Apostolic Mentoring

Humility, Water, and the Way of Jesus ... English

Subscriber Episode • • Rev. Charles G. Robinette

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We explore why foot washing belongs with communion and how Jesus’ towel reshapes power, leadership, and love. From John 13 to Philippians 2, we trace a simple pattern—servanthood, humility, obedience—then trust God for exaltation.

• the case for keeping foot washing with communion
• the servant role in first‑century homes and its meaning
• Jesus washing Judas and the ethics of enemy‑love
• Philippians 2 as a pattern: serve, humble, obey, then exaltation
• practical steps to prepare hearts before serving
• how prayer at the basin repairs relationships
• restoring a culture of service across the church


We love to hear from our listeners! Thank you!


SPEAKER_01:

Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Oh, hallelujah. Oh, what an anointed word, Brother Lopez. Thank you. Why don't we just lift our hands one more time and thank him? Thank him for his word. We receive your word, God. Hallelujah, Jesus. Hallelujah, Jesus. Amen. God bless you. You can be seated. Amen. Well, today I've been given the assignment to talk to you about foot washing and communion. Now I know that there's a lot of churches and ministries that have done away with this the sacred act of foot washing. They no longer practice what the Lord exemplified. I just want to say that I think that's a mistake. I think that's a mistake because foot washing teaches us humility. Foot washing teaches us to care for others, and it teaches us to emulate the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. And ultimately, when we wash the feet of the saints, we are obeying the Lord's command. Jesus told his disciples after he washed their feet, he said, If I then your Lord and Master have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. Paul, in writing to Timothy, tells his son in the gospel that for a widow to be recognized, and for her to receive the full benefits of a widow, that she must have met the requirements and qualifications stipulated in 1 Timothy chapter 5, verses 9 and 10. And one of the requirements was that she must have washed the feet of the saints. And in like manner, if we are to receive the full benefits of the kingdom of God, then I believe that we should carry on with the same practice and obey the Lord's command by emulating the life of Jesus and by washing one another's feet. The one thing that stands out to me the most about foot washing is that in biblical times, only servants had to do this. Only servants had to do this. And when the Jewish family would arrive back home, or if they had some guests over at the house, before they would go inside, the servant would come out to the front of the house, they would take a towel, pour water into a bucket of some sort, and begin to wash the feet of their master and their master's family. Or if they had guests, they would also wash the feet of the guests. Remember, roads were dusty, and even today, roads in many places, such as Ethiopia, are still dusty, and many wear sandals. And so it was customary for the servants to wash the feet of the family they were serving. And we see that Jesus Christ, God manifested in the flesh, the King of kings and the Lord of Lords. The Bible says that he took upon him the form of a servant, and he took a towel in his hand, and he poured water into a basin. And the Bible says that he began to wash the feet of his disciples. Jesus exemplified servanthood. He exemplified what it is to serve others. And brothers and sisters, that's what this is all about. We are here to serve. We're in Ethiopia, oh, Ethiopia today to serve. We're here to serve one another. We're here to serve Bishop Testa. We're here to serve our great leader. We're here to serve one another. Amen. The Bible says that Jesus took upon him the form of a servant. He humbled himself and he began to wash the feet of his disciples. And not only did he humble himself and washed the feet of his disciples, but he also humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death of the cross. Look what it says in your Bibles, if you don't mind, opening the Philippians chapter 2, verses 5 through 11. It says in the name of the Lord, it says, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of man, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and he became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God hath highly exalted him and given him a name that is above every other name. Years ago, I found a uh formula in this text, in these verses we just read. It says that first Jesus took upon him the form of a servant. Then the Bible says he humbled himself and he was obedient unto death, even death of the cross. And then it says in verse number nine, wherefore God hath highly exalted him. You see, everyone wants to be exalted, everyone wants to be on the mountaintop. And I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with that. But the formula for exaltation is found in the verses we just read. He took the form of a servant, he took the form of a servant, he humbled himself, and he was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. And the Bible says, wherefore God hath highly exalted him. If you and I want to be exalted in the kingdom of God, we must follow these steps. We must take the form of a servant. We are here to serve, we are here to serve one another, we're here to serve our great leader, we're here to serve the Ethiopian people, we're here to pray for them, we're here to intercede for them, praise God. We must take the form of a servant, then humble ourselves, be obedient, and therefore God will highly exalt us. You see, humility precedes exaltation. Humility precedes exaltation, servanthood, obedience precedes exaltation. And again, many of us, and many want to be exalted in the kingdom of God, and I'm not I'm not against that, I'm all for it, but this is the formula. This is the formula servanthood, humility, obedience, and then comes exaltation. Praise God. Jesus didn't come to this world to be served, Jesus came to serve. Amen. I want us to notice that not only did Jesus wash the feet of Peter and John, the beloved disciple, but he also washed the feet of Judas, the one who would betray him hours later. Jesus did not only let me just say this, Jesus did not hold anything against anyone. Quite the contrary, the Bible says that Jesus loved Judas to the very end. And what we're about to do for these next few moments is an act of love. When we wash the feet of the saints, it's an act of love. Foot washing is an act of humility and it's an act of servanthood. So why don't we just take a moment before we begin to wash the feet of one another? Why don't we just take a moment and prepare our hearts? I mean, why don't we pray one more time? Hallelujah, Jesus. Thank you, Lord, for your sacrifice. Thank you, Lord, for your example. Thank you, Father, for taking the form of a servant. Thank you, Jesus. The Bible says in John chapter 13 that Jesus girded himself with a towel. He poured water into a basin and he began to wash the feet of his disciples. So we don't have a basin, and we don't have a towel, but we can just go through the motions. And why don't you find someone? And uh what go ahead and explain how you want this done.

SPEAKER_00:

Number one, we have uh Sister Hall here, and of course she is a part of this team to stream. Um I think it would be good for us to start with Sister Helen. We're not asking putting you in that place. But uh maybe what we could do tonight for a few moments here is taking a team as she's sitting here together around here. Her, I'll I'll get on my knees and I'll just take her shoes, I'll pray for her. Yeah, and then we can start who I'll pray for each other. Hallelujah. I really feel like she's a part of this team.

SPEAKER_01:

Hello herself, just asitabakata baki yaranabashi yanaba. Thank you, God.

SPEAKER_04:

Oh how beautiful are the feet of those who have the touch of the trees.

SPEAKER_02:

How beautiful are the feet of those who have seen it.

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Charles G. Robinette

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