Never Unnoticed: Recognition Leads to Worship

Over the years, Jeffrey and I have learned that

the greatest battles we face are usually fought

in our minds, but won with our mouths. When we've

chosen to speak God's promises in the face of

our fears, failures, and problems, we've seen

God do what only He can do. This truth has changed

our lives, and it's why we wrote Talk to Your

Giants, to show you how to fight the good fight

of faith, speak in agreement with God's Word,

and discover the victory that comes when you

stop talking Week number three in our series

we've entitled Never Unnoticed. Now, how many

of you have ever seen the show Candid Camera

before? Yeah, it's a little throwback show. If

you're not familiar with it, they would do like,

they would do. crazy kind of, they'd pull people

into little scenarios with actors and put them

in strange situations. And then at the end, it's

kind of like they would see how far the, you

wouldn't say contestant, but kind of the victim

in a sense, how far the victim would go along

with what's happening. And then at the end, they

would jump out. When everything's about to collapse,

they would jump out and say, smile, you're on

candid camera. I read, about one of these, like

the most famous one that they did was they set

up cameras in an elevator. And as, you know,

an unexpecting person would walk into the elevator,

they would have actors, you know, eight actors

in there. And then as soon as the door closed,

all the actors would turn around and face the

wall. Instead of facing the door, they would

just all turn around at the same time and face

the wall. And then they have cameras on the person

going like, what? And it was interesting because

like 90 % of the time, that person would just

go, oh. and turn around with everyone else. And

they use this in psychology books, I even found

out, just like the lesson of conformity. When

we see a group doing something, we just naturally

do what everyone else does. But I thought that

was kind of an interesting thing. It brings about

a point where we're never unnoticed, right? There's

always cameras. There's always people watching,

even in this gym, right? There's a camera there.

There's a camera in the hallway. There's no cameras

in the bathroom, of course, but there's cameras

all over everywhere you go, whether you're driving

your car, right? Whether you're at work. A recent

incident that happened, I was at Disney. Caitlin's

dad, my father -in -law, was in town. So we took

him like a couple days to the park and went to

Magic Kingdom. And one of my favorite attractions

is Pirates of the Caribbean. Who likes that ride?

Yeah, it's a good ride, right? If you're not

familiar with it, it's a slow -moving boat ride.

And in the first scene, you kind of like launch

off the platform. You get into the water, and

it's a cave. It's a real dark, moody cave. There's

ambience, you know, kind of set in the scene,

you could say. And all of a sudden, Caitlin and

I, we were in a row, and her dad was behind us.

And all of a sudden, we just feel water, like

a splash of water. And I'm like, I've rode this

ride a hundred times. There's no water in this.

I kid you not, over the intercom, like as soon

as the water hit, all you hear is some little

college girl going, please keep your hands inside

the vehicle. Keep your hands, arms, feet, and

legs inside the vehicle at all times. And her

dad was just back there just cackling and just

cutting up because he had scooped water and splashed

us. The whole time I was thinking, like, who

would do such a thing? You know, like, who would

do that? And then, of course, he's back there,

his hands wet, and he's just laughing. Yeah.

Everyone say, never unnoticed. If you're on an

attraction at Disney, if you're in, you know,

anywhere, they're always watching, right? And

that gives us important fact just about everyday

life. But then also we find in Scripture that

Jesus and God notices everything. Everybody say,

God notices everything. He notices everything.

We've looked at in this series, Genesis 16. And

in this account, we see the story of Abraham,

Sarah, and Hagar. And now God had given Abraham

a promise that he would be the father of many

nations. His descendants would outnumber the

stars in the sky. But there was only one problem,

right? He didn't have any offspring, no children.

Sarah was barren, and so they could never conceive.

And now they're... late in age, you know, up

in their 80s and 90s, 90 year old, and they're

like, well, God, you gave us this promise, but

in the natural, in our ability, it just doesn't

seem like this can work, right? And often when

God gives us his word or his promise, sometimes

it kind of goes against what we naturally could

do, right? Because the point is that what...

God asks you to do, he will provide the means

for you to accomplish it. It's up to him. It's

not for us and our effort, right? There was provision.

There was a promise and a word, and God wanted

them to just believe it, to not consider Abram's

age, the barrenness of Sarah's womb. But we find

that Sarah had this idea, you know. They knew

what the Word of God was. They knew what would

happen, but they're like, well, let's try to

make it happen our way. I mean, if you know,

that's not a good idea. You know, God doesn't

need any help, right? He doesn't need any help.

Somebody say amen. God doesn't need your help,

right? He needs your cooperation. He doesn't

need your help to bring his promises to pass.

But they had this idea. They said, well, God,

you're taking a long time here, and you keep

telling me that the promise and the promised

son. So what about this? Why don't they had,

Sarah had picked up an Egyptian bond servant,

and she was like, maybe I will give this bond

servant to you, Abram. You know, you have like

a surrogate mother and child. For the next generation,

that way will fulfill God's promise. Their way.

Everybody say their way. Their way. And so that

happens. Abraham's like, okay. And they do it.

And then she's pregnant, right? So everyone's

happy. They think, oh, wow, this is it. Well,

then all of a sudden, Hagar kind of starts getting

an attitude. As we know in the Bible, she gets

a little attitude. I imagine it doesn't say,

but it says that, you know, she kind of treated

Sarah with contempt. She kind of said something

like, look, I'm pregnant. You can't get pregnant.

Look at me. How many of you know that would cause

some problems? That would cause some problems

in a marriage, right? That would cause some issues.

She's kind of like bragging about like, look,

look what happened. Well, this made Sarah very

angry, and Sarah began to make her life really

difficult. And I like what Scripture says. Sarah

goes, well, what do you want me to do? What do

you want me to do about this woman? She's treating

me bad. And Abram, at this time, before God changed

his name to Abraham, he said what every man would

probably say. He was like, do whatever you want

to do, honey. Just do. Whatever you feel like

you need to do, do it. And so there was a little

bit of strife and a little bit of contention

there. But something really cool happens in our

story. Hagar, she runs away into the wilderness.

She thinks, I'm just going to run away. I get

away from this problem. I'm going to go out by

myself. Probably just to die, you know, is probably

what she thought. Or maybe somebody would come.

But she's just out in the wilderness. She's crying.

She's all alone. And what happens? God sees her.

Everybody say, God sees her. Because you're never

unnoticed by God. Even in this, like, really

dark place, she's out there. She thinks she's

all alone. And God notices her. It says, the

angel of the Lord appeared to her in the wilderness.

An angel of the Lord. Now, theologians call this

a theophany or a Christophany, meaning that it's

not just an angel. This was an appearance, a

manifestation of God himself in angel form, appearing

to her and talking to her. And then he starts

giving her promises because that's how good God

is. Right? No matter how far you run, no matter

what situation you find yourself in, God is there.

Amen. God is with you. He sees you. God told

Hagar, said, you're going to have this son. His

name is going to be Ishmael. And you know what

the name means? God hears me. Say, God hears

me. And then Hagar goes, you are the God, El

Roy. The supreme mighty God who sees me. And

this is God revealing himself to her. And she's

getting filled with this. And she's saying, yes,

God, you hear me. You see me. And then they named

the land that where she was at. The living God

sees me. Became the ground that she was standing

on. How good is God? How faithful is God? How

merciful is God? We're never unnoticed. Someone

say never unnoticed. The supreme and mighty God,

he sees us personally. He sees every tear, every

act of obedience, every sacrifice, every act

of faithfulness, nothing. Everybody say nothing.

Nothing goes unnoticed by God. I know it's warm

in here this morning. You got to stay with me.

I'm trying to keep going here. Let's listen.

We see this applied again in Scripture in 2 Chronicles

16, 9. It's a verse that I grew up hearing a

lot. It says this, For the eyes of the Lord run

to and fro, meaning back and forth, throughout

the whole earth, to show himself strong on behalf

of those whose heart is loyal to him. So God's

not just looking, right? He's not just... aimlessly

looking. No, he's looking for something specific.

What does the word say here? He's looking for

what? He's not looking for talent, influence,

things that we look for, put -togetherness, you

could say. He's searching for something very

particular, searching for hearts. Everybody say

heart. Hearts that are loyal, that are fully

committed. unwavering, you could say, to him.

He's looking for a fully committed heart. Because,

listen, God does not just simply observe. He

responds. What did this verse say? Look at it.

What's the purpose of him looking? When he finds

the loyal heart, when he finds the committed

heart, what does he do? He shows. He's looking

to show himself. And a particular character of

himself, right? Show himself strong. Everybody

say strong. How mighty. How big he is. So he's

wanting to reveal something. He's looking for

a heart. When he finds that loyal heart, he shows

them just how big he is. Just how mighty he is

on behalf of those. Do you see that this morning?

On behalf of those. Because the big things that

God wants to do in your life are through you.

He wants to do big and awesome things through

you. He's waiting on your cooperation with the

promise. He's going to fulfill. He makes the

provision. But as soon as you align yourself

and just say, God, I give you everything. God,

my whole heart, my whole life, when we turn to

him, instead of turning to the problem, When

we turn to the supernatural, instead of just

looking at the natural, God's going to do big

things through you. That's his plan for you.

Think about that. God wants to show just how

big he is to the world through you. I'm going

to keep moving. Notice, throughout this series,

we've been studying several biblical accounts.

Kind of like series is like this. We're going

through stories. I mean, if you like stories,

everybody loves a good story. We've been studying

several biblical accounts where God sees the

hearts. Everybody say hearts. Sees the hearts

of people, and then he reveals to us what he

sees. Right? He shows us. Why would he do that?

Is it because he doesn't know? He knows and he's

wanting to get our attention on something. He's

wanting to get his people. He's saying, look

at this. Whether it be his disciples or the people

around him or now us today, the church, right?

He's revealing something to us. So now let's

turn in our Bibles to our story today. If you

have your Bible, we're looking at Luke 7, 36

through 47. And we'll begin reading. I'm reading

out of the New Living Translation, unless it's

otherwise noted. But let's read together. One

of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with

him. That's nice. That ain't that nice. So Jesus

went, went to his home, and sat down to eat.

Wow. If he gets an invite, he's coming to eat.

Yeah, he said, I'm coming. Invited him in. When

a certain immoral woman from that city, everybody

say immoral woman, immoral woman from that city

heard that he was eating there, she brought a

beautiful alabaster jar. Get this, when she heard,

everybody say when she heard, she brought. She

brought. So when she heard he was eating there,

Jesus was eating in this Pharisee's home, she

brought. prepared a beautiful alabaster jar filled

with expensive perfume. I wanted to get your

attention on how Luke describes this woman as

an immoral woman. She must be known sinner. Now,

theologians often speculate what that means,

but all we really know from Scripture is that

her reputation is known more than her identity,

right? She's known as the sinful woman, this

immoral woman. That's her identity almost, right?

We don't have a name. We don't have what she

did. We just have a moral woman, as Luke records.

But something special about her. When she heard

where Jesus was, her heart wanted to give. Everybody

say her heart. Her heart wanted to give. And

it's interesting, though, that she knew exactly

what she wanted to give. Right? It doesn't say

like she kind of went, well, what should I give?

Why should I give? No one asked her to bring

anything. No one invited her to the party. Right?

But when she heard Jesus was in the house, her

heart wanted to give. And this reminds us of

the verse that we just shared during the offering,

right? In 2 Corinthians 9, 7, you must each decide

in your heart how much to give. Is this not what

took place here? She's purposing in her heart

what to give. Don't give reluctantly or in response

to pressure. No one pressured her. There was

no precedence. She just said, I have a gift for

this man, for Jesus. And she goes to him. I imagine

she went to him cheerfully. Let's keep reading.

When a certain immoral woman from the city heard

he was eating there, she brought a beautiful

alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume,

verse 38. Then, I like it, you know, the Bible

just sometimes just says then, and you just magically

go from her home to getting this jar to all of

a sudden, now we're just, boom, she's there in

the house. Then, she knelt down behind him at

his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet.

She wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept

kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.

I want you to think about this, not just in the

story that you've always heard. Maybe if you've

grown up in church, this is a familiar story

that we talk about. But I want you to think about

it this way, that her actions reveal something

about her heart. her actions reveal that she

noticed what had been neglected. And this clearly

moved her. If you know the historical context

of the time, there was a normal custom in a house.

When you invited someone over, because they didn't

have Nikes and Adidas and those kind of things

and boots, they had open sandals. And the streets

were not paved. It was just dirt. And animals

traveled down the highway. You get the image.

You fill in the blank. So it's dirty. The climate's

kind of like Florida, where it's hot and sticky

and humid, right? How many of you, if you just

walked around in the sand all day in hot, humid

Florida, your feet would stink, you know? You

know what I'm saying? Your feet would be dirty.

And it's like, before you come into someone's

house, their custom was, it wasn't like Southern

hospitality, where it'd be like, okay, you boys

come in and go freshen up, right, before dinner.

Their custom was the lowest servant of the household

or the host even would sit and as people would

come through the door, they would take a bowl

of water and a towel and wipe their feet and

then give them a little bit of oil for their

hair because they didn't have like Old Spice

or something. You know, they'd just give a little

bit of oil. Just make them smell better. And

then they would go on in. And see, when they

dined, they wouldn't sit in chairs. They would

sit on pillows with their feet kind of over to

the side. You imagine, like, you wouldn't want

to be eating with someone and their feet just

kind of aromatically going. That might be a little

much, right? So this was important. This was

normal. Everybody say normal. Everybody say custom.

And the common courtesy, though, was not given.

It was not given. But Jesus is there. Verse 39,

when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this.

Now notice what the Pharisee saw. He didn't think

about Jesus not having washed feet or anyone

else there. He just invited him over to dinner,

and they all sit down. They immediately start.

But when the Pharisee who had invited him, Jesus,

saw this, he said to himself, everybody say himself,

he said in his mind, right? He said, if this

man were a prophet, everybody say heart, we're

seeing his heart here, and that's why it's being

noted. If this man were a prophet, talking about

Jesus, he would know what kind of woman is touching

him. She's a sinner. If he only knew. If he was

a real prophet, right? We can see here his heart.

He had no respect about Jesus. He's inviting

him into his home, maybe curious, maybe something's

going on, but there's no intention of courtesy

or even what you would do for just your friend

or your neighbor down the street. This is not

being given. It's neglected, right? It's intentional.

Then Jesus answered his thoughts. Let me read

that again. Jesus answered his thoughts. Hello.

Wouldn't that get your attention? Simon, he said

to the Pharisee, I have something to say to you.

Uh -oh. I have something to say to you. Now,

I honestly, believe, like this is not in the,

I'm just speculating. I honestly believe that

Jesus, he wasn't concerned that his feet were

not washed, right? He probably, you know, of

course he acknowledged that like this custom

had not been done, but I don't think that he

was like, I'm going to say something. Should

I say something? No, I'm going to say something.

Like, right? He wasn't going to cause a scene.

He wasn't going to make a big deal out of it.

Why? He's in some other man's home, right? That's

his decision. He's not going to say anything.

But as soon as this man, in his heart, in his

mind, starts judging Jesus, saying, who does

this man think he is? He's not even a prophet.

As soon as he starts judging this woman, this

sinner touching you, who do you think you are?

You said Simon. I have something to say to you.

What does he say? Then Jesus told him this story.

A man loaned money to two people, 500 pieces

of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other,

but neither of them could repay him. So he kindly,

everybody say kindly, kindly forgave them both,

canceling their debts. Then he asked this, who

do you suppose loved him more? Notice what Jesus

said. Who's supposed loved him more? Simon answered,

I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger

debt. That's right, Jesus said. So in Jesus'

story, listen, in Jesus' story, a person's love,

everybody say love, love is proportionate. to

their recognition of how much they have been

forgiven. It's proportionate. As we see, the

person who realized how much that 500 denarii,

when they realized how large that was, when they

were mindful of how large that was, they loved

the debtor more, right? They realized how much

had been forgiven. But the person who had little

and forgiven little, they loved little. So here

this story puts two and two together for us,

right? Because Jesus wasn't just sharing a good

moral story. He was teaching something to Simon

and sharing something to those who were involved.

And this story, think about it, explains why

this woman is acting so extravagantly. That's

what's happening here. Because why would you

show up to a house uninvited? Why would you cry?

Why would you kneel? Why would you weep? Why

would you wash someone's feet with your tears

and your hair? Why would you give such an extravagant

gift to someone? That makes no sense in the natural.

Love. That's why. That's why. And Jesus is saying

it by sharing this story. He's like, her inhibited

display of love is the natural response of a

heart that has experienced, that recognizes,

that acknowledges the unconditional, unchanging

love of God. Because when you get a hold of it,

when you see it, you see just how big God is.

Just how strong His love is. And it changes you.

Changes what you do. Changes what you prioritize

in this life. We see that. And gifts, right,

are universal expressions of love. You could

go anywhere in the world and give a gift, right?

And it'd be seen as love to them, right? And

we see this in Scripture, John 3, 16. For God

so loved the world that He, what? Gave, right?

The Father gave the Son. The Son gave His life.

The Spirit gives gifts. Love. Always gives. Say

that with me. Love always gives. It doesn't have

to. It's not required. It's not pressure. Because

if it's pressured, it's not real love. If it's

forced, it's not real love. It must be given

cheerfully from a heart of love. And I want you

to think about this. She's acknowledging something

about Jesus, and we're going to see what in a

second. But you and I, what do we give God to

show him how much we love him? I want to ask,

I just want you to think about this real quick.

Take a moment. What do you and I give God? What

do we have? What do we have? Because God made

everything. God owns everything. It's all his,

right? It's all his. So what do you and I have

in the natural that we can do to give a holy

God who has everything? What can we give him?

We give God our worship. That is our demonstration

of love. That is the gift of love that we give

a holy God is our worship. That's the only thing

we can give him. But I want to notice in this

story, we're going to keep reading. Let's notice,

what does God see? What does God call attention

to now in this moment? Continue reading verse

44. Then he, Jesus, get this, turns to the woman

and says to Simon. I like that. He says, look

at this woman. Look at this woman. Simon only

saw a sinful woman. Think about it. He only saw.

Others only viewed her as just this uninvited

guest that didn't belong there. Wasn't worthy

to be there. Wasn't good enough to be there.

That's what everyone else saw. But only Jesus

truly saw her. Because God sees. He is the supreme

mighty God who sees you. Amen? He hears you.

And he sees this woman for who she is. He notices

her heart. Jesus saw beyond her reputation. He

sees a redeemed heart. He says, look at this

woman, Simon. Look at her kneeling here. What

is kneeling? She's kneeling at his feet. It's

a posture of worship. It's humility. It's submission.

It's honor. Kneeling before a holy God. She's

worshiping him. Then Jesus points out two things.

Simon's lack of giving. And then he points out

the woman's four gifts. Everybody say four gifts.

Now, throughout the Gospels, we see this story.

We see four different tellings of this story.

But in our study, we've seen that this sort of

thing. The same similar incident happens at least

three times in Jesus' earthly ministry. This

is not when you see it in the different Gospels,

each one is a different account. This story in

Luke 7 happens very early on in Jesus' ministry.

And notice, the later one is for his anointing

to, right? For his death, for his coming death

is the reasoning for it. It happens in two different

locations. One is this immoral sinner. Another

one is Mary. Martha, Mary at Lazarus' house,

not the Pharisees' house. I mean, there's all

these different things. This is just one of these

stories. And I want to point out to you that

what's the focus of this story? Some of the accounts

focus on, and so many sermons that I've heard

before on this story, right? It's always just

on the monetary value of the gift that was given.

That's the focus, right? And there's a time and

there's a place for that. But this morning, I

felt led that we should look at this account

where the focus is not on the amount. The focus,

though, in what Jesus calls our attention to

is what she gave, the content of what she gave.

And that is way beyond the amount she gave. That's

the unimportant part. If you get focused on that,

you're going to miss the point of the story.

Let's look what Jesus calls our attention to.

Jesus, again, he's... Looking at the woman, but

talking to Simon. When I entered your home, you

didn't offer me water to wash the dust from my

feet. It's custom. But she has washed them with

her tears. What's the first thing she gave? God's

noticing this. Shouldn't we notice this? Shouldn't

this get our attention? Our spirits should kind

of be like, oh. Simon, you gave me nothing. Not

even something, not even a bowl of water. Just

what you have. You gave me nothing. She gave

me tears. Tears are the water of the heart. It's

the emotional overflow. of true affection, gratitude,

recognition of what Jesus meant to her. She gave

her tears. The greatest commandment is what?

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, your

soul, and your strength. Is there any part of

a person that we're not supposed to be loving

God with? The heart is kardia, meaning the sphere

of your existence. The soul, your mind, your

will, your emotions. How many of you have thought

about that? That your emotions demonstrate and

express love to God, gratitude to Him. How often

when you feel your emotions, are they directed

in worship? How often are your thoughts intentionally

worshiping the King of kings and Lord of lords?

All your strength, all your might, every work

of your hand is worship. When you're at your

job, when you're at your business, when you're

at someone else's business, you're supposed to

be faithful in the small things, faithful in

that which is another man's. That your job, when

you're performing it, you're performing it either

from a heart of worship or from a heart of, I'm

working for this, I'm earning this. This is the

work of my hand. This is what I can do. This

is how I provide. This is how I have to live.

That's not worship. And then we come to church

and we're like, oh, okay. No, it's worship when,

in all things, every part of you calls to worship

God. And she, here, she's giving her tears. You

know, when you cry, it's just like an emotional

overload, right? Like, you know, just your whole

heart and your whole being just kind of wells

up and you just can't control it. Tears are not

naturally just turned on or turned off. She's

coming in and she's seeing what's been neglected,

what's been forgotten, what's happened. She's

seeing, she came to give a gift. She came to

give a gift. She should be happy. But when she

sees what's being done and what's been not done,

right, it breaks her heart. It breaks her heart.

Jesus continues, So when I entered your home,

you did not offer me water to wash the dust from

my feet, but she has washed them with her tears

and then wiped them with her hair. In their culture,

this was very provocative to be done. Usually

they'd have their hair up. To let their hair

down in the presence of, you know, people, that

was like, that was pretty weird. This was not

normal. But she lets her hair down, and she begins

to wipe. Think of how gross that is. I just want

you to, like, let's be real for a moment. I wouldn't

do that. You know what I'm saying? Would you

really do that? She lets her hair down and she

wipes his feet. She didn't have a rag. She didn't

have water. She didn't have a towel. She's like,

but something needs to be done. So she used what

she had. She gave her service. Everybody say

service. She provided the service that should

have been done. She lowers herself as a servant

and cleaned Jesus' feet. with her hair. It was

not what she prepared to give. It's not how she

envisioned or planned this encounter would go,

right? But when she saw the need, she refused

to let any excuse, no towel, not even the perception

of the others, the embarrassment, get in the

way of and keep her from giving God the honor

he deserves. Amen. Let nothing keep you. Let

nothing hinder you in the perception of others

from worshiping a holy God, the King of kings,

the Lord of lords, for showing your worship and

your love to him. Jesus continues, you didn't

greet me with a kiss. But from the time I first

came in, she has not stopped. Everybody say,

not stopped. She's not stopped kissing my feet.

She gave her affection. She gave her tears. She

gave her service. Now she's given her affection

to a holy God. See, her worship was not passive

or reserved. It was not, I wonder what everyone's

going to think. I wonder how they're going to

look at me. I wonder what's going to happen after

this encounter of me acting so extra. What's

the consequence of this action? No, none of that

was in her head. She had something to give. And

she wasn't going to let anyone get in the way.

Any thought get in the way. And I want you to

see the physicality of her worship. Too often,

we think worship is just, oh, I can just mentally

worship God. That me just thinking good thoughts

of love and adoration to Him, that's what is

required of me. You know, some people are loud

and some people, you know, do these things. They're

real, you know, they're comfortable. Uh -huh.

You know, some people are comfortable with that,

but me, I'm just, you know, I just don't feel

comfortable about that. Worship is physical.

She didn't just sit there and go, man, I'm kissing

your feet, God. I'm kissing his feet. I'm kissing

it. I adore you. I worship you. I love you. She's

not just thinking it. Because real love is not

words. Husbands and wives, if your spouse only

thought in their head they loved you, would you

feel the love? If they only thought it, they

never said it, they never demonstrated it, would

you feel loved? Would you even truly know that

they loved you? Unless love is demonstrated,

Unless it is physically acted out? Come on now.

Come on now. And we see Jesus is acknowledging

this. He's not saying, ooh, this is gross. He's

not turning her away. He's like, I didn't ask

for this. He's just sitting there letting it

happen because he sees her heart. He sees her

love being poured out through her affection.

She's just kissing his feet. Some people are

asking, how could she do this? She's asking,

how could I not? How could I not? She recognized

Jesus. Think about it. Think about this. Jesus,

God, the Messiah, was in Simon's house. Everyone

had an opportunity to give him. Everyone had

an opportunity to see him for who he really is.

But only this immoral, sinful woman comes. Come

on. She comes. She gets the gift and puts all

these guys to shame. I love it. She's like, nothing's

getting in the way. This is how you worship God.

This is how much he means to me. True love always

finds expression and demonstration because worship

is not just attendance. Look to your neighbor

and say, worship is not attendance. It's demonstrating.

Your affection. Churches all across America,

people come to the presence of God and they just

attend and they think that they're worshiping.

But when we gather together, when the church

meets, have you thought about this? What are

we doing here? What am I giving to God? Do I

think my just attendance is now worship to Him?

You know, I just kind of roll out of bed and

I'm coming and I'm just here and my mind's thinking

about what I'm going to eat for dinner or what

I've got to do later. I've got to cut the grass.

My grass is so high right now. You know, your

mind goes in a hundred different directions.

Are you here? Are you giving God something? Are

you just here to get something and then mad when

you don't receive it, but you're not even giving

him the attention and the honor that he deserves?

You're not giving him your heart. You're not

giving him your soul. You're not giving him your

strength. It's not just about attendance, folks.

When we come together, we give God. We're giving

Him. This is for Him. This is for Him. This is

to Him. When we sing songs, it's to Him. The

generosity is not measured by how well you can

sing. Thank God. It's not measured by how much

you bring. It's measured how much of your heart

you bring. How much heart do you bring? How much

affection do you bring? How much service do you

bring? That's worship. That's love. That's how

we give God. That's why we do what we do. Continuing

on, verse 46. You neglected the courtesy of olive

oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my

feet. Notice this contrast, right? Supposed to

put the anointing on the head. She has anointed

the stinkiest part. She poured the most valuable

thing on what we would consider the most invaluable

thing, right? On the lowest thing. She anointed

my feet with rare perfume. She gave her treasure.

The alabaster flask represented... intentional

sacrifice. Remember at the beginning of our story,

when she heard Jesus was in the house, she immediately

prepared the alabaster jar. She said, this is

what I'm going to bring. This is my offering.

This is my sacrifice. And all throughout the

Bible, what is sacrifice seen as? In the Old

Testament, sacrifice was seen as worship. She's

bringing her worship to God by bringing her treasure

to God. She's giving God her love by bringing

the thing that cost her something. She didn't

give what was convenient. She gave what was costly.

Cost her something. This reminds us in Matthew

6, 21, says this, Wherever your treasure is,

there the desires of your heart will also be.

What is this saying? What you give, listen church,

what you give reveals what your heart treasures.

What you give reveals your heart. What you deem

as valuable, what you esteem most. I think we

spend our time more making money. than anything

else, more than sleeping, more than, you know,

we go, we do our jobs, we do all that kind of

stuff, right? She probably worked a long time

for this. We don't know exact value, but she

worked a long time. This was a valuable gift.

And it proves where her heart was at. And notice

that Jesus mentions every gift she brought. He's

the one who points it out. He noticed her tears.

He noticed her service. He notices her affection,

and he notices the offering. Then, it doesn't

stop, he reveals the reason behind these gifts.

Listen. I tell you, her sins, and they are many,

have been, everybody say have been, have been

forgiven. I've heard this preached a lot where,

you know, God is forgiving her sins in this moment.

That's kind of twisted too, because when you

think about it, it conveys the image of she's

working for her salvation. And that's not who

God is. So what this story is really about, listen,

is that a heart that has loved recognizes, come

on, recognizes the weight and the value of what's

been forgiven. And because she recognized such

a great value of what she has already been forgiven,

right? She's acting in accordance with how much

she valued that. How much that meant to her.

This is why she's acting this way. Because she

has been forgiven. So, because she has shown

me much love. She has shown me. She has given

me much love. But a person who is forgiven little

only shows little love. Right? This word here

means to send away. It means her sins, God sent

them away. To leave, to forgive. They were abandoned

from her. That's what it conveys. And it's important

to realize that this story is not isolated from

the rest of the Bible. The Bible's not written

in a vacuum, right? Each story is not just in

a vacuum. It's not isolated. And I believe that

her actions, even though it's not specifically

stated in Scripture, I believe because of what

Jesus says and because of these points that build,

listen, that her actions speak louder than the

words, right? Her actions reveal something else,

that Jesus had already encountered her. Jesus

at some point had forgiven her at an earlier

time, and His words of forgiveness are confirmation.

of a previous experience. Because he's looking

at her and he's not, he's just receiving worship.

He's receiving her love. She's showing me love.

What's the reasoning though? Because she's been

forgiven. Man, if I was a disciple, if I was

Luke in that room and I'm like, I've got it.

thinking I have it all figured out. And then

Jesus is like, all you people just think proximity

is intimacy. All you, you know, you sitting around

and Jesus is saying, look, just because I'm in

your presence, it doesn't mean you're offering

me anything. It doesn't mean you're showing me

love. Just because you show up and you're near

does not mean that you have turned your attention

and turned the intentions of your heart to him.

It does not mean you're abiding in Him. The Son

of the living God, the Holy Spirit, lives in

you. Amen? The Holy Spirit is in you. But that

doesn't mean you're abiding in Him. It's okay.

His words of forgiveness are confirmation of

this experience. He says, I tell you, her sins,

and they are many, have been forgiven, so she

has shown me much love. Her great demonstration

of love, her generosity, her worship, is due

to her being mindful of and captivated by Jesus'

forgiveness and mercy. She's the one who saw

his splendor. She's the one who sees what the

others took for granted. So my question with

you this morning, who are you more like? I can't

answer this. Your spouse can't answer this. Your

family can't answer this. The people you're sitting

around can't answer this. Only you know. Who

are you more like? Are you like Simon? Are you

like this woman? And we can know that, we can

answer that by determining the worship that we

give and the love that we give God. The affections

of our heart. Jesus noticed everything the woman

gave, but he also points out what Simon withheld.

It's important to realize that. He gave no water,

no kiss. And no oil. But everyone gives something.

Some give worship. Some give indifference. Some

give honor. And some give excuses. Some give

their all. Some give their leftovers. Who are

you more like? True worship, then, gives its

attention, gives its submission, it gives its

affection and praise, it gives its service and

it gives its treasure. Not out of duty, not out

of obligation, but a cheerful heart. Amen? We

give him the only thing we really can. He doesn't

need it, but he deserves it. He deserves it.

And if you don't think he deserves it, you need

to check your heart. Who are you more like? When

that thought enters your head, who is that thought

more like? Is it more like Simon? Or is it more

like this woman? Right? Your sacrifice, your

displays of trust, and your obedience, your generosity,

your worship, Never, everybody say never, never

go unnoticed by God. Amen. They never go unnoticed.

Maybe you're here this morning and maybe God's

told you to do something. He's given you a promise

and you're waiting on its fulfillment. Notice

that what you have done in faith is never unnoticed.

Never unnoticed by him. Wait. Don't waver. Hold

fast. Steady your heart. Be loyal to him. Fully

committed in all things. Right? Because he wants

to show you just how big he is. God always sees.

Faith activates his promises, right? He always

sees. We don't give God to receive anything.

We give to God by faith in his promises, in his

finished work, and out of the heart of adoration.

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