Participants: Christian Berdahl
Series Code: FC
Program Code: FC000354
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00:31 Welcome to Faith Chapel.
00:32 I'm Christian Berdahl, Director of Shepherd's 00:35 Call Ministry. And before we pray, 00:36 I have a question to ask you. 00:39 Have you ever thought about the fact 00:41 that we could share truth as God's people 00:45 in a way that would actually drive people 00:48 from God? Yes, it's true and we'll explore 00:53 this in just a moment but first, let's pray. 00:56 Father in heaven, Lord, we ask that you 00:58 would be with us as we study; 01:00 we ask that you would send the Holy Spirit 01:02 to anoint our time together. I pray that you 01:04 would help us to thumb through our Bibles 01:06 and to learn new things in Jesus name. Amen. 01:12 Let's go straight to the Bible and what I've 01:13 done is I've combined three of the four gospels 01:16 to give us a quick succession of what 01:18 happened in a room with Mary and Jesus, 01:23 the disciples and others had all surrounded 01:27 an alabaster box. Let's read Matthew 26:6, 01:31 Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon 01:34 the leper. John 12:2, there they made him a 01:38 supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was 01:41 one of them that sat at the table with him. 01:44 Luke 7:37, And behold, a woman in the city, 01:47 which was a sinner, when she knew that 01:49 Jesus sat at met in the Pharisee's house, 01:51 brought an alabaster box of ointment. 01:54 John 12:3, Then Mary took a pound of the 01:56 ointment of spikenard, very costly. 01:59 Luke 7:38, And stood at his feet behind 02:02 him weeping, and began to wash his feet 02:05 with her tears, did wipe them with the hairs 02:07 of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed 02:09 them with the ointment. And Mark 14:3 says that 02:12 she also anointed his head as well. 02:15 It sent out ripples that impacted souls in that 02:22 very room. In fact ripples caused that day, 02:26 ripples caused that day have reached all 02:30 the way down the space of time to us. 02:33 Recently I was thinking of an illustration 02:35 regarding ripples that I think most of us have 02:37 heard and that is when, you know you cast 02:39 a stone into a pond that from the point of 02:43 impact in the water will ripple outward until 02:47 it reaches the shores. Friends, every choice 02:54 that we make as Christians or even non-Christians 02:58 causes ripples in our own life and even ripples 03:02 that could affect others. So it's important that 03:06 we interact properly with those around us that 03:11 might be affected by our choices and our actions. 03:15 Now Mary has just opened the alabaster box 03:18 of, and she's anointed Jesus and the ripples 03:21 have already begun to be sent out. 03:24 The ripples from one choice from one act have 03:27 already started. Mary was enjoying complete 03:30 freedom in her heart as she was sharing 03:32 the oil her love with her savior. And she had 03:36 no guilt, no embarrassment because 03:37 she didn't bring a lame offering, she brought 03:40 an offering that was worth an entire of 03:43 year's wage and beyond this she brought 03:45 the offering of her open heart to him. 03:49 The ripple intersects Jesus soul and she seized 03:53 the divine recipient approve of her act and 03:56 then Jesus sends out a positive ripple from 03:59 himself that intersects Mary's soul. 04:04 You see two people already blessed with 04:07 in moments of one act. But the ripples didn't 04:12 stop with just Mary and Jesus, you see as 04:15 they do in our example they continue outward 04:18 until they hit the shore. And they continued 04:22 outward and they intersected Simon, 04:26 the disciples and the guests in the house. 04:30 Let's read John 12:4-6, Then saith one of his 04:35 disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, 04:37 which should betray him, Why was not this 04:40 ointment sold for three hundred pence and 04:42 given to the poor? This he said, not that 04:47 he cared for the poor; but because he was 04:50 a thief, and had the bag, and bare what 04:53 was put therein. Now notice, Jesus' reaction 04:57 was very different from Judas reaction. 05:00 Judas reacted in a negative way, Jesus' of 05:03 course was a positive. So Judas now reacts in 05:08 a negative way and sends out ripples himself 05:11 and these ripples intersects Simon, 05:14 let's read that. Luke, 7:39, Now when the 05:17 Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, 05:19 he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he 05:23 were a prophet, he would have known who and 05:26 what manner of woman this is that 05:27 toucheth him: for she is a sinner. 05:30 You see these negative ripples continued and 05:33 they intersected even the disciples. 05:35 Let's read that in Matthew 26:8 and 9, 05:39 But when the disciples saw it, they had 05:42 indignation, extreme anger mingled with 05:46 disgust or abhorrence, saying, To what 05:48 purpose is this waste? For this ointment 05:51 might have been sold for much and given to 05:53 the poor. Friends, Mary begins to hear these 05:57 words of criticism, she's thinking what's 05:59 happening here Jesus approved of what I 06:01 was doing, what's happening? She was 06:04 about to shrink away friends. She was afraid 06:08 that her sister might think her improvident 06:11 in fact the master might think that this was 06:14 some sort of extravagant gift that may be 06:16 she shouldn't have given, may be she wasn't 06:18 the wise steward here. She was about to 06:20 shrink away without apology. You see, the 06:25 harsh judgmental spirit of the disciples that 06:29 were following popular opinion, notice that 06:32 the disciples were following what Jesus did, 06:35 because Jesus accepted it and returned kindness 06:38 to her. They followed popular opinion in the 06:41 room and what they didn't realized was that 06:43 day were beating down a sister who was 06:46 being led by the Holy Spirit. Amazing, the 06:51 blindness of self- righteousness or following 06:56 popular opinion. Reading on in verse 10, 07:00 When Jesus understood it, He knew what 07:02 was happening, He said unto them, 07:04 why trouble ye the woman? For she hath 07:06 wrought good work upon me. For ye have 07:09 the poor with you always, but me ye not 07:12 have always. For in that she hath poured this 07:14 ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. 07:19 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel 07:22 shall be preached in the whole world, 07:23 there shall also this, that this woman done be 07:27 told as a memorial for her. See friends, 07:31 the ripples continued. Simon the host, 07:37 the ripples interested him and Simon the host 07:40 was surprised at the conduct of Jesus and his 07:44 Pharisaic pride was offended. Because Christ 07:48 allowed this woman to approach Him and 07:51 to touch Him because He did not indignantly 07:54 spurn her as one whose sins were just too 07:58 great to be forgiven because he did not show 08:01 that he had realized that she had fallen. 08:04 You see the Pharisee says I know your sins 08:07 and I'm gonna show you your sins. 08:10 Jesus didn't do this. Jesus appeals to the 08:14 heart. You see we can be Pharisees and drive 08:17 people from God the way that we interact 08:20 with them. Friends, I want to encourage you 08:23 to be like Jesus not like Simon. Jesus knows 08:28 nothing of this woman who's so free in 08:31 her demonstrations he thought, or he 08:33 would not allow her to touch him. Luke 18:11 08:39 says, The Pharisee stood and prayed 08:42 within himself, God, I thank thee, that I 08:46 am not as other men, I'm so much better, 08:50 extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as 08:54 this publican. You see the Pharisee's heart 08:57 is blind friends, is blind to his own condition. 09:01 The Pharisee's heart says I must separate 09:03 from these great sinners, I can't associate 09:05 with them, in fact I need to let them know that 09:07 they are terrible sinners. As though the 09:10 Pharisee's heart is pure, as though he could 09:14 actually pick up a stone and cast the first 09:16 one. Friends, we by in large I think many 09:22 times act as Pharisees, act as Simon. 09:25 We don't see as the Bible says, we don't 09:27 see the plank, the telephone poll in our 09:31 own eyes while we can see the little speck 09:34 in our brother's eye. Friends, we have to 09:39 come to a place where we just say Lord 09:41 I don't wanna be the Holy Spirit anymore, 09:43 amen. Let the Holy Spirit do his work and help 09:46 us Father to learn how to love people as 09:49 you have loved them. You see that Pharisee's 09:53 heart was blind, Simon was blind to the new 09:57 heart that Mary had. All he could think about 10:01 was her past, oh Jesus doesn't do this. 10:03 Jesus forgets the past but we sinful beings 10:06 we keep the past alive and I've seen it in 10:10 friends of mine. Where Jesus Christ has really 10:14 given them a new heart like Mary and the 10:16 Pharisees in their lives, the friends or the 10:18 family in their lives won't let their past die 10:21 and they keep bringing it up, friends, 10:24 that's Satanic. That's not the spirit of Jesus 10:29 Christ. We must interact with others the way 10:34 that Jesus did. But it was Simon's ignorance; 10:41 it was Simon's ignorance of God and of Christ 10:45 that lead him to think the way that he did. 10:47 You see he did not realize that God's son 10:51 must act in God's way, amen. You see God's 10:57 way is to act with compassion, is to act 11:01 with tenderness and mercy. So I have a 11:05 question, are you God's child. If we are 11:10 going to profess to be God's children then 11:13 we need to act God's way, amen. 11:18 Praise the Lord. You see the act of kissing; 11:24 of Mary kissing Jesus feet was disgusting 11:30 to the Pharisee. Because spiritual things are 11:34 spiritually discern. And to this unspoken 11:37 thought of Simon saying how could Jesus if 11:41 he was a prophet let this woman touch him 11:44 who is such a sinner Jesus goes through in 11:46 Luke 7:40-50 and we don't have time to 11:49 read that friends but he goes through a 11:51 parable and he teaches Simon. He says 11:56 you know Simon, there was a great debtor, 12:01 and this man had two debtors and one had 12:04 $500 debt the other had a 50 pence debt. 12:10 And what Jesus was doing was he's 12:12 starting to show Simon and trying to convict 12:14 Simon's heart, the one that rejected what 12:17 this beautiful act was, the one that rejected it 12:20 he says no listen Simon, in a parable he 12:26 helped Simon to see that Simon's sin was 12:31 actually greater than that of Mary's. You see 12:35 Simon originally led Mary into sin, amazing. 12:42 Yet the Pharisee thought he was righteous, 12:45 he was the one that lead that very woman 12:47 that he despised into sin. You see Christ 12:52 concealed his home worth trust under the 12:55 veil of a parable. He threw upon his host 12:59 Simon, the burden of pronouncing sentence 13:01 upon himself, Simon had led the woman into 13:04 sin that he now despised and she had been 13:07 deeply wronged by him, the two debtors of 13:09 the parable, Simon was represented and the 13:13 woman was represented because Simon 13:15 felt himself more righteous than Mary. 13:17 Jesus desired Simon to see how great his 13:20 guilt really was, he would show him that his 13:24 sin was greater than hers as much greater a 13:28 debt of 500 pence exceeds that of 50 pence. 13:31 You see what's interesting to me; I want you 13:33 to note Jesus didn't openly rebuke Simon in 13:38 that room. He didn't openly, excuse me 13:40 Simon you are gonna cast something and blame 13:43 upon her saying she is a sinner you are the 13:45 one that led her into sin, Jesus didn't do that. 13:52 He could have given Simon a very straight 13:56 rebuke. Friends, I believe there is a lesson 13:59 here for us, I believe that Christ wants us to 14:05 deal with people even if they're great sinners 14:09 in the way that Jesus did with compassion, 14:12 with tenderness and with mercy, amen, amen. 14:18 You see Christ was seeking an opportunity; 14:23 he took the opportunity of Simon's negative 14:26 reaction to the ripple caused by the alabaster 14:30 box. He took opportunity to try to use, he 14:36 used the situation to try and reach Simon's 14:40 heart. He didn't rebuke him to stick him in his 14:44 place like so many of God's children do today. 14:48 You see Christ was appealing to his heart 14:51 and if he could do this and teach him without 14:54 embarrassment that's what he was going for. 14:58 He wanted Simon to have a new revelation 15:01 about the condition of his own heart to stop 15:04 looking at everyone else tinkering and 15:06 prescribing and meddling as many of God's 15:10 people do today. Friends, we need to be 15:12 asking God, what is it in my life? And stop 15:17 pointing out the sins in others friends. 15:20 Because when we really have that kind of 15:21 walk, you're going to realize that we're 15:23 all sinners and we're all just trying to 15:26 figure out this thing called Christianity. 15:31 You see Christ works with us the same way, 15:35 if he can led us to repentance in a revelation 15:37 about ourselves there is no need for 15:41 embarrassment, there is no need to openly 15:45 rebuke us. You know, God wants to conceal 15:50 our sins, he doesn't want to expose us. 15:54 He wants to conceal them friends and that's 15:57 what will happen with the blood of Christ, 15:59 at the end of time all of my sins can be 16:02 bloated out, he wants to conceal the matter 16:04 but we, we want to expose it, oh well if 16:07 you only knew about this blab, blab, blab. 16:09 But friends no, that is the spirit of anti-Christ, 16:12 that is the spirit of Satan, not the spirit of 16:15 God, that's not how God interacted with Simon. 16:18 Simon as a result of how Jesus shared truth 16:22 with him. You see it's important to share truth, 16:25 amen. And by God's grace when I stand in 16:27 the pulpit I will share truth, but friends it 16:30 must come, it must come off the way that 16:33 Christ would have us do. It must come from 16:35 a converted heart ourselves, because we 16:37 could see truth the wrong way and drive 16:40 somebody from God. I don't want that. 16:45 Would you want to drive someone from God 16:48 with your truth because you're saying it the 16:49 wrong way? No, no, no. Simon now began to 16:55 see himself in a new light, and shame seized 16:59 upon him and he realized that he was in 17:02 the presence of one superior to himself. 17:05 Christ recounted the opportunities that Simon 17:08 had to show his love for his Lord. And plainly 17:17 yet delicately with delicate politeness, 17:20 these are not my own words by the way. 17:22 Plainly, yet with delicate politeness, 17:25 the Savior assured His disciples that His 17:27 heart is grieved when His children neglect 17:29 to show their gratitude to Him by words and 17:32 deeds of love. I'd like to read out of Desire 17:35 of ages page 567, "Simon was touched by the 17:41 kindness of Jesus in not openly rebuking him 17:46 before his guests. He had not been treated as 17:49 he desired Mary to be treated. Here is 17:53 another amazing result from just one act 17:57 of Mary's. Ripples were sent out from her 18:01 that interested Simon and he rejected what 18:04 was happening. But because of Jesus Christ, 18:08 because of the way that he interacted with 18:13 Simon. Simon's heart was beginning to change; 18:17 you see Jesus was allowing the Holy Spirit 18:21 to do his work, amen, amen. And these 18:26 ripples that were sent out, Jesus says I want 18:29 Simon. Let's read on, Simon saw, He saw that 18:33 Jesus did not wish to expose his guilt to 18:36 others, but sought by a true statement, as 18:39 we always must proclaim truth, of the case to 18:42 convince his mind, and by, listen to this word, 18:45 pitying kindness to subdue his heart. 18:48 Stern denunciation would have hardened Simon 18:51 against repentance. And I see it all over 18:53 today, Stern denunciation hardens people 18:56 but patient admonition convinced him of 19:00 his err and he saw the magnitude of the 19:02 debt which he owed his Lord. His pride was 19:05 humbled and he repented, and the proud 19:08 Pharisee became a lowly, self-sacrificing 19:13 disciple. Friends, do you see within moments 19:18 of Mary's unstudied act of anointing Jesus 19:21 and Judas's negative reaction to it, 19:24 but Jesus' positive reaction to it, and Jesus' 19:27 positive reaction in dealing with Simon and 19:30 reaching his heart. You know it was 19:31 important what Jesus said but it was the 19:33 way that Jesus said it that actually made 19:37 the difference for Simon. Did you read that, 19:39 it said that he appreciated the fact 19:43 that he did not openly rebuke him? 19:47 Friends there is a way to share truth, 19:49 there is a way to witness for God and it's 19:51 not filled with humanism, it's not filled with 19:54 self, it's being surrendered as Jesus 19:56 Christ was always to his father to allow the 19:59 Holy Spirit to do the work in the heart. 20:00 Amen, amen. That's right. Each choice, each 20:05 choice we make friends can have an incredible 20:09 impact upon people. And we need to be 20:12 careful of what we say, when we say it and 20:15 how we say it. It's not enough just to go 20:20 out there and share truth and say well either 20:21 you accept it or you don't, it's not gonna 20:24 win souls. When we go forward to the world, 20:28 when we go to our own families, when we 20:30 go to our neighborhoods and our churches and 20:32 we share truth from the love that is God 20:37 then we will win souls, amen, amen. Each choice 20:43 we make friends can either woo people, 20:47 and the way that we interact with them can 20:49 woo them to God or we can push them away 20:55 and they will reject God. Christ wants us 21:00 to come to repentance friends. Not just the 21:03 world out there he wants you, he wants me 21:07 to come to repentance and if he can do 21:10 that without exposing us without embarrassing 21:13 us without openly rebuking us, He is going 21:16 to. Because it's never a fun thing to be 21:20 embarrassed in front of people, right? 21:23 So why don't we do with each other. 21:26 You know the true religion of God, when we 21:29 embrace Christianity for what it truly is, 21:32 the true religion of God sets us free from 21:35 guilt. The true religion of God is not a 21:40 religion based on guilt but total freedom from 21:44 it. Hallelujah. That just fires me up 'cause I 21:48 had lots of guilt in my life and my past. 21:51 Because I wasn't raised in a church, 21:53 I was a worldly guy engaging in everything. 21:55 I had lots of guilt, but Jesus set me free from 21:58 that friends. And you know what you, 22:01 if I stay faithful will never know about the 22:03 sins I have committed in my past because 22:05 God's gonna bloat it out with his blood, amen, 22:08 amen. You know I doubt that Mary would 22:13 have ever thought that by pouring this 22:16 alabaster box, the ointment upon her savior 22:21 that it would led to the salvation of the very 22:24 man that first wronged her, incredible. 22:28 That's awesome to me. I mean God put it all 22:32 together that they would be in that room 22:33 and Jesus had the right words being led by 22:35 the Holy Spirit to say what he did and it 22:38 convinced the very offender against Mary and 22:41 he became a lowly sacrificing disciple. 22:46 He became a Christian; oh he had the garbs 22:49 of religion for years. But he became a Christian. 22:57 Now, I know it's not beyond the possibility for 23:01 us to make bad choices and when we make 23:05 bad choices we are held responsible for those 23:09 bad choices friends. But Mary didn't make a 23:12 bad choice, she made the right choice and 23:14 when we make right choices, we leave the 23:17 results with God. Have you ever realized though, 23:22 that by making a right choice evil can come 23:26 from it? Yeah. Not just a hardened heart, 23:30 but actual evil can come from even a right 23:34 choice. Judas looked on this act with great 23:39 displeasure, instead of waiting to hear what 23:42 Christ would say of the matter, he began to 23:45 whisper his complaints to those near him and 23:48 throwing reproach upon Christ for suffering 23:50 such ways. What a sharp lesson too, Christ 23:54 could have given to Judas who had dropped 23:57 the seeds of criticism and evil thinking into the 23:59 minds of the disciples. You see Judas is the one 24:01 that started all the junk. How justly the 24:05 accuser might have been accused. He, who 24:08 reads the motives of every heart Christ and 24:11 understands every action, might have opened 24:13 before those at the feast dark chapters in the 24:17 experience of Judas. But the savior rebuked 24:21 him openly. No that's what happened, 24:25 the savior rebuked him not even the man that 24:33 was going to go and betray him, he rebuked 24:36 not friends. Amazing. Jesus Christ had perfect 24:43 control over his tongue at all times. 24:47 If self one little ounce of self would have 24:49 risen up in Jesus even to defend Mary. 24:54 He would have rebuked him. Well that's 24:57 what we do. Well no, you're not gonna talk 24:59 to her that way and just lay him out, but no, 25:03 that's not what my savior did. He reproached 25:06 him not, rebuked him not. Matthew 26:14, 25:14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas 25:16 Iscariot, went unto the chief priests and said 25:19 unto them, what will ye give me and I will 25:23 deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with 25:27 him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that 25:30 time on he sought opportunity to betray him. 25:34 Why did he do this? Because he had a 25:37 hardened heart, he saw what was going on and 25:39 when Jesus said why trouble you the woman, 25:43 do you realize that because Judas was the 25:45 one that said what's going on, why all this 25:48 waste. And Jesus said why you trouble the 25:50 woman. She's done a good work. That was 25:53 enough of a rebuke, how simple. That was 25:55 enough of a rebuke to Judas that he 25:59 decided Christ must die. You see the ripples 26:08 that were caused from that one simple act 26:11 have been felt all the way down to our day. 26:15 Oh Mary, did the right thing, didn't she. 26:18 But would Mary have ever thought that her 26:20 one beautiful act would have sealed Judas and 26:23 his decision I must have him killed. 26:27 She would have never thought that. 26:29 Friends, was it Mary's fault? No, is it our fault 26:33 if people react evil for our good? No. 26:37 It's not our fault and it wasn't Mary's 26:39 fault, it was Judas fault friends. And Judas 26:43 had to own that. And friends it's amazing to 26:46 me what happened shortly thereafter, 26:48 the ripple that Judas sent out from that one 26:51 decision to betray his savior took the life 26:54 of Jesus Christ. And the disciples felt it, 27:00 Mary felt it and we can feel it all the way 27:02 down to today and friends Jesus, the stone 27:07 decided to be cast into this pond of earth. 27:10 He decided to be cast here and the ripples have 27:13 gone out for eternity and they will continue 27:15 and friends, I wanna ask you this question, 27:17 have the ripples intersected your heart. 27:19 They've interested mine and I said Lord 27:21 please help me to react to people the way 27:23 that you want me to, help me to be a Christian, 27:26 help me to be a life unto life, not death unto 27:29 death with my words. Help me to look upon 27:32 people as you do. Jesus chose to be cast 27:37 into this world and cause ripples that 27:40 can save you and me, praise God. |
Revised 2014-12-17