The things recorded in John chapters
13, 14, 15, 16, and 17. The things recorded in
these five chapters. God the Holy Spirit inspired
John alone to record. Matthew, Mark, and Luke mention
none of these specific events. And yet, these are things for
which we can never be sufficiently thankful to God the Holy Ghost
for recording for us. They have been throughout the
ages of God's church the source of great consolation, direction,
peace, and strength. They have been things that have
sustained God's people in times of great trial. and in times
of great suffering. I pray that as we look at this
passage again this morning, in John 13, that our Lord will send
his spirit to be our teacher and graciously apply to our hearts
the lessons to be learned from the foot washing, that is, of
our Lord washing his disciples' feet. Let's read verses 1 through
20 together. Pray that God will speak to our
hearts by his word. 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, and
supper being ended, The devil having now put into the heart
of Judas Iscariot Simon's son to betray him, Jesus knowing
that the father had given all things into his hand and that
he was come from God and went to God, he riseth from supper
and laid aside his garments and took a towel and girded himself. After that, he poureth water
into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet. and to wipe
them with a towel wherewith he was girded. Then cometh he to
Simon Peter, and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou 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
unto him, he that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but
is clean every whit. And ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray
him. Therefore said he, ye are not all clean. So after he had
washed their feet and had taken his garments and was set down
again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done unto you? Ye call me Master and Lord, and
ye say, Well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master,
have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet.
For I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done
to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
the servant is not greater than his Lord, neither he that is
sent greater than he that sent him. If you know these things,
happy are ye if you do them. I speak not of you all. I know
whom I have chosen. 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, ye may believe that I am. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
he that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me, and he that
receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. The title of my message
this morning is foot washing. I'm not going to bring a message
suggesting that our Lord here teaches us that we should observe
some kind of a high communion service as some of our brethren
do called foot washing. It is absurd. It is absurd to imagine that
our Lord taught his disciples to come together, and as we eat
at the Lord's table, pull their shoes off, and each one start
to wash his brother's feet. There's utterly nothing significant
concerning that, nothing at all. I don't want to offend my friends
who practice such, but it's not taught in this passage or elsewhere
in the scriptures. Our Lord did not here establish
such an ordinance. Well, then what was the intent
of our Lord Jesus in performing this very menial task? What does
he intend for us to learn from these things? What is the purpose
of God the Holy Spirit in revealing the things that are here set
before us? I'm not going to pretend to be
able to expound to you everything that is intended by the Spirit
of God here, but I want to give you five plain lessons, five
plain words of instruction concerning this event in the life of our
Lord, this marvelous display of humiliation. First, we learn
that our Savior looked upon his rapidly approaching death. as
a blessed departure out of this world unto the Father. He looked upon his death that
was rapidly approaching just a little while and he will be
leaving this world. He looked upon it as a departure
out of this world unto the Father and thereby teaches us that we
ought to look upon the death of these bodies in which we now
exist as being a departure out of this world unto the Father. Now, before the feast of the
Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come, that he should
depart out of the world, out of this world, unto the Father. Our Savior, you'll recall, expressed
great ambition. to eat this Passover with his
disciples. He said, with desire, I've desired
to eat this with you, knowing that this would be the last Passover
because he is about to fulfill the Passover type and about to
fulfill everything suggested, implied and typified in the Passover
event and the Passover supper. As Christ, our Passover, was
sacrificed for us to make atonement for our sins and thereby redeem
us to God, he was anxious to eat this supper with his disciples
and accomplish our redemption. Though he must die the shameful,
painful, ignominious death of the cross, though he must die
being made sin for us, as one who is specifically cursed of
God, When he was made sin for us, our Savior knew that his
departure from this world would be the end of sin. For him and
for us, he that is dead, Peter says, hath ceased from sin. Speaking specifically of our
Lord Jesus, who bear our sin in his own body on the tree.
He knew that his death would be the end of sin and thus the
end of sorrow for him and for us. Therefore, his death is our
substitute would be his accomplished exodus out of this world. Remember
in Luke chapter 9, Moses and Elijah spoke to him of his decease,
which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. And the word is exodus. His exodus he should accomplish. He came into this world intending
to make his exodus out of this world as our Passover sacrifice
and thereby bring us to God in the perfection of his own being
as our mediator and our substitute. Because he died for us, the just
for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, he has delivered
us now from the fear of death. There is no reason for any believer
to look upon death with fear, with trembling. Christ has removed
our sin. Christ has removed the curse
from us. Christ has removed from us all
that makes death foreboding to the unbeliever. John Trapp put
it this way. It is to the saints no more than
a passage to the Father. an inlet to eternal life. What is it to die? It's to go
home. What is it to die? It is to live. What is it to die? It is to enter
into the Father's house. One age believer, a Dutchman,
I don't recall his name, long ago made this statement as he
was dying. The Father loves me. The Son
redeemed me. The Holy Ghost comforts me. How
then can I be cast down at the appearance of death? As there
is a specific time appointed by God from old eternity, when
our Savior entered into this world, so there was a time, a
specific time appointed by God our Father from eternity when
you and I would enter into this world. Before ever, God calls
the sun to shine in heaven. He ordained that on June 10,
1950, a boy be born in a sharecropper's house on a sharecropper's farm
in Bladen County, North Carolina, and his name be recorded in the
records as Don Fortner. Imagine that. Imagine that. God fixed the time, the place,
and the circumstances in which I would draw my first breath
and all that has gone on since then. And as there was a specific
time, a specific hour appointed for our Redeemer's death when
he must depart out of this world unto the Father, So God my Father,
before the world began, fixed unalterably the time, the hour,
and the means by which this man talking to you shall depart out
of this world unto the Father. And there's not one thing about
that that's fearful. There's not one thing about that
that's foreboding. Bless God, I will soon depart
out of this world and I want to. When I depart out of this
world, I will just be departing out of this world to go to my
father to dwell forever in his house with my family where there
shall be no sorrow, and no tears, and no sin, and no dying." Now,
what can be wrong with that? What can be wrong with that?
Oh, but don't we have many cares about people we leave in this
world? Oh, yes. Yes, yes. Many cares
about people we must leave behind in this world. but leaving them
behind is part of the exodus out of this world, and if they're
gods, for their benefit as well as ours, for their everlasting
good as well as ours. But we depart from this world
unto the Father. Here's the second thing. The
Holy Spirit here speaks to us of our Savior's great love for
his people as an incomparable love of indestructible patience
and perseverance. You won't mind me talking to
you about this just a little more one more time, will you?
Having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto
the end. The objects of his love are here
described as his own. Those who are loved of God are
his own. Not everyone is loved of God. Our Lord tells us specifically
the distinction made between Judas and these other apostles
is, I know whom I have chosen. He speaks of these apostles and
of Judas. He said, you're clean, but not
all of you. And not all of you, because he
was speaking concerning Judas, whom he had not chosen, for whom
he shed no blood, for whom he gave no love. Well, how can you
say God doesn't love everybody? Because God says he doesn't.
And to suggest that God loves everybody is to make God's love
totally meaningless and irrelevant in all affairs concerning grace,
salvation, and eternal life. If God loves all men, And some
men are not saved. If God loves all men and some
yet perish under the wrath of God, if God loves all men and
some never enjoy the blessings of his grace, then God's love
has nothing to do with those things. And that is utter blasphemy. He loved his own, his own. Not the Jewish people who were
his own by countrymen, his own nation, his own nationality,
his own race, if you will. He came into his own, John tells
us, and his own received him not. They were his own property,
but they are not his own here. He speaks of His own, not as
the world at large, because though they are all His own by creation,
they are not His own as the word is used here. These two sweet,
sweet words, His own, refer to all the hosts of God's elect. We are His own. His own. Isn't that good? His own. By His own choice. His own by
the purchase of His blood, His own by the power of His grace. We are His own because the Father
gave us to Him before the world was. Our Savior specifically
said to love His own which were in the world. That means that our Savior loves
us in our present state and condition. whatever that may be. And that's not usually much,
is it? He loves us as we are right now, where we are right
now. He loves us though we live in
this body of sin and death. He loves us though we're liable
to many snares and temptations. He loves us though we're weak
and frail, faltering and falling, sinful and shameful. Still, we
are always and we always shall be the objects of His distinct
love. The acts of His love to us are
spoken of in this passage as being both present and past. They are things that involve
all the display of His love. He loved us with an everlasting
love of complacency and delight. He showed that love by espousing
us to him as his own choice bride. He shows that love by undertaking
our calls in the covenant of grace, by assuming all responsibility
for us so that we stand no longer responsible before God for anything,
not for anything, not for anything. Oh, preacher, you don't dare
take away man's responsibility. No, Christ took it away. Christ took it away. He took
all responsibility for my soul in eternity. 41 years ago, I promised this young lady's
father that I would take care of her for the rest of her life
if he would give me her hand to marry. I've made the promise. I voluntarily, willingly, publicly
assumed all responsibility for that lady. Assumed it all. I've never regretted it in the
least. I'm responsible to provide for
her. I'm responsible to protect her. I'm responsible to lead
her. I'm responsible to instruct her.
I'm responsible as God's priest in my house. I'm responsible
as the head of my house before God. I'm responsible, totally
responsible for all her welfare. Well, that's a big load. Not
if you love her, it's not. Not if you love her, it's not.
I wouldn't want anybody to do that for me. Oh, yes, you would.
Oh, yes, you would. Christ Jesus espoused us to himself
and became from eternity responsible for everything on our behalf. everything to provide for us,
to care for us, to redeem us, to supply our need, to protect
us, to keep us safely and bring us safely home. By taking this
responsibility upon himself, our Lord Jesus in time assumed
our nature and came into this world as our redeemer to redeem
and save his people. And having done all this, he
loved them to the end. The Lord of glory died for us
because he loves us. And he continues to show that
incomparable love for us, interceding for us in heaven, supplying all
our needs continually, guiding us in every step of our lives,
ruling all things in providence on our behalf. And he will at
last bring us to glory. Imagine that. Try to get hold
of it. That same love for our souls,
which our Savior had when he was on this earth, which he had
when he died for us, continues now and shall continue to the
end. to the end of the world, to the
end of time, to the end, until at last He brings us to the end,
He has purposed for us in heavenly glory, where that love shall
be universally, unlimitedly manifest to us. Oh, let us then anxiously
depart out of this world to go unto the Father. Here's the third
thing. We're taught here that our savior's
dominion as our mediator is an eternal dominion. As he is the
lamb slain from the foundation of the world in whom all God's
elect were blessed and accepted from everlasting, so the triune
Jehovah trusted Christ, our mediator from everlasting as the mediator
and savior of his elect and all things were given into his hands. Now notice the language here
speaks of that which was done as something already done when
our Lord spoke. This was done before the world
began. Turn over to Hebrews chapter
4. Hebrews chapter 4. In our limited capacity as mere
mortals, limited as we are by the constraints of time and frail
humanity, we cannot even begin to think like this. But all the
works of God were done before the first thing was done. All
the works of God were performed by God from eternity, and then
they are manifestly performed in time. Look here in Hebrews
chapter 4, verse 3. For we which have believed do
enter into rest, as he said, as I have sworn in my wrath,
that they shall enter into my rest. Now watch this. Although
the works were finished from the foundation of the world, Anybody here care to explain
that? Anybody here dare deny that? The works were finished. David,
that means they were done. Finished, brought to their completion
before the foundation of the world. Christ was accepted as
our sacrifice, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
We were accepted in Christ the Lamb before the world began.
Not only that, but we were blessed in Him with all spiritual blessings
in heavenly places, that is, in God's covenant mercy in heaven
itself before the world began. The scripture speaks like this.
We were saved from eternity. Read 2 Timothy 1 verse 9. God has saved us and called us
within holy calling, not according to our works, but according to
his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus
before the world began. And all the works of God, finished
from the foundation of the world, are brought to light and may
manifest openly as they are openly performed by our God in time. when he reveals Christ to us,
when Christ was actually slain upon the tree, when Christ actually
arose from the dead. But the primary purpose of verse
three is to show us that our Savior understood and was fully
aware of his own great indescribable dignity and superiority as a
man. What's this? Jesus knowing The
father had given before the world began the father had already
given all things into his hands in John 17 he says father the
hours come glorify thou thy glorify thy son that thy son also may
glorify Thee as thou has given him power over all flesh That
he should give eternal life to as many as thou has given him.
I Give me the glory he said that I had with you before the world
was this was talking about The father put all things into his
hands and that he was come from God and going to God He had come
from God and he's going to God by telling us this and then telling
us About our Lord washing his disciples feet The Holy Ghost
is emphasizing here that what our Lord does here is a matter
of of indescribably great condescension. In the very moment when he knew
himself as God, the God-man mediator, to be Lord, proprietor, and governor
of heaven and earth, the Lord Jesus did something that only
the lowest of men ever performed. The lowest of men. Not just an
ordinary servant would do this. No, this is a task that would
be performed only by a slave. He comes and washes his disciples'
feet. Obviously, the Holy Spirit intends
that we understand this as a scene of unbounded condescension and
humiliation. The spirit inspired John to tell
us that our savior also knew he was come from God and went
to God. He came from the triune God and
he is going to the triune God. He came here as Jehovah's servant
on a mission of mercy to accomplish the redemption of his people,
to put away our sins by the sacrifice of himself. And soon he is going
to the father. He went to the father when the
work was finished. Only now, only as he comes to
the end of his work and his mission, only under these conditions could
he give us such a vivid picture of his undying love, his undying
love for his own, which were in the world. So fourth, let's
look at this indescribable humiliation. He humbled himself. Our Lord's act of washing his
disciples' feet was intended to set before them and us a picture
of his great, voluntary, deliberate humiliation as our substitute. I said to Lindsay this morning
when he came in and asked me what I was preaching on, So I'm
going to be preaching on foot washing, and I say I've learned
something this week. This passage is not talking about
what we do. It's talking about what he did. It's not a picture of what we
do for one another, though certainly it is and should be applied in
that way. It is a picture of what Christ
did for us. Now, I have no doubt that we
had before us in this chapter, a clear, vivid picture of the
self-abasing condescending service we ought to gladly render to
one another. What our Lord Jesus did for us,
we ought willingly and gladly always to do for one another.
Did he love us? Let us love one another. Does
he refresh us? Let us refresh one another. Does
he stoop to meet our needs? Let us stoop to meet one another's
needs. Did he stoop in self-abasement
to supply what we needed? Let us stoop in self-abasement
to supply one another's needs. Did he regard not his own things,
but our things? Let us regard not our own things,
but the things of others. Did our Lord abase himself that
he might lift us? Let us gladly abase ourselves
that we may lift our brethren. Does he serve us? Oh, God, give me grace to serve
his people. Did he lay down his life for
us? we ought also to lay down our lives for the brethren. The
foot washing described here turned to two passages. Turn over here
to 1 Thessalonians 5. 1 Thessalonians 5 and then turn
back to Isaiah chapter 52. The foot washing here describes
a picture of that humiliation with which we ought to serve
one another. And the master's washing of his disciples' feet.
may well be intended to be a declaration of the high esteem with which
God's servant should be esteemed by his people. Now, that's not
a stretch at all. In fact, if you look at verse
20, look here at John 20 before we look at these two texts, John
13, 20. Our Lord's statement here seems
to indicate he's talking about his servants. Verily, verily,
I say unto you, he that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me,
and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. The washing
of his disciples' feet then, not their hands. is perhaps a
ceremonial picture, a ceremonial presentation of these very apostles
as preachers of the gospel. Men whom he would send as his
messengers, giving us his word by divine inspiration. Here in
Isaiah 52, verse 7, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet
of him that bringeth good tidings. that publisheth peace, that bringeth
good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion,
Thy God reigneth, thy watchman shall lift up the voice. Now
watch this. Verse 8. Thy watchman shall lift up the
voice. These whose feet are beautiful, these men sent of God proclaiming
the gospel. With the voice together shall
they sing, for they shall see eye to eye. when the Lord shall bring again
Zion. Eye to eye. Now, when I'm visiting
with Brother Todd or any of the other preacher brethren, we talk
about this. We don't generally keep scrapping
around until we find something we disagree on. But I've been
around for a while. I know there are some small issues
about which we may have some difference. We may have some
difference. That's true of all of us, of
all of us. Doesn't cause any discord, not
issues relating to the gospel of God's grace, not matters of
vital concern, just some slight difference. Todd been trying
to convince me for years that Luke wrote the book of Hebrews.
I'm still not convinced. It doesn't matter, but I'm still
not convinced. Now, this passage says, concerning
these messengers, when the Lord brings again Zion, that is, when
the Lord has accomplished the deliverance of his people, these
messengers sent of him shall see eye to eye. Read the New Testament. There's
not a jarring comment in the whole book. Everything about
which they speak, they saw eye to eye. And when one did not
quite understand what another said, there's still no disagreement.
None at all. Peter said, our beloved brother
Paul has written some things hard to be understood. He's just
beyond me. It didn't say I disagree with
his. I don't understand what he's talking about. They're hard
to be understood because Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles.
But in everything they wrote. There is not one contradictory
statement or even a hint of such in all the New Testament. Our
Lord washes their feet and says, These are the men I send as my
messengers who see eye to eye in all things. All right. Look
at first Thessalonians five. Our Lord then gives us a picture
of the esteem with which every faithful gospel preacher ought
to be esteemed by God's people. We will, just a few weeks now,
have the privilege of having guest preachers here from all
over the country. We just had Brother Lance Heller
here last Tuesday night. Esteem them highly. Esteem them
highly. Esteem them highly how highly
just as highly as you can look in first Thessalonians chapter
5 I'm sorry, I got there first
Thessalonians chapter 5 verse verse 13 Verse 12 I beseech you brethren
To know them which labor among you, and are over you in the
Lord, and admonish you. He's talking about your pastors,
gospel preachers. And to esteem them very highly
in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves. I try to instruct churches wherever
I go. to follow this admonition. You
want peace in the fellowship of God's people? Esteem those
who labor among you in the word, very highly in love for their
work's sake. Esteem them for the gospel they
preach to you, and you will have peace among yourselves. And this
is but proper. They bring you the gospel of
God's free grace. Back in John 13 now. The primary thing intended by
this marvelous act of humiliation was to give us a picture of our
Lord's great condescension, His great humiliation when He stooped
to redeem us. Verse 4, He riseth from supper. and laid aside his garments, and took a towel and girded himself. And after he poureth water into
a basin, he began to wash the disciples' feet. He laid aside his glorious manifests
glory when he stooped to take on himself our nature. Filled
with the Spirit of God without measure, he came into this world
saying, lo, I come to do thy will, O my God, and began the
work of redemption, began to wash his disciples' feet. What
a picture the Spirit of God gives us here of our Lord's humiliation. We read earlier Philippians 2.
Would you look at it again? Verse 5. Listen to how it's described.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. That
is, he's saying, Allen Kibbe, imitate your Savior in this great
act. Let the same mind possess you.
that possessed him when he laid down his life for you. Who being
in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with
God. That is, he did not consider it to be something he had to
seek after to be equal with God, for he is God. But made himself
of no reputation. He emptied himself. He emptied
himself. And took upon him the form of
a servant. He came here as a man. He came
here as Jehovah's Servant. And was made in the likeness
of men. He assumed our nature. He became what we were. What
we are. And being found in fashion as
a man. He comes here. He empties himself. Takes on
himself our nature in the form of a servant. And being found
here like a man. As a man. He empties himself
some more. As a man, he takes the lowest
place. As a man, he humbled himself
and became obedient unto death. Not just became obedient unto
the end of his days, but became obedient unto the end of his
days, even the death of the cross. Willingly, voluntarily became
obedient unto death. You know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ? 2 Corinthians 5, or chapter 8,
verse 9, have it though he was rich. Oh, how rich he was, Lindsay.
Rich in the praises of men, in the praises of the angels of
God. Rich in his ineffable glory as
God the Son. Rich, rich, rich. Yet for your
sakes, he became poor. poor. How poor. I am a worm and
no man. A worm. Fear not thou worm, Jacob. I'm a worm and no man. For your sakes he became poor
that you through his poverty might be made rich. Bobbie became
what we are to make us what he is. That's what Paul's talking
about in 2 Corinthians 5 21 when he says he who knew no sin was
made sin for us. That we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. This is truly the one thing needful. The one thing absolutely necessary
for our souls, we must be washed in the Savior's blood. The Lord
Jesus emphatically says to Peter, If I wash thee not, thou hast
no part with me. And he says less emphatically
and less clearly, but certainly clear enough as we behold it
now looking back in the light of the fulfillment of scripture,
he says, Judas was not washed and he has no part with me. If
I wash you not, you have no part with me. Brother Don is just
talking about the man being redeemed. Yes, it is. Well, why the foot
washing as it's described here? Because we must be washed three
ways distinctly by our Savior. Without shedding of blood is
no remission. We must be washed in his blood judicially. That's
what took place at Calvary. The Lord Jesus washed away our
sins by the sacrifice of himself. We must be washed from our sins
in his blood consciously, experimentally. That's what takes place in the
new birth when God gives us center of faith in Christ. It's called
the washing of regeneration so that God, the Holy Spirit, comes
and sprinkles the blood upon the heart and takes away the
guilt of conscience. And we are made to know that
we are forgiven of all sin experimentally washed in the Savior's blood.
In that day when the Spirit of God comes in giving life and
faith, a fountain is opened for sin and for uncleanness, and
the sinner plunges in and made whiter than snow in his conscience. But there's another washing that
we need constantly, and that is we must be washed continually. Continually. Merle, how sweet it is to confess
my sin now and be washed now from all guilt. If we confess
our sin, He's faithful and just to forgive us of our sin. And
what does the book say? And cleanse us from all unrighteousness. right now, cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. Here's the fifth thing. I'll
wrap this up. The fact that our Lord washed
Judah's feet is very instructive. I'm astonished when I read that.
Some folks are so shocked by that that they try their best
to figure out a way to say the Lord didn't wash his feet. But it's
obvious in the passage that he did. He washed his feet. And thereby teaches us that saving
grace is inward, not outward. Judas was washed outwardly, but
not inwardly. Ceremonially, but not spiritually. Not experimentally. Judas was
religious. He had all the right doctrine.
He went through all the right ordinances, all the right ceremonies,
but he wasn't washed. He wasn't washed. Our Lord made
a point of saying that he baptized no one but his disciples, but
he emphasizes this fact, you must be washed. Are you in a
part with me? Here's the second thing. There's
no saving benefit. no saving merit, no saving efficacy
of any kind in any ordinance, even if the one administering
the ordinance is the son of God himself. Our Lord washed Judas's feet,
but he's still just as dirty as it was when he came in. Third,
God's people, true believers, are never injured. True believers are never injured
from the spiritual benefit God gives by his ordinances, by the
presence of devils and wicked men in their assemblies. Some time ago, I had a call from
a fellow who's wanting to preach in the congregation and He said,
Brother Don, I'm wanting to preach Sunday on church discipline.
Have you got anything you can send me? And I said, well, I
can make a suggestion. What's that? I said, why don't
you preach on something the book talks about? I'm talking about a congregation
with a half a dozen members. He won't put half of that. Let's
have a pure church, clean church. We've got to have a good church
or it messes up the whole thing. Peter, James and John were not
in the least robbed by Judas's feet being washed. Didn't injure
them at all. Didn't change Judas and didn't
injure them. Only hardened Judas and yet the same time they're
benefited. When devils like Judas do raise
their ugly heads, and manifest themselves in our midst, we should
always be reminded of God's distinguishing grace. What's the difference? What's the difference? I know whom I've chosen. I know whom I've chosen. Who maketh thee to differ from
another? What hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now,
if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou'st
not received it? Blessed Savior, thank you for
the washing of your blood, for the cleansing of our souls, In the sacrifice of yourself
upon the curse tree. In the sprinkling of blood in
regeneration. And right now, for cleansing
us from all sin in your blood. Amen.