Here's the thing. I'll finish with this one. If you can't do it in the church you're a part of, I don't think it's going to happen anywhere; because here's the deal: we've all got grand ideas, but at the end, it's the person next to you; like this one, and this one here - I'm not going to wash his feet, no. [Laughter] You see immediately, I've missed the point. It's actually the people around us here, it's our children, it's our single parents, it's our widows, it's our older people, it's out there in the crèche, it's out there in the car park. It's just very, very simple, but all of us need to say: I'll be a foot washer; and I can take my gift, and use it to bless someone. What about your ministry? Here's the thing. Whatever ministry you have, if you haven't got foot washing in your heart, it'll never succeed greatly. It can't. It's missing the empowerment of the servant heart. Amen.
Father, we just honour You, thank You. We thank You for this day. We thank You for all You're doing in our lives, and we just ask Lord, that you help us to come back to the place, of firstly letting You wash our feet. Just while our eyes are closed and heads are bowed, maybe someone here who doesn't know Jesus, this would be a great day to open your life, to let Him in to the mess that's in there; and to allow Him to bring forgiveness and cleansing. Maybe you're here today, and it's been a long time since you let Jesus wash your feet, or let anyone talk into your life; in fact you've got all this stuff going on in your life, you haven't talked to anyone about it. It hasn't changed, so you think, that you're bringing it to the Lord, and praying about it, is going to change it. If you've been doing that for years, and it hasn't changed, I don't think so. I think you need to talk to someone else who you can trust, and say: I've got something in my life, I need to bring out to the open, and I'd like you to pray for me and stand with me, and believe with me, and help me. You know I would pray that there'd be many people would say: well I'd count it a privilege to walk with you, and wash your feet. Maybe there's some today need to just come back to the place, out of that place of pride, and say: God, I've just lost the foot washing out of my life. Lord, restore it again.
Maybe for some of us here today God's spoken to you about serving, about in some way washing the feet of the saints, ministering to people, using your home, using your gift, using whatever you have. Find a way that you can engage in the work of serving God's people. That's where it starts. By this shall all men know you're My disciples: your love for one another.
Father, make Your spirit just rest on us. We thank You for each person here. So my last question to you is this: what did you feel impressed you today, that you felt the Holy Ghost was speaking to you? What will you do about it? I'd like you just to pray with someone next to you, and just share what God was speaking to you; and just pray with them, as they share with you, what God was speaking to them. Let's pray and agree together, that God would help us, become outstanding at foot washing.