ME:
Good morning, Gateway Church. It is great to have you with us today as we continue our teaching series “UNITED WE STAND.”
If you remember from last week, started this series by looking at the GREAT DIVIDE that exists in America. Not the Red/Blue or Left/Right or Democrat/Republican divide.
I’m talking about the DIVIDE in the church that DIVIDES the church from the mission of Jesus. We’re tackling this series because we have allowed our political differences to divide us and cause DISUNITY in the church, and DISUNITY WILL ALWAYS DISRUPT THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH
WE:
As we move forward in this series, focusing on UNITY, 20 years ago today was a day that brought Americans together like few things have in our lifetime.
20 years ago today was one of the most significant days in US history or at least in the last 50 years. The 9/11 attacks changes our nation forever.
• How many of you remember exactly what you were doing when 9/11 happened?
• I was in the air on the way to San Diego.
o Stuck in Wichita, KS
o Stories of people helping (Mayor ordered pizza for everyone)
• In New York & D.C. people were running into danger to help strangers.
• People put their own preferences, welfare and even safety aside to help others.
• People served side by side to help others.
• On United Flight 93 a group of strangers came together and sacrificed their own lives to save countless others.
The whole time I was in the airport in Wichita… helping others and being helped by others… do you know what questions were asked?
• What's your name?
• Where are you from?
• Can I borrow your cell phone?
• What do you need?
• Are you hungry?
• What can we get you?
• What's your phone number/address so we can stay in touch?
Do you know what questions were never asked?
• Are you are Republican or a Democrat?
• Are you a Liberal or a Conservative?
• Did you vote for Bush or Gore?
None of that mattered. What mattered was that there were people who were scared… people who were isolated… people who needed help…
And there was a mass of people who came together to help.
You see, when we were all focused on the needs of others. When we were all focused on doing right by our neighbor because we were all under attack. Political and racial and religious differences all faded into the background. What mattered was helping each other.
Now, if our nation can get that right (even for a short time) and they don't have the message or the model of Jesus lean on, how much MORE should we - the church - the community of Jesus followers - get it right?
If we want to bring UNITY to the CHURCH and bring healing to a divided world, then we have to take our focus off of what's in it for us and shift our focus to what's best for others.
We need to let go of our SERVE US ECONOMY and adopt a SERVICE ECONOMY.
If we want to heal the division in the church, then the church needs to get busy serving those in need.
Or, to put it another way…
SERVING TOGETHER BRINGS US TOGETHER.
Let me say that again because that's our focus today. SERVING TOGETHER BRINGS US TOGETHER.
Open Bibles to Philippians 2:5 pg. 802.
GOD:
As I said a minute ago, we need to change our economy form a SERVE US economy to a SERVICE economy.
• Too many Christians today look at their church and say "Serve Us."
• Too many Christians today look at our nation, our government, other people and say "Serve Us."
• Too many Christians - and too many churches - look to the power of political parties to get what we think we need because our attitude is "SERVE US" rather than SERVICE.
But that's not what we're called to do. And the "SERVE US" mindset only serves to divide us from each other, from those in need and from our MISSION.
So… how do we fight it? Glad you asked.
Let's go back to Paul's letter to the very diverse church at Philippi.
[Remember this church was started with a rich merchant woman, a formerly possessed slaver girl and a former soldier turned jailer.]
And - picking up right were we left off last week - Paul says,
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Philippians 2:5-8
Paul tells us to have the same mindset… same attitude… as Jesus? What was the Attitude of Jesus?
Made himself NOTHING
He EMPTIED HIMSELF of all of the glory and privilege he rightfully deserved.
Was HUMBLE
He LOWERED HIMSELF…
Became a SERVANT
Refers to someone who is the property of another.
A servant (doulos) is someone who is a slave and obeys the commands of his or her master.
(Ron Clark and Dougald McLaurin III, “Duty,”ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Theological Wordbook, Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).)
A servant is a slave… And not just one who serves others. But one whose primary (if not only) role is to serve others.
Jesus… God with skin on… Modeled the MINDSET and the BEHAVIOR of a SERVANT
After telling this community of Jesus followers to be "of ONE MIND and ONE SPIRIT" the then shows them what they can do to move towards the unity he expects.
have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
HUMBLE
NOTHING
SERVANT
Simple enough.
But just be sure we're on the same page - with each other and with Paul, I want to look at a couple of passages of scripture that show us EXACTLY what JESUS TAUGHT and how JESUS MODELED this attitude that changes the world and brings unity to the church.
Turn to Matthew 20. Pg. 672.
[SET UP]
• James & John's mom had asked if her boys could have special leadership roles in Jesus' kingdom.
• He tries to explain that they may not want what they're asking for.
• The rest of the disciples catch wind of it and get angry.
• They all argue over who is going to be the 'Greatest' in Jesus' kingdom.
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:25-28
Jesus says, GREATNESS, in His kingdom, is found in SERVING… Not in RULING.
Jesus says He didn't come to RULE… he came to SERVE.
Church… Can I make an observation? Recently, say in the last 50 years, we have spent far too much time trying to gain power and gain control so we can "save our nation." We have spent far too much time trying to leverage our influence and trying to achieve political victories so that we can maintain our position as the dominant cultural force…. And we have spent FAR TOO LITTLE time serving others.
We have leveraged our time, our money, our energy, our creativity, and anything else we can leverage so that we can gain and/or maintain power.
We have spent almost none of our time, money, energy and creativity on efforts to serve those around us - including our enemies.
But pastor… the 'other side' is immoral. The 'other side' is godless. The 'other side' is destroying our way of life…. Are we really supposed to serve THEM?
Glad you asked. Look at John 13 with me. Not only did Jesus teach us what to do, he showed us what to do when it comes to HOW we serve and WHO we serve.
Turn over to John 13. pg. 736.
[Set Up]
• This is the night Jesus is going to be arrested
• In the morning he will be crucified
• Jesus knows this, but none of his disciples know this
• They have gathered for the Passover meal
o Big deal in Jewish culture and religion
o Jesus gives the meal new meaning (that's for another time)
o During the meal something very odd takes place.
The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
John 13:2-5
• Foot washing mattered in this culture
• It was a sign of hospitality
• Low tables… dirty feet… you do the math
• It was reserved for the LOWEST SERVANT in the household
• This house, apparently, didn't have any servants
• No one had bothered to wash their own feet
• No one had bothered to wash anyone else's feet either
• Jesus - their leader… their teacher… their Lord… the one they considered the Messiah - get's up and begins to wash their feet
• This is mind blowing
But he's not done…
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord, ’and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
John 13:12-17
Jesus, their LORD, LEADER, TEACHER, KING, MESSIAH humbles himself and washes their feet. And he doesn't reserve his service for the ones who deserve it.
• All but John will bail out before morning.
• Peter will deny him to a servant girl.
• Thomas will doubt everything.
• Judas has ALREADY sold him out.
And Jesus washes 12 sets of feet.
• He washes the feet of the man who will deny him.
• He washes the feet of the man who collected taxes for Rome.
• He washes the feet of the man who hated the guy who collected taxes for Rome.
• He washes the feet of the man who had already sold him out.
Jesus washes 12 sets of feet.
And then he tells them (and us) - " Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you."
A few years later, in his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul tells his friends to have the same mindset as Jesus.
What was Jesus' mindset?
Wash feet.
Serve others.
See a need, meet a need.
Work TOGETHER to SERVE those who have needs.
And it doesn't matter whose feet need washing. If they need washed, wash them.
I'm going to say something that may be unpopular, but I think we need to hear it and think about it.
Church…
WE HAVE SPENT TOO MUCH TIME TRYING TO STEP ON TOES AND NOT ENOUGH TIME WASHING FEET.
Let me say that again, because it bears repeating.
WE HAVE SPENT TOO MUCH TIME TRYING TO STEP ON TOES AND NOT ENOUGH TIME WASHING FEET.
But what does ANY of this have to do with the church being UNITED? Where does that come in?
Remember what I said earlier. SERVING TOGETHER BRINGS US TOGETHER.
When we are focused on SERVING
When we are focused on the NEEDS
When we are focused on WASHING FEET
When our goal is to BE LIKE JESUS
• We don't have time to be divided over our political views. We're too busy picking up towels and washing feet.
• We don't have time to be divided over red vs. blue. We're too busy comforting those who are hurting.
• We don’t have time to be divided over culture war issues. We're too busy feeding the hungry and praying for the sick and
Paul told his friends to be like-minded, of one spirit. And then he tells them how - have the same mindset as Jesus… SERVE… WASH FEET.
SERVING TOGETHER BRINGS US TOGETHER.
SO WHAT?
So, what's the takeaway today? What do we do with this.
[Have band return to the stage]
YOU:
I want to invite you to carefully consider if your approach to the church has been a "SERVE US" mindset or a "SERVICE" mindset.
Has your focus been on what the church can do for you or has it been on what we - the church - the community of Jesus followers - can offer to our world?
If you are weary of the divide - in our churches and in our nation - the I want to invite you to consider a few things.
• Before you post that amazingly smart and pithy post that will beat your political opponent into submission… ask yourself, "Am I imitating the mindset of Jesus?"
• Before you write of that friend/neighbor/family member/fellow Jesus worshipper who comes down on the other side the culture war from you… ask yourself, "would Jesus have washed their feet?"
• Before you go on a rant… tell the other guy off… declare that you can't be a Christian if you voted/didn't vote for… "will this bring UNITY to the church?"
• Before you choose to embark on that political mission that will save America from the evils of the "other side" stop and ask yourself if there is a need you - and your brothers and sisters in Jesus - can get together to meet. I promise, it will make a bigger difference than all of the political battles you could fight.
Let's show the world that Jesus is a king worth following by serving side by side… blue and red… left and right…
SERVING TOGETHER BRINGS US TOGETHER.
WE:
Close with prayer and communion
