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Mariners Church Weekend Messages
March 8 - Humility in Action: The King Who Washes Feet - Doug Fields
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Welcome to Mariners Church weekend Message Podcast, inspiring people to follow Jesus and fearlessly change the world. Discover your purpose and get connected by visiting MarinersChurch.org or click the link in the show notes. Well, good morning, Mariners. It is great to see you. You look so much better than the last service did. Really, it is nice, nice, nice that you're here. It's always my privilege and honor to be able to teach God's word to you at my home church. Hey, just curious. How many of you have ever bought a piece of exercise equipment that you thought was a good idea that you later regretted? Let me see your hands. Yeah, these are my people. I own more exercise equipment than any human should be allowed to own without a permit. Okay, I got it all. I got the treadmill, the dumbbells, the stomach contraption that was invented by somebody who obviously hates humans. And now the room just kind of sits empty. My treadmill is now a laundry rack. It's seen more sweatshirts than it has sweat. And here's the deal. I could tell you I could do a TED Talk on the benefits of exercise, what the pieces of equipment do. I don't lack information. I lack inspiration. I lack action. Basically, there is this gap between what I know and what I do. Do you understand that? There's a gap between the knowing and doing. We see this all over in our world. There's a gap between knowing and the gap between doing. Like, after the service, if you were to drive to our local outdoor mall, Fashion island, you would see dogs in strollers, right? I mean, I don't know why in Orange county, that's where they gather. They're all at Fashion Island. And I don't fully get it, but I know intellectually, I know what a stroller was designed for. A stroller was designed for babies that can't walk, right? And I know what a dog was designed for. A dog was designed to walk. That's what they do. That's their brand. We walk. That's what they do. But when you put a dog in a stroller, you're saying, I know what that stroller was designed to do, but I don't care. I'm gonna do whatever I want. Again, you know? And I'm not anti dog. Please don't write me letters about being anti dog. I'm not anti dog. I love dogs. I'm anti people who put dogs in strollers. Okay? I'm just saying what 99% of you believe. Okay? I'm just saying it out loud. I'm sure if you do you're the 1%. You're beautiful, wonderful people. I just don't get it. I just don't get it. I just think it's weird. And again, no dog owner believes that a stroller was invented for dogs. They're just choosing to do it in a way that it wasn't intended to be used. And again, in our lives we don't lack knowledge, we lack proper application as Christians, we don't lack knowledge. We know a lot about what the Bible says. What we typically struggle with is putting that knowledge into action. Okay? And living the way that God has created us to live. Now let's don't make this about you yet, but how many of you, how many of you know a Christian who knows a lot, but they don't live it out? Let me see your hands. You know, they know a lot, but they don't live it. Keep your hands up if you're sitting next to them. Just so that I could see. Okay? Yeah. We are in week number three of a series that we're calling the week that changed the World. And we're walking through the final week of Jesus life as it leads up to his death on the cross. And Eric started two weeks ago with an amazing message of Jesus going into Jerusalem on a donkey. And it was like the point was Jesus is a very different king. And last week he taught on Jesus turning over the tables in the temple. And he talked about righteous anger, anger that is rare and reflective and redemptive, not the anger that the 1% of you that are dog stroller people are feeling toward me right now. Okay? That's called reactive anger and it's not biblical. Okay. So today we are looking at an event in the life of Jesus that I know. You know, as a matter of fact, when it was being read, you're like, oh yeah, I've heard this. Even if you're not a Christian, if you're not, I'm thrilled that you're here today. I'm really glad you're here. But even if you're not a Christian, you know this event, like you know the Last Supper, you have seen this drawing or this, you know where Jesus gets all his buddies on one side of the table for the selfie and you know, they're all on one side of the table, you know, the Last Supper and, and you know, this is also the point where Jesus gets up from the table and then washes his disciples feet. You know this. And as a teacher preacher, this is a fastball for me. I mean this is a Very straightforward text to teach, but I want to stop along the way and highlight a few of the. A few of the key moments that I think will hopefully explain why this is such a big deal to your faith today. Starts in verse 1 John 13. Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world. To the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. Now, loving them to the end means this. It just means he loved them completely. He loved them all the way to the cross. Now let's pause this. This Passover meal is just hours before Jesus is arrested and beaten and crucified. And he loved them to the end. And I'm thinking to my. I mean, here's what's amazing to me. The proximity of this last supper to the crucifixion is so mind blowing that I think he loved them to the end. How? How could you do that? Because he's. He's washing the. The feet of his best friends who he knows are going to abandon him soon. He. He's washing the feet of one of his major BFFs, who he knows is going to deny him three times to the echo of a rooster. He's washing the feet of one who he knows is going to walk out of that room and betray him for 30 silver coins. So how can he love them all the way to the end? Jesus, how. How can you love those people? Okay, the answer is in verse 3. Jesus knew that the Father had given everything into his hands and that he had come from God and that he was going back to God. So what did Jesus know? Jesus knew he was the Savior of the world. Jesus knew that His Father was sovereign. He was confident in who he was and where he was going, which allowed him to take the radical actions that he took the next several hours. Now, a little aside for you. When you know whose you are, you better know who you are. When you know whose you are, you better know who you are. But when you don't know who you are, here's what people do. They try to protect their status and project their status. But when you're secure in your identity, like I am, I am Doug Fields. I am a child of God. That's my spiritual identity. When you know who you are, you're more free to live out who God has created you to be. And that's exactly what Jesus does here in this moment, the most important person in the room takes on the lowest position in the room, that of a. And see, in the ancient world, people walked around everywhere in open toed sandals. I mean, they're walking on, you know, donkey dust and mystery puddles. And so when they would gather for a meal, it was general hospitality for the lowest ranking servant to wash everyone's feet. Okay? And that's what Jesus did. And these are, these are not spa feet, okay? These are not pedicured feet, okay? These are, these are nasty, disgusting, you know, no essential oils, you know, that kind of. Okay, yeah. Dirty, dirty feet. And what's fascinating to me that Jesus, God in the flesh, washes their feet is that there, you know, no historian has pointed, no, no Roman Jewish historian, they've said that. There's no one has ever, there's not one recorded example of a superior who voluntarily washes the feet of an inferior. Not one source that we have, because rabbis didn't do that, teachers didn't stoop below their, their, their students, leaders didn't wash feet until Jesus. And in that moment, the same hands that form the galaxies were wiping around cracked heels and dirty toes. He could love them to the end because he was the God that created them. And then it wasn't until Peter blurts out, you know, that probably, Peter probably said what everybody else was thinking, like, no, there is no way, Jesus, you can't wash my feet. That is beneath you. And I can't prove this theologically, but this may be the moment where we got the phrase, oh, Jesus came from. I don't know, okay, I don't know. But like, oh, Jesus, there is no way you cannot wash my feet. Because Peter wanted Jesus on the throne. He didn't want him on his knees. He wanted as a king, not as a, as a servant. But Jesus clearly answers him in verse 8. Jesus replied, if I don't wash you, you have no part with me. And then Peter being who Peter is, he totally overcorrects. Okay, okay, then wash my hands, wash my feet, you know, wash my head. I mean, I've got this place in the middle of my back that I can never reach. I mean, I mean, if you're gonna go there, like, give me, give me the deluxe package. And then after the washing, Jesus says verse 12, do you know what I have done for you? And here's my guess. They didn't, they didn't know what he had done for them. See, if you read the Gospels, you see that the disciples, those closest to Jesus, were often confused about what Jesus did and, and, and what Jesus taught. And they might have been thinking, well, yeah, yeah, you just, you just washed my feet. Which is nice, Jesus, but We've seen you do better. We saw you turn water into wine. We saw you walk on water. We saw you feed thousands from that one kid's little snack pack. We saw you cast demons out of that one guy. And the demons went into the pigs, and the pigs jumped off the hill. I mean, that was fantastically fun. You know, like Jesus, you've done all these incredible miracles and now you're washing feet. We don't. We don't get it. And in their confusion, Jesus then clarifies the why, says you call me teacher and Lord, and you are speaking rightly, since that is what I am. So if I, your tea, your Lord and teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. You see, Jesus does not downplay his deity here. He doesn't say, oh, yeah, we're just all buddies. I just thought I'd do a little foot washing as a going away present. No, he says, I am Lord. I am Lord, who you say I am. And because I am above you in every way possible and I choose to go below you, you now can no longer say that task is beneath me. I don't. I. Somebody else will do that. That's not my problem. See, all those other miracles that you respected, you can't repeat. You respected them, but you can't repeat them. Foot washing, you can repeat. You can repeat. So he says in verse 15. For I have given you an example that you also should. What? Remember what I have done for you. That's not what the Bible says, by the way. I made that up. That's. That's a. That's a drv. Doug's revised version. And I use the word remember because I think this is how many of us live it out. We just want to remember the foot washing story. But that's not what the scripture says. What are we supposed to remember? The Last Supper? Well, bread, the cup. That's communion. Do this in remembrance of me. But here's what the verse actually says. For I've given you an example that you also should. What? Do just as I have done for you. The foot washing wasn't meant to be remembered. It was meant to be repeated. It wasn't meant to just be known. It was meant to do. It wasn't meant to be admired. It was meant to be activated. And for some reason, over 2,000 years, we've got this idea that every once in a while we should have a little foot washing ceremony. And that's biblical. I. I speak at a lot of marriage events and as I speak at these events. Sometimes I'll listen to the person before or after. And it always feels like at some marriage event, the speaker has couples turn to one another and wash their feet. I've been happily married to Kathy for 41 years. And when we're sitting there, she doesn't want me to wash her feet. Rub her feet. Absolutely. Okay, that's a totally different story. But not wash her feet. And she doesn't want to wash my. My disgusting feet in a crowd either. Okay? But this is not what Jesus is teaching. Jesus is not saying, hey, everybody, go wash feet. Jesus is saying, I've given you a model of humility and sacrifice, and that's what you go into. You humble yourself and you sacrifice. You go to uncomfortable places to serve others. So if you are a Jesus follower, you have been saved to serve. You've been called to serve. You've been given opportunities every day to serve others. And Jesus was telling his disciples these words. This is your pattern now. Okay? This is now your pattern. Humility and sacrifice. Okay, let's change one word in there and repeat this with me. Let's say it all together. This is my pattern now, friends, serving is not like a monthly event that you attend or, you know, I served at the PTA or I worked in the snack bar. I, you know, check it off. I did it, you know, during COVID No, no serving. If you are a Jesus follower, a Christian Christ person, serving is a lifestyle to imitate and initiate every single day. And if we're honest, the reason we'd rather remember it than do it is because serving others, it just doesn't feel natural to us. It doesn't feel natural to me. Like, I. Naturally, on my own. I don't wanna serve you. Okay? I don't. I'm just being honest. Naturally, on my own. Here's what I want. I. I want you to serve me. I like that so much better. Like when I drove here today, I looked for the best parking spots, not the worst. Last night when I went out with my family and the pizza came, what was I doing? I was scanning the pizza for the. Yeah, that had the most pepperoni on it. That's the one. I somehow tilted it, you know, my way. I wanted the biggest light. I want the best seat. I don't wanna be last in line. I wanna be first in line. I. I don't wanna be the least of these. I wanna be the greatest. You're looking at me like I'm the only sinner in the room here. That's real Nice. Real nice. It's just me. Okay? Just me. Okay. And if it describes you two, which I think it does, you and I are in good company with the disciples. Those very closest to Jesus, they struck. They wanted to be the best. I mean, right before the Last Supper, there's an event in Matthew chapter 20 where, where the disciples are arguing over who is gonna be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. They're saying, I'm gonna sit at his left, I wanna sit at his right hand side. And they're arguing over this. It's like when you're a teenager and you yell shotgun. Cause you wanna sit in the front, right? And then you hip check your friend into the bushes so you're in the best seat. I mean, that's what the disciples, these are Jesus followers. This is what they're doing. And then Jesus, he, he calls a timeout and he says, boys, listen up. This is Matthew, chapter 20. Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to say it with me, serve. And to give his life as a ransom for many. That word for can be translated. In place of Jesus served you by dying on the cross. In place of you. He served you by saving you. He took my sins and your sins to the cross that we couldn't pay for on our own. And he died on the cross so that you and I can live an abundant life now while we're alive. And eternal life when we die. You didn't deserve that. I didn't deserve that. But that was his gift that he gave to us through serving us. His serving saved you. And now he's calling the saved to serve. See, nobody in this room can save anybody. You can't save anybody spiritually, but you can serve others. And that's what Jesus is calling Christ followers to do. And that internal desire for greatness that you and I feel, that is, that is very real. And Jesus knows about this, about you. He created you to live a great life. He says you can be great, but there's a path that you have to take. And here's what he says in verse 26. Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. Servant. And here's what I love about this. Jesus doesn't reject the idea of greatness. He doesn't reject it, he just redefines it. He doesn't reject it, he just redefines it. And then to like double down, he punctuates with his total head snapper. In the next verse, he says, whoever wants to be first among you must be Your, like, that is such a disgusting word, right? Slave. You're like, slave. If I want to be, first, I got to be a slave. No way. I'd rather watch a 72 hour Kardashian marathon eating gas station sushi, you know, than be a slave. Slave. A slave is disgusting. It is because a slave is a captive. A slave is a captive to an evil system created by man. But as a Christian, you are no longer captive to evil. You are a citizen of a new kingdom where our amazing king doesn't force us to serve against our will. Instead, we're free to serve because it is God's will. So there is in my life, I started following Jesus when I was in ninth grade, and it's been about 50 years. And I have learned something in those 50 years. And it's this about serving. Serving does something in me that sitting doesn't. Serving does something inside of me that's sitting. And I've sat a lot, okay? I've sat through hundreds and hundreds of sermons, as maybe many of you have. I sat through seven years of Bible college and, and graduate school, listening to theology lessons. I mean, basically, I, I know a lot of stuff. But here's what I've learned from experience. That serving does something for my faith that sitting doesn't. And if you're here this morning and serving is not part of your daily rhythm, it's not part of who you are, it's not part of your faith journey, let me just tell you that when you make it a part of your daily rhythm, what you can expect to happen in your faith journey, I guarantee this will happen. First, when you make serving part of your daily rhythm, your serving will deepen your faith. It'll deepen your faith. And here's why. Because serving acts is like a spiritual gym session for me. Because when I serve, I have to sack. I have to flex two muscles. I flex the humility muscle, which means I have to lower myself. And I, I, I flex the sacrifice muscle, which means I do something that I don't really want to do. And that is, that gives my faith a, a workout. And those of you in here, you like, I want to be like Jesus. Great. You gotta serve because you'll never be more like Jesus than when you serve. So you want to be like Jesus. You want to grow in your faith, you got to serve. You got to serve. Like if you and I were just to share a beverage together. We're down at, you know, the Lord's restaurant, Del Taco, and we're, we're sitting knee to knee, eye to eye, sharing a diet Coke. And you say, doug, you know, I don't. I don't feel like I'm growing spiritually or my faith doesn't feel fresh or I feel kind of stagnant. Here's what I would say to you in the nicest way possible. Your life is probably too self focused. You're living life too much on your own. You want to grow spiritually, you got to serve. And I promise you, when you serve, make it part of your rhythm. It will deepen your faith. Second thing that's going to happen is serving will diminish your selfishness. And when your selfishness is diminished, all your other relationships will begin to grow and flourish. That selfishness. You know, I wish I could say that serving destroys selfishness. It doesn't. That selfishness comes back like a zombie. It's just. It's just always appears again. Okay? But I will tell you this. The deeper you are spiritually, the slower that zombie of selfishness comes back. And I hate to admit this to you basically because the way you're looking at me like I'm the only weird one here. I hate to admit this to you, but on my own, what I am naturally, I'm naturally pretty selfish. Like, I lean towards my own comfort. I think about my needs a lot. Last month, after I was done speaking at marriage matters, a sweet lady came up to me and she said, doug, I just wanna let you know that I'm your biggest fan. And I thought to myself, no, you're not. You're not. I am. Okay, Like I'm my biggest fan. I didn't say that to her. I didn't wanna pop her bubble. But I thought, I think a bit, lady. I. I think about myself all day long. I think about my comfort, my needs, my wants all the time. Like, not too long ago, I pull up to a chick fil a and I see a 15 passenger van from a senior center in my community pull up. And my first thought was not like, oh, sweet people. My dad was in a senior center. I had to go get the door and help them out. You know what my first thought was? Yeah, you do. Cause you're evil like me. Now I caught ya. Now I gotcha. Yeah. My first thought was, Doug, if you wanna eat this week, run, run. Cause if you get behind 15 people with their little coin purse and you know, like, you will famish. All right? But it's moments like those where I catch myself and I go, oh, Doug, you need to serve to Push that selfishness down. Because serving is the antidote to selfishness. Selfishness will shrink when serving grows. And here's what else will happen. Serving will actually kick the door open to God's blessing in your life. Take a look at these words. We'll go back to our primary text, John 13. This is right after Jesus says, I've given you an example to follow. He says, if you know these. These things, you are what blessed if you do them. Hey, I'll make. I'll. I. I want God's blessing in my life. I'll just tell you. I want God to bless my life, and I want that for you, too. And if you want God's blessing for your life, you gotta. You gotta move from knowing about serving to actually doing it on the regular. And I want to just challenge you just to. To aim at a target, okay? And our traditional target that we see is something that we shoot at. I want you to aim at a different type of target that we serve at. And that target looks like. This has three components. The first component is the world. I want you to figure out, what does it look like to serve in your world. This is your school, your work, your neighborhood. There are serving opportunities everywhere. And so you just pray this prayer. Jesus, will you show me one serving opportunity that I normally walk past? Not ten, just one. Will you show me one that I normally walk past? Then when you see it, here's what you do to flex the muscle. You serve it, you see it, and then you serve it. Well, Doug, Doug, there's. I mean, there's just so many opportunities every day to serve in my world. I don't even know where to start. Okay, here's what you do. Here's a great principle. You do for one what you wish you could do for everyone. You do for one what you wish you could do for everyone. And you start there. Where in your world are you? Are there opportunities for you to serve? The second part of your target is your. Your home. And this is often the most difficult place to serve is those we live with. Our. Our kids, our parents, our roommates, our spouses, what. Whatever it is, what does it look like for you to flex humility and sacrifice? Whether it's giving the best portion, the best seat control of the TV remote. I don't know what it is, but what causes you to go to humility and to sacrifice? I tell teenagers, I say, if you go home, don't announce it. Just go home and start serving in different areas. You will be drug tested. Right? It's Just going to happen. Your parents are going to freak out like I. And if you're a parent, if you are a parent, especially parents of littles. Parents of littles, you gotta give your kids opportunities to serve. Cause they're not gonna develop compassion sitting down. And our Southern California culture is teaching them to be consumers. It's about you. It's about your comfort. You know, it's all about you. And parents, you gotta give them opportunities early and often. I'm not talking about chores. I'm talking about meeting needs of others with love. So don't just say to kids, hey, life is not about you. Show them it's not. So you serve at home. And then the third part of your target is your church. That every week at Mariners Church, there's so many places where you can flex that muscle. And if we're being honest, you know, you can come to this church for 60, 70 minutes a week, consume, and then just bail. And it's gonna go on whether you serve or not. I mean, you're smart enough to know that. But if Mariners Church is your home, this is your church family. And if it's part of your family, it means you belong. And if you belong, you have something to offer. You either have gifts or skills or passions. And if you're just sitting and not serving, not only are you hurting yourself, you're hurting your church. And I realize many of you are resistant to serving and getting involved. I understand that. Just about a year and a half ago, Pastor Eric asked me and Kathy if we would serve at one of the new congregations, Mariners Trabuco Canyon. And my first thought was, no, okay. I mean, I didn't say that to him. I just, you know. No, I don't. You know, I don't want to. I like it here. I mean, the Irvine congregation, so nice. Who would want to leave this? This is like Six Flags Over Jesus. I mean, we got everything here. Okay. We got a bookstore, we got a cafe. You can go through the bookstore, buy one of my books, and then sit down and read it. We got a second coffee shop about 100 yards away. We got this outdoor amphitheater. We got a. We got a swimming pool that doubles as a baptismal. Like, this place is so nice. And I was asked to serve at Mariners Trabuco Canyon. Trabuco Canyon. They don't even have electricity out there. Can I tell you that the last year and a half of my life and Kathy's life has been amazing? It is so fun to serve in a kind of A smaller context. And every week when I leave our goofy little Trabuco Canyon Mariners Church, I get so excited. I text Eric, like, thank you so much for challenging me to do this. I love his vision of. Of adding new congregations every year. And. And I. I literally have texted him so much, he. He now blocks me, which, you know, that hurts just a little bit. But I didn't lose anything from serving there. As a matter of fact, I've gained so much more. I leave fulfilled. I leave less entitled, less selfish, more. More spiritually mature. So I understand the resistance, but God is waiting for you to step into a daily rhythm of serving and. And, friends, if this was my last time to ever speak at Mariners, and I hope it's not, but if it was my last time, here's what I would say. Mariners Church, I love you so much. Please don't waste your life chasing the world's definition of greatness, which is climb higher and consume more. Instead, accept Jesus challenge, which is not climbing higher, but kneeling lower and serving others. That you can be successful in all the values of this world. And many of you are. And I'm not bashing ambition or drive, but all the success in the world without a heart to serve others, it's not greatness. It's emptiness. It's a misuse of your life. It's like putting a dog in a stroller. Okay? You were designed to serve, so you serve your world, you serve your home, you serve your church. If you're not currently serving in your church, I wanna give you a very practical opportunity. When you walked in here today, you were handed a card. And what I want you to do is just put your name and information on that card. On the back of it is a bunch of opportunities. Now, a bunch of opportunities, you might look at these and go, none of them speak to me, Doug. And then just, you know, you blow it off. Don't do that, Spanky. Here's what I want you to do. If you feel compelled to serve, just put a question mark on one. Like, I don't know. I don't know if I fit in one of those box. You put a question mark. That's your act of faith. Then it puts the pressure on us to help you get involved and connected and serving somewhere. You're not signing your life away today by doing this. You're just starting a conversation. And even today, right outside those doors, there's a bunch of tables. People are waiting for you if you don't want to talk to them. I've already warned all of them. You don't have to talk. Just hand it to them and walk on. Okay. Just put it on a table. You could even do this. Okay. And then just. Just go. Okay. Don't do that in the parking lot. That's not fair. Okay. Do it in the general vicinity, but put a question mark. Or let me give you the. Here's the easiest. Easiest. Just write the word Easter on there. That's a. That's a. You're just gonna dip your toe into serving because at Easter, we could use all of you to. We're going to have like 600 services, all right? You just come serve at one and taste what it feels like to serve and be connected to community. I know you can do that. You can do that, right? Come on. So I want to challenge you. Take that one step of faith and see what God does. Not through you, although he will work through you, but more importantly, what God does in you. All right, Extend your hands, please, and let me pray a prayer of blessing over you as we go. Jesus, I pray you'd bless your sons and daughters this week, that you would remind them that you are gentle and approachable and that you love them. Cause your face to shine on them. I pray they will experience your mercy and your joy this new week. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Go in peace. Have a great week. Thanks for tuning in to the Mariners Weekend Message podcast to support the ministry of Mariners Church. You can click the link in the show notes or download the Mariners app at your favorite app store. If you've been navigating God's wisdom with us through this year's annual read and would like to hear personal reflections from pastors in your community, check out the Gospel Every Day podcast. Imagine feeding your heart, mind and soul with the kind of practical wisdom that will change your life. If you haven't picked up the annual read yet, visit MarinersChurch.org or download the Mariners app for more information on where to find it. Sa.