The text for this sermon is taken from the gospel of our lord Jesus blessing of divine recognition
ion as Jesus prophesies that her story
Christ according to matt chapter 26 from verse six to seven.
“while Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the leper, a
woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive
perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the
table.”
The topic for this sermon is Unreserved Devotion: An obligation
for true worship.
The fundamental words in this topic are Unreserved, Devotion and
Obligation.
Mariam Webster Dictionary defined Unreserved as not being
limited or partial.
The same Dictionary defined devotion as a religious exercise or
practice other than the regular corporate worship of a congregation.
The online Google dictionary defined obligation as a debt of
Gratitude for a service or favor.
In the Context of this sermon, the topic unreserved Devotion: An
obligation for true worship, implies that for us to be able to
worship God Truly One of the Debts of Gratitude we must Pay Is
to worship God in an unusual way without any Limitation.
From the previous verses, the chief priest and the other elders
gathered together to conspire against Jesus on how to Kill him, this
happened after Jesus’ triumphant entry. From there He went to the
Temple Where he scattered the people who had turned the Temple
to a market place, He explained some of his Parables to his
disciples and then he prophesied about his own death and
suffering. This section of the bible is identified by some
commentators as an introduction to the climax of Jesus’ ministry
which includes Jesus’ passion, Death and resurrection.
From the passage read Jesus was seated with his disciples for
dinner at the house Simon who was a leper, and a woman entered
with a very expensive jar of perfume which she uses to anoint
Jesus. The Gospel of John tells us that This woman was Mary the
sister of Martha and Lazarus. Originally in the Jewish Tradition it
was a Custom at that time that the guest of honor is anointed and
that is usually accompanied by the washing of the feet, and the oil
used for anointing was a regular cooking oil but Mary used a very
expensive perfume which the Gospel of mark acknowledges to be
worth more than a year’s wage. Although no one can say the
reason for such Extravagant form of Honor but we see Jesus
Defending Mary while the Disciples Rebuked her for her actions.
Mary showed an unreserved devotion in her worship, she didn’t
think of herself neither did she consider the consequences of her
actions. Perhaps that was her most valuable item yet she used it to
demonstrate her love for Jesus and for this she received the
would be told anywhere the Gospel is preached.
In the Book 1Kings 3:4 king Solomon sacrificed a thousand burnt
offering to God at Gibeon and for his action God blessed Solomon
richly with wealth and many other things. His unreserved worship
to God made God to Bless Him Beyond Anyone Expectation.
The Book Acts of the Apostles 9:18-20 tells us about The story of
Saul who was later called Paul and how after his encounter with
Jesus on his way to Damascus left everything and immediately
began spreading the Gospel of Jesus. He displayed an unreserved
Devotion to God and did not Limit anything for Himself.
In our society today some see going to church on Sunday as the
only way to worship God but our passage today tells us that we
must learn to worship God in other ways other than the usual
congregational worship. We can do this by the way we relate to
and others and also how we help others. We must also learn to take
our personal devotion seriously.
In the church Today some do not worship God from their heart,
they only attend church so that others can see them, some do not
even Know how to give offerings or pay tithe in church but our
passage today tells us that if we must worship GOD truly we must
be ready to Give God Everything, we must be Ready to do
something Extraordinary and special for God.
In our School BCCT and as Ministers of God in training some
have their own Expectation of How People should respond to God
and
just like the disciples when people respond to God in ways that do
not meet their expectation they begin to criticize and misjudge the
person but Jesus has helped us to see that there are other ways to
worship God and everyone is entitled to his, so long as it is not
contrary to the word of God. So instead of telling people how they
should respond to God, we must look for the unexpected ways our
friends and fellow Postulants may be honoring God.
How to Worship God Through Unreserved Devotion?
1. We must be ready to yield our hearts, life and everything
we own completely to God.
2. We must be ready to worship God with that thing which
is most important to us.
Dearly Beloved Fathers in God and my Fellow Postulants worship
is our priority, it is not something we should be told to do and it is
certainly not something we should scorn in others. Worship is
where we give God gifts because he has Blessed us.
Mary Gave God her most Priced possession and we as Christians
and ministers in God’s vine yard must be ready to do the same.
Let us Pray