Extravagant Worship

John 12:1-8

Motivation 1-2

“Where Lazarus was who had been dead”

I can imagine Mary was sitting there at the table looking and listening.

She saw her brother, she saw Jesus, and she remember what Jesus did for her family.

Many scholars believe it had been no more than 7 days since Jesus raised Lazarus.

Worship God while it is still fresh.

“When I think about the Lord How He saved me, how He raised me How He filled me with the Holy Ghost Healed me to the uttermost When I think about the Lord How He picked me up, turned me around How He set my feet on solid ground [Pre-Chorus] And it makes me wanna shout [Chorus] Alleluia, thank You, Jesus Lord, You're worthy of all the glory And all the honor, and all the praise”

She caught a case, that I like to call “the can’t help it’s “

She was so moved and motivated by the goodness of God.

Has God been good to anybody this morning?

Has He saved anybody’s Soul?

Has he answered anybody’s prayer?

Has he comforted anybody in grief?

Has He broken anybody’s chains?

Has He healed anybody’s body?

Has He delivered anybody from danger?

Has he helped anybody this morning?

Method 3

Personal - Mary…no one else. Mary did this out of the overflow.

worship must be personal.

It rises up from a place of personal experience with Jesus.

If it’s not personal it’s artificial.

Devotional - Mary didn’t have a book to follow.

She didn’t see another woman in the community do this. She wasn’t following a pattern.

This was a display of extravagant devotion.

Devotion always asks,”what is Jesus worth to me?”

Mary responded,”everything”

My devotion to Jesus is in correlation to how much I value Jesus.

Joe Diffy

… They were farm kids way down in Dixie They met in high school in the '60s Everyone knew it was love from the start One July in the midnight hours They climbed upon the water tower Stood on the rail and painted a ten-foot heart… In John Deere green

On a hot summer night He wrote, "Billy Bob loves Charlene" In letters three feet high And the whole town said that he should've used red But it looked good to Charlene In John Deere green

Understanding the value of someone sparks extravagant devotion that produces…

Sacrifice- the costly perfume.

Humility- she annointed his feet, the cultural norm would anoint the head.

Vulnerability- for a woman to let her hair down in public would have been counterculture. bending down to put her face near his feet to wipe them with her hair would have made her vulnerable to criticism, misunderstanding, and judgment.

Influential - her act of worship filled the house with a fragrance.

her worship had an affect on those around her.

Your worship or lack of worship has an impact.

Your participation in worship can fuel the fire of those in the room

Your lack of participation in worship can grieve the Spirit and throw a wet blanket on those in the room.

If you are someone who requires a specific style, sound or atmosphere to worship Jesus you misunderstand worship.

Worship is about who God is and what He has done, not the tools of worship.

Message 4-8

The Protection of Jesus

Jesus protects her worship by telling Judas to leave her alone.

Jesus cherishes her worship and he cherishes our worship.

Don’t get distracted from worshipping Jesus by the critics who are sitting on the bleachers.

The Mission of Jesus

This sacrificial act foretells the coming death of Jesus.

She kept this for his burial.

Worship displays our hope in the mission of Jesus. He saved us!

He is coming for us!

The Priority of Jesus above all

Jesus tells Judas that the poor will always be there but while he is here He is the priority.

We are to honor Jesus above all.

There are many good things we can and should do while living on this earth and these things must not be neglected but our purpose and priority must be Jesus!