She Hath Done What She Could… Have You?

Illus: For example, it is reported that the biggest day of the shopping year takes place on what is called Black Friday - the day after Thanksgiving when the stores open up at midnight. Some shoppers, to prepare for this big event, go the day before to find where the merchandise they want is located in the store so they will be ready when the doors are opened and the crowd rushes in. We are told one Wal-Mart store opened up and a large crowd entered the store pushing and shoving. One lady had gone the day before to find where the merchandise was located that she wanted to buy so she could rush to that sight. Well, she rushed there only to find some other women had beaten her to the merchandise. She was so angry that she began to pepper spray the other ladies!

It sounds like someone forgot to teach her the meaning of Christmas.

Illus: When it comes to Christmas shopping she reminds us of the story of the man who was standing before the judge, and he asked him what he was charged with.

· The man said, "Doing my Christmas shopping early.”

· The judge said, "That's no offense, how early were you doing your shopping?"

· "Before the store opened."

Note: this is not the way Christ would have His people do business! At all times, in all places we Christians need to conduct ourselves as Christians. That is, we should do everything that we can to please Him.

We find a woman who had a heart to please Christ in Mark 14:1-9. We read, “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. But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people. 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. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her. And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me. For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always. SHE HATH DONE WHAT SHE COULD: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying. 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.”

These six words tell us how we can FULFILL GOD’S PLAN FOR OUR LIFE … “SHE HATH DONE WHAT SHE COULD”

Let’s look at this little woman who pleased the Lord. She had something she could do for the Lord and-

I. SHE DID IT!

What about us? There are so many things that need to be done for the Lord and I wish I could do them for Him!!!

Illus: For example, sometimes we hear:

? A great pianist play and we wish we could play like that for the Lord.

? Great singers sing and we wish we could sing like that for the Lord.

? Great teachers and preachers teach and preach and we wish we could teach and preach like that.

But God has not gifted all of us in all of those things.

We are told there are two kinds of skills:

1. NATURAL SKILL

There are some that have become GREAT at what they do because they have a NATURAL SKILL. It is as if they were born to do what they do. Because of this NATURAL SKILL they have become great at what they do.

For example, some have a NATURAL SKILL when it comes to computers.

Illus: Dr. Odell Belger tells how he was having some problems with his computer and a preacher friend and a young Chinese student from USC were in his office. The preacher friend who was very skillful with computers sat down at his desk and thought he could fix it. He tried several things and it did not correct the problem. The USC student standing behind him would not say anything but let out a little grunt several times while the preacher friend was trying to correct the problem. So when Dr. Belger asked, “That’s not right?” The student reached across the preacher friend who was sitting down and with one hand began to type with such speed that words, paragraphs and codes were literally popping up all over the monitor. And when he got through it was fixed.