant. He cleansed his people from all of their sins. But the second washing is washing experienced. Look at Titus chapter three. It's washing experienced in the new birth. Titus chapter three, verse four. But after that, the kindness and love of God, our savior toward man appeared. not by works of righteousness, which we've done, but according to his mercy, he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which is shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our Savior. It's the washing of regeneration. You and I are so defiled by sin. There's nothing that will disinfect us but the blood of Christ. Our works won't do it. Our morality won't do it. Endless religious ceremonies won't do it. What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. And this washing of regeneration is when there's a new man born and that man is clean. He's sinless. He's sinless. Born in the hearts of God's elect by God, the Holy Spirit. The old man, the old man, the flesh is completely and utterly sinful, and that's all he ever can be. Because he's born from sinful seed. But the new man is born from the sinless seed of the word of God. So he can never sin. And that new man is clean and he's holy. He can never be made filthy again. That's cleansing experienced in the new birth. When you're forced to live with this filthy old nature and the clean new nature, that's clean everywhere. But the third washing is a continual washing. And the kind of illustration that the Lord is using is how they bathed at that time. Everybody didn't have bathtubs in their house. They would go to public baths and they'd wash and, you know, get clean and they'd dry and they put their sandals on and they'd walk home. Well, when they walk home, their feet got dirty and dusty in the streets, didn't they? When they got home, they'd wash their feet. Now they're clean. Well, that's the believer. You're clean everywhere. The Father's washed you in the blood of Christ. The Holy Spirit's caused a new man to be born. He's clean, he's holy, he's righteous. He'll never be sinful. But our feet have to be washed, don't they? As we walk through this world, our feet have to be washed because you can't help it. When you walk through this world, you're affected by this world. You're affected by its ways. You're affected by its thoughts. You're affected by its selfishness. You're affected by everything that's in this world. You can't help but be affected by it. The dirt of this world can't help but get on us because we're flesh. It appeals to our flesh. Spending time in this world, you know this is true. It affects the way you think, doesn't it? It affects the way you feel. It affects what you desire. And then, you come hear the gospel preached and your wagon gets fixed. Done. Your feet are washed. It's the washing of your feet by the word. David said, Psalm 119 verse nine, wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way. And this is not just a young man, it's old man, it's all of us. By taking heed according to thy word. Where our feet are washed by the preaching of the word. You know, I said earlier that when the Lord washed the disciples' feet, He refreshed them too, didn't He? Well, as you walk through this world, you get pretty parched. It's dry. You get hungry, don't you? Well, God's people are refreshed by hearing the Word preached. It's not just a doctrinal dissertation. It's a refreshing of the soul. It's washing our feet. Our feet are washed just by being with each other. Just by being with each other. You ever once in a while, we have a men's lunch and I tell you, I come home from that just bouncing and so happy. Our feet are washed as being with each other. You know, it's seeing y'all here this morning. I've been so long, so I've seen almost everybody. It's refreshing. It's washing your feet to be able to see each other. It's an opportunity to show our love one for another. That's refreshing. And that's what the Savior talks about next. We've seen what it took for the Savior to redeem his people from their sin. But now here's his example. Verse 12. So after he had washed their feet and had taken his garments and was set down again, he said unto them, know you what I've done to you? You call me master and Lord and you say, well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and master, having washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I've given you an example that you should do as I've done to you. Verily I say unto you, the servant's not greater than his Lord. Neither he that has sinned greater that he that sinned him. If you know these things, happy are you if you do them. Now this can't be stressed strongly enough. The Lord Jesus Christ, first and foremost, is our Lord. He's our master, he's our savior. But he is also our example. And he says here he gave us an example to follow and you'll be happy if you do it. People are seeking happiness, they just want to be happy, happy, happy, happy. You wanna be happy? Do this, follow his example. Well, how is it that we wash one another's feet? It's by having no task, seeing no task that's too insignificant, too low for me to do for you. That's how we wash one another's feet. Our Savior lowered himself to do everything it took to save the people that he loved. And you and I will be happy if we do the same thing. Sacrifice of ourselves to do for our brothers and sisters. That's right. Happiness will not come from others doing for you. And we all think we like to be the big important guy and sit around and everybody serve me. Happiness doesn't come that way. Happiness comes by us serving others and doing for others. That's exactly right. Whenever you see a need, I don't care what it is, Reach out and feel it. I promise you, you'll be happy. I promise you, you will. The last time we met here on a Sunday, we had a baptismal service, and after the baptismal service, this is what I've always done. I always take all the wet stuff, take it home, wash it and dry it, and bring it back. And one of the ladies said, now would you let me do that? I'd like to do that. I really would like to do that. And I had to make myself think for a minute. Yes, if you'd like to do that, that'd be wonderful. And you know what, that washed my feet. That was something I did not have to do that afternoon. And I just bet you a dollar that made that woman happy to be able to do that. It's washing one another's feet. If it's a big thing, by all means do it, but it can be small things, whatever it is. You know one way we wash one another's feet is by forgiving one another. Isn't it refreshing when somebody forgives you? It's refreshing, isn't it? And it's necessary, because believers still sin, and from time to time, we're going to do something to hurt our brother's feelings. Well, you wash their feet by forgiving them, forbearing, putting up with them, just like the Lord has done for us. Why should I forgive them? Why should I put up with them? Because the Lord puts up with me, that's why. Because the Lord has forgiven me, that's why. I think in every message I ever preach, I tell you, look to Christ. If you would be saved, if you would have life, you look to Christ. And if you would wash one another's feet, do the same thing. Look to Christ. You want to know how to be a good husband? Look to Christ. You want to know how to be a good wife? Look to Christ. You want to know how to be a good child? Look to Christ. You want to know how to be a good friend? Look to Christ. Look to the friends of sinners. You want to know how to be a good neighbor and be a good citizen? Look to Christ. You want to know how you should treat your enemies? How am I going to deal with my enemies? What should I do with them? You want to know? Look to Christ. You want to know how to be a good member of this body? Look to Christ. Look to Christ. Looking to Christ will take care of every situation we ever find ourselves in. Looking to Him will find Him to be our Savior. And looking to Him, we'll see an example that we can follow. All right, I hope that'll be a blessing to you. Let's bow together in prayer. Our Father, how we thank You for this teaching of Your Word, this example that You gave us, this picture You gave us, of what it took for you to redeem sinful men and women like we are. Father, I pray you'd cause that to break our hearts and cause us to look to Christ, to trust him, to trust him fully and completely, knowing what he suffered, what he willingly endured shall be successful. We'll save all of his people from all of their sin. Father, cause it. bind our hearts to him that we trust him and father cause it to be an example that we show our love one for another that we would care for one another act upon the love that you've given us one for another to be a help and encouragement to each other father it's in christ's name for his sake and his glory we pray amen all right sean