Stop Waiting to Be Someone Important

Stop Waiting to Be Someone Important If only someone with real money and real power would sort this out. It is a fair thought, and it always lets us off. About this episode The night before the cross, Jesus takes off His outer clothing, wraps a towel round His waist and starts washing twelve pairs of feet. In that culture it was the lowest job in the house, given to Gentile slaves because it was considered too degrading even for Jewish ones. This week Mike Harris takes us through John 13, and the question he keeps returning to is not whether we should serve, but where the ability to do it comes from. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome and superhero chat 04:44 Notices, the new website and Alpha 07:47 John 13 read in full 09:31 Why washing feet was the lowest job in the house 11:53 The Joseph parallel in Genesis 14:04 Jesus knew, and He knelt anyway 15:01 Knowing who you are 16:15 Knowing where you have come from 17:42 Knowing where you are heading 18:27 If only Elon Musk would sort it out 19:17 Heaven is roaring you on 20:48 The priest and the running shoes 24:11 Conversation Street begins 28:30 What counts as washing feet today 30:38 Why serving can feel like a chore 34:37 Jesus explains how to be great 39:11 Blessing people others have written off 42:15 Forgiving when it costs you 46:31 The stranger who said have a good day 48:53 Remembering who is actually asking 54:12 Brownies and the little things 56:53 August, membership and September 60:30 Closing and Live Lounge Key points from Mike's talk The lowest job in the house Foot washing was not just very unpleasant, it was also demeaning. A Jewish master would not ask a Jewish slave to do it, because it was considered too degrading for them. The job went to Gentile slaves. Jesus deliberately put Himself in that role, and He did it on the evening before the crucifixion, knowing exactly where the next day was going. The Joseph parallel There is an interesting parallel to this in Genesis. Joseph's steward brings water so his eleven brothers can wash their feet, and only then does Joseph reveal who he is. Centuries later Jesus washes twelve pairs of feet before the cross reveals who He is. Same shape, one difference. Joseph sent his steward. Jesus picked up the basin Himself. Serving comes from security, not towards it John 13:3 sits immediately before Jesus gets up from the table. He knew the Father had put all things under His power, He knew where He had come from, and He knew where He was going. He knelt anyway. Jesus was not serving in order to become somebody. He served because He already knew who He was. Which gives three things to know. Who you are. Understanding "Who am I in Christ" is essential here. See crowd.church/topics/identity-selfworth or crowd.church/inchrist . Where you have come from. Picking up Ade Birkby's talk from the week before , we are the man left half dead by the side of the road in the Good Samaritan, not the hero of it. Someone stopped for us. Where you are heading. There is a place being prepared. The consequence is the freedom underneath the whole talk. Once you know who you are, you are not competing for attention or affirmation any more, because you already have both. Heaven is roaring you on Mike admitted joining the "if only Elon Musk used all that money and reach" conversation, and being persuaded by it. But then we see it from God's point of view. "Heaven looks down at you with all of the power and all of the authority and all of the possibilities that you have within you, and is roaring you on to serve and to influence those that are around you." God's world is an arena, and you have a huge role, an indispensable role to play in it. (Dallas Willard) You are not a supporting role. You are not a role that gets covered if you do not show up. You are indispensable. The running shoes A Catholic priest saved for months and finally bought one very good pair of running trainers. Days later a man knocked at his door with no shoes, no shared language and clear need. The priest brought out every pair he owned, and the only ones that fitted were the new trainers. He gave them away. That night he dreamt of Jesus wearing them, and retelling the story later he could barely speak for crying. The thought he woke with was that he could have fobbed the man off with any old pair and missed the chance to give his King the best he had. The Bible passage John 13:1-17 - The evening before the Passover festival. Knowing the Father had put all things under His power, Jesus gets up from the meal, takes off His outer clothing, wraps a towel round His waist and washes the disciples' feet. Afterwards He asks whether they understand what He has done, and tells them that since their Lord and Teacher has washed their feet, they should wash one another's. "I have set you an example, that you should do as I have done for you." Other verses referenced John 13:3 - Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God. Romans 8:38-39 - Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Ephesians 2:10 - We are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Brought in by Alicia in the comments. Romans 8:28 - God works all things for the good of those who love Him. Mike's caution here is that the good is good by His standard, not necessarily ours. Philippians 2 - Jesus did not consider equality with God something to cling to, but humbled Himself and became a servant, obedient even to death. 1 Corinthians 12:22-23 - The parts of the body that seem weaker are indispensable, and the ones we think less honourable we treat with special honour. Also from Alicia. Luke 10:25-37 - The Good Samaritan, referenced back to Ade Birkby's talk the previous week . Quotes from the talk "When you recognise who you are, you don't now have to compete for attention. You don't have to compete for affirmation. You have that already." - Mike Harris "Heaven looks down at you with all of the power and all of the authority and all of the possibilities that you have within you, and is roaring you on." - Mike Harris "Maybe it is time to get up and kneel down." - Mike Harris Conversation Street highlights What in our society is the washing of people's feet that we could do for others? Ellis put this in the comments and it shaped the rest of the evening. Mike suggested that the first thing to do is to bless people who have been written off as toxic, being the person willing to risk their own reputation to show them something of Jesus' love. The second is to praise people out loud, which he thinks is a lost art, and which usually lifts someone else at your own expense. He also added a third thing. Forgiveness. He noticed that the only version of it social media talks about is the one where you personally benefit. Dan suggested being the first to make the tea, without the mental scoreboard of whose turn it is. He also talked about the cancel-culture reflex that stops us affirming anything good in someone whose record is not clean. Matt's angle was to stop hunting for a category. There is usually a group of people you already care about, whether that is people who are homeless (he mentioned Green Pastures, run by Andrew and his dad Pastor Pete), or people working in the NHS, or somewhere else. Talk to anyone in that world for five minutes and they will tell you the four biggest problems in it. Why serving can feel like a chore Nobody has ever asked for more chores. Take the bins out and it is a chore. Serve my wife and somehow it is not, and the difference is not the task. Mike's answer was about who is asking, though. A menial job stays menial if you think you are doing it for your boss. If these are good works prepared in advance, the person asking you to put the chair away or say hello to someone is the Creator of the universe. "We mess it up all the time, and we don't do it, and we create a thousand reasons why we shouldn't." - Mike Harris Serving someone you do not particularly like Mike was open that this comes up for him. His way through is not to manufacture the feeling. He knows he loves God, so he serves for God, and in his experience the emotions follow rather than lead. It does not have to be a big gesture Dan brought a podcast conversation between Simon Guillebaud, who has been on <a...