Extreme Love

Well, the popularity of extreme sports has just exploded across our country and really across the world in the last 20 years. I think it was 22 years ago that the first extreme games were held and now extreme sports are being accepted into the Olympics. They spun off a whole new series of competitions called the Extreme Games and even a new cable channel called Extreme Channel. It's really become so popular and there are all kinds of extreme sports. Extreme sports are described and defined this way. They are sports perceived as having a high level of inherent danger. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. One website lists 46 different sports under the category of extreme sports. Everything from ones that are more familiar to us like Motocross as you see on the screen, those competitions have been going on for some time or skate boarding. That's become very, very popular in our day as well or snowboarding. Those last two have been accepted into not only the X games but also to some degree in the Olympics as well. But there are even more extreme sports that push the limits of danger. Sports like base jumping. This guy is jumping off a tower in Istanbul, Turkey. We find that even in our area at Bridge Day with people jumping to 868 feet and hoping their parachute will open before they hit the bottom. Or this one, look at this one. When suit flying, how would you like to do this? Get a when suit that makes you aerodynamically like a bird and just float. Just float. I understand there are parachutes that they pull toward the end of that ride. Here's one that I knew nothing about. This is not a joke. This is serious. Extreme ironing. Extreme ironing. I don't know if you can see the picture well enough. But this is actually a sport listed. You climb up some unbelievable mountain or rock cliff like this. You may be able to even see his rope right down from him just down in front of him. I don't have my pointer. But you may be able to see his rope. You've got an ironing board on your back. And when you finally get to the top of whatever you climb, you set it up and you iron something. Try it ladies. It looks like a lot of fun. Unbelievable. Extreme sports. We're going to take a look at something unbelievably extreme today. It's not an extreme sport. It's an illustration of extreme love. Extreme love for Christ. Extreme sports are called extreme because that's not what you normally do with an ironing board. That's not what you normally do with a skateboard or a snowboard or a bike. It's beyond what's expected and it certainly pushes the limits of danger. That's why I'm calling what we're going to see in John chapter 12 today. Extreme love. Because this is way beyond what's expected of someone in showing their love for Christ. It pushes the limits of what's expected and what might even be considered reasonable. It shocked everybody who witnessed it. It is a case, an example of extreme love. John gives us the story in John chapter 12, the first eight verses. The first couple of verses set the scene and it's important that we get the scene in order to understand what's happening here. Look at verse 1 of John 12, six days before the Passover. Please understand the setting. This is the Passover where Jesus will eventually give his life. This is the Passover where he will die on Friday before the Passover begins on Friday evening. So this is Saturday, six days before his death. It obviously is Saturday evening after the Sabbath is ended at around six o'clock and now there is the great Jewish feast of that day. Notice what happens in verse 1, six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him and we'll see Mary involved in the story also. So Jesus is making his way to Jerusalem for the last week of his life. He stops over in Bethany which is a suburb of Jerusalem. You climb from the temple to the Mount of Alex and just over the other side of the mountain less than two miles away from Jerusalem is the little village of Bethany. Mary and Martha and Lazarus live there. It's Lazarus that Jesus raised from the dead in chapter 11 but this event happens in another home, not their home. You and Mark tell us that it happened in the home of a man named Simon the leper. Obviously a leper that Jesus has healed or he wouldn't be giving a public feast. So this is a feast in honor of Jesus, not the same one in Luke 7 where there was a man named Simon the Pharisee, different time, different story, different result. But this is toward the end of Jesus' life and Simon the leper has this great banquet for Jesus. Matthew tells us all of Jesus' disciples were there. John tells us Mary and Martha and Lazarus were there. Includes Simon and Jesus. You've got at least 17 people, probably more at this great banquet. This is a festive occasion and as you would expect, even though it's not her kitchen, Martha is serving in the kitchen. You would expect that of her and Mary is going to be found at the feet of Jesus where you would expect her. Now I just try to imagine and put myself in that festive occasion in that setting and try to imagine the conversation around the table. Can you imagine what it would have been like to be there that evening? Just think of the conversation around the table. Here's Simon and he's describing to everybody what's happened to him, what Jesus did for him and how Jesus healed him. I'm sure he's talking about the fact that I all of a sudden realized my eyebrows were back and I reached something and felt my nose was back and I looked down at my fingers were whole again. I had full length fingers and he's describing this story with all the excitement that he possibly can and Lazarus says, hold on Simon, you ain't heard nothing yet. Let me tell you my story. I was sitting down at a feast like this in Paradise, beside Abraham. Moses was across the table. David had just walked into the room. Man, you should have heard the conversations we were having and all of a sudden I hear this voice, a familiar voice calling my name. Lazarus, come forth. All of a sudden everything got dark. I couldn't see. But I could feel myself moving and then people are pulling stuff off of me and when they got my eyes uncovered, I realized I was alive again and they were taking off the grade clothes. And I can just hear him putting an elbow or seeing him putting an elbow in Peter's side. And the first guy I saw was Peter. He said, is he Peter's eyes? They were the light of saucers when he saw me. Did you imagine the conversation around? There were people to know different than us. They're sharing with great joy what Christ has done for them and then all of a sudden something happens. They witness an event that none of them will ever forget. It is an act of extreme love. So I want us to look at verse three to see the expression of extreme love. This remarkable event, verse three, then Mary took about a pint of purenard and expensive perfume. She ported on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. It's hard for me to describe how extreme this is, but let me try. It was extreme in what she gave, first of all. Notice the verse says that she took about a pint, about a half liter of purenard and expensive perfume. Matthew and Mark tell us that this was in an alabaster box or an alabaster vase which would be made of pure marble. It was an expensive container for a very expensive perfume. Purenard was an imported perfume in the first century. It would have been imported all the way from India. Just imagine this is a very, very expensive, valuable commodity that Mary has brought with her to this feast. This contents would be worth somewhere around $30,000 in our money today. Probably for a family in her setting in the first century. This is probably her retirement savings. This is probably her family inheritance all wrapped up in one. Some people would use this kind of valuable commodity as a dowry if they expected a very expensive wedding. We don't know what she was hanging onto it for. All we know is that she brought it with her and she suddenly gets up and takes this expensive life savings, retirement money and brings it in. It's expensive, it's extreme in what she gave, but it's also extreme in how she gave. This is how she gives it the end of the verse. She poured it on Jesus' feet. The implication is all of it. Ported on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. We have to put together all the gospels to get the full scene. We'll be going back and forth to Mark's gospel, because Mark has the most complete account of this, but Mark tells us that she poured it on his head. Which is it? Obviously both. She started by pouring it on his head because when you anoint someone, that's where you start. That's where you anoint someone and that was her purpose. We'll see later why. She probably started with pouring it on his head and then she moved to his feet and poured the rest of it on his feet, let down her hair, which would be uncommon for a Jewish woman in the first century, and used it as the object with which she wiped his feet, washed his feet with that expensive perfume. It was extreme in how she gave. Now, please understand the setting here. She's not crawling under the table. In the first century, especially at festive occasions like this, Jews ate differently than we do. They would actually have a very low table that was just a few inches off the floor and they would recline on their side, on their left elbow and eat with their right hand, their feet sticking away from the table. I've often thought, man, if you had acid reflux, that'd be kind of tough. That's not part of the story. Let that one go. They would eat in a reclining position. His feet would have been spread out away from the table. It would have been easy for her to do this without making a great scene under the table or anything like that. But it is extreme in how she gave. She's pouring out literally emptying her life savings, her retirement, everything she has in one passionate expression of devotion and worship for Christ. It is all given because he is worthy. This is an extreme expression of love. What happens next is just as shocking because what happens next is the criticism of this extreme love. Look at verse four. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected. Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages. 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. So John obviously would not know this till after the resurrection of Christ. Nobody suspected Judas until later. So John's writing this many years after the event and he adds this detail. He knows now why Judas said what he said. But think about the criticism that Mary receives. You know, not all criticism is bad. We need to weigh and evaluate criticism. And someone criticizes you. We expect it. We need to evaluate it. We need to evaluate it at least on a couple of fronts, in a couple of ways, to see whether or not it's something we need to listen to. We need to learn from. All of us have blind spots and we need at times someone to give us a healthy dose of criticism. I love Esop's fables. I mean, I don't read them every day, but I love them when I do read them and hear them. One of Esop's fables has to do with criticism and what it can do to you. He tells the story of a grandfather and a grandson making their way into town with a donkey. The young boy is writing on the donkey while the grandfather walks along beside it. One man comes toward them and says this. Look at that. The little boy is so self-centered in making his grandfather walk. Well, that kind of stung. And so they traded places. And the little boy started walking. The grandfather got up on the donkey. They met someone else. The second person said, I can't believe you're making that little boy walk. He's so young. So the little boy got up on the donkey and they were both writing the donkey at this point into town. Somebody else comes out of town and sees them and hurls this criticism. I can't believe you're incredible disrespect and cruelty toward the donkey and making him strain under the heavy weight of both of you. So they both got off the donkey, picked up the donkey and carried it into town. I love Esop's fables. You know what he's getting at, don't you? You can't win with criticism. No matter what you do, you're going to face criticism. So what we need to do with criticism is we need to learn to evaluate it. I think there are at least two tests we can give to criticism to find out whether or not it's something we need to listen to and need to learn from. And this criticism fails both of those tests. The first test is the method of criticism. How is it given? Now here we need Mark to help us out a little bit as well. So look on the screen. We're going to see what Mark says. Mark says this about the reaction. He says, some of those present, not just Judas. Judas is evidently the most outspoken, but there are others evidently some of the other disciples. Some of those present were saying notice indignantly and then notice these next words to one another. Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor and then they turned their anger on Mary and they rebuked her harshly. So they're indignant to start with. Secondly, they are saying this to one another, indignantly criticizing to one another about Mary. And then finally they turn all their anger on Mary and they rebuk her harshly. The original word for rebuked harshly is a very graphic term. It literally means to snort like a wild horse. That's how the word was used in the first century. And so you can just see their nostrils flaming and their anger and they're just snorting like a wild horse. Why would you do this? They're rebuking her harshly. It must have shocked her, must have mortified her. This unexpected response. The way in which the criticism was given fails the test of good criticism. The method of criticism was wrong. But as we can see from John's Gospel the motive of criticism was wrong too. John tells us that Judas says evidently for the impression that it will give. Why wasn't this perfume sold the money given to the poor? You know, we could have done a lot of good with this money. We could have used this money to help a lot of poor people. But John adds what his motive was. His motive was not the care for the poor at all. It was because he was the treasurer of the disciples. He held the bag. He took care of the money. And he used to dip his hand in the till a lot and take money from it. Now I don't think anybody realized that until after Jesus' death and burial resurrection. He suspected Judas at all when he betrayed Jesus. But his motive is made clear later. As Judas sees this expensive perfume being poured out in its entirety on Jesus' feet, knowing it can never be recaptured, it's gone. He quickly, as Judas sees that, he quickly calculates what that must be worth. Some people know the price of everything and the value of nothing. That's Judas. All he can calculate the price. But he does not understand what's being done here. And he does not understand the value of this gift to our Lord. And the other disciples evidently chimed right in, indignantly looking at one another, criticizing Mary to each other and then rebuking her harshly. I think probably the disciples knew that or thought they knew Jesus' mind. I think the disciples probably figured, you know, Jesus is going to back us up on this one. They probably thought, you know, Jesus will agree. We could do a lot with this money. There are a lot of people we could help. You know, if you can feed a multitude of several thousand with five little barley cakes and two little fish, imagine what you could do with this much money. I'm sure they thought Jesus would have their back, but they were seriously mistaken. Because Jesus quickly leaps to Mary's defense. And I want us to spend some time this morning looking at his words. Because his words are penetrating. They go to the very essence of extreme love. And they take the measure of my heart. They will take the measure of our hearts here this morning. What is Jesus getting at? How does he respond? He comes to her defense and he defends her with four very important words that describe this lavish display. Four words of praise for her. The first is this. Jesus says it is beautiful. Now again, we need Mark's gospel to fill in some of the gaps that John doesn't have here. Jesus said this initially. Leave her alone said Jesus. Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. So Jesus says, first of all, this is beautiful. What does he mean by that? How can this be considered beautiful? Well, I think it's beautiful because it was motivated by pure love. This is something that is done just in the overflow of our heart. This is genuine. Nobody does this without a genuine heart of love. You mothers know what this is like. You remember, or maybe some of you haven't happened now when your little child brings you in a group of dandelions. A bouquet of dandelions. What do you say? Do you say those are weeds you need to learn the difference between a weed and a flower. Don't give me weeds. Now take those out and throw them away. Is that what you say? You better not. Course you don't. That's the most beautiful bouquet you could ever get. Why? Because you know it comes out of the heart of a child expressing that they love mommy. They're thinking about mommy. They wanted you to have these flowers. And this gift comes out of a heart of love. And in that sense, it's beautiful. It's beautiful. But it's also beautiful because it is a response to the spirits prompting. I don't know what caused Mary to be prompted to bring this with her. And if she had planned to do this or not. At some point, she instinctively knows she feels that she needs to get up from the table and go and get this perfume and do what is in her heart to do. There are times when we sense that the spirit of God is moving us. Impressing on our hearts to do something, giving us an inner impulse. You can't really put your finger on it. You can't really say that it's for this reason or that reason. But it's something totally out of the ordinary. It is something that is not expected. It's not the routine. And the spirit of God is placing in your heart to do something that doesn't make a lot of sense. And how often we pass those opportunities up because we're too busy or because it doesn't make sense. You know what I'm talking about? You know the times where you just seem impressed to sit down and take the time to write a note to someone. To let them know how much you appreciate them. Or the times when you feel motivated to write a letter to ask someone's forgiveness. Or the times when maybe you're motivated just to let someone know what they mean to you and how much you love them. Maybe your child, maybe your parent, maybe a neighbor, maybe a brother or sister in Christ. Those times when you just feel strongly impressed in your heart. And to give yourself to a need in a way that goes beyond the ordinary, how many of those times we let slip out of our fingers and the beauty slips away because we've not been responsive to what the spirit of God was impressing on our hearts to do. I believe it was beautiful for that reason. And then I believe it was also beautiful because it was not dominated by practicality. This was not at all routine. This is not at all what you would expect. This is not at all what you would do every day. I'm sure it absolutely shocked everybody there, even those who didn't say anything. But sometimes the spirit of God moves in our hearts to do something that is not practical. It is not sensible. It is not logical. It doesn't make sense. But the spirit of God is moving us, impressing us to do something, to give something, to be something to someone that really stretches us out of our comfort zones. When we do that, Jesus says, you are telling me that I am worth everything to you. That's beautiful. That's beautiful. Let me give you an example. It's getting close to Christmas time, isn't it? I know Thanksgiving hasn't gotten here yet, but you've been reminded that it's Christmas time since about the middle of October. Haven't you? You walk in a store. Christmas is coming. And maybe you have great plans. Maybe you're going to get a little Christmas bonus from where you work or maybe you've got some money you've saved up a few dollars a week over the year. Maybe you've got a few things that you plan to do with that for you or your family. But if God were to lay on your heart, someone else who has a need, and he were to lay on your heart, you know, you've got enough. Your family has enough. Why don't you help this person? Would you do that? Would you? How often we let those opportunities slip through our fingers and miss Jesus saying in our hearts, now that, that's beautiful. She's done a beautiful thing to me. Jesus said, second thing he said in her defense, it is sacrificial. Again, Mark tells us this, just a few words in Mark 14 verse 8, she did what she could. Now think about those words for a moment. Jesus is not saying she didn't do what she couldn't do, but he is saying she did what she could. She did all she could do. There are some things that Mary couldn't do. Obviously, she didn't have a family fishing business that she could give up and go to follow Jesus like James and John did. She couldn't do that. She probably did not have much of this world's goods, but she knew she had some stuff laid aside for the future for her later years in life. That's maybe all she had. She did what she could. It was a sacrificial gift to Christ because she gave everything and she gave it with lavish abandon, not just a drop on his head and a drop on each foot. She pours out the whole $30,000 in one lavish expression of love and devotion for Christ. Now, am I saying that God is calling up on you to give away everything you have? I don't know. I'm not saying that. Not necessarily. I'm not saying God requires that of all of us. These obviously are extreme situations. The kind of sacrifice, however, I believe God does call upon all of us to do, which may lead some of us to do this kind of thing. The kind of sacrifice God calls upon all of us is to give, first of all, all of ourselves. All of who we are to Him, Paul said it so well in Romans 12 and verse 1. Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy. In other words, because of all that I've described to you in the 11 chapters previously in Romans of God's grace and mercy and salvation, because of all of that, I urge you, he says, notice the terminology to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice. Holy, which means set apart to God. Holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship. So we say we come to worship God. When we say we come to worship God, what are we doing? We're going to throw a 20 in the plate and we're going to listen to the prayers and we'll listen to the message. If we can stay awake, understand that. What God is calling upon us to do is to lay ourselves at His disposal, completely, for whatever He chooses to do. That's why the terminology of sacrifice is there. Harking back to the Old Testament sacrifices and the animal, especially in the burnt offering, the whole animal is consumed on the brazen altar. It is totally burnt up and given to Christ. And so what Paul is telling us to do and what Jesus commends as doing all we could is to give ourselves totally and fully to Christ. My life is not my own, we say to Him. Not my plans, not my will, not my ambition, not my charted out path for my life, but my life is in your hands, Lord. I lay it at your disposal, whatever you want to do. He's calling for an all-out sacrifice here. Does that mean that everybody who does that's going to end up on the mission field? No, not necessarily, but it means at least we give Him the opportunity to listen, to direct us that way. And we will listen to Him if that's where He wants us to be. It may mean that God wants you to be a doctor or a teacher or a minor or a receptionist in our office. And then He wants you to use that place He strategically placed you to give Him glory, to show Him to people around you and to minister to others, to be a witness for Him. And even your job is laid at His feet as a sacrifice. This is Yours, God. If you want to change this, if you want me somewhere else, I'm open to that because I am totally Yours. That's the kind of sacrifice He's calling for. And that gives us the opportunity to hear God speak. And if God should move and say, I want you in Africa, I want you in Asia, I want you in Europe, where I want you to go across the street and witness to your neighbor or take a cake over there. We're open to whatever God says, but if we never get into the chance, if we tie Him down, if we reserve parts of our heart only for us, then we're not showing extreme love. We're not sacrificing anything. It's sacrificial Jesus said. I'm reminded of a couple that we're in a particular church. It was in a building program. The church was encouraging people to give toward this building program. It's not this church, not the church we're thinking about. It's another one. And this church was in a huge building program and people were being challenged to give. And there was one couple that came to the pastor and they said, we just want you to know we've really decided to give. And sacrificial Jesus has been hard for us. We've been saving the money and we want to give it now. And they had brought a jar that they had evidently stored this money in. They told the pastor, said, there's $1,000 in here. And we'd like for you to help us count it. Hmm. So they walk in his office and lay it out on the desk and they start counting. And all of a sudden it becomes apparent there's more than $1,000 in this jar. It's $12,000 and the husband looked at the wife and said, you brought the wrong jar. Yikes. Yeah, we smile at that story. But I wonder if we're doing the same thing with our lives. Oh, we'll give a little, we'll give some, not until it really hurts, not a real sacrifice. We'll give some of our lives and our hearts, but to lay everything out there. And to say, God, it's all yours and I will do and be and go wherever you desire. It is totally your decision. How many of you teenagers have done that before you started praying about what college to go to? Before you started praying about the career that you're going to enter. How many of you have at least said, I'm going to listen to you first, God. And what you impress upon my heart, I'm committed to doing it. Whatever it is. Okay, how many of you young adults have done that? And you've laid everything on the altar of sacrifice and you've said, Lord, I have this great job upwardly mobile. I'm moving up, I'm doing great. If this is not what you want for me, it's yours. I'll cash it in in a minute and I'll go wherever you want me to go and do whatever you want me to do. How many of us middle aged adults or older adults are willing to say the same thing? What about what you're going to do with your retirement? Isn't that a great time of life to invest in some way to serve God? Are you willing to let the Lord move you that way? Are you asking me if you're praying about it? Are you laying it on the altar and saying, Lord, it's yours? You see, we will give up to a certain point of ourselves. But is there anything in our hearts that we're holding back? Mary gives us an example of laying it all out at Jesus' speed. It's total abandon to him. Everything is his. What's she going to do for retirement? I don't know. What's she going to do when she gets old and has no one to take care of her, especially in that society, she can't go out and just get a job. What's she going to do? I don't know. She evidently doesn't know, but it's all at the feet of Jesus. Jesus said it's sacrificial. When he said a third thing about this, he said, this is worshipful. This is worshipful. This really is true worship. Look at verse 7 here in John 12. Leave her alone, Jesus replied. It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You see, perfumes like this were typically used for a burial. Jesus would have some women who were ready to bring spices and ointments at his burial burial. That was typical. She's anticipating his burial. This is amazing when you think about it. She's anticipating his burial. This is the kind of thing that would be used at a burial to avoid the smell of decomposition when there was no enbalming and vaults and so forth in that day. You were just stuck back in a cave. She's anticipating that, but she's going to give it before. Here's what I think is going on. Repeatedly, especially in recent weeks, repeatedly, Jesus has told his disciples that he's got to go to Jerusalem, that he will there be opposed by the chief priests and the rulers, and he will be killed and he will be raised again the third day. He has told them that at least on six occasions, maybe more, that are not recorded. And they never really got it. There are a couple of times where it said they grieved over what he said, but I think they didn't really sink in. It couldn't have the night before Jesus died. They're in the upper room, according to Luke 22, still arguing about who's going to be the greatest in the kingdom. So they didn't get it. They were just looking for this kingdom to be set up and what their place would be in it. Somehow they missed the suffering, the death, but I think Mary got it. I think Mary got it. And I think she understood the time must be close. And so she's going to give what would typically be given even more than would be given at a burial, but to use our expression, she's going to give the roses while he's still alive. She's going to express her love and worship for him before he dies. She's saved this perfume for the day of my burial, but she is giving it to him as an act of love and worship to show that he is worthy, to show that he is the Christ, the Son of God, the Messiah. She believes in him. She gives everything to him. It's an act of worship. And Jesus says this is worshipful, but he also says, fourthly, this is timely. This is timely. Look at verse 8. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me. Now some have seen this as kind of a callous expression. Don't worry about the poor. Don't do anything for them. I want this for me, but that's not at all what Jesus meant. Jesus' heart and mind was so steeped in the Old Testament scriptures when he spoke. The scriptures just flowed out of him. And almost word for word, he quotes the first part of a passage in Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 1511. Look at the whole passage here on the screen. You will always, there will always be poor people in the land. Therefore, I command you to be open-hearted toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land. I think what Jesus was doing here is he quotes the first part of the verse knowing that his disciples and those at this meal will be familiar with the rest of it. They know what he's talking about. They know that he's saying you will have many opportunities to help the poor and you should do so. Moses commanded us to do so. They will always be with you. You'll have many opportunities for that. You do not have much time left for me. Mary got that. The others didn't get it. Yes, help the poor. Yes, reach out to those with needs. But right now, right now is the time to sit at Jesus' feet and pour out extravagant love on him. You know what Jesus was teaching us? Is that there is a beautiful balance in our lives as Christians that we have a tendency to get out of whack, either on one side or the other. There is a place for service. There is a place for reaching out to meet the needs of the poor and others who have great needs. There is a place for that. That needs to be done. That should be there. But there is also a place for worship. There is also a place for sitting at Jesus' feet and lavishly pouring out on him our praise and our gifts of worship and our adoration. There is a place for that too. This is all a matter of timing. There is a place for both. There is certainly a place in our Christian lives for doing. But there is also a place for learning sitting at his feet like Mary did learning. You can get off balance either way. There are some of us who don't worship. All we want to do is do and serve and reach out. That is commendable. And if you have no time for worship or if you just endure worship services without any real heart in it, you have missed the balance of the Christian life. We have some people in our church that serve in multiple ministries and are never in a church service. Out of balance, we need worship. We need time in the Word. We need to hear God speak to us from His inspired Word and grow to know Him better and worship Him with all of our hearts that becomes the fuel for proper service. But then there is some on the other end of the spectrum who kind of let the bike go off on the ditch on the other side. And all you do is sit in church. You never serve. You are not involved in any ministry. You are not doing anything. You are not reaching out to anyone. And all you want to do is learn more and learn more and get more and get more and get more and you are not giving out anything. It is the quickest way to spiritual atrophy I know. To drying up, losing all of your muscle mass and all of your effectiveness for Christ is just to soak it all in and never serve. Jesus is saying there is a time for both and we need to have a balance in our Christian lives. So this is timely, he says. Mary has chosen the right time to focus on worship because there is limited opportunity. There will be plenty of opportunity to reach out to those who have needs. And please do that. But now is the time to worship. That is what he is saying. So Jesus words to Mary speak into my heart. I found myself as I was going through this passage this week, weeping at my desk, realizing how often I get out of balance and realizing how God wants me to continue to lay on the altar everything. So I had some decisions to make this week. Would you quickly notice the results just quickly? The results of extreme love. Again Mark fills in the gap here. In Mark 14 and verse 9 he tells us first of all that loving hearts are remembered. Loving hearts, one who express extreme love, they will be remembered by Christ. He says this and Mark, he says truly I tell you wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world what she has done will also be told in memory of her. And that is what we are doing here this morning. We are repeating the story. We are telling the story again as Jesus promised it would be told over and over again wherever the gospel is preached. Loving hearts are remembered and my friend if you give all to Jesus I am not saying it will necessarily be remembered here but Jesus will make sure it is remembered. When you stand before him in heaven it will be remembered whatever you have sacrificed and done for him. But he also says wicked hearts will be revealed. And in Mark he says this about Judas. Then Judas is scary it. Notice the timing right after this rebuked by Jesus. Then Judas is scary it. One of the twelve went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. Which is what he was looking for from that gift of marriage right? He wanted the money in the bag. So he is going to get his money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over. I really am convinced that this kind of extreme love was just more than Judas could take. And Jesus words that penetrated his heart Jesus stinging rebuked of Judas's criticism. Put him over the edge and showed how wicked his heart really was. Now listen carefully my friend of this statement. Christ's radical call for commitment and discipleship shows where we really are. We will either resist it or we will welcome it as difficult as the call may be. And that will show where our hearts are. Loving hearts will be remembered wicked hearts will be revealed. And the real question we are left with from this whole story is what does Jesus want of me? What does he want of you? Well we know the answer from Romans 12. We know that he wants everything. We know that he wants all of our lives. But what does that look like? It means that my plans, my future, it means that my goals, my ambitions, my chart of what my life is going to look like. It needs to be thrown in the trash and it all laid at Jesus feet. It means before you even make a decision about what you are going to do with your life, you make the ultimate decision of Romans 12. One, that you lay it all on the altar of sacrifice and say okay Lord I am an open book. You write your story on my life and my heart and whatever you want to write. That is what I am going to go with. That is what it means. It means that we as parents and grandparents will give ourselves and our families totally to the Lord. It is our passionate hope and prayer. And we are going to make a more of a concerted effort in the future. You are here about it Lord willing soon after the first of the year. We have a desire and a passion and a hope to see missionaries go out from this church. We are not sure how much time we have got. None of us knows but we want to make the maximum impact for Christ in this world we can. But it is going to require that all of us say okay Lord Romans 12 one. I am on the altar of sacrifice. And if you want me I am ready. I am going to go. If you want my child, I release them to you. If you want my grandchild, I release them to you. The plans we had for everybody living on the same property and having a nice little community together. Lord that is out the window. It is your plan that we want. And if you call my child or my grandchild, if you impress upon them to go, then I am with them. And I am going to pray them onto the field. That is what it might look like. Extreme love. That is what he is calling us to. Would you pray with me please? Father as we join our hearts together in this prayer. As I have the opportunity to word this prayer. Lord I want to be careful to respond from my own heart to you. Whatever you want, whatever you choose, I am yours. Whatever that means, whatever you want me to give, wherever you want me to go, whatever, whatever I'm yours. And what that is easy to say here this morning, come for this auditorium. Come to be able to say it tomorrow and Tuesday in the rest of my life. And mean it. And Lord I pray that every one of us this morning would be willing to give this kind of extreme love to you. Whatever it looks like Lord, that is your call. I must be willing in Jesus' name, amen.