PP0548 DATE
HAVE YOU DONE WHAT YOU COULD?
Mark 14:1-9.
Mr 14:1 After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death.
2 But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people.
3 And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.
4 And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made?
5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.
6 And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.
7 For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.
8 She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.
9 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her. (KJV)
INTRODUCTION: The first statement in verse eight packs a big punch. "She hath done what she could." Have you? Can Jesus say this about you?
Have you done what you could? Have you exhausted all areas of duty to God? I dare say that none of us have. Probably none of us ever will do all that we could. There is a principle established here and that is that the Lord expects us to “do” what we can do. Not what we want to do or what we feel we should do, but what we “could do”. Notice also, that the Lord was pleased with what she did.
Jesus had gone to the house of Simon the leper in Bethany. Bethany was the town in which Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha, lived. Jesus visited there quite often. Bethany was very near Jerusalem.
I want to show you several things in these few verses of scripture: then I will go back and make some applications later.
Jesus was in the home of a leper. Jesus’ entire earthly ministry was centered around the needy and the down and out. Matt. 11:1-6. Verse 5 tells us that, "The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, and the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them." So Jesus was right at home in the home of a leper. He never shunned the wealthy and the elite, but He always took time for the poor and the needy. Maybe we need to look at that practice more today. We all would rejoice if a very godly, well mannered, tithing, soul winning banker came and joined our church. We would rejoice; but what about those who will be a liability? Jesus went to them, also.
While He was in the home of the leper a woman came into where Jesus was. Mark doesn’t give us her name, but more than likely this was Mary, Lazarus’ sister. John records a very similar event with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. She came in, and she had in her possession a pound of very precious ointment called spikenard. This comes from a red rose like a flower that is very fragrant and it is, imported in from Northern India, even today. She poured this ointment on Jesus’ head. This was a token of her love and adoration for the Saviour.
This must have been a Baptist meeting. It had to be, because as soon as she began to show her love for Jesus, someone begin to criticize. Vs 4. They said, "What a waste. This could have been sold for 300 pence, and just think what 300 pence would do for our "Others" program.
I want you to know that negativism will breed negativism. You let some person get upset with our program, and he won’t be content with just fading out of the picture. No, he must go and take someone else with him. He will cause others to become unhappy.
Casey Stangle, the manager for the New York Yankees during the 1950’s, told Billy Martin after he had taken over the manager’s position for the Yankees, to sort out the players that were negative and put them together as roommates on the road trips.
Someone will always be negative.
I heard a story not long ago about a man who came to the preacher and jumped his case about five new brooms being in the broom closet. He said, "This church is not large enough to require five brooms," The preacher sent him to the janitor. The janitor was too busy to talk to him, so he sent him to the treasurer. Later the preacher saw the treasurer and ask him about the five brooms and the disgruntled man. The treasurer said, "The man’s problem was that the cost of the five brooms represented his annual giving record, and when he realized that, he shut up."
That’s usually the way it is. The complainer is one that is doing nothing for God and doesn’t want anyone else to do anything either.
Jesus came to her defense, saying, "Let her alone. She hath done what she could." Then he gives her a great compliment in verse nine.
Now, let’s make some applications in this.
She hath done what she could. What did she do?
I. SHE MADE A GREAT SACRIFICE FOR THE LORD.
A. It Was Precious. A very Precious ointment. Very costly,
1. It was valued at 300 pence. That is equivalent to one year’s wage in those days.
2. Would you give one year’s wage to Jesus today?
How much would that be? $15,000.00; 20,000.00; 25,000.00; 50,000.00; 75,000.00?
Is there anyone here who would just up and commit all of your 2004 salary to God? If so, give it to our treasurer after the service.
3. On the market today this would be about $25000.00 per pound of ointment. That is very precious. isn’t it?
Have you given anything precious?
B. It Was Personal.
1.This was something she had bought for herself.
2. She had probably intended to use this for her own use.
3. This doesn’t say that she was willing to give this to Jesus. It says she DID GIVE it to Him.
I’ve heard people say that they would be willing to give everything they had to God. She wasn’t just willing she gave it.
How does this personal sacrifice fit you and I? Here is a woman that was SHOWING HER LOVE FOR HER SAVIOUR by her personal sacrifice.
Suppose we designate a certain Sunday where everyone is challenged to give something that is very dear to you that cost you a full year’s wage? How many would participate? How many would feel it was time to find another church?
Does your sacrifice cause others to see you as one who has sacrificed?
I have asked you to do a few things over the next few months to show your love and concern for those who you turned in on your “Prayer list”, but nothing of this magnitude. What if we were required to give this much on a personal basis to show our love? I doubt if any of us would. This woman did, and Jesus said that, "She did what she could".
Are you doing what you can? Are YOU sacrificing for Christ? Does your personal sacrifice cost you something? Or do you give out of your abundance?
Most Christians today give what we term as sacrificially, and then go on and live just the same as we would if we had not given. Our giving should cost us nothing. No where in the Bible do we find where we are instructed to increase our lifestyle. The Lord may allow some to do that, but is not an expectation from the Lord.
When I read of missionaries who have buried their children or their spouse on the mission field and are still there serving God, I say, they understand sacrifice.
Don’t sacrifice that which you don’t have. I’ve heard People say, "We are going to sacrifice this year and not buy a new car. We will drive our ‘03 model another year”. That sounds good, but what good does that do? Are they going to take that $25,000.00 or more that it would take to buy a new car and give it to the work of God. No, that’s not what they meant. They take it and go to Hawaii, or on some expensive vacation, or they remodel the house, buy new carpet, or new furniture. They haven’t sacrificed a penny.
C. It was Physical.
1. Her hair. She wiped His feet with her hair. John tells us of this.
2. Do You sacrifice your body for God?
3. When it is raining and the wind is blowing 35 miles an hour with a wind chill of minus 10 degrees do You still come to church? Do you go soul winning?
It is all right to go to the ski slopes with snow three feet deep and the wind blowing, but we can’t serve God in inclement weather. Some even go and sit for hours in a deer stand, freeze until their teeth chatter, and they shake from the cold, but they will stay with it. I see people out jogging in the cold weather. Most go shopping when the weather is bad.
Where is our physical sacrifice?
4. We need at least 5 or 6 more people to go on Saturdays and spend 3, 4, or 5 hours out visiting on our bus routes.
I heard Dr. Bob Gray, several years ago, tell of a man 75 years old in his church who went every Saturday and visited a bus route for 4 or 5 hours. He would bring in 50 to 100 on Sunday. He had had hundreds saved off his route. 75 Years old.
I heard of a woman in a wheel-chair that visited a bus route. She couldn’t get up to the door to ring the door bell, so she would sit in the driveway and holler until someone would come to the door, and then she would ask them about riding her bus.
Dr. Jack Hyles told of a young woman in his church that, some years ago, was expecting a baby. She had a bus route. On Friday she had been to the doctor and the doctor determined that the baby was dead and must be taken immediately. The woman would not go into the hospital on Friday, instead, she told the doctor to make the appointment for Monday until after she could visit and then run her bus route on Sunday..
She has done what she could. What did she do? She sacrificed.
What has she done? She has done what she could.
II. SHE DID WHAT SHE COULD IN SERVICE TO THE LORD.
A. Because Of Compassion.
1. Compassion makes the difference.
2. There was no price too costly for her because she loved her Lord.
3. Jesus commands us, "If Ye love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15.
4. So what is the one motivation for service to the Master? That of love.
This woman was wanting to serve the Lord, and no price was too expensive. She would serve Him at all cost.
If a Christian is healthy and able to get up and go for God and he or she doesn’t do it; then it is sin. For a healthy person to set and do nothing is sin with a capital "S". James 4:17. Jas 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. (KJV)
I’m talking about more than just coming to church and Sunday School. Don’t brag about that.
There are very few, Christians today that are not aware of what they should be doing for God. Thus, to sit idle is sin.
B. Because Of Commitment.
1. I believe that this generation of Christians is the most uncommitted ever. It is nearly impossible to get a Christian to commit today to do something more than once for God. Oh, they will come to church once or twice, but to get them to commit every Sunday, every Sunday night, and every Wednesday night from now until the Lord comes is almost impossible.
2. Yet that same person commits to VISA card to pay monthly payments to buy a television. They will commit to some organization, to soccer, to a bowling league, to their employer, but not God.
3. This woman in our scripture was committed. She didn’t stop and make a decision each day, "I will serve God today?" No she was committed. It came natural with her.
C. Because of Calvary.
1. More than likely this woman looked back and saw herself a poor lost sinner, hell bound, undone and unfit even to be recognized by Jesus.
2. She may have said, "Because of what He did for me at Calvary. I will do anything for Him, and I will prove that by this precious gift to Him.”
Do Your serve Him because of Calvary? What if there wasn’t a Calvary in your past?
Maybe there isn’t a Calvary in your past.
It’s criminal not to express our appreciation for His redemption given us through Calvary. If for no other reason we should serve Him because of Calvary.
Everything I have is because of Calvary.
Everything I own is because of Calvary.
Everything I am is because of Calvary.
My future is secure because of Calvary.
She did what she could.
III. SHE DID WHAT SHE COULD IN SUFFERING FOR THE LORD.
Her token of love here is saying, "I am willing to suffer anything for Christ.”
Phil. 1:29. (Listen to this verse.) The Holy Spirit commands us through the writing of Paul, "For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake."
Am I reading that verse right? Believing in Him for salvation is not all there is to it. Is that what it said? There is to be suffering also.
We really suffer, don’t we. I have a comfortable home. It is air-conditioned, central heated. Most of you do also. We have a garbage disposal, dish washer, microwave oven, automatic washer and drier, electric lights.
I drive a nice car, thanks to this church. I have people who love me. I don’t have to walk out into my street and dodge stones that are cast by my neighbors. I don’t have to have armed guards to protect me at night. I do not have to go to the fields and labor from sun up until sun down.
Then when someone asks us how we are doing, we reply, “Oh, I’m just suffering for Jesus."
What is suffering? Look at the first century Christians, the ones that blazed the trail for or and I.
1. Peter. He was crucified upside down.
2. Andrew was also crucified on a cross.
3. James was beheaded by Herod in Acts 12:1&2.
4. John was taken to an island and left there to die on his own.
5. Phillip died by hanging.
6. Nathaniel was flayed alive with knives.
7. Thomas was killed with a spear.
8. James (The Less) was sawed in pieces.
9. Jude was killed with arrows at Ararat.
10. Look at Heb. 11:33-38.
This is talking about early Christians.
Heb 11:33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. (KJV)
Then most of the 21st Century Christian won’t even come back on Wed. night.
Some won’t even tithe. Some shake their fist in God’s face and say, “I’ll live my own life. Don’t ask me to suffer."
There is not a person in this room that has been asked to give your life for the Saviour. No one in this church has ever been on trial for our service or love for God.
Have you done what you could?
Could you visit a bus route? Yes.
Could you help in the nursery? Yes.
Could you call absentees? Yes.
Could you pick trash in the yard? Yes.
Could you pass out tracts? Yes.
Could you witness to someone? Yes.
Could you come up here to the church during the day and pray for an hour? Some could.
What will you do?
Will you sacrifice for Him?
Will you serve Him?
Will you suffer for Him?
There are some here right now who need to walk this aisle and say, "I’ll do everything I can."
Romans 1:15, "So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also." Are you willing to go to a foreign land and preach the Gospel? Paul was.
Everyone cannot preach, but everyone can do something.
Will You do something?
INVITATION
BETH HAVEN BAPTIST CHURCH MINISTRIES
PO BOX 891523
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK 73189-1523
405-691-8701
This sermon and thousands of others are available on a CD Disk that may be purchased for $75.
If interested contact the above address.
