Voice of the Nazarene 10-13-24

Voice of the Nazarene 10-13-24

Transcript

Pastor Ray LaSalle: 0:01

Coming to you from North Central Ohio. We share with you the voice of the Nazarene a week by week. Venture into the Word of God sponsored by the Bucyrus, Ohio Church of the Nazarene. We join our Pastor Reverend Ray LaSalle and the voice of the Nazarene. Good to be in church together. I want to talk to you about legacy living. Turn with me in your thinking to Mark chapter 14, familiar story. But I just want to kind of resurface the thought. Being in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as Jesus said at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she break the box, and poured it on his head. And there was some indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of ointment made? For it might have been sold for more than 300 hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. 300 pence was a year's wage in that day, and so they murmured against her. Jesus said, Let her alone, why trouble ye her? She hath wrought a good work on me. For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever you will

ye may do them good: 1:21

but me ye not always. She hath done what

she could: 1:27

she is come beforehand to anoint my body to the burying. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her. So this that she had done will last forever. Wouldn't you like to live your life in such a way that it'll last forever, speaking throughout the eternities? And that'd be a tremendous thing, she did. It was a man by the name of William James. And William James said this, The Great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. And the great use of my life and the great use of your life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. What will outlive your life? The Bible

says over in Proverbs 13: 2:32

22, that a good man leaves that inheritance for his children's children. I mean, they need something to fuss about. And so an inheritance is a biblical thing. Well, I know what you're thinking. You're saying, Pastor, I don't have any children. Hey, I love you, dad, mama, you need my address? Well, there's a difference between that inheritance and a legacy. That inheritance is something that you do for somebody. A legacy is something that you do in somebody. Now, if you're in your 20s and your 30s right now, you're thinking, this message is not going to be relevant for me. Just hang on, if you're going to have a legacy, you don't wait till you're 70 to begin that legacy. Every day of your life, every moment of your life, you're building a legacy of remembrance of the minds of others. Now there's this lady here in the Bible. Her name is Mary, who, according to the Bible, left such a legacy. Jesus said what she has done will be remembered forever as a memorial. And I thought, wouldn't it be something to live in such a capacity that what we have done will leave its imprint and footprints forever? So when I read this and I looked at her life, I thought, I've got to study this a little bit more. I've been missing something here, and I want to see what it was about this woman the only time in all of biblical history who had done something that Jesus pointed out. It's a memorial. It's special. She's left a legacy behind. So I want to look at her life for just a few minutes. Don't check your watch, just use your calendar. And I want to see what it was. I want to ask some questions. I want to ask, first of all, who was she? Well, the Bible says that her name was Mary. And did you know the name Mary was the most common name in all of Israel? Just every other time when you're reading through the Bible, there's another Mary and a Mary and a Mary. And then, of course, there's Mary had a mini skirts, a clean and white and airy, and never showed a speck of dirt but it surely did show Mary. I just wanted to use that poem. Mary had a little lamb, just Mary everywhere there was a Mary. It was a common name. And when you look at the Scripture, Luke, chapter 10, verse 38 now, it came to pass, as they went that they entered into a certain village and a certain woman named Martha, she received Jesus into her house. Anybody remember Martha? That story about Martha? She was always inviting company over. Always had visitors. Every time you read about Martha, Martha is cooking, or Martha's cleaning house, or she was a very detailed lady, and she she's always doing something. And if you read about it, Martha is the leader of this house. I mean, she's the one that received Jesus in and the Bible said that she had a sister named Mary. Who was she? It's Martha's sister. What is she? Was it's Martha's sister. Does she cook? It's Martha's sister. Just, you know what? I've come to the conclusion after studying life and studying the Bible, God seems mostly to use the unlikely. God didn't always choose the likely, the accomplished and the acclaimed and the oratorical skills and those with great singing abilities. God sometimes just uses the common, ordinary person, that when it's all said and done, there's no debate about who's going to get the glory. It's certainly not that person God is going to be honored. Who was she? Her name was Mary. But I've got a second question. What did she do? What did this lady named Mary do? Well, the Bible says that she had this precious ointment. Now, this is not feminine. This is a masculine but that's okay with you. If you're going to put it on Jesus, you won't put femininity on him anyhow, I can tell this is not going over, write down don't use that in second service. But she had this precious ointment. It was worth a year's wage, and she literally brought it with her, she looked for Jesus, and she didn't do it there in her home with Martha and Lazarus. She hunted him down and found him down into the house where Simon lived, came into the home and broke that perfume and literally poured it over his head till it ran down his body and began to weep, and her tears fell on his feet, and she took the hair of her head and began to dry his feet and notice what the scripture said here in Mark, chapter 14, verse three, the alabaster box of ointment of spikenard, very precious, not good, not acceptable, but precious. What does God want from your life and from my life? Not the good, not just the acceptable, but God wants the precious. What was it that David said? I'm not going to give God a sacrifice that cost me nothing. God wants your precious time, and God wants your precious thoughts. God wants your precious talents. What is precious to us, ladies and gentlemen, that's what God wants. God wants our eyeset, that thing that we we prize the most. And I was reading this week over in Psalm, that 126th Psalm where it said, They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weep with bearing precious seed. Precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. You don't get sheaves until first of all, you release the precious seed. You want a blessing. You want God to bless your life. Then you release those things that are so precious and say, Lord, I want you more than anything else. I love my family, I love my companion, I love this and I love that, but I need you more than any thing else. Who was she? What did she do? But I have another question. Why did she do it? I think I know. I think I know why she anointed Jesus with that spikenard perfume so precious, everything that she had earned in an entire year. Why did she do it? Well, if you're reading the story, it's there in John chapter 12, you're reading along and how she came in and how she anointed him. But if you'll back up one chapter. Chapter 11, her brother died, and they got word to Jesus, but he didn't show up, and four days passed, and he's dead. They mummified him, I mean, they put him in the in the grave and they're weeping and they're broken, but Jesus came and performed a resurrection and restored Lazarus back alive to his sisters. I can understand now why she said, I'll give the best that I've got. I'll give something that's precious. I mean, after what Jesus did for our family and what he did for my brother and how he's changed our life, the least I can do, in light of that, is to give my very precious, best gift back to him. That's what I'm talking about. That's why she did it. So let me tell you something else. The Bible said that she anointed his body. I don't know if you ever noticed this for His burial. For His burial, she didn't just put a little bit of comethither on Him. I mean, she literally anointed his body for burial. Apparently she knew what was about to happen. You say, Well, Pastor, how could she know that he was about to die and die on a cross? How would she, did you read what it said? Look at Luke, 10 verse 39 Martha had a sister called Mary, which also sat at the feet and heard his word. Did you know that Mary is only mentioned three times in the Bible, and every time she's mentioned, she was always at the feet of Jesus. That's where she was. If you want to get acquainted with the will of God, you need to read His Word. You need to study His Word. But if you want to know the ways of Jesus, you got to spend time with Him. There's two things that you need in life. You need to know His Word, and you can only do that by studying it, and you need to know the ways of God, and you can only do that by spending time with Him. Who was she? What did she do? Why did she do it? Then my next question is, Where was she at? The Bible tells us there in John chapter 12, beginning in verse four and running on down through verse six, she was in a very hostile environment when this took place, she was in somebody else's house. Everybody else was there. They were having this system happening among them, and this camaraderie, and suddenly she breaks into the home and breaks open this perfume and begins to pour it on him. And there was Judas. You talk about the air getting full of tension. I mean, he's the treasurer. He'd been in a bad mood for a long time. He felt like they were spending a lot of things that he didn't like. Of course, he had his hand in the money bag too. I mean, when you're stealing, you don't want anybody else to out steal you. You'll even point at everybody else when you're a thief. And Judas he said that could have been sold and given to the poor. Let me say something. Anytime you try to do something for God, you're going to get criticized. You're going to get criticized. Fact of the matter, anytime you try to accomplish something for God, hell is going to come after you. Anytime you really try to make a difference, it puts a bigger target on your back. I've said many times, if you're two feet ahead of everybody else, you're a leader, but if you're about 10 steps ahead, you're a target. And she became a target. Fact of the matter, people will start out by analyzing you, and then it moves from that and becomes to criticize you, and after that, they want to scandalize you. Have you ever been cussed and discussed. The devil's mad, and I'm glad Okay, Thank you. Now here maybe one of the most important things that I can say to you this morning, and you need to get it down. If you accomplish anything in life, it's uphill all the way. Nobody ever said, I slid into success. And so naturally, there's always somebody like the crows. They always want to pick it the best fruit. And they did with her. They begin to criticize her. But here's another question, When did she do it? Well, let me explain, in just a few days, Jesus is going to die just a few days, and we're going to have the death of the divine Son of God, the Son of Man. The Son of Man, is going to be put on a cross. And she said, when she realized he's going to die, I can't wait to anoint him. I've got to do it now. I've got to find wherever he's at. I'm not going to wait till he comes to my house. He's going to die. I've got to get to him. I've got to do it now. And the poet said, I have only just a minute, only 60 seconds in it forced upon me, can't refuse it, didn't seek it, didn't choose it, but it's up to me to use it. I must suffer if I lose it. Give account if I abuse it. Just a tiny, little minute, but eternity is in it. She said, I've got to do it now. And she burst into that home. And everything stops for a moment, and she begins to anoint him. Watch this, Jesus will soon be beaten with a cat of nine tails. Do you ever read the account 40 times minus one? They spit on Jesus. Jesus was mocked. They finally nailed Him to a cross. He went through all of this. This is what I believe happened. I can't prove it, but I'm right. I think. I can have my thoughts. You can't even Amen them, so I guess I'll just talk out loud to myself. I believe the devil came around about that time and said, nobody cares about you. Where's your disciples? Do you see the 12 disciples? No, nobody cares about you. Now I can't prove it, but I believe this is what happened. I believe Jesus, he began to sniff the air, and he began to smell that perfume, and he said somebody cared. Somebody gave something precious. Somebody gave everything they had. Are you listening to me? It makes a difference everything. Then lastly, my last question, aren't you glad? How did she do it? This is what I want you to understand three things. First of all, she broke it. The Bible scripture says she brake it. She didn't do a little dab, a little dab, a little dab. Let's get real folk. We get a little rain or a little snow, and people stay home from church. A little dab, a little dab, a little dab. That's about how spiritual some of us are, little dab here, and a little dab there. But she broke it. She gave it all not just a little dab, a little dab. We get our checkbook out and write $143 for the dog food and$1,250 for vacation, $800 for the car payment, $12.50 for tithe, little dab, a little dab, a little dab, but she broke it and she gave all the Bible said that she had. We get to church, and preacher preaches very long. We wonder, I might as well go get a haircut. Didn't need it before the service, but as long as he's going, I need a haircut now. Preachers, knee deep in the Word of God, and we're checking our watch, it must have broke. What happened? The battery went dead. Baptist going to beat us to the restaurant, we're going to have to sit and wait a while. A little dab, a little dab, a little but she broke it open. You say, Well, I'm visiting I'm not coming next Sunday. Well, I better load your wagon while I have you little dab, a little dab, a little tab. But I like this thought she broke open that vessel and poured it on him. The second thing I quickly want to mention, God uses broken things you need to know this, some of you have not been broken yet, but if you come to the place that God can ever use you, God only uses broken things, not arrogance. God doesn't use your pride. We're proud of our ancestry and what degrees we have and how much money in the pocket and what the automobile looks like, and where we live on which side of town, and God's not interested in any of those things. God uses brokenness. You say, Well, Pastor, my life's a mess. God wouldn't use me. God uses people that have lived a messy life, believe me, made a mess out of things. God wants to use people that understand the hurts and the frustrations of other people. God uses broken things. Did you know that a broken crayon can still make color, even after it's broken and even after your life's been broken, God can still get some color and some use out of your life. We like to put people on a shelf. He's done, she's done. It's the most unbiblical thing. I believe God wants us to restore people. I believe people who are down need to be lifted up. And here's the third thing, broken jars spill more water. Now let me just say that I noticed this pastor appreciation month, I didn't realize it, sitting there in my office, looked out and saw the big sign. Can I just say to you, if in any way, I've been a help in your life, in whatever capacity, whether it's been my preaching, whether it's been my life, the longevity of my being here. May I say that it's not out of any success that I've ever had. It's out of the failures of my life. It's out of the disappointments of my life, it's out of the brokenness of my life. It's out of the hurt of my life, that God has used the pain and the hurt to help make me a better person. And I'm going to tell you something. It's out of the hurt of your life that God will use to make you. God will take what the devil has tried to turn into bad and meant for bad, and God will turn it around, and he'll make good out of it. Let me say this, Mary did what she could, when she could, and all that she could. I was reading this week about a father that had two sons. One son was brilliant, IQ off the charts, the other son was mentally challenged. The sharp son came home from school and laid his report card down in front of his dad and said, straight A's, Dad, what do you think? And the dad looked up at him, and his eyes beamed and said, Son, I'm so proud of you. You're my boy. And he heard a sound behind him, and he looked around in the mentally challenged one was looking up and big tears started down his cheeks. He was trying to tie his shoe and fumbled and stumbled trying to get it done, and finally got it tied. And looked up and said, Dad, got my shoe tied. And the dad looked at him and said, Son, I'm so proud of you. Do you realize that God's not in the comparison business? He's not comparing you to me, and we're not competing with each other. God loves all of us. Little boy went to church. He had never been to church. Went to church all by himself. Had nothing. Came in his clothes didn't fit. He looked around and people had suits on, and other kids had nice clothes, and their hair was groomed. And he didn't have a mother to comb his hair when he had left the little place that he lived, and when the offering plates were passed, he had never seen anything like it. He watched people putting in dollars and putting in change and putting in checks, and he had nothing, and he thought, I've gotta give something what I have. And when the plate came to him, everybody watched in horror, as he put the plate on the floor and stepped inside the plate and said, I give you me. It's all I've got. I give you me. She gave her best, and it will outlast all the rest of her life. And all that God asks for from any of us today is what's precious. God, I want you more than anything else, and God I give you me. And step into the plate of God's divine will, and you'll find that God will use you beyond anything you've ever read about or have ever heard about, Father, would you take our lives this morning? Would you give us a sense of usefulness? We're unworthy. We have nothing to bring about. If mom was alive, we really don't have anything to write home about. But if there's anything at all that you want, we give you ourselves, and would you use us in a way that's beyond anything that we'd planned? There's people that need just to see a life well lived. Would you help us to live better? Would you help us together to be better together, like Peter and John going up in the temple of the hour of Prayer, would you help us to work together with others, to leave behind footprints for people to find their way to heaven? Somebody's watching, somebody's probably following. Don't let us fail you, Lord, we give you our best because we love you in response to the fact that you had loved us. Take now what we have, and we honor you today with everything in the name of Jesus, we pray Amen. Thanks for being a part of the voice of the Nazarene. Visit us every Sunday at 9am with BNC's Pastor Ray LaSalle, for more information regarding BNC, visit bucyrusnazarene.org, you.