John Chapter 13:1-7

Every person in here at some point in their life will stand before God felt one of two things is going to happen either.

You will be seining for the first time or you will have met him before we highly encourage to meet him before that day because if you meet him while you're on earth you invite him into your heart is going to be wonderful thing that moment.

But if you don't, that moment is not welcome to cross the bridge with David McGee. David is the senior pastor of the bridge, Kernersville, North Carolina today. Pastor David will be teaching in John chapter 13 and one of things he brings up is do you realize all God one time or another studio with us.

We have DA Brown one of David Mickey's associate pastors welcome to the program about am glad to be here by listening, no matter who we are. The truth is one day we will set all of the question is how will today. Pastor Dave discusses this meeting with Jesus as he continues in the Gospel of John chapter 13 I love to find out how this works. So here's David McGee with his teaching servant's heart were in the Gospel of John. Another reason it's called the gospel of John is John writes about the good news of Jesus Christ. And this is an incredible gospel.

Some people say it sleeps best for a new believer to redirect.

I believe that it was also actually the last gospel that was written. Matthew was written about 45 to 50 A.D. Luke about 58 A.D. Mark between 50 and 70 and then John probably between 75 and 90 A.D. so these things are written. Just a few years after the death of Jesus it is anyone is ever told you that they were written hundreds of years after the death of Jesus are just wrong.

Okay I mean it's not a matter of opinion because we found pieces of the gospel of John in Egypt in 125 A.D. which was a copy to Fort to travel that great of a distance in that short of a time shows that it was written early early now.

Some of the Apocrypha and some of the other Gospels are not included in the Bible.

They were written to them. 300 years after, and that's one of the reason that they're not included in here, such as the gospel Thomas and things like that so these things were written pretty quickly after that. Now let's praying them will jump in Lord, thank you for your word. Thank you for the treasure that's in our laps in Lord we we ask that you would take the written words on this page that you would write him in our heart, Lord, that this book would change us more because this is a supernatural book.

This is like no other book that we have. These are your words to us.

So Lord, we ask this morning that you would open up our hearts to your word and open your word to our hearts. In Jesus name. Everybody said amen John chapter 13 verse one says now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come that he should depart from this world to the father having loved his own who were in the world, he loved him to the so much stuff in this versus that was take a few minutes with this notice he left them to the end. Now that's significant when it notices as Jesus knew that his hour had come and 11 to the end and what are some of the things that he was getting rated indoor he's getting a endure his crucifixion. He was getting ready to endure the behaviors of the disciples, and he's wanting to encourage the guys and so that's what we see over the next few chapters. Is this some people refer to it as the upper room discourse and Jesus is sitting with his disciples is not speaking to the Jewish leaders. He's not speaking to the Romans, speaking to his disciples as a skit rated to park because he knows what's getting right to happen is really going to rock their world and he wants to encourage them in and see them hold the course and that's you know that's a good word for us in Luke chapter 18 verse one. Then he spoke a parable Jesus did. Then he spoke a parable to them that men always ought to pray, and not to lose heart not to lose heart. That's important for us that's important for each person in here not to lose heart to stay encouraged and stay committed. Now do you.

Are you aware that there is an awesome ministry that awaits everyone of us in that room.

See if you come in here on Sunday morning.

You can actually look around sometimes and you can see who needs the ministry of encouragement.

Maybe somebody comes in there little bit down. You know the look. They, you know the kind of shuffle and you know in all men cannot pray for you.

Blaming somebody like pray for you betcha yesterday that your job know that's our job, and chances are I might not see him I might not notice that they're coming in despondent and down, but if you see it you can't just pray for you to break free for like 1526. Real quick prayer and you can pray and say Lord bless this person encourage them with the fact that whatever they're going through their going through the not going to stay in that at some point in their life stand before you and all this will matter in Jesus name, amen. And pray for.

Just like that and encourage because if you see that thing God has set that opportunity up for you to see that so that you can encourage them and not to lose heart and and can you imagine the disciples in all that they're getting ready to go through the level of commitment that they maintained. I know they struggled on.

Though they stumble, but there was a commitment. There not something that we need in our lives and we need a commitment to Jesus, we need a commitment to the church.

I mean, what is it you know if if you're married, what if you treated your marriage the way that you treat Jesus sometimes think about that. Jesus, I love you me when I called my wife. You know after service and and and she wakes up tomorrow morning I'm not there to get where are you just you. I really thought, I need it for, like, lost in thought, no, you know what you mean just hang up.

I mean it's all come see you. You know I Easter, Christmas, that kind of thing. But you know me, don't expect me like all the time.

How long do you think that's going. And yet we we treat our relationship with the Lord like that not only we actually cannot get the mentality of you know what I'm going to go to church and just bless God well God is blessed that you're here don't don't get me wrong, but you know what you're the one that gets blessed and coming and just come in twice a year, look as while I appreciate you being here twice a year. Don't expect huge life changes when you come twice a year because it's a deeper work that the Lord is not going to do with you and he says Jesus is now before the feast of the Passover understand this is saying that literally it was before the feast of Passover. This is not saying as some critics have said that this whole upper room thing is not happening at the time of the Passover. Even the towel mood records that it was happening at the Passover. You'll hear two words that are important that you will here in Judaism and you probably ought understand what they are. One is mission. That's the Hebrew word for repetition and basically the mission is is a portion of the towel mood know these are, you may have heard these words on the Discovery Channel towel, mood means study or learning the towel mood was a huge commentary written on the Old Testament on what we refer to as the Hebrew Scriptures and what happened it was.

It was huge numbing volumes and volumes and volumes of commentary on the Hebrew Scriptures and this is where all, some of the weird laws began coming in some of the weird laws regarding the Sabbath. Remember when the Pharisees and Sadducees and all these people were accusing Jesus of things they never accused him of literally that the blasphemy of breaking God's law. They were saying he was breaking the Talmudic law the rabbinical law. The law, the rabbis came up with. I why's that important because what they had done is they had elevated tradition upon the same level as the Bible and they got into a lot of trouble because of the convicted, we better move on quickly know you know what we believe run the same risk today. Don't wait.

There are things that the church does that, you know that we've elevated tradition on the same level of Scripture, so we don't want to get caught up in the tradition because they got so caught up in the tradition of the lost sight of Jesus and that's that's happened in the church today. I believe the tradition is gone the way of Jesus.

Now the Passover before we move on.

I don't spend a lot of time in this first a lot of stuff he talks about the feast of the Passover. Some remake of what the feast of the Passover. The Passover was back from the book of Exodus, when the Israelites were set free from the land of Egypt and the angel of death came in past over those who had their door postmarked now. We celebrate Passover every year and it is such an incredible thing because you see so much in Scripture that you've never seen before we have a meal and a Bible teaching and music in different stuff and it is just really really cool. As you see the sights and the sounds and the smells it's, like the original multimedia is your will and it's the longest celebrated holy day holiday in human history for about 3500 years people have been celebrating Passover that perhaps you set your goal Passover white.

What are you Jewish or something will. According to Paul, I've been grafted in. That's what the book of Romans says that we've been grafted in, so I'm not I'm not converting back to Judaism, but I know as the Bible teaches that Christianity is the completion or the fulfillment of Judaism and again if you're curious about that. Go to the book of Romans. Read Romans 10 read Romans 11 what Paul has to say about Christianity, and in Judaism verse two and separately and entered the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon son, to betray them devil all come on now everybody knows the devil is not real right. Apparently he is real and apparently he has his buddies, his minions, other fallen Angels, we refer to as demons and they are very real. It's shocking the percentage of people that don't think the devil is a real entity or real beginning now. So we have to understand that he he is he Israel he's referred to here and some it will go away you know that there used to be demon possession. There used to be these things with them as we will show me the verse that says these things used to happen then they no longer have to look for is not in their it's not in there so I believe that just like in this time there are evil manifestations of spirits not know this sounds weird but you know about the problems of supernatural book and I think the tendency for people is to deny their existence and at all, which leaves them in their are to blame them for everything that happens which it may have this healthy unhealthy preoccupation with and I think both those leave you in error but acknowledging that they exist in acknowledging the greater is he that is in us than he is in the world I think is important to have a healthy view of Scripture will be right back with more from David McGee on cross the bridge right now.

Here's a word from associate pastor DA Brown and Bob are excited about passes David teaching verse by verse and we want to pray for some listeners in these cities and our audience today Parsons to be good in Wichita, Kansas, Bowling Green, Covington, Glascow in Louisville, Kentucky God, we thank you for the listeners tuning in today in the cities and the surrounding areas low.

We pray that they will be reminded that you can heal them if they been going to some physical stuff, or that they would put their trust in you, maybe even have communion today low. We pray that those that are not saved would put their trust in you today for the forgiveness of their sins and got we pray for revival in all these churches in the surrounding areas and Lord that the passes would stick to teaching your word, perhaps even verse by verse, line upon line chapter upon chapter and God that you would bless it. As I honor your word and your people are encouraged in their faith in Jesus name, amen, amen. Thank you brother and now get back to David McGee as he continues teaching verse by verse, verse three Jesus, knowing that the father given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God was going to God, he had a confidence Jesus did and the come from God and it was going to God and and don't Mrs. this again speaks to the eternal nature of Jesus see a lot of people think that in Bethlehem Jesus was actually born are created at that time know that that's wrong. You see, that was the point where Jesus showed himself to the human race in a fleshly bodily form, but he was nonexistent before that.

That's plain from this verse that he had come from God and was going to God.

Now this is important understand says was going to God, to understand that we are going to God and some of you going well. You will not sure.

You don't know me and I haven't said a little prayer that you talk about so much. So how can you say that I'm going to God, because every person in here is going to meet God.

Every person in here every person in here at some point in their life will stand before God, melt one of two things is going to happen either. You will be seining for the first time or you will have met him before we highly encourage you to meet him before that day because if you meet him while you're on earth you invite him into your heart is going to be a wonderful thing that moment. But if you don't, that moment is not going to be so wonderful.

You see, because God himself will be standing in front of you and you have to explain to him why you rejected his son why you rejected the death of his son that could provide forgiveness for your sins. So that's the first life lesson. The first lifelessness. Everyone will meet Jesus. Everyone will meet Jesus. So when you're talking to somebody understand this. They will meet Jesus.

What you're trying to do is to prepare them to meet Jesus because I don't want to be in the position where I'm standing before God going you know God again believed in you and everything but I didn't get into that whole Jesus thing out and get into that whole forgiveness thing.

Can you imagine if you gave your son what that would feel like one of your son had died to to offer up in Oregon for transplant and the recipient of the organs that no thanks. Would you feel like will be going through you. So nobody no one wants to stand in front of Jesus like that. I certainly friend don't want you to stand there on that day going rejected you because everyone will stand in front of Jesus. Verse four he rose from supper and laid aside his garments and took a towel and girded himself. Now there's some kind of unfortunate translation things going on here, from the original Greek. Basically it says he took a towel and and probably the picture as he put it over his children know that the NIV says that he took office basically close and took a towel around his waist and that's that's really not the picture here the pictures he took the towel put on her shoulder and he girded up his garments, tightened up his inner road to where he could move about with his legs now this is interesting to me to the dynamics.

The, the time spent with these things because here we are were in John chapter 13. John has 21 chapters and from chapter 13 to 21 is all about the last week of the earthly ministry of Jesus as a matter fact, when you add the chapters of the four Gospels Matthew Mark Luke and John what you see. It breaks down like this verse in verse 30 years of the life of Jesus takes up for chapters the birth and first 30 years of life of Jesus takes up for chapters 1st three years of ministry in the life of Jesus takes up 57 chapters but the last week of the earthly ministry of Jesus takes up 28 chapters in the four Gospels one week takes up almost 1/3 of the writings that we have. This is intriguing and you know what I think we can see something in here we can see that the way you end up is incredibly important because you know we do. Sometimes we think well you know I I wish I'd done this and I wish I'd done that.

I wish you know that I've been walking with the Lord but I wasn't when I should've been built a foundation in relationship with him. We go so you know there's not a lot I can do now all there's so much you can do that doesn't matter.

At what point in your life you meet Jesus, or what point in your life, you begin to follow Jesus the Lord can do so much with your life if you allow him if you allow them because sometimes we write off any potential for ministry good. Well, you know motor can't do this I can do that we can make a huge difference you can make a huge difference in what's interesting to this whole book. If you consider what's written in this book to understand that the creation of the sun, the moon, the earth, the planets solar system, the creation of man, the creation of woman you know that occupies two chapters in this whole book that's not necessarily the part that God spent the time in the his word on but from that point forward understand all of it is pointing to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

The fact that he was going to die first sentence if you think about the rest of the Old Testament that rest the hold of a the Hebrew scripters point forward to the Gospels the early part of the Gospels .4 to this event and then afterwards all the epistles they point back to the event and have the book of Revelation which tells of the victory because of that of his consistent throughout this book. The book summed up is that God created man man rebelled and fill in the sand and God spent the rest of the book pursuing man and implementing a plan by which that relationship could be restored so the whole book is about. So it naturally goes that there's a lot of time spent on this last week. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples feet and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded and he came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to him, Lord, you washing my feet Jesus answered and said and what I meant what I am doing you do not understand, but you will know after this now understand something they at that time they had these leather flip-flop kind of things are much more simpler than what we have now, but their feet got dirty as they traveled in and what would happen is they would have people who worked in the house and it was always the lowest servant. The new guys if you will. Who would need to clean the feet of the people. It was not a position of honor. It was a place of servitude of of servant. But that's the place of Jesus placed himself since he came to be a servant Greek word Dick O'Neill's where we get our word for deacon. Jesus placed himself. Look at the contrast look at the contrast between Judas who was doing what he wanted to do and Jesus, who was serving others I may ask a question who do you want to be like you want to be like Judas who does whatever he wants to do. Some people this way they define their Christianity argue want to be like Jesus who serves others how to be like Jesus.

Jesus modeled servant hood for us beautifully in this chapter beautifully and you know what, in the next life lesson is when we serve others were acting like Jesus. When we serve others we are acting like Jesus.

It's an amazing thing. If you come early on Sunday morning you'll see something that I is just awesome and I know Disney claims to be the happiest place on earth but I'm thinking it's here actually on Sunday morning.

I've never seen anything like anyone else of numbers.

I've never seen you Vigo got up the European believer got a bigger look at it, we would put me on the schedule yet I have not seen it never goes on but you know I've never seen one amazing thing in a lot because her sleep or acting like Jesus there acting like Jesus because of serving others. That's what's most happen. What we see happening that's what's supposed to happen we we most churches have about 5% of the people that attend the church service about 5% percent wrong with that picture here were some time. I think were in the 35 to 40% of the people that attend here, serving in a ministry present. I saw something… I think there's a lot of reasons for that.

One of the reasons is that people are being fed the word of God, and I think another reason is I encourage people from the platform to get involved and start servant after sitting all nine dormant servant again.

I want to encourage you in serving and it and if getting you to serve means you get somewhere in the process a little uncomfortable. I'm okay with that. I'm okay with that because I want you to encourage you to be encouraged in the next area of discipleship think the church for too long, has not understood serving and hasn't painted an accurate picture of how important it is. I don't get this convict you and praise. I don't get how some I could be here for months and months drop their kids off see that we need help in the children's ministry and never offer now because I've heard the calm reasons. There are some reasons may differ, not servant, but there's a lot more excuses. I'm just too busy. I'm too busy or too much stuff going away will you think the people that are serving there just not busy and here's what disturbs me nondisclosure from a heart be real honest. Here's what disturbed him about those comments when you say I'm too busy and what you're really saying because were all given 24 hours a day, folks. What you're really saying is what I do is much more important than any of his people. Servant.

That's not a Christian attitude that's an unchristian attitude and we serve people. We we act like Jesus friend you know for sure that your sins have been forgiven.

You can know right now own Legion. A short simple prayer simply telling God you're sorry and asking him to help you to live for him. Please pray this prayer with me out loud right now. Dear Jesus, I believe you died for me that I could be forgiven and I believe you were raised from the dead that I could have a new life not done wrong things I have sent and I'm sorry. Please forgive me of all those things. Please give me the power to live for you.

All of my days in Jesus name, amen it friend of you prayed that prayer according to the Bible you've been forgiven you've been born again. Jesus said he would not turn anybody away who comes to him and he came for those people who knew they needed forgiveness. Those who were sick, not the righteous is a congratulations ring you just made the greatest decision that you will ever make.

God bless you, if you pray that prayer with David for the first time we'd love to hear from you. You can visit cross the bridge.com to receive our first steps package with helpful resources to help you begin your walk with Christ.

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Thank you so much ODA before we go.

What are some ways bless our listeners days you can wake up with her is Casa David with his email devotional life lessons to consider a daily reading plan and the thought to meditate on throughout your day in the heart of David McGee. Thanks again for listening and join us next time. As David McGee continues teaching verse by verse in the gospel of God