Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus. the founder and perfecter of our faith. Too often, Christians are spectators rather than committed followers. Many are unwilling to sacrifice, to pay the expensive price of surrendering their lives and their possessions to Jesus. We need to commit to his cause and pay any price to follow him.
From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, you're teaching about the high price of commitment to Christ as we learn together from John chapter 12. I suspect Mary Magdalene gave all she had when she poured that expensive perfume on the feet of Jesus. Dave, exactly.
Jesus said that she gave all that she had. You know, oftentimes we may give something and be quite proud of ourselves, but we forget the fact that the thing that really impresses Jesus is when we give from the heart, and we give very generously, and she certainly models that for us. You know, I'm holding in my hands a book entitled Grace Awakening by Chuck Swindahl. and I want to read some of the chapter titles. One is Grace the free gift?
Another title, Isn't Grace Risky? undeservedly yet unconditionally loved, squaring off against legalism. Here's the reason I believe this book is so important. You know, oftentimes we think of the book of James, which says that false teachers use the grace of God. As an excuse for licentiousness.
Now that's an old word that basically means immorality. Because they're saying to themselves, Oh, I'm under grace. And so I can do what I wish. What Chuck Swindahl does is this. It helps us to see grace in a balanced way.
And I think that this book is going to be a great blessing. And at the end of this message, I'm going to be giving you some contact info so that it can be yours. Here's what I want you to do: I want you to read it, share it with others, and you'll be blessed. And you'll discover this: that it is grace that motivates us to righteousness, to commitment. and to make sure that our hearts are in fellowship with God.
For now, I want you to listen, but be prepared for some info that could be life-changing for you.
Okay. The first lesson is that commitment costs. The second lesson is that commitment pays. It pays. What benefits did Mary receive as a result of this experience?
Well, for one thing, she blessed a lot of people. You wish that they'd have accepted the blessing with a little bit more dignity. But the Bible says in John that the fragrance filled the whole house. Isn't that beautiful? I mean, you take a pint.
of genuine, pure, concentrated Spike nard, And you pour it over the body of Jesus Christ, and the whole house is filled with the fragrance. What a beautiful thing. To think that that fragrance was blessing the lives of everyone that was in the house and giving that house an attractiveness that other houses on that block didn't have. That's one thing, is she blessed the lives of others, but also, and more importantly, she received the commendation and the defense of Christ. I love this passage.
It says that this perfume has been wasted. It might have been sold for over 300 denarii and given to the poor, and they were scolding her. Verse 6, but Jesus said, Let her alone. Why do you bother her? She has done a good deed for me.
And then Jesus said, She did this in anticipation of my burial, and wherever the gospel is preached, this story is going to be preached. And my message today is a fulfillment of Jesus Christ's words. Many commentators look at this passage and they say, you know, I don't think that Mary knew that Jesus was going to die. She didn't have that in her mind that she was doing this, anointing him previously or before his burial. She just did it and then Jesus gave the act.
That extra meaning. That's a possibility. Maybe she didn't quite know what she was doing. I like to think that the commentators are wrong.
Okay. Remember that this is the Mary who sat at the feet of Jesus Christ and she heard his word. Jesus never had a better listener than Mary. And I'd like to think that Mary knew a whole lot more possibly than the disciples did, that there at the feet of Jesus Christ, she knew that he was going to die. And in those days, the body, after it was dead, was taken and washed, and then it was perfumed.
And she was doing this in anticipation of his death and his burial. And she perhaps knew what she was doing. But then Jesus did say something that she couldn't have possibly anticipated. He said to her, wherever the gospel is preached, he said, this story is going to be preached too as a memorial to her. That she could have never dreamt about.
Think that 2,000 years later we'd be talking about the event. Isn't it wonderful how you do something for the Lord Jesus Christ, and Jesus is the one that adds to it in ways that you can never possibly anticipate? You do a good deed and you don't know it, but perhaps God has set up a whole string of dominoes and you hit one of those dominoes and you find a whole series of good events that flow from one decent, sane, loving act that was done without any fanfare and you find out that it has repercussions in eternity. That's just like God, isn't it? It is said that in India there are some weavers who weave their best clothes and rugs in the dark.
They just sit there in the dark and they do it best that way. And it is only later when the shutters are opened and when the light comes in that you begin to see what they've been up to. And that's the way it is going to be in the Day of Judgment. All kinds of little acts done by Sunday school teachers here at the Moody Church that have gone unnoticed. But the encouragement that the Sunday school teachers give to the children.
All kinds of little deeds of kindness, somebody helping somebody else, giving them money because they have need, and nobody knows about it, but those kindnesses done in the name of Jesus and for His glory, someday the light is going to come on and we're going to find out what people have been up to and we will see that the insignificant things that are done are going to be adequately and beautifully rewarded. It's just like Jesus to give somebody a lot more than they would have ever anticipated.
So commitment costs, commitment also pays. Also, commitment gives. Here we have to go back to the story itself. How did Mary give to Christ? First of all, she gave very generously.
Generously. Oh, I can imagine a lot of people who'd have thought about anointing Jesus Christ and taking an eyedropper and wondering how many drops they should give him.
so that they look good and yet not have to give everything to him. Isn't that the way we sometimes serve Christ? But the economics of common sense and the economics of love oftentimes do not fit together. Love says do it spontaneously, do it graciously, do it wondrously because the very privilege is an awesome one to serve Jesus. And so you don't hold back.
You simply say, if it's for Christ, let's do it. That's what real love is. It's that cool, calculating commitment that says, I don't want to get too involved. That's the kind of commitment that is lukewarm about which God speaks so clearly in the book of Revelation. You know that a girl despises a guy.
who has money. and yet is very cheap towards her. He may be loaded with money, he can get a new car, but when it comes to buying a flower, he takes one that is a couple of days old, that was on sale at Kmart. Oh. Stingy.
And so he tries to make up for it by telling her over and over again that he really loves her. Isn't that the way we are with Christ? My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine, but somehow our hearts are really, really not in tune with giving toward him. We hold back. And so Mary gave generously.
The Bible is very clear that God loves a cheerful giver, and you've heard it said many times that the word cheerful is hilarious. This was hilarity. I mean there she is, she takes the flask and she breaks it and she allows this perfume to go over the body of Jesus Christ in its entirety. And everybody is scolding her and mocking her, but she's having a blast. This is Christ!
He's worth it. Why should we hold back when we speak about commitment to the one who is willing to go to the cross and die for us?
So it was a generous gift also. It was a painful gift. What do I mean by painful?
Well, I'd like to think of the fact that in that flask there was all this fragrance which could not possibly be released until the flask was broken.
Some people think that she broke only the seal. That's a possibility. The other possibility is that she broke the entire bottle, because it was customary in those days that if you had a very important person use a flask, or even a jar, it was broken later so that it could never be used again. I tend to think that Mary took the whole thing and she used something else, and she broke it discreetly, but just allowed all of it to pour onto Jesus. And I would like you to think for a moment of the fact that we as believers are really flasks.
And inside of us is the perfume called Christ. This is consistent with Scripture. Paul says that we are a fragrance to the world. We are to allow the fragrance of God To permeate not only church life, which is where it should begin, but really to affect the entire world. Because I'll tell you why, the world.
is walking in death. And no matter how much fun they seem to be having, and no matter how good it appears that they are having it, inwardly there is a deadness, there is a spiritual numbness. And so they look to us as believers in Jesus Christ to provide that fragrance to season their world in such a way that the sting and the harshness of the reality of what it's like out there, and all of us know what it's like out there, would be taken away by the mellow, loving scent. of a committed Christian. But you know that there is no way in the world that we can possibly allow that fragrance to come out unless we break.
Unless we break. The church, individual believers, contain the fragrance of Christ. We are the treasure. We have the treasure in earthen vessels, the Bible says. But the fragrance is released through breaking.
And breaking comes by wasting. A text says, why this waste? The disciples said. Why this waste? I want you to think for a moment of your spiritual gift.
That's been our emphasis during these weeks. I want you to think of it as that flask. God has given you a divine ability for service so that you can do something that nobody else is really able to do. God made you unique and He gifted you for service. And that's what life is all about.
That's why your primary responsibility is to serve God. After all, God has given you the equipment with which to serve Him. If you're a believer, He has redeemed you so that you might serve Him. What could possibly compete for such an honor? But some of you, I fear, have that gift in the flask.
You're playing it close to the vest. You're playing it safe. You say, I don't want to get involved. I don't want to touch the lives of other people because that demands sacrifice. I want to just make sure that that perfume is within me and that I am content.
When the Holy Spirit of God says there is no way for you to be all that Christ intended you to be unless the fragrance is released. And that only happens through crushing. It only happens through... Breaking? It only happens through yielding.
saying, Jesus, here it is. in its entirety. All of us, I think, have met Christians, you have and I have, who are absolutely convinced. that they are never going to open up to God. Maybe they've been hurt.
Maybe they've gone through a series of experiences that have been negative. Maybe they have long ago lost their faith and confidence in God and His people and His promises. And they say to themselves, I just dare you, God, I dare you to get through to me. I dare you. There's not much that can be said under those conditions except that we might be able to plead with people to say, open your life to God so that the fragrance can come out.
It's there, you're a Christian. There is more potential in your life than you could have ever possibly realized. You have no way how that your life can be the fragrance that can fill an entire home, the home in which you live. Your life can fill the entire room in your Sunday school classroom that you have responsibility for. Your life can fill any area that you are in with the fragrance of Christ.
But there has to be release. And release always means the giving up of all of the things that we sometimes cherish and put ahead of Christ. And what God is asking us to do today is to simply let go and say, we want the fragrance of Christ to break forth at any cost, no matter how much. is involved. Let me ask you a question.
What would it cost you if Jesus were really and truly, absolutely and totally number one in your life? How much would it cost you? How much of your time would it cost you? How much of your money would it cost you? How much of your commitment would it cost you?
How much of your social life would it cost you? What would it mean to say, I want to love Christ even as Mary loves Christ, hilariously, joyfully, recklessly? What would it cost you? When I think of All that Christ has done for us, and I think of the breaking of this flask, I can't help but think of the words of Christ: whoso saves his life. loses it.
the people who play it close to the vest. who play it safe are the ones that are going to be the losers. in the end. The people who don't play it safe. The people who go for broke.
The people who say, if it's for Jesus, let's do it. They are the ones. that are going to be rewarded. Hang on to your little flask, keep it in your hip pocket. you lose it.
Smash it in the presence of Christ. You gain it. You know that there is only one way that we can be all that God ever intended us to be, and that is the willingness to die to our own plans and desires. And in the New Testament, that is referred to as the cross. And before Jesus died, he said, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone, but if it dies, it's going to bring forth much fruit.
There is a death. to die. And it's a death to self. And when we die it We become alive Christ. Mm.
There is a legend about a bird which sings just once in its life more sweetly than any other creature on the face of the earth. From the moment it leaves the nest, it searches for a thorn tree and does not rest until it has found one. Then singing among the savage branches, it impales itself upon the longest, sharpest spine. and dying It rises above its own agony to out-carol the lark and the nightingale. It has just one superlative song.
But existence itself is the price. But the whole world stills to listen, and God in his heaven smiles, for the best is only bought at the cost. of great pain. And I might add, at the cost Of death. Let me speak to the 50% of you, if the statistics are accurate, who are not involved actively with Christ.
What do you think God is going to say to you someday? You think he's going to say to you, Well done, thou good and faithful servant, for thou hast listened to 4,400 messages. Enter into the joy of my Lord. Think that's what he's going to say. Do you think he's going to say, well done, thou good and faithful servant, for thou hast come to church many times, and thou hast sung many times?
But if your heart is far from Christ, that isn't what he's going to say. What God is calling us to do today as a church is to say, if Jesus Christ is number one, what changes have to take place in my life? I can't simply come and listen to sermon after sermon after sermon after sermon. I can't do that. Jesus did a whole lot more.
for me than that. I can't simply play at this business of being a Christian. I've got to go for broke. I've got to smash the bottle. I've got to do the whole thing because he's worth every little ounce of my strength.
and power and energy. That's what commitment to Jesus Christ really means. And if we are going to impact this city of Chicago, that's the kind of commitment we are going to need from every single member and every single attender from the top to the bottom. It's the kind of love that spills out fragrance. Because we've been smashed, we've been broken, we have said no to ourselves.
And yes to Christ. whatever the cost. Let's pray. How many of you are willing to say today, Pastor Luther, in light of what you've preached on, I know that there are things in my life that I have to change. And by God's grace, I'm going to change them.
Would you raise your hand if you fit into that category? All over the auditorium, people are raising their hands. That's fine now. You can put them down. But I want to say to those of you who raised your hands: will you promise me, will you promise God?
That whatever he has said to you, you will do, no matter what the cost is. Will you promise him that and then do it? We're fighting battles in the world, in society, that are so great that this is no time. for half-hearted commitment. There's there's no time for that, folks.
The world is being overrun by evil. We're either going to do it or we're not going to do it. We're either going to be committed or we're not going to be committed. Let's pray. Father.
We ask that you will enable each person who has raised his or her hand to follow through. with whatever you require. We ask that very graciously you might not let them go until they have done it, whatever that cost may be. And we pray, Father. That you might help each of us to break the flask.
We keep it. We lose it. Give it away. We gain it. that the fragrance of Christ Maybe seen among us.
We ask in Jesus' name, amen. Uh Um My friend, today I'm Pastor Lutzer. In a moment, I'm going to be closing in prayer again. because I believe that God has spoken to all of our hearts. about the need for commitment.
and need for dealing with sin. You know what the Bible says? It says that the grace of God which brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us. to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. We must understand that grace needs to be understood in a balanced way.
It saves us. But it gives us no excuse. for living for ourselves or for licentiousness, to use an old term. I'm holding in my hands a book written by Chuck Swindall entitled Grace Awakening. I'd love for you to have a copy because it will help you to balance what grace is all about biblically.
Here's what you can do: go to rtwoffer.com. That's rtwoffer.com or pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337. Did I say that too quickly? I want to give it to you again. Because I believe that this book will be a great blessing and a help.
Go to rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-888. 218. 9337. The name of the book, Grace Awakening. Balanced View of Grace in a World of Confusion.
And now, in light of God's grace, in light of the opportunities that He gives us, I'm going to lead all of us in prayer. Father, Thank you for this blessed story. Thank you that Mary loved you so much she gave all that she had, and we ask in Jesus' name that you'll teach us as to what that means in our own lives. For those who are struggling with sin, For those, Father, who are withholding what really belongs to you, Speak to all of us, and we pray that the grace of God which brings salvation will enable us to live successfully Victoriously And for your glory, for as many days as you have given us. And we thank you in Jesus' name.
Amen. You can write to us at Running2Win 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. Running to win is all about helping you find God's roadmap for your race of life. In Erwin Lutzer's six-part series on commitment to Christ, we're going to learn about the price that commitment entails.
Next time, we'll learn what God seeks from each of us who names the name of Christ. Plan to join us. Thanks for listening. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.
