John 12:1-11 - Caleb Richardson

Hey, it's good to see you guys again. I wasn't

here last week, that's why I said that. Hey,

I just want to say last week I got to be in Reno

area, a place called Spanish Springs, if anybody

knows that area. There's a number of churches

we partner with there, and I got to preach at

this church, and like us, they're a portable

church, meets in a high school. But it was a

really cool time. And I'll tell you more about

that story as you go. But it's really great to

know that the body of Christ is not just one

little church. It's multiple. And we work together

to see the good news of Jesus spread. So that's

where I was at. But it's good to be back here

with you guys. A couple of things before we jump

in. First of all, if you don't have a Bible with

you, on those back tables, you saw Izzy had the

little blue Bible. That's the Gospel of John.

That's what we're working through. Feel free

to jump up. Go grab one of those. Mark it up.

Take it home with you. They're yours. But we're

working our way through John's, so go do that.

I want to just highlight, before we do anything,

opportunities for you to serve. We're growing.

It's a little sparse right now because so many

people are out hunting and doing some adventures,

but when everybody shows back up, This is going

to be a bit of a packed house. And so one of

the things we've done is we have bought 80 more

chairs. This is everything that's available.

And we have these old nasty ones over here in

the corner that we can fold out. But we bought

more of these. But we also bought a second trailer

because we've got so many kids and we're going

to have one for the kids and one for here. But

that means we need more help in our setup and

we need somebody to say, hey, I'll start pulling

a trailer. It's a really easy way to serve, but

we need you to step up as we grow those, so does

the needs. And I can't say enough, like, how

important our children are and how blessed we

are to have so many kids, but also with that

comes opportunities for the kids to be served,

for you to serve in the back with the kids. I

was down at this church. The church in Reno is

probably... 400 people. And guys, we have way

more children than they do. So we are so blessed.

that everyone will come with 4 .5 kids. So a

result of that is we have a lot of children,

and that's why we're praying and asking God to

raise up a children's ministry director. We need

it desperately, but if you want to serve, God

has created you to serve. We're actually going

to touch on some of that this morning, but it's

time to get out of the bleachers and into the

game, okay? So if you're still sitting in the

bleachers, you're part of this church, It's time.

Time to get in the game. Find some way for you

to roll up your sleeves and reflect the way that

Jesus lived and deserved. Now, some of you, it's

okay. Just come sit in the bleachers for a little

bit. We want you there. We want you here. And

at some point, you'll get into the game too.

So, hey, let's do this. We're going to pray.

This is a really cool text. And I've had so much

fun with it this week. And I think you're going

to enjoy it. This is a really cool story. Let's

pray and ask God to do the work in us. It could

just be flat on the page unless the Spirit of

God does work. So let's pray and ask the Spirit

to do a work, and then we'll dive into this,

okay? Lord, we come before you as just broken

people. People who... struggle from day to day

i i don't know any of us in this room that isn't

in that place myself included and we just need

you jesus and we need to humbly come before you

because we know that you are the the one who

gives real life that you are the light of the

world that you are um and you call us to to come

to you as your children and so we do that this

morning we ask by the power of the spirit that

you will do a work in each one of our hearts

starting like even with myself lord thank you

for the work that you've already done in reminding

me and convicting me of some things even this

week will you continue to shape me and will you

continue to shape this group of people more and

to being more and more like you and we pray these

in your name amen all right so if you uh If you

were to put a title on these 11 verses, which

I don't normally do, we just kind of roll right

through a book. But if you were to put a title

on these verses, I would call this radical gratitude.

Radical gratitude. No, I'm not very good at titles.

That's why I don't normally do them. But I think

this one really matches this text. And so we

are reaching this point, as you've been going

through John, and we've reached this point where

we've spent, we're in chapter 12. We're a little

more than halfway, but not much. We've been here

a while, haven't we? And we've spent, everything

we've done so far in John has covered three years

of Jesus' life. And now, the last half of John,

all the way to the end, covers one week, roughly,

of his life. And it's a really important week.

All of history is deeply impacted by this one

week. It will change everything. And so Jesus

has, where we find ourselves now in this story,

is that Jesus has raised Lazarus from the dead.

And as you can imagine, the religious leaders

who have been opposing him are nervous. Why?

The religious leaders are in full opposition

of Jesus right now. It's game on. It's take Jesus

down. In fact, they've gone so far. as to the

point where they have called out a hit on his

life. They want Jesus dead. Why? Because they're

really afraid of losing control. Now, they're

saying, well, he's blaspheming, so they have

justification in their mind to take Jesus down.

But the real issue behind it is they're losing

control. Okay? So we're now in chapter 12. And

everything, everyone that's in the story, everyone

is preparing for Passover. Now, you know, if

you've followed, if you've been in your Bible

at all, if you've been tracking with John, Passover

festival feast is the most important. Like it's

the highlight every year when there's a bunch

of different festivals. This is a big one. And

it's the third Passover. that we see in the Gospel

of John. So we've gone through one, two, now

number three. And one of the reasons we know

that Jesus' ministry lasted three years is because

significant things happen at the Passover. It

kind of marks the big chapters, right? And this

is number three. So three years into Jesus' ministry,

Passover's here, and they're celebrating. And

I'm not going to go into a lot of detail of the

Passover just because we've done it a lot, and

we'll do it more. They're celebrating the rescue,

God's rescue of them out of Egypt and bringing

them to the promised land. And how he did it.

And so the Passover is near and everyone is preparing

because it was a major preparation. Thousands

upon thousands of people would convert, come

into Jerusalem, and their feasts would happen,

and every single thing that they were preparing

had a significant meaning to it. And so they're

getting close to the Passover, and this is where

we find Jesus. And here's the thing. It's really

interesting. If you look at the end of 11, he

says the people were, as they're preparing, they're

all asking the same question. Where's Jesus?

Where is he? Will he show up? We hear there's

a hit out on his life. What's going to go down?

Will they arrest him and kill him? This is what's

buzzing, okay? So let's get into our story. Now,

verse 1 and 2, first chunk here. We're just going

to jump right into the story. It says this. Six

days before Passover, Jesus came to Bethany where

Lazarus was, the one Jesus had raised from the

dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha

was serving, and Lazarus was one of those reclining

at the table with him. So again, six days. They're

getting ready for the Passover. John tells us

this is six days before that big event. Jesus

is approaching Jerusalem. In six days, Jesus

would be stretched out on a cross and give his

life for all. This is where we're going. And

the only one that really knows this is Jesus.

He knows his doing. He knows what his destiny

is. But now we're in this moment where they come

into a house and they're about ready to throw

what we're going to call a gratitude dinner party.

A gratitude dinner party for Jesus. Mark tells

us in his gospel that it's at Simon the former

leper's house. So here's Simon, former leper,

and he's hosting at this house. And then Matthew

tells us that all of the disciples are there.

So we know that there's at least 17 people present

at this party. It's a thank you Jesus party.

Every time, church, every time we gather, every

time we gather, As a church, it should be a gratitude

party for Jesus, right? Like, think about it.

We come together because if you have met Jesus,

you're different. And if you're not different,

my question is, have you met Jesus? Because when

Jesus crashes in on your life, things change.

It's worth celebrating, right? So it's a gratitude

party. Because of who Jesus is and what he's

done. So every time we gather, this is a good

marker. Like, this is a gratitude party. Sometimes

it feels more like a funeral. We need to fix

that. But these guys are here for one reason.

The disciples. And they're all gathered together

because they're celebrating. They have a gratitude

party. That they're celebrating Lazarus' resurrection

from the dead. But this wasn't... This was a

dangerous party because remember, there's a hit

out on Jesus' life. They want him dead. So it's

dangerous to gather. But it didn't matter. They're

worth celebrating Jesus because it was that important.

Now what we're going to see in these is four

responses at this party. Four different responses

to Jesus at this gratitude party. We see, so

verse... First three responses we see are from

the siblings, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. And

these are appropriate responses. In fact, I'm

going to challenge you today to think about each

one of these responses should be evident in every

one of our lives if you are a follower of Jesus.

Let's start off with the first one. First, there's

Martha. She is doing what Martha does best. If

you've followed any of this, you know the story

of Martha. She loves to serve. That's who she's

serving. John highlights the fact that Martha

is there and she's got a spread going and she

loves barbecue. That's what I think anyway. Guys,

that was a joke. I'm bad. Rough this morning.

Come on, wake up. Martha is just serving, man.

She's at the spread out. Here's the thing. She's

a guest in Simon's house and yet She has taken

responsibility to serve everyone. This is why

he's highlighting it, okay? She has probably

worked for hours. Like, use your imagination.

She's worked for hours. She's got this huge spread

out, and they're all coming, and they're lounging

there, and they're going to feast before the

Passover feast. This is a party. Then there's

Lazarus. We see that Lazarus is mentioned. And

we see Lazarus, and he's a picture of abiding

in Jesus. We're going to get more into this.

But it says that Lazarus is there lounging next

to Jesus. And I want you to use your imagination.

So you have Martha running around serving. Let

me help you. Can I get something for you? And

you have Lazarus there just in the presence of

Jesus, abiding. And then there's Mary. Mary is

giving. So if you think about three responses

here, you have... Serving, abiding, and giving.

Now look at what Mary does because it really

wraps up the heart of this. Look at verse 3.

Then Mary took a pound of perfume, pure and expensive

nard. Think oil. Nard's not a word we use a lot.

It's like really good oil. Anointed Jesus' feet

and wiped his feet with her hair. So the whole

house was filled with the fragrance of perfume.

This story kind of gets lost. Let's unpack it

a little bit. Guys, this whole scene is a picture

of worship. It's worship. The Gospel Way Catechism

defines worship this way. It says this. What

is worship? Worship is the devotion. I think

it's up there on the screen. Yeah. Worship is

the devotion we offer up to whatever we love

most. Now, before we get to the Christian definition,

just think about that, what I just said. Worship

is the devotion we offer up to whatever we love

most. Christian worship is a lifelong outpouring

of love to God and humble adoration. You're entranced

by his beauty. We exalt him through praise and

obedience. This is worship. What we did up here,

that's singing. It can be worship, but worship

is all -encompassing. It's your life being offered

up. I would add that worship, we worship him.

By abiding in him, by serving him, and giving

all of you to him. That's worship. Abiding in

him, which means to hang with him. To be in his

presence. To serve him. Sacrificing everything

you have. Like, can I help? Rolling up your sleeves.

Looking for opportunity to jump in like Martha

does. And then giving of everything. Now, think.

Think about these three siblings. Worship of

Jesus should be present in every believer's life

or something's wrong. There should be abiding

in your life. There should be serving in your

life. And there should be giving. Let me unpack

some of this. Let's zero in for a minute on Mary

and how she pours out gratitude to Jesus. Mary's

actions here were very costly. We kind of think

of perfume, throw a little bit on there. No,

this is not what's going on here. Her actions

were incredibly costly. A pint of nard, if they're

talking about here, as pure perfume oil, is extremely

expensive. It would be your life savings, in

a sense. 300 denarii is worth a lot. One denarii...

is a day's wages. So it's at least 300 days of

work in a jar. $60 ,000 to $80 ,000 probably

in our days of money is what they estimate. So

just take $60 ,000. We'll be generous, okay?

We'll tone it down a bit. $60 ,000 you're holding

in a jar and you come up to Jesus, to his feet,

his dirty old feet. Mary takes... what is likely

to be her most treasured possession. Kneels down

at the feet of Jesus. Dirty feet. As she lounges

there, she takes this jar and she begins to anoint

his feet. And we don't have, like you guys got

pretty clean feet, so I'm sorry you stink, but

you don't have feet like back then. Like you

don't do this. Only the servants would wash the

feet. The lowest of the low would be brought

in to wash feet because it was that gross. So

here she is dumping a $60 ,000 to $80 ,000 bottle

of ointment upon Jesus' feet, and then she does

something really bizarre. She doesn't pull out

a rag to wipe him, to clean him as she's anointing

his feet. What does she do? She takes her hair.

And for a Jewish woman to take her hair down

and just begin to wipe his feet with her hair

is a sense of... humble. It's an act of great

humility. She's just like, can you picture this

scene? Like, we don't even like, that would be

weird in our day, but it was weird then. Imagine

everybody in the room watching this. She takes

her hair. I don't know, maybe she's got tears

in her eyes. I don't know what's going on. It's

just kind of a weird scene, but she's doing it.

She's rubbing his feet, cleaning his feet, and

takes her hair, and she's One of the commentators

says that her gift reminds us of the surpassing

value of Jesus Christ. Mary realizes it's worth

it to give all to Jesus. She doesn't pick up

a cheap perfume. She doesn't dab a little bit

on the inside of his wrist. She brings out her

best, most extravagant, most expensive ointment

of the day, and she pours it every ounce on him.

Her gift is her yelling at the top of the mountain,

Jesus is worth it. That's worship. What would

cause Mary to do something so extravagant, so

radical, so expensive? Could it be? That Mary

could really see who Jesus was. The almighty

God. The God of the universe. Who became a human.

Who would die a brutal death in our place. Could

she see that? I think so. That he was so wondrous.

So satisfying. Joyful. Joyfully God who promises

to give peace and satisfaction in himself to

those who humbly come before him. Did she get

that? I think so. Why else would you dump that

kind of money? Why else would you take it that

far? Because she got who he was. Do you get who

he is? She poured out her love and her gratitude

on Jesus. I think what you see is Lazarus abiding,

hanging out with Jesus. You see Mary doing all

this work for Jesus. I mean, Martha, and then

you see Mary giving everything in worship to

Jesus. Church, I want us to love Jesus this way.

I want us to love Jesus this way. I want to love

Jesus this way. To love him for who he is. The

God of the universe. In the beginning was the

what? The word, and the word was with God, and

the word was God. What John starts off in, in

John chapter one, he starts off by saying, Jesus

is God. And everything in the universe rotates

around him. He made it all, and now he's come

to you because he loves you. Mary, I think, gets

that. Church, I want us to love. who he is. I

want us to love what he has done because out

of that changes everything. I believe it. I know

it's true in my life. Now, can you imagine what

it must have been like in that home, in the presence

of Jesus, sitting around this table. They had

these tables. They're about, you know, lounge

up. They'd all be lounging back and they're like

17 and around the table and they're all having

conversation. The food's all spread out and now

all of a sudden Mary does this. She's pouring

out perfume on Jesus' feet. She wipes her hair

in front of everyone. But don't miss the last

part. Verse 3. So the house was filled with the

fragrance of the perfume. John doesn't make just

throw words out there. Each one of these has

deep meaning. The whole house was filled with

the fragrance of the perfume. You're like, duh.

That's a whole lot of perfume. Well, why does

he tell us? See, guys, I think this is a picture.

As people pour out worship to Jesus, it changes

the atmosphere. It changes the place. I saw this

last week. It was really cool. So I'm at this

church. I don't know this church. I get to preach

at this church. and I mean I know a few of the

people I've gotten to know over the last several

days but I'm preaching over this big auditorium

full of 400 people or so and at first everybody's

kind of standing this doing the normal you know

radiant shuffle of once the song you're singing

for a bit like this somebody does this once in

a while shut up quiet we're singing you know

one of that kind of thing and I'm watching it

from a distance and I can see it happen And after

the sermon, we get up and they do kind of the

same thing. They're saying, and they got to this

song. And I can't remember the name of the song,

but everything changed in the room. All of a

sudden, 60, 70 % of the room had their hands

up in the air and there was tears flowing down

their face. I'm telling you, it changed everything.

Like the fragrance. I was thinking because I

already studied this out and I was like, oh my

gosh. Now this is just an expression. of gratitude

toward God in this moment. But in that moment,

I saw just this movement of like, and I'm not

talking about an experience. I'm talking about,

there wasn't, we're trying to drum up some sort

of drama or emotional feeling. There were people

literally going, God, you're everything. Like

Mary did. She poured it out and she said, you're

everything. And as a result of that, it changed

the whole room. I was like, whoa. Because I knew

what I was preaching this week. And I saw that

was like. That's what he's talking about. Now

I said that there's, as we started into the stories,

there's four responses. Starting in verse four,

we see the opposite of real Christian worship.

Look at verse four and five. Then one of his

disciples. Judas Iscariot, and he helps us out

along the way. He kind of tells us what's, he

reads his own commentary into this. He says,

who was about to betray him said, why doesn't

this perfume, why wasn't this perfume sold for

300 denarii? That's what we know it's worth,

right? And given to the poor. Everyone at the

meal saw Mary's worship. They saw it as amazing

except for one. Except for one. Judas, he saw

it as an extravagant waste. You know, at first

when you read that, if you just stop right there,

it kind of sounds wise. Why wouldn't you, why

would you dump $80 ,000 on his feet when you

could take that same amount and help somebody?

It sounds impressive. It sounds sensitive, doesn't

it? But these are the words, but these words

were used to disguise his greed. Behind it all,

he was a thief. Behind it all, he was selfish.

Behind it all, it was all about him. John tells

us in verse 6 what's actually going on. Look

what he says. He doesn't say these because he

cared about the poor. but because he was a thief.

In fact, and then he explains what he did. He

says he was in charge of the money bag. So I

think this is a pretty funny moment before you

jump ahead. Jesus knows what's going on and he

still says, you can be in charge of the money

bag. Money is not an issue to God, Jesus, is

it? Don't worry, we're not talking about money

in our church today, just so you're wondering.

But Jesus didn't really bother him because John

even knows at this point, he says, this is actually

going on. He's holding the money bag and he's

dipping in and he's stealing part of it whenever

he wants it. John intends for us to see the contrast

between Mary and Martha and their worship in

Judas. Mary and Martha were selfless, giving

and serving. They were giving and serving followers

of Jesus. And Judas was selfish, greedy, materialist.

That's the contrast. Now, we're all sitting here

going, yeah, I'm sure glad I'm not like Judas.

I found myself like Judas this week. That's my

heart. I'm really honest. I know I may not be

dipping into the church budget, just so you know,

I'm not doing that. But I'm taking. I'm selfish.

Mary's heart was full of wonder and thankfulness,

and it overflowed in this radical demonstration

of affection. She loved and treasured Jesus for

who he was and what he'd done. And at this point,

Jesus hasn't even gone to the cross. Judas, his

heart felt none of that. He valued money more

than Jesus. Judas could only think of what his

wants and desires were. Judas was not a worshiper

of Jesus. He was a worshiper of self, himself.

He was a consumer. If we're not careful, we'll

become like Judas. It's that close. One step

away in our actions to be like Judas. We can

become consumers too. A consumer says, it's all

about me. A worshiper, of Jesus says, it's all

about Jesus. Not some of it, all of it. A consumer,

I hope this church meets my needs. A worshiper

of Jesus, please point me to Jesus. A consumer,

I want to be served. A worshiper, I will serve.

Where I'm needed. Consumer is. I'm at the center.

My world. I choose my church. My community. My

Jesus to meet my needs. That's consumer. A worshiper

says. Jesus is at the center. And my life rotates

around him. That's the difference. Jesus is not.

impressed with Judas' selfishness, and he responds

to Judas. And this is amazing, these verses.

Look at this. Jesus' answer is, leave her alone.

You can remember, sitting around the table, this

happens. Judas makes this wise comment, and he

looks at Judas and goes, leave her alone. She

has kept it for the day of my burial. For you

always have the poor with you, but you do not

always have me. Oh, what's going on here? Again,

put yourself in this story. Imagine what's going

on around this table. Mary is at the feet of

Jesus, just did this thing, hair dripping with

oil, pure nard. She's worshiping. The room is

filled with this fragrance, and selfish Judas

speaks up, and he's critical of what just happened.

And Jesus' response is strong. And he looks at

Judas. I can kind of imagine. And him kind of

pointing right at Judas. And he says, leave her

alone. Judas, shut up. That's what it means.

I said shut up one time in church and got in

trouble for it. But not this church. But he looks

at him and says, Judas, knock it off. Knock it

off. Because you're affecting worship. You're

changing the tone of this whole room. Don't think.

Jesus is saying the poor don't matter. He is

not saying that here. In fact, Jesus always cared

for the poor. That's not a poor person issue.

This is about the priority of worship in your

life. And he's saying to you, don't you dare

interfere with Mary's worship right now because

that is the most important thing. Don't you dare

stop that. The way that Lazarus responded, abiding

with Jesus, Very important. Are you sitting at

the feet of Jesus? Are you just there with Jesus?

This is the last time you just hung out with

your Savior. Martha's response in worship is

by serving Jesus. That's very important. Are

you serving church? It's not because Radiant

Church needs you. You need to serve. You're created

for that. That's part of the identity that Jesus

has given you. And you're going to find great

joy, like Martha did, in serving. But let it

be your worship. Not for getting anything, but

by saying, Jesus, it's all for you. Mary responds

in worship by giving everything. Her most important

prize. God, it's for you. Very important. Worship

is about abiding with Jesus, selfless, serving

Jesus, radical giving to Jesus. That's what worship

is. And he's calling us as a church. He's calling

me, Caleb, he's calling me to live this way.

He's calling you individually to live this way.

And he's calling us corporately to be this kind

of people. I believe that's what's going on here.

It's all about Jesus. And it's not about you.

It's for you. It's not about you. So Judas shut

up and leave her alone, he says. Judas, stop

it. Now, there's one more part of this story

that we need to look at before we close. Look

at verse 9. Then a large group, a large crowd

of Jews learned he was there. This was kind of

a private meeting, but they knew he was hit out

for his life. The large group, they learned that

he is there. They came not because of... they

came not only because of jesus but also to see

lazarus the one who's raised from the dead but

the chief priests had decided to kill lazarus

also because he was the reason so many jews were

deserting them and believing in jesus okay what's

going on here lazarus has become jesus star witness

and the funny thing about lazarus there's nothing

special about lazarus We don't see any words,

teachings. He just exists. And I think that's

the point. There's nothing that Lazarus did to

earn Jesus, did he? But Jesus, you know, but

he's become his star witness all because of what

Jesus has done for him. Jesus has taken Lazarus

from death to life. And for this reason, many

of the Jews are now believing in Jesus. They're

turning, they're going, that's what we want.

You may not have been physically raised from

the dead, church. But if you are in Christ, you

were once dead in your sins. The Bible talks

to this. Jesus has called you to himself. Right?

He's called you out. And he's raised you to newness

of life. That's what it means to be a follower

of Jesus. He's changed you. I was... Craig, you're

so bad because you sit right in the front row.

I always pick on you. But there are a number

of you in here that I've seen God change your

life in the last year or so. You're one of them,

Craig. It's happening, isn't it? The newness

of life. It's happening. That's a miracle. And

every believer has been changed by the power

of Christ. And if you have a new life, if you

have a new life, you are... with Christ, you

are like Lazarus because you become the star

witness to the reality of Jesus Christ. This

is how the church grows. When your life is changed,

it ripples out from you. If it's not, they'll

call you a hypocrite. But if it's real, something

changes. Craig was telling me today, and he didn't

know I was going to say this. But a few weeks

back, he got, after helping set up, he was out

walking around the grounds, and he got bit by

a dog. Really bad. And he left in the ER, and

it cost a lot of money. And he didn't get ornery

with the guy, the owner. He pressed in, showed

the love of Jesus with this guy. And I'm not

bragging about you, Craig. I just think this

is a beautiful picture. The guy came by a couple

Sundays ago to kind of give him some money to

help with the ER visit. And Craig invited him

in and says, why don't you come in? He didn't

come. He said, but I think the words you said,

Craig, was that you can change. You changed my

life. It's crazy how you could change everybody

else just by this circumstance. Come on in. That's

a ripple effect. Of the change of somebody's

life rippling into community outside of that

saying, and this is what's happened with Lazarus.

He becomes the star witness of Jesus. And it's

not about Lazarus. It's about Jesus. As you go

through the Gospel of John, we've talked over

and over about this statement that your vertical

relationship with God must affect your horizontal

or something's wrong. Your vertical relationship.

This is where it starts. You and Jesus. Where

are you at? And this is what's happened here.

Now as we close, I want you to think about your

vertical, just you. You and you alone sitting

in this chair. Think about your vertical relationship

with Jesus. You could be... Or you could be all

been doing this walk. Think you've been walking

with Jesus. Maybe you're going to church your

whole life. Stop for a second and just think

about what this vertical relationship with Jesus

is like. Is there abiding in him? Are you serving

him? Are you giving to him all of you? Are you

worshiping him? The vertical starts with this

way. If Jesus is up here and you are down here,

there's an arrow that points straight down. And

everything starts and comes from Jesus to you.

He has poured out his life for you. He's come

to you. That's what we get in John, right? It's

like, you could do nothing to get me. Grace upon

grace upon grace, I give it to you. And you are

like this. And you're soaking it up because you've

done nothing to earn it. He's poured it out on

you. That's the picture of the gospel. That's

what's come to you. God to us. Here's my question,

and I want to end with three questions to us,

and I want you to respond, okay? I want you to

talk about this with me. How has Jesus come to

you? How did Jesus come to you? That vertical

from here to here, how did Jesus come to you?

How did he come? What was his posture? Think

about it. Tell me. What was his way of coming

to you? How did he approach you? Heavy -handed?

Boom! Did he come after you that way? No. How

did he come, church? Hmm? Like a baby? Who else?

I heard one more. What's that? With mercy. He

came to you. How else? How did he come to you?

Came with you with love? Did you do anything

to earn Jesus? How did Jesus come to Caleb? I

didn't deserve what I got. And I got it anyway.

It's called the incarnation. Jesus came to us.

John 1 verse 14. Becoming flesh and dwelt among

John 1:14

us. He came to us in a way that we could. we

could grab onto. And then the second question

is, how has Jesus saved you? How did he save

you? And third question is, what has Jesus given

up for you? Let's just camp on that one for a

minute. What did Jesus give up to come to you

and to suffer and to die for you? What did he

give up? Isn't that crazy? Position came to the

lowest of the low. That's what Jesus did for

you. So that's the vertical this way. Okay? Worship

is our response to what God has done. Okay, God,

look at all the things you did. Look who you

are. Look what you have done. Worship is my acknowledgement

that God, you did this. It's you. I'm nothing

without you. That's what worship is. You guys

ready to worship? Here's the definition of worship

one more time. What is worship? Worship is a

devotion we offer up to whatever we love most.

So my question this morning starts with, what

are you worshiping other than God? What are you

putting in front of God that's become more important

to God? And Bible says that we are to take that

and lay it down. If you see something you know

in your life, lay it down. Christian worship

is a lifelong outpouring of the love of God.

In humble adoration, entrenched by his beauty,

we exalt him through praise and obedience. As

we close this morning, as we sing, band, I want

you to come up now. As we sing and celebrate,

we're going to celebrate communion. Now, of course,

communion is something we do every week. But

it's there for a reason. You look at what Jesus

did. This is the vertical. We're looking up.

and saying, look what Jesus has done. His body

was broken. His blood was shed. And I don't just

do this as some little thing. I say, this bread

represents his body that was broken for me. I

did nothing to earn it. And this juice or this

wine that I drink is a picture of his blood shed

for me, a new covenant relationship established

with me. Nothing you did. Grace upon grace being

poured out on you. And we take it and we say,

Thank you. Let's worship. We sing today with

the kind of gratitude. Let's have a gratitude

party. You guys have been very quiet today. I

didn't mean it to be this way. But here's the

thing. If Jesus is changing you, can you let

him know? Sing. Like you, like, like. You're

excited about Jesus. Sing in response to what

God has done to this upward relationship. I personally

think, like, we're intellectual people. We are

lots of introverts in the house. Maybe it's time

for some of you to actually go like this. Maybe

some time to open your hands and don't worry

about anybody else around you and use this as

a physical thing. Put your life in the open of

your hands and pretend for a second that, God,

I give my family, I give my finances, I give

everything, I give my children. Here, God, I

give it back to you. God, here it is. And just

sing. Sing and pray and give God back everything

with this posture. See what he does. Don't be

afraid. It'll change the room. Pour out your

heart to Jesus. Maybe you need to worship for

a second and abide in Jesus, just sit in your

chair, and maybe there's some tears that need

to flow, where you need to go, God, I come before

you, and I see who you are, and I see the wretched

sinner that I am, and I give it to you. I confess

my sins before you. I am a broken dude. I'm a

broken woman. Whatever it is. Cry out to God.

Don't be ashamed. Don't worry about anybody else

but him. Cry out to him today. Ask God this morning

where you need to serve. If you're not serving,

you're missing out. He's calling you to that.

And so in the moment here, if you're going, I

don't know what, I'm just kind of sliding in,

sliding out, ask God to say, where do you want

me? Where do you want me? Let me pray. Only you,

Spirit, can change our hearts. Only you can draw

us to your feet. So I pray today for the work

and the power of the Holy Spirit to be upon all

of us. That you might change us. You might transform

us. You might make us more like you. That we

will have a gratitude party starting right within

our own hearts. We will be like Lazarus and Martha

and Mary. And we'll come before you with great

gratitude for who you are and what you've done.