I was caused after our 30 minute
conversation to think about what this washing is and what makes
me happy. what makes the children of God
happy. I spent a brief time talking
about what it was to be frail and to be weak and for our flesh
to be a place of all sorts of troubles and infirmities and
then we spent the next 20 it is to wash each other's feet,
isn't it? If people want to go around washing
other people's feet, I can't complain about it, but as I said
in the gospel to each other. It's
a picture of reminding us again and again and again of who our
God is and the fact as we read in Psalm 115, our God reigns. Our God reigns supremely, our
God reigns infinitely. The command of God to his servants
is you comfort, Isaiah 40 verse 1, you comfort my people, you
comfort them. Sayeth your God, you speak comfortably
to Jerusalem and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished,
that her iniquity is pardoned, for she has received of the Lord's
hand double for all her sins. For all of her sins we have received,
the children of God have received the glorious righteousness of
the Lord Jesus Christ. For all of our sin, we've had
those sins washed and they're covered over. It
means to be doubled over. They've gone on. I need, as a
sinner, I need to hear again and again. And what's the cry
of the child of God in verse six of Isaiah 40? The boy said,
cry, and I said, what shall I cry? Then he says, all flesh is grass. every single last bit of it.
All flesh and the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the
field. The grass withereth and the flower fadeth, because the
Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it. Surely the people is grass.
The grass withereth and the flower fadeth. But the word of our God
shall stand. That's what we cry, don't we?
Our God reigns. Our God reigns. So to go back
to John chapter 12, who is the foot washing for? Who's the washing
for? It's only for the dirty. It's for the dirty. Who needs
washing? The dirty need washing. Can you
wash yourself? The dirt is the picture of sin,
isn't it? It's the picture of what we are
made, isn't it? All flesh is grass, isn't it?
We are made as Adam's children from the dust of this world.
I can't wash myself. That's exactly what the picture
is, isn't it? There's one who does the washing. And who does
the washing? The Lord. And who helps him do
it? Himself. It's a picture of what
happened on the cross. How often do I need washing?
In John chapter 12 the Lord says your feet, your feet need washing. How often do your feet need washing?
Every time they stand upon this earth. All the time they stand
upon this earth. But how complete is this washing? clean all those who are cleaned
by the Lord Jesus Christ washed in his blood that's what the
washing is picture of isn't it's a picture of the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ and one of your favorite verses in the Bible
ought to be out of Exodus chapter 11 where God says when I see
the blood I will pass over you. That was the celebration that
had been gathered in Jerusalem. God says, when I see the blood,
the blood was on the doorpost of the house. That's how they
were celebrating, weren't they? The blood's on the outside. You
couldn't see it on the inside. The blood is on the outside.
He doesn't say, when I see your faith, and when I see your obedience,
and when I see your works, and when I see your heart, he says,
but I see the blood. That should cause us great, great
comfort. When did he see the blood? He
was the lamb slain from the foundation of the world, Revelation 13. God's eyes are upon his son right
now. And what does he see? He sees
the wounds. He sees those wounds when I see
the blood. How can I know that I have been
washed? I believe. I believe what God
says about himself. I believe what God says about
his washing. I believe and I'm needy. I need to be washed. I've trodden
in this earth one more step. in need. As he said to Peter,
if I don't wash you, you shall have no part with me. No part! That's a terrifying thought to
the child of God, to be parted from his Lord and to have no
part of the whole of His glory, no part of His
washing in His blood, no part of the robe of His righteousness,
no part of His holiness, no part of His forgiveness, no part of
His inheritance, no part of His truth, no part of His love, no
part of His way, no part of Him bringing you into the presence
of God Almighty, rejoicing over you. I can't perish the thought, perish
the thought, that we could be parted from Him. He knows what
we are. How can I know? I believe. I am in need, and I'm coming
to Him as filthy. I'm not coming to Him with anything
other than being in a state of being in need of being. The Father teaches. We will come
to Him. And how complete is that washing? And how does He wash? If you
turn with me over in your Bibles to John chapter 15, there's a
wonderful verse. And he preached a message out
of John 15 about what we have to do to make ourselves clean
and what we have to do to keep ourselves clean. And I don't,
I don't recall it all in detail now, but I know that he read
the verse three. He says, you, now you are clean. through the word. Now Judas has gone and he's just
speaking to those 11 at the one time in his earthly ministry
where he was just in the presence of believers. These represent
the church, don't they? You are clean through the word
which I have spoken to you. So let's look at some of the
words that the Lord speaks about washing. And I want us to be
reminded that in washing each other's What we do is we bring
the gospel to each other. I needed to hear the gospel and
Alan brought the gospel to me and Alan needed to hear the gospel.
I tried to bring the gospel to him and we went away from our
time together, even though we were separated by hundreds of
kilometers, we went away rejoicing. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter
5. He speaks of husbands loving
their wives in verse 25. Even as Christ also loved the
church and gave himself for it, Ephesians 5, 25, that he might
sanctify it, which means to be made holy. He might sanctify
it, set apart for God's purposes is what he's talking about. Might
sanctify it and cleanse it with the washing that he might present it, all
of this bride, all of this church, to himself a glorious church,
not having spalt or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should
be holy and without blemish. As so men ought to love their
wives as their own body, he that loveth his wife loveth himself.
No man ever yet hated his own flesh, but he nourishes and cherishes
them, even as the Lord the church. He nourishes his church, and
he cherishes his church. For we are members of his body. No man ever hated his own body,
especially not the Lord Jesus Christ. We are members of his
body, of his flesh, and of his bones. To this cause shall a
man leave his father and mother and shall be joined unto his
wife, and they too shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery,
but I speak concerning Christ and his church. It's a glorious washing, isn't
it? Paul in Titus, the Holy Spirit in Titus, shows us what this
washing is, again in Titus chapter 3, if you turn over there with
me, in chapter 3. He speaks of what we were, in
verse 3, for we ourselves were at sometimes foolish, disobedient,
deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasures, living in malice
and envy, hateful and hating one another. But after that the
kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according
to His mercy He saved us by the washing and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour. So the washing speaks of regeneration. That's what he said to Nicodemus,
isn't it? You must be washed, you must be born again. You must
be born of water and blood. 1 John chapter 5 speaks of this
again. He that came by water and blood,
even Jesus Christ, not by water, but by water and blood. He came
by water and blood. Again and again throughout the
Scriptures the Lord reminds us of how glorious and great The Hebrews chapter 10 verse
22 says, for us, we can go back a few verses to verse 19, having
therefore brethren boldness to enter into the holiest by the
blood of Jesus by a new and living way. A new and living way. That means freshly sacrificed. which he has consecrated for
us through the veil, that is to say his flesh, and having
a high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with
true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled
from an evil conscience. Don't you love the fact that
he purifies the consciences of his people? He says he's done it. I'm aware
of mine and how shameful it is, but here's our hearts sprinkled
from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. And this is what it is to administer
this to others, isn't it? Let us hold fast the profession
of our faith without wavering. Why? Because he is faithful,
that has promised. Let us consider one another to
provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembly
of ourselves together. What a grace gift it is to wash
one another's feet. What a grace gift from our God
to have by his whose walk needs washing all
the time. He's done it all, brothers and
sisters. He's done it all again and again. So let's go back to
our verse in John chapter 12. There are three things that he
speaks of here which are just so incredibly important, especially
as he links them, as he, these two he links to happiness. if you know these things, if
you know how, by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, he has
washed his people clean, that he has a church in this world
that he came to save, and he's washed all that church in his
own blood. And he's in the business, isn't
he, again and again and again, of presenting that church to
himself, holy and spotless and unblameable. But he's the one
that's cherished. knowledge is a whom. 2nd Timothy
chapter 1 verse 12 isn't it? I know whom I have believed. And if you know whom you have
believed, you'll know the what's about who he is. All of our understanding
of what the world and what we call doctrine, doctrine is just
teaching isn't it? But if you know the whom, then
all the rest is a Paul on the Damascus Road thought he was
righteous and thought he was moral and thought he was extraordinarily
knowledgeable. And he met the Lord Jesus Christ
on the Damascus Road. And all of a sudden, he knew
a whom. He knew a whom. He knew intellectually
about a Christ. He knew intellectually and experientially
from the history of Israel about the God who is sovereign, the
God who rules over all, and the God who saves. the God of the Scriptures revealed
in the Lord Jesus Christ, would he doubt his sovereignty? Would he doubt for a second his
power to do whatever he wishes to do in this world? Would he
doubt for a second his power over all flesh and all creation
and all the events of all creation? Would he doubt his purpose in
coming? God's children grow in the grace
and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the grace, isn't
it? To grow in grace is to do what? Is to grow down and grow
down and grow down and grow down in our awareness of how weak
and how frail we are, and to grow up and up in the knowledge
of how great a Saviour we have. is to grow in the knowledge of
his washing, his purpose in coming. It's to grow in the knowledge
that the Lord Jesus Christ came as a servant, and he came to
set an example. Does he serve you? How does he
serve? Or do you think, like Paul, that
we serve him? We were indeed being served all
the time, brothers We have a knowledge of him through
our meeting with him. We have a knowledge of him that's
proclaimed again and again in the gospel. Just look what he
says in this chapter we're looking at in John 13. He says, knowing
that the father had given all things into his hands and he
was come from God and he went to God. Jesus knew that he's
ours come verse one that he should depart out of the world unto
the father having loved his own richer in the world he loved
them to the end you have a knowledge of that that knowledge that knowledge
is what we bring to our brothers and sisters isn't it so some
people they're not happy. Some people
have lots of actions without knowledge. According to this
verse of scripture, they are not happy. The two go hand in
hand, aren't they? Knowledge and performance. Knowledge and practice and action
brings happiness to the children of God. Most people's happiness can be
taken away from them in a heartbeat. The other thing that the Lord
shows us in this passage of scripture is that God's people find the greatest happiness in
being a servant, the greatest joy in my life. You who have
shared the gospel with other people, don't you love the fact
that the Lord opens a door of utterance and you're able to
proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ? Doesn't it bring a rejoicing?
When you go out into this world and you look around and think,
may the Lord just open an speak to them about the glory
of my Saviour. Happiness is found in knowledge
of who He is and living upon that knowledge. People who seek
after happiness, and this world is always talking about happiness,
isn't it? I want to be happy, I want to be happy, and it's
not the advice of the Lord Almighty. You trust Him, and you live upon
that trust, and you will find a happiness. I love how Philippians talks
about joy. We share in the joy of the Lord,
for the joy that the Lord had set before Him. For the joy,
what's the joy of the Lord? Joy is much more than happiness,
isn't it? It's much deeper than happiness. But for the joy that
was set before him, for the joy. Let's look unto the Lord Jesus,
the author and finisher of faith, who for the joy that was set
before him, endured the cross, despised and ashamed, and is
set down at the right hand of the throne of God. What do I need? I need to hear
the gospel again. I need to hear how glorious the
Lord Jesus Christ is. I need to hear how complete his
washing is. From my brothers and sisters
in the Lord, rules. Just in closing I'd like
us to turn to one of the lovely pictures in the scriptures of
someone who came to the Lord. Turn with me to Luke chapter
7. We wash each other's feet with
the pictures of the Lord's work in the hearts of his people.
In Luke chapter 7 verse 16, I just quickly look at the story, but
I just wanted to see and they serve us in the most
glorious way by this wonderful act of loving the Lord Jesus
Christ in this world. Behold, verse 27, behold, a woman
in the city which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat
at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,
and stood at his feet behind him, weeping, and began to wash
his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her
head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with ointment. He saw it, he spake within himself
this man. If he were a prophet, he would
have known who and what manner of woman this is that touches
him. For she is a sinner. And Jesus
answering said unto him, and don't you love the fact that
in every situation the Lord Jesus Christ stands between the accusers
and his bride. I am so tall. Jesus answered,
Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee, say it, say it, master,
say on. There was a certain creditor
which had two debtors, and one owed 500 pence and the other
50. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them
both. Tell me, therefore, which of
them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose
that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, thou hast
rightly judged. an infamous sinner, as Simon
has attested. And he turned to the woman, and
he said unto Simon, seest thou this woman? I entered into thine
house, and thou gavest me no water for my feet, but she hath
washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of
Thou gavest me no kiss, but this woman, since the time I came
in, has not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst
not anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet with iron. Therefore
I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven. For she loved much, but to whom
little is forgiven, the same loveth little. He said unto her,
thy sins are forgiven. This is the washing of the word,
isn't it? Thy sins are forgiven. They that sat at meat with him
began to say within themselves, who is this that forgiveth sins
also? And he said unto the woman, thy
faith hath saved thee, go in peace. She came, that's what sinners
do, she came as a sinner dirty to the Lord. and washed his feet with her
tears, and wiped them with the hairs of his, she kissed him,
she kissed his feet, and she anointed him with ointment. The Lord said to her, thy faith
has saved thee, go in peace. When that lady went down the
street and back to her people and had the opportunity to share
what had happened, what do you think she said? Do you think
she went back and said, my faith has saved me. My faith has washed
me clean. My faith, my faith, My faith
has made my sins to go away. But did she wash the disciples
feet and say, what a saviour, what a washing, what a Lord and
what a God, and what words does he speak to wash away the sins
of his people? Your sins are forgiven. Where
have they gone? They were his sins. How must she have felt when he
was crucified? How much she would have been
encouraged to go and share and share and share the gospel. And
so it doesn't matter how filthy you are, you come. It doesn't
matter how dirty you are, it doesn't matter how the world
sees your walk, you come. You come and bow, and come and
worship, and come and kiss, and go away in his peace. We have a glorious gospel to
share with each other, don't we, brothers and sisters? What
a glorious gospel. What a messed up, dirty world,
and what a glorious gospel. What weak and sinful people,
and what a glorious triumph. What words of men bring so much
disturbance? What words from God bring so
much peace? Thy faith has saved thee. Go
in peace. Amen. May the Lord bless those
words. May we know them, do them, and be found blessed. Thank you.