1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:04,040 Good morning, everybody. Hey everybody that was on spring 2 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:06,560 break. Welcome back, students, parents 3 00:00:06,560 --> 00:00:08,920 of young people. I was just telling someone this 4 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:10,720 morning. Everybody asked me what I did on 5 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:13,200 spring break. And as many of you know, when 6 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:15,480 you become a big kid, you don't get spring break anymore. 7 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:17,880 So I did nothing. I worked. 8 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:21,800 We are in the book of John today. 9 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:24,760 So go ahead and grab a Bible. There's some in the seats below 10 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:27,040 you. You'll see on the screen behind 11 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:30,440 me the verses we're in today as well as the page number if you 12 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:34,000 use a black Bible. And while you're flipping there 13 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:40,280 a story from my life. Today we're talking about PDA. 14 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:43,800 And so here's a story from my life. 15 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:49,160 The year was 2014. Gordon was 18 years old, just 16 00:00:49,160 --> 00:00:54,360 graduated, had the first girl. I was going to bring the church 17 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:58,400 with me and we're walking into the church that I grew up in. 18 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:00,920 So I've got parents and grandparents and family and 19 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:02,880 people who knew me since I was little. 20 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:06,720 We're walking in and I was holding her hand and we got 21 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:10,240 within sight of people. And I do one of these like, oh, 22 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:13,440 hey, and then hands back in my pocket. 23 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:16,760 And so I got out of got out of anybody seeing me hold her hand 24 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:23,120 and on the way in the church. And when, when that's the kit, 25 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:28,760 what I was basically showing by doing that is I like you, but 26 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:36,360 how much I'm willing to show some version of love, but how 27 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:39,760 much and really what that communicates is how much that 28 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:43,280 person has impacted you. If someone's impacted you a lot, 29 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:46,480 like my wife, I will hold her hand and hug her and bring her 30 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:51,960 to church every day. When you've been impacted by 31 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:57,000 someone, it's natural and appropriate to give some level 32 00:01:57,520 --> 00:02:02,800 of love or honor or service. The question is, how much? 33 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:06,400 How much would you honor them? How much would you love them? 34 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:13,720 How much would you serve them? The in the book of John so far, 35 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:17,400 through chapters one through 10, we've been seeing the ministry 36 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:22,360 of Jesus Christ and we've seen how much he has impacted people 37 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:25,880 by who he is and by what he's done. 38 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:28,520 If you've not been with us through the series, I would 39 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:32,440 encourage you go to our Spotify teaching listen to last week. 40 00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:36,120 Josh gave a great recap of the 1st 10 chapters. 41 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:40,400 And now in chapter 1112, we're kind of transitioning into 42 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:42,520 really the last week of Jesus life. 43 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:46,760 But what we've been learning is about what Jesus has done and 44 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:50,080 therefore who he is, the Son of God and the Christ. 45 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:54,960 And if you've been impacted by who Jesus is and what he's done, 46 00:02:55,200 --> 00:03:00,840 it is natural and appropriate to give him honor, love and 47 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:02,120 service. Would you agree? 48 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:05,800 How much? That's the question for today. 49 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:10,320 And so we're going to start. We're going to go through verses 50 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:14,640 one through 11 before we read from God's Word, we're going to 51 00:03:14,640 --> 00:03:17,160 take a moment to pause and make sure our hearts are right. 52 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:20,840 If you come in with sin that you know of, that you've not asked 53 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:24,440 Him to forgive you of, don't try to listen to His Word until 54 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:27,840 you've dealt with that first. If you come in with anxiety, if 55 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:30,760 you come in distracted, if you just know I'm a little bit 56 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:34,120 apathetic or cold today, ask Him for help. 57 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:36,800 That we could get the most out of this teaching today. 58 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:41,480 So brief time to sit and quiet. Then I'll read the text and 59 00:03:41,480 --> 00:04:08,160 pray. John 12, starting in verse 1-6. 60 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:12,160 Days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where 61 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:15,160 Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 62 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:20,240 So they gave a dinner for him. There Martha served Lazarus was 63 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:22,160 one of those reclining with him at the table. 64 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:26,480 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from 65 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:30,760 pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with 66 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:34,200 her hair. The house was filled with the 67 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:38,120 fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his 68 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:42,400 disciples, he who was about to betray him, said, why was this 69 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:45,320 ointment not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor? 70 00:04:45,840 --> 00:04:49,040 He said this not because he cared for the about the poor, 71 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:52,200 but because he was a thief, and having charge of the money bag 72 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:54,800 he used to help himself to what was put into it. 73 00:04:56,080 --> 00:05:00,920 Jesus said, Leave her alone so that she may keep it for the day 74 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:03,480 of my burial. For the poor you always have 75 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:05,560 with you, but you do not always have me. 76 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:09,360 When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, 77 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:13,840 they came not only on account of him, but also to see Lazarus, 78 00:05:13,840 --> 00:05:15,120 whom he had raised from the dead. 79 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:19,440 So the chief priest made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, 80 00:05:19,720 --> 00:05:23,960 because on account of him, many of the Jews were going away and 81 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:29,400 believing in Jesus. Father, thank you for this story 82 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:36,760 that's been like held for us, for us to remember and from us, 83 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:40,560 for us to learn from. We pray we would do that today, 84 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:44,520 that we would learn from this. I pray Jesus that you would let 85 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:50,640 us be free to give you much honor and service and love. 86 00:05:51,840 --> 00:05:55,000 We pray all these things in Jesus name, Amen. 87 00:05:56,880 --> 00:06:00,640 So what I want to do is just give quick overview of the 88 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:03,400 story. John is just one of the four 89 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:08,200 gospels, and then you look at Matthew tells the story too, 90 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:10,320 just from a little bit different vantage point. 91 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:15,040 And Luke or Mark, Mark, I'm checking 'cause there's one 92 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:18,120 story that's very similar. It's in Luke, but it's different 93 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:20,960 stories. Matthew and Mark tell the same 94 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:22,920 story and add a few different details. 95 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:26,040 And it's interesting when you ask three different people what 96 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:29,600 they remember about a scene. It's really interesting when you 97 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:32,680 see different variants 'cause it was especially impactful to 98 00:06:32,680 --> 00:06:35,320 them. And so John has a few things in 99 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:39,000 here that he remembers that you don't see in the other accounts 100 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,920 and vice versa. So basically, first I want to 101 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:49,640 touch on the context or remind us Jesus is deeply impacted 102 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:53,880 Mary, Martha and Lazarus main characters in this story. 103 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:58,200 If you were here a few weeks ago, you saw Jesus knew this 104 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:02,240 family well. And when he gets word from the 105 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:06,600 sisters, he whom you love is ill referring to Lazarus. 106 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:11,200 So there's deep friendship. Jesus waits a couple days, goes 107 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:14,800 Lazarus has been in a tomb for four days dead, and he raises 108 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:19,560 them from the dead. And this is this is today a 109 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:25,920 response to what Jesus has done to this family primarily 6 days 110 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:28,520 before the Passover. Jesus therefore came to Bethany, 111 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:32,720 where Lazarus was, and they gave a dinner for him there, the way 112 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:35,120 it reads. So they gave a dinner for him 113 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:37,440 there. This is a dinner held, an honor 114 00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:39,880 for Jesus. They're throwing a party for him 115 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:42,880 to celebrate him and thank him because they've been deeply 116 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:45,800 impacted by what he's done and who he is. 117 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:49,760 One of the other accounts adds that it's Simon the leper who's 118 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:53,120 hosting this party. Now, if a leper was hosting a 119 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:57,000 party where many Jews were coming into the same house, that 120 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:00,320 means he wasn't a leper anymore. And so Jesus is healed all. 121 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:04,160 He's raised the man back to life and they are holding a dinner 122 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:08,600 and honor for Jesus. And if I now just jump down to 123 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:12,680 verse 9/10/11, what you also see in the scene, what's going on 124 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:16,640 outside of the house is that there are many people that are 125 00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:19,800 coming to see. They might not have been invited 126 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:23,200 to come into the party, but they want to see this Jesus and they 127 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:28,160 want to see Lazarus. Lazarus alive is proof that 128 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:32,240 Jesus is resurrection. And life, which he's promised. 129 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:36,320 And so the chief priest, the leaders that we saw a few weeks 130 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:40,159 ago, especially last week, they have made their choice about 131 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:42,600 Jesus. They're not interested in him. 132 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:47,120 They believe he should be condemned to death, really to 133 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:50,480 suit their own purposes, so that their life isn't messed up. 134 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:55,560 They can keep their place. They now want to kill Lazarus 135 00:08:55,560 --> 00:08:59,080 too, which if you think about it, Lazarus is evidence. 136 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:02,280 They are intentionally trying to bury evidence. 137 00:09:02,560 --> 00:09:06,480 They are being false witnesses. They want to corroborate the 138 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:13,280 details or they want to mess up the details to keep the many 139 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:16,000 Jews who are going away and believing in Jesus. 140 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:18,640 And so that's going on outside the house. 141 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:22,160 Then back inside the house you've got verse 3. 142 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:25,720 Right before Martha serving, Lazarus was sitting at the 143 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:28,280 table. Mary therefore took a pound of 144 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:30,680 expensive ointment made from pure nard. 145 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:33,440 This is like any ladies use essential oils. 146 00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:39,080 OK, the costliest essential oil out there, 300 denarii is the 147 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:42,440 equivalent of a year's wage. How much do you make in a year? 148 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:48,440 OK, the a mean or average based on the data I found around 149 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:52,840 $50,000. Kate basically burned, poured 150 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:54,800 out. You can't get it back and 151 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:58,040 worship to Jesus. She pours out this, this 152 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:03,000 fragrance of perfume on Jesus, the other accounts say on his 153 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:05,240 head. And so picture her going up, 154 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:08,280 breaking the flask so it cannot be put back. 155 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:11,000 She's not interested in keeping a little bit or any of it. 156 00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:13,960 She's pouring it all out. She breaks it, the other 157 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:17,800 accounts say on his head first to anoint him and then she gets 158 00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:20,440 down low and wipes his feet with her. 159 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:26,640 This caused such a reaction out of Judas especially. 160 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:31,000 But before you paint Judas as the only bad guy the other 161 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:35,720 accounts say, and many others or the disciples, they were 162 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:38,880 indignant at this. Judas is the one probably that 163 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:41,680 just piped up and said something, but they were all 164 00:10:41,680 --> 00:10:45,120 just really thrown off because this would be countercultural. 165 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:49,360 For Mary to take her hair down, For Mary to do the job of the 166 00:10:49,360 --> 00:10:52,520 housemaids to get down low and wash his feet. 167 00:10:52,680 --> 00:10:57,920 For Mary to pour out something worth $50,000 all gone in a 168 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:00,360 moment. This was countercultural. 169 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:04,560 This offended Judas pipes up. Why was this ointment not sold? 170 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:07,600 You could have done so much better things to serve Jesus and 171 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:13,280 His Kingdom than this. Jesus then in the later verses 172 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:18,160 commends Mary, I love there's a line in one of the other 173 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:20,520 accounts where Jesus says, why do you trouble her? 174 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:24,000 She has done a beautiful thing. And Jesus goes on to say 175 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:29,000 wherever the gospel goes in all of the world, this story will be 176 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:32,080 told in memory of her. Isn't that incredible? 177 00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:37,000 Mary gets memorialized. This goes down in history. 178 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:39,560 The proof of that statement is here today. 179 00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:42,920 Wherever the Gospel goes, this story is told in memory of her. 180 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:48,520 How special, how honorable, Like how much is Jesus honoring her 181 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:54,240 through her first honoring him. Jesus says the poor you always 182 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:56,240 have with you. You don't always have me. 183 00:11:56,400 --> 00:12:00,000 This is a special moment that Mary won't get again, but she 184 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:02,040 takes advantage. She's free enough to give it to 185 00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:06,960 him in this moment. And so that's basically the gist 186 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:08,960 of the story. And there's three things I want 187 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:12,640 to highlight about Mary and her display. 188 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:19,480 You could say her PDA, her display of love, service, and 189 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:23,400 honor to Jesus, and all of us would agree. 190 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:27,280 If you've been impacted by somebody, they deserve a level 191 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:32,880 of honor, service, and love. But how much? 192 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:39,840 So let's start with honor. If we look at the story, there's 193 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:45,880 some specific things we see that communicate honor to Jesus. 194 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:51,240 And so first they're throwing a party to honor Jesus. 195 00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:53,840 You know how much energy goes into throwing a party? 196 00:12:54,280 --> 00:12:57,400 Any of you hosted before? Any of you done a big party? 197 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:01,280 This is a big party. You've got people serving to put 198 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:03,360 this on. You've got people that are 199 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:07,680 attending the party, OK, preferring this over other other 200 00:13:07,680 --> 00:13:10,320 things they're saying. I want to put this first. 201 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:14,720 To honor someone is to show them, to show the significance 202 00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:19,120 of what they're worth. More than myself, more than 203 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:21,960 other things, more than tradition. 204 00:13:22,880 --> 00:13:26,800 They're they're throwing a party and making Jesus their honored 205 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:30,240 guest. Presumably there's a big table, 206 00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:32,080 and who's at the head of the table? 207 00:13:32,560 --> 00:13:36,000 Presumably their honored guest. And Lazarus is sitting there 208 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:40,320 enjoying his company and many others other things you see in 209 00:13:40,320 --> 00:13:42,560 the story. It would have been common to get 210 00:13:42,560 --> 00:13:46,280 like the regular anointing oil to anoint an honored guest. 211 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:49,960 Mary doesn't get the regular anointing oil, she gets the good 212 00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:51,960 stuff. Which again shows the 213 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:55,400 significance of what Jesus, their honored guest, is worth. 214 00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:04,200 Mary goes over the top for an over the top person in an over 215 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:06,920 the top way. This all communicates honor, 216 00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:11,120 even by Mary getting low. OK, before we talk about her 217 00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:14,760 actually washing his feet, just the nature of getting low and 218 00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:17,760 being at his feet is giving honor. 219 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:21,000 It's that of bowing to someone more significant. 220 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:24,760 In the store, you see different versions of honor. 221 00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:27,840 You see Simon the leper hosting, and you see other people 222 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:30,160 attending. But how much? 223 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:34,920 Mary's the one that pushes the line way back in what she's 224 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:40,440 willing and able to and free to do in order to honor Jesus. 225 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:46,280 And so question, what is your line with Jesus? 226 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:48,840 How much would you do to honor Jesus? 227 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:54,160 And I'm just going to, I'm going to try to inch you and challenge 228 00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:55,680 you. Where's your line? 229 00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:58,640 Where would you say I wouldn't do that? 230 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:02,560 I'll hold her hand when no one's looking, but I won't hold her 231 00:15:02,560 --> 00:15:06,880 hand when I go to church. Would you attend a party or an 232 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:11,080 event to honor Jesus? You're doing it now. 233 00:15:11,080 --> 00:15:13,640 So yes. The reason why we have a Sunday 234 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:17,480 service is to make much of our honored guest. 235 00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:22,760 Would you come regularly? Regularly. 236 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:25,920 Would you Orient your life in a way that would let you be here 237 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:28,880 regularly at this event to honor Jesus? 238 00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:31,360 Would you come to a worship night? 239 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:35,800 How long of a worship night? One hour. 240 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:39,520 Would you come if it was 2? Would you come if it was a three 241 00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:44,000 hour worship night? Would you fill your home with 242 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:46,000 worship? Would it? 243 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:48,560 Would it be in the house every day? 244 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:52,400 What would that tell your kids about how much you honor Jesus? 245 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:59,360 Would you put energy into serving to help put on that 246 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:03,360 event for the honored guest? How much would you honor Jesus? 247 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:07,520 Mary's gift was costly too. It wasn't the good, wasn't the 248 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:11,000 common stuff. Would you give your money to 249 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:14,560 honor Jesus? You know, there's a study. 250 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:22,120 Barna says 21% of Christians donate 10% or more to Jesus. 251 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:28,720 Only 21% of professing Christians give 10% or more. 252 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:32,840 And so will you give the common amount that the common or 253 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:37,160 average of the Christians give? Will you give 10% a tithe? 254 00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:40,320 Would you give 15? Would you give 20? 255 00:16:41,840 --> 00:16:47,320 Would you? Would you go over the top for 256 00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:52,040 the over the top guest? Would you make counter cultural 257 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:55,560 choices? OK again to let your hair down? 258 00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:58,320 To do something that would offend tradition or others 259 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:00,880 opinions? Would you do count? 260 00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:05,640 Make countercultural choices to show the significance of Jesus 261 00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:10,359 and what he's worth over what's easy, what your preference is, 262 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:12,319 what other people think is normal. 263 00:17:13,119 --> 00:17:16,119 Would you honor Jesus when you bump up against something in the 264 00:17:16,119 --> 00:17:22,480 Bible that countercultural? Would you honor him with what he 265 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:26,640 says about marriage? Would you honor him with what he 266 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:29,040 says about holiness? Purity. 267 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:33,320 Would you pay 2 rents until you got married? 268 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:37,880 Where's your line? What would you do to show that 269 00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:43,040 Jesus is worthy of all honor? Or would you keep your hair up 270 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:49,320 and get the common oil? There's a verse in Malachi where 271 00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:53,520 God is speaking through the prophet Malachi and God says a 272 00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:57,040 son honors his father and a servant his master. 273 00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:02,280 If I then, if I then am a Father, where is my honor? 274 00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:05,360 If I am a master, where is my fear? 275 00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:09,480 Says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests who despise my name. 276 00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:14,440 These were priests who were Christians in name only, OK? 277 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:17,720 That is the literal definition of nominal, OK? 278 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:21,880 They profess to be believers, and yet they are giving him 279 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:25,680 polluted sacrifices. They they are, they are not 280 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:28,000 honoring him with his whole, with their holiness. 281 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:32,760 And by doing that, they are dishonoring God and God is 282 00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:34,880 rebuking them saying, where's my honor? 283 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:39,080 You say, now I'm bringing it back to us. 284 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:43,080 You say that you're a Christian, which means I have been so 285 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:47,120 deeply impacted by what Jesus did on the cross to forgive me 286 00:18:47,120 --> 00:18:50,480 of my sins and give me new life to make me a son. 287 00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:53,960 And now I'm your father. If you say that, where is my 288 00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:59,240 honor? How much does your life evidence 289 00:18:59,560 --> 00:19:05,680 or show that Jesus is your Lord, that he is your honored guest, 290 00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:11,520 that he has deeply impacted you so much so that your life is not 291 00:19:11,520 --> 00:19:16,760 the same? There was a story here at Vita I 292 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:18,560 was. One of my favorite things to do 293 00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:21,600 as a pastor is meet with people about baptism because what 294 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:25,320 they're saying is I've been so deeply impacted by Jesus that I 295 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:27,000 want to stand up and tell everybody. 296 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:29,360 I want to honor him. I want to tell everybody that 297 00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:31,880 he's my Lord now and I commit to follow him with the rest of my 298 00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:34,000 life. So I was meeting, having one of 299 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:36,840 those meetings with someone. And at the end we're like, Yep, 300 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:39,000 you got to go ahead. You need to be baptized. 301 00:19:39,360 --> 00:19:41,840 And he asked me, Gordon, could I wear a suit? 302 00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:45,440 Because I think I was getting into like, wear dark clothing, 303 00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:47,200 you know, like you're going to be wet in front of a bunch of 304 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:50,320 people, the normal stuff. And he says, can I wear a suit? 305 00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:52,680 I was like, well, first tell, tell me why? 306 00:19:53,160 --> 00:19:57,480 And he goes on to say, well, I've worn a suit on all of my 307 00:19:57,480 --> 00:19:59,600 best days. You know, you like wear a suit 308 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:04,000 on your wedding day. Why wouldn't I wear a suit on 309 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:07,320 this day? It's like, yes, you can wear a 310 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:08,840 suit. Go for it. 311 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:12,600 Where's your line? How much would you do to honor 312 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:15,400 Jesus? What about service? 313 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:18,680 When you've been impacted by someone, it is natural and 314 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:20,880 appropriate to give them service. 315 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:24,200 How much? If someone jumps in front of a 316 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:27,520 bullet for you, wouldn't you be willing to serve them? 317 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:30,560 Wouldn't you be willing to do just about anything for them? 318 00:20:30,560 --> 00:20:33,840 What wouldn't you do for someone that sacrificed their own life 319 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:37,840 for you? In the story, she washes his 320 00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:39,880 feet. OK, She literally serves him. 321 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:45,880 She unknowingly serves him in a greater way because Jesus later 322 00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:48,920 says she's not only washed my feet, she prepared me for 323 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:51,400 burial. Jesus knows that he's going to 324 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:53,960 the cross. So what Mary, if you think about 325 00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:59,040 it, what Mary unknowingly does is she unknowingly helps advance 326 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:03,280 the gospel through her service. Jesus had to go to the cross and 327 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:09,200 she helped him get there. She helps helps advance the 328 00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:13,680 gospel by preparing his body for burial. 329 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:17,040 And this is simply with what she had on hand. 330 00:21:17,360 --> 00:21:19,520 And I say simply what she had on hand. 331 00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:23,280 This was more than just an everyday household item. 332 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:27,240 This is what many Jews would have basically put their 333 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:29,480 inheritance into or their retirement into. 334 00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:33,640 OK, if you don't have a bank to go deposit things to, then trust 335 00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:36,680 them to hold on to it. Go get some really expensive 336 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:39,720 ointment, put it in a jar and put it on a high shelf and that 337 00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:41,640 can be sold at any time if you needed it. 338 00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:46,840 It's a rainy day fund, probably. She goes and gets that, and 339 00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:51,280 that's what she uses to wash and to advance the gospel. 340 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:56,120 It is sacrificial service, not just any old service. 341 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:02,760 In the story, we see many people serving, right? 342 00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:06,000 Martha's serving Lazarus in his own way just by sitting there 343 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:08,920 and enjoying his company. Host helping host him is 344 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:11,640 serving. There's many people serving, but 345 00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:15,320 Mary just pushes the line. What are you willing to do? 346 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:22,560 How how much would you serve him now as a clarifier, the primary 347 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:26,760 way we serve Jesus today is by serving his people and his 348 00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:29,200 church. OK, Jesus says if you give a cup 349 00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:32,560 of cold water to one of these little ones, it's as if you're 350 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:35,640 you've done it for me. OK, He has dialogue with his 351 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:38,680 disciples where they're he's like, if you give a coat to me 352 00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:41,160 or clothe me or feed me, like when? 353 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:44,840 When will we do That said, if you've done it to any of these, 354 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:48,520 it's as if you've done it to me. One of the ways we serve Jesus 355 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:52,360 is by serving his people. And Jesus has chosen the local 356 00:22:52,360 --> 00:22:55,760 church as the thing that would advance the gospel after the 357 00:22:55,760 --> 00:22:57,640 cross until the end when he comes back. 358 00:22:57,880 --> 00:22:59,440 This is what advances the gospel. 359 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:01,240 This is what carries truth forward. 360 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:03,880 This is what tells the world around us about him. 361 00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:08,280 This is what helps care for believers among us. 362 00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:12,880 So when you serve his people or the church, you're serving him. 363 00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:18,280 So would you serve him? And at a very basic level, would 364 00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:21,600 you serve serve him? Would you serve in the local 365 00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:23,920 church? Would you do it regularly? 366 00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:27,680 Would you greet, greet in front of the door? 367 00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:29,920 It's pretty easy. Would you scrub a toilet? 368 00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:35,400 Would you give 2 hours a week, 6 hours a week? 369 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:39,720 You know, some of our worship team members, they came early at 370 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:41,560 8:00 AM today. They're staying late just to 371 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:43,880 practice for the worship night that many of us will get to come 372 00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:47,080 to next week. And how about outside of the 373 00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:48,600 local church? Because that's not all. 374 00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:51,640 How about just going out and being salt and light in our 375 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:53,480 community? Would you serve others? 376 00:23:54,120 --> 00:23:57,720 Would you serve other nonprofits that are helping make disciples 377 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:00,880 in our city? Would you give towards missions 378 00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:03,400 to serve what people are doing across the world for him? 379 00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:09,720 How much would you do? What has he given you? 380 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:15,280 What has he given Mary? Would she look across the shelf 381 00:24:15,280 --> 00:24:18,480 and say, Nah, there's my line. I wouldn't give that. 382 00:24:18,880 --> 00:24:22,800 What has he given you? And would you give it? 383 00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:26,640 If he asked you, would you give it and service to the gospel? 384 00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:31,640 Has he given you money again? Would you give a portion of that 385 00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:34,120 back to Him to help serve His mission? 386 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:39,840 Would you make a generosity budget in your budget? 387 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:42,520 Would you put a category for generosity just to be generous 388 00:24:42,520 --> 00:24:44,520 to others, to give a cup of cold water? 389 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:49,560 Has He given you a business? Would you use that? 390 00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:52,480 Would you leverage it for the advance of the gospel? 391 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:55,840 How much? How much profit would you give? 392 00:24:56,760 --> 00:25:00,160 How much of its mission or purpose or DNA would you 393 00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:02,880 leverage for Jesus, not for yourself? 394 00:25:03,360 --> 00:25:05,120 How much would you give in service to Him? 395 00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:13,040 Now, I know once once you're relatively free to give a lot 396 00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:15,440 and service to him. You serve in a church, you serve 397 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:20,720 elsewhere, you give a tithe. You know how much I I know 398 00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:25,120 there's usually then like these big questions that come like if 399 00:25:25,120 --> 00:25:28,200 you asked me to go to China, would I If you asked me to do a 400 00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:31,440 church plant, would I If you asked me to foster a child, 401 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:33,720 would I? And those are some of the 402 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:37,520 questions that I don't know, I think I used to ask it out of 403 00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:41,280 fear not I think it's good to wrestle with. 404 00:25:41,960 --> 00:25:44,360 Would you? If he asked you, would you? 405 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:47,960 You just can't have an assumption that he's going to 406 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:50,480 make you live the hardest life. OK? 407 00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:52,480 Jesus has a good life prepared for you. 408 00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:57,160 And if he asked you, would you trust that that will be good for 409 00:25:57,160 --> 00:26:01,320 him and good for you? You know that song we sing a 410 00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:03,440 lot? For his glory and my good, Those 411 00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:05,440 things go together. Would you? 412 00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:08,280 If he asked you to go somewhere, would you? 413 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:15,880 I think one of the stories that'll get me choked up more 414 00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:19,400 than anything is someone that sacrifices much to go. 415 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:23,720 And I think it's because it's like at the very heart of the 416 00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:29,120 Great Commission, go and tell and baptize and make disciples. 417 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:34,600 Would you, if he asked you, would you let me talk to those 418 00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:38,400 of you that you're young, you don't have a wife and kids yet? 419 00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:42,360 Now, if you have a wife and kids, you're not excused from 420 00:26:42,360 --> 00:26:45,640 this question, but I'm I'm talking primarily to those 421 00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:50,560 you're in the most flexible available time in your life. 422 00:26:51,120 --> 00:26:53,160 OK, This would be the time to go big. 423 00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:56,720 If he asked you, if you're considering, if your ears are 424 00:26:56,720 --> 00:27:02,320 open, would you give up a summer instead of doing the prestigious 425 00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:05,400 internship that'll give you the most likelihood for the job that 426 00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:07,240 you want? Would you give that up if he 427 00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:11,360 asked you to and just stay and serve or go do something 428 00:27:11,360 --> 00:27:14,160 completely different to serve? Would you? 429 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:20,040 Would you after graduating, say I'm going to delay my dream job 430 00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:24,680 and I'm going to give 2 years a very intentional ministry. 431 00:27:25,360 --> 00:27:28,760 I'm going to take a job that's so flexible that I can just 432 00:27:28,760 --> 00:27:33,160 volunteer so much time to serve Jesus and his people. 433 00:27:34,360 --> 00:27:39,120 The Mormons do it, think about it, and they're compelled by 434 00:27:39,120 --> 00:27:47,760 duty and a false religion. If you've been impacted by 435 00:27:47,760 --> 00:27:52,240 Jesus, he's the only one that would go to the cross for you, 436 00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:53,560 that would jump in front of a bullet. 437 00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:57,000 What wouldn't you do to serve him if he asked? 438 00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:01,960 I grew up in a house where my dad was a pastor. 439 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:04,880 My grandpa was a pastor. I loved serving in the church. 440 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:09,680 OK, I had a line, maybe further than most my age, but every time 441 00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:11,360 people asked me, are you going to go in? 442 00:28:11,360 --> 00:28:12,640 Are you just going to be a pastor? 443 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:16,200 That was my line. Nope, I'm not going to do that. 444 00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:21,880 You can chuckle because I when I actually realized what I wanted 445 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:25,640 to do, I came here for college at UFI, started taking classes 446 00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:28,880 in communication. I got a degree in videography 447 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:32,560 and as I got into videography, I'm like this, this is it. 448 00:28:32,560 --> 00:28:34,000 This is what I'm passionate about. 449 00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:36,080 I want to travel and make videos. 450 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:39,080 That's my dream. And I want to serve Jesus. 451 00:28:39,080 --> 00:28:44,800 Yes, but I'm going to do it while traveling and making 452 00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:48,600 videos. And then I get to two months out 453 00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:53,000 from graduation date, I have an interview at what would be my my 454 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:56,160 preferred marketing agency here in town. 455 00:28:56,160 --> 00:28:58,840 I had an interview set. I'm praying about it one 456 00:28:58,840 --> 00:29:02,600 morning, one random ordinary morning, and I'm not excited 457 00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:05,280 about it. And I'm confused because this is 458 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:07,400 supposed to be my dream job. This is what I want to do. 459 00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:09,480 I want to travel and make videos, and here's how I can do 460 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:11,840 it. And I can stay in Gainesville 461 00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:14,760 and serve in the church. And I was confused. 462 00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:17,400 And so I just asked God again, what do you want me to do when I 463 00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:20,920 graduate? And I swear to you, I had a 464 00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:25,120 picture come flash across my mind, and it was a vivid picture 465 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:27,880 of an empty suitcase. And what do you think God was 466 00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:30,800 telling me? You're not going to travel and 467 00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:34,200 make videos? And the next question out of my 468 00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:38,080 mouth in prayer was God, do you want me to work at the church? 469 00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:40,800 Just work at the church. I was serving a ton. 470 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:43,320 I was on campus every week handing out invites, setting up 471 00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:45,000 a table. I was here setting up chairs, a 472 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:47,680 leading a small group. Yeah, I was serving a lot. 473 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:50,720 I realized the church was growing and I had been honestly 474 00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:53,920 very impacted by Jesus through this local church. 475 00:29:55,080 --> 00:29:57,600 And so I asked, do you want me to serve at the church? 476 00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:02,040 And again, I swear to you, a vivid picture crosses my mind 477 00:30:02,360 --> 00:30:05,480 and it's a Lantern. And I knew in the Lantern it was 478 00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:10,480 anointing oil and it was being tipped out over my head, which 479 00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:13,280 if you know the Old Testament, that's that's setting someone 480 00:30:13,280 --> 00:30:16,960 apart for ministry. And so I wrote it down in my 481 00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:18,400 journal. I went about my day. 482 00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:21,240 By lunch, I'd already forgotten it and applied to other jobs. 483 00:30:25,320 --> 00:30:27,880 And then later that afternoon, I had a meeting with our lead 484 00:30:27,880 --> 00:30:31,520 pastor, Tony, just to catch up. We caught up for maybe an hour. 485 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:34,600 And at the end, there was just kind of this pause in the 486 00:30:34,600 --> 00:30:38,000 conversation and I the IT was all coming back to me. 487 00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:40,640 And I think still I'm being bothered by what that dream 488 00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:42,880 meant. So I just asked him, Tony, how 489 00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:44,360 do you know if a dream is from God? 490 00:30:45,120 --> 00:30:48,720 And he asked me what it was. And I told him the first part, 491 00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:51,880 the empty suitcase. And then I noticed he's just 492 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:55,200 bawling with tears. And he said, Gordon, the reason 493 00:30:55,200 --> 00:30:57,560 we're actually meeting is because the board is met. 494 00:30:57,600 --> 00:31:00,640 And today was to ask you if you would consider coming on staff 495 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:03,600 as a pastor. The same day that I had that in 496 00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:07,080 the morning in prayer. And then then I start crying. 497 00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:08,800 And I was like, you haven't even heard the second part of the 498 00:31:08,800 --> 00:31:16,680 dream and I've not looked back. It was hard, honestly. 499 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:19,480 It was hard to grieve that other life. 500 00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:24,240 And I remember it took those two months of finishing school until 501 00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:26,800 I started. Since then I've never looked 502 00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:30,720 back. Now what I want clear for all of 503 00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:34,080 you is that full time ministry or going overseas is not what 504 00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:37,640 equals maturity. Being willing does. 505 00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:42,560 Would you be willing to if he asked a mature Christian, when 506 00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:47,680 Jesus says, hey, I want you to do this if he compels you, a 507 00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:53,200 mature Christian says, yes, Lord, I'll serve you this much. 508 00:31:56,160 --> 00:31:58,840 And the last one, love, Jesus deserves love. 509 00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:01,760 When you've been impacted by someone, it is natural and 510 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:04,160 appropriate. And here's the one that if you 511 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:08,760 if you get honor and you get service, this is maybe the one 512 00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:13,520 that'll that'll challenge. She broke the jar. 513 00:32:14,360 --> 00:32:18,080 She what she took her hair and wiped his feet. 514 00:32:18,080 --> 00:32:20,720 Imagine that scene. That would be uncomfortable in 515 00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:22,880 our day. That would be uncomfortable in 516 00:32:22,880 --> 00:32:26,120 their day. She wipes his feet with her 517 00:32:26,120 --> 00:32:28,840 hair. She breaks the jar. 518 00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:32,440 That very expensive ointment. It's gone. 519 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:35,560 Why? Because she didn't need it back. 520 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:39,200 This was just a gift. This was a love. 521 00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:44,640 This was Apda for Jesus, for love. 522 00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:47,400 It's less about a particular action or behavior. 523 00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:50,400 It's more about that internal feeling, which will look 524 00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:54,800 different for everybody, OK? For Martha, we can't assume that 525 00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:57,800 she wasn't loving Jesus. She was doing it in her own way. 526 00:32:57,800 --> 00:32:59,240 That's what she felt compelled to do. 527 00:32:59,520 --> 00:33:02,920 For Lazarus, he's sitting at the table loving Jesus. 528 00:33:02,920 --> 00:33:05,720 Probably he just raised me to life. 529 00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:08,720 I'm enjoying his company. I'm reclining with him at this 530 00:33:08,720 --> 00:33:11,840 table. OK, love is internal and it 531 00:33:11,840 --> 00:33:19,040 expresses itself differently, but but if he so compelled you 532 00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:22,800 to do something that would be countercultural, radical, get 533 00:33:22,800 --> 00:33:27,520 the judgment of the Judas and the disciples, would you, Would 534 00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:30,000 you? Mary was free enough. 535 00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:34,440 I think she felt compelled. I was trying to think about 536 00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:36,280 where to fit this in, but let me fit it in here. 537 00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:38,760 There's a word in here that was really bugging me. 538 00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:43,480 It's in verse 3. Mary, therefore, any time I see 539 00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:46,080 a word that like, you could take that word out and the sentence 540 00:33:46,080 --> 00:33:48,600 would still make sense. So why is that word in there? 541 00:33:48,920 --> 00:33:50,520 Now? This is just the result of 542 00:33:50,520 --> 00:33:52,080 Gordon chewing. I'm not telling you this is 543 00:33:52,080 --> 00:33:55,560 exactly how it went. But this is what I think the way 544 00:33:55,560 --> 00:33:59,480 the story goes it, it places everybody in the scene and it's 545 00:33:59,480 --> 00:34:02,880 Martha over here and Martha's serving. 546 00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:06,480 And I picture Mary looking over and like, OK, there's Martha. 547 00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:08,320 And then she looks over at the table. 548 00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:10,400 OK, there's Lazarus. He's just reclining. 549 00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:15,080 But I think Mary has this moment of being compelled to love Jesus 550 00:34:15,080 --> 00:34:19,600 in a greater in a greater way. She looks at Jesus's feet. 551 00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:23,600 Nobody's washed them. Why is nobody washing the King's 552 00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:25,760 feet? Look at what Jesus is. 553 00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:27,679 Don't you see what he's done for her family? 554 00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:33,080 Jesus, life and resurrection. He's the one that's promising 555 00:34:33,080 --> 00:34:35,239 eternal life, that we'll be with him forever. 556 00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:37,560 He's the Christ, the anointed one. 557 00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:39,639 Why? That's what the word Christ 558 00:34:39,639 --> 00:34:42,440 means, the anointed one sent by God from heaven. 559 00:34:43,040 --> 00:34:44,960 And he's here. I'm looking at his flesh. 560 00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:47,360 Why is nobody anointing his head? 561 00:34:48,800 --> 00:34:50,679 He raised my brother from the dead. 562 00:34:50,679 --> 00:34:53,120 Why is nobody serving? Why Lazarus? 563 00:34:53,120 --> 00:34:55,840 Maybe she's not judging Lazarus. Maybe he's doing absolutely the 564 00:34:55,840 --> 00:34:57,880 right thing. But Lazarus, you're just sitting 565 00:34:57,880 --> 00:35:00,480 there. There's got to be more. 566 00:35:01,040 --> 00:35:06,640 And so Mary, therefore, therefore she took the ointment 567 00:35:07,360 --> 00:35:11,200 and she said that this is the only natural and appropriate way 568 00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:18,080 that I can think of to honor and serve and love Jesus. 569 00:35:18,720 --> 00:35:22,360 And so married. Therefore, the question is, 570 00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:27,280 would you be free enough to have that thought go across your 571 00:35:27,280 --> 00:35:31,600 brain to have that compelling? Would you be free enough? 572 00:35:32,240 --> 00:35:35,080 Or would you say, oh, but what's Judas going to think? 573 00:35:36,040 --> 00:35:39,720 What are the disciples? This, this like it's not 574 00:35:39,720 --> 00:35:42,880 cultural to do this. That's for the housemaids. 575 00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:45,160 I'll let I'll let someone else do it. 576 00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:48,040 I'll just go and I'll I'll love him by helping Martha in the 577 00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:51,480 kitchen. I'll just stay where I'm at. 578 00:35:51,480 --> 00:35:53,840 It's comfortable here. I'll love him some other time. 579 00:35:55,240 --> 00:35:58,240 Or would you in a moment like this is the moment. 580 00:35:58,240 --> 00:36:00,640 If Mary doesn't do it now, she won't get this opportunity 581 00:36:00,640 --> 00:36:03,120 again. She'll look back on the regret, 582 00:36:03,120 --> 00:36:05,600 wishing, wishing I had done this. 583 00:36:06,040 --> 00:36:11,520 Would you be free enough when you have that to therefore to 584 00:36:11,600 --> 00:36:15,760 therefore there is a Have you ever felt in a worship set where 585 00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:19,360 the whole room is bursting? Would you be free enough to join 586 00:36:19,360 --> 00:36:22,120 them? Would you therefore lift your 587 00:36:22,120 --> 00:36:27,160 voice and burst too? Would you lift your hands? 588 00:36:27,160 --> 00:36:31,080 Would you express or would you care about the Judases and the 589 00:36:31,080 --> 00:36:35,320 other disciples? What would you be willing to do 590 00:36:35,680 --> 00:36:40,600 to give Jesus the honor, service, and love that he 591 00:36:40,600 --> 00:36:44,880 deserves? Let me talk to the the 592 00:36:44,880 --> 00:36:46,960 professing nominal Christians in the room. 593 00:36:46,960 --> 00:36:50,040 Maybe you don't know who you are, but there's a category for 594 00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:53,240 this in Scripture. Those that honor him, those that 595 00:36:53,240 --> 00:36:55,080 serve him, but those that don't love him. 596 00:36:55,800 --> 00:36:58,280 This is the one that really sets it apart. 597 00:36:58,320 --> 00:37:01,440 Love. OK, think about there's a 598 00:37:02,760 --> 00:37:05,600 there's a verse in Matthew 7 where people come to Jesus. 599 00:37:05,600 --> 00:37:08,360 They say, Lord, Lord, haven't we cast out many demons in your 600 00:37:08,360 --> 00:37:11,920 name? Haven't we served in your name? 601 00:37:12,240 --> 00:37:14,840 And Jesus says, depart from me, you wicked servant. 602 00:37:14,840 --> 00:37:17,720 I never knew you. We didn't have relationship, we 603 00:37:17,720 --> 00:37:20,480 didn't have love. This is the one that sets it 604 00:37:20,480 --> 00:37:22,640 apart. You know the the story of the 605 00:37:22,640 --> 00:37:26,760 rich young ruler He honored, but he had a line. 606 00:37:27,480 --> 00:37:30,440 OK, Jesus, I've done all these things from my youth. 607 00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:34,280 I've obeyed all these commands. And when Jesus tests him, he 608 00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:37,320 pushes the line. Would you sell everything you 609 00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:40,720 have and come and follow me? There's his line. 610 00:37:41,160 --> 00:37:44,120 It's possible to honor him but not love him, To serve him but 611 00:37:44,120 --> 00:37:46,840 not love him. Do you love them? 612 00:37:47,560 --> 00:37:50,160 You think about the Marys. You think about the Abrahams in 613 00:37:50,160 --> 00:37:53,840 the Old Testament. Who leaves his homeland to obey 614 00:37:53,840 --> 00:37:56,280 God? Who would give up the child of 615 00:37:56,280 --> 00:37:59,680 promise? Who would be willing to if God 616 00:37:59,680 --> 00:38:02,920 asked him? OK, these are the ones that 617 00:38:02,920 --> 00:38:07,040 honor, serve and love. What about you? 618 00:38:07,080 --> 00:38:15,840 Where's your line? You know, Jesus had a line, was 619 00:38:15,840 --> 00:38:19,160 tempted with a line. You know, Jesus in the Garden of 620 00:38:19,160 --> 00:38:24,680 Gethsemane, and I think it's good. 621 00:38:24,800 --> 00:38:26,520 I think it's right that we could do this. 622 00:38:26,520 --> 00:38:30,720 But we could say he had us on our minds, us on his mind. 623 00:38:31,320 --> 00:38:34,560 He's in the garden and the Father has asked him to go all 624 00:38:34,560 --> 00:38:39,480 the way to the cross and to die an unjust death to pay for yours 625 00:38:39,480 --> 00:38:43,120 and my sins. And Jesus is tempted with a 626 00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:46,720 line, isn't he, Father, Not this cup? 627 00:38:47,440 --> 00:38:51,080 Is there any other way? Is there any other way that I 628 00:38:51,080 --> 00:38:53,080 could bring them in other than the cross? 629 00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:56,360 And he's agonizing. He's sweating blood. 630 00:38:58,360 --> 00:39:01,160 And then he says there's no line. 631 00:39:01,640 --> 00:39:03,600 There's nothing I wouldn't do to honor the Father. 632 00:39:03,600 --> 00:39:06,600 There's nothing I wouldn't do to serve him, Father, Not my will, 633 00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:09,520 but yours, with you and me and mine. 634 00:39:09,600 --> 00:39:12,560 Jesus does that, and he does go to the cross, and he does die an 635 00:39:12,560 --> 00:39:16,600 unjust death, and he does endure the pain for the joy that was 636 00:39:16,600 --> 00:39:19,960 set before him, which is that he would be lifted up and honored 637 00:39:20,280 --> 00:39:22,520 in heaven forever, the everlasting King. 638 00:39:22,800 --> 00:39:25,800 And we would be able to come in. And one day we're going to sit 639 00:39:25,800 --> 00:39:30,080 at the table with them, reclining, serving, enjoying, 640 00:39:30,080 --> 00:39:33,600 loving, all because of what Jesus has done for us. 641 00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:39,200 If you've been so impacted by Jesus, what He's done for you, 642 00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:43,200 and who He is, what will you therefore do? 643 00:39:45,200 --> 00:39:48,920 What has He done for you? Has He forgiven you of all your 644 00:39:48,920 --> 00:39:51,800 sin? Has He given you a new life? 645 00:39:52,960 --> 00:39:55,280 Did He leave heaven so that He could come and relate with you 646 00:39:55,280 --> 00:39:59,120 and all of your sufferings? Are all the promises for you? 647 00:39:59,120 --> 00:40:02,520 What has He done for you? Who is He to you? 648 00:40:03,480 --> 00:40:09,000 Is He your honored guest? If so, Christians. 649 00:40:09,480 --> 00:40:13,800 Jesus is calling you to enjoy deeper relationship with Him 650 00:40:13,800 --> 00:40:16,280 today, deeper relationship with Him. 651 00:40:18,920 --> 00:40:24,360 Thus you will be satisfied, you are free to unhitch yourself 652 00:40:24,360 --> 00:40:29,480 from the things of this world to enjoy the life you were intended 653 00:40:29,480 --> 00:40:33,240 to live, that of giving Him honor, service and love. 654 00:40:36,040 --> 00:40:40,280 If you're not a Christian, I invite you today to throw away 655 00:40:40,280 --> 00:40:45,000 your life, to hate it so that you could get a life you could 656 00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:49,440 never dream of. There's a verse later in chapter 657 00:40:49,440 --> 00:40:51,200 12. We'll finish with this worship 658 00:40:51,200 --> 00:40:52,560 team. You can go ahead and come on up. 659 00:40:53,960 --> 00:40:55,440 We'll get to this in a few weeks. 660 00:40:55,440 --> 00:41:00,480 But this is in verse 25. Jesus says whoever loves his 661 00:41:00,480 --> 00:41:04,840 life loses it. Think of Judas and the 662 00:41:04,840 --> 00:41:09,320 Pharisees. Whoever hates his life in this 663 00:41:09,320 --> 00:41:11,240 world will keep it for eternal life. 664 00:41:11,680 --> 00:41:16,960 If anyone serves me, he must follow me, and where I am, there 665 00:41:16,960 --> 00:41:21,680 will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father 666 00:41:21,680 --> 00:41:25,080 will honor him. I invite you to lose your life 667 00:41:25,120 --> 00:41:30,760 and to hate it so that you could have this life for eternity and 668 00:41:30,760 --> 00:41:34,560 this life here that's free and as God intended.