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Chariot April 2011 - Norm Wakefield We have a
few new resources from Norm available on the website. Click on the links
below to view them. Also,
Norm is taking part in an online webinar May 16-20th. Do You Let Jesus Wash Your Feet?
Peter's relationship with Jesus
intrigues me. I wonder why Jesus chose him to be the leader of the
disciples. He's up, then down, courageous then cowardly, speaking the good
confession then voicing Satan's desires, and humble yet with bouts of
pride. What a mix!
The dialog between Jesus and
Peter when Jesus humbled Himself to wash Peter's feet revealed one of
Peter's extreme swings in his responses. He went from, "Lord, never shall
you wash my feet" to "Lord, then wash not only my feet, but my hands and
my head also (John 13:8-9). Consider with me the significance of what
Jesus said and did as well as the impact it should have on our
relationships. What
was in Jesus'
mind?
The first verses of John 13
explode with insight into the mind of Jesus. He knew he was departing from
this world and face-to-face fellowship with His disciples. He was
returning to the Father. He understood that His disciples would be
troubled, not only about His leaving them, but also about how
He would leave them–by a gruesome death.
Jesus was concerned about what
His disciples were about to experience. Isn't that amazing in light of
what He knew He was going to experience? The next sixty hours would be
very troubling for both He and His followers. They would scatter before
morning broke, and Peter would deny Him three times before a rooster
crowed. Knowing Judas was in Satan's power, He wanted to assure His
disciples of the reality and purpose of the betrayal–the glory of God.
Most of all, He wanted them to know His love, His purpose in going to the
Father, and the promise of the Holy Spirit. They were to walk in a new way
after these terrible events occurred which would turn their sorrow into
joy and fill their troubled souls with His peace. He loved them
completely! What
did Jesus do?
Jesus did something that
surprised everyone–He disrobed. Let's not miss the significance of what
Jesus did. John described the action as the fruit of His thinking. In
speaking of Jesus, John wrote, "...knowing..." the things I wrote about
above, "He got up from supper and laid aside His garments; and taking a
towel, He girded Himself." Jesus later told Peter, "What I do you do not
realize now, but you will understand hereafter." Had they known what we
know now, they would have understood that Jesus portrayed what He was
about to do on the cross–cast off the outer garment of His flesh.
Jesus' illustration of the
sacrifice of His body should touch us deeply. I wonder how it struck His
disciples. Certainly they were shocked as they saw their Master disrobe.
Little did they know that they would witness the fulfillment of the type
as He laid aside the garment of His flesh to make them completely clean.
They didn't understand then. Do you understand now what Jesus did? Why
did Jesus do it?
Their Lord and Master laid aside
His garments after dinner. Within hours, He laid aside His earthly
garment, His body. He had two purposes in mind. First, they needed to be
washed completely of all of their sin. Second, their daily need of
cleansing and refreshing as a result of living in this world could not
occur without His going to the Father.
When Peter demanded that Jesus
wash his entire body, Jesus helped him understand the power of Jesus'
service on the cross as well as the purpose for washing his feet. Jesus
said, "He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely
clean; and you are clean, but not all of you." John commented, "For He
knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, ‘Not all of
you are clean.'"
Isn't it interesting that Jesus
described eleven of the disciples as "completely clean" and Judas was not?
Surely this indicated that Jesus knew those for whom He was to die. It had
to have been a reference to the judicial cleansing accomplished at the
cross. He justified His own even
while we were yet sinners. O, what grace!
I like the way the apostle Paul
put it to the Romans in 5:1-2. "Therefore, having been justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we
have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand;
and we exult in hope of the glory of God." The verb justified is in the past, passive, perfect form. We did nothing, and
God did everything! The action occurred at one moment, and the effect
continues eternally. We stand in this grace of complete cleansing as a
result of Jesus' having cast off His body to satisfy the wrath and justice
of a holy, righteous God concerning His children. Have
you been shocked at Jesus'
sacrifice for you?
Have you ever been shocked at the
humility of Christ as He laid aside His flesh to wash you completely?
Peter was shocked. He thought something was out of order. "Lord, do you
wash my feet?" He probably felt
ashamed that he hadn't served Jesus. Jesus was the one whose feet should
be washed. He was the one who should be served and worshipped. When we see Jesus' sacrifice for us, we ought to be shocked at such love and humility.
It's unexpected because we know ourselves. We are unworthy from our point
of view! "How can I let Him do this for me when I ought to be serving Him?",
Peter may have thought. Have you ever thought that way about Jesus?
We know what was in Peter's mind
because he voiced it. "Never shall You wash my feet!" Some might consider
Peter's knee jerk reaction as pride, and in part, it probably was.
However, I think it also was ignorance because Jesus had remarked, "What I
do you do not realize now." Like Peter, many people are ignorant of their
true spiritual need, and therein lies the pride. All of us need to be
washed of all of our sins. We need a complete cleansing that we are unable
to do to ourselves. We are like babies who cannot bathe themselves. So we
should not be shocked that we
need Jesus to serve us, but we should be shocked that He has lowered Himself to serve we who are so
undeserving! Have
you heard the good news?
Are there any words more
astounding, consoling, and encouraging to the sin-sick human soul than, "You
are clean"? Have you heard Jesus say, "You are clean"? I'm not asking if
you've heard His audible voice, but was your experience with Jesus as real
and shocking as it was to the twelve in that upper room? Revelation
occurred that night in Jerusalem. The gospel was gloriously portrayed in
humility.
There were two very different
responses to Jesus. The dynamics are no different today for those to whom
faith comes which results in transformation and eternal life. When Jesus
is revealed in the gospel through the powerful ministry of the Holy
Spirit, those who are already judicially clean say, "Wash all of me!" In
contrast, those who are unclean miss the wonder, the glory, and the power
of such humility. Like Judas Iscariot, they have an agenda that they want
Jesus to fit into. When He doesn't, they try to make something happen.
Blinded to their neediness and uncleanness by their religious service they
are deceived. Like their spiritual father, they masquerade as angels of
light. Does
this cause you to pause and think?
Judas' story ought to send cold
shivers up everyone's spines who are content to keep up appearances even
though they know they are living for themselves. There's no indication
that Jesus didn't wash Judas' feet along with the others. To everyone
else, he looked like one of them, yet he was in it for the money and the
reputation. Even when Jesus clearly signified the betrayer, they
apparently didn't believe Judas could be the one who was "unclean," for
John commented, "Now no one of those reclining at the table knew for what
purpose He had said this to him. For some were supposing, because Judas
had the money box, that Jesus was saying to him, ‘Buy the things we have
need of for the feast;' or else, that he should give something to the
poor."
Sometimes those who look the
most righteous or sincere haven't had an experience with Christ resulting
in the assurance that they are "completely clean" by the gracious work of
Jesus on the cross. They may have tasted the good word of God, they may
serve the poor and needy with apparent compassion more than most, and they
may have the appearance of devotion to the affairs of the kingdom of God,
but inside they still feel dirty. Consequently, many serve God for the
praise of their own consciences and to gain the approval of others. They
think that if they acquire a good name they are saved. This was my
experience before I had a life-changing encounter with Christ. Then I saw
and knew He had washed me completely clean at the cross while I was
yet a sinner. What
does this have to do with our relationships? We love others the way we
have experienced His love.
Jesus loves us completely and to
the utmost just as He "having loved His own who were in the world, He
loved them to the end" (John 13:2). He wants to assure and secure us in
His love so we don't try to find our assurance from our good deeds and
servitude or place our security in what others think of us. People who
find their assurance and security in something they do will have many
expectations in their relationships. This amounts to idolatry and an
inability to love. In contrast, assurance and security anchored in the
love of Jesus Christ for us gives us a foundation to love others as He
loves us. Certainly there's a connection in Jesus' mind between one's
security in Jesus' love and loving others. After washing the disciples'
feet, He said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one
another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another" (John
13:34). Do
you want to be like Jesus?
I hope so. We should consider it
a privilege to assure our spouses and children that they are secure in our
love regardless of what they do. Just as our peace with God doesn't depend
on our behavior, nor should their peace with you depend on their pleasing
you. If you explode with anger or even express displeasure when you are
inconvenienced, you may be producing insecurity in the hearts of others
which may affect their relationship with God. I'm not saying that children
don't need to be disciplined. They need to be disciplined and corrected in
love in an atmosphere of security. Do you accept your spouse and children as God has made their personalities? Do you only give approval to
those who hold your standards on secondary issues or preferences? This is
not the kind of love Jesus gave to His disciples.
It is a blessing and privilege to
love. I encourage you to have as your ambition and prayer to love those
God has given you "until the end." In this way, you will be like the Lord
Jesus Christ and bring Him glory through your relationships. Would
you like to be on the Elijah Ministries Prayer Team? The backbone of Elijah Ministries is the prayer team who pray diligently for God to turn the hearts of men to Himself, their wives, and their children. Before I leave to speak, I send out a prayer team invitation to those who will intercede for God to work for His glory in us as a team for the Kingdom. Not only is it a blessing to those whom I speak and myself; but it is also a reminder to the team about the direction of their own hearts. If you would like to enter into the labor together with me, you may go to my website and click on "Prayer Team". Has Norm's Chariot or other resources been an encouragement to you? As a nonprofit organization, Elijah Ministries needs support from people like you in order to function. If God has ministered to you through Elijah Ministries and Norm Wakefield, would you consider supporting the work? You can do so here. (Elijah Ministries is a tax-deductible 501c3 and is financially accountable to an overseeing board of 8 non-paid members from around the country.) The Chariot is also available as a podcast. You can automatically receive the Chariot each month in iTunes by subscribing here. (An RSS capable browser such as Internet Explorer 7 or Safari is required.)
If you
haven't visited our website, www.spiritofelijah.com,
please stop by sometime. You'll find: * Resources to equip you and your family * Previous Chariot articles * Norm's speaking schedule *
Free MP3 downloads * Subscribe to the Chariot Podcast here. * Various resources/pages translated and available in Spanish * An online store to purchase resources and make tax-free contributions by credit card
I invite you to be a part of the
moving of the Spirit of Elijah in your church, community, and the world.
How?
1.
Send this article to other men or families that you know would
benefit from it. You might inform them of the previous articles
available on-line at our website.
2.
Share resources from the Spirit of Elijah Ministries with others.
If Equipping Men or Rising to the
Call have been a blessing to you, then you know it will be
beneficial to others. Either share your resources, tell them about the
resources, or purchase a set or two as an investment in their lives. 3. Share with others what you have learned and put into practice in turning your heart to God, your wife, and your children. If God has done this in you, then He wants to affect others through you.
4.
Join the Elijah Ministries email prayer team and make
intercession for others that their hearts would be turned in revival to
the Lord, their wives, and their children. This can be done on-line at www.spiritofelijah.com.
Norm
Wakefield 04.11 To unsubscribe, click here.
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Chariot to chariot@spiritofelijah.com.
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