Over the years, Jeffrey and I have learned that
the greatest battles we face are usually fought
in our minds, but won with our mouths. When we've
chosen to speak God's promises in the face of
our fears, failures, and problems, we've seen
God do what only He can do. This truth has changed
our lives, and it's why we wrote Talk to Your
Giants, to show you how to fight the good fight
of faith, speak in agreement with God's Word,
and discover the victory that comes when you
stop talking Week number three in our series
we've entitled Never Unnoticed. Now, how many
of you have ever seen the show Candid Camera
before? Yeah, it's a little throwback show. If
you're not familiar with it, they would do like,
they would do. crazy kind of, they'd pull people
into little scenarios with actors and put them
in strange situations. And then at the end, it's
kind of like they would see how far the, you
wouldn't say contestant, but kind of the victim
in a sense, how far the victim would go along
with what's happening. And then at the end, they
would jump out. When everything's about to collapse,
they would jump out and say, smile, you're on
candid camera. I read, about one of these, like
the most famous one that they did was they set
up cameras in an elevator. And as, you know,
an unexpecting person would walk into the elevator,
they would have actors, you know, eight actors
in there. And then as soon as the door closed,
all the actors would turn around and face the
wall. Instead of facing the door, they would
just all turn around at the same time and face
the wall. And then they have cameras on the person
going like, what? And it was interesting because
like 90 % of the time, that person would just
go, oh. and turn around with everyone else. And
they use this in psychology books, I even found
out, just like the lesson of conformity. When
we see a group doing something, we just naturally
do what everyone else does. But I thought that
was kind of an interesting thing. It brings about
a point where we're never unnoticed, right? There's
always cameras. There's always people watching,
even in this gym, right? There's a camera there.
There's a camera in the hallway. There's no cameras
in the bathroom, of course, but there's cameras
all over everywhere you go, whether you're driving
your car, right? Whether you're at work. A recent
incident that happened, I was at Disney. Caitlin's
dad, my father -in -law, was in town. So we took
him like a couple days to the park and went to
Magic Kingdom. And one of my favorite attractions
is Pirates of the Caribbean. Who likes that ride?
Yeah, it's a good ride, right? If you're not
familiar with it, it's a slow -moving boat ride.
And in the first scene, you kind of like launch
off the platform. You get into the water, and
it's a cave. It's a real dark, moody cave. There's
ambience, you know, kind of set in the scene,
you could say. And all of a sudden, Caitlin and
I, we were in a row, and her dad was behind us.
And all of a sudden, we just feel water, like
a splash of water. And I'm like, I've rode this
ride a hundred times. There's no water in this.
I kid you not, over the intercom, like as soon
as the water hit, all you hear is some little
college girl going, please keep your hands inside
the vehicle. Keep your hands, arms, feet, and
legs inside the vehicle at all times. And her
dad was just back there just cackling and just
cutting up because he had scooped water and splashed
us. The whole time I was thinking, like, who
would do such a thing? You know, like, who would
do that? And then, of course, he's back there,
his hands wet, and he's just laughing. Yeah.
Everyone say, never unnoticed. If you're on an
attraction at Disney, if you're in, you know,
anywhere, they're always watching, right? And
that gives us important fact just about everyday
life. But then also we find in Scripture that
Jesus and God notices everything. Everybody say,
God notices everything. He notices everything.
We've looked at in this series, Genesis 16. And
in this account, we see the story of Abraham,
Sarah, and Hagar. And now God had given Abraham
a promise that he would be the father of many
nations. His descendants would outnumber the
stars in the sky. But there was only one problem,
right? He didn't have any offspring, no children.
Sarah was barren, and so they could never conceive.
And now they're... late in age, you know, up
in their 80s and 90s, 90 year old, and they're
like, well, God, you gave us this promise, but
in the natural, in our ability, it just doesn't
seem like this can work, right? And often when
God gives us his word or his promise, sometimes
it kind of goes against what we naturally could
do, right? Because the point is that what...
God asks you to do, he will provide the means
for you to accomplish it. It's up to him. It's
not for us and our effort, right? There was provision.
There was a promise and a word, and God wanted
them to just believe it, to not consider Abram's
age, the barrenness of Sarah's womb. But we find
that Sarah had this idea, you know. They knew
what the Word of God was. They knew what would
happen, but they're like, well, let's try to
make it happen our way. I mean, if you know,
that's not a good idea. You know, God doesn't
need any help, right? He doesn't need any help.
Somebody say amen. God doesn't need your help,
right? He needs your cooperation. He doesn't
need your help to bring his promises to pass.
But they had this idea. They said, well, God,
you're taking a long time here, and you keep
telling me that the promise and the promised
son. So what about this? Why don't they had,
Sarah had picked up an Egyptian bond servant,
and she was like, maybe I will give this bond
servant to you, Abram. You know, you have like
a surrogate mother and child. For the next generation,
that way will fulfill God's promise. Their way.
Everybody say their way. Their way. And so that
happens. Abraham's like, okay. And they do it.
And then she's pregnant, right? So everyone's
happy. They think, oh, wow, this is it. Well,
then all of a sudden, Hagar kind of starts getting
an attitude. As we know in the Bible, she gets
a little attitude. I imagine it doesn't say,
but it says that, you know, she kind of treated
Sarah with contempt. She kind of said something
like, look, I'm pregnant. You can't get pregnant.
Look at me. How many of you know that would cause
some problems? That would cause some problems
in a marriage, right? That would cause some issues.
She's kind of like bragging about like, look,
look what happened. Well, this made Sarah very
angry, and Sarah began to make her life really
difficult. And I like what Scripture says. Sarah
goes, well, what do you want me to do? What do
you want me to do about this woman? She's treating
me bad. And Abram, at this time, before God changed
his name to Abraham, he said what every man would
probably say. He was like, do whatever you want
to do, honey. Just do. Whatever you feel like
you need to do, do it. And so there was a little
bit of strife and a little bit of contention
there. But something really cool happens in our
story. Hagar, she runs away into the wilderness.
She thinks, I'm just going to run away. I get
away from this problem. I'm going to go out by
myself. Probably just to die, you know, is probably
what she thought. Or maybe somebody would come.
But she's just out in the wilderness. She's crying.
She's all alone. And what happens? God sees her.
Everybody say, God sees her. Because you're never
unnoticed by God. Even in this, like, really
dark place, she's out there. She thinks she's
all alone. And God notices her. It says, the
angel of the Lord appeared to her in the wilderness.
An angel of the Lord. Now, theologians call this
a theophany or a Christophany, meaning that it's
not just an angel. This was an appearance, a
manifestation of God himself in angel form, appearing
to her and talking to her. And then he starts
giving her promises because that's how good God
is. Right? No matter how far you run, no matter
what situation you find yourself in, God is there.
Amen. God is with you. He sees you. God told
Hagar, said, you're going to have this son. His
name is going to be Ishmael. And you know what
the name means? God hears me. Say, God hears
me. And then Hagar goes, you are the God, El
Roy. The supreme mighty God who sees me. And
this is God revealing himself to her. And she's
getting filled with this. And she's saying, yes,
God, you hear me. You see me. And then they named
the land that where she was at. The living God
sees me. Became the ground that she was standing
on. How good is God? How faithful is God? How
merciful is God? We're never unnoticed. Someone
say never unnoticed. The supreme and mighty God,
he sees us personally. He sees every tear, every
act of obedience, every sacrifice, every act
of faithfulness, nothing. Everybody say nothing.
Nothing goes unnoticed by God. I know it's warm
in here this morning. You got to stay with me.
I'm trying to keep going here. Let's listen.
We see this applied again in Scripture in 2 Chronicles
16, 9. It's a verse that I grew up hearing a
lot. It says this, For the eyes of the Lord run
to and fro, meaning back and forth, throughout
the whole earth, to show himself strong on behalf
of those whose heart is loyal to him. So God's
not just looking, right? He's not just... aimlessly
looking. No, he's looking for something specific.
What does the word say here? He's looking for
what? He's not looking for talent, influence,
things that we look for, put -togetherness, you
could say. He's searching for something very
particular, searching for hearts. Everybody say
heart. Hearts that are loyal, that are fully
committed. unwavering, you could say, to him.
He's looking for a fully committed heart. Because,
listen, God does not just simply observe. He
responds. What did this verse say? Look at it.
What's the purpose of him looking? When he finds
the loyal heart, when he finds the committed
heart, what does he do? He shows. He's looking
to show himself. And a particular character of
himself, right? Show himself strong. Everybody
say strong. How mighty. How big he is. So he's
wanting to reveal something. He's looking for
a heart. When he finds that loyal heart, he shows
them just how big he is. Just how mighty he is
on behalf of those. Do you see that this morning?
On behalf of those. Because the big things that
God wants to do in your life are through you.
He wants to do big and awesome things through
you. He's waiting on your cooperation with the
promise. He's going to fulfill. He makes the
provision. But as soon as you align yourself
and just say, God, I give you everything. God,
my whole heart, my whole life, when we turn to
him, instead of turning to the problem, When
we turn to the supernatural, instead of just
looking at the natural, God's going to do big
things through you. That's his plan for you.
Think about that. God wants to show just how
big he is to the world through you. I'm going
to keep moving. Notice, throughout this series,
we've been studying several biblical accounts.
Kind of like series is like this. We're going
through stories. I mean, if you like stories,
everybody loves a good story. We've been studying
several biblical accounts where God sees the
hearts. Everybody say hearts. Sees the hearts
of people, and then he reveals to us what he
sees. Right? He shows us. Why would he do that?
Is it because he doesn't know? He knows and he's
wanting to get our attention on something. He's
wanting to get his people. He's saying, look
at this. Whether it be his disciples or the people
around him or now us today, the church, right?
He's revealing something to us. So now let's
turn in our Bibles to our story today. If you
have your Bible, we're looking at Luke 7, 36
through 47. And we'll begin reading. I'm reading
out of the New Living Translation, unless it's
otherwise noted. But let's read together. One
of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with
him. That's nice. That ain't that nice. So Jesus
went, went to his home, and sat down to eat.
Wow. If he gets an invite, he's coming to eat.
Yeah, he said, I'm coming. Invited him in. When
a certain immoral woman from that city, everybody
say immoral woman, immoral woman from that city
heard that he was eating there, she brought a
beautiful alabaster jar. Get this, when she heard,
everybody say when she heard, she brought. She
brought. So when she heard he was eating there,
Jesus was eating in this Pharisee's home, she
brought. prepared a beautiful alabaster jar filled
with expensive perfume. I wanted to get your
attention on how Luke describes this woman as
an immoral woman. She must be known sinner. Now,
theologians often speculate what that means,
but all we really know from Scripture is that
her reputation is known more than her identity,
right? She's known as the sinful woman, this
immoral woman. That's her identity almost, right?
We don't have a name. We don't have what she
did. We just have a moral woman, as Luke records.
But something special about her. When she heard
where Jesus was, her heart wanted to give. Everybody
say her heart. Her heart wanted to give. And
it's interesting, though, that she knew exactly
what she wanted to give. Right? It doesn't say
like she kind of went, well, what should I give?
Why should I give? No one asked her to bring
anything. No one invited her to the party. Right?
But when she heard Jesus was in the house, her
heart wanted to give. And this reminds us of
the verse that we just shared during the offering,
right? In 2 Corinthians 9, 7, you must each decide
in your heart how much to give. Is this not what
took place here? She's purposing in her heart
what to give. Don't give reluctantly or in response
to pressure. No one pressured her. There was
no precedence. She just said, I have a gift for
this man, for Jesus. And she goes to him. I imagine
she went to him cheerfully. Let's keep reading.
When a certain immoral woman from the city heard
he was eating there, she brought a beautiful
alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume,
verse 38. Then, I like it, you know, the Bible
just sometimes just says then, and you just magically
go from her home to getting this jar to all of
a sudden, now we're just, boom, she's there in
the house. Then, she knelt down behind him at
his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet.
She wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept
kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.
I want you to think about this, not just in the
story that you've always heard. Maybe if you've
grown up in church, this is a familiar story
that we talk about. But I want you to think about
it this way, that her actions reveal something
about her heart. her actions reveal that she
noticed what had been neglected. And this clearly
moved her. If you know the historical context
of the time, there was a normal custom in a house.
When you invited someone over, because they didn't
have Nikes and Adidas and those kind of things
and boots, they had open sandals. And the streets
were not paved. It was just dirt. And animals
traveled down the highway. You get the image.
You fill in the blank. So it's dirty. The climate's
kind of like Florida, where it's hot and sticky
and humid, right? How many of you, if you just
walked around in the sand all day in hot, humid
Florida, your feet would stink, you know? You
know what I'm saying? Your feet would be dirty.
And it's like, before you come into someone's
house, their custom was, it wasn't like Southern
hospitality, where it'd be like, okay, you boys
come in and go freshen up, right, before dinner.
Their custom was the lowest servant of the household
or the host even would sit and as people would
come through the door, they would take a bowl
of water and a towel and wipe their feet and
then give them a little bit of oil for their
hair because they didn't have like Old Spice
or something. You know, they'd just give a little
bit of oil. Just make them smell better. And
then they would go on in. And see, when they
dined, they wouldn't sit in chairs. They would
sit on pillows with their feet kind of over to
the side. You imagine, like, you wouldn't want
to be eating with someone and their feet just
kind of aromatically going. That might be a little
much, right? So this was important. This was
normal. Everybody say normal. Everybody say custom.
And the common courtesy, though, was not given.
It was not given. But Jesus is there. Verse 39,
when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this.
Now notice what the Pharisee saw. He didn't think
about Jesus not having washed feet or anyone
else there. He just invited him over to dinner,
and they all sit down. They immediately start.
But when the Pharisee who had invited him, Jesus,
saw this, he said to himself, everybody say himself,
he said in his mind, right? He said, if this
man were a prophet, everybody say heart, we're
seeing his heart here, and that's why it's being
noted. If this man were a prophet, talking about
Jesus, he would know what kind of woman is touching
him. She's a sinner. If he only knew. If he was
a real prophet, right? We can see here his heart.
He had no respect about Jesus. He's inviting
him into his home, maybe curious, maybe something's
going on, but there's no intention of courtesy
or even what you would do for just your friend
or your neighbor down the street. This is not
being given. It's neglected, right? It's intentional.
Then Jesus answered his thoughts. Let me read
that again. Jesus answered his thoughts. Hello.
Wouldn't that get your attention? Simon, he said
to the Pharisee, I have something to say to you.
Uh -oh. I have something to say to you. Now,
I honestly, believe, like this is not in the,
I'm just speculating. I honestly believe that
Jesus, he wasn't concerned that his feet were
not washed, right? He probably, you know, of
course he acknowledged that like this custom
had not been done, but I don't think that he
was like, I'm going to say something. Should
I say something? No, I'm going to say something.
Like, right? He wasn't going to cause a scene.
He wasn't going to make a big deal out of it.
Why? He's in some other man's home, right? That's
his decision. He's not going to say anything.
But as soon as this man, in his heart, in his
mind, starts judging Jesus, saying, who does
this man think he is? He's not even a prophet.
As soon as he starts judging this woman, this
sinner touching you, who do you think you are?
You said Simon. I have something to say to you.
What does he say? Then Jesus told him this story.
A man loaned money to two people, 500 pieces
of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other,
but neither of them could repay him. So he kindly,
everybody say kindly, kindly forgave them both,
canceling their debts. Then he asked this, who
do you suppose loved him more? Notice what Jesus
said. Who's supposed loved him more? Simon answered,
I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger
debt. That's right, Jesus said. So in Jesus'
story, listen, in Jesus' story, a person's love,
everybody say love, love is proportionate. to
their recognition of how much they have been
forgiven. It's proportionate. As we see, the
person who realized how much that 500 denarii,
when they realized how large that was, when they
were mindful of how large that was, they loved
the debtor more, right? They realized how much
had been forgiven. But the person who had little
and forgiven little, they loved little. So here
this story puts two and two together for us,
right? Because Jesus wasn't just sharing a good
moral story. He was teaching something to Simon
and sharing something to those who were involved.
And this story, think about it, explains why
this woman is acting so extravagantly. That's
what's happening here. Because why would you
show up to a house uninvited? Why would you cry?
Why would you kneel? Why would you weep? Why
would you wash someone's feet with your tears
and your hair? Why would you give such an extravagant
gift to someone? That makes no sense in the natural.
Love. That's why. That's why. And Jesus is saying
it by sharing this story. He's like, her inhibited
display of love is the natural response of a
heart that has experienced, that recognizes,
that acknowledges the unconditional, unchanging
love of God. Because when you get a hold of it,
when you see it, you see just how big God is.
Just how strong His love is. And it changes you.
Changes what you do. Changes what you prioritize
in this life. We see that. And gifts, right,
are universal expressions of love. You could
go anywhere in the world and give a gift, right?
And it'd be seen as love to them, right? And
we see this in Scripture, John 3, 16. For God
so loved the world that He, what? Gave, right?
The Father gave the Son. The Son gave His life.
The Spirit gives gifts. Love. Always gives. Say
that with me. Love always gives. It doesn't have
to. It's not required. It's not pressure. Because
if it's pressured, it's not real love. If it's
forced, it's not real love. It must be given
cheerfully from a heart of love. And I want you
to think about this. She's acknowledging something
about Jesus, and we're going to see what in a
second. But you and I, what do we give God to
show him how much we love him? I want to ask,
I just want you to think about this real quick.
Take a moment. What do you and I give God? What
do we have? What do we have? Because God made
everything. God owns everything. It's all his,
right? It's all his. So what do you and I have
in the natural that we can do to give a holy
God who has everything? What can we give him?
We give God our worship. That is our demonstration
of love. That is the gift of love that we give
a holy God is our worship. That's the only thing
we can give him. But I want to notice in this
story, we're going to keep reading. Let's notice,
what does God see? What does God call attention
to now in this moment? Continue reading verse
44. Then he, Jesus, get this, turns to the woman
and says to Simon. I like that. He says, look
at this woman. Look at this woman. Simon only
saw a sinful woman. Think about it. He only saw.
Others only viewed her as just this uninvited
guest that didn't belong there. Wasn't worthy
to be there. Wasn't good enough to be there.
That's what everyone else saw. But only Jesus
truly saw her. Because God sees. He is the supreme
mighty God who sees you. Amen? He hears you.
And he sees this woman for who she is. He notices
her heart. Jesus saw beyond her reputation. He
sees a redeemed heart. He says, look at this
woman, Simon. Look at her kneeling here. What
is kneeling? She's kneeling at his feet. It's
a posture of worship. It's humility. It's submission.
It's honor. Kneeling before a holy God. She's
worshiping him. Then Jesus points out two things.
Simon's lack of giving. And then he points out
the woman's four gifts. Everybody say four gifts.
Now, throughout the Gospels, we see this story.
We see four different tellings of this story.
But in our study, we've seen that this sort of
thing. The same similar incident happens at least
three times in Jesus' earthly ministry. This
is not when you see it in the different Gospels,
each one is a different account. This story in
Luke 7 happens very early on in Jesus' ministry.
And notice, the later one is for his anointing
to, right? For his death, for his coming death
is the reasoning for it. It happens in two different
locations. One is this immoral sinner. Another
one is Mary. Martha, Mary at Lazarus' house,
not the Pharisees' house. I mean, there's all
these different things. This is just one of these
stories. And I want to point out to you that
what's the focus of this story? Some of the accounts
focus on, and so many sermons that I've heard
before on this story, right? It's always just
on the monetary value of the gift that was given.
That's the focus, right? And there's a time and
there's a place for that. But this morning, I
felt led that we should look at this account
where the focus is not on the amount. The focus,
though, in what Jesus calls our attention to
is what she gave, the content of what she gave.
And that is way beyond the amount she gave. That's
the unimportant part. If you get focused on that,
you're going to miss the point of the story.
Let's look what Jesus calls our attention to.
Jesus, again, he's... Looking at the woman, but
talking to Simon. When I entered your home, you
didn't offer me water to wash the dust from my
feet. It's custom. But she has washed them with
her tears. What's the first thing she gave? God's
noticing this. Shouldn't we notice this? Shouldn't
this get our attention? Our spirits should kind
of be like, oh. Simon, you gave me nothing. Not
even something, not even a bowl of water. Just
what you have. You gave me nothing. She gave
me tears. Tears are the water of the heart. It's
the emotional overflow. of true affection, gratitude,
recognition of what Jesus meant to her. She gave
her tears. The greatest commandment is what?
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, your
soul, and your strength. Is there any part of
a person that we're not supposed to be loving
God with? The heart is kardia, meaning the sphere
of your existence. The soul, your mind, your
will, your emotions. How many of you have thought
about that? That your emotions demonstrate and
express love to God, gratitude to Him. How often
when you feel your emotions, are they directed
in worship? How often are your thoughts intentionally
worshiping the King of kings and Lord of lords?
All your strength, all your might, every work
of your hand is worship. When you're at your
job, when you're at your business, when you're
at someone else's business, you're supposed to
be faithful in the small things, faithful in
that which is another man's. That your job, when
you're performing it, you're performing it either
from a heart of worship or from a heart of, I'm
working for this, I'm earning this. This is the
work of my hand. This is what I can do. This
is how I provide. This is how I have to live.
That's not worship. And then we come to church
and we're like, oh, okay. No, it's worship when,
in all things, every part of you calls to worship
God. And she, here, she's giving her tears. You
know, when you cry, it's just like an emotional
overload, right? Like, you know, just your whole
heart and your whole being just kind of wells
up and you just can't control it. Tears are not
naturally just turned on or turned off. She's
coming in and she's seeing what's been neglected,
what's been forgotten, what's happened. She's
seeing, she came to give a gift. She came to
give a gift. She should be happy. But when she
sees what's being done and what's been not done,
right, it breaks her heart. It breaks her heart.
Jesus continues, So when I entered your home,
you did not offer me water to wash the dust from
my feet, but she has washed them with her tears
and then wiped them with her hair. In their culture,
this was very provocative to be done. Usually
they'd have their hair up. To let their hair
down in the presence of, you know, people, that
was like, that was pretty weird. This was not
normal. But she lets her hair down, and she begins
to wipe. Think of how gross that is. I just want
you to, like, let's be real for a moment. I wouldn't
do that. You know what I'm saying? Would you
really do that? She lets her hair down and she
wipes his feet. She didn't have a rag. She didn't
have water. She didn't have a towel. She's like,
but something needs to be done. So she used what
she had. She gave her service. Everybody say
service. She provided the service that should
have been done. She lowers herself as a servant
and cleaned Jesus' feet. with her hair. It was
not what she prepared to give. It's not how she
envisioned or planned this encounter would go,
right? But when she saw the need, she refused
to let any excuse, no towel, not even the perception
of the others, the embarrassment, get in the
way of and keep her from giving God the honor
he deserves. Amen. Let nothing keep you. Let
nothing hinder you in the perception of others
from worshiping a holy God, the King of kings,
the Lord of lords, for showing your worship and
your love to him. Jesus continues, you didn't
greet me with a kiss. But from the time I first
came in, she has not stopped. Everybody say,
not stopped. She's not stopped kissing my feet.
She gave her affection. She gave her tears. She
gave her service. Now she's given her affection
to a holy God. See, her worship was not passive
or reserved. It was not, I wonder what everyone's
going to think. I wonder how they're going to
look at me. I wonder what's going to happen after
this encounter of me acting so extra. What's
the consequence of this action? No, none of that
was in her head. She had something to give. And
she wasn't going to let anyone get in the way.
Any thought get in the way. And I want you to
see the physicality of her worship. Too often,
we think worship is just, oh, I can just mentally
worship God. That me just thinking good thoughts
of love and adoration to Him, that's what is
required of me. You know, some people are loud
and some people, you know, do these things. They're
real, you know, they're comfortable. Uh -huh.
You know, some people are comfortable with that,
but me, I'm just, you know, I just don't feel
comfortable about that. Worship is physical.
She didn't just sit there and go, man, I'm kissing
your feet, God. I'm kissing his feet. I'm kissing
it. I adore you. I worship you. I love you. She's
not just thinking it. Because real love is not
words. Husbands and wives, if your spouse only
thought in their head they loved you, would you
feel the love? If they only thought it, they
never said it, they never demonstrated it, would
you feel loved? Would you even truly know that
they loved you? Unless love is demonstrated,
Unless it is physically acted out? Come on now.
Come on now. And we see Jesus is acknowledging
this. He's not saying, ooh, this is gross. He's
not turning her away. He's like, I didn't ask
for this. He's just sitting there letting it
happen because he sees her heart. He sees her
love being poured out through her affection.
She's just kissing his feet. Some people are
asking, how could she do this? She's asking,
how could I not? How could I not? She recognized
Jesus. Think about it. Think about this. Jesus,
God, the Messiah, was in Simon's house. Everyone
had an opportunity to give him. Everyone had
an opportunity to see him for who he really is.
But only this immoral, sinful woman comes. Come
on. She comes. She gets the gift and puts all
these guys to shame. I love it. She's like, nothing's
getting in the way. This is how you worship God.
This is how much he means to me. True love always
finds expression and demonstration because worship
is not just attendance. Look to your neighbor
and say, worship is not attendance. It's demonstrating.
Your affection. Churches all across America,
people come to the presence of God and they just
attend and they think that they're worshiping.
But when we gather together, when the church
meets, have you thought about this? What are
we doing here? What am I giving to God? Do I
think my just attendance is now worship to Him?
You know, I just kind of roll out of bed and
I'm coming and I'm just here and my mind's thinking
about what I'm going to eat for dinner or what
I've got to do later. I've got to cut the grass.
My grass is so high right now. You know, your
mind goes in a hundred different directions.
Are you here? Are you giving God something? Are
you just here to get something and then mad when
you don't receive it, but you're not even giving
him the attention and the honor that he deserves?
You're not giving him your heart. You're not
giving him your soul. You're not giving him your
strength. It's not just about attendance, folks.
When we come together, we give God. We're giving
Him. This is for Him. This is for Him. This is
to Him. When we sing songs, it's to Him. The
generosity is not measured by how well you can
sing. Thank God. It's not measured by how much
you bring. It's measured how much of your heart
you bring. How much heart do you bring? How much
affection do you bring? How much service do you
bring? That's worship. That's love. That's how
we give God. That's why we do what we do. Continuing
on, verse 46. You neglected the courtesy of olive
oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my
feet. Notice this contrast, right? Supposed to
put the anointing on the head. She has anointed
the stinkiest part. She poured the most valuable
thing on what we would consider the most invaluable
thing, right? On the lowest thing. She anointed
my feet with rare perfume. She gave her treasure.
The alabaster flask represented... intentional
sacrifice. Remember at the beginning of our story,
when she heard Jesus was in the house, she immediately
prepared the alabaster jar. She said, this is
what I'm going to bring. This is my offering.
This is my sacrifice. And all throughout the
Bible, what is sacrifice seen as? In the Old
Testament, sacrifice was seen as worship. She's
bringing her worship to God by bringing her treasure
to God. She's giving God her love by bringing
the thing that cost her something. She didn't
give what was convenient. She gave what was costly.
Cost her something. This reminds us in Matthew
6, 21, says this, Wherever your treasure is,
there the desires of your heart will also be.
What is this saying? What you give, listen church,
what you give reveals what your heart treasures.
What you give reveals your heart. What you deem
as valuable, what you esteem most. I think we
spend our time more making money. than anything
else, more than sleeping, more than, you know,
we go, we do our jobs, we do all that kind of
stuff, right? She probably worked a long time
for this. We don't know exact value, but she
worked a long time. This was a valuable gift.
And it proves where her heart was at. And notice
that Jesus mentions every gift she brought. He's
the one who points it out. He noticed her tears.
He noticed her service. He notices her affection,
and he notices the offering. Then, it doesn't
stop, he reveals the reason behind these gifts.
Listen. I tell you, her sins, and they are many,
have been, everybody say have been, have been
forgiven. I've heard this preached a lot where,
you know, God is forgiving her sins in this moment.
That's kind of twisted too, because when you
think about it, it conveys the image of she's
working for her salvation. And that's not who
God is. So what this story is really about, listen,
is that a heart that has loved recognizes, come
on, recognizes the weight and the value of what's
been forgiven. And because she recognized such
a great value of what she has already been forgiven,
right? She's acting in accordance with how much
she valued that. How much that meant to her.
This is why she's acting this way. Because she
has been forgiven. So, because she has shown
me much love. She has shown me. She has given
me much love. But a person who is forgiven little
only shows little love. Right? This word here
means to send away. It means her sins, God sent
them away. To leave, to forgive. They were abandoned
from her. That's what it conveys. And it's important
to realize that this story is not isolated from
the rest of the Bible. The Bible's not written
in a vacuum, right? Each story is not just in
a vacuum. It's not isolated. And I believe that
her actions, even though it's not specifically
stated in Scripture, I believe because of what
Jesus says and because of these points that build,
listen, that her actions speak louder than the
words, right? Her actions reveal something else,
that Jesus had already encountered her. Jesus
at some point had forgiven her at an earlier
time, and His words of forgiveness are confirmation.
of a previous experience. Because he's looking
at her and he's not, he's just receiving worship.
He's receiving her love. She's showing me love.
What's the reasoning though? Because she's been
forgiven. Man, if I was a disciple, if I was
Luke in that room and I'm like, I've got it.
thinking I have it all figured out. And then
Jesus is like, all you people just think proximity
is intimacy. All you, you know, you sitting around
and Jesus is saying, look, just because I'm in
your presence, it doesn't mean you're offering
me anything. It doesn't mean you're showing me
love. Just because you show up and you're near
does not mean that you have turned your attention
and turned the intentions of your heart to him.
It does not mean you're abiding in Him. The Son
of the living God, the Holy Spirit, lives in
you. Amen? The Holy Spirit is in you. But that
doesn't mean you're abiding in Him. It's okay.
His words of forgiveness are confirmation of
this experience. He says, I tell you, her sins,
and they are many, have been forgiven, so she
has shown me much love. Her great demonstration
of love, her generosity, her worship, is due
to her being mindful of and captivated by Jesus'
forgiveness and mercy. She's the one who saw
his splendor. She's the one who sees what the
others took for granted. So my question with
you this morning, who are you more like? I can't
answer this. Your spouse can't answer this. Your
family can't answer this. The people you're sitting
around can't answer this. Only you know. Who
are you more like? Are you like Simon? Are you
like this woman? And we can know that, we can
answer that by determining the worship that we
give and the love that we give God. The affections
of our heart. Jesus noticed everything the woman
gave, but he also points out what Simon withheld.
It's important to realize that. He gave no water,
no kiss. And no oil. But everyone gives something.
Some give worship. Some give indifference. Some
give honor. And some give excuses. Some give
their all. Some give their leftovers. Who are
you more like? True worship, then, gives its
attention, gives its submission, it gives its
affection and praise, it gives its service and
it gives its treasure. Not out of duty, not out
of obligation, but a cheerful heart. Amen? We
give him the only thing we really can. He doesn't
need it, but he deserves it. He deserves it.
And if you don't think he deserves it, you need
to check your heart. Who are you more like? When
that thought enters your head, who is that thought
more like? Is it more like Simon? Or is it more
like this woman? Right? Your sacrifice, your
displays of trust, and your obedience, your generosity,
your worship, Never, everybody say never, never
go unnoticed by God. Amen. They never go unnoticed.
Maybe you're here this morning and maybe God's
told you to do something. He's given you a promise
and you're waiting on its fulfillment. Notice
that what you have done in faith is never unnoticed.
Never unnoticed by him. Wait. Don't waver. Hold
fast. Steady your heart. Be loyal to him. Fully
committed in all things. Right? Because he wants
to show you just how big he is. God always sees.
Faith activates his promises, right? He always
sees. We don't give God to receive anything.
We give to God by faith in his promises, in his
finished work, and out of the heart of adoration.
This online worship experience was brought to
you by the friends and partners of Elation Church.