You Be Like Jesus

Introduction

Good morning. If you open in your Bibles with me to John chapter 13. John chapter 13. If you weren’t here at the 9 o’clock hour, not only did you miss a special service and song, praising God for the amazing grace that he gives, you missed an amazing lesson by our guest speaker, Jeremiah Folkes. I’d encourage you to go back and listen to it. In fact, I have to be honest, it kind of impacts my sermon here. I’m not really accustomed to following such a great speaker at the 11 o’clock hour. There’ll be video Kennel get this, I’m sure. In John chapter 13, we read about Jesus washing the disciples’ feet. It’s interesting that Jesus would do this of anybody, because you think about the disciples, and we really have bits and pieces of their conversation that aren’t terribly favorable to them.

In fact, in Matthew chapter 18, they’re walking along the way and they’re arguing with each other about who’s going to be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. On the one hand, I love their confidence that they’re going to be in heaven. On the other hand, Jesus embarrasses them and says, unless anyone’s like this little child, he will not be my disciple. He cannot be with me in heaven. So they’re arguing over who is the greatest. In John chapter 13, Jesus gets down and washes the disciples’ feet. You see, there’s a difference sometimes between Jesus and his followers. When in fact, Jesus not only demonstrates how we should live, he commands that we follow his example. In fact, the lesson this morning is going to be that we need to be like Jesus.

There was a piece of chocolate cake in the middle of the table, and two young boys were eyeing it hungrily. And as they were staring at it, the older brother said, Mom, can we please have this cake? And she said, Okay, you cut it since you’re the older, you’re the older one. So he cuts the cake and he says, Great, I got this freedom. He kept about 95% of it for him and about 5% for his brother, and you know who he’s going to give which piece to, right? And his mom says, I want you to stop. And she said, I want you to do what Jesus would do. And the boy sighed, he hung his head, and he grabbed the bigger piece, pushing the little piece to his brother, and said, You know what?

You can be Jesus today. In John chapter 13, Jesus suggests that even when it’s uncomfortable, even when it’s not favorable to us, we have to be like him. In John chapter 13 and verse 1, he says, Now before the feast of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of the world to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it 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 had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments and taking a towel, tied it around his waist, and then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

And he came to Simon Peter and said to him, Lord, do you wash my feet? And Jesus answered him, What I am doing, you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand. Peter said to him, You shall never wash my feet. And Jesus answered him, If I do not wash you, you have no share with me. Simon Peter said to him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. And Jesus said to him, The one who has bathed does not need to wash except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you. For he knew who was to betray him. That was why he said, Not all of you are clean. You can imagine in the eve of the crucifixion of Jesus, that he is taking time to leave one last powerful lesson on his disciples.

We think about all the teaching tools of Jesus, and we think about his miracles. And we think about the fact that he would speak in parables, and sometimes we define a parable as an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. But imagine the impact that this demonstration that Jesus gives as not only the master teacher, but as he’s going to identify in a few verses as Lord would leave in the minds and hearts of the disciples. Here’s Jesus eating with them, and he gets up in verse 4, and then he gets down and starts washing their feet. They would remember this the rest of their lives. Jesus washing their feet. Peter, being Peter, who he always is speaking his mind, says, wait a minute, this can’t be right.

1. Think Like Jesus: Focused on the Big Picture

You can’t wash my feet. You’re Jesus. You’re the Lord. You will never wash my feet. But Jesus tells them, you need to be washed. In fact, unless you let me do this, you have no part with me. And of course, Peter says, All right, bring it on then. I need it all. But if you notice where Jesus starts, he’s not only leaving them an impactful lesson. If you go back to verse 1, 2, and 3, you see the motivation behind how he’s living. Look at me in verse 1, 2, and 3. This is going to be critical. If we’re going to live like Jesus, we have to think like Jesus. And so Jesus in John 13 is focused on the big picture. When you go back to verse 1, notice he knew, the scripture says he knew his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father.

Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. This is remarkable. In verse 1, he recognizes the time for his life is up. The crucifixion is upon him. And what is he motivated by? His love for those in the world. You know what the crazy part of that is, don’t you? Those in the world were the ones who were going to crucify him. Even in the case of the disciples, Judas was going to betray him. The other eleven were going to flee from him. They were going to desert him eventually. Peter was going to deny him three times. These are the people Jesus is loving, knowing the crucifixion is right at hand. It’s amazing. When you think about this, though, there’s also this component that our world doesn’t understand.

There’s a phrase, and I hate it, not because it’s not useful, but because Americans make it perhaps the dumbest expression you can. It’s called YOLO. You only live once. And the reason I’m bothered by it is it’s okay to think about and focus on living once and your time expiring. But do you know what Americans do with that? We go, well, I only live once, so I’m going to go do the craziest thing I can do. That probably will kill me. Because after all, I only live once. A normal person says, I only live once, so I’m going to do what? Take extra care to make sure that my time isn’t up today. Right? I’m not going to do the dumbest thing I can do. I’m going to do the wisest thing I can do.

Because I only live once. Jesus is motivated by the fact that he is going to die. And so he leaves this lesson, this impression upon the people. And despite it all, he’s focused on God, and he’s focused on the love he has for people who were going to fail him. That is remarkable. And I think that if we were to learn from that, we would see it would change our mindset too. Rather than thinking I only live once, so I’m going to do something selfish, I’m going to do something that I want to do. I realize that I know my time can be up at any moment. That I do only live once, and so I need to remember, I need to make this day count for God, not for me.

I need to impact those around me. I need to have a love for others that motivates me to change my actions. And it’s with that basis that he says in verse 3, he knew he had come from God. You see this last phrase? And was going back to God. Jesus is always focused correctly. He’s focused on God. In Matthew chapter 4, the three temptations, he thinks about the word of God. Before the crucifixion, he’s focused on going back to God. When he’s on the cross, he’s doing the will of God. Do you remember in Matthew chapter 26, the prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane? Three times he prays. If it is possible, let this cut pass from me. But nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.

2. Just Go, Just Serve

Jesus is always focused on God. And so if I’m going to live like Jesus, if I’m going to love others like Jesus, I must first think like Jesus. And think about how every day goes to the glory of God. But secondly, you notice in verse 4 and 5, he doesn’t give the apostles a chance to kind of say no. If you notice how he does this, this is unique. Sometimes we wait to act until we have all the pieces of the puzzle. But no, Jesus gets up. In verse 3, it says that he knew he was going, he was from God and was going back to him. And then verse 4, he rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, taking a towel, tied it around his waist.

In verse 5, he prepares and began washing of the disciples’ feet. He just serves. He doesn’t wait. He doesn’t say, okay, everybody, I have an announcement to make. I would like you to see this great humble thing I’m going to do. Attention, apostles, attention, selfish followers of mine. I need you to see this lesson that I’m trying to teach you.

He just does it. He goes and serves. He’s not asked. He’s certainly not required. But remember, going back to verse 1, what is his motivation? He knows his time has come, and he loves the people of the world. He has a concern and compassion for souls. And what does that do to him in verse 4 and 5? It makes him just go. He acts. He serves. And by the way, we haven’t even focused on it, it’s kind of gone under the radar here. He’s doing something that is incredibly gross. Remember, I know some of you know me as the hand sanitizer guy. I don’t like my hands being dirty. Can you imagine how I read a story like John chapter 13? He’s down washing the disciples’ feet.

And these aren’t disciples wearing the newest Nikes. Okay? These are sandal wearing, walking everywhere type of disciples. This is gross. But he’s doing it anyway. Because he has a lesson to teach them. Because he loves them. And he’s showing them what a true servant does. That’s remarkable for two reasons. Number one, Jesus is not a servant. He is the Lord. He’s going to emphasize that point with the disciples. Now, wait a minute. He’s going to tell them, if I do this, what does that mean for you? I am Lord. You’re the servant. But if I’m serving you, what does that mean for you? Well, point number two, I, we better serve. And Jesus lays the example of how to serve selfishly, sacrificially, yes and yes. But first.

Just go. Just serve. Do it today. If you take nothing else out of the lesson this morning, you know that’s not good when you’ve got so much time left in the sermon. Remember, just serve. Think of others and do it. Don’t wait to be asked. Don’t wait to be told. Just do it. See a need, fill that need. Jesus does that. And then you see in verse 13 that lesson of demanding humility, of recognizing I am the Lord and I’m washing your feet. So what does that mean for you? Well, in verse 12, when he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me, see this very carefully in 13, teacher and Lord, and you are right.

For so I am. If then your Lord and teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example that you should also do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Translation, I am the Lord, and you know that. I am your teacher, and you know that. And if I serve you, what’s left for you? To humbly serve one another. Remember, this is the group in Matthew 18 who at one point was arguing amongst themselves, who is the greatest. He’s telling the apostles who are going to have a unique role in the first century church.

They’re going to be pillars of truth. They’re going to be the ones allowing Christianity to spread. God is working through them in miracles, with the word, with inspiration. And he says, You serve others. And what is the basis for that serving? As I, your Lord, have served you. He underscores this point at the end of the chapter. Look all the way down with me in John chapter 13, and we’ll pick up the reading in verse 34. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. So much and so little. In verse 34, this new commandment that you love one another how?

Just as I have loved you. By the way, in verse 34, Jesus does not say, you love me the way I loved you. Do you notice that’s not Jesus’ MO here? He says, You love others, not me as Lord. That’s obvious. Not me as your teacher. That was accepted. You love each other. You love others. Going back to Jesus in verse 1 of chapter 13. You love people of the world just as I have loved you. And what have I done? What will I do? Well, John 13, I have sacrificed myself in humility, washing your feet. And moreover, what am I about to do? My time is up. Well, as he told them that was going to have to happen. I’m going to have to go to Jerusalem.

3. Be Like Jesus in Offering Forgiveness

And I’m going to have to die for you. Humbly. Sacrificially, we must serve. But don’t forget the first point that Jesus has this fixation of the big picture. To love others is not a checklist item. To live sacrificially is not, all right, I gotta sacrifice something. Let me see what I can let go of. No. You just serve because God deserves it. Because Jesus has done it all for you. Jesus tells us why to serve him like that and how. Because I have already done it. You serve and love like me. Sacrificially, humbly, focused on the big picture. And so the question remains, when do we be like Jesus? And we’ll conclude with how to be like Jesus. One example of this where it’s very difficult is in offering forgiveness.

Look with me in Matthew chapter 18. In verse 15, one of the most easy to understand and incredibly difficult to practice verses in the New Testament scripture is found in Matthew chapter 18. Jesus loved, remember, sacrificially, humbly. He served first and waiting. But Matthew chapter 18, this is the chapter where the disciples are arguing about who is the greatest. But you come down to verse 15, and Jesus says, if your brother sins against you, now let’s be very clear. If your brother has sinned against you, that means you are the innocent party who has been wronged. Go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. So you think about this. What is being like Jesus mean? It means something very uncomfortable for me. It means that when I have been wronged, I have to not only be willing to offer forgiveness, that’s the next part of chapter 18. Peter says, Well, how many times do I have to forgive my brother? Is it seven times? And in verse 22, Jesus says, I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times, or seventy times seven times, depending on your translation. No. Always offer forgiveness. But in verse 15, it’s not just, alright, I’m going to sit back and be ready when they come and apologize.

If you have been wrong, Jesus says, you go and make it right. Why? Let’s see if this connects with the theme of how Jesus served in John chapter 13. In verse 15, why, if you are wrong, should you go to the person who wronged you? In verse 15, if he listens to you, you have gained your brother. Jesus always has the big picture in mind. This is a very easy concept. That when somebody comes, I have to forgive them. And when somebody does me wrong, I have to go to them. You know where the difficult part is? Me. My part in this, my selfishness in this. Why? Because in verse 15, I was wronged. Why should I have to make it right? I am innocent. In fact, I’m beyond innocent.

I was faulted. My life is worse now because somebody did something against me. By the way, verse 15, paired with verse 17 makes it seem like a brother or sister in Christ, even. Right? Because this is why it would be a church matter. This is somebody who should be close to me. Who I should have a loving relationship with. Not someone trying to tear me down. But if they do, I go and tell them my fault. Now I am not forgetting that in Matthew chapter 5, Jesus says, if you are worshiping and remember that your brother has something against you, you leave your gift at the altar and go and reconcile with your brother. Really, the picture of forgiveness is when you have wronged someone, you go to them.

When you have been wronged by someone, you go to them, and that means you meet where? In the middle. But you know, Jesus doesn’t say in Matthew chapter 18 and verse 15 if your brother sins against you, go halfway and stop right there because they deserve to go the other half of the way. That’s not how Jesus reasons. But sometimes that’s how we reason. I didn’t do anything wrong. They owe me an apology. Jesus says, You go and try to gain your brother. Why in verse 16 then take it to two or three witnesses? To embarrass them? To show them that they don’t get to tell you what’s up? No. Why take it to two or three witnesses that every charge may be established? Verse 17, why take it to the church?

4. Be Like Jesus in Our Marriages

To publicly embarrass them in front of everybody? Of course not. Why? To restore their soul. And that’s why, if someone is unwilling to repent, they should be removed. They should be considered a Gentile or a tax collector amongst the church, someone who lives in open rebellion. This is uncomfortable because it means I have to move first. And nobody likes moving first. And you know where you really see that, where it’s really tough to be like Jesus, even when Scripture explicitly says to be like Jesus, is in our marriages. There’s an example of a husband and wife who got into a squabble and being the mature couple that they were, they refused to talk to each other. And two hours became 12, became 24, became 48 hours until the husband realized the big problem.

The next morning he had to wake up at 5 o’clock to be on a flight. And so, being the mature Christian husband that he was, he took out a piece of paper and wrote to his wife, Will you please wake me up at 5 a.m.? I need to catch a flight tomorrow. And so he went to bed, knowing his wife had read the note on her bedstand. He wakes up and he realizes it’s 9 a.m. He’s missed his flight. And he stands up and he’s going to go finally break the spell of silence and give his wife a piece of his mind until he looks at his bedside and sees a piece of paper that says, It’s 5 a.m. Time to get up.

It’s always difficult to be the first one to move. Look at me in Ephesians chapter 5. Paul understands this idea. We teach this passage on marriage, which it is, but also we forget, he’s drawing an illustration for us that’s greater than that. It’s the relationship of Jesus and the church. Remember in John 13, you love in this new commandment as I have loved you. Our marriages should reflect the love of Christ in the church. That’s an incredibly high standard. Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 22 wives submit to your own husbands as to the Lord, for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now, as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ says the church, because we are members of his body. Verse 33, however, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. You see where this is really difficult, don’t you?

It can leave us upset because in verse 33, we see that we are to love as husbands selflessly. We love ourselves, we take care of ourselves, we’re in it for ourselves. In fact, that’s why Peter has this big problem in John 13 with Jesus washing his feet. Wait a minute, the way I see it, Jesus, you’re up here and I’m down here. You know what the problem is in marriages and relationships and in offering forgiveness? We see ourselves as up here and others as down here. They wronged me. That makes me better. I deserve this. That makes me better. We might never say that. But when we don’t put others first, who are we putting first? Ourselves. So we might not say we think we’re better, but we’re acting like it.

In a marriage, Paul says, no, no, no. Love your wife as yourself and let the wife see that she respects her husband. When you pair verse 22, wife submit, and verse 25, husbands love your wife as Christ loved the church. You see another picture of essentially a meeting in the middle. But there’s a sacrificial love where somebody has to do what Jesus did and move first. You see, in offering forgiveness, the hard part is no one wants to be wrong. No one wants to feel wrong. In a marriage, nobody wants to make the first move or the mature move. But they want to keep it going until somebody gets what’s due to them. You can see very clearly, this isn’t simply a marriage problem at all.

This is a people problem. We put our own interests before that of others. And think about Jesus. He is going to be betrayed by one of the 12 disciples who’s in the room he’s washing feet of. He is going to see the other eleven desert him. One of them promised, I will never betray you. And he says, Yes, you will, three times before the rooster crows. And Peter did. Jesus is focused in verse 1 on the people he loved. Not because they deserved it, but because God and Jesus, his son, are consumed by and with love, selflessly given and offered to us. Which means I must offer that selfless love to others too. This is uncomfortable because it means I have to go out of my way to think of somebody else.

5. Seek to Help People in Need

And it’s really uncomfortable to make myself stop and think, I need to help people in need. In Romans chapter 12, Paul makes this very clear. This is part of being a Christian. This is part of being a child of God. In Romans chapter 12 and verse 9, let love be genuine, abhor what is evil, and fast to what is good. Love one another, verse 10 says, with brotherly affection. Outdo one another and showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, but be fervent in spirit. Serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope. Be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. And you see this in verse 13. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. There’s the word, not hospitality. There’s the word, not love with brotherly affection.

Seek. Do you see that in verse 13? Seek to show hospitality. I have to look to see the problem and then fill that void. That’s what Jesus did. He saw the disciples needed their feet washed. They needed to learn to serve, and so what did he do? He got down and he did it. It didn’t matter that he was above it. It didn’t matter that he was the Lord and they were his servants. It mattered that it needed to be done and a lesson was to be taught. And now we remember what he says at the end of John 13. Remember, he gives that new commandment that you love others as I have loved you. In verse 35, by this all people will know that you are my disciples.

Me living selflessly will convey to the world there is something higher, something better worth living for. Just as Jesus left an impressionable message on the disciples, we can leave that kind of message on the world. That is amazing. That we can have an impact on the world through doing what Jesus says. But am I willing to do that? You see, the problem with helping those in need are we usually have one of two reactions that detracts from that. One is we don’t see it. And we either don’t see it because we’re not looking or because we’re sticking our head in the sand. And that obviously is unacceptable. Secondly, a New Testament problem is, and we find this in James and other passages, that sometimes we show partiality.

We help people who can help us. We see somebody who we like, and so we help them. If Jesus only loved and helped the people he liked, none of us would have any shot through the merit of what we can do for him. Jesus loved despite our failures. Jesus loved despite the cruel, despicable way that he was going to be nailed to the cross. And I can’t get over myself to help somebody who’s in need. I can’t look to a community that needs some help, needs me, not just my money, although that’s nice. They need me. They need the good news of Jesus Christ. That can’t be.

6. Think of Others First and Focus on Where We’re Going

Who did Jesus spend his time with? Yes, the disciples. The sinners. The Pharisees were constantly mad. Jesus, why are you hanging out with tax collectors? Jesus, why are you with the sinners? Because, as Jesus said, those who are well don’t need a physician. Those who are sick need the physician. If we know people are sick and in need and we do nothing about it, what does that say about my character? It certainly doesn’t say he’s like his Lord. And so we look at finally, how do we be like Jesus? The first one is to humbly think of ourselves and think of others first. In Philippians chapter 2, Paul says to do exactly this. I hope you’ll turn there with me. There’s just two passages left this morning.

In Philippians chapter 2, notice Paul says this explicitly to the point. Philippians chapter 2 and verse 3, do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility, count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interest, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind amongst yourselves, which was yours in Christ Jesus. He says, not only are you to be humble, not only do you to look to the needs of others, you’re going to do it like who did? Like Jesus. That bar is incredibly high. But you know what it makes us do? It makes us stop in verse 3 and say, I can’t do this if it’s for my selfish ambition. This life is not about me.

YOLO is true. We only live once. So who do we live for? God. We live for God or we live for ourselves. It is a binary option. That means you choose to live for God or you choose to live for self. There is zero in between. And so when we live for God, what does that look like? Well, in verse 3, we count others more significant than ourselves. What does that look like in a relationship or a marriage or an offering forgiveness? It means I look to somebody and say, they have a need, and because I care about my needs being filled, I care more about their needs being fulfilled. And so I step in to help where I can. Somebody needs forgiveness? I’m going to offer it.

Somebody needs the good news of Jesus, I’m going to offer it. Somebody needs me to help them at their house, I’m going to be there. Somebody needs someone to hold their hand while they’re mourning, I’m going to put my hand up. Just be there. Just serve. Just love. It’s what Jesus did, and he embodied it perfectly. See, the final passage is to focus on where we’re going. Back in John chapter 13, we read this already. In verse 1, he focused on knowing this hour he was going to depart. And in verse 3, he was going back where he came from. He came from God and was going back to God. If I really embraced the idea that I was going to die today, we’d have one of two reactions.

We’d go out and do whatever we wanted because after all I deserve it. I have one more day. Or, if we believed in eternity, we’d say, I got a lot of wrongs to write. And I just have a few hours left to do it. I’m going to live my best for God and prepare for the judgment I know is coming. And as we look at this, Jesus was motivated. He knew his time was up, and he spent his time washing the disciples’ feet. If the time of Jesus before he’s crucified was well spent washing feet, why should I think my life deserves to be spent any less selflessly? He spent his last moments with disciples who would leave him, who would forsake him. And he washed their dirty feet.

If this was my last day, what would I do? And if it’s not, shouldn’t I still be motivated by the fact that I owe God everything? And that it very well could be my last day. I would offer forgiveness. I’ve been withholding. I would get rid of the bitterness that’s weighing me down. I would be on my knees begging for forgiveness from God. Because I know I’m going to be in front of him. Treat this day like it’s your last. Because it could be. Paul would say in Philippians chapter 2, for me to live as Christ, to die is gained. We should embrace the idea of meeting God. It’s not a punishment. It’s a reward for those who paid the price that Jesus paid. Sacrificing self and loving others.

Conclusion

Jesus teaches me I have to sacrifice for someone today. Not tomorrow. Not when somebody comes and drops the perfect opportunity into my lap. I’m going to seek, I’m going to find, and I’m going to serve. Because that’s what Jesus did. Just like the little boys who were arguing over the cake and they were told to be like Jesus, we realize we have to be like Jesus. Jesus was completely subservient to God’s law and his will, even when it was inconvenient for him. And fortunately, allowing him to be the perfect sacrifice, he was unstained by sin, but we are. We are stained by sin. But God makes the way of forgiveness possible. If you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, if you’re willing to confess who He is, what it means that He is Lord and Savior, not only in general, but of you in your life from here on forward.

If you repent of your sins, of your selfishness and choose to live for God rather than self, you can be baptized into the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, and have your sins washed away because Jesus loves and lives selflessly. But maybe you’re a Christian who’s been caught up in distractions. The apostles got distracted. New Testament Christians could get distracted. We can get distracted. Recognize that God wants us to serve, and this very well may be our last moment. This may be our last day. Don’t have any doubt. Make your life right with God today. You only live once. Give God what He’s due. Serve Him, be right with Him. Don’t leave this building with any questions. God can forgive you if you’ll simply make that need known.

If we can help you anyway, come forward as we stand and sing the invitation song.