The little chorus was in my mind, dare to be a Daniel, dare to stand alone. Years ago, I heard of a mother who was teaching her little girl to read the scriptures with her, and the reading was in Daniel. And when she came to that part of the story where it says that Daniel was a man of an excellent spirit, the little girl made a mistake, and she said he was a man of an excellent spine. And the mother corrected her and then she says, no, I think we let it stand just like that because he was a man of an excellent spine. He had a backbone. Like John of the New Testament, the Lord said, you didn't see a reed, did you? Blowing this way or blowing that way, according to the wind, he said he was a man of an excellent spine. He was able to stand for God. Now, in my ministry, I'd like to take you to the Gospel of Matthew and read a few verses in chapter twenty. We hinted at something in this last night, if you were present, and I'd like to take it along with you now, a meditation that came to us the night before last, thinking of the conference. Matthew twenty and verse twenty. Then came to the Lord Jesus of Zebedee's children with her sons. worshiping him and desiring a certain thing of him. And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand and the other on the left in thy kingdom. But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of? And to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with, they say unto him we are able. And he says unto them, You shall drink indeed of my cup and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with. But to sit on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give. But it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my father. And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren. But Jesus called them unto him and said, You know that the princes of the Gentiles exercised dominion over them. And they that are great exercise authority upon them. So it's the princes over the Gentiles, and it's the great ones then exercising authority over the princes. But it shall not be so among you. But whosoever will be great among you, let him be your servants. And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your bondslave. Do you get the point in the two verses there? If you're going to be great, you've got to be a servant. But really, if you're going to be a chief, then you've got to be a bond slave. The higher you want to rise, the lower you've got to get. That's the reason I gave change those words. As you know, they are the true words, not minister, but servant, and not just a servant, but a bond slave. A man might have had in his house a slave. and he might have had a man who came to work for him, took his wages and left. This is not just that servant. It is the bond slave. He belonged to his master. Notice then the example of the Lord Jesus, verse twenty-eight, even as the son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Now, in the Gospel of Luke chapter twenty-two for a few verses... And notice the parallel and the similarity there is in this passage. Luke twenty-two. They're now at the table in the upper room. Verse twenty-four. And there was also a strife among them. Which of them should be accounted the greatest? And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But it shall not be so. But he that is greatest among you let him be as the younger, and he that is chief as he that doth serve. For whether is greater he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth, is not he that sitteth at meat. But I am among you as he that serveth. Now we'll see how he served them on this particular occasion. John's Gospel, chapter thirteen. The thirteenth chapter of the Gospel, according to John, and reading verse one. Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come, that he should depart out of the world, this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God and went to God. He rises from supper and laid aside his garments and took a towel and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel or with he was girded. Then cometh he to Simon Peter, and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter said unto them, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus says to him, He has washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit. And ye are clean, but not all, for ye knew who should betray him. Therefore said he, ye are not all clean. So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments and was set down again. He said unto them, Know you what I've done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord, and you say, Well, for so I am. If I then your Lord and Master have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that ye should do as I had done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord, neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If you know these things, happy are you? If you do them, may the Lord bless us good work. I think possibly you've been able to trace the thought running through the three passages that we've read. But before we say that, it's something nice in the Gospel of John. I'd like to point out to you, likely some of you do know it, but in the first chapter of John, we're told that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. And in verse fourteen we read, and the Word became flesh and tabernacled amongst us. The word tabernacled. And that's what we have in the Gospel of John. The three divisions of the tabernacle are seen in chapters one to twelve, in chapters thirteen through sixteen, and then in chapters seventeen. In chapters seventeen, the holiest of all. In chapters thirteen to sixteen, we have the holy place. And in chapters one to twelve, we have the court. And the Lord Jesus Christ in chapter twelve, he ends his ministry. And as he ends his ministry, a dear woman, she does something to his feet. In chapter thirteen the disciples are going to leave the holy place and they're going to go out into the court in a day to come and they're going to walk now and serve and the Lord does something to their feet. But it's very different. What the woman did to Jesus' feet was anoint them. He didn't need his wash. But they, although they're only starting on their mission, they must need to have their feet washed. Beloved saints of God, he lives in the glory they anointed one and he lives there to keep us clean and we can praise his name. Then the next thing I want you to notice is that when these two disciples made their request to sit on his right hand on his left, we might say what we said last night. It's interesting to notice that not only will there be seats, will there be positions of honor, but let us notice that there are two particular seats. There will be two seats and who they are. Well, I can't guess. Some years ago at the Hamilton Conference, at our own assembly's conference, Incidentally, last year we had our nineties conference without a break, the oldest conference in the history of the Assemblies of America. And it was in Hamilton. It started ninety-one years ago. Sad to say, owing to difficulties, it's possible the conference has ended. But anyway, years ago at that conference, I was sharing the ministry with James Gunn and J.M. Davies of India. And in ministering that day, I ministered on Moses. James Gunn followed with ministry on Paul. And James Davies got up afterwards and he said, Listening to the ministry of our two brethren made me think of the two seats on the right hand on the left of the Lord Jesus. Maybe these are the men who were destined to take those seats. However, it was only a guess. But one thing is true. It is those seats will be given to those who Not who necessarily have suffered for Christ. Not necessarily for those who were able to drink of his cup and be baptized with his baptism. For John and James fulfilled those requirements. But here the lesson is one of humility. Now I'm sure of this. I don't know who will have those seats. But whoever has those two seats will be two saints. And it could be sisters. I wouldn't say it wouldn't. But the point is this. Whoever takes those two seats will be those who were marked not by their prowess, not by their knowledge, not by their ability, not by their cleverness, not by their prominence, but they will be marked by humility. Now that's the lesson, saints. You don't need a preacher to tell you that. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ, he says, I'm the chief. I'm the greatest, but yet did I not take the lowest place. So James and John did not qualify. I read the story of John thirteen because of one particular little incident or note in that story, and that is there was water there. Now you might wonder what I'm thinking about. It was a man with a pitcher of water led the way to that room. There was a pitcher of water there. Now when the disciples gathered, the custom was in the Passover definitely to wash their feet before they ate. And so in an ordinary home, if it was well ordered and a wealthy home, they said there were three classes of servants. Servants who would receive guests, take their exterior clothes. And servants who would wait on tables. And then the menial task of washing their feet was left to the lowest of class of servants. Now when they sat down in that night in the upper room, there was an argument as to which of them should be the greatest. Now I can't say how the argument originated. I can't tell you the background of that argument. What I'm going to suggest, and I think I'm right, unless you can show me I'm wrong, I believe the question arose, who's going to wash our feet? Who'll do it? And I think maybe Peter would have said, well, I wouldn't do it. I'm the head of the band. I'm number one man. And Andrew could very well have said, well, Peter, what would you have been if it hadn't been for my bringing you to Christ? And then John might have said, well, I lean on his bosom. You wouldn't ask me to do it. And James might have said, well, I'm your twin brother, and you needn't expect me. Now, I do not know. But anyway, they were arguing which of us should be the greatest. And then the Lord gave him the example. He rose, and he washed their feet. He took the low place. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ, he takes the lowest place. And in Philippians chapter two, you know that beautiful passage, he being the form of God. Step, step, step, step, step, step, seven, even the death of the cross. Then step, step, step, step, step, seven, right up until every knee bows and every tongue exclaimed, he's gotten God to the glory of God the Father. Now then, it was Harold Harper said this on one occasion with me, and I thought it was excellent. The Lord Jesus Christ descended a seven-step ladder of humiliation. And the last step, when God inverted the ladder, became the top step. In other words, we rise as high in that millennial kingdom as we've taken the low place here in the day of his rejection. Heart those bursts of exclamation. Heart those loud triumphant chords. Jesus takes the highest station. O what joy the sight afford. Crown him. Crown him. King of kings and Lord of lords. There's a background to the Lord Jesus. We'll deal with this washing of the feet in a moment or two. But there is a nice background, and that is, I want you to notice in our Lord Jesus Christ four things. First of all, I'd like you to think of his unselfish care. His last hour had come. When I say his last hour, the hour had come is last night on earth. And tomorrow was the operation. There was going to be no... I say that as reverently as I can. Tomorrow he was going to suffer. Now some of your friends have been to the table, the operating table, and you know what it was the night before your operation. Now am I not right? You lay for many a long hour thinking of the model. One thought comforted you. You had two thoughts to comfort you. You had a spiritual and you had a material. The material was that you wouldn't suffer because you would be under the anesthetic. And the spiritual was, the Lord Jesus Christ would be nearer to you than he has ever been before. The Lord Jesus Christ was devoid of both. There was no material comfort. There would be no anesthetic. They might offer him the vinegar, which was something of a stupefying potion, but he'd refuse that, and then he knew that moment would come from out of the lonely hours of the darkness, my God, why did thou forsake me? Now, in spite of it being at last hour, his thought is upon his own, the unselfish care of the Lord Jesus. Then I want you to notice, too, that his unceasing love, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. Even though he knew what was going to happen in an hour or so in the garden, when they would all leave him, yet the Lord Jesus Christ loves them unto the end. You can interpret the end as you like. Because if you want to see it to the end of his life, all right. If you want to see it to the end of their lives, all right. If you want to see it to the end of the unending ages of eternity, it's just as true. He loves them to the end. Then I want you to notice too, there was his, as I was on question of majesty. Notice three things. Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hand, his universal sovereignty. Then I want you to notice the next thing, and that he was come from God, his divine mission, and that he was going to God, his Heavenly destiny. And yet, in spite of all that, it is He who washes their feet. And then the third thought I'd like to leave in your mind, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ, matchless care as He washed their feet. And we'll deal with that in a moment or two. His grace in washing their feet. He comes to those disciples. There are twelve. Not eleven. There are twelve. And all twelve are going to leave them. One of them is going to deny him. And the third, Judas, he's going to betray him. And he gets his feet washed. And when the Lord Jesus Christ comes to Judas' feet, now think of this. There's a little bag around Judas' waist. And in that little bag, there are thirty pieces of silver. And that's the price of Jesus' blood. Jesus knows it. Those omniscient eyes see those silver pieces reclining in that little by. But he picks up those traveled stained feet. And with a hand that's soon to be nailed to the tree, he washes them clean. Oh, the matchless grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now then, I want you to look at Peter with me for a little while. Peter's blunders. Peter made three blunders. He raises a question. And in raising the question, I love him for it. It's his humility. He says, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? I think Peter's angry. I think he's cross. He's upset. He's out of sorts with his brethren. Apparently others have been washed before Peter. And I put the emphasis on the words, the pronouns, dost thou wash my feet? John may I let you do it. James may let you do it. My brother Andrew may let you do it. But I want to raise this question. Would you wash my feet? I think Peter shows a beautiful burst of humility. He could hardly bear the thought that the Lord Jesus Christ would suit to wash his feet. However, he blundered. Then the second blunder, it's not a question. This time it's a refusal. And he says, thou shalt never wash my feet. And that shows his father. Thou shalt never wash my feet. I never said that. Never were in circumstances to say it. But although I've never said that, and to translate it into language which we appreciate, I believe I never would say it. And yet sometimes I feel I've acted it. Thou shalt never wash my feet. What does it mean to us? Peter's refusal could be explained in these terms. I'm a Christian. I know what God wants me to do. I know there's someone cleanness in my life. Or there's a path of disobedience in my life. I know. If you don't have to come and tell me, I know it. And if I don't know it, God helps me. But I know it. And what do I do about it? I'm conscious God's word rebukes me. And still I continue in my course. What have I said? I've said exactly in effect what Peter said. Thou shalt never wash my feet. Beloved saints of God, I should leave that word with all our hearts today. I don't know yours. I look over you. But I would like to, I wouldn't like to think, but I would possibly believe there may be some of us in the meeting this morning. And that word is a word from the Lord to our heart. I'm continuing in something that I know is wrong. It's unchristian. It's not according to the word of God. And I know it. And yet I'm going on my way. I'm saying with poor Peter, thou shalt never wash my feet. Then the last blunder that he made, it was a request. And when he made the request, he betrays his ignorance. And then the Lord uses these three blunders and he teaches us some lovely lesson. In Peter's question, he teaches us something precious about comfort. In his raising the refusal, he shows us something that is absolutely essential. He sounds a warning. And then when Peter requests to be all wise, he explains something that's precious about union and communion. The first one. What I do, thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. Now I think to keep true to the interpretation, not the application. I'm going to use the application, but the interpretation is good because it teaches us this. The Lord had not in mind spiritual or physical feet washing, literal feet washing. Peter understood that perfectly by his own feet were being washed. What I do, thou knowest not now. You never had your feet washed, Peter, but now you're having your feet washed, and now you'll know about it later on. That was already a custom. But he was saying something to Peter here about a spiritual feet washing that Peter would know in a day to come. However, I like the application. What I do, thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. I love the words of Brother Ford. And all hymnology, so far as my knowledge goes, along this line of my thinking at the moment, I believe Rutherford has never been excelled. With mercy and with judgment, my web of time he wove. And I, the Jews of sorrow, were lustered with his lust. We sing that. We never stop the thing of what we're singing. There's mercy in my life. Yes, in his judgment. And he wove a web. and I the Jews of sorrow were lustered with his love yes there was love I but yet too there was sorrow and they were luster together and then he says in the next stanza I'll bless the hand that guided I'll bless the heart that planned when frowned where glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's land I won't know but one day I will looking back but we can even now sometimes make the application leaving a meeting in Hamilton where I was preaching not my home assembly but another one A young man was about sixteen, seventeen years of age. He was going out through the door. I just said, good night. And then I stopped. Excuse me. I said, you're so-and-so, aren't you? He said, yes, Mr. Kirk. I said, I was sorry to hear about your father. He was the oldest boy of a family of five. His father had been in the assembly. He was a detective. And he had died rather suddenly at the age of thirty-seven. And it suddenly dawned on me, this is his oldest boy. I said, how is your mother dawned? He says, Mr. Kirk, could you give me a verse to comfort my mother? When I said, Don, you stay there a moment like to say good night to these folks. And when I was saying good night, I was saying, Lord, what will I say to the boy? And by and by then the last one had gone and Don was alone waiting for me. I had my verse and here it was. Go home, I says, John, get one, John, take down your Bible and I opened my Bible and he opened his and I marked the verse for him. Now I said, give that verse to your mother as a little message from me. Will you? He says, I will. About a year later, I happened to be downtown one day, and I bumped into this sister in Christ, and I had never met her. But I didn't belong to that assembly. But another sister introduced her to me, and she said, oh, this is Mrs. So-and-so. Oh, I know, you're the widow of So-and-so. She said, yes, and Mr. Kirk, I wanted to see you. Do you remember the night that you sent home that message with Dawn? What I do, thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. She said, I want to tell you that that was the Lord's message to my heart. And that sustained me in the midst of my bitter trial. Looking back a year later, maybe I do not know, but I have the comfort of knowing all must beware. What I do, I know it's not now. You've seen my little book, Some of You, The Mystery of Divine Chastening. I was rather shocked when a brother got up in my presence one night in a meeting and said, they talk about the mystery of divine chastening. It's not a mystery. It's a ministry. Well, grant it's a ministry, but it's a mystery. And if it's not, I don't understand Christianity. For we walk by faith, not by sight. Then in Peter's refusal, thou shalt never wash my feet. And the Lord says, Very solemnly, I suppose very quietly, and looking into his eyes, If I wash thee not, thou hast no partners in me. You've been to the morning meeting, we call it sometimes, the breaking of bread Christians, and you broke the bread, and you partook of the cup. You sang the hymns, and you listened to the thanksgivings, and maybe the Word of God read. Didn't mean a thing to you. You sat down one day to read a little bit of your Bible, and you closed it, and five minutes later, if someone had said, what did you read? Well, I'll tell you the truth, I don't know. You tried to pray one night, you said your prayers at the close of the day, and when you'd gotten into bed, you'd never remembered a thing that you'd said in your prayers. You went through a little ritual. As a servant of the Lord, and this comes home to us on the platform, you get up to say a little word one night in the meeting, and it just seemed as though the words were hitting like soft peas against the rock of Gibraltar. What was the reason? What's the reason for all this? If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Beloved saint of God, we all have to learn this, that a life lived out of communion with God is a life that's lost, a life that's powerless. And I may be a preacher, and I may read my Bible, and I may preach, I may be a Sunday school teacher, I may be a brother taking responsibility in the assembly, but remember this, while I'm out of communion with God, I'm powerless in my service for God. If I watch thee not, Thou hast no part in me. No. That's eternal. And that's not affected by time's experiences. No part with me. It is communion. Now then, I want you to notice in the next one. When Peter then sees he's made a mistake, someone said Peter was like the pendulum of a clock. He swings over this way. I'm wrong. Well, I'll swing over that way. I'm wrong. Well, then he swings back. He can't seem to swing in the middle. And so, dear Peter, swinging back and forth. And this final blunder is, well, Lord, I don't know what I'm talking about, but one thing I will say, wash me all together then. Don't just be satisfied washing my feet. Again, the Lord has to approve. Peter, you are already bathed. And it's not a question of bathing again. It's a question of removing the defilement from your feet. I think that's precious. The first suggests union, and I'm sure the Lord must have had in mind, the inauguration of the priests in the tabernacle. Moses took his brother and his four nephews, and he brought them to the labor, and he stripped them, and he bathed them. And he never did it again. Never did that again. It was once for all. That's regeneration. But notice, when those priests went to the, here's a man coming to the door with a bullet, now they've got to go and attend to him. Or here it comes the afternoon and they've got to carry the incense into the holy place or put the loaves on the table or take care of the lamps. Now, stop at the altar, stop at the labor and wash your hands at the very place where they were regenerated and tight. So they must be sanctified, they must be set apart. But Moses didn't do that. They did that themselves. They did that every day and always. Now we have two ordinances, and I mentioned these last night. One is baptism, and the other is the Lord's Supper. And in baptism, one is baptized, and it never is repeated, for it symbolizes our union. The other is the breaking of bread, which symbolizes our communion. And the Lord Jesus Christ said, as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup. But remember, union must always precede communion. Now then, in closing my... message for time is running away on me I'd like to look at the Lord Jesus Christ as our beautiful example here he doesn't just say that you wash one another's feet but what does he say as I have done to you as I have done to you ye also ought to wash one another's feet I think you can appreciate it first of all the lesson is service mr. RC Chapman a dear old saint of God who lived in Barnstable England in the last century A man who lived to be a hundred shy a few months. Last year I was in England and I spent the time to go and see the home he lived in. And I stood by his graveside and I don't mind saying to you, I felt I stood on consecrated ground when I stood in the grave of Robert C. Chapman of Barnstable, England. Perhaps out here in the West you don't know much about his life, but there was a man whose life was lived absolutely for God. Mr. Chapman entertained the Lord's people. He bought two little houses. And he used those homes to entertain God's people, God's servants. He said to them when they arrived, leave your boots. Because it was boots in those days, both women and men wore boots. He said, leave your boots at your bedroom door. And one of my old friends in Hamilton, a man called Richard Irving, who preached the last century with Alexander Marshall of Scotland throughout Ontario, he told me he was a guest in his home. He would get your boots in the morning around six o'clock Take them down to his little room in the basement, and there he would polish them, and bring them up to the door, and put them outside the door, knock on the door, and quote a verse of Scripture to awaken his death. And he would say with a twinkle in his eyes, I cannot wash your feet, but at least I can polish your shoes, your boots. It's service, no matter how mean you. Why should I serve you? Who are you anyway? Who was the Lord Jesus, and who am I? And I, your Lord and Master, would do this for you. You should do for one another. In other words, saying, there's no task, no matter how mean you, nor how low nor a humble it would involve me in, I am or I should be prepared to do it, no matter who I am in return. But the spirit of feet washing, the cleansing, as I have done it, how did he do it? Well, first of all, I want you to notice he did better themselves. He had a garment, and that garment was beautiful. Ordinarily, when a manufacturer was hanged, when he was nailed to the tree, the soldiers got his clothes, and they just would cut them up and take portions. But this one, oh, no. Don't let's destroy that one. Each of the soldiers said, I'd like to have it. I'm willing to cast the dice for it. Will you throw the dice? And so they throw the dice, and one soldier gets that. They all coveted it. It was a lovely garden. No doubt tears and many hours and much thread and colors went into that as the dear sisters sold it. And that Lord Jesus, our Lord Jesus, had that beautiful garment with a lovely ribbon of blue around the end of it. And that's what the woman touched when her issue of blood was healed. She touched the hem, that lovely ribbon of blue which said, I keep always his commandments. And so he takes it away. First thing, beloved, saying to God, I have to do if I'm going to help to wash your feet is to divest myself of anything that suggests my superiority over you. One brother in the east in New Jersey, he was a young French man and had a very hot temper. One day while driving this car, he got involved in a jam and he blamed a man in front. and they get out of his car and shouted at him a tirade of abuse, which he never should have done. This man said nothing. He was dressed in muftang, civilian clothes, but he was a high-ranking officer in Uncle Sam's army, and all he did was step out and look at the young man's car and make a note of his number, and the young brother was fine. Summoned to court and was fined fifteen dollars, and the story appeared in the newspaper. The following Sunday, I was in the assembly, and he didn't turn up for the break-in-of-bread meeting. He was heartbroken. He was very sorry about the whole thing. And I said to his father-in-law that afternoon, he was a creature, I said, tell Vernie, I'd like to see him come to the meeting. Tell him, I send him, I send a special message. I want to see him tonight. Well, he thinks a lot of you, Mr. Kirk, and I'll tell him that. And he did, he came. And the Christians were lovely for him. Nobody said both. Nobody said a word but one man. A so-called elder in the assembly. And young Verney was quite encouraged over the attitude of the brethren and graciously overlooking it. And they knew he was very sorry for what had happened. So he went into the cloakroom to get his hat and coat when he saw this older brother. He said, Good evening, Brother Jones. And the old brother wouldn't shake hands. He said, What's this I hear about you? And he pulled a wallet out of his pocket and pulled out the newspaper clipping here. He said, Look at this. You shall be ashamed of yourself. And he poured them in him. Young fella never said a word, but you know something, he never again put his foot across the threshold of that gospel hall. He's in fellowship in another assembly. He didn't divest himself of his outer garment. The next thing I want you to notice, the Lord Jesus Christ, he kneels. And if you know they were reclining, when he kneels, our brother has been telling us about kneeling, the action of humility. And when he was kneeling, he was even lower than they. Lower than they. if I've done something I shouldn't have done and the Lord knows I'm quite upset about it and a brother puts his arm around my shoulder and he pulls me to him and he says you know David we can all do things we're sorry for many a thing I've done that I've been sorry for and so I just like to say and then he starts to talk what does he do he breaks my heart doesn't he he breaks my heart he breaks my heart he's kneeling he's even putting himself as it were lower than I Then the next thing I want you to notice, what he does is he takes water. And that picture of water was already in the room. So that when they sat down to the table that night, that picture of water, if it had come from a spring, by this time it has risen to the temperature of the room. So it wasn't too cold and it wasn't too hot. It was water of a proper temperature. Now I heard that in nineteen twenty-five. That's forty-one years ago, isn't it? That's when I heard that. I heard it from an old preacher called Murdo McKenzie. He's a missionary down in the Bahamas. Last January, I went to the Bahamas. And when I arrived in the Bahamas, I said to the brother who met me, one of the first things I want to do is I want to go and see Mr. Murdo McKenzie. He says, you know, I haven't seen him in forty-one years, but I'd certainly love to see him and tell him something. I went to see Mr. Murdo McKenzie. And he knew all about me, of course, down through the years. And he knew where I came from on the other side of the world. And I said, Brother McKenzie, I want to say two things. You preached once on the feet washing of the Lord Jesus in an assembly. And I said, you said that the Lord Jesus didn't wash them with water too cold. It would have froze, chilled them. Their water too hot. It would have burned them. You used water of the right temperature. That is right, David, he said, in his highland voice. That is right, he said. And you remember that. I said, I've never forgotten it. I said, the next thing that you said was in ministry, Nehemiah was tempted once to have a conference with the enemy, but the venue, the place was to be the plane of O-N-O. And you said, young Christians, when the devil tempts you, let the contract, the conversation be in the plane of, oh, no. have nothing to do with the temptation. Mr. McKenzie, after forty-one years, I wanted to say hello and tell you I remember. He washed them with the right temperature of water. Then the last thing is he dried them. It says he dried them. Wonder why it says he dried them. Why did our Bible say he dried them? Now, there must be something for us to learn from that, mustn't there? And what would it be? Well, maybe you've been at the seashore and maybe you've had your feet, maybe you've had a bath and you've come out of the water, but nobody has a towel. It's a measurable experience, isn't it? But once you get the towel and get your feet dried and you can put your socks on again, how comfortable you are. And all trace of the wet, all trace of the wetness, all traces of the sea or the ocean or the lake have been removed. All traces are gone. I sometimes, shall I say, imagining this, I washed the feet of a brother, maybe a dear sister in Christ. And I go home and I say to my wife, I'll tell you what happened, mother. So and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and oh it was lovely. She was really restored to the Lord and so and so with me. So my wife goes over to the telephone and she dialed and she says, David has just come home and he was telling me that and so and so and so and so. No, no, dear brethren, if you wash the feet dry and that's the end of it. Don't go talking about it. Let it end right with that. When you wash their feet, may no recollection be made of it again. I have given you an example. More about Jesus would we know. The Lord bless his word to all of us. We return in our Bibles to the book of Ruth, chapter one. Thank you.