UDSKRIFT 🔗
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Among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind.
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Right? Spiritually dead.
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I read all of that to you to make that point.
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You were dead in trespasses and sins.
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That's what this looked like within verse 4, Paul says.
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But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.
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By grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
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So you see this little picture of that in the resurrection and the following feasting of Lazarus with Jesus.
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Every Christian is, spiritually speaking, Lazarus sitting at the table.
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Next, we can notice that Martha served.
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It's a different meal than the one where Martha complains to Jesus about her sister not helping.
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There is no criticism of Martha's service here.
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She, I suggest to you, is being faithful.
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Not more and less than her brother.
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He's reclining.
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Or her sister, who's about to do an extravagant thing.
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I think that she is using her skill of hospitality to serve her Savior.
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Right?
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I imagine that Martha was a bit of a type A.
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Organized.
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Knew how to put a party together.
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And she is faithfully serving her Lord.
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Martha's gratitude expresses itself through service.
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The siblings of Mary have undoubtedly received Jesus as the Christ.
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At great risk to himself, Lazarus welcomes him into his home.
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With great energy, Martha makes the meal possible.
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And this brings us to Mary.
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Mary, remember, in chapter 11, grieving without hope.
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Jesus is concerned about the way in which she comes to him and asks that question.
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Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
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And here we see this beautiful, beautiful picture of her receiving Jesus as the Christ.
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And John means for us to pause and really consider this act of worship.
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She is the primary character being juxtaposed against treacherous Judas.
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These are the two primaries in this story.
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Mary and Judas.
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Again, this account being framed in terms of worth.
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What is Jesus worth to you?
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Notice how valuable he is to Mary.
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First part of verse 3.
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Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard
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and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair.
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First, to Mary, Jesus was worth her resources.
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John tells us Mary took this expensive ointment, right?
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And a significant amount of expensive ointment.
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Nard is an oil that's derived from a plant grown in India.
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This is all I learned about it.
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But the fact that it's called pure meant that it would have been very expensive.
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It would have been imported.
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It was costly.
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Very costly.
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And of course we know how costly because Judas tells us how much in verse 5.
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At least some approximation.
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Maybe pure nard sold at a discounted rate second hand.
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I don't know.
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But he estimates that it could have been sold for 300 denarii.
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A denarii you may well know already.
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But if you don't, log this little bit of information away.
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It was the average day's wage.
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A typical worker was paid a denarii per day.
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So this is almost a year's pay.
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So in today's terms, you could do the math maybe for your own home.
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This ointment was worth tens of thousands of dollars.
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A perfume worth, I hope none of you own perfume worth tens of thousands of dollars.
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We need another conversation if you do.
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Mary does.
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Mary has this ointment.
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It was an ointment that was likely used in the preparation of dead bodies.
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This may have been something that had been carefully saved for and stored up.
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And it was meant for a future use of this kind.
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And expensive, expensive thing.
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And Mary is glad to spend it in worship of the Christ.
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Last
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week, in the cartoon in your bulletin,
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if you're an adult and you don't ever flip to the back, you are missing out.
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Today, just as a quote, as a simple text quote in your bulletin,
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Augustine once said,
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Christ is not valued at all unless he is valued above all.
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Christ is not valued at all unless he is valued above all.
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And Mary so wonderfully expresses that to us here.
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Tens of thousands of dollars worth of this, right, given in worship of Christ.
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But not only that, secondly, so Jesus is worth her resources,
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but secondly, to Mary, Jesus was also worth her dignity.
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To wash someone's feet was an act of great service.
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Feet, generally speaking, are gross.
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And to that, a sandal-wearing culture in a dusty environment,
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and you have the cleaning of feet as a task for the lowliest of servants in a house.
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It was a customary thing when someone would come over that you would have the lowest servant,
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the last in the pecking order,
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would wash feet so that people could recline at table and enjoy their time without dusty, smelly feet.
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John is not unaware of the humility of this act,
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as he will have Jesus himself wash his feet a few chapters later, right?
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Remember, he's writing that with all of this in mind as a model of humble service.
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Additionally, Mary lets down her hair to wipe his feet clean.
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And this would not have been normative.
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This is not the normal way that foot washing concluded.
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What I imagine, and this is not explicit in the text,
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is that she, being so generous in the anointing of Jesus' feet,
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makes a bit of a mess.
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She puts a little more on than she meant to.
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We're going to spend some time on the extravagance of the offering with the sentence,
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the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
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This was not a little bit that she used.
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It was enough to fill the space with the smell.
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It's probably a picture from one perspective,
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certainly that of Judas,
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of her overdoing it.
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I think, knowing that she was going to anoint Jesus' feet,
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that she brought along a towel.
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But that towel was insufficient for the extravagance of her offering.
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So she, with no thought to herself,
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already washing feet,
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uses her hair to serve her king.
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I think the towel didn't suffice,
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and she immediately, to help finish this process,
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to serve Jesus in this way,
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thought, I have something that can help.
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And she lets down her hair,
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and uses her hair to clean up this ointment.
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To Mary, I would argue,
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Jesus is worth everything.
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Everything.
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And so I ask the question again,
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what is Jesus worth to you?
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Mary does not calculate the minimum amount necessary to honor Christ.
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She gives extravagantly.
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Now there is an important distinction that should be made at this point.
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Extravagant worship is not wasteful worship.
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Waste occurs when something valuable is spent upon something unworthy of it.
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Certainly this happens.
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But if Jesus possesses infinite worth,
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then nothing genuinely offered to him in faith
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can finally be described as wasted.
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He is worthy of all of our praise.
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Judah sees 300 denarii going up in vapor.
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Mary sees Jesus.
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And that difference between the two changes everything.
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Second point.
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The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
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Now last week I made a lengthy argument.
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We took that odd break because I really wanted to show you
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that this phrase is the chiastic center of John's gospel.
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If you disagree with me about this,
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you are welcome to be wrong.
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And we can still be friends.
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I believe though,
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this is the chiastic center of John's gospel.
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And that is to say,
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John means to do,
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is he wants to fill our minds with imagery of the high priest
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entering into the Holy of Holies
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on that one day in the year
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when he made atonement for the sins of Israel.
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I believe that's what's happening in this text.
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This phrase,
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the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
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One man,
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one time a year,
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amongst the varied instructions for cleansing and sacrifice
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was a command to take incense into that place
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and fill it with the aroma of the smoke.
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I think that's what's being pictured here.
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Right?
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The whole book of John is turning on this phrase.
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Why?
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Why?
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Why?
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John means for us to see Mary worshiping in the very presence of God himself.
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This extravagant act of worship,
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she's putting herself at the feet of God.
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Not cut off in some outer part of the temple.
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Limited access to God.
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Access through one man,
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one time of year.
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Everybody stood back and walked and hoped
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that he carried out the instructions precisely as he should.
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That atonement would in fact happen.
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But this is shadowing this thing is about to happen.
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Jesus is going to die once for all.
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He's going to make that final payment.
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The Lamb of God will lay his life down for his people.
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He would atone for their sins forever.
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This is forward looking to that moment.
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And Jesus is meeting with Mary in this moment.
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God himself with a worshiper.
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Intimate affection.
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Now, I said this in brief last week.
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I want to say it again.
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And I think it's important for us to do this as a church.
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Mostly because I think I've erred so often in my thinking and in my teaching.
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We rightly defend the doctrine of justification.
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Justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
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It is a hill that we should die on.
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We are Protestants.
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We are still protesting.
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We want to uphold this doctrine.
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It's so incredibly important for our sin to be expunged and for us to have a law-keeping record so that we can stand before God and not be condemned.
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We must be justified.
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But if we stop there, we miss the fullness of the beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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We're welcomed back in.
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We're back part of the family.
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The doctrine of justification must lead our minds to think about the doctrine of adoption.
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What do we think about God when we think of him as our father?
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That we are welcomed.
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That he is ours and we are his.
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That all of his promises are yes and amen for us.
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We're not trying to be performative to earn his acceptance.
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We have his acceptance.
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Because we're justified, we are adopted.
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And I want to make this case briefly to you from John.
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I did this again.
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I did it last week.
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I want to do it again quickly.
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Remembering that John gives us the reason for his writing.
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John chapter 20, verse 30 and 31.
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Repeated this many, many times.
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Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples which are not written in this book.
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But these are written.
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He took the time.
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He wrote it down under inspiration.
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So that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ.
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The Son of God.
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Receive him as the Christ.
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And that by believing you may have life in his name.
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Life now.
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Life forever more.
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Spiritual life.
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And when we read this in John 20,
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we should know exactly what he's talking about.
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Because in John 17, he has defined what that life is.
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Carry the idea with us to John 20.
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In John 17, he says,
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And this is eternal life.
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That they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
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Knowing God.
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Being in relationship with God.
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This is eternal life.
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We were made for intimate fellowship with God.
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It's what we were designed for.
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Sin separates us relationally from him.
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And your life will never be fulfilled until you, created one.
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You, created one.
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Are restored to your creator.
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There will always be a deficiency.
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You could try all types of things.
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Success.
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Money.
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Relationships.
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Sex.
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Drugs.
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I feel like I was supposed to say rock and roll there.
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Hobbies.
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Hobbies.
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Nothing will satisfy the hunger of your soul,
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but the restoration of your relationship with God.
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Try it all you want.
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It will not happen.
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Spell yourself the pain,
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if you've yet to be restored to God in Christ,
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of trying everything out that you could possibly try out.
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You will not be satisfied until you're restored to God.
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Again, a quote from Augustine.
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From the first paragraph of his work, Confessions.
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He said,
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You have made us for yourself, O Lord,
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and our heart is restless until it rests in you.
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That's exactly the sentiment that he is expressing there.
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So the beauty of this whole scene,
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leading up to in this last little part of verse 3 of John 12,
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the beauty of the whole scene,
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it's emphasized by this phrase,
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I want to live in the aroma of life with God.
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God himself.
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And I think that if we do,
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we are going to spread that smell around.
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That if the idea that we have access to God in this way,
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through his word and in prayer,
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meeting with the church,
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we've got restored access to God himself.
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We live life in that aroma.
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We're going to spread that around.
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It's going to be inevitable that it will happen.
00:17:18.539 --> 00:17:21.019
Perhaps Paul had this very scene in mind
00:17:21.019 --> 00:17:23.160
when he wrote 2 Corinthians 2,
00:17:23.539 --> 00:17:24.579
and verse 14,
00:17:25.460 --> 00:17:26.059
where he says,
00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:27.039
But thanks be to God,
00:17:27.539 --> 00:17:31.220
who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession,
00:17:31.500 --> 00:17:34.340
and through us spreads the fragrance
00:17:34.340 --> 00:17:37.720
of the knowledge of him everywhere.
00:17:37.720 --> 00:17:45.759
Now, I am sad to say that our text does not end on a high note.
00:17:46.360 --> 00:17:47.140
There it was.
00:17:48.839 --> 00:17:52.620
The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
00:17:52.619 --> 00:17:55.279
But following that,
00:17:55.779 --> 00:17:57.579
because it's chiastic,
00:17:58.219 --> 00:18:01.979
we see that Judas rejects Jesus.
00:18:02.719 --> 00:18:04.359
In contradiction to,
00:18:04.519 --> 00:18:06.519
in juxtaposition of Mary,
00:18:07.559 --> 00:18:09.439
Judas rejects Jesus.
00:18:10.279 --> 00:18:11.639
The fragrance fills the room,
00:18:11.640 --> 00:18:14.140
and then Judas speaks,
00:18:14.680 --> 00:18:18.200
why was this ointment not sold for 300 denarii
00:18:18.200 --> 00:18:19.420
and given to the poor?
00:18:20.940 --> 00:18:22.740
Now, without John's commentary,
00:18:23.220 --> 00:18:25.360
Judas sounds reasonable.
00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:28.740
Perhaps he even sounds spiritual.
00:18:30.259 --> 00:18:31.460
300 denarii?
00:18:32.600 --> 00:18:35.460
Think how many hungry people could have been fed
00:18:35.460 --> 00:18:38.860
that day, abundantly fed.
00:18:38.859 --> 00:18:45.559
Judas' objection possesses the appearance of compassion.
00:18:46.740 --> 00:18:50.139
But John immediately pulls back the curtain
00:18:50.139 --> 00:18:51.639
and gives us this commentary.
00:18:51.839 --> 00:18:53.819
He said this not because he cared about the poor,
00:18:54.779 --> 00:18:56.079
but because he was a thief.
00:18:56.839 --> 00:18:58.559
And having charge of the money bag,
00:18:58.619 --> 00:19:01.079
he was serving as the treasurer for this group.
00:19:01.659 --> 00:19:04.519
He used to help himself to what was put into it.
00:19:04.740 --> 00:19:07.439
He was skimming off the top,
00:19:07.439 --> 00:19:08.839
as they say.
00:19:09.859 --> 00:19:14.939
Here's one of the most sobering realities in the passage.
00:19:16.219 --> 00:19:21.579
Religious language can conceal an unbelieving heart.
00:19:23.119 --> 00:19:26.839
Judas knows how to sound righteous.
00:19:28.039 --> 00:19:30.559
Perhaps you know people like this.
00:19:30.639 --> 00:19:31.139
I have.
00:19:31.359 --> 00:19:32.979
They know all the right answers.
00:19:33.159 --> 00:19:35.699
They can say all the right things.
00:19:35.700 --> 00:19:42.400
Judas has been around Jesus.
00:19:42.660 --> 00:19:44.799
He has spent all this time with him.
00:19:45.600 --> 00:19:47.000
He's heard the sermons,
00:19:47.700 -->
00:19:49.880
the instruction to care for the poor.
00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:52.220
He has witnessed the miracles.
00:19:52.980 --> 00:19:54.840
He knows the vocabulary.
00:19:55.940 --> 00:19:59.900
He knows what Christ followers are supposed to care about.
00:19:59.900 --> 00:20:06.040
And so, his greed speaks the language of compassion.
00:20:06.039 --> 00:20:10.960
It is possible to know Christian vocabulary,
00:20:11.579 --> 00:20:13.259
participate in Christian ministry,
00:20:13.899 --> 00:20:16.019
associate closely with Christian people,
00:20:16.200 --> 00:20:19.779
and even appear concerned about Christian causes
00:20:19.779 --> 00:20:23.259
while loving something more than Christ.
00:20:24.299 --> 00:20:26.859
Sometimes it's even those Christian things
00:20:26.859 --> 00:20:29.519
that are loved more than the Savior.
00:20:30.980 --> 00:20:32.759
Judas measures everything
00:20:32.759 --> 00:20:35.259
by what it can give him.
00:20:35.779 --> 00:20:38.059
He is not concerned about serving others,
00:20:38.059 --> 00:20:40.679
but about serving himself.
00:20:41.819 --> 00:20:43.619
As opposed to Mary and the siblings.
00:20:43.799 --> 00:20:45.379
It's all about service too.
00:20:46.279 --> 00:20:48.799
His is about serving himself.
00:20:50.220 --> 00:20:56.059
Mary and Judas stand as deliberate, stark contrasts.
00:20:56.940 --> 00:20:57.740
Mary asks,
00:20:58.399 --> 00:21:00.859
What can I give to Jesus?
00:21:02.099 --> 00:21:03.119
Judas asks,
00:21:03.879 --> 00:21:07.000
What could this have given to me?
00:21:07.000 --> 00:21:09.759
What do I get from Jesus?
00:21:10.859 --> 00:21:14.579
Mary empties something valuable for Christ.
00:21:15.759 --> 00:21:18.259
Judas steals what belongs to Christ.
00:21:19.259 --> 00:21:21.440
And eventually the difference between them
00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:23.940
will become even clearer.
00:21:25.200 --> 00:21:28.920
Mary values Jesus more than 300 denarii.
00:21:29.819 --> 00:21:34.579
Judas will betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver,
00:21:34.579 --> 00:21:38.319
which would be about four months of labor.
00:21:38.899 --> 00:21:40.879
The price he sells Jesus for
00:21:40.879 --> 00:21:42.319
is not even as much
00:21:42.319 --> 00:21:45.079
as the sacrifice here by Mary.
00:21:46.819 --> 00:21:49.019
So Jesus says in response,
00:21:49.899 --> 00:21:50.699
Leave her alone
00:21:50.699 --> 00:21:54.659
so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.
00:21:55.480 --> 00:21:57.000
There's a fair amount of debate
00:21:57.000 --> 00:21:59.480
about what this sentence means exactly.
00:21:59.480 --> 00:22:02.700
We can be clear that he's saying letter B.
00:22:03.860 --> 00:22:05.579
But what exactly is meant by
00:22:05.579 --> 00:22:08.079
her keeping it for the day of burial
00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:11.019
is strangely hotly contested.
00:22:11.059 --> 00:22:11.839
I don't really know why.
00:22:11.920 --> 00:22:13.839
I don't think it matters
all that much.
00:22:13.980 --> 00:22:15.339
But what I think is happening
00:22:15.339 --> 00:22:18.240
is that Jesus is alluding to his death
00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:20.460
by suggesting that Mary should be allowed
00:22:20.460 --> 00:22:22.640
to keep the rest of the perfume
00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:25.460
to anoint his body after the crucifixion.
00:22:26.120 --> 00:22:27.560
That's my very best guess
00:22:27.560 --> 00:22:29.480
at what he means by this phrase.
00:22:30.720 --> 00:22:31.860
Some say that it's just
00:22:31.860 --> 00:22:33.500
leave the sacrifice alone.
00:22:33.800 --> 00:22:36.540
Let it be remembered for that day.
00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:38.980
I never felt anything was very convincing,
00:22:39.240 --> 00:22:40.320
but that's my best guess
00:22:40.320 --> 00:22:41.360
at what he means by that.
00:22:41.420 --> 00:22:42.080
But regardless,
00:22:42.880 --> 00:22:44.180
letter B.
00:22:44.840 --> 00:22:48.620
What she has done is a beautiful and good thing.
00:22:49.400 --> 00:22:51.180
And then he elaborates,
00:22:51.180 --> 00:22:54.080
for the poor you always have with you,
00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:57.640
but you do not always have me.
00:22:58.620 --> 00:23:01.420
Now, Jesus is here not being dismissive to the poor.
00:23:01.560 --> 00:23:04.140
He's not disregarding the poor at all, right?
00:23:04.180 --> 00:23:05.240
In many places he has taught
00:23:05.240 --> 00:23:07.060
that we ought to care for the poor,
00:23:07.160 --> 00:23:08.720
sell our possessions and give to the poor
00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:11.620
and store up heavenly reward.
00:23:11.799 --> 00:23:15.320
He's not being anti-poor in this case.
00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:16.940
But what he's likely doing
00:23:16.940 --> 00:23:19.360
is referencing Deuteronomy chapter 15
00:23:19.360 --> 00:23:21.080
and verse 11.
00:23:21.180 --> 00:23:22.220
Which says this,
00:23:23.320 --> 00:23:26.880
For there will never cease to be poor in the land.
00:23:27.039 --> 00:23:28.920
That's what we think he's citing right there.
00:23:29.519 --> 00:23:30.900
Therefore, the text goes on,
00:23:30.980 --> 00:23:33.299
I command you in your land.
00:23:33.759 --> 00:23:35.660
So the familiarity with this text,
00:23:35.920 --> 00:23:36.820
when he says that,
00:23:36.900 --> 00:23:37.539
they would have known,
00:23:37.620 --> 00:23:39.240
oh, he's not speaking against,
00:23:39.400 --> 00:23:41.880
he's saying there will be future opportunity
00:23:41.880 --> 00:23:44.700
because the poor will be in the land.
00:23:44.759 --> 00:23:45.960
They will never cease to be in the land.
00:23:46.039 --> 00:23:46.360
And therefore,
00:23:46.440 --> 00:23:47.840
our generosity towards the poor
00:23:47.840 --> 00:23:49.180
should never cease.
00:23:49.180 --> 00:23:51.120
The difference here
00:23:51.120 --> 00:23:54.299
is that you won't always have me.
00:23:54.960 --> 00:23:56.160
Bodily form,
00:23:56.380 --> 00:23:57.799
here on earth
with you.
00:23:58.140 --> 00:23:59.920
So to be generous toward me
00:23:59.920 --> 00:24:01.460
was an appropriate thing
00:24:01.460 --> 00:24:02.799
for Mary to do
00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:04.279
in this moment.
00:24:04.279 --> 00:24:06.619
So,
00:24:07.220 --> 00:24:08.859
some final applications
00:24:08.859 --> 00:24:09.839
in closing,
00:24:09.980 --> 00:24:10.539
just to sum
00:24:10.539 --> 00:24:11.519
some of this up
00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:12.200
for us.
00:24:13.399 --> 00:24:14.399
Number one,
00:24:15.259 --> 00:24:16.559
remember the grace
00:24:16.559 --> 00:24:18.099
you have received.
00:24:19.460 --> 00:24:20.639
Lazarus at the table
00:24:20.639 --> 00:24:21.799
reminds us
00:24:21.799 --> 00:24:22.920
that Christian devotion
00:24:22.920 --> 00:24:23.639
begins
00:24:23.639 --> 00:24:24.980
with resurrection
00:24:24.980 --> 00:24:26.200
grace.
00:24:26.200 --> 00:24:28.140
We recline
00:24:28.140 --> 00:24:29.200
and we serve
00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:30.039
and we worship
00:24:30.039 --> 00:24:31.819
because Christ
00:24:31.819 --> 00:24:32.680
has made
00:24:32.680 --> 00:24:33.840
dead sinners
00:24:33.840 --> 00:24:35.039
alive.
00:24:35.580 --> 00:24:36.759
All of it's possible
00:24:36.759 --> 00:24:37.920
because of what God
00:24:37.920 --> 00:24:38.319
has done
00:24:38.319 --> 00:24:39.580
on our behalf
00:24:39.580 --> 00:24:40.559
and the personal work
00:24:40.559 --> 00:24:41.319
of Jesus.
00:24:41.460 --> 00:24:42.140
Remember the grace
00:24:42.140 --> 00:24:43.160
you have received.
00:24:44.180 --> 00:24:44.700
Number two,
00:24:45.779 --> 00:24:46.279
examine
00:24:46.279 --> 00:24:47.920
what your sacrifices
00:24:47.920 --> 00:24:48.880
reveal
00:24:48.880 --> 00:24:50.620
about Christ's worth
00:24:50.620 --> 00:24:51.799
to you.
00:24:52.080 --> 00:24:53.140
Just ask that question
00:24:53.140 --> 00:24:53.559
again.
00:24:53.759 --> 00:24:54.920
What is Jesus worth
00:24:54.920 --> 00:24:55.800
to you?
00:24:56.660 --> 00:24:57.700
Our use of money,
00:24:58.080 --> 00:24:58.519
time,
00:24:59.080 --> 00:24:59.500
comfort,
00:25:00.440 --> 00:25:00.980
reputation,
00:25:01.360 --> 00:25:02.000
and energy
00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:03.539
reveals what we believe
00:25:03.539 --> 00:25:04.400
is valuable.
00:25:05.560 --> 00:25:06.779
How do you spend
00:25:06.779 --> 00:25:08.420
and how are you
00:25:08.420 --> 00:25:09.519
spent?
00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:12.200
How do you spend
00:25:12.200 --> 00:25:13.480
and how are you
00:25:13.480 --> 00:25:14.660
spent?
00:25:15.720 --> 00:25:16.600
What do you think
00:25:16.600 --> 00:25:17.259
about most?
00:25:17.539 --> 00:25:18.420
What do you talk
00:25:18.420 --> 00:25:19.240
about most?
00:25:19.960 --> 00:25:21.060
Start to notice
00:25:21.060 --> 00:25:22.279
what this may communicate
00:25:22.279 --> 00:25:23.980
about your heart
00:25:23.980 --> 00:25:24.900
and what about you
00:25:24.900 --> 00:25:27.300
truly value.
00:25:28.940 --> 00:25:29.680
Third,
00:25:30.880 --> 00:25:32.300
beware of respectable
00:25:32.300 --> 00:25:32.900
arguments
00:25:32.900 --> 00:25:34.580
that conceal
00:25:34.580 --> 00:25:35.960
sinful loves.
00:25:37.200 --> 00:25:38.480
Judas teaches us
00:25:38.480 --> 00:25:39.600
that the human heart
00:25:39.600 --> 00:25:40.560
is capable
00:25:40.560 --> 00:25:41.640
of clothing,
00:25:41.920 --> 00:25:42.180
greed,
00:25:42.180 --> 00:25:43.860
and false worship
00:25:43.860 --> 00:25:44.880
of all sorts
00:25:44.880 --> 00:25:46.600
in theological
00:25:46.600 --> 00:25:48.100
language.
00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:49.840
Beware of respectable
00:25:49.840 --> 00:25:50.360
arguments
00:25:50.360 --> 00:25:51.280
that conceal
00:25:51.280 --> 00:25:53.080
sinful loves.
00:25:53.079 --> 00:25:53.179
things.
00:25:54.179 --> 00:25:55.279
And fourth,
00:25:55.619 --> 00:25:56.220
and lastly,
00:25:57.220 --> 00:25:58.339
do not confuse
00:25:58.339 --> 00:26:00.099
extravagant devotion
00:26:00.099 --> 00:26:01.779
with waste.
00:26:02.500 --> 00:26:03.619
The world,
00:26:03.740 --> 00:26:04.259
and sometimes
00:26:04.259 --> 00:26:05.119
even professing
00:26:05.119 --> 00:26:05.519
Christians,
00:26:05.619 --> 00:26:06.299
will regard
00:26:06.299 --> 00:26:07.460
wholehearted devotion
00:26:07.460 --> 00:26:08.259
to Christ
00:26:08.259 --> 00:26:09.559
as excessive.
00:26:09.559 --> 00:26:11.299
but nothing
00:26:11.299 --> 00:26:12.259
is wasted
00:26:12.259 --> 00:26:13.000
when it is
00:26:13.000 --> 00:26:13.799
genuinely given
00:26:13.799 --> 00:26:14.819
to the one
00:26:14.819 --> 00:26:16.259
of infinite
00:26:16.259 --> 00:26:17.279
worth.
00:26:17.279 --> 00:26:19.359
Let's pray.
00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:19.359
00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:19.700
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