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Humble Enough To Get Cleaned UP?
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Humble Enough to Get Cleaned Up?
“No,” Peter said, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you will have no part with me.” (John 13:8)
Read John 13:5-17.
Outside the cross this is the most direct example of humility and instruction for us to be humble that Jesus teaches. Be careful not to miss the underlying truth of verses 8 thru 10. Look first at Peter’s reaction to Jesus, the King of Kings on his knees prepared to do a lowly servant’s act. Peter, recognizing his unworthiness, rejects Jesus’ love, not realizing Jesus was making a spiritual application. As Jesus replies, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me,” Peter realizes because of the dirt on his feet he is not right with Christ. He immediately over reacts and begs Jesus to wash all of him. Listen to Jesus in verse 10, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet, his whole body is clean…”. Now listen to the spiritual application. A Christian person who has been saved needs only to clean the dirt of the world out of his life. You have salvation. (v. 10)
If we bathed in a public bath and walked home in sandals on dirt streets, we would need only to clean our feet to be clean all over.
Jesus says unless I through the washing word of God clean the effects of the world (TV, trashy talk, ungodly people, and looking at sin) off of your spiritual life, you cannot be a part of me and my work. If we like Peter humble ourselves and allow the word of God to wash and clean our lives, we can become right with Jesus and be a part of his work.
Exercise:
Now that you have confessed sin and asked for forgiveness, it is time to take your shoes off and allow God to use his Word to wash the effects of sin out of your life.
Praying scripture is fundamental in communicating with God.
Read and pray the following scriptures:
Psalm 139:23-24
Psalm 51:10-12
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Obedient to Pray
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"Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and request. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:18)
A good soldier is one that is prepared to defend, ready to attack and knows who his leader is and obeys His every command. This is true as well for the soldier in the army of the Lord and the most empowering action given to Christians has to be prayer. If this is true and Gods word supports and teaches that prayer is the key element in the success or failure of the battle, why are prayer meetings all over this Christian Nation dwindling or empty? If satan had ten atomic bombs and freedom to use them, he would drop them on the ten most effective prayer chambers in the world. “
For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph 6:12) If you ask any Christian if they believe in prayer, I am sure you will get a yes, absolutely answer.
So how much time do you spend in prayer? 5 minutes a day, 1 hour a week, every Sunday morning, at every meal, every time trouble comes.
The early Christians knew what a battle they were in and look how they attacked the situation “They all joined together constantly in prayer…” (Acts 1:14)
Are we commanded to pray?
Proverbs 15:8 “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the PRAYER of the upright is his delight.”
Matt 2:22 “If you believe, you will receive what ever you ask for in PRAYER.”
Acts 12:5 “But Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly PRAYING to God for him.”
Romans 12:12 “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in PRAYER,
PRAYER is a gift, a privilege, often referred to as a cry or call unto the Lord.
How do you use prayer? ________________________________________
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At CrossVision we teach and practice what we call “The Stop, Drop, and Pray method. Any time we feel the need or are confronted with a need or God situation, we Stop whatever we are doing, Drop to our knees, and Pray. Try this today! Look for needs and situations God wants to handle and immediately Stop, Drop, and Pray. Record the day
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