Sermon Cloud

Matthew 26:6-13
The average annual household income of Gardner is approximately $75k. What if you were a Christmas bonus of one year's salary? What we could we do with $75k?
We would get a lot of subscriptions to the gift that keeps on giving, the jelly of the month club. What if you put the money in your 401K? Assuming an 11% return, you'd have $207,300,106.62.
The average home price in Gardner is about $150k. You could put 50% down on a home. Put the money in an ESA - and you'll never have to worry about kid's college. You could probably pay for your grandkids college.
A family of 4 could go on 22 Caribbean cruises with Carnival. You could buy 27 Royals full season tickets. And these would be the best seats in the house, dugout box seats.
Erin and I were thinking about buying a new car last August (thankfully we just spent the money to fix our transmission) but based upon the appraisal we got from Car Max, $75K would get us 37.5 99 Toyota Camry's. Erin's car is worth $2,000. Or you could splurge and get 2 2006 Hummer H2's. And for another $75k, you could fill up their gas tanks.
If you were really ambitious, you could purchase 75k items from McDonald's dollar menu. Taxes not included participation may vary.
Or you could do this 75k times.
Even doing that with just $1 drives me crazy. Had to put this in the misc. account (no budget for tearing up money). But that's basically what the woman does in this story. One scholar estimated that this bottle of perfume was worth an entire year's wages. $75k - completely wasted!
Maybe this woman was rich. Maybe she saved up for this. Not likely. It's likely that this bottle of perfume was a family heirloom passed on through the generations. It could've been her ticket out of poverty. But she wastes it.
Funny thing about being a follower of Jesus. We're called to be wasteful people. Out of our love for Jesus, we do things that when other people look at us, they think we're crazy.
I had a privilege of spending 3 days this week in Atlanta at a church planter's conference. It was a great time. I learned a lot professionally, I was challenged spiritually. But what was maybe better than the conference was that I spent the week with a friend of mine who planted a church in Illinois, Dale. Dale and I went to college and seminary together and were both volunteer staff at a church plant in West Shawnee.
This fall, Dale was challenging his church to live out the example we see in the book of Acts. Acts is a history book of the early church. And in the 2nd chapter, we see these first Christ-followers selling some of their stuff and giving it away. Freaking crazy thing to do. Dale began challenging his church to do the same thing.
Sitting in the congregation and listening to this challenge was a brand new Christian ¬¬¬, Derek. It was your typical story about how Derek gave his life to Christ.
Derek's wife taught at the same school as the church's drummer. The drummer invited Dereks's wife to church and then Derek eventually came along, too. A month later, Derek gave his life to Christ.
By the way, that's the way these stories usually go. One person invites another person and then that person gives their life to Jesus. Fave Five - Easter
Derek is a new Christian. He had yet to hear all the rationalizations as to why God doesn't care whether or not we're generous with our money. So Derek decides to take up this Acts 2 challenge. He sells his motorcycle and takes the money left over after paying off the bank and donated it to the church's campaign to raise the money for a children's pastor. And he took the money that was going toward payments and pledged that to the campaign as well.
In a culture that says "get whatever you want as long as you can afford the payments" that seems like a crazy thing to do.
But Derek wasn't done. Derek's mom was a candidate for experiential cancer treatment but her insurance wouldn't cover it. So Derek sold his pickup truck, downgraded to a cheap car. He took that money and paid for his mom's treatments. But the treatments didn't work. He lost his mom to cancer.
So it seems like the money was a waste. You'd think he'd be bitter for giving sacrificially but not seeing any benefits.
Pastor Dale asked Derek, "How do you respond to realization that what you gave didn't accomplish what you'd hoped for?"
He looked Dale in the eyes and said, "Pastor, I'd do it again."
He's willing to throw away his money, because he loves Jesus.
We get some insight into what would prompt a person to waste for Jesus in the first verse of this passage. Vs. 6 - previously Jesus is hanging out at Simon's house, a "previous" leper. We can imagine that Simon's house is full of a bunch of "previous" people. If we could've walked around the room we probably would've heard comments like this. "I was previously blind - but then Jesus touched me." "I used to go from one man to another, Jesus showed true love."
When Jesus changes us from what we used to be to what he created us to be, what else can we do but give our entire lives back to him? "Jesus I'm yours. Whatever you want from my life, it's yours. High-profile or humble, productive and great or obscure and seemingly pointless. My life is yours. Whatever you ask, I'll waste it for you."
We don't know much about this woman. We don't know what Jesus did for her. But it must've been incredible. Whatever Jesus did, it moved her to pour out her entire life's savings. Are you letting Jesus transform your life?
As awesome as this woman's story must've been, When I read this story, I find myself sitting with the disciples. Vs. 8-9. Technically, these guys are right on. They'd been paying attention to Jesus. Just one chapter earlier, we read Jesus' story of the sheep and the goats. Sheep go to heaven and goats go to hell. What qualifies a person as a sheep - they served the poor. What got a person condemned as a goat? They ignored the poor. Take care of the poor - heaven, ignore them - hell.
If you read through Jesus' teachings, you'll see that he condemns only two groups of people to hell - the self-righteous and the stingy. Now to be balanced, the gospels aren't all of scripture. If you look through other parts of the NT, you can find other options for a one-way ticket to hell. But when Jesus emphasizes something, it might be wise to pay attention. But Jesus is very clear, "you can't follow me and be a self-righteous legalist. If you're stingy, then it's evident you're not my follower." We probably ought to listen to what he's saying.
I can't blame the disciples for freaking out. Think of all the meals we could buy at the homeless shelter for $75k. I don't remember Jesus calling people sheep becuae they poured out a bottle of perfume. Where's the practicality in that?
Technically they were right, but their hearts we wrong. They had put the cart before the horse. I'll show you what I mean. The 5
We call these the marks of a Christ-follower. And their order here is intentional. A person usually enters into our community through our worship gathering, before building deeper relationships, finding ways to serve, giving and then inviting others into the community.
But the same is true of our life as individual Christ-followers. We don't make the decision to follow Jesus by connecting with believers. Although that is a positive step. We don't become a follower of Jesus by giving away our money or by serving others - again, also important. We certainly don't become a follower of Jesus by investing in other people that aren't followers of Jesus.
We become a follower of Jesus by deciding to worship Jesus. Worship is not just what we do in church on Sunday morning, although that's a part of it. Worship is laying our life before Jesus' feet and saying, "I'm yours." All of me is yours. My family, my friends, my money, my sexuality, my time, my hopes, my fears. It's all yours! Do with me whatever you want. Even if it feels to me like a waste.
Are we willing to say that to Jesus? Has Jesus transformed our lives in such a way that we can't help but say that? Are we so in love with Jesus that we waste whatever he asks us to waste?
Today is the 3rd Sunday of the Christian season of Lent. Lent image Lent is the time of year in which we remember the suffering Jesus went through on the cross for our behalf. We're asking everyone to take something on and leave something behind during Lent. Nails at welcome table.
One man in our community decided to begin Lent with an extended fast. In our fast-food culture, fasting seems like an idiotic thing to do.
But he's going on this fast out of love for Jesus. As a physical way to say, "Jesus, I'm yours, do with me what you will." This person wants to remain anonymous, but I've gotten permission to share from the journal he kept during the fast.

Day 1 - I have only journeyed 13 hours into this fast and I already feel the conflict between what my heart wants and what my body wants. I fear things. I fear that I won't have the will. But more than that, I fear I won't have the strength.
Day 4 - I am not sure what to feel right now. I am bombarded every minute by wants and desires for anything that can be eaten. I know this is very pathetic and I want to focus on God, but I struggle so much. I fantasize about ways to break my fast.
I feel the effects on my body, and my stomach yearns for sustenance, but I am denying myself these pleasures in order that I might learn more about the sustenance that only You can provide. I need you and not food. So if you might meet me for another day, I would be most excited. Meet me in worship tomorrow. I ache for your presence. Burn in my heart. May my desires merge with yours. I want to be inseparable from you.
Day 5 - It is said that fasting cleanses the body, but it is truly cleansing my spirit. It is like taking a shower after a hard practice. I love you Lord.
Day 6 - I am finding peace in you, Lord. My restless soul is finding rest. I no longer ache for foods that I have given up, and in the instances that do arise, your presence seems far better than anything I could want.
It seems so simple. Too simple. "Be still and know that I am God." I have read that verse hundreds of times, but you are showing me truths that I couldn't have imagined.
I wonder about my involvement with the poor. I am so blessed and I know that much is expected of me. I am not sure what I should e involved in, but if you place that door in front of me, I will walk through it.

Immediate gratification is one of our culture's highest virtues. Fasting seems like a waste. But after breaking his fast on the 7th day, he had this insight.

Thank you for moving in my heart, Lord. I love you so much and though I often times become distracted and in the times when I do meet with you I am restless, you are forever faithful. Thank you. I love you Lord. With all my heart.

What a waste! Giving up food to grow closer to Jesus.
One more story I want to share with you. This time I do have permission to share her name, it's Sarah Holmes. At Christmas, Sarah received some very nice gifts from her family. Several hundred dollars worth. One gift was a purse, that I guess, would look pretty good on her arm. But rather than keeping these gifts, Sarah did the same thing I'd do if I received expensive ladies clothes and a purse, she took them back and got the cash. But rather than taking this cash and buying something else, as I would've done. Sarah bought 40 nice sets of earrings to put into the gift bags for Love Wins. The gift bags that will be passed out later this year to the girls who dance at the two local gentlemen's clubs. Sarah had received such nice gifts. From her family. And she gave them away. What a waste, huh?
Sarah didn't say this to me with her words, but her actions communicate it. "It's not about looking good in designer clothes or a designer purse. It's not about me. It's about showing people the love of Jesus."
Despite what the disciples thought, Jesus bluntly told them that this woman's $75k bottle of perfume wasn't a waste. Vs. 12-13 The perfume wasn't wasted because it was poured out to prepare Jesus to give his life on the cross - for us. This perfume wasn't wasted - because it pointed people toward Jesus. And just as Jesus promised vs. 13b. It pointed people toward Jesus.
And of course, none of the stories I've told have really been a waste. The motorcycle or pickup that Derek sold. The fast we heard about. Sarah's generosity. All of this was done as an act of worship. These things were done by people who have said, "Jesus, my life isn't mine, it's yours! Do with it whatever you want!" And all of these extravagant sacrifices, in one way or another, have pointed people toward Jesus.
TF Kidz logo (I'll get it to you) At our monthly meeting last Wednesday night, TF's Advisory Council was discussing a way we could challenge our church to make an extravagant sacrifice that would point others toward Christ. We decided there wasn't a better way we could do this than to invest in our children's ministry. Pastor Andy has been sharing with me some upgrades we need to make to our cm equipment. We're in need of making some storage and supply upgrades that will make us even more portable. We also need to purchase some sound and media equipment that will help our kids better engage in worship.
And thanks to our benevolent and wise federal government, we have the perfect opportunity to make these upgrades.
As you've very likely heard, we're going to be getting an additional tax rebate sometime in late spring or early summer. It's referred to on the news as the economic stimulus package. Most individuals will receive a $600 rebate check, most married couples receiving $1,200. But in addition to that rebate, parents are getting a child credit as well. Which should easily offset all the money you've spent on your kids over their lives. Okay, maybe not. The child credit will be $300 per child.
Our challenge to all of you is to invest in our children's ministry the equivalent of one child credit, $300.
I'll admit, that when I first got word of this rebate, I started imagining my student loan amount getting a bit smaller. I was also hearing my financial planner whose been reminding me I need to increase my ROTH contributions in order to hit my retirement goals. And Erin and I are planning to consider some of those options, but we're hoping the rest of you join us investing a child credit in our children's ministry.
And this is why it matters. Over the past two months, we've had exactly 12 new kids connect with Pastor Andy and our TF Kidz program. 12 is a cool number. But it becomes even better when we realize those 12 kids were not a part of a church before coming to TF.
So when the rest of the country is talking about the vacation they're going on, the big screen TV they're going to buy. Will you take the bottle, break it on Jesus' feet and say "I'm yours. Take my life."
Prayer