How to Give God Your Best Part 1

Pastor Mike will be speaking on How to Give God Your Best Part 1. He will be in John 12:1-11

You don’t have to be the person that’s out to measure every person’s life. You don’t have to continue to find fault with every person’s work for God. But I challenge you this morning to be a working Christian and avoid the comparing and the criticizing.

Welcome to Hope Worth Having. My name is Pastor Mike Sanders. I serve as the senior pastor of the Open Door Church in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. And this is where we broadcast, and we are coming to you today with the gospel of Jesus Christ, excited for the opportunity to be able to minister to you from the Word of God.

We’re beginning a new series today entitled How to Give God Your Best. We’re going to be in John chapter 12, verse 1 through 11. Now in John chapter 11, we were introduced to Lazarus, and you know the great story.

Lazarus was a friend of Jesus, but he died. We’re not told what caused him to die, but he apparently died as a young man. Of course, it shook the family and they petitioned Christ. He shows up four days later after Lazarus has been dead.

And you know the amazing miracle that happened. You understand how Jesus called forth Lazarus, and he came out of that grave. What an incredible story. But did you know the back end of the story? That’s what John chapter 12 is all about, because Jesus goes to the town of Bethany, and he sits down and has a meal, and one of his guests is Lazarus.

And in that moment, he teaches us how to give God your best. So I want you to open your Bible to John chapter 12. Get your paper, pencil, and let’s take some notes. Follow along as we continue to grow together.

Well, if you have your Bible this morning, I want you to join me in the Gospel of John. Chapter 12 is going to be our study this morning in verses 1 through 11. I want us to this morning think about what we can give to Jesus.

What we can give to the Lord Jesus Christ. What kind of a gift can we give to Him? A gift that’s not just at the Christmas season time, but a gift that we can give Him every day of our life. As we come to our text this morning, Jesus Christ is in the shadow of the cross.

Six days before His crucifixion, a group of His disciples gave a very special gift to Jesus. I want you to pick up with me in verse 1 of John chapter 12. The Bible says then Jesus, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany.

where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment and of spikenard and very costly and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair and the house was filled with odor of the ointment.

Then sayeth one of his disciples Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son which should betray him. Why was not this ointment sold for 300 pence and given to the poor? This he said not that he cared for the poor but because he was a thief and had the bag and bared what was put therein.

Then said Jesus let her alone. Against the day of my bearing has she kept this. For the poor always you have with you but me you have not always. Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there and they came not for Jesus sake only but that they might see Lazarus also whom he had raised from the dead.

But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death because that my reason of him many of the Jews went away and believed on Jesus. You know that as we have been studying the gospel of John that this is the gospel of belief.

This is the evangelistic gospel and again we see and I want you to underscore it in your bible if you’re a note taker if you’re someone who writes in your bible I want you to underscore that verse 11 that my reason of him, meaning because of Lazarus, because of what Christ did in Lazarus’ life, many of the Jews went away and believed on Jesus.

John chapter 12 begins the last week of Jesus’ life. He is on his way to Jerusalem. He is on his way to be crucified. Yet on his journey to Jerusalem, Jesus stops in Bethany to attend a reception that is in his honor.

And we find Jesus at Bethany, and it is an obscure little village that’s less than two miles from Jerusalem. And Bethany is famous because Bethany is the place where Lazarus was raised to life. And Jesus was there, and the crowds were there, and as John unveils this incredible…

story of Jesus’s journey to the cross. He is constantly presenting Jesus Christ as God. And he doesn’t want us to just at the climactic moment of the resurrection of Lazarus, just to kind of just leave it hanging, but rather John wants to carry the momentum of the resurrection of Lazarus into our lives and into our hearts.

And he wants us to understand the impact of Lazarus’ life and the impact of the resurrection of Lazarus upon his community, upon his family, upon every one that is present. So John reveals Jesus as God, that he is God himself, but what is the uniqueness of Jesus in that he is God himself is that he is God in the flesh.

Emmanuel, God with us. You’re familiar what John says in John 1 .14, and the Word was made what? Flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as the only begotten of the full of grace and truth.

Jesus was the epitome of grace and truth. Truly God himself walking among us, truly God himself who rose Lazarus from the dead, truly he is the savior of mankind. He is who he says he is. His credentials back up who he says he is.

And John wants us to note that. And so in this little story, John reveals to us that not only is Jesus God, but look at the response of his people to him. so exhilarated by the resurrection of Lazarus so excited that Lazarus is alive chapter 11 there is grieving there is mourning but in chapter 12 there is joy there is gladness there is a reception that is held in the honor of Jesus Christ for his great accomplishment many claimed to be the Messiah even in Jesus’s day many said that they were the Messiah the coming King the Savior of the nation of Israel but all fell miserably short there was no Messiah that spoke like Jesus there was no Messiah that performed miracles like Jesus Christ Lazarus’s family is thrilled that Lazarus is alive and so in doing so they celebrate with a great feast.

And in turn, you and I, just looking at their lives this morning in response to this great miracle, we learn how to give God our best. We learn how to give Him the best gift of all. And I want to just show you how that you can do that this morning.

And so if you’re taking notes, number one, you need to be a working Christian. You need to be a working Christian. We go back to verse 2 of John chapter 12, and the Bible says, there they made Him a supper, and Martha served.

And when I read the Bible, I can’t help but note not only what is said in the Bible, but what is not said in the Bible. Because Martha, you know that before that she was a person who was always serving.

She was, we learned in the Gospel of Luke that she was a giver. She was a doer. She was a person who loved hospitality. It was built into her heart. It was the way that God designed her. She was a person who loved to cook.

She loved to do for Jesus. But you remember that the last time we saw Martha, she was upset relating to trying to do something for Jesus. That she was complaining, and she was criticizing, and she was upset because her sister was not helping like she should.

And so what I note this morning is that this time Martha’s not complaining. She’s just serving. And so I’m seeing from Luke chapter 10 all the way to John chapter 12 in this journey that I’m seeing that Martha is growing.

And Martha has become not only a working Christian, but a working Christian that is not complaining. She’s not finding fault with other people around her, but rather she is focused on her mission and she is celebrating her Savior and she is exalting Jesus Christ and this is how Martha does it she does it through her working her hospitality now there are two barriers that keep us from being thankful and rejoicing working Christians and I want you to write these two barriers down because they can creep into your all of our lives and they creep in subtly and then all of a sudden it begins to dominate our thoughts and as a result of that that we become ineffective for the Lord Jesus Christ and our gift to him is not the best gift the first barrier is comparing and criticizing Martha that’s where she was she was comparing she was criticizing you She looked at Mary,

and she said Mary’s not doing it like me. And because Mary’s not doing it like me, then there’s something wrong with Mary. Have you ever met Christians like that? You have to do it like them. You gotta look like them.

You gotta do everything just like them, and they come up with all these things in their minds, and if you don’t do it like them, then there’s something wrong with you. And I wanna tell you that in the kingdom of Christ, I am thankful that he has not produced cookie -cutter Christianity, amen?

He has given us biblical principles. He’s given us biblical truths and guidelines that we follow together as workers for Christ. But let me tell you something, that he has designed all of us uniquely and differently.

Some of you love people, and some of you, you just don’t wanna be around a lot of people, amen? Some of you love to cook, and some of you can’t cook, and we just own up to it, right? No one ever asks you to cook Thanksgiving, and there’s a reason.

You’re not gifted, you’re not designed. Some of you are good with your hands, and others, we wanna keep the tools away from you, right? And so what I’m trying to say is that God has designed us differently.

Martha was upset at Mary because Mary was not doing it like Martha, but here, she is just serving, and this is what I’m challenging you. Don’t become the type of Christian that’s always comparing and criticizing, meaning you look around the church, and you say, no one’s doing it like me, or no one’s doing it as good as I am, or no one’s doing it as long as I am, and no one does it like this or that,

and as a result, you become a critical, complaining Christian. When God really just wants you to serve Him, right? Remember what Paul said in Romans 14, for who are you to judge another servant to? his own master he stands or falls indeed he will be made to stand for God is able to make him stand you don’t have to be the person that’s out to measure every person’s life you don’t have to be everybody’s accountability partner you don’t have to continue to find fault with every person’s work for God but I challenge you this morning to be a working Christian and avoid the comparing and the criticizing well we don’t do it like we used to at the open -door church well the different day trying to be effective for God everything can’t always be I mean you’re not driving that 1950 vehicle that you started out in amen I mean people say to me I don’t like change and I say well then let me go out and look at your car and I notice how much they like change and then I say well I notice you got heating and air conditioning you And I notice you got indoor plumbing,

but you like change as long as it benefits you, and as long as you like the change that’s being changed, but if it’s anything outside of your comfort zone, then you don’t like change, amen? Can we be honest about that?

And so then what do you do? Criticize, complain, compare, and think that something’s wrong. And what I’m saying to you as a working Christian, that is what the devil uses to divide churches, to distract Christians from being faithful workers.

We’re not all gonna do it the same way, but it’s okay as long as we’re fulfilling what God has called us to do, and let that person stand before God, his master, and give an account of his ministry and his work for Christ, let that person stand, for God is able to make him stand.

And if he is failing, God will correct him. And what I’ve learned is that even in my ministry, there are many mistakes that have been made, but God has used those mistakes to teach me, to train me, to make me a better pastor.

You be glad you got Pastor Mike today, and not the Pastor Mike when he was 23 years old. There’d be nobody left, there’d be nobody left. And so we must learn that sometimes God has taken people through a process to teach them.

The second barrier is wrong motivations. Wrong motivations. Martha, what was her motivation? She’s not helping me. She’s not in here cleaning up for me. Martha’s motivation was me. Martha’s motivation was it was all about her, and look what I’m doing, Jesus, and look what Mary’s not doing, and it just upsets me because Mary, she’s such a Kumbaya person, always sitting around singing to God.

What’s her problem? And I think, I think that sometimes why we do what we do is more important than what we do. And did you know that you can do the right thing for the wrong reason? And that when you do it for the wrong reason, it’s not an excellent gift and sacrifice unto God.

You can give this morning to the Lord Jesus Christ, you can put money into the offering plate, but if you did it so people could see you, so that you could be noted, if your motivation was purely about you, then I want you to know that you’re off track with Jesus Christ.

Jesus taught us this in Matthew 6 .1, beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. What we have to watch out is why do we do what we do?

This is why, I’m gonna be honest with you. And I know that some of you are gonna be upset at me, but it’s okay because I want you to understand where Pastor Mike is coming from. Because as I study the scriptures, it shapes my ministry, it shapes my thoughts, it shapes how I do what God has called me to do here at the Opendoor Church.

And that is this, that I don’t want people to give. So their name could be put on a building. I don’t want our church to give for the motivation to name a classroom after them. And there are many reasons, but the preeminent reason is, it just seems to me to be the very wrong reason to give.

That when it’s about me, that’s what the world does. The world says I’m gonna give a gift and I want the stadium named after me. The world gives a gift and says I want this building named after me. And you see, it’s all about me.

Now I’m not opposed to honoring people, and I’m not opposed to showing respect and all that. And so don’t misunderstand me and don’t have a meltdown on me this afternoon and send me emails and draw the line in the sand because it’s just wrong for you to do that.

But I want you to know, why do you do what you do? And so if you serve God in our church, if you’re doing it so that you can get a certificate, you’re gonna miss out. If you’re serving God, if you’re teaching, if you’re doing nursery, if whatever ministry you’re involved in, if you’re doing it for the reason for your own attention, so people will say you’re such a wonderful person, you’re the greatest thing ever,

then I’m telling you that that’s all gonna crumble, it’s all gonna collapse, it’s gonna come to an end. But if your motivation is to glorify God and advance the gospel of Jesus Christ, that’s something that God can bless.

That’s something that God can use. That’s a person God can have his hand upon and use them to make a difference for the cause of Jesus Christ. What Martha had learned, that her service to Christ was a joy, it was a privilege, and it was a response to her gratefulness, to the salvation of her Messiah.

And you and I have to get there in our hearts, and it’s a battle we have every day because the heart is deceitful who can know it. And you always have to be asking yourself, why am I doing this? Why am I doing this?

And if you’re doing it for self, it’s crash and burn, but if you’re doing it for Christ, it is his glory, his honor, is exalting him. And so my friends, we are called to be a working Christian. That is the gift that you can give.

to the Lord Jesus Christ, but number two, be a worshiping Christian. We look at verse three. Mary doesn’t minister like Martha. She’s not in the kitchen. She’s not making the big meal, but this is what Mary does.

Verse three, then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikener, very costly, anointed the feet of Jesus, wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. This is how Mary served God.

This is how she worshiped God, and she took something very expensive, something very costly, the Bible says, and she began to pour it over Christ. She began to anoint it upon him. The word anointment is the Greek word meran, which we get our English word mer, and it is the reminder in Matthew chapter two, verse 11, that the Bible says when they were coming to the house, they saw the young child with Mary,

his mother, and fell down and worshiped him, and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold and frankincense, and what mer, ointment, ointment, why? Why would they do? Because as we will learn, and as we understand, anointing was a ritual for royalty, and so the wise men came, and they anointed Christ with these gifts, and they anointed him with mer, and they said he is the king of kings,

he is the lord of lords. They recognized that he was the promised king to come to this earth. Mary as well recognized that Jesus was the king of kings. He was the author of life. He is the one who controls life in his hands.

He is the one who walked upon this earth. and he healed the blind, he raised the dead. He is the king of kings. He is worthy to be anointed because he is of royalty. But I want you to also note that anointing was for the burial of the body.

It was for the burial of the body. And so Mary was in a real way. She was teaching about what was to come for Jesus and that he would die on the cross, that this king would give his life for his people.

This king would come and die for you and me that we might have eternal life in Jesus Christ. And so Mary anoints Jesus as an act of worship to him. And what she did was a spontaneous act of worship. It was a reaction of her love to Jesus Christ.

And she… presented that to him, it was the climax of her love, knowing that he was king, that he had raised Lazarus from the dead, knowing he had all authority and all power, but yet in the same time, in her conflicted mind and heart, she knew that he was gonna die.

She had heard him teach that he would die on the cross. And so in this climactic moment, this majestic moment, she pours ointment upon Christ and shows love to him. Why is this so profound? First, in Jesus’s day, women never publicly ate with other men.

And so for Mary to do this and to be there publicly, she was willing to overcome all the cultural barriers. We see as well that women would never let their hair down in public. This culturally was looked down upon, and yet Mary did just that, and she took her hair and she wiped the feet of Jesus.

What she recognized was that she was lower than a servant, for servants would wash the feet, but she took the feet of Jesus and took her hair and she wiped his feet saying that I’m lower than a servant and this is my king and he is going to die on the cross and I am preparing him for his burial.

So the question is, if that ointment was your ointment and it cost you a year’s salary, would you empty it out for your savior? Because see, we take the tangible things in life and all of a sudden they become more important to us than our relationship with Jesus, our walk with God and our worship with God.

And I am. I ask you, would you be willing to give your very life for Christ? What would you sacrifice for Christ in your worship to Him? What would you give up for Christ? What would you walk away so that Christ could be exalted in your life?

What steps of humility would you take in your heart and in your life? What tangible steps would you take in your life to say that He is the King and I am nothing but a servant? What would you set aside?

Because Mary, she was criticized and as we learned, they complained and Mary was willing to put up with all that for one purpose, to exalt and worship Jesus Christ. I want to say to you, church, be careful of the excuses you use.

of why you do not worship God. People say, I can’t come to church, I can’t read my Bible today, and they have a ton of reasons, and they tell me all these things, and in my mind, you know what I wanna say?

Be careful that God doesn’t take those away from you. Be careful that he doesn’t take those things away from you. When you put other things before God or other people before God, be careful. We must understand that Abraham offered up his son as a test of his faith.

He offered up his son and he said to the father that he just believed that somehow God would raise his son, that he believed that somehow God would provide, and he offered up his son. The thing that was dearest to him, the hope that he had, the one thing that he was waiting on God for, the thing that he wanted more than anything in his life, he put it on the altar for God.

He said, here it is. And the angel grabbed his hand and said, the Lord knows now that you’re true. Well, every time we open the word of God, no doubt our heart is challenged, no doubt there are things that God is speaking to us about changing, and that’s the key.

My response to the gospel should be about, Lord, what do you want me to change? What do you want me to commit to? So if there’s anything the Lord has spoken to you today about make sure that you are taking time to pray to him and confess whatever you need to and change whatever you need to and commit your heart, because here’s what it’s about, giving our best for God.

Giving our best for God, never being mediocre, never doing second best, but always our best for him. And so I hope that as you have learned these principles, that you have been challenged in such a unique way that God would call you through his spirit and through his word to step up your faith and to step up and be that Christian that God wants you to be, that lighthouse within your community and your family.

Now, Before we go, I want to remind you that we recently published a book entitled Dynamic Devotions, and these devotions are designed to continue to energize God’s people through the power of His Word so that they can stay faithful to the cause and mission of Jesus Christ.

I want you to know that these are not just shallow surface devotions where there’s a bunch of stories to get you all motivated and pumped up. No, this is the true teaching of God’s Word. We’re breaking things down, but it’s succinct.

It’s to the point, and it’s going to help you in your daily walk with the Lord. So I want to encourage you to go to our website, hopeworthhaving .com. Make your order today for a gift of $10 or more.

We’ll send you a copy of Dynamic Devotions, and I know that you’ll be blessed. You’ll be encouraged. Make sure you get a copy as well for your family and your friends. It’s just great opportunity to continue to help you spread the word.

This is Pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ there is hope worth having.