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[0:00] John chapter 12, again, verses 1-11 is our text this morning, and if you're there, would you please stand with me as we honor the reading of God's word together.

[0:26] ! So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table.

[0:41] Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

[0:54] But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, he who was about to betray him, said, Why was this ointment not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor?

[1:06] He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. Jesus said, Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.

[1:21] For the poor you will always have with you, but you do not always have me. When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him, but to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.

[1:33] So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him, many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus. May God add a blessing to the reading of his word.

[1:45] Would you please be seated? One of those shows that comes on a lot that I just get stuck watching it for whatever reason is American Pickers on History Channel.

[2:02] You guys watch that show? And I find it interesting because they climb through barns and sheds and warehouses, and they're just piled high full of junk.

[2:13] Things that haven't been touched in years, and they're covered in dirt and grime and spider webs. But they dig down, and they discover these objects of value.

[2:26] They make these great finds, and the pickers, when they find them, they're overjoyed by their discovery, because they know the great worth that that discovery has. However, sometimes, if you watch that show, the owners of that discovery are reluctant to part ways with it.

[2:44] They seem to see the worth that it has, but they don't treat it as if it has any worth, because it's piled away and covered up in a bunch of other junk.

[3:00] You know, sometimes people treat valuable things as if they aren't worth all that much. In Matthew chapter 13, Jesus tells two parables back-to-back with identical meanings.

[3:15] The first is in verse 44 of Matthew 13. Jesus said, The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which a man found and covered up.

[3:28] Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who on finding one pearl of great value went and sold all that he had and bought it.

[3:46] See, the treasures in these parables symbolize salvation. Something that once revealed is considered to be more valuable to the finder, that they are willing to give up everything they have in order to possess it.

[4:05] The treasure, the pearl of great price, is Jesus. And the salvation that he has made possible for us. In his death, he removed our sins by paying our debt to God for them.

[4:21] The resurrection on the third day was the Father's amen to that finished work. He was the first fruits, Christ, of what we will one day experience as well. When we are raised from the dead and we are glorified like him.

[4:35] We know that those who trust in him share in his victory over sin. They share in his victory over death. They have eternal life. And that begins the moment of salvation and it stretches out forever and onward into eternity with no end.

[4:53] And so in John 11, if you remember, Jesus has raised Lazarus from the dead. And that miracle confirmed the words that he spoke to Lazarus' sisters about himself.

[5:07] Remember in John 11, 25, Jesus said to her, being Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.

[5:21] And then in John 11, 40, Jesus said to her, Mary, the other sister of Lazarus, did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?

[5:32] And so these sisters witnessed Jesus bring their dead brother, who was in the grave for four days, they witnessed him bring him back to life.

[5:45] In a moment, their mourning transformed to rejoicing in Christ, who they saw and knew had resurrection power. And so in our scripture today, we witness how these two women demonstrated a love for Jesus that matched his true worth.

[6:04] And that's the main idea for this morning's sermon. The worth, the worth of Jesus and the love of his followers should match.

[6:16] The worth of Jesus and the love of his followers should match. And so in this passage, John tells us about this dinner that is given in Jesus' honor.

[6:28] And the loving acts of both Mary and Martha, there reveal the true worth that Jesus had to them. But there are other people in this passage.

[6:42] And their actions reveal that they measured Jesus' worth in a much different way than those two sisters. Your actions and your motivations behind them reveal Jesus' true worth to you.

[7:01] From the account of that dinner, we are given five different reactions to Jesus.

[7:12] Five different ways that we see how people valued him or how they saw his worth. And as Christians, we should know that Jesus has incredible value.

[7:27] We should know that Jesus is worthy of everything that we have. All that we are. Because without his coming, without his living, without his dying, without his rising again, you and I would be completely and totally without hope in a fallen world.

[7:44] We would be totally lost. We would be forever separated from God. We would endure the penalty of our sins eternally in hell. And so I hope that today, if you don't know Jesus and his true worth, that you will.

[8:01] And I hope also that if you do know him as Lord and Savior, that you'll be reminded of his true worth. That you will treasure him for who he is and for what he has done to save you and to give you life.

[8:17] And so again, this passage contains five reactions to Jesus. And they aren't all the same. And so as we go through these different reactions, I want you to be asking yourself this question.

[8:28] Which one of them best matches you? Which one best matches you? What is Jesus truly worth to you today?

[8:40] The first reaction is that of Martha in verses 1 through 2. And Martha reveals Jesus' true worth to her through her act of sincere service.

[8:51] Sincere service. Look at verses 1 and 2 again. Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

[9:02] So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. Now if you recall, when we came to the end of John chapter 11, it ends with a decree that was sent out from the Sanhedrin that anyone who knew where Jesus was should report that to them because they wanted to arrest him.

[9:25] But rather than turn him in or treat him as if he was a criminal or a fugitive, Jesus' friends in Bethany gave a dinner for him in his honor.

[9:37] The focus was on Jesus. And it was on his amazing power to bring dead people back to life. And Lazarus was there amongst them as exhibit A to testify to Jesus' ability to bring the dead back to life.

[9:56] And so John records that as at this meal, Martha was there and she was serving. Now if you recall, this isn't the first mention or the only mention in Scripture of Martha serving.

[10:11] Serving seemed to be her thing. She liked to serve. But on at least one occasion, her gift of service was improperly motivated and Jesus made her aware of it.

[10:25] Several months before this dinner in John chapter 12, Luke records a time when Jesus had visited Martha's house. Look at me there in Luke chapter 10, verse 38 through 42.

[10:38] Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village and a woman named Martha, same Martha, welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching.

[10:51] But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.

[11:03] But the Lord answered her, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion which will not be taken away from her.

[11:19] Now we're at a different meal. This is a different time. In John 12, we see here that Jesus does not rebuke Martha as she is serving.

[11:30] On the first occasion, we saw that she was frustrated. She wasn't serving gladly or sincerely. But here we see that she is serving.

[11:42] And I think the difference here is that she knows why she's serving. She's serving in Jesus' honor. She's glad to be serving. She's not focused on who is or who isn't helping her.

[11:53] And so Martha's service on this occasion, I believe, was motivated by a sincere desire to generously honor Jesus in the way that she best knew how.

[12:06] And she liked to serve. That was her gift. And she was going to serve him with that gift as best as she knew how, gladly offering that gift and that act of service to him to honor him for who he is and what he had done.

[12:20] When Christians realize the true worth of Christ, it changes them. It should change them. And like Martha, all Christians are called to engage in service that is motivated by a sincere gratitude of the one who selflessly gave of himself, the one who emptied himself of heaven's pleasures, the one who took the form of a servant to die on the cross as a substitute for us, the one who took away our sins, the one who suffered in our place, the one who has made peace between sinful man and holy God, who has given us eternal life through faith in him and what he has done, not on what we must do.

[13:05] We don't serve to earn God's grace. We serve because we've received God's grace already. And so we should gladly model Christ's example who said in Matthew chapter 20, verse 26 through 28, but whoever would be great amongst you must be your servant.

[13:28] And whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

[13:42] When you understand Jesus' true worth as the one who has resurrection power, who has saved you from your sins by serving as your substitute, that should lead to you wanting to make Christ great in your life, not seeking to use him in order to accomplish your will, but you wanting to be used by him to accomplish his will through your life.

[14:08] It's a sincere kind of service that is willing to sacrifice like he was willing to sacrifice. And so the question is, well, how does that manifest in my life?

[14:22] How do I serve like that in my life? Well, I think Colossians 3, 23-24 tells us exactly how that should look. Whatever you do, whatever you do, whatever means whatever, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.

[14:43] You are serving the Lord Christ. And so my question to you is, does Christ's worth to you match your love for him in your home?

[14:59] Does it match your love for him at work? Does it match your love for him in our church? When you truly value the salvation you have undeservedly received from Christ, it changes the way that you view everything.

[15:14] We see how it changed Martha. Martha went from frustrated service to service that honored Christ because she understood how truly worthy he was.

[15:25] So are you frustrated at work? Are you frustrated in your home? Are you frustrated here at church? You know, when you feel that way, I think the best question that you need to ask yourself is, why am I feeling so frustrated?

[15:40] And I would say that it could be that you aren't properly motivated in what you're doing. Maybe it's, I don't feel like I'm appreciated enough.

[15:51] Maybe I don't feel like I'm getting recognized enough. Whatever the case may be, understand and don't forget that Christ has shown his appreciation for you by dying for you, by rising again for you, by giving eternal life to you.

[16:13] And so what more do you need in life than to know Jesus? Your service at home, at work, and in the church should be conducted then with an attitude that displays that you, in knowing Christ, understand his true worth and therefore you know the true value of everything around you.

[16:35] When the worth of Jesus matches your love for him, you will serve him gladly in a way that honors him. The second reaction we see here, demonstration of Jesus' true worth comes from Mary and her reaction is one of selfless sacrifice.

[16:56] Selfless sacrifice. Look at verse 3. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair.

[17:07] The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. The nard that Mary had came from a plant that grew in the mountains of northern India.

[17:18] It was expensive because it smelled so good and also it had to come a long way to get to the area where she was.

[17:29] It was costly. Mary's nard also was valuable because it was pure in quality which made it even more valuable. Worth 300 denarii as Judas pointed out which was equivalent to a year's wages.

[17:44] Added to its value was the fact that it was contained in an alabaster vial which was also expensive. But in a moment Mary basically emptied her net worth out onto the feet of Jesus.

[18:05] Imagine that. Imagine having something so valuable something that was worth a year's salary and you had it stored away and it was somewhere safe.

[18:19] If you had such a thing or maybe you have such a thing wouldn't it provide you with a sense of financial security? You would know, hey, if things, if times get hard, if I lose my job or something like that, if money is tight, I have this valuable thing that I could sell and I know that for at least a year I'd be able to make it until I get back on my feet.

[18:43] And so, could you imagine having something so valuable as Mary did and doing something like that with that valuable thing that she did?

[18:54] Mary's offering to Jesus was a radical display of His worth to her but so was the way in which she offered it.

[19:05] She washed His feet with it. If you know anything about this culture, washing feet of a guest was the job reserved for the lowest servant of the house.

[19:19] They didn't have closed-toed shoes and they traveled on dirt roads and so you can imagine the sights and the smells that someone would encounter as they stoop down on their knees and they scrub someone's dirty feet and feet are just gross to begin with, I think, anyways.

[19:37] And so, here she is down on her hands and feet and she is washing the feet of Jesus with this costly perfume. Now, this is interesting as well because when we get to the Lord's Supper, we'll see that not even the disciples were seeking to make that kind of demonstration of Christ's worth at that time.

[20:02] It was Jesus, if you recall, God in human flesh who assumed that subservient position in order to wash their feet. But not only did Mary wash Jesus' feet, she let down her hair and she used it as a towel to wash them.

[20:24] In Jewish society back then, it was taboo for a woman to wear her hair down. In fact, some people saw it as a sign of immorality.

[20:35] And a woman's hair then, as it still is today, is a mark of her beauty. And here she is letting down her hair and she's washing Jesus' feet with it.

[20:52] Mary wasn't concerned about what others thought about her. She was focused on an outward demonstration of her intense love for her Savior.

[21:04] and she knew that there was nothing of greater value, there is nothing of greater worth to her than Jesus. And so she was heedless of the cost that her selfless sacrificial action meant for her financially and she didn't care what it meant for her in regards to her reputation.

[21:24] The measure of her love for Jesus and the worth he had to her was total abandonment to him without regard for what the personal cost might be.

[21:39] Do you do the same? Do you hold your treasures loosely as Mary did? Is he worth more to you than anything else that you have?

[21:56] Is he more valuable to you than your reputation is to you? Are you as cheerful to give as Mary was?

[22:09] I once heard a story about a mother who gave her little girl a quarter and a dollar before they went to church and she said to her daughter, put one of those in the offering plate and keep the other for yourself.

[22:25] After church the mother asked her daughter which amount she gave and which she kept to which the little girl replied, well, I was going to put in the dollar but I knew I'd be more cheerful if I put in the quarter instead.

[22:41] And that's humorous but isn't that characteristic of how we often live our lives? We think and we believe and I think sometimes we trust in the thought that there's more happiness to be had in life by having more possessions.

[23:06] To have more possessions than possessing more of Christ. But look at Jesus' response to Mary's self-sacrifice.

[23:18] Others saw it, they were attacking her and Jesus came to her defense in verse 7. Jesus said, leave her alone so that she may keep it for the day of my life. burial.

[23:29] And in Mark's account of this same dinner, he records Jesus' saying, and truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.

[23:42] You see, your acts of selfless sacrifice and expressing visibly Christ's worth to you have far-reaching ramifications than you may ever realize in the present.

[23:56] case in point, as we saw the video this morning, our church gave about $7,500 to send 40 students to camp this summer.

[24:12] And a lot of them would not have been able to go without your giving. And God, we've seen, has used your selfless giving to put many of our students in a place with limited distractions where they would hear from Him and they heard from Him.

[24:35] Many of them were saved. Others were called to ministry. Every life was touched and impacted. And you played a huge part in that. God has been glorified in your selfless action.

[24:50] And I'll tell you this as well. there are going to be ramifications for your giving that are going to extend farther than you ever thought $7,500 would go. 22 years ago, a man in my church gave $800 for me to go to a similar youth event where God called me into the ministry.

[25:11] And I would like to think that there has been a good return on his selfless investment. So, let's continue to be a church like that. A church, a people that gives without regard for what's in it for us.

[25:27] Because we know that the return will be greater than we ever thought possible. And I believe that like Mary, the greater the investment in the advancement of the gospel, the greater the return on that investment will be.

[25:42] Here we are, some 2,000 years later, and we continue to be amazed by this great selfless sacrifice of Mary to Jesus Christ.

[25:58] And when we consider the selflessness of our Savior to die on the cross to save us, we should realize that we have great worth to Him.

[26:14] and a God who would give so graciously and generously to us is a God who is worthy of our worship.

[26:26] He's worthy of all that we have. We wouldn't exist without Him. We wouldn't have eternal life without Him. Mary knew that, and she demonstrated that in an amazing way.

[26:40] And the fragrance of her offering filled the room. But we see that not everyone who was there saw her demonstration of Christ's worth as being truly worth it.

[26:51] So we get to the third reaction which is that of Judas to the worth of Jesus. In Judas we see his reaction was one that marked his fraudulent faith, or revealed his fraudulent faith.

[27:05] Look at verses 4 and 6 again. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples who was about to betray him, said, why was this ointment not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor?

[27:16] He said this because he did not care about the poor, but because he was a thief and having charged the money bag he used to help himself to what was put into it. So you can imagine, imagine being there.

[27:27] Mary has done this amazing thing, this perplexing thing if you were in the room, and you could imagine everyone in that room, I do, sitting in stunned silence, witnessing what Mary was doing and demonstrating Christ's true worth to her.

[27:48] But then there's Judas and he breaks that silence by raising his voice in protest. See, Judas disguised his greed by appearing charitable.

[28:00] He concealed his selfishness by pretending to be a humanitarian. And we know that Judas was one of the twelve disciples and Jesus knew all along that Judas would betray him.

[28:11] But he didn't reveal that truth to the other eleven disciples until just before he died. And even when Jesus told them at the Last Supper that one of you will betray me, none of them pointed a knowing finger at Judas.

[28:27] So we knew it. We had suspicions about him all along. Thank you for confirming those, Jesus. No, they all thought, is it I, Lord? They were saying, is it I, Lord? His fraudulent faith had them all fooled.

[28:41] Though he outwardly appeared to follow Jesus, Jesus was only useful to him so long as he gained something or stood something to profit materially from his close association with Jesus.

[28:57] Judas saw Christ's worth as a means to achieving his own ends. And in that way, all modern day preachers of the prosperity gospel are no different than Judas.

[29:13] Using Jesus and seeing his worth only as a means to make money for themselves. But here's the thing. This is the thing that really concerned me and that I struggled with the most this week.

[29:28] Judas's comments were so persuasive he seemed to be so righteous in his indignation with Mary that others in the room joined him in his protest.

[29:44] Matthew and Mark also record this dinner and what happened there. Look at Matthew 26, 8 and 9. And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, why this waste?

[29:59] For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor. In Mark 14, 4 through 5, it says, there were some who said to themselves indignantly, why was this ointment wasted like that?

[30:14] For this ointment could have been sold for more than 300 denarii and given to the poor. And they scolded her. And so as I was wrestling with that, my thought was, my concern was, do we respond today in the same way to those who demonstrate their love for Christ so selflessly by their acts of service?

[30:46] Are we more likely to see things like that and be cynical and critical instead of encouraging? encouraging. I've seen that especially in those who are called to ministry, especially those who are called to overseas missions, that their parents, maybe their close friends say things like, are you sure?

[31:13] That's awfully dangerous. I don't know that you should do that. Are you sure you want to go into ministry? It's really hard. That's a difficult job.

[31:23] Are you sure that God's called you? It's good to discern God's call to ministry, but you know what I'm saying? We shouldn't cross the line into being cynical and critical. Or sometimes we'll see people give maybe generously to the church, and likewise they'll receive the same kind of critical feedback.

[31:39] Are you sure you want to do that? That's too much to give. Someone could look at what our church gave to camp and think, well, they should have paid a little bit. You know, $7,500 we could have done a lot of other things for our church with that kind of money.

[31:53] And it's because I think for a lot of us we want to play it safe. We like to play it safe. But as we see, all throughout God's Word, playing it safe doesn't cost much and it doesn't get much results.

[32:09] Hebrews 11 is a great reminder that God rewards those who live by faith and who are unafraid of the cost to do what He has called them to do.

[32:21] A fraudulent faith seeks to use Christ instead of seeking to be used by Christ. And in the end, it is a false faith that the Lord will expose.

[32:35] You may say Christ is worthy and you can fool many, but know that you will never be able to fool Him. And so Judas now was at a crossroads.

[32:50] The Lord unmasked His deception. He could fall at the feet in humble repentance and he could pridefully ask the Lord for His forgiveness.

[33:05] We know what He did. He didn't do that. But what about you? Maybe you realize that you are using Christ today.

[33:18] Or you're seeking to use Him instead of to be used by Him. And so I ask you, is His worth to you based upon how good your life is going at present?

[33:35] You're good to say Christ is worthy and to worship Him in good times, but what about when things get hard? Are you interested in Him only when things are going the way that you think that they should?

[33:51] And let me tell you honestly and lovingly, if that's the case, maybe you're not truly saved. If your allegiance to Christ is based upon how good things are going in your life, maybe it's because you don't truly know Him as Lord and Savior, because you don't really truly understand His worth.

[34:16] Maybe you haven't truly understood His word that He said that there's suffering that comes with following Him, but following Him leads to an abundant life now and eternally. Purpose, hope, no matter what the situation might be.

[34:35] If all Jesus ever did for us was to die for us and call us to faith in Him, that is more than enough reason to live our lives in total abandonment to Him and to His true worth and value.

[34:59] In verse 8, Jesus makes the statement, for the poor you will always have with you, but you do not always have me. And so I want to say quickly here that what we see from Jesus' words is that we're never going to completely eradicate poverty in a fallen world.

[35:17] People have tried to give themselves and of themselves to bring it to an end, but to no avail. The social gospel is a fraudulent gospel whose proponents, I believe, have many of them a fraudulent faith.

[35:33] Should we help the poor? Absolutely. And there are many verses that command us to do so. However, our ultimate purpose isn't to feed stomachs just to feed stomachs or give people a place to live just to give them a place to live.

[35:49] Our ultimate purpose is that in doing that we will share the good news of Jesus Christ with them so that they will know the hope that comes through knowing Christ as Lord and Savior which lasts into eternity.

[36:02] so we give and so we go. But our motivation behind those sacrifices is to make Jesus know that they would know the true worth of the one who can save them from much more than poverty, who can save them from their sins.

[36:21] So there's a fraudulent faith reaction to Jesus' worth. Fourth, we see the reaction from the crowd. God. And they have a superficial faith in verse 9.

[36:33] When the large crowds of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came not only on account of Him but also to see Lazarus. These people heard about Jesus, how He had raised Lazarus from the dead, and they were curious.

[36:51] They wanted to see Jesus the miracle worker and they wanted to see Lazarus the miracle. people. But we know that many of these same people, in less than a week's time, would go from being curious about Jesus to being outwardly hostile to Him.

[37:11] At the triumphal entry, which we'll get to very soon, they will shout, Hosanna, Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.

[37:22] And then a few short days later, many of them in that same crowd will scream, away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him, crucify Him.

[37:35] Judas was motivated by greed. And I believe this crowd was motivated by a desire to be entertained. But church isn't a place to be entertained.

[37:50] entertained. It's a place where the people of God gather to worship the Lord.

[38:01] And for those who choose a church based on what's in it for them, I ask, is there really much difference in that choice, in that attitude, than the one in this crowd who saw Jesus as someone to be amused by, not someone worthy of their worship.

[38:22] And then we have the fifth reaction in verses 10 through 11 of the chief priests. They didn't value or see any worth in Christ either. Their reaction to Him was marked by deceitful scheming.

[38:36] Deceitful scheming in verse 10 through 11. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well because on account of Him, many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

[38:47] So these men saw no value in Jesus at all. And not only did they seek to kill Him, but they sought to kill Lazarus who served as a living testimony to His resurrection power, His being the Son of God.

[39:07] And their reaction, and all of these reactions should remind us that there is no one who is neutral to Jesus. as He said in Luke 11, 23, whoever is not with me is against me.

[39:23] And whoever does not gather with me scatters. And so whether loving and serving Him like Mary and Martha or being indifferent towards Him like the crowd or hating and opposing Him like Judas and the chief priests, we know that everyone takes a stand somewhere when it comes to Jesus.

[39:51] And also that everyone's actions in some way demonstrate the true worth that they believe Jesus has. And their eternal destiny will be determined by that.

[40:07] Who do they say Jesus is? What is Jesus truly worth to you? I think oftentimes there is a confusion amongst God's people and they think that in order to be loved by God or accepted by God, they have to earn that love through works.

[40:38] But that's not any different than what any other religion teaches. Religion says I obey God in order to get things from God. That doesn't see the true value in God and who He's done.

[40:50] And it leaves out grace because the gospel says I obey God not to earn salvation, not to get things from Him, but I obey God because I want more of God in my life.

[41:03] I want Jesus to be displayed in my life. I want to be more like Him. I obey and I serve and I give because I know what He has done for me in serving me and obeying the Father by dying on the cross in order to give me life.

[41:22] And as a result of that I know like it says in Acts chapter 4 verse 12 there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

[41:37] So, let me tell you brother and sister in Christ Jesus is totally worth it. He's totally worth your time.

[41:48] He's totally worth your giving. He's totally worth your service. And so don't let anyone ever convince you to love the Lord in moderation.

[42:02] Don't ever let anyone say that you need to love the Lord less. You need to demonstrate that less. And so my charge and my hope for us as a church is that our affections for Jesus would be great and that they would greatly demonstrate how great He is.

[42:22] Let's make sure that Jesus' worth and our love for Him match and that our community would see that and that we would be known as a people who love Jesus and they would see our love for Jesus and how it matches His true worth and that we would share the gospel with them and advance it and make disciples who make disciples.

[42:50] Four questions of application that we'll cover tonight. The first one. How does a person's life reveal the true worth they believe Jesus has?

[43:04] We need to think about that. How does a person's life reveal the true worth they believe Jesus has? Second question.

[43:16] Does Jesus' worth match your love for Him? Does our church demonstrate a love for Christ that matches His true worth?

[43:31] Third question. Many people at the dinner were convinced that Judas' protests were right. How can true followers of Christ keep from falling into a similar deception today?

[43:46] How can we make sure that we aren't in that critical cynical group whose words are working against the will of God?

[43:57] And then fourthly, how can you more radically demonstrate Christ's worth to you today? today? How can you more radically demonstrate Christ's worth to you today?

[44:13] How can we be more like Mary and Martha who are willing to serve and honor the Lord so well? We've read and we've heard their testimonies right in this word.

[44:25] We see how God has taken their sacrificial lives and their giving and they're honored by it and He's honored for it. Let's be like that.

[44:37] Now if you're here this morning and you've heard these things and you realize that you're not truly valuing Christ, that you don't have a love for Him that matches His worth, that you realize maybe like Judas you have a fraudulent faith, I encourage you to come and talk to me at some point in time.

[44:54] You could do that now during our invitation, you could do that afterwards whenever or later this week. I'd love to talk to you more about Jesus. Right now, let's pray.

[45:05] Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for its instruction. Thank You for the reminders that it contains for us. Thank You for its promises, Lord. Thank You for how it convicts us of sin.

[45:17] Thank You for how it gives us hope and joy. God, I pray for each one of us here that if it isn't the case already that our love for You would match Your worth.

[45:30] And God, You are truly worthy. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. You came and You took our place on the cross. You endured hell on the cross for us that we might have eternal life in heaven.

[45:46] Lord, You are truly worthy of our very best. Forgive us, God, that sometimes we are critical of those who seek to serve You with their whole life. Forgive us, Lord, that too often we hold tightly to our earthly possessions as if they're more valuable than You.

[46:02] God, I pray for me, I pray for each one of us that Your Spirit would be continually at work in our hearts and our minds through what we have heard from Your Word to change and transform our attitudes, to renew our minds, that we would hold on loosely to our possessions and even with our lives, Lord, that we would say like Isaiah, here I am, send me.

[46:23] Here I am, use me. Whatever You ask, Lord, it's Yours. And that by that, Lord, we would be marked as a people who know You, who love You, who understand Your true worth, and are used by You to make disciples, to advance the gospel, that You would be pleased and that we wouldn't waste our lives.

[46:40]  We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.