No Regrets | Doing What You Can for God

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When we can do it. What a waste, some will say. But it isn't a waste when it's done with the right motive for the glory of God.

Because here's the bottom line. If you choose to live for yourself, one day God will say, what a waste. This is the day, the day when life begins. What's the one thing you could never see yourself giving up for the Lord? Money? Reputation?

Personal comfort? Time? Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out that just may be what the Lord wants from you. We're in John chapter 12 as Pastor Greg continues his series called Life. And remember, anytime you want to refer this counsel to a friend, invite them to go to harvest.org and look for today's title, No Regrets.

They can stream it or download it. John 12, starting in verse 1. I love John's commentary here. It's not that Judas cared for the poor. He was a thief.

We'll stop there. Now Mark's gospel brings a very important insight into this story. Speaking of the same event, Mark writes in Mark 14, 8, She has done what she could. So Christ is the saint of this woman. She has done what she could. She came beforehand to anoint my body for burial and assuredly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached to the whole world, what this woman has done will be told as a memorial to her. Very important. There's a good possibility that this bottle of perfume was a family heirloom.

We find out later it's worth $25,000 to $30,000. Now it would make sense if she put a few drops on his feet. You know, a little goes a long way. By the way, that's a good rule of thumb to know about. A little goes a long way. You don't have to bathe in it.

We don't want to smell you after you've left an hour later, as it is the case with some people, if they've been in a room or if they've been in a car, wherever it is they've been. So she took the whole bottle of expensive perfume and poured it on his feet. It was an act of complete devotion and adoration. Judas Iscariot with calculator in hand, a man who knew the price of everything and the value of nothing, instantly calculates how much of a waste this was.

As I said, $25,000 to $30,000. What a waste, Judas says, and he had a point. But this wasn't about perfume at all. This was about sacrifice. She reasoned, there's nothing too good for Jesus.

And this is the most valuable thing I own. And he's going to go and die for my sin and for the sins of everyone in this room. In fact, he's going to die for the sins of the world. In fact, everything Jesus has been saying, he has meant. He has said what he meant, and he has meant what he said.

I think the disciples were, he's talking mystically. What does he mean he'll be crucified? And she realizes, he's speaking literally. He's going to literally be crucified. He's actually going to be betrayed. He really is going to die and rise again, and I need to do something to say thank you in advance.

And so she brought this bottle of perfume and broke it and poured it at his feet. You know, when we lose a loved one, we'll bring tribute at their funeral. Some will buy bouquets of flour or a wreath of flowers, spend a lot of money. That's all fine. But the loved one is not aware of that.

I don't think we sit around and watch our funerals. And I think it's better to bring your flowers now, right? So if you know someone that's meant a lot to you, and I'm including your grandparents and your mom and dad or somebody that's touched your life, don't wait till they die to say it about them. Say it to them face to face right now. Write them a letter. Novel idea there. Write a letter. Ink on paper.

Imagine such a thing. But the cool thing is you can save a letter. You can save a card. They can read it over and over.

But if you just can't, go there. Okay, send an email if you have to. Even a text. Something. And just say, I love you. I appreciate you. You mean a lot to me.

Thank you for all that you've done for me. And we'll maybe see each other a thousand more times, but I want to just say it right now. So Mary thought, you know what? I'm going to say it right now. I'm going to bring my flowers now.

So she brought this incredible perfume. Old Judas Iscariot, verse four. This is worth a year's wages, and we could have sold it and given the money to the poor. In Mark's gospel, we read that the others were indignant, which means to feel pain and to grieve, or literally to growl with this pleasure.

In a way, it seems like a legit complaint, doesn't it? I mean, is it practical to take something worth thirty-five grand and pour it on the feet of someone? I mean, really, you could have sold that and done a lot of good things with that money. But John gives us this little insight in verse six, not because he cared for the poor. He was a thief, and he was in charge of the disciples' money, and he often stole some for himself. But here's what's interesting.

Judas said this right before he was about to go and betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Here's what I've discovered about people in the church. The ones who complain the most do the least, and the ones that do the most complain the least. But the ones who complain the most do the least. They just love to complain. Say, I have the gift of criticism.

That's not in the Bible. No, but I'm really good at criticism. And often, if someone comes up and says, I don't like the way you do this or the way you don't do that, say, why don't you help us out? What's your solution?

Well, I don't know, but I don't like it. Well, how about helping us solve it? And let's do a better job together. And sometimes the one who is the most critical is telling you more about themself than the one or the thing they're criticizing. In a way, they're kind of giving you a window into where they're at. Because the fact of the matter is, if you hear someone always harping on something, they're always critical of it in everyone else's life, but sometimes the reason is that's their issue. That's their actual problem. And the reason they were harping on it is, going back to the analogy of Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount, why is it that you're hassling your brother over a speck in his eye when you have a telephone pole in yours? I'll tell you why.

Because you're so familiar with it, you see it everywhere except in your own life. And so here's Judas, of all things, being critical of the sacrificial gift when he himself was about to betray Christ for money. Judas didn't care for the poor. He cared about himself. And greed and selfishness motivated him to stay. And by the way, Judas Iscariot was never a true believer. In fact, the Bible even tells us that Satan entered his heart.

So it just shows us that things are not always as they seem. I mean, here at this moment, Mary appears to be wasteful and frivolous because of her gift. And Judas seems to be thrifty, considerate, and maybe even spiritual.

But it was the very opposite. Mary was in fact spiritually perceptive and sacrificial. Judas was wicked and greedy. It's a waste, said Judas. And yet in a few hours, Jesus would call Judas the son of perdition, which means the son of waste.

How's that for a nickname? Jesus said, you're the son of waste, man. That's who you are. So the guy saying waste, waste. Jesus is talking about waste. You are the king of waste and what you did and how you live. In a moment, Pastor Greg points out how our sacrifice for the Lord is never wasted when it's done with the right motive and for God's glory.

He'll explain in a moment. So many listeners have commented on the help they receive from these daily messages. God's Word ministers to them, and it often gets them through some of their darkest hours. Ten years ago, I lost my son to murder. I struggled with anger and hate and just so many mixed emotions of what and why. I listen to you daily and you give me so much confidence to know that one day I'll stand with him.

My life is completely changed since then. I've gone on two mission trips and I know that only through the grace of God and through listening to your powerful message that you put out each and every day. There is hope and there is God and He is with us 24-7.

God bless you each and every one. It's encouraging to know that these studies in God's Word have impacted this woman's life. Has Pastor Greg heard from you? Why not drop him an email and tell him your story? Send it to Greg at Harvest dot org.

Do it today while you're thinking about it. Again, that's Greg at Harvest dot org. Today, Pastor Greg is focusing on the elaborate sacrifice of Mary when she anointed Jesus' feet with some very expensive perfume. It's part of Pastor Greg's study called No Regrets. So this woman did what she could.

Mark 14, 8, commenting on the same story. Jesus said she has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint my body for burial. She has done what she could. In the same way, the more we know of what He did for us will cause us to want to do more for Him.

Listen to this. Nothing is ever wasted when it's done with the right motive for the glory of God. Look, you can't do everything, nor can I, but we can all do something. I can't win all the people in the world of Christ, but I can win some.

As it has been said, I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And what I can do, I ought to do. And what I ought to do, by the grace of God, I will do.

Right? End quote. So we all need to do what we can do when we can do it. What a waste, some will say. A young person gives up a promising career and says, I want to go into the mission field. We'll say, what a stupid decision.

That incredible degree that you earned and that job offer you have and you're going to go in mission field. That is a complete waste. Someone else, a Christian, will say, you know, I'm not going to do those things I used to do with my friends. I'm going to give up those parties and those so-called pleasures because they dull me spiritually.

Oh man, you're missing out. Are you crazy? What are you going to do, go to church more?

As a matter of fact, yeah. That's a waste, they'll say. Or maybe you say, I'm going to be faithful to my spouse for our lifetime together. I'm actually going to honor those vows for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health. I'm going to avoid those temptations to go astray. Someone will say, oh man, you missed out. You could be on your third marriage right now.

Yeah, I know. I kind of like my first one. Or someone might give to the work of God financially. I'm going to write a significant check that is sacrificial for me because I believe in this ministry.

I believe in what this work is. That's a waste. You could have bought yourself more things, but it isn't a waste when it's done with the right motive for the glory of God.

Because here's the bottom line. If you choose to live for yourself and do whatever you want with your life, one day God will say, what a waste. I'd rather people say it's a waste than have God say, what a waste. God would look at my life and say, man, you just threw it all away. You could have done so much.

I gave you so many opportunities and you know, you just threw it away. The story is told of a man, and I'll close with this, named William Borden. Maybe you've heard of him. He was heir to the Borden dairy estate. And even as a young man, he was already a millionaire.

And in our economy, he would be a millionaire many times over. So as a graduation present, Borden's parents gave him a trip around the world. So as Borden was traveling first class and staying in the most luxurious hotels and seeing all that was out there in the world, his heart was moved very deeply as he traveled to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe and found a burden growing in his heart for people that did not know Christ. And so he wrote back to his parents and said, I believe God is calling me to go on the mission field. And after that decision, a Borden wrote these words in his Bible. No reserves. Upon graduation from seminary, turning down many high-paying job offers, Borden began his ministry, or at least to prepare a little bit more. He needed to learn Arabic because he felt called to speak to Muslims who did not know the Lord. So he wrote after that first phrase, no reserves, the words no retreat. So now it's no reserves, no retreat. So now he's finished his studies and he heads out to the mission field and he stops to study Arabic and within a month he came down with spinal meningitis and 25-year-old William Borden was dead.

Wow. And so they came to claim his body and bury him and they found his Bible. And they found he had written one more phrase. He had written no regrets. No regrets. You say, well, that's a waste.

No, it isn't. Because in his heart he wanted to do what God wanted him to do. Was he ever able to do it?

No, I guess he wasn't. But you know what? His heart was in the right place. And I think we should all be able to look back on our life and say no regrets. No regrets. Oh, we make mistakes here and there. We do things we shouldn't have done. But I'm talking about big picture now.

Big picture stuff. You know, I should have ordered, you know, Burrito Supreme instead of the double-decker taco. Fix it next time.

I should have wore a green shirt instead of a blue shirt. Yeah, whatever. Who cares. Okay. No, but in the big picture you've made the right decisions for Christ. Even the fact that you said I'm going to a midweek Bible study. I'm going to go to church tonight.

That's a good decision. And I think we all want to look back on life and say no reserves, no retreat, no regrets. A life is never wasted when it's invested in bringing people to Jesus. Nor is it wasted when it's lived for the glory of God.

Because here's the bottom line. I was made to know God. That's what it's all about.

I was made to know God. And that's why none of the things this world offers really satisfy. I mean, they might bring temporal pleasure and a certain fun. But it's short-lived, you know, that euphoria you get after you, you know, get that thing you've been wanting to get for so long and then you kind of get used to it and you move on. Or oh if this relationship is so exciting at first and now it's not as exciting.

Or whatever it is you think is going to ring your bell. It always comes up short because you were made for another world. You were made for more. It's fine to enjoy the things this world can offer if they're proper things, not sinful things. But ultimately what you're longing for is God. And when you bring God pleasure you'll find yourself having the most fun ever in life. You know, you'll find the joy that comes from serving the Lord.

So I close by asking you, do you know God in a personal way? I've been talking about knowing Jesus and I mentioned that Jesus came to die. You know why He came to die?

Why couldn't He have just, you know, gone on to greater heights and just ascended to heaven and skipped the whole crucifixion part? Because we've all sinned against God and because we've all broken God's commandments and because we're all separated from God. So Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sin.

So we wouldn't have to. Jesus died on the cross for our sin so we could be forgiven and have a relationship with Him. And that is why Jesus and Jesus alone is the only way to the Father. Because only Jesus was uniquely qualified to satisfy God's righteous demands. Only Jesus could know what it's like to walk in our shoes because He was literally a man that walked this earth.

And that's why He bridged the gap between a perfect God and imperfect humanity. And really if I want my sin forgiven and if I want to know that I'll go to heaven when I die I need to ask Jesus to forgive me of my sin and invite Him into my life. And He'll come and become my friend. He'll become my Savior. He'll become my Lord. He will be my God. But I have to say, Lord come in. And He won't force His way into my life. He stands at the door and He knocks and He says if we'll hear His voice and open the door He'll come in.

So I want to close with an opportunity for you to believe. And if you've never asked Jesus to come into your life, why don't you do it right now. Let's all pray. Father, I pray for any person that has joined us or anyone that's watching us or listening to this wherever they might be.

I pray that they will see their need for You and that they will come to You. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. Pastor Greg, glory with an important prayer. And wherever you stand with the Lord today, you can make a change and make things right. Pastor Greg will help you do that in just a moment before today's edition of A New Beginning concludes.

And then can we just say thank you? Thank you to those who not only listen on a regular basis but also pray for us. And not only listen and pray but also invest. They recognize the power of the gospel to change lives and they invest so these studies can continue. And Pastor Greg, you know that support makes a big difference in the lives of the people who listen to us. Yes, I do. And I would encourage some of you to be generous because when you are generous with your finances, we will put that money to work in expanding this ministry to reach more people with the teaching of the word of God and the message of the gospel.

Yeah, so we hope you'll contact us today and let us know you want to partner with us. We have a special way to say thank you. It's a book called Don't Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table written by Pastor Louie Giglio. He points out we're in the battle for our minds and our enemy is trying to push a narrative that will lead to defeat.

The subtitle is It's Time to Win the Battle of Your Mind. And we'll send you this book to thank you for your investment. And we won't be mentioning this much longer so contact us soon. Go to harvest.org and you can make that investment while you're there. Or call anytime 24 hours a day at 1-800-821-3300.

That's 1-800-821-3300. Well, Pastor Greg, we heard in today's message the importance of coming to Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins. For those who've never done that before, maybe you could explain just exactly how we do come to Christ.

Yeah, I'd be happy to, Dave. You know, sometimes people wonder, well, how does one become a Christian? Sometimes you'll hear people say, well, I'm in the process of converting.

Listen, you're either converted or you're not converted. Conversion doesn't take years. It doesn't take months. It doesn't even take hours.

It can happen in a flash. Listen, God is only a prayer away. You need to admit your sin to God, turn from it, and put your faith in Jesus Christ and you can know that you'll go to heaven when you die.

Have you done that yet? If not, it would be my privilege to lead you in a prayer of asking Christ to come into your life and forgive you of your sin. If you would like to do that, please pray this prayer after me right now. Again, if you want Christ to come into your life, pray this prayer after me now.

Let's pray. Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner, but you died on the cross for my sin and paid the price for every wrong I've ever done. I turn from that sin now and I ask you to come into my life. Be my Savior, be my Lord, be my God, and be my friend. I choose to follow you from this day forward.

Thank you for loving me and calling me and accepting me. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. If you just prayed that prayer in a minute, Jesus Christ himself has come to live inside of you. The Bible says for as many as received him, he gave them the power to become sons of God. If you just prayed that prayer, you are receiving him. So God bless you and welcome to the family of God.

And you know what? We have some great resources we want to send you to grow spiritually. So here's Dave with some details. Yeah, those resources are all assembled for you in our New Believers Growth Packet. It's free to those who are making a first-time commitment to Christ today. So get in touch and ask for the New Believers Growth Packet. Call us at 1-800-821-3300.

That's a 24-hour phone number, 1-800-821-3300. Or go to harvest.org and click on Know God. Well next time, Pastor Greg continues this series called Life, based in the Gospel of John. We'll learn what it is that angers and saddens God. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher, Greg Lord. This is the day, the day when life begins The preceding podcast was made possible by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God. Learn how to become a Harvest Partner, sign up for daily devotions, and find resources to help you grow in your faith at harvest.org