Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham. We ought to so live that our lives are an expression of that love and devotion that's willing to extravagantly, expensively, extensively give what we have. On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about what Mary teaches you about giving your all, your very best, to Jesus your Lord.
Now here's doctor Graham with his message. Merry's Christmas. Take your Bibles and turn with me to the Gospel of Mark, chapter 14. And today's story from God's Word. is recorded Uh in all of the gospel accounts.
The title of this message is Mary's Christmas. Probably not the Mary you're thinking about. There are three prominent Marys in the Gospels. One is Mary, the mother of Jesus, and we honor her. and we celebrate her obedience.
in delivering the Savior to the world. There's another Mary that is prominent in Scripture. Her name is Mary Magdalene. Jesus delivered her from powerful demon possession. Her life was transformed.
She was at The resurrection and was one of the eyewitnesses.
So, Mary Magdalene, but there is another Mary. whose Christmas I want us to understand today. And her name is Mary of Bethany. Mary, who lived in Bethany, along with her sister Martha. And her brother, Lazarus.
But in particular, I want to focus in on Mary because this Mary of Bethany. We see her three times in the Gospels, and every single time, all three times, she is at one. strategic Singular place. At the feet of Jesus. We meet her at Lazarus' death.
She comes to him with a burden. She's broken by the death of her brother, and she, at the feet of Jesus, pleads for the resurrection. We see her another time at the feet of Jesus while Martha is scurrying about in the kitchen. Mary chooses the better part, the better place according to Jesus, and she is listening to him and learning from him at the feet of Jesus. There was quite a conflict.
Martha was all stressed out. like some of you this Christmas season. But the next time we see Mary at the feet of Jesus is in our text today. She came the first time with her burden in grief and sorrow. She comes the next time.
Uh At the feet of Jesus for a blessing. To hear the words of Christ, to look into his eyes, to linger there and long for his presence. But she comes in the case of this passage of scripture with her best. Her very best she brings to Jesus. Each time at the feet of Jesus.
Here She brings broken and spilled out a box of perfume precious ointment. And she pours it out. at the feet of Jesus. Let's read the story. from Mark chapter 14, verses 3 through 9.
And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at the table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly. And she broke the flask and poured it over his head. And there were some who said to themselves indignantly, Why was this ointment wasted like that? You could have sold this for 300 denarii, a working man's wage for a year, and given it to the poor. And they scolded her.
But Jesus said, Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing. To me. Note that.
Jesus commended her and said, She has done a beautiful thing. for me, a meaningful thing for me. For you always have the poor with you. And whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me.
She has done what she could. She has anointed my body beforehand for burial. And truly, I say to you: watch this. Wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, What she has done will be told in memory. of her.
And that prophecy of Jesus is fulfilled in your very ears today. Because we are talking about the living and lasting legacy of this little lady. Who did what she could. Who did all that she could, and she did it when she could, in bringing her very best. This is why I'm calling this Merry's Christmas.
So let's recreate the scene here just For a moment. Lazarus has been raised From the dead. And Mary and Martha and a few friends are now celebrating this new life that Lazarus has been given, celebrating at the home of a man named Simon. Called Simon the leper. There's no doubt in my mind, this was another man that Jesus had.
Performed a miracle, had healed him of his leprosy.
So they are all together celebrating Christ. Celebrating the miracle. That is Jesus. And they're having dinner, they're having a celebration, and Jesus is reclining at the table. And Mary Is where she always is when we meet her in Scripture at the feet of Jesus.
And she's just... worshiping him and wondering. What can I do? What can I give? To show the Lord just how much I love him.
And so she remembers. A flask of expensive ointment. She must have prepared and brought it with her to this occasion, this perfume. It was in an alabaster box. That was expensive in itself.
That was a marble box, if you will, or a flask. out of Egypt. And then we're told there was nard or thick perfume. that was in this alabaster box. And she breaks the seal, the flask, and opens it up.
And she pours out on the head and the feet of Jesus, not just some of it, but all of it. She extravagantly Pours it all out. Anointing The Lord Jesus Christ. Anointing is not something typically we do in our culture, but in the New Testament as well as the Old Testament era, anointing was a common practice. And it was a very practical thing, by the way, to anoint with perfume at a house because remember, there weren't a lot of showers and bathtubs in those days.
So for few would uh would elevate the household smell, let's put it that way.
So now she pours out this perfume on Jesus. She lavishly gives it. And That's when she is criticized, but Jesus commends her. And says, wherever the gospel is preached, she will be a testimony because of her generosity, because of her extravagant love. What a beautiful story.
In humility, just an ordinary woman. But She did something that she could do and And that is to bring that alabaster box broken, poured out, spilled out. in love. for the Lord. And as we come to this time of celebration of Jesus, we're celebrating our new life in Christ, are we not?
And all that he has done. For us, and I hope we're all asking ourselves in these days: what can I give back? What can I bring in service and in stewardship to the Lord? Will I, can I bring my best? We love Jesus.
And John tells us that we love Jesus because he first. Loved Uh And because of his great love for us. We then come. to show our love. And how do we show our love?
How do we experience Mary's Christmas? this year. Why did Mary do this? at the time that she did it.
Well, she had been listening to Jesus. And Jesus had been talking about his death. Christ is on the road to Calvary. to die on the cross. and to rise again on the third day.
Others either weren't paying attention or didn't want to believe it, but Mary believed it. She knew that Jesus was going. to die in Jerusalem. She didn't know how. She didn't know what would happen.
But she was because she had been learning and listening at his feet. She anointed his body for the burial. This was not just an extreme act, an extravagant act for nothing. But rather there was a purpose that He would be anointed and prepared for his burial. When you get to the several days later, when the women get to the empty tomb, his body is gone.
Had Mary not done what she did when she did it, then the proper burial, the proper preparation for his burial would not have happened. But Mary knew. That Jesus was ready. For the redemptive act of salvation. And She gave what she could, all that she could.
and when she could do it. She sat at his feet and heard his word. Mary did something eternal. Martha. I don't want to pick on Martha too much here, but Martha, you know, she was running around preparing a meal and doing some good things for Jesus.
But sometimes the better things should be our focus. Not some of the things that we do, all the distraction. Remember, it was Jesus who said to Martha in the midst of all this heat in the kitchen that was going on, this explosion between these two women. He said, Martha, Martha, you're so stressed out about so many things, but Mary has chosen the best thing. How do we do the things that please?
him the most. The question is for all of us: do we live for temporal things or eternal things? Do we live to please man or do we live to please Jesus? Do we live for the applause of people or the approval of God? Most of the time we have to decide, don't we?
Because You can't have both for the most part. You are listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, Merry's Christmas. We're excited to share that we have a new way for you to connect with us. It's our texting service designed to keep you connected with everything happening here at PowerPoint. You'll be the first to know about upcoming events, special announcements, and truly enriching content.
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Now let's get back to today's message. Merry's Christmas. If you choose to follow Jesus and give your all to Jesus, you will feel and even hear the disapproval of the world, maybe members of your own family. Our culture is no friend to Jesus and the followers of Jesus. But we remain faithful.
Seeking the approval of God. ignoring the criticism of others. Paul said in Galatians 1.10, for am I now seeking the approval of man or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I'm still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
So we choose. Like Mary Chubs. To ignore the criticism that surrounded her and to please Jesus, to please God. And it is in this act of Devotion and dedication that we see how to celebrate. Mary's gift was expensive, it was extravagant, it had eternal impact.
Her legacy lives on. She didn't hold back. She didn't just drop a few drops. From the flask She poured it all out. What she did was an act of pure precious devotion to God.
What she gave, as I noted earlier, was extremely valuable. It was a personal treasure. Perhaps a part of Her hope chest or a wedding dowry. We don't know how she would have come into possession of this. Precious ointment that was so valuable, but she gave it, and she gave it all, and she gave it in a timely way.
So then come the critics. Not everyone in that room appreciated Mary's selfless act of love. In fact, we're told Verse 4: That there were some who said to themselves indignantly, Why was this ointment wasted like that? Wasted it. Why The waste.
And when you look inside that word indignant, It's a word which which means to show extreme displeasure. It actually has as it root, at the root, the word growl. They were growling and expressing their displeasure in criticizing Mary for.
So-called wasting all of this perfume because they said we could have given this to the poor, we could have sold it and given it to the poor. And so they're all in an uproar on the surface. It may have looked like Mary's act was wasteful. Just on the surface You could say That's poor stewardship. Just to empty this vial of precious ointment or perfume on the Lord Jesus.
What a waste. But was it a waste? Not to Jesus. Was it worth it? For Mary to give everything that she had in her possession.
Absolutely worth it. The word worship means worth ship. When we worship Jesus, we are attributing to him his worth, his value.
Now, it's interesting who led the charge of criticism that day in the room. Remember, there's 15 or 20 people. And among the disciple band was a man by the name. of Judas. And you can just turn in your Bibles, if you will, in Luke chapter, or pardon me, in John, pardon me, chapter 12, verses 4 through 6.
John identifies who was most vociferous and indignant. criticizing and condemning Mary that day. 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? He said this, and John gives us the backstage look here. He said this not because he cared for 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.
Now, John, later on, as he's writing this gospel inspired by the Holy Spirit, he now knows really who Jesus is. The disciples, you know, Judas is not. That Dark lurking figure in the background, he was the treasurer of the disciples. He was, in effect, the business manager of Team Jesus. He had the bag.
Whatever offerings they were receiving or gifts for the mission of Christ, Judas was in charge of that. But Judas was greedy. And he was stealing. John said he was actually stealing from Jesus. Can you imagine that?
Taking money that belonged To Jesus. And John calls him out for it.
So Judas is saying We could have taken all this money. Instead of wasting it like this, We could have sold it. We could have given the money to the poor. Judas didn't care about the poor. He cared about his own pocketbook.
Judas is typical of so many today. Who harshly judge what other people do for Jesus. Whether or not we are Giving our best to the Lord. is between us And the Lord.
So many people. Want to do the bear? Minimum. For the Lord. Just a little bit.
Not everything, but something. After all, people are now too busy to go to church. or too tired. To get to worship every week. We tip God.
less than we pay a waitress. to serve us a meal in a restaurant. Do Christians really need to give? Do Christians really need to tithe? Of course Christians should give the first tenth of their income.
To the Lord. Not the leftovers, not the last, not the least. Why wouldn't we bring The first and the best that we have to the Lord. Jesus said we were to tithe, and then some. Tithing, giving.
Is not a religious duty, it is an act of. devoted obedience, an act of loving obedience to God. Today we hear some Have quiet quit, quietly quit in the business world. Have you heard about quiet quitting? Just not working as hard, not doing as much, just quiet quitting.
It's a problem apparently in the business community. It's also a problem in the church if some have just. Quietly quit. Stop serving, stop giving, stop witnessing, stop attending. How can we quit on the one who never quits on us?
How can we quit on the one who refused? To quit on the cross. Who gave it all, who laid down his life? Jesus didn't save anything. And we ought to so live that our lives are an expression of that love and devotion that's willing to extravagantly, expensively, extensively give what we have.
The early church, those early believers. They turned the world upside down because they were willing to be bold for Christ. Why wouldn't we be bold? Here's a Texas word, bodacious. Big for the glory of God.
Let me ask you. When was the last time you took a risk? To do something beautiful and wonderful, to give your best for the Lord. to walk across the room at a Christmas party. And engage a conversation about Jesus and the gospel.
To walk across the street and talk to a neighbor and to show love in Jesus' name. To get out of our comfort zone. When was the last time we got off the comfortable pew? Off our seats and into the streets with the message of Jesus Christ to take some risks boldly witnessing. When was the last time you did something extravagant?
And bold. For Jesus. For the sake of the kingdom. You say, Well, what if I fail? You might fail.
But what if God gives you favor? and brings that person to Christ through your witness. What if God takes something that you do, just a cup of cold water given in Jesus' name, and uses it for his glory to save a life? Mary's love for Jesus. was to show her love for him and no sacrifice was too great.
She said, I will do what I can. I will do All that I can. And I will do it. When? I can.
And sometimes people say, you know, you Christians, you're just throwing your life away. You're throwing your time away. You're throwing your treasure away. You're giving your money away. Man, why are you doing that?
Come on and party with us. Have a blast while you last. Don't spend your time serving Jesus or worshiping Jesus. My goal and your goal should be not to please man, but to please God. We love people.
But we don't listen to those who want to carp and criticize and complain. There are always people, even in churches, who don't like the way the money is spent. And so they want to complain about it and criticize. They don't give much. They don't give, in many cases, anything, but they love to criticize.
You can take that money and give it to something better, give it to the poor. Give it to whatever I think is right. Most of the time, it's like Judas. It's not because they love the poor, it's because they're greedy and they're holding on to the bag. Judas was not being virtuous or discerning.
He was being self-righteous and critical in his condemnation. Mary was loving. and lavish and fully devoted as a follower of Jesus. Give your all. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message: Merry's Christmas.
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You'll receive a reply back, and you will be added to our text group. Just text, Connect to 59789. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today? Jim Elliott was a martyred missionary. He and friends were killed by Auka Indians down in South America.
And the well-known quote that came from Jim Elliott's diary is appropriate. He is no fool. Who gives what he cannot keep. The gay. what he cannot lose.
People say you're a fool, you're a freak, you're a fanatic. But like Mary. Ignore all that. I don't think Mary heard any of it. She was too focused on Jesus.
She just kept leaning in and looking to the Lord. and listening. to him. And I tell you, after all the toys and the trinkets and the technology that we give at Christmas, and it's good to give gifts, it really is. But after all that stuff is gone.
What's going to last is what Mary did. Jesus said it. What she did. in her act of sacrificial devotion to me. will be spoken of wherever the gospel is.
Is priest. The perfume that filled the room that day so long ago fills this room. Today. And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember that when you give a gift to PowerPoint, your gift will be doubled by a generous matching grant.
So text the word match to 59789. And join us again next time when Dr. Graham brings a message about how your life changes forever when Christ is born in you. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.
