John 13 tonight 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 his Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. Supper being ended, the devil having now put in the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him. Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, that he was come from God and that he went to God, he rises from supper and laid aside his garments and took a towel and girded himself. And after he poured water into a basin, he began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with a towel wherewith he was girded. Verse 13. Jesus said, You call me Master and Lord, and you do well, for so I am. IF I THEN, YOUR LORD AND MASTER, HAVE WASHED YOUR FEET, YOU OUGHT ALSO TO WASH ONE ANOTHER'S FEET. FOR I HAVE GIVEN YOU AN EXAMPLE THAT YOU SHOULD DO AS I HAVE DONE TO YOU. VERILY, VERILY, I SAY UNTO YOU, THE SERVANT IS NOT GREATER THAN HIS LORD, NEITHER IS HE THAT SENT GREATER THAN HE THAT SENT HIM. IF YOU KNOW THESE THINGS, HAPPIER YE IF YOU DO THEM. I WANT TO TALK TO YOU TONIGHT as a group of people concerning this matter of the spirit of a servant. The spirit of a servant. Thank you very much. You may be seated. Father, thank you for giving us the wonderful example in Jesus Christ. servant of all servants, so high, yet he stooped so low. May we learn tonight, and may we live what we learn, so that in our homes, and in our churches, and in our schools, we exemplify and exude the spirit of a servant. In Jesus' name, amen. From July 30 to August 1, 1971, the eyes of millions of Americans were on the Apollo 15 moon launch. You may remember the names David B. Scott and James B. Irwin who went to the moon and spent 66 hours there, 18 hours outside the capsule and traveled about 17.4 miles. When they returned, James B. Irwin, a professed believer who I believe is now in heaven, said, You know, most of us will never have the status of a James B. Irwin, but we can all have the spirit that he had, the spirit of a servant, were you to go through your Bible and count them. over 500 times the word servant appears. The oldest book of the Bible is the book of Job chapter 1 and verse 8, God said, Has now considered my servant Job, there's none like him in all the earth, a man that fears God and eschews evil, and addressed those comments to Satan himself. Joshua chapter 1 and verse 2, God speaks again. He said, Moses, my servant is dead. Joshua picked up the spirit. For in chapter 24 and verse 15, he said, if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you today whom you will serve, but as me and for my house, we will serve the Lord. Samuel is a little boy, said in chapter 3 and verse 4, speak Lord, for thy servant heareth. The 100th Psalm, the second verse says, Serve the Lord with gladness. Were you to get into the New Testament and read the Gospel of Mark 30 times, Jesus Christ is called a servant. He summarizes it by saying in Luke 22, 27, I'm among you as He that serves. But I want to speak on the spirit of an attitude of the servant. Proverbs 20 27 says the spirit of the man is a candle of the Lord searching the innermost part of the belly Servant hood comes from a spirit that says others are more important than I am The Bible tells us often that Jesus exuded and exemplified what true service was all about. Albert Einstein said, it is high time that the idea of success be replaced with the ideal of service. Tonight, we're going to the graduation exercises of the first Christian school. Now, the first Christian school was not in the United States. It was actually in Jerusalem. The founder and director was none other than Jesus Christ. He had 12 students. Somebody said, what was the curriculum? Everything Jesus said. Where was the classroom? Everywhere Jesus went. It took about three years for Jesus to train his disciples and now they're gone to that upper room for what has been commonly called the Lord's Supper or the Last Supper. Now we'd have to turn time back a few hundred years and we'll stand outside and push the door open and look in and you'll see the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and He's going to show us by kneeling in front of His students WHAT A REAL SERVANT LOOKS LIKE. PICK UP YOUR READING, PLEASE, IN VERSE NUMBER TWO. THE BIBLE SAYS, SUPPER BEING ENDED, THE DEVIL HAVING NOW PUT IN THE HEART OF JUDAS ISCARIOT SIMON'S SON TO BETRAY HIM, JESUS KNOWING THAT THE FATHER HAD GIVEN ALL THINGS INTO HIS HANDS. THAT TELLS US OF HIS PREEMINENCE. Colossians 1.18, he's before all things, and by him all things consist. It goes on and it says, and he's given all things to his hands, that he was come from God. That tells us of his pre-existence. John 8.58, Jesus said before Abraham was, I am. And that he was going to God, that tells of his permanence. Psalm 90 and verse 2, from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. But now watch this, the preeminent, preexistent, permanent king of the universe does something. Verse 4, he rises from supper, laid aside his garments, took a towel and girded himself, and then he poured water in the basin and he began to wash the disciples' feet. Number one, a good servant will have a submissive spirit. Are you aware that according to those who know more about the study of servanthood, that in the day in which Jesus did this, the lowest servant in the house washed feet? Whichever servant was new and the lowest would go and he would wash the feet of those who owned the house and those who were the guests there. And Jesus, though he was so high, stooped so low in order to wash feet. Micah 6 and verse 8, He hath shown the old man what is good, what the Lord required of thee. Do justice, love mercy, watch it now, and walk humbly with our God. Jeremiah 45, 5, Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not. I have a question. Do you want to be somebody or do you want to serve somebody? Matthew chapter 11 and verse 29, Jesus said, Take my yoke upon me, upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. Did you ever stop to think that here is the sovereign king of the universe, but he didn't pick up a scepter? Here's the general of all generals who did not pick up a sword. Here is the shepherd of all shepherds who did not pick up a staff, but as a servant he knelt down and picked up a towel and a basin. THE EMBLEMS OF TRUE SERVANTHOOD. PHILIPPIANS 2 AND VERSE 3 SAYS, LET NOTHING BE DONE THROUGH STRIFE OR VAIN GLORY, BUT IN LONELINESS OF MIND, LET EACH ESTEEM OTHER BETTER THAN HIMSELF. ESTEEMING OTHERS PUT OTHERS UP HIGHER THAN YOU ARE. SEE THEM BETTER, SEE THEIR NEEDS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOURS. IS THAT YOUR ATTITUDE? I grew up in a pastor's home, and unfortunately, some people don't treat pastors kindly. And after I was in the home for a while and watched how some people could be unkind to those in ministry, I had been exercising, working out. I was in pretty good condition. And I remember saying to my father, nobody walks on me. My father looked back and he said, I'm not going to whip you for that. I'm going to let God whip you for that. Let me tell you, you're much better to have a whipping from your earthly father than the heavenly father. But I had been turned over to God for a whipping. Some time went by and I was actually in ministry and I was studying the book of Philippians and I read, don't let anything be done through strife, contention, or vain glory, conceit, but in lowliness of mind. And so I studied that word and I found that the translation to us in English would be something like this, be carpet minded. You know what I said? Nobody walks on me. What do you do with carpet? You walk on carpet. Pastor, you ever been studying, got under such conviction, I got down on my knees and I couldn't pray and I laid prostrate on that carpet on the floor in my study and I began to weep and I said, dear God, that was an arrogant statement. They walked on you, they beat you beyond recognition and I think I'm better than that. After I made my peace with God, I picked up the phone and I called my father. I said, Dad, do you remember years ago? He said, I remember the statement. He said, do you remember delivering me? I said, do you remember delivering me to the Lord? He said, I did. He said, I said, Dad, I just got out of the woodshed and God won and I lost. And if being in a ministry means that people walk on me, so be it. Because that's what they did to Jesus. deal with WE'LL CLEAN THEIR SHOES AND HAVE THEM READY FOR THE NEXT MORNING, HE SAID. WE CERTAINLY WON'T DISAPPOINT OUR GUESTS. AND SO HE CALLED IN SOME OF HIS PREACHER BOYS. AND HE SAID, GUYS, I'LL TELL YOU WHAT LET'S DO. LET'S GO AND GET THESE SHOES AND WE'LL CLEAN THEM UP AND WE'LL HONOR OUR GUESTS AND THEY'LL BE READY FOR THEM THE NEXT MORNING. ONE OF THEM STOOD AND LOOKED AT MR. MOODY AND HE SAID, SIR, I DID NOT COME HERE TO CLEAN SHOES. I CAME HERE TO LEARN TO PREACH. MOODY DISMISSED ALL OF THEM. But the next morning, every shoe had been cleaned and polished because D.O. Moody stayed up all night and did it himself. And now you know why God used D.O. Moody. Is there anything you're unwilling to do because you don't think it makes you look good? You don't understand the spirit of a servant. He laid aside his garments 33 years before he laid aside his glory. He strips down to his clothing from his waist down and he kneels down, think of this, in front of the students that he made and trained. because the spirit of a servant is a submissive spirit. Second, the spirit of a servant is a sensitive spirit. Always ask yourself the question when you're studying the Bible, why does this take place? Why would Jesus wash feet? Well, in the Old and New Testament days, feet were washed on a regular basis. Now, they didn't bathe as often as we do, but they would wash feet every time they would go into a house because of where they had been. There was the need of cleansing. They were walking through the streets, and they didn't have fine shoes like we have. Many would walk barefoot, and some would have on sandals. And as they would walk through, when it was raining, they'd get mud on their feet. When it was dry, they'd get dust on their feet. And I don't want to be graphic, but with all of the animals, you can figure out what else they had to dodge. And so when they walked into the house, the The moving about and all the stuff that was there in the city streets was on their feet. And so when they came in, Feet were washed because when they ate, they did not sit like we sit. They usually ate Roman style. They lay down, which means one man's feet would be at your head. Your feet would be at their head. I was thinking, Pastor, if they were just smart enough to say, listen, I'll do it for you. If you'll do it for me, I can't stand the smell. But they didn't bother. They walked right by. And in essence, they said, if you won't, I won't. But Jesus said, if you won't, I will. Are you aware of how many people are in need of cleansing when they come into this place? Oh, I didn't say they all need to be saved, but there are folks who come every Sunday, and they've had a tough week, and they've gotten themselves in some trouble. They may have got into sin. You can look down your nose at them, or you can get down and wash feet. Because Galatians 6 says, Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you which are spiritual, make sure you text about them. Doesn't say it, does it? You know that your spirit shall restore such a one. It's the word for resetting a bone, pulling it into place, because you need to consider that it could happen to you. When was the last time you walked in and looked for somebody's feet to wash? How long has it been since you came to church and said to yourself, Dear Lord, I got my town, my basin. Point out who is in need of cleansing. Somebody that's fallen, somebody that's hurting, somebody that I could reach out and touch. They're in need of cleansing. But they also had a need of comfort. Jesus had been telling them, I'm going away. And they were very frustrated and they were very torn up in their hearts. And he's going, is he going to return? And they didn't understand all of it. Though he had talked about his death, they still didn't get it all. Are you aware that in every church, there are people who come in need of comfort? Alexander McClaring said, always preach the hurting you'll never lack for an audience. Hebrews 4.15 tells us that we don't have a high priest that cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted and tested like as we are yet without sin. Jesus could feel the need. It's doubtless that you'll ever heal the need till you feel the need. And many of you have heard the old statement, nobody really cares how much you know till they know how much you care. Do you look to touch lives? I'm sorry that you, many of you, do not know my wife very well. She is a very sensitive lady. I am prophet and she is mercy, and usually opposites attract. I told our kids one time, be thankful there were not two prophets in the family, and be thankful there were not two mercy showers. If there had been two prophets in the family, you might have been mean as a rattlesnake, and two mercy showers, you might have been spoiled rotten, so we balance each other out. But my wife is always looking to touch somebody's life. Number of years ago when we had smaller children, we'd been told by the pastor to take our meal at a restaurant, just sign the ticket. So we went in and all of our children were much younger at the time. Some of them were still in high chairs. So as we walked in, we walked by a lady and I said good morning to her and my wife said good morning and she came over and Regina said, you know, I think that lady was in our service last night. Be back in a minute. Now some of you haven't quite got the picture. She left dad with high school, or with high chair age children. Dads do not do good with children that age. I can tell you, they need mama. So I put them in, fastened the seat belt, looked at them and said, y'all don't breathe until your mother gets back. And she stayed, and she stayed, and I didn't know what she was doing, and I wasn't a real happy camper, and I ordered for all of us and ordered for my wife, and under my breath, I thought, you ought to be here to order for yourself while you're just over there fellowshipping. It's time to eat. Well, over she comes with tears running down her cheeks, and she said, honey, that lady was in our service last night, and her husband just left her. Can I ask you a question? How can two people walk by the same person and not see the same thing? I didn't even want to eat breakfast. I actually prayed that day and have prayed many times since. Dear Lord, I'd like to have at least half of the sensitivity my wife has to people. Well, it wasn't too long after that that I was up preaching the Wiles Christian Camp and Conference Center, and I'd been praying, God, make me sensitive to people. Don't let me just pass them. May I have my antenna up. May I receive signals. And I passed a young man who looked like his dog, cat, hamster, and everything else had died. And it was the first day of camp, and I said, hey, pal, what's your name? And he told me. I said, I haven't seen you before. Have you ever been to this? No, the first time. And I didn't even tell him I was the speaker. I said, are you okay? He said, no, sir, I'm not. I said, well, son, come over here and sit down. What in the world's going on? I said, you're going to have the time of your life. We've just gotten here. And he said, well, sir, my dad just dropped me off at camp. And just before I got out, he said, now I'm leaving your mother. She'll pick you up at the end of the week. And he was devastated. And boy, before long, I had tears in my eyes and he had tears in his eyes. And I thought to myself, The normal me was just, hi, how you doing up? You doing good? It's business. Ladies and gentlemen, the biggest business you'll ever do is touch somebody's life. And tonight in this building, there's some hurting people here. If you get your antenna up and say, dear God, make me sensitive. Let me touch somebody's life. He was not only sensitive to their need of cleansing and their need of comfort, but he was sensitive to their nature, will not turn. But I'll tell you in Luke chapter 22, which is the same event what they were doing. The Bible says that were strife among them who should be the greatest in the kingdom of God. Can you imagine? Jesus is going to die the next morning. He's been training them for three years and all they can do in the commencement exercise is argue about who's going to be the greatest. You can almost hear Thomas say, well, I'll be number one. You hear James and John say, not a chance. Mom's already got the inside scoop. We're getting one on either side. I can hear Peter say, you boys want a piece of me? You say, how do you know? You look at the life of Peter, you'll understand what I just said. So Jesus doesn't say anything. He's been saying things for three years. Instead, he just takes the towel and the bowl and kneels down. Have you ever thought what it's like to be arguing and the head of the first Christian school kneels down in front of you and maybe whispers, psst, lean over here? I guarantee you there was a total hush. I'll guarantee you everybody stopped arguing. They probably looked at each other and said, what's our master doing on his knees? I want to tell you something. You know how to stop hostility? With humility. If you and your wife are at each other's throats, one of the two of you needs to make up your mind that no matter what the other one does, you're going to wash feet. If you're having hostility as guys and girls in the home, as brothers and sisters or at school, somebody's gonna have to make up your mind. No matter what it looks like, I'm gonna kneel down and wash feet because condescension will cease, will start and the contention will cease when we understand the spirit of a servant. In a submissive spirit, He had a sensitive spirit. He had a sacrificial spirit. This is just hours before he's going to the cross. But the Bible tells us he loved them to the end. He loved them all the way through. He'd been demonstrating sacrifice constantly. When he was alone, maybe to rest, the crowds would come and he'd said, we'll go on, we'll minister to them. When he would like to be by himself, he was with others. He was always touching people's lives. He was never about himself. He said, I came to do the will of him that sent me. He always came to do the will of the Father. Do you realize, friends, there is no success without sacrifice? There is no success without sacrifice. Let me give you a good definition of a servant. A servant sacrifices himself for the success of somebody else. A servant sacrifices himself for the success of somebody else. John 3, 16, when I started, give me the next word. For God so loved the world that He, say it again, You see, Jesus knew that His sacrifice was the only way that you and I could have success in life, because without His sacrifice, we are damned, doomed, and cursed, and no hope in this world. But when He gave, He gave not heaven's second best, but heaven's best, the pearl of great price. And Jesus gave. Stop and think, He sacrificed without exception. Who did he wash the feet of? Well, he washed the feet of deserters. You know what's going to happen in just a few minutes? They're going to leave this place. They're going out to pray. Then they're going, Jesus is going to be arrested and there's going to be a group of these disciples that are going to head for the hills, run as hard as they can. Jesus washed their feet knowing that they would take clean feet to run from him instead of running to him. You ever wash anybody's feet that just walked out and never said thanks? But he didn't just wash the deserter's feet, he washed a doubter's feet. Thomas, after the resurrection and the disciples said, he's here, I won't believe it until I put my hand at his side and I can see those wounds. Thomas took clean feet and didn't even show up for the first Sunday night service, he doubted. You ever serve anybody that doubts you? Then there was the denier. His name was Peter. Peter took clean feet and stood by a fire, and three times said, I don't know him, I don't know him, blankety blank, I don't know him, and denied him. Have you ever served somebody in the past that won't even acknowledge you're on planet earth, and if you see them in a store, they'll go a different direction? Can I give you a phrase tonight? Just keep washing feet. Say it with me. Just keep washing feet. Say it again. Just keep washing. Now wait a minute. He washed the feet of denier, doubter, deserters, here's a key one, and a deceiver. Did you ever stop to consider that Jesus Christ knew exactly what Judas was going to do? And he washed the feet of a traitor, knowing that full well he would take clean feet and do the dirtiest deed anybody else has done in human history. Pastor, you and I have been in the ministry a long time, and we'll talk about this later, but we have washed Judas' feet. We didn't know it when we did it, but Jesus knew it. I want to say tonight, in case you've come in on this snowy night and you don't know for sure you're going to heaven, you can be in a Christian school and not go to heaven. Judas Iscariot was in the first Christian school. You can have an elected position. Judas was the treasurer. You can preach and win sermon contests. Judas preached and performed miracles. And Judas knew where he was going to pray because that's where he betrayed him. And you can do everything outward. and die like Judas Iscariot without Jesus Christ. I've contended for a long time. I believe Judas died and went to hell because he wanted the kingdom, but he didn't want the king. There was never a time and place in his life when he saw himself worth HE ALWAYS ESTEEMED HIMSELF. HE WAS JUDAS ISCARIOT. THEY DIDN'T CALL HIM PETER THE GALILEAN AND THE OTHERS, BUT ISCARIOT. HE CAME FROM THE HIGH QUALITY JEWISH PEOPLE, AND THE JEWISH PEOPLE SAW THEMSELVES AS THE ONLY ONE WORTHY TO GO TO HEAVEN. GOOD FRIEND, YOU DON'T GO TO HEAVEN BECAUSE YOU'RE WORTHY. YOU GO TO HEAVEN BECAUSE HE'S WORTHY, AND HE GIVES US ETERNAL LIFE, NOT BECAUSE OF WHAT WE DO FOR HIM, BUT WHAT HE DOES FOR US. So here's a simple question. Have you ever seen yourself as a hell-deserving sinner? Have you ever understood that there is not but one way to the Father, and that's through the Son, Jesus Christ? He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but by me. When was the time and the place you said to Jesus, I'm a lost sinner? I know I deserve hell, but I know who you are. And I come to you for who you are and what you've done for me. You died for me and shed your blood for me and were buried for me and raised again for me. And I don't trust anything that I've ever done for you. Baptism, catechism, confirmation does not work. My work won't work. I put my faith in your work and your work only. And I call upon you to save me." Has that ever happened? I want to warn you that one of the most dangerous places to go to hell from would be a Christian school or an independent Baptist church where you hear the gospel day in and day out and you almost become anesthetized. Good friend, you examine yourself tonight and see if you be in the faith. your own selves. No, you're not your own selves. Christ is in you. Accept you be a reprobate. Judas tonight, 1,970 plus years later, is burning in hell in his own place because he knew about Jesus, but he didn't really know Jesus. So Jesus washes the feet of denier and deserters and deceivers and doubters. But He not only served without exception, He served without expectation. There are some things that are not written in the Word of God, but they're very obvious. Would anybody like to stand tonight and tell me, in this passage of Scripture, who washed the feet of Jesus? And the answer is no one. Now prior to this there had been a woman come in and she poured spikenard and wiped with her hair, but not here. Jesus here washes the feet of all of His students and not one student washes His feet. And oh by the way, He didn't ask for that. He said, if I then your Lord or master have washed your feet, you ought also to wash one another's feet. So here is what servants do. Servants keep washing feet. They just keep washing feet. Whether they're appreciated or not appreciated, they just keep washing feet. As a mother, you keep washing the feet of your children. As a father, you keep washing the feet. As young people, you keep washing each other's feet. You keep serving, you keep investing, you keep sacrificing, and you quit expecting anything in return. So a Bible servant, a servant like Jesus, is submissive. He's sensitive. He's sacrificial. And finally, the spirit of a real servant is that of satisfied. If you look down in verse 17, Jesus said, if you know these things, happier ye if you do them. The word happy means superlatively and completely satisfied, totally content. Someone wrote, the foremost duty of every Christian is to have his soul satisfied in God alone. What's your happiest moment? You make a great grade, your son starts on the basketball team, there's an accolade given to your children, you get a pay raise, you get a better house, you get a car. Did you know every unsaved person can get excited about that? Here should be your greatest joy. To wake up every morning and have the privilege of being the servant of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. To go to bed every night and believe that you have invested yourself and washed feet for the glory of God and that you've made Him smile because you did what He did. You did it in your generation as He did it in His generation. And people see what Jesus is like because He's represented in your life. Now let me ask you some questions and we'll go home. If I went to the lobby tonight and I said to the young people, and you're their parents, I said, let me ask you a question. Is your mother a servant? What would they say? Is your father a servant? What would they say? If I said to your wife, do you believe your husband is a servant? Does he sacrifice to make you successful? Does he lord it over you? or submit himself under the mighty and powerful hand of God? Is he sensitive to your needs? Does he sacrifice? Does he really get excited when you succeed? What would she say if I said, your husband, is your wife a servant? Does she really invest in you? You know, ladies and gentlemen, when the spirit of a servant permeates a home, that's a happy home. When the spirit of a servant exudes and it immerses God's people in any local church, that's a happy church. So you tonight need to ask yourself the question, do I have the spirit of a servant? Some years ago, I met a man who was like this. He was always touching others' lives. It just seemed he couldn't do enough. When he was a businessman, he would do everything he could to touch somebody's life physically, emotionally. He would give away finances. He made a lot of money, but he didn't have a lot of money because he was always giving. He and his wife had nine children. Now in that kind of environment, somebody's got to be a servant, I can guarantee you. The time that I saw him the last, we were in a restaurant, and my wife and I, our three children were there, and he came in and spoke to me, and I only knew him distantly. Got ready to leave, and the lady said, your check's already been taken care of. I said, who paid my check? She said, the man over there. I laughed, and I thought, man, he has to borrow money, I'm sure, to feed that tribe of nine he's got. And so I walked over and put my hand in his hand, and I said, thank you. I know about you, and you just, this is you. You're a servant. You're always making others successful. I said, thank you. Oh, no. He said, we want to thank you. We listened to your messages. You've helped us. And I said, well, I just want you to know, the Farrell family was your benefactor. We're benefactors of you today. Thank you so very much. Time went on. three of his children worked at a Christian camp. And he said to his wife, I'll tell you what let's do. At the end of camp season we'll take the other six children and we'll go to family camp and then we'll bring everybody home. I was there and preached that summer in an earlier camp. The family camp came and He got out of a car. No sooner did he get out of a car than he noticed some tires that seemed to be almost bald. And he walked in, first order of business, and said to the secretary at camp, whose car is that? Well, that belongs to Councilor so-and-so. And he pulls out some money and he says, he's driving on dangerous tires. Tell that boy to get him some good tires. That was this brother. That's just what he did. He was always looking to sacrifice, never for himself. During the process of the week, he was talking to people and encouraging them. He was loving on his kids. They were having a wonderful time. There was a police officer and his wife there that had not been saved. They were sent by another family, hoping they could hear the gospel and get in a Christian environment. And he engaged the police officer in conversation. And the officer liked this guy because he was such a friendly fellow. It came Thursday and his son said to his dad, I'll call his name Dan, he said, Dad, we're going to play a pickup game of basketball. Could you play this afternoon? He said, Son, I'd love to. He was 50 years old. And so they were standing on the sideline because so many people were going to play, and he was witnessing again to this police officer. And the whistle blew, and it's their turn to go in, and he wasn't in 30 or 40 seconds. And it looked like that he bobbled the ball and was trying to reach out for it, but actually what happened is he had an aneurysm pop in his brain and died in front of his son. The police officer went to a friend of mine who also worked at that camp and he said, whatever that man had, my wife and I won't. If Jesus is like that, we want this Jesus. They're an independent Baptist church serving the Lord today. The camp director called me, and he said, I've got to go down to a southern city, and I've got to do the funeral. I guess you heard what happened. I said, yeah. He said, if you go to the funeral, what would you say? I said, well, I'd probably preach a message entitled, What a Way to Go. He said, what are you talking about? I said, well, let's talk about Dan a minute. Did you know him? I knew him distantly. I said, I did too. What was his testimony? Always serving. Could anybody get around him that he wasn't touching the life of? Oh, no. always sacrificing. I said, So the last week of his life will be like the rest of his life as far as we know. I said, What a way to go. He didn't live long, but he lived well. There are a lot of people who live long and they don't live well. I don't know what he preached, but I called down on the day of the funeral and I said to the secretary at the church, my wife and I are unable to come. Please tell his wife and his children we love them and we're grieving with them at this time. She said, Dr. Verrill, we think we made history last night. The receiving line as they came by to pay their respects didn't close till 3 a.m. in the morning. And we know there was over 1,400 people who filed slowly by, to look into the casket into the face of a man who's now on the other side named Dan, who was really, genuinely a Bible servant.