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Jesus stopped everything to be an unexpected servant.
Right in the middle of the last supper he stood up and positioned himself at the feet of the disciples and began to wash their feet.
Something was left undone and the servant Jesus Christ went to work.
Aren’t we called to do the same? We are called to be unexpected servants in this world.  So when was the last time we served? Are we leaving something left undone?

Unexpected 6 – Unexpected Servant from Redemption Church on Vimeo.

Unexpected 6 – Unexpected Servant

Sermon notes by Chris Fluitt

Redemption Church Plano Tx

**Vid bumper – Unexpected
Welcome to Redemption Church. We are very glad to have you here with us. If you are receiving this message over the internet, we welcome you as well. We want you to know that God desires to do amazing things in your life.
We are in our UNEXPECTED SERIES
Jesus is unexpected. Do you agree? His message is unexpected. His power is unexpected. What He does in our lives is unexpected. His forgiveness and love is unexpected.
About the worst the you can do around Jesus is to sit back and act like you know what He is going to do, what He is going to say, and how He is going to do it.
Don’t come into His house today and think you have it all figured out. Be open to the possibility of the unexpected.
 

Before he could…

Before He could be lowered into the darkness of hell.
Before He could be buried in a tomb.
Before He could breathe His last.
Before He could take on the sin of all humanity. (An often overlooked punishment and pain that He endured)
Before He was stabbed in the side, wore the crown of thorns, or had his hands and feet nailed to the cross.
Before He carried the cross to Calvary as He was mocked and spit upon.
Before He was beaten by Roman soldiers with a cat of nine tails whip.
Before He was given 3 different fraudulent trials where no one spoke on His defense.
Before He received a kiss from a traitor named Judas. Sold for 30 pieces of silver..
Before He sweated blood under the strain of praying about the oncoming cup of sin – only to bow His will to the Father.
Before all His disciples fell asleep leaving him isolated in a time of need.
Before He offered His Body the bread and His Blood the wine.
Before He had one final meal with His beloved disciples.. One final opportunity to share His love..
 
Before any of that could begin, something halted the proceedings.  Something was left undone..
John 13:1 It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.(NIV)
John 13:2 The evening meal was being served…(NIV)
John 13:4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.(NIV)
John 13:5 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.(NIV)
John 13:12 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.(NIV)
 

Do we understand what Jesus did here?

With so much that needed to be done.. The cross, the work of salvation, the betrayal.. All the proceedings had to stop to take care of something left undone.
Foot washing was a necessary function of the ancient world. They walked on dusty, dirty, and manure filled streets. When coming into a house they would surely have a place to clean your feet. When coming into a very special occasion they would surely have a servant in place to wash feet.
There is a spiritual aspect to foot washing… But let us also not forget that it also serves a physical function.
Do we understand that this is Jesus last meal with His disciples?
Luke 22:14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table.(NIV)
Luke 22:15 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.(NIV)
Luke 22:16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”(NIV)
Jesus had sent Peter & John to take care of the preparations for this special meal. They had the location. They had the meal.
This should have been a party and celebration, yet the guest of honor had to stop and take care of an oversight.
The disciples had provided everything for a last supper except an important ingredient. They lacked service.

They Lacked Service

It never was in their thought process to serve the Lord by washing His feet, or to wash each other’s feet.
Instead, their thought process was on who was going to sit closest to the Lord. In Matthew 20 there was awkward discussion of who would sit on Jesus’ left & right. It was real awkward because it was the mother of James and John and she wanted to Jesus to promote her boys.
In Luke 22:24 – the exact context is the last supper- it says
Luke 22:24 Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.(NIV)
Could they have been so pre-occupied on self-service promotion, that they forgot to serve the Master and their brothers?
It is in this atmosphere that Jesus gets up, takes off his outer clothes, ties a cloth around his waist as a make shift apron, and begins to wash feet.
This was unexpected.. They were positioning themselves to be the right hand man of the King of Israel… and while they were positioning themselves, Jesus positioned himself at their feet.
Unexpected Servant
Think of all the wonderful titles we sing about Jesus in worship.  Holy, Savior, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace, Lord of All, Name above all names…  Can you think of a song that rejoices over the title “foot washer?” Me neither..
Remember that Jesus stopped the very important proceedings when He saw something was left undone.
 
Before He could go to the cross.. before He could purchase and redeem us from sin.. Before all the important things He would accomplish could happen.. IT WAS NECESSARY to take on the form of a servant (phil 2:7).
 
We too want to be at the right hand of Jesus. We want to see Jesus do amazing things in our life.

Before he will…

Could it be that…
Before He will answer some of your prayers…
Before He will transform your Church…
Before He will bring revival to your city…
Before He will heal your physical, emotional, and spiritual scars…
Before He will bless your family & personal life…
Before He will use you…
Could it be that before any of this can begin, something is halting the proceedings?  Something may be left undone.. Maybe we are missing a necessary ingredient.
John 13:14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.(NIV)
John 13:15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.(NIV)
John 13:17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.(NIV)
Jesus is the Unexpected Servant and He is calling us to be Unexpected Servants as well.

Are we servants?

Churches should be servants to their communities..
Taking care of those in need, especially widows and orphans is pure religion.. (James 1:27)
Christians should actually do something for other people.
When was the last time we put on an apron? When was the last time we held hands with someone sick in a hospital or nursing home? When was the last time we stopped the proceedings of the day and made service our priority?
Maybe we don’t understand what Jesus was trying to show us when He washed feet. Maybe we don’t understand service. If this is true then we should spend some time asking Him to reveal this truth to us.

Unexpected Servants

Are there any Unexpected Servants here today?
This is unexpected, but this is the example the Lord set for us.
 
redemption-Church.com
Redemption Church is a nondenominational Church in Plano Texas. Our mission is to declare the good news and see others become followers of Jesus Christ. Our vision is to be a 1st Century Church connecting to a 21st Century world. To bring the community, the power, passion & dedication of that 1st century church to the fast paced, technologically advanced, and complex world of the 21st century.
We currently meet on Sunday afternoons at 3pm at the Corner of Parker Rd & Alma in Plano Tx. We would love to greet you in person.
Our lead pastor is Chris Fluitt.