 I want to share with you today about worship, about costly sacrifice, because that's what we find in these verses. And so we'll begin at verse one. I'll read to verse eight, and we'll get into our study this morning. John chapter 12, beginning at verse one. John writes, then six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, who had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. And there they made him a supper. And Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with him. And then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spignard, anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray him, said, why was this fragrant oil not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and had the money box. He used to take what was put in it. But Jesus said, let her alone. She has kept this for the day of my burial. For the poor you have with you always, but me you do not have always. And so what I'll do is I'll lay a foundation again and we'll move through our study. I'll come to a place of application in just a moment, but as we look at this, notice how it says in verse one, then six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany. So Jesus is in a village called Bethany. It was a small village. It was two miles outside of the city of Jerusalem. And in this small city, several of his disciples lived there, including Martha and Mary and Lazarus, as well as this man mentioned in scripture, a man by the name of Simon. Now according to Matthew chapter 26, verse six, Jesus is in the home of a man called Simon the leper. Now Simon was a former leper who had been cleansed of his leprosy. Now how do we know that? How do we know that he was a former leper? Well, when you read the Old Testament, you discover that if he were still a leper, he would not have had a home in town. According to the Old Testament book of Leviticus chapter 13, verse 46, a leper is unclean and he shall dwell alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp. And so Jesus is in the city of Bethany where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper. That supper is being made in the home of a man by the name of Simon. Now when it says in verse two, they made him a supper. It made me think as I was on my way to church today, how often you see in scripture Jesus sitting down for a meal. He seems to do that quite often. As a matter of fact, he did so quite often to the point where people said this man is a glutton because he would be invited to go to somebody's house and he would often go. You see it in Luke 7, verse 36 where it says one of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him. You see it in Luke 11, 37 where it says as he spoke a certain Pharisee asked him to dine with him. And then you see it in Luke 5, verses 29 and 30 where it says Levi gave him a great feast in his own house and there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with him. Their scribes and the Pharisees complained against his disciples, saying why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? So Jesus would be invited and very often he would go and he would go often enough for people to say this man is a glutton because he would go and he would have fellowship with people. When Jesus would go to meal very often it was in order that he might minister to people. In this particular case, the supper is being given to him and it would more than likely be for one of two or both of these reasons. One, it would be because Jesus had cleansed Simon who was a leper and thus Simon could very well be giving him a meal in gratitude or two. It may be because Jesus had recently raised a man by the name of Lazarus from the dead and thus they were given to him a meal in gratitude for the raising of Lazarus. In any case, thankfulness is always a mark of a genuine believer. Of all the people on the face of the earth we have the most to be thankful for. Psalm 3119 says, oh how great is your goodness which you have laid up for those who fear you which you have prepared for those who trust in you in the presence of the sons of men. How great is your goodness, how good you have been and how good you are being to us and how good you will be in the future. So we're thankful because of the incredible blessings God has made available to us. When you read your Bible you see that the Lord has made many benefits available to believers. For example in 1 Corinthians chapter one verses five through seven Paul said in everything you are enriched by him in all utterance and in all knowledge even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you so that you come behind in no gift waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He said in 2 Corinthians 521 he has made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. In Ephesians 1 verse three he said praise me to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. In Colossians 2 verse 10 you have been given the faithfulness in Christ who is the head over every power and authority. And in 2 Peter 1 verse three his divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. We've received it all. We've been washed by the blood. Our name is written in the Lamb's book of life. We have the power of the Holy Spirit resident within us. God has blessed us in many ways and because of his goodness towards us we are thankful to him. This thankfulness we have to him causes us to worship him with all that is within us. It provokes us not only to worship him alone but it also provokes us to worship him with others of like mind. In Colossians 3 16 and 17 it says let the word of Christ dwell in you richly and all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord and whatever you do in word or deed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father through him. You see that's the lifestyle of the believer and so what we have here is an example of someone worshiping Jesus with a thankful heart and we can witness the reaction of those who do not value worship because we're gonna see a contrast between how Jesus responds to Mary and the things that Judas has to say in just a moment. Now it says in verse two again, there they made him a supper. Martha served Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with him. Mary took a pound of very costly oil as spikner anointed the feet of Jesus, wiped his feet with her hair and the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. Now I want you to notice this note how he describes Martha and Mary. Martha is serving and Mary is worshiping Jesus. In Luke's Gospel we have a story of a supper that was given for Jesus. It's found in Luke 10, 38 through 42 and in that passage Luke records how that Jesus came to the home of Martha. Her brother was there Lazarus as well as her sister Mary. Martha was the older sister and you can picture this in your mind's eye. It was a large supper because you have Jesus, you have his disciples. So Jesus with his disciples that's 13 people. You have Mary and you have Lazarus that's two more that's 15 people then Martha that's a home that's filled with no less than 16 people. And so you have Martha and she's in the kitchen. As Martha's in the kitchen she's beginning to work and as she's working she's looking if you will through the door and she sees her sister and her sister is there seated at the feet of Jesus. And so as a big sister she begins to get angry and she's thinking what is she doing over there when she should be in here with me? None of you have ever felt that ladies I know. None of you have ever thought they should be helping me. It's Thanksgiving, it's Easter, it's Christmas. We've got all these guests but I don't mind banging pots and pans by myself in here. It's my service as unto them and the Lord. No, what she does is she walks in and I can almost see her with her hands on her hips looking at Jesus, tapping her toe, looking at Mary who's just there doe-eyed looking at Jesus as he's speaking and then Martha can't take it anymore and she says don't you care? She speaks to Jesus that way. Don't you care that my sister is over there left me to do all of this by myself and then she says tell her to get up and help me. Now listen, when you're frustrated with the things of the Lord in life around you're gonna start lecturing God which is what Martha did. Martha began to tell God what to do. None of us again would ever do that to him but she sure did because she's so bad. So she goes in there and she does that and then what is it that Jesus does? You could almost picture Jesus in your mind's eye for a moment when I see him kind of smiling at her and kind of shaking his head a bit. Martha, Martha, shut up. Now he goes whiner. No, Martha, Martha. You're careful, you're so over-careful about so many things. Your mind is so agitated and distracted you've lost your peace. Your mind is distracted by many things. But one thing is important and your sister has chosen the better part. What's the better part? The better part is this, worship before you serve because if you're serving and not worshiping you're gonna get upset with God eventually and blame others. You're gonna burn out and you're not gonna enjoy your service to Jesus anymore. So he said one thing is necessary. She's chosen the better part. What was that? Sitting at his feet, hearing his words, being prepared and then serving with a good heart. So we've seen that in the past and that's how Luke described Martha and Mary. Martha was serving and Mary was worshiping. It's interesting that Martha learned her lesson because you don't see a word of complaint here now from Martha at all. You just see that she's serving the Lord and you see that Mary is still doing the same. She is still worshiping Jesus Christ and that's what we're looking at here. We're seeing that Martha is still serving but she's doing this with a proper heart. You see it's important to understand that service is an expression of worship. Here's something for you. Always remember this. What you worship is what you serve. What you worship is what you're willing to sacrifice for and you will serve. How do we know that? Well remember the story again in Luke how that Jesus was being tempted by the tempter and it says in Luke chapter four verses five through eight that the devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world and he said to him, I will give you all their authority and splendor for it has been given to me and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours. Jesus answered, it is written, worship the Lord your God and serve him only. Worship and service are always combined and what you worship, you will serve and that's why the enemy said worship me because if you fall and worship me and I can give you the kingdoms you don't have to go to the cross, worship me. Jesus said, no, you worship God alone. Why? Because you serve God alone and so whatever it is you worship you find yourself serving. Worship of God will always be revealed to you, service to God as well as to mankind. That's because the Christian faith is expressed by actions or it's not real. In James 2.26 it says as a body without the spirit is dead so faith without works is dead. Now it's interesting again in verse two how John says that Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table. That's a subtle picture of the physical proof of his resurrection from the dead. He said he's alive, he's seated at a table and he's eating. Again there's probably around 17 people there that are being served. So you're seeing an act of generosity on the part of Simon in a similar way that we've seen acts of generosity and we'll see one in a moment on the part of Mary. It says that this is taking place, verse three. Mary took a pound of very costly oil, a spike nod, anointed the feet of Jesus, wiped his feet with her hair and the house was filled with a fragrance of the oil. I wanna share with you some elements of worship that we see here in this verse here. I wanna show you some things. The first thing I'll point out is it speaks concerning the spike nod. Spike nod was an aromatic herb imported from Arabia, India or the Far East. It was a costless, anointing oil of antiquity and was sold throughout the Roman Empire where it demanded a price that put it beyond any but the very wealthy. Mary had bought a flask of it containing 12 ounces and anointed Jesus. So it's an expression of thankfulness for raising Lazarus and in a heart of worship, she anoints him. Now notice in verse three, John says, she poured the costly perfume upon the feet of Jesus. But when you cross-reference that with Mark 14, 3, it reads that she poured the ointment upon his head. The anointing of the head was a distinction that was conferred upon a guest of honor. So combining Mark and John, we can see what she did. She came up behind as he reclined, poured it on his head and his feet. And in doing this, she became a model of genuine worship. Her worship's an expression of love for Jesus and we can learn from it. So let me share with you a few of the elements of worship. First, notice with me that true worship of God is directed to Jesus and not others and not to anyone else. She didn't walk up to the disciples and anoint them. She didn't take this gift that she was giving to Jesus and spread it out amongst the others. She centered her worshipful attention on the one who deserves it. She gave her worship to Jesus. We're not called to worship anybody else. We're not called to worship other people. We're not called to worship other saints. We're not called to worship anybody other than God himself through Jesus Christ. And you see this in scripture in the book of Revelation when John, the revelator is speaking to an angel and he begins to fall to worship and the angel, the angel says, rise to your feet. You don't worship me, you worship God. Or when in Acts chapter 10, when Cornelius is sent for the apostle Peter and Peter enters into his house and Cornelius begins to give him worship and Peter says, rise to your feet. You don't worship me, I'm just a man. In scripture, you see that worship is always directed to God. And the first thing we see here is that in your giving, in your worshiping of the Lord, in your sacrifice, it's always to Jesus Christ. And she's not anointing the disciples. She's anointing him because he's the one giving up his life for the salvation of the world. You see the anointing, Jesus is called Jesus the Christ, the word Christ that speaks of the anointed one. And so his anointing as Messiah, this is a picture of the fact that he is our Messiah. And so she's anointing him. We'll look at that in a moment, a little bit further. But second, true worship is always founded upon willing sacrifice. Mary took a Roman pound, which was 12 ounces, and it was very costly oil of spikenard. When you look at verse five, it says that its value was 300 denarii. 300 denarii is equal to one year of revenue. Her gift was very expensive. But to her, he was well worth it because she loved him. Here's a point for you, what you value again, you will sacrifice for. And I see that people stand in line for all kinds of things. They'll stand in line for a movie. They wanna go see the latest Star Wars or whatever. They stand in line for that, sometimes for hours. They'll stand in line for concerts. They stand in line for plays. They stand in line for restaurants. They'll stand in line to buy tickets for sporting events. I saw a picture that I thought was humorous, but sad in some ways. It was a picture of people at a football game and they had their tarps over them and they were covered with snow. And the entire stadium is filled with people with snow on them as they're watching a football game and then they had a picture next to it of an empty church. What you sacrifice for is what you worship. And what you're willing to do for that demonstrates your heart. And so people will stand in line for hours for a lot of things. I was walking with my wife Marie. I was in purgatory. I was at a mall. And we were walking and as we were walking together, there was this line of people that went for a little bit of a distance and it was a little after 10 and as we were walking I said, I wonder what that is and it was by an Apple store and it was people who were standing in line to get the latest iteration of the iPhone. And I was watching them on their iPhones, texting people that they're about to buy a new phone and I thought, how interesting it is that they will stand in line just to be the first in their group to have a phone. They are willing to do anything if it has value to them. That's how it works. And so people will do the most amazing things for something that they want. There are those who don't understand that and they don't realize that in the act of worship and giving in the way that she is that it's actually doing something. I was taught that giving breaks my old nature's desire for self and in giving I become more like the Lord who gave. And so Mary's an example of someone whose gratitude is revealed by extravagance. Her worship was costly. There's an Old Testament story. It's found in 2 Chronicles chapter 21 where God had commanded David the king to build an altar to him, to the Lord. He was to build the altar on the threshing floor of a man named Ornon. And David came to Ornon and he told him that he wanted to pay full price for the property. And Ornon at first refused to sell it but told David, I'll just give it to you. And David's response is instructive. In 2 Chronicles 21, 24, King David said to Ornon, no, but I will surely buy it for the full price for I will not take what is yours for the Lord nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing. And there are people who offer the Lord things that cost them nothing. I remember hearing a man who was rejoicing because his cow had given birth to twin calves. And someone said, wow, that's amazing. What are you gonna do? You have twins. And he said, well, I'm gonna give one to the Lord and I'm gonna keep one for myself. A few days later, the same man came walking by his friend and this man with the twin calves looked very sad. And his friend says, why are you so sad? And the man shook his head and he said, the Lord's calf died. There's there are people. I'll let you think about that for a minute. The Lord's calf died. I will give to the Lord nothing that cost me nothing. That's the whole point. Hers was extravagant. It cost much and David had the same heart. He said, I will not offer the Lord burnt offerings without which cost me nothing. You see, proper worship of God can be costly but it is given with joy. In 2 Corinthians 9, verse seven, let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity for God loves a cheerful giver. A third thing we see in verse three is she wiped his feet with her hair. Genuine worship to the Lord is humble. When she let down her hair, that was the action of a house servant and a woman would not let her hair down in public. In her taking her hair down, she was humbling herself. It was an act of humiliation. Psalm 95 verse six says, come let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord, our maker. So true worship is always humble. And then fourth, the house was filled with a fragrance of the oil. Genuine worship produces a noticeable fragrance. Real worship cannot help but be noticed. You see, we don't worship the Lord to draw attention to ourself. We worship the Lord to give glory to him. We don't worship so that people look at us as we worship. We worship and become invisible because God becomes more visible. And so in this activity, our worship, like her worship filled the house, our worship is noticeable to those who see genuine worship taking place. And so that's how you worship the Lord. Well, as this is taking place, verse four, one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray him said, why was this fragrant oil not sold for 300 Danari and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because it was a thief and had the money box and he used to take what was put in it. Judas spoke out against Mary's extravagant offering. His heart was blinded by greed, but he pretended to care for the poor. And he revealed his heart when he made it clear he considered her worship a waste. It's interesting note with me how he couched his greed in charitable concern. He claims that the oil could have been sold, the revenue given to the needy. Well, Judas in his greed considered her worship useless. It was a waste of money. As a treasurer, he knew how much he could have sold it for. He could have stolen that money. This is a man who consistently robbed God and had no regret and had no shame. And if you're thinking that that happens only then, it's happened to this day. Even here on this campus, people have stolen trees on the church's campus. Think about that. I mean, we've seen when palm trees were planted, a dirt trail where somebody had dug out the palm tree, dragged it to their car or truck and threw it in there. And they say it's palm trees. Hard to believe. Rose bushes. When we planted rose bushes, we came in, they're gone. We've had purses stolen. So men, watch your purse. And we've had people go to the mailbox and take out things from the mailbox and white out the name and cash it for themselves. We've had people break in and steal computers. We've had them steal cars off the parking lot, which is one of the reasons we have people out there. They have stolen copper off of the lot when we were doing some building. They shoplifted the bookstore. We've caught them stealing bibles. Read Exodus 20, thou shalt not steal. But now they're doing that. You know, we were doing some work on Maple Street years ago when we were in Ontario. And one of my assistants went out there and helped a guy load some window frames into his truck. And then he came in and he said, I said, what are you doing? He said, oh, I was just helping them load the window frames. I said, why? We're not having anything done to the windows. Some guy had come onto the lot and one of my assistants helped him steal it. What an idiot. I can't believe it. I can't believe it. But they do it. They do it. We have caught them with a copy boxes in the parking lot, breaking them open to steal. So it isn't just Judas. It isn't just Judas. There are people who think robbing God is fine. And Judas was one just like that. Now, that attitude that you see with Judas here is an attitude that had been shared with others and influences. See, our attitudes and the things we say and believe can influence others to think in the same way. And they had, the men had been influenced by him. We see that in Matthew 26, eight and nine. It says when his disciples saw it, they were indignant saying, why this waste for this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor. That's because Judas had so much influence that he provoked that. But John tells us it wasn't that he cared for the poor. He had the money box. He was the treasure. He would take what was in it. He was calculating his loss. And he's thinking, we're gonna sell that for 300 denarii, 300 days wages. But he couched it in a concern for poor people because people like to make their greed look like it's some kind of compassion. So as this is taking place, verse seven, Jesus said, let her alone. She has kept this for the day of my burial for the poor you have with you always. But me, you do not have always. She may have understood the nearness of his death. It's possible that she could see what his beloved disciples were refusing to see. You see, someone wrote it is normal. It was normal to embalm the dead with ointments and spices. Jesus suggests that the time of his death and burial were near. And that Mary had kept this ointment for such a purpose. Because she would not be able to make use of it at the time of his burial, she embalmed his body with it now beforehand. You see, the disciples did not want to embrace the fact of Jesus' impending death. So when Jesus would speak concerning his death, they often resisted what he was saying. And it would seem that Mary accepted what the others would not receive. His men didn't want to think of his death, but the Spirit moved her to anoint him. Notice in verse eight how it says, the poor you have with you always, but me you do not have always. He wasn't saying that we shouldn't care for the poor. In Mark 14 verse seven, you have the poor with you always whenever you wish you may do them good, but me you do not have always. His simple point is genuine love for the poor always begins with the love for him. If you want to do it right, you give in the name of Christ because God has moved in you to such a degree that you want to give to others who are in need. And that's why he says the poor will always be there and you can do good to them, but you need to remember I won't be with you. Why? Because he's going to the cross. I won't physically be with you in this manner. I'm going to the cross. You can always give to the poor, but this was done because I'm soon to die and that was the point he was making. Now in the end, our works are remembered by God. Jesus remembers both her works as well as the works of Judas. In Mark 14, eight and nine, it says she has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint my body for burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her. She's done what she could. She prepared me for my burial. Jesus was saying, I am the Lamb of God. I'm the one who takes away the sin of the world. So he's saying, I remember her works and even as we study this passage, she's remembered, but Judas is remembered too because he was a thief and he used to steal from the treasury. And he was a person who couldn't take the rebuke of Christ because in Mark 14, verse 10, after Jesus said that, Judas Iscariot, one of the 12, went to the chief priest to betray him to them. If I can't get the 300 denarii, I'll get 30 pieces of silver. I'm going to make something off of this man one way or another. If I can't get the money, that would have been my profit by stealing it out of the money box that I'll sell him out. And when Jesus convicted him, when Jesus said something to him in front of all, his pride got the best of him. His heart was hardened in his rejection of Christ and he went out and made plans to betray him. And that's exactly what he did. Now I want to bring an application here. The precious ointment found its true value when it was poured out. There are guys who like cars. I happen to like cars too. They'll buy a car, but they don't buy it to drive. They buy it to store. And so in a way, it's their own possession, but it's not really being used. It's not even, it's not something they drive. They just have it in a garage or store it somewhere. And so it may have value, but the value is really, it's in a personal way. There are things that we have that actually reveal their value in their use. How can I put that? Well, in Mark 14, verse three, it says, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on his head. As long as that oil was in the flask, it wasn't useful. It wasn't being used. Let me share something with you that may help some of you today. Let me bring an application. In 2 Corinthians 4-7, we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. The most valuable vessel is the broken one. The most valuable vessel in the hand of God will always be the broken one. Because when the vessel is broken, the oil will be poured out. If you wanna be used by the Lord, you will be broken. And there are many people who don't wanna be broken. They don't wanna believe or trust in a God that will break them. They don't wanna be that vessel that is shattered. They don't want the excellence of the power to come out of them. They wanna hold it. They wanna keep it. They wanna have a car that's in a garage that they can point to, but they don't want it to be used. And one of the things I learned about a long time ago is listen carefully. If you wanna be used by God, you will be broken by God. And I have shared this with you before about a man by the name of Jacob in the Old Testament. And Jacob, the name Jacob means sneaky. The name Jacob means supplanter. And when you read concerning this man, Jacob, you see that he was a supplanter and a sneaky man. And one day he encounters the angel of the Lord, which you know to be Jesus in pre-incarnation. And he encounters him and the scripture says that Jacob wrestled with the angel all night. And when the sun began to dawn and the sun began to rise the Bible says that the angel touched Jacob in the hip and he crippled him. He withered the muscle in his hip. And when he did that, he broke that man. God will break you. God cripples. There are times when God will break you. And what happened in his case is after this took place God said to him, you have been called Jacob but your name shall be called Israel. The name Jacob, supplanter and sneaky, the name Israel prints with God. And he walked with a limp the rest of his life. You will have wounds in your life that you will walk with a limp. But it's that limp that reminds you of where you met God. And if you wanna be deep with God you will go through deep things. And what the enemy has been implanting in the minds of people for centuries and it's here in our society now is if it costs, if it's painful, it's not worth it. But I have discovered the deeper knowledge that I have with the Lord has been when I've walked through the valley of the shadow of death because at that point I have found that I will fear no evil for he is with me. That's how it works. You go through tough times to discover I am not alone. He is with me. Jesus is praying now I'm alone and yet I'm not alone for you are with me. God does not forsake you. He walks with you. He carries you. He brings you through to the other side and he blesses you. But if you wanna keep that treasure in a vessel that's not broken, you will not know the depth of God. So you have to ask yourself, how much do I wanna know him? How deeply do I wanna go with him? If you wanna be used by the Lord all you need to do is say here in my Lord, send me. And you will discover that there will be painful times in your journey where you'll be so seemingly alone you'll be in your room sometimes and you'll be saying God I don't know what to do and that's where God will meet you in the most powerful way and that's where you'll say I know my God is alive. I know my God is with me. My God shall never forsake me. My God shall never leave me. He is with me. He carries me. He is my rod. He is my strength. He is my shield. He is my defender. He is with me. You gotta understand that because we're living in a time when people are not willing to take that step. They wanna be blessed as they're sitting on the couch playing Game Boy. But God says you need to get into the battle and there is a battle right now and you are gonna be wounded. You're gonna have people who call your names. You're gonna have people who reject you. You're gonna have people who say things about you and it hurts. It always does until you realize that this is just part of the way that God fashions me into the image of Christ. He is the wounded healer. You will be wounded too. The vessel needs to be broken. It has to be because when she broke that vessel, the oil poured out and anointed Christ and you carry within you the excellence of the treasure and God says do you wanna be used? I'll break you. And you'll cry and you'll hurt and you'll wonder and you'll say why. And the Lord says cause I'm purifying you because you say you wanna serve me. I'm purifying you. Take off your shoes. You're on holy ground. You haven't understood that yet. You're on holy ground. Oh there he is Lord send him. No Isaiah said here my Lord send me. Have you asked yourself why you may not be used right now the way you wanna be used? Have you yielded yourself to him? Have you said God here am I? I don't know what you wanna do but I do know this whatever it is it's good. And I know your plans are good and I wanna be in the center of your plans. And Lord if it takes a break in my life, break me Lord because not only do you break but you restore. Not only do you work in somebody's life so that there are things that are removed through fire but you also heal. And God I wanna be like you. And a lot of people today will not take that journey. No I just wanna cruise through. But you know what? That kind of life is a boring life. I wanna be used by God. And that means that sometimes you're on the firing line. Sometimes it's like you're walking around with a bullseye in your chest and there are people that just and it feels that way. And you go and say what's going on Lord? I just asked I wanna serve you but Lord I'm having a tough time in my marriage. I'm having a tough time with my kids. I'm having a difficult time in my neighborhood. It just seems like the more closely I want it to be with you the more things seem to be and why wouldn't it? You see, any dead fish can float down a stream. It takes a living fish to go against it. And when you stand up and say there's a line in the sand by God's grace here I stand then expect opposition. You're not gonna be spoken well of. Jesus said what went to you when all men speak well of you? For thus they did for the false prophets. Now when you stand up and you say what is true about God, his kingdom, how to be saved. Even the church itself will come against you. Even people who claim to be believers will say oh you're just judgmental. You're so harsh, where's your love? Pastor Chuck wasn't like that and anybody who says that didn't know Chuck. They didn't know him. Chuck would tell you direct. My pastor would tell you direct. That was how he was. People didn't know him that way I did and a lot of us did. Chuck was direct. Why, because he was sold out and he wanted soldiers next to him. Not people who wouldn't stand up and fight. He wanted men next to him and I wanted to be a man of God and I've been learning for all of these years I have never given to God anything that he hasn't blessed me many times over in return. You cannot out give God. God gives greatly. It's like that little girl who went to her grandfather and her grandfather said honey you can take some of this candy I got it and he had a bag and he held it out. He said just reach in and take it and she says now I'd rather you give me some grandpa and he says okay he sticks his hand in and hands her some candy and he says baby why didn't you just reach in and take it? She said because your hand is bigger than mine. Your hand is bigger than mine. I want the hand of the Lord to bless me not my own hand. And I ask the Lord and I still do and I do it all the time. Lord break me so that I may be like you. I want to be that broken vessel so that the excellence may pour out and you get all the glory. So that's just a little application to a story of a woman's love for God and how there are those who say what a great extravagant love and there are Judas's who say what a waste and I asked the Lord to help me to know which heart I have. Am I like Judas who thinks it's a waste or am I taking the Lord's commendation where he says this will be spoken of her because her love was great. What do you want to be? It's up to you.