Toe Jam Christians

The following is from a message presented at Mosaic Church on Sunday May 4, 2008. Additional messages will appear at various links including The Virtual Pew Sermon links available either from this article or from visiting http://www.thevirtualpew.com/ web site. Please feel free to pass along the links to these messages or to post on various message boards. Hoopefully they can be of benefit to those needing them, and as always, thanks so much for visiting The Virtual Pew.

Watch and enjoy this short video. If you can’t get the video to work just click on the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT2FWfetWhQ


Washing feet can be a fun thing as illustrated in the video above, but are you willing to clean out the toe jam from someone else?

In my last message you heard about the story of Anthony, my story. Today I want you to know what you should expect of me as a pastor, or any pastor for that matter. I know it will be different than what some are used to but I believe the concept is appropriate.

First, understand this; many have a misperception of what a pastor is. A pastor can also be compared to a teacher, a helper or even a coach. I personally like the concept of the pastor as a coach. In the Greek, the language used to write most of the New Testament, the word for Pastor, Elder, and Leaders is essentially the same word. This word does not generally apply to the majority of people in the congregation, often the word most associated with them is Disciples, or Ministers. This said though, I want to keep the focus on the pastor, elders, and other leaders in the church. For all practical purposes, consider them essentially the same as a coach. On this point I also want to mention, that when leading, we should learn from the ultimate leader, Jesus Christ.

Philippians 2:5 states; Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.

When looking at the mind of Jesus, or the person of Jesus, we must consider who Jesus was. All through out the New Testament we see that Jesus is given different names, and has different associations. Many of those include; Advocate, Almighty, Alpha and Omega, Author of Life, Author and Perfecter of our Faith, Author of Salvation, Beginning and End, Blessed and only Ruler, Chief Cornerstone, Chief Shepherd, Christ, Creator, Deliverer, Faithful Witness, First and Last, Good Shepherd, Great Shepherd, Head of the Church, Lord of All, Savior, Son of God, plus over 100 other titles all giving respect to the person and role of Jesus.

One of the concepts of Jesus we hear often about is the roles associated with being a shepherd. In this understanding we must realize that Jesus is the Chief Shepherd, and the elders, leaders and pastors within a church are the Under Shepherd. The role model to follow is in fact, Jesus.

Let’s look at the following passage from the Bible, it is one some call the last supper. While there are different variations of this passage in different books of the Bible, we want to look at one that shows the person of Jesus like few others.

John 13: 1-17
(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.

(2)The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. (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; (4) so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. (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.
(6) He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"

(7) Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."

(8) "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."
Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."

(9) "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"

(10) Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." (11) For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

(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. (13) "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. (14) Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. (15) I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. (16) I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. (17) Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

In vs. 1 Jesus is going to show his followers the “Full Extent of His Love.” This was a lasting impression Jesus wanted to leave for all of his followers.

We need to realize that in vs. 2, that through this experience Judas Iscariot, the one who would ultimately betray Jesus was present. From this perspective we should understand, Christ does not put conditions on those he serves.

In vs. 3-5, Jesus takes on a role normally reserved for slaves. It is as if he becomes a slave and serves those at the table, even Judas.

In vs. 6 – 10, we see one of my favorite passages in all of Scripture, we see the exchange with Peter were he says, “not just feet, but all of me.” As we look at this passage, as we think of Peter, are we willing to offer our all? Are we willing to serve all of the needs of those we come into contact with?

Many have felt abandoned by the church because the church has forgotten about serving all of those needing served. The Virtual Pew, and Mosaic are churches built on a concept of being for all people, even those who have given up on church. Are we willing to serve all? Including the dirtiest of the dirty?

In vs. 12 – 16, Jesus gives clarity; he lets his disciples know he is their “teacher” and their “Lord.” Jesus has expectations, but he is willing to set the standard, he has done what he is telling his leaders to do. Those of us, who are leaders must be willing to do what Jesus commanded his disciples to do, serve, and become slaves to those we lead. Anything else is putting us above Jesus.

In vs. 17 we see that when leaders are willing to serve the congregation, and the congregation is willing to serve their communities, the church and individuals will be blessed. Jesus illustrates this point again, in: Mark 10: 44, 45

(44) And if you want to be first, you must be everyone's slave. (45) The Son of Man did not come to be a slave master, but a slave who will give his life to rescue many people.

A Question I have is, is the Leadership, congregation, willing to wash the feet of those we come into contact with by serving them, even those who would betray us and do us wrong?

In closing look at the following video, check out how one man made a decision to serve someone else, then notice the impact his willingness to serve has had on others. Just double click on the video, if the video don’t work, click on the following link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfaEPWLmLzo


In closing today, tell someone of your willingness to serve. Consider being a servant, and then pray while listening to the words from the following video. Again, if the video don’t work, just click on the link provided.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHBV0O_Q90c


Click Here to Go to The Virtual Pew Daily Verse and Read The Bible in a Year Passages

Click here for booking information to have Pastor Mike come speak or perform, from speaking to music or magic, something for all groups.

Click to visit with Pastor Mike regarding any of your needs. He will respond to each request personally, and if need be refer you to one of our other pastors.

Click to visit and join the new group The Virtual Pew, at MySpace. Become a part of a different kind of Christian group, check out the page for more information,all welcome, including those who are not followers of Jesus.

Click to visit the Virtual Pew Website and become a part of that ministry.

Click to subscribe to my blog

Click to visit and join our sister group at MySpace Hollywood Jesus.

Now for those that do not know, make sure you check out the numerous articles and blogs by checking out the archives. If visiting The Virtual Pew or MySpace they are archived on the left hand side of the page. Scroll down to where you see newer or older listed under archives and then click there. There are hundreds of postings so make sure to check out the archives. You can also contact me for a free e-book pre edit version of The Keystone Kid at mike@thevirtualpew.com

You can visit http://www.thevirtualpew.com/ and on the front page down on the left side you sill see our store. Your purchase provides needed funds to The Virtual Pew. If you do not see something to purchase you can click on the search engine, (do not put anything in the search box at this time). You will be taken to Amazon where you can search for anything you desire. Hopefully you will consider a gift to The Virtual Pew.

Now I get asked this quite often, Can we repost your blogs or articles? The short answer to that is, what an honor that you would ask, and by all means, spread the word.

Here is our contact information

The Virtual Pew

P.O. Box 17731

Wichita, KS 67217

Click on the following links to learn more about The Virtual Pew

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The Virtual Pew
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Personal Furches Web Site
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To Subscribe to The Virtual Pew Live Feed

Phone Number to Call During The Virtual Pew Live Show, (Please never call prior to the start of the show) - (646) 716-8587

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Roses, Silver Linings, and Lemonade

Sometimes we have to close our eyes to smell the roses, or when life gives us lemons we may have to make lemonade. Maybe you have heard of these cliché’s, maybe you haven’t. I for one am one who is not always a fan of cliché’s but that don’t make them all bad.

I have been at the place recently where I have had to live out the concepts presented in the above two cliché’s. You see if I focus too much on the things around me, say the bad things, I’ll miss some of the roses in life, and I for one like a cool glass of lemonade and who would have thunk that I have had some good lemonade as of late.

One of the reminders of my life is I have to look for the silver linings in the clouds to keep from experiencing the storms of life. In Kansas, we have many storms so we get used to the weather changing every few moments.

Recently my wife went outside to take off to school. I was catching a few zzzzz’s which is nice if you notice the hours I have been up lately. Well she comes back into the house, waking me up with a little hysteria to her voice. “Mike someone has robbed and vandalized the car.” It was something like that she said; she was waking me up so my memory may not be exact.

I go outside, check it out and the little Dodge Neon we had purchased from my daughter and son in law, was totaled. Someone was ready to distribute some vengeance. I wish they had read the passage, “Vengeance is mine says the Lord.” For some reason, I don’t think God would have busted out the windows, ripped off the mirrors, stolen the stereo, and ripped off the windshield wipers. It looked to me that someone was trying to execute some vengeance on my family for only God knows what.

We had been talking about trading the car, and trading in the van. The neon now had no trade in value; it does have salvage value of about $200 since we didn’t comprehensive insurance on it. We are still looking at getting a little truck or van because we traded our van.

Our van was a 2000 Pontiac Montana. It had served its purpose, from taking people to wrestling tournaments across the Midwest, to hauling lawnmowers or whatever else we needed to haul. In its prime, it got pretty good mileage, but in its later years, some 150,000 miles later it was starting to struggle. We decided to get something with a little better mileage.

My wife and daughter had driven a Yaris rental car in Tennessee when they went back for my wife’s brother’s funeral. They loved it, couldn’t quit talking about it. Was roomy, got great mileage and on and on. After some research we decided to look at several cars, some hybrids, the Yaris, a Honda Civic, a Ford Focus and from there, we thought we could find something.

After some searching we ended up at Eddy’s Toyota here in Wichita. I’m not much of a fan of car salesman, but have to tell you, everyone at this establishment was great. Low pressure, friendly, honest, and I could even add a few other nice words to tell you about them. In all honesty, I liked these guys and they presented themselves differently than most any other car salesman I have ever come across. I would highly recommend them, just tell them Mike Furches sent you if you go there, maybe they will send me some extra cookies or something. Ask for Jarrod or Mark, either guy will help you out.

We looked at the roller skate Yaris, the one called the three door hatchback. I would have seriously considered this car except I didn’t like the extra effort to get into the back seat. If it was just me or my wife, or we were looking for another new car, this would be the one I would buy. We opted to check the 4 door sedan. This Yaris has a different body style but the other things were basically the same. Surprisingly good gas mileage, and a lot more room than one would imagine, complete with a good sized trunk for any traveling we may do.

We were looking for something affordable, got great gas mileage, low payments, all of that poor man buying a car stuff. We didn’t want electric windows, wanted a manual transmission, and a few other basics, including air conditioning, and a good stereo system. It had all of those things.

Long story made short, we found out we had better credit than we thought, and we could get the car for a price we wanted, (note do a little research, some people are buying this car off the lot and selling it for more once they buy it.) The payment was a few dollars more than we were paying on our van, but for a new car, with 7 miles on it and the mileage we would be getting; we thought a reasonable thing to do.

In the trade process, we found out our vans transmission was going out, (note one silver lining.) We realized the payment was only a few dollars more, (another glass of lemonade.) Then we realized we were getting better gas mileage. Now listen to this big ol’ bouquet of flowers, a cold glass of lemonade and a silver lining to boot. The van had something like a 17 gallon gas tank. We would get about 300 miles to a tank. The Yaris has an 11 gallon tank, we have so far been getting about 450 miles to a tank. Do the math, with gas around $4 a gallon, a huge savings as we end up getting better gas mileage than is advertised on the Manufactures Recommended Mileage sticker on the car.

We still need a used, affordable, small truck or van, and are looking to replace the car that was totaled. We are waiting on a little more money but God will come through. We also need a riding lawn mower for our 1 ½ acre lawn, but God will come through. We have seen the silver linings, smelled the roses, and had a few glasses of cold lemonade.

I continue to learn that God is faithful. It is that reason I put down these words today, not to brag, tell you about my problems, or anything like that, but to tell you that God is faithful in the big things when we are faithful in the little things. God does still own all of the money in the banks; he still controls the weather, causes the flowers to smell pretty, and can make something sour like lemons taste pretty good. I am saying this so you know, if God can take care of me, he can take care of you. He loves his children, but gives us the choice to let him be our father or not. He is like most any other dad; he likes to be appreciated, likes to every now and then be asked for things, and loves to give gifts. He also likes a generous heart and a thank you on occasion. He just wants us to love him. As for me, all of those little things are worth it; my dad does things for me all of the time. The last few weeks have once again taught me that.

Now you can take a test drive, well sort of take a test drive. Double click on the video below, if the video don't work, just click on the link: While this is not my car, it does a good job of showing you the car.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClfLU6E6QN8



Click Here to Go to The Virtual Pew Daily Verse and Read The Bible in a Year Passages

Click here for booking information to have Pastor Mike come speak or perform, from speaking to music or magic, something for all groups.

Click to visit with Pastor Mike regarding any of your needs. He will respond to each request personally, and if need be refer you to one of our other pastors.

Click to visit and join the new group The Virtual Pew, at MySpace. Become a part of a different kind of Christian group, check out the page for more information,all welcome, including those who are not followers of Jesus.

Click to visit the Virtual Pew Website and become a part of that ministry.

Click to subscribe to my blog Click to visit and join our sister group at MySpace Hollywood Jesus.

Now for those that do not know, make sure you check out the numerous articles and blogs by checking out the archives. If visiting The Virtual Pew or MySpace they are archived on the left hand side of the page. Scroll down to where you see newer or older listed under archives and then click there. There are hundreds of postings so make sure to check out the archives. You can also contact me for a free e-book pre edit version of The Keystone Kid at mike@thevirtualpew.com

You can visit http://www.thevirtualpew.com/ and on the front page down on the left side you sill see our store. Your purchase provides needed funds to The Virtual Pew. If you do not see something to purchase you can click on the search engine, (do not put anything in the search box at this time). You will be taken to Amazon where you can search for anything you desire. Hopefully you will consider a gift to The Virtual Pew.

Now I get asked this quite often, Can we repost your blogs or articles? The short answer to that is, what an honor that you would ask, and by all means, spread the word.

Here is our contact information

The Virtual Pew
P.O. Box 17731
Wichita, KS 67217

Click on the following links to learn more about The Virtual Pew

Donations to The Virtual Pew
The Virtual Pew
The Virtual Pew Blog
Personal Furches Web Site
Mike Furches MySpace Page
Mike Furches MySpace Blog
Hollywood Jesus
Reviews With Mike
The Virtual Pew Sermons
The Virtual Pew News
MySpace Hollywood Jesus Group
MySpace The Virtual Pew Group
The Virtual Pew Live Radio Web Page
To Subscribe to The Virtual Pew Live Feed

Phone Number to Call During The Virtual Pew Live Show, (Please never call prior to the start of the show) - (646) 716-8587

Phone Number to Call During The HJ Live Show, (Please never call prior to the start of the show) - (646) 716-8853

To Subscribe to The Virtual Pew Live Feed - http://www.blogtalkradio.com/feeds/thevirtualpew

To Subscribe to HJ Live Live Feed – http://www.blogtalkradio.com/feeds/hollywoodjesus