One Year from Now
A Stand-Alone Message for the Final Sunday of 2024
Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that His hour had come that He would depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. 2 And during supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had handed all things over to Him, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, 4 got up from supper and laid His outer garments aside; and He took a towel and tied it around Himself. 5 Then He poured water into the basin, and began washing the disciples’ feet and wiping them with the towel which He had tied around Himself. 6 So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, “Lord, You are washing my feet?” 7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing, you do not realize right now, but you will understand later.” 8 Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no place with Me.” 9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet; otherwise he is completely clean. And you are clean—but not all of you.” 11 For He knew the one who was betraying Him; it was for this reason that He said, “Not all of you are clean.” 12 Then, when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done for you? 13 You call Me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’; and you are correct, for so I am. 14 So if I, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I gave you an example, so that you also would do just as I did for you. 16 Truly, truly I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. – John 13:1-17 (NASB)
The BIG Idea
The commitment of Jesus to the will of His Heavenly Father and the well-being of His “family” and His confidence in God’s presence are significant when it comes to setting the pace for our lives. All our plans must come back to the essential message of obedience to God lived out through love of others. The example of Jesus being a servant to His Father was worked out through serving others, and that is critical to our lives as followers of Jesus too.
Jesus understood that His mission had a purpose and a time limit.
What we spend our time doing while here on earth should always point back to the work God has given us.
Followers of Jesus must be willing to submit themselves to the leading of Jesus in their lives.
Jesus choosing to wash the feet of others points to His willingness to humble Himself.
5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,6 who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. – Philippians 2:5-8 (NASB)
“How is God accomplishing God’s will in and through me?”
Our desires must be filtered through the filter of service to others as signs of how God has served us.
Sometimes we confuse working for Jesus and walking with Jesus.
The Kingdom needs more leaders who are willing to live by the example of “What may I do for you?” versus “What can you do for me?”
“The playlist you unknowingly curate during your life makes for an interesting dinner party conversation, but music is only one small part of a much bigger story. Your thoughts are the internal soundtracks you listen to even more than your favorite song. Over the years, you’ve built a soundtrack about your career. You have a soundtrack for all your relationships. You have a soundtrack you believe about your hopes, dreams, goals, and every other aspect of your life. If you listen to any thought long enough, it becomes part of your personal playlist” (Jon Acuff, Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking [Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2021], 17, Kindle).
How may I better serve others in the name of Jesus?
“How can I better serve others in Jesus’s name?” We need to lead by example just as Jesus has shown us. As we consider fuller ways of serving, we must accept the challenge to get beyond acts that people expect of servants. Wright says of Christian leaders, “Of course, the acting out of the symbol is only the tip of the iceberg. The critical thing is whether the same leader is prepared to get up in the middle of the night to sit beside the bed of an old, frail, frightened man who is dying all alone. The test that matters is whether the same leader is ready, without a word of either complaint or boasting, to stay behind after the meeting and do the washing-up or put out the garbage. … The truly Christlike leader is known by the ease and spontaneity with which he or she does the little, annoying, messy things—the things which in the ancient world the slave would do, the things which in our world we always secretly hope someone else will do so we won’t have to waste our time, to demean ourselves” (N. T. Wright, John for Everyone, Part 2: Chapters 11–21 [London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004], 48, Logos).
The decisions we make today determine the story we’ll tell tomorrow.
How do we live the story we want to tell? The key is to let God write our story.
BEWARE of the 3 “Faith-Killers” that will cause us to be reluctant to share our stories.
Do not quench the Spirit. – I Thessalonians 5:19-20 (NASB)
Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I am commanding you today, that the Lord your God will put you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings will come to you and reach you if you obey the Lord your God. – Deuteronomy 28:1-2 (NASB)
We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. - II Corinthians 10:5 (NASB)
3 But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your charitable giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. – Matthew 6:3-4 (NASB)
We do not need to have the faith to finish. We need the faith to get started.
10 Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” 11 But the Lord said to him, “Who has made the human mouth? Or who makes anyone unable to speak or deaf, or able to see or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now then go, and I Myself will be with your mouth, and instruct you in what you are to say.” - Exodus 4:10-12 (NASB)
Questions for Reflection
How does today’s Scripture reading from John 13 paint a picture of the commitment Jesus had to the Heavenly Father for His life? How about the commitment of the disciples? How would these compare to your own life?
In what ways does Jesus attempt to steer His disciples back onto the path of doing God’s will? What words does Jesus use to describe His reasoning?
In what ways would knowing God’s will for our lives (as revealed in Scripture) call us to be intentional with our steps to accomplish it? How could our intentionality allow others to accomplish God’s plan for their lives as well?
Have you ever considered that what you do has ripple effects for those who are connected to you? Have you taken time to pray over your steps because of this?
Are your steps taking into consideration how others will be impacted by your following the will of the Lord Jesus for your life?
How do we live the story we want to tell?
The BIG Idea
The commitment of Jesus to the will of His Heavenly Father and the well-being of His “family” and His confidence in God’s presence are significant when it comes to setting the pace for our lives. All our plans must come back to the essential message of obedience to God lived out through love of others. The example of Jesus being a servant to His Father was worked out through serving others, and that is critical to our lives as followers of Jesus too.
Jesus understood that His mission had a purpose and a time limit.
What we spend our time doing while here on earth should always point back to the work God has given us.
Followers of Jesus must be willing to submit themselves to the leading of Jesus in their lives.
Jesus choosing to wash the feet of others points to His willingness to humble Himself.
5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,6 who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. – Philippians 2:5-8 (NASB)
“How is God accomplishing God’s will in and through me?”
Our desires must be filtered through the filter of service to others as signs of how God has served us.
Sometimes we confuse working for Jesus and walking with Jesus.
The Kingdom needs more leaders who are willing to live by the example of “What may I do for you?” versus “What can you do for me?”
“The playlist you unknowingly curate during your life makes for an interesting dinner party conversation, but music is only one small part of a much bigger story. Your thoughts are the internal soundtracks you listen to even more than your favorite song. Over the years, you’ve built a soundtrack about your career. You have a soundtrack for all your relationships. You have a soundtrack you believe about your hopes, dreams, goals, and every other aspect of your life. If you listen to any thought long enough, it becomes part of your personal playlist” (Jon Acuff, Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking [Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2021], 17, Kindle).
How may I better serve others in the name of Jesus?
“How can I better serve others in Jesus’s name?” We need to lead by example just as Jesus has shown us. As we consider fuller ways of serving, we must accept the challenge to get beyond acts that people expect of servants. Wright says of Christian leaders, “Of course, the acting out of the symbol is only the tip of the iceberg. The critical thing is whether the same leader is prepared to get up in the middle of the night to sit beside the bed of an old, frail, frightened man who is dying all alone. The test that matters is whether the same leader is ready, without a word of either complaint or boasting, to stay behind after the meeting and do the washing-up or put out the garbage. … The truly Christlike leader is known by the ease and spontaneity with which he or she does the little, annoying, messy things—the things which in the ancient world the slave would do, the things which in our world we always secretly hope someone else will do so we won’t have to waste our time, to demean ourselves” (N. T. Wright, John for Everyone, Part 2: Chapters 11–21 [London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004], 48, Logos).
The decisions we make today determine the story we’ll tell tomorrow.
How do we live the story we want to tell? The key is to let God write our story.
BEWARE of the 3 “Faith-Killers” that will cause us to be reluctant to share our stories.
- Compromise
Do not quench the Spirit. – I Thessalonians 5:19-20 (NASB)
Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I am commanding you today, that the Lord your God will put you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings will come to you and reach you if you obey the Lord your God. – Deuteronomy 28:1-2 (NASB)
- Fear
We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. - II Corinthians 10:5 (NASB)
- Silence
3 But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your charitable giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. – Matthew 6:3-4 (NASB)
We do not need to have the faith to finish. We need the faith to get started.
10 Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” 11 But the Lord said to him, “Who has made the human mouth? Or who makes anyone unable to speak or deaf, or able to see or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now then go, and I Myself will be with your mouth, and instruct you in what you are to say.” - Exodus 4:10-12 (NASB)
Questions for Reflection
How does today’s Scripture reading from John 13 paint a picture of the commitment Jesus had to the Heavenly Father for His life? How about the commitment of the disciples? How would these compare to your own life?
In what ways does Jesus attempt to steer His disciples back onto the path of doing God’s will? What words does Jesus use to describe His reasoning?
In what ways would knowing God’s will for our lives (as revealed in Scripture) call us to be intentional with our steps to accomplish it? How could our intentionality allow others to accomplish God’s plan for their lives as well?
Have you ever considered that what you do has ripple effects for those who are connected to you? Have you taken time to pray over your steps because of this?
Are your steps taking into consideration how others will be impacted by your following the will of the Lord Jesus for your life?
How do we live the story we want to tell?