The Joy Pill

February 28, 2016 (rev. 031311)

The Joy Pill                                      NOTES NOT EDITED

Psalm 32

SIS: This year, in celebration of Lent, I am giving up despair, disappointment and anything that brings dissatisfaction in my life, and I am receiving the blessed joy that Jesus purchased for me on the cross.

Lent is the 46 days before Easter that serve as a time to reflect upon the life and sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Our text this morning from Psalm 32 causes us to reflect upon the great change that takes place when we accept the forgiveness God offers.

Our change is not just a “religious” transaction.  Religion actually makes people do some strange things.  Like John Smith.  John Smith was the only Protestant to move into a large Catholic neighborhood. On the first Friday of Lent, John was outside grilling a big juicy steak on his grill.

Meanwhile, all of his neighbors were eating cold tuna fish for supper. This went on each Friday of Lent. On the last Friday of Lent, the neighborhood men got together and decided that something had to be done about John. He was tempting them to eat meat each Friday of Lent, and they couldn’t take it anymore.

They decided to try and convert John to Catholicism. They went over and talked to him. John decided to join all of his neighbors and become a Catholic, which made them all very happy.

They took him to church, and the priest sprinkled some water over him, and said, “You were born a Baptist, you were raised a Baptist, and now you are a Catholic.”

The men were so relieved, now their biggest Lenten temptation was resolved. The next year’s Lenten season rolled around. The first Friday of Lent came, and, just at supper time, when the neighborhood was settling down to their cold tuna fish dinner, the smell of steak cooking on a grill came wafting into their homes. The neighborhood men could not believe their noses! What was going on?!

They called each other up and decided to meet over in John’s yard to see if he had forgotten it was the first Friday of Lent. The group arrived just in time to see John standing over his grill with a small pitcher of water. He was sprinkling some water over his steak on the grill, saying, “You were born a cow, you were raised a cow, and now you are a fish.”

People use religion to justify many different types of behavior.  Religion, however, does not change the fact of who we are without the forgiveness of Christ.  We are born sinners, we live as sinners, but we can die as saints only if we have our “transgression, our sin, forgiven.”  Then, and only then, we experience a true and lasting—in fact, an eternal joy.  Let’s read our text together:

¹ How joyful is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! ² How joyful is the man the Lord does not charge with sin

and in whose spirit is no deceit! ³ When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long. ⁴ For day and night Your hand was heavy on me; my strength was drained as in the summer’s heat.        Selah

⁵ Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not conceal my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”

and You took away the guilt of my sin.                        Selah

⁶ Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to You at a time that You may be found.  When great floodwaters come, they will not reach him. ⁷ You are my hiding place; You protect me from trouble.

You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance.      Selah

⁸ I will instruct you and show you the way to go; with My eye on you, I will give counsel. ⁹ Do not be like a horse or mule, without understanding, that must be controlled with bit and bridle or else it will not come near you. ¹⁰ Many pains come to the wicked, but the one who trusts in the Lord will have faithful love surrounding him.

¹¹ Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones; shout for joy,

all you upright in heart.

Sin is painful.  Look again at verse 10:

10 Many pains come to the wicked,

God has a remedy for sin.  Verse 10 continues:

but the one who trusts in the Lord will have

faithful love surrounding him.

How many people here today take at least one pill that is prescribed by a doctor every day?  I figured there would be many hands go up.

It seems we have a pill for just about any condition.  I take about 13 pills a day.  Prior to last October, I almost never even took Tylenol.  I have pills that keep my blood pressure down, my good cholesterol up, and my stents clear. 

We live in a giant “pharmacy” as Americans.  Just witness the many commercials throughout the day that advertise a pill for this or a pill for that.

Someone has said we are headed for “pharmageddon” when our entire lives will be reduced to “pill popping.” 

You’re watching television, and you see all these ads featuring happy and attractive people walking in the woods, mountain biking, sitting in bathtubs and throwing footballs through tires because they took a pill that made it all possible. Want to lose weight, get more sleep, get stronger, or deal with an embarrassing social disease? Just ask your doctor, pop the pill, and relax. Call it “better living through chemistry.”

Well, the sad reality is this:  the most dreaded ailment to have stricken mankind cannot be “cured with chemistry.”  I’m talking about “sin.”  The only antidote for sin is the forgiveness of our sin when we accept Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior.  We pop the pill of trust and our “sin and sorrow miraculously becomes great joy.”  I call forgiveness, the “Joy Pill.”

However, for this remedy to work, we must act upon what we know about who we are—sinners—and Who Jesus is, the Savior.  Through an act of our will we accept the free gift that God provided when Jesus died on the cross in our place.  The cure for sin can only—and I stress, only—be found in the blood of Jesus.  But, for medicine to work, one must act in faith and take it as prescribed.

Our text shows us the simple “act” of faith that results in great joy.

1.  First, we must acknowledge our condition (1-5a)

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to You

and did not conceal my iniquity.

As I was praying and meditating on this scripture, God impressed upon me something I never considered before.  As if he were sitting beside me and speaking directly to me, He said,

“The problem with people today (and in general throughout time) is not that they do not acknowledge their sin, but they do not acknowledge the horrible nature of sin.”

As we find ourselves in the midst of this primary season leading to the election of a new president, one particular candidate has caused a stir like no one else in recent history.  That man is Donald Trump.  In the course of the many things Trump has blurted out, many Christians have noted what he said in at least one interview:  “I have not asked forgiveness from God or anyone else.”

Now, what shocks many is that Trump professes to be a Christian—a Presbyterian in fact.  The problem many Christians have with Trump is that many believers—especially evangelicals—connect receiving forgiveness with “asking for it.”  Yet, some religious supporters of Trump try to split hairs and say that nowhere in Scripture does it say one must ask for forgiveness to receive it.  Of course, that simply is false.  The Lord Himself taught that the pattern of our prayer includes asking for forgiveness—“Forgive us our debts (sins)” (Mat. 6:11). 

Forgiveness—pardon, propitiation, expiation, or redemption in all its various aspects—is described in the Bible as a “gift of grace.”  A gift requires a two-part transaction.  One party must purchase and provide the gift, and another party must receive it.  The problem with Trump’s statement, for me, lies not in the fact he did not use a “proper Biblical formula” but that he does not seem to “acknowledge” the gravity of what it means to “sin against God.”  Most people acknowledge that sin exists, but do not acknowledge the gravity of what it means to “sin against God.”  A common Proverb suggests this by stating, “To err is human but to forgive is Divine.”  Or, in a more modern vernacular we hear people acknowledge sin by saying, “well, nobody’s perfect.”  This is NOT what the Bible means when instructing us to “acknowledge our sin to before God” (v. 5).

 In verses 1 through 4 four different words are used for sin to demonstrate the scope of the problem and describe the horrible condition of a person whose sins have NOT been forgiven.

“Transgression” (1a).  (Hb, pasha). This word has the basic meaning of “rebellion.”  “Sin.” (1b). Hb, chata’ah. The basic idea of this word for sin often refers to a deliberate offense against the law.  A different word is translated, “sin” the first time in verse 2 (2a).  The ESV translates this Hebrew word as, iniquity (Hb, ‘awon).  The idea here is wandering away and getting punished for it.  The fourth word related to “sin” used in these verses is, “deceit (2b)” (Hb, remiyyah).  The idea is one of presenting a falsehood, or hypocrisy.

These are not even all the words used in the Scriptures to describe sin.  If you add all the words up together in the Scripture and give them the most intense expression, you will still not have exhausted everything that can be said about how “horrible” sin is because it is first and foremost, an affront and offense against a Holy God.

It has become commonplace for people to overlook the seriousness of sin.  We prefer words like mistake, mea culpa, or indiscretion, if we bother to acknowledge sin at all.  Acknowledging our sin before God goes beyond simply admitting we make mistakes, but acknowledging our sin recognizes the horrid stench it leaves in the nostrils of God.  Sin is a “big deal” and we must acknowledge it as such.

Sin, if it ever was big deal for man, is certainly no big deal in our modern culture.  In fact, the word, “sin,” no longer even appears in the Oxford Junior Dictionary for children.  According to Vineeta Gupta, head of children’s dictionaries at Oxford, sin was not deemed an important enough word to include.  According to Gupta, “‘We are limited by how big the dictionary can be – little hands must be able to handle it.” 

Thirty-seven years ago one of the most famous psychiatrists of the modern period, Dr. Karl Menniger, wrote a book entitled, “Whatever Became of Sin.”  Dr. Menniger wrote:  “The very word ’sin,’ which seems to have disappeared, was a proud word. It was once a strong word, an ominous and serious word. It described a central point in every civilized human being’s life plan and lifestyle. But the word went away. It has almost disappeared—the word, along with the notion. Why? Doesn’t anyone sin any more? Doesn’t anyone believe in sin? (p. 14)”

No, all men and women sin, and most still believe in the idea of sin, but very few understand how “horrible” sin is.  Even King David, a realized the gravity of failing to “acknowledge” our sin.  

3When I kept silent,  my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long.  4For day and night Your hand was heavy on me; my strength was drained as in the summer’s heat.

David failed to acknowledge his sin and it ravaged his life—as it does with all.  His health was ruined, his integrity destroyed, and his joy completed erased, until he acknowledged the “horror” of sin in his life.

“All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.”  History well establishes the fact of sin.  Sin does not disappear simply by eliminating the word for our vocabulary.  Acknowledging both the reality and the deep depravity of our sinfulness is the first step in swallowing the pill of joy in our lives.  We must then,

2.  Confess our sin (5b)

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and You took away the guilt of my sin.

When most people think of “confession” they picture of a little booth.  A person enters on one side and a priest on the other side.  The person then goes through a ritual of explaining bad thoughts and deeds to the priest who pronounces an appropriate act of penance.

Let me say you can talk to a thousand priests and say a thousand hail Mary’s while clutching a beaded string and you will be just as guilty of sin as before you entered the confessional.  Confessing has nothing to do with telling someone in a little booth about our sins, in regard to having those sins forgiven.  

Now, don’t get me wrong, along with our confession there may need to be some act of apology if we have sinned before or against another.  That has nothing to do with the removal of our guilt.  That has to do with the restoration of our fellowship with others.  Full confession or our sin must be as large and wide as the circle of our transgression—but confession must begin with speaking to God.

David’s concern in this Psalm—as with the psalms of repentance as a whole—focus on sin in relation to God.  That is where the offense lies with sin—it is an affront to a Holy God.  The heinousness of sin is to the Holiness of God what the black, velvet case is to a sparkling diamond.  Sin sets us in absolute opposition—total contrast—to God.  As horrible as sin’s consequences are to man, the sin at its core is an offense of infinitely greater consequence to God. 

Confession is the act of formally expressing to God that we understand the grossness and gravity of our offense in regard to His Holiness.  We do not confess our sins in order to tell God something He does not know, but to tell God WE know He knows.  Confession is saying the same thing about sin that God says.  John makes this clear in the New Testament:

1John 1:9  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive  us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The word, used in 1John 1:9 is “homologeo.”  It means, “say the same thing.”  By confessing our sin, we are “agreeing with God in regard to our horrible state of rebellion” with the sincere intent to turn away from our sin (repent).  True confession means we fully admit our guilt without any excuse or equivocation.

Prussian king Frederick the Great was once touring a Berlin prison. The prisoners fell on their knees before him to proclaim their innocence-except for one man, who remained silent. Frederick called to him, “Why are you here?” armed robbery, Your Majesty,” was the reply. “And are you guilty?” “Yes indeed, Your Majesty, I deserve my punishment.” Frederick then summoned the jailer and ordered him, “Release this guilty wretch at once. I will not have him kept in this prison where he will corrupt all the fine innocent people who occupy it.” (Today in the Word, December 4, 1992).

Confessing our sin goes one step beyond simply acknowledging we are sinners.  Confession takes full responsibility for our state of rebellion against a Holy God with a complete understanding of the consequences of remaining in that state and full intent to change.

The first step toward obtaining an describable joy is to acknowledge we are sinners and sin is a horrible state.  Second, confession moves us into full forgiveness as we accept complete responsibility for our rebellion.

If we stop at mere acknowledgment or simply confession, we will be most miserable.  We must “act” upon the forgiveness and grace we receive.  We cannot swallow the pill of joy if we only reflect upon our wretchedness.  Forgiveness, and the joy it brings requires that we

3.  Trust God to forgive us (6b-9)

When great floodwaters come, they will not reach him. 7 You are my hiding place; You protect me from trouble. You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance.  8 I will instruct you and show you the way to go; with My eye on you, I will give counsel.

God does not save us and then abandon us.  Forgiveness welds us to God and we become one with Him.  Faith, as I have said many times, is an “act.” Faith is moving every moment in conscious dependence upon God.  The Psalmist, after acknowledging and confessing his sin, declares his full trust in God for deliverance from the bondage of sin.  God is our high ground when the Tsunami of sin strikes.

A tsunami is a killer wave that is created by earthquakes centered in the oceans, like the killer wave generated by an 8.9 quake in 2011.  This earthquake sent a shock wave that was felt even on our own coas.  Debris from that tragedy is still washing upon beaches around the world.

The only hope in a tsunami is to get to high ground.  A great tsunami of judgment will soon be released upon our world by God.  It will be more devasting than anything this world has ever seen.  It will make the great waves of a tsunami look like ripples in a pond.  Trusting God is the only “high ground” that will save a soul from the flood-waters of comng judgment.  Trusting God is the only safe refuge from the assault of sin and temptation upon one’s soul.  Trusting God is the only reliable “counsel” when we find ourselves wandering in the desert of sin and uncertainty.  Trust is not a doctrine, but a lifestyle.  This is what Paul meant when he declared before the philosophers of Athens:

^{Acts 17:28} For in Him we live and move and exist.

It’s not that we can do MORE if we trust God—it’s that we can do NOTHING if we don’t.  To think otherwise is foolish self-delusion. Forgiveness requires placing one’s complete trust in Almighty God.  Forgiveness is found nowhere else.  There is no forgiveness in good works.  There is no forgiveness in religion.  There is no forgiveness found anywhere but through trusting God, and His Son, Jesus Christ.

Acts 4:10  Jesus Christ the Nazarene—whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead—by Him this man is standing here before you healthy.  11 This _⌊Jesus_⌋ is the stone despised by
you builders,who has become the cornerstone. 12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”

When the Psalmist begins by saying:  ¹How happy is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! the Scriptures are looking down through history to the moment that Jesus Christ died upon the cross as a payment for the penalty of sin.  This was God’s ultimate expression of His trustworthiness—He Himself provided the payment for the offense mankind committed against Him in our rebellion.

The joy a person feels when the weight of sin has been lifted is beyond description.  John Newton expressed it very well: Amazing Grace How Sweet The Sound // That Saved a Wretch Like Me.

Happy is the one whose sin is forgiven!

We discover an unbelievable happiness and joy when we ACT upon what we know about ourselves—we are sinners in grave and serious danger—and who God is—the Only One Who can forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  Joy, joy unspeakable joy.

As I said when we began this study, we live in a world where they advertise a pill for whatever ails you.  But, it is not in a pill that you will find true joy, but it is in an act of your will—to place your trust in God alone to forgive you.

As we move toward the celebration of Israel, I have decided what I will give up for Lent:  I am giving up despair, disappointment and anything that brings dissatisfaction in my life, and I am receiving the blessed joy that Jesus purchased for me on the cross.

Extravagant Worship

February 14, 2016
Extravagant Worship
John 12:1-8

SIS:  The only worship that is worthy of Almighty God is "extravagant" worship.

INTRODUCTION:

ex·trav·a·gant  [ik-strav-uh-guhnt]  –adjective
1.spending much more than is necessary or wise; wasteful: an extravagant shopper.  2.excessively high: extravagant expenses; extravagant prices. 3.exceeding the bounds of reason, as actions, demands, opinions, or passions.

Americans are an "extravagant" people, but not always in a positive sense.  Consider how "extravagantly wasteful" we are:

• throw away 106,000
  aluminum cans every 30 seconds,
• distribute 1 mil
  plastic cups on U.S. airline flights every 6 hours,
• go through 2 million
  plastic beverage bottles every five minutes,
• discard 426,000
  cell phones every day,
• use 1.14 million
  brown paper supermarket bags each hour,
• use 60,000
  plastic bags every five seconds,
• use 15 million
  sheets of office paper every five minutes and
• produce 170,000 Energizer batteries every 15 min.

“We can go on. Americans discard enough aluminum to rebuild our entire commercial air fleet every three months — and aluminum represents less than one percent of our solid waste stream. We toss 14 percent of the food we buy at the store. More than 46,000 pieces of plastic debris float on each square mile of ocean.”—motherjones.com/environment/2009/05/waste-not-want-not. Retrieved September 28, 2009.

Extravagant certainly describes our habits of consumption as Americans -- "excessively high; exceeding bounds of reason."

But, does "extravagant" apply to our worship experience as Americans?  I think you know where this is going.  Do we spend an "excessively high" amount of time reading our Bibles for instance?  Do we spend and "excessively high" amount of time in prayer?  Do we give an "excessively high" amount of our money in church donations?  Uh-oh!  It's getting "excessively hot" in here!

We all know the fact of the matter:  our worship to God through His church cannot be described as "extravagant" in the same measure as the amount of waste we produce through our daily living.

In regard to our lives, we consume extravagantly but in regard to our worship, the operative phrase is, "just good enough."

As we continue to examine God's Word in this time of Lent (40 days before Easter) we have been thinking about how we live our lives in light of the sacrifice God made on our behalf.

Certainly, we all agree that God's love for us qualifies as "extravagant" -- excessively high; exceeding the bounds of reason.

Today, we are going to look at an example of "extravagant worship" by a woman deeply thankful for what Jesus Christ had done in her life.  We are going to join a family "touched by the miraculous love of Jesus."  The response by Mary to Who Jesus is and what He had done was an act of "extravagant worship" -- or, "holy waste." 

Let's read this story together: (Jn 12:1-8)

Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ² Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. ³ Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

⁴ But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ⁵ “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” ⁶ He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

⁷ “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. ⁸ You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

This story pricks my heart. When I read it I become acutely aware that my love and devotion to Christ is almost a sham in comparison to Mary's. And, I have so much more to be thankful for than Mary.  At the time, Mary had only received the miracle of a "restored loved one."  However great a miracle that was, it is a small thing compared to the miracle of eternal life that I have received from the Lord.

Should not my worship to God be eternally more deep and sincere than that of Mary's?  I certainly think so.

As we explore this example of "extravagant" worship, I pray it will deepen our love for Jesus Christ and spur us on to a more vigorous, enthusiastic, and costly worship.  I pray that Mary's example will help us take more seriously the private and public times of worship in our lives.  There are at least four characteristics that made Mary's worship "extravagant." 

1.  First, EW involves GRATITUDE

On a recent religious talk show the hostess was interviewing a young woman who had just recently come to know Christ and had been received into the church. Until her recent conversion, she had lived on the wrong side of the tracks, lived in the fast lane, and teetered on the brink of destruction. So overwhelming was the sense of forgiveness that this young woman practically gushed with joy as she spoke. "I can't express," she said, "the sense of gratitude that I feel that God has changed my life."

The talk show hostess knew where she was coming from for she, too, had walked on life's wild side before coming to Jesus. She said, "I know what you mean. Every day I thank God for saving me!" And then she added a very profound statement: "You know what I've noticed though? People who have always been in the church, people who always do what they ought, who have never really gotten into trouble, always been prim and proper, don't have the same sense of gratitude that I do. In fact, I've noticed that for most church people, it's not so much what God had done for them, but what they still want God to do!"

It is easy for those of us who have been in church for a while to take the gift of salvation for granted.  It is obvious that Mary did not take the miracle Jesus performed for granted.  It meant something to her.  It moved her deeply both spiritually and physically.  Her gratitude could not be contained to just spiritual platitudes, but burst out in a physically tangible way.

People have always reacted this way in regard to spiritual matters.  Think of the ancients who offered sacrifice upon sacrifice upon sacrifice to show devotion to their deity of choice.  Certainly, we cannot commend such sacrifices, but it proves the point that worship which does not more than rattle around in one's head is not true worship.  True, extravagant worship, will always find a physical expression.

This is why we sing.  This is why we have public prayers.  This is why we have sacred dance and sacred art.  When God touches a person's heart, there is an unstoppable urge to do something with our hands.

Worship at the very core is a physical response of gratitude.  It is an outward expression of a thankful heart.  We can miss the reason for Mary's outburst of extravagance if we concentrate only on Mary's act.  We must look about the room to find the reason for Mary's extravagance.  Look in verse two:

"Lazarus was among those who were
reclining at the table with [Jesus]."

There he is.  Once dead. Once lost to his family. But now, back in the picture -- full of life.  One hundred percent huggable for his sisters.

When Jesus gave Mary back her brother, Lazarus, from the dead it was the greatest gift she had ever received, or could have ever conceived of.

Here's my point:  Mary found it very easy to pour out her life -- and the family's life savings -- to Jesus because she had received something of almost infinite worth -- a dead brother returned to her alive.

Now follow me here:  have we not received something of even more eternal value from Jesus than Lazarus and his family?  We do not know how long Lazarus lived after being raised from the dead, but we do know he eventually died and occupied a grave.

Yet, you and I have received our life back again and we will experience eternal life and bliss in heaven.  How can we consider what Jesus has done for us and not feel compelled to pour our lives out before him like Mary poured out her perfume.  This is the essence of the story:  Mary's gratitude for Who Jesus is and what He had done compelled her to EXTRAVAGANT WORSHIP.  No other response would be appropriate.

At the heart of extravagant worship is GRATITUDE.  If your worship has become lukewarm or flat it is because you have taken the gift of God in Christ for granted -- or worse yet, never received the gift of life in the first place.  In either case, this calls for some serious reflection.

Extravagant Worship involves GRATITUDE.

2.  EW requires HUMILITY (v 3; Mk. 14:3)

A little background is necessary to put this text in John into perspective.  This anointing of Jesus is mentioned in Matthew, Mark, and John.  Another anointing involving another woman -- who had lived a very sinful life-- and involving completely different circumstances is mentioned in Luke.

In this instance in Bethany there are minor differences that can be easily explained as just different perspectives on the same event.  But, there is a difference in John that I believe has special theological  reasons for being included.  Remember, John was written years later than the other gospels and was a theological study of the Life of Jesus, not so much a chronological record of His life.

In Matthew and Mark the writers record that after Mary broke the vile she

"poured it on His head" (Mt. 26:7; Mk. 14:3)

In our text in John, John adds theological insight by recording something that happened the other writers did not record.  John says that Mary

"poured it on Jesus' feet" (Jn. 12:3).

It was common when a guest came to your house to wipe a little oil on the forehead.  It was a gesture of kindness against the harsh, hot Middle Eastern sun. Anointing the head was also a common way to coronate a king.

Now, Mary did both.  But, John alone was led by the Holy Spirit to point out that she also anointed His feet. This would not be difficult to do.  In Middle Eastern fashion guests ate lying on cots with their head at the table and their bodies pointing away.  That's the reference given in verse two to Lazarus, "reclining at the table."  To me this is a very strange custom but it was the common way in the Biblical times.

John was pointing out the great "humility" of Mary.  Humility is a blessed virtue much commanded in Scripture.  The Lord Himself said,

"Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven." (Mt. 5:3).

Jesus also said,

"Whoever humbles himself like [a] child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Mt. 18:4).

There was nothing more disgusting to a Middle Easterner of Jesus' day than to touch someone feet -- much less get your face down close enough to wipe the dust off with your hair.  This was so disgusting as to be almost disgraceful for a lady like Mary.  Plus, she let down her hair.  This was another act sure to bring her scorn.

Respectable woman did not let their hair down in public.  That was something only reserved for the husband.

Anointing the feet of a guest was the duty of the lowest slave in the household.  Mary gladly took upon herself that duty in order to show her Lord "extravagant worship."

Extravagant Worship will always open one up to the ridicule and perhaps scorn of others.  It did Mary.  Look in verses 4-5,

⁴ But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ⁵ “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” ⁶ He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it."

Again, John writing much later for a more specific theological purpose adds the part about Judas.  Matthew and Mark point out that all the disciples had a problem with Mary's extravagance -- Judas just had different reasons for objecting.

It takes great humility to give "extravagant worship" to the Lord because I can guarantee you SOMEONE IS GOING TO OBJECT!

Take the example of David as instructive of this fact (2Sam. 6). 

¹² Now King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went down and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. ¹³ When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. ¹⁴ David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the Lord with all his might,
...........................................
¹⁶ As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.

If you are so humble as to allow yourself to give "extravagant worship" to God, don't be surprised if someone objects.

So often in our Baptist church we put way to much starch in our Sunday clothes.  We are so stiff in worship sometimes we can hardly sit down -- and when we do sit down, we are not about to get back up -- and certainly NOT DANCE.

Friend, pride in our tradition keeps us from giving God "extravagant worship."  And pride, is the deadliest of all sins.

We will do just about anything to protect our pride and our standing in the community.  We are like one man I read about.  This man was vain and self-centered.  He came from a prominent family and was going to write a book to make sure that his fine family name would live on long after he was gone.

But as he began looking into his family background, he discovered more than a few skeletons in his closet.

One example was the man's Uncle Fred who had been convicted of murder and eventually, after a long prison stay, electrocuted. Why, this would ruin the family name if it got out.  So, the man sort of rewrote the part about his Uncle Fred, the prisoner who was electrocuted.  The written version went like this:

"My Uncle Fred occupied the chair of applied electricity at one of our leading government institutions. He was attached to this position by the strongest of ties and his death came as a great shock!"

Our pride keeps us from giving our Lord "Extravagant Worship."  It keeps our voices soft when the Spirit calls us to shout.  It keeps our hands to our sides when the Spirit urges us to raise them in an act of humble surrender.

Mary's extravagant worship involved gratitude and it required humility. But, her EW did something special:

3.  EW influences OTHERS (v. 3b)

"And the house was filled with the
fragrance of perfume"

Mary's act of extravagant worship blessed the others in the room. Let me say that again . . . Mary's act of extravagant worship blessed the others in the room.

I would hope that my life would "sweeten" the little corner of life where I live.  Over the last week while meditating on this story, I have tried to be extra pleasant everywhere I've gone.  I've tried to be cautious of how I speak to others I meet in my daily life. 

In short, I decided it would be much better to leave a sweet perfume behind when I leave rather than the stink of self-centeredness.

When we come together in church to worship God together, we should be especially mindful of what kind of odor we are creating by our presence.

I read somewhere that "everybody brightens a room--some when they enter, and others when they leave!"

Over the years I have learned that there are certain people, that when you inquire upon greeting them: "Hello, so and so, how are you doing," they will actually begin to tell you in painstaking detail.

Two ladies were talking at the supermarket. "I ran into old Mrs. Burgess on my way up here," said one. "And I made the mistake of asking her how she was." "Did she tell you?" said the other woman.  "Yes she did. In groanological order."

Mary was no such person.  She was an "extravagant worshipper" of the Lord Jesus Christ and she positively influenced everyone around her. 

When we live in the attitude of "extravagant worship" where every thing we have, every thing we do, and every where we go we demonstrate the love we have for the Lord Jesus Christ, we will leave the sweet perfume of devotion wafting in the air when we leave.

Living a life of "Extravagant Worship" positively influences others.  EW involves gratitude.  EW requires humility.  EW positively influence others.  Also, 

4.  EW anticipates HEAVEN (v 7)

⁷ “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.

All three accounts contain this statement about Mary anointing him with one of the spices traditionally used to prepare a dead body for burial. 

Did Mary fully understand Jesus' words?  It is doubtful.  The Bible indicates that the disciples were surprised to see Jesus die. They certainly did not comprehend the substitutionary meaning of His death. No, sometimes there is more truth available to us than we can fully comprehend in one instance.  This seems to be such an incidence.

So, I'm not sure Mary fully comprehended the fact that Jesus was going to die on a cross in just a few days in order that she -- and all believers before, during, and after her -- could have eternal life.  Her gift anticipates this, but not in a manner fully understood by her or the disciples.

But, it is something fully comprehendable by you and I   we can clearly see that "extravagant worship" arises in part because we anticipate the great blessing of heaven that awaits us after we die.  Just as Jesus died and was raised from the dead, so every believer in Christ will likewise rise from the dead.  Paul writes in Rom 6:3-7:

Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. ⁵ If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. ⁶ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— ⁷ because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

This was what Mary act pointed to, eventhough she
and the disciples could not fully appreciate it -- yet.

WE  can fully appreciate it.  Our acts of "extravagant worship" arise out of a hopeful anticipation of that day when we will worship God around the throne in heaven.  The Apostle John describes that scene:

After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”

¹¹ All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying:

“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen! (Rev. 7:9-12)

Our worship here and now should be preparatory to a time when we will worship God in His very presence in Heaven.

EW arises out the grateful heart of person's who anticipate that day when we will worship around God's throne in heaven.

This message profoundly impacted my life as I've studied, meditated, and prayed about what it really means, and how it applies to our lives today.

So often -- perhaps most often -- our worship to God (in church or out) looks nothing like that which Mary gave to Jesus that day in Bethany.  This bears repeating:

So often -- perhaps most often -- our worship to God (in church or out) looks nothing like that which Mary gave to Jesus that day in Bethany. 

How many times when we come together for worship do we come only giving God what we consider "GOOD ENOUGH."  How many times do we enter this sanctuary and yet do not even intend to give God "extravagant worship."  How often do we gather in worship and all of our lives stay safely in the bottle of our religion? 

God wants us to come before Him broken, contrite, and all that we are poured out before Him.  Good Enough just ain't good enough when it comes to giving God our worship.

Friends, let's make a covenant with eachother and with God today that we will give only "extravagant worship" to God -- not only on Sundays, but every day of our lives.