Overwhelming Part 2 – Love for God

WARM-UP

Have you ever gone to Jesus in prayer and not ask anything but just thank Him and appreciate Him as your Lord and Savior?  Have you ever stopped to think what a difference would be made if we became as ENTHUSIASTIC FOR JESUS as we have been ENTHUSIASTIC FOR OTHER THINGS?

ONE BIG IDEA

Love pushes us to do extravagant things for the one we love.

 STUDY (Mark 14:3-9 )

3“Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head.4 Some of those at the table were indignant. “Why waste such expensive perfume?” they asked. 5 “It could have been sold for a year’s wages and the money given to the poor!” So they scolded her harshly. 6 But Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me? 7 You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time. 9 I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”” (NLT)

LEARN

HOW TO EXPRESS YOUR LOVE TO GOD?

FIND A WAY TO EXPRESS YOUR LOVE TO GOD

The story is so special because this woman is overwhelmed by love, and she found a way to express it. Some scholars point out that the alabaster jar contained expensive perfume of a kind commonly used by prostitutes. It was a tool of their trade. They doused themselves in it to make themselves more appealing to men who would pay for their favors. In essence she was saying, “With the same enthusiasm that I once gave to the sins of the world, I now give myself to You.”  he woman in the Bible found a way to express her love for God. What about us?  What is our way of expressing our love for God? There are so many ways we can express our love for God.  You can volunteer in any of the ministries of this church.  You can allot half an hour a day just to read the Bible and spend time in prayer.  You can give your tithes faithfully for the furtherance of the Kingdom of God.  You can allot a portion of your income to help out the needy and share to them about Jesus.  You can find time to disciple these young people and help them grow in their relationship with God.

EXPRESS YOUR LOVE EXTRAVAGANTLY

What the woman did was an extravagant and foolish act in the eyes of those who saw what happened. But LOVE is often EXTRAVAGANT, isn’t it? Love pushes us to do extravagant things for the one we love.

The alabaster jar did not have to be broken. She could have just opened it up and poured a few drops of that expensive perfume on the head of Jesus. Everybody would have said, “Wow, what a wonderful act of devotion.” Or, she could have poured it all on Him, but saved the jar so that it could be filled again. Once more, everybody would have said, “Wow, how generous! How much love she must have!” But this woman broke the jar so that it could never be filled again. Do you know what it meant when she broke the alabaster jar? She’s declaring her gratefulness for her sins that were forgiven. And she was also proclaiming to people that she would not be returning to her old ways of life again.

DO WHAT YOU COULD FOR GOD

This woman gave everything to Jesus – not to Simon, the Leper, not to Peter, or James or John. She didn’t do it for anybody else. What she did, she did just for Jesus. The woman did what she could. Now ask yourself, “What have I ever done just for Jesus? How have I expressed my love to Him?”

God loves you more that you can ever love Him. And when we accept His invitation, it is always an invitation of love. You see, I can never pay Him back, nor can you. We can do anything and everything in the way of sacrifice, but we can never repay the debt of love that we owe to God. God doesn’t require the debt to be repaid. God just wants us to accept what He has done, and to love Him for it.