What Love Will Make You Do

Welcome to Jesus To the Core Missions! It is my prayer that you prosper; be in health, even as thy soul prospers. Thank you for sharing with me in this great occasion of sharing the word of God. Todays message will be coming from the Gospel of Matthew 26: 6-13

And it reads:

Matthew 26: 6-13 KJV

[6] Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, [7] There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. [8] But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? [9] For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. [10] When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. [11] For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. [12] For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. [13] Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.

The title of our message today is called, “What Love Will Make You Do.”

In our text Mary of Bethany is the woman who anoints Jesus with a precious oil called spikenard. This spikenard is a fragrance oil that Bible scholars claimed to be worth approximately 300 denarii. During this period in time, studies estimate that the ointment Mary of Bethany used to anoint Jesus was worth an entire year’s salary. In 2004, Blair Van Dyke and Ray L. Huntington published an article in the Brigham Young University Religious Studies Center called Sorting Out The Seven Marys of the New Testament. In this article, they identify seven biblical characters in the New Testament who were named named Mary: Mary, mother of Jesus; Mary Magdalene; Mary of Bethany; Mary mother of James the younger; Mary of Cleophas Mary mother of John Mark; and Mary of Rome. However, Mary of Bethany is one of the three most notable Mary’s of the New Testament, with the other two being Mary the mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

As you can see, the name Mary was a very popular name in the days of Jesus. The origin of the name Mary goes back to the Hebrew name Miriam. The woman most famously known for the name Miriam is Miriam the prophetess, the older sister of the prophet Moses. The Hebrew meaning for the name Miriam is bitter. You may be wondering to yourself "Why would Miriam's parents name her a name that means bitter?" Well, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam's mother Jochebed and their father Amram were both born into chattel slavery in Egypt under hard taskmasters. And they were so grieved by the oppression of slavery that they named their child bitter to describe to describe the pain they were going through.

You know the story, a little more than 80 years after the birth of Miriam, God brought the children of Israel deliverance by the hands of Miriam's younger brother Moses. When God delivered the children of Israel from slavery, the Bible identifies Miriam as Miriam the prophetess. So, many Jewish women, knowing the history of Miriam the prophetess, named their daughters Miriam in remembrance of her. Hence, the seven Mary’s of the New Testament. But when we look at Mary of Bethany, we see a woman whose name means bitter; but the redeeming power and mercy of Jesus Christ allows this woman who is called bitter to pour a sweet smelling fragrance on His body. Not only that, but she worshipped Him by washing His feet with her tears and her hair. After she worshipped Jesus and loved Jesus with all she had, the Bible says that Jesus forgave her for all of her sins. Jesus Christ is the mighty redeemer.

In the Gospel of Luke 7: 40-50, you will find where Luke shares his account of the encounter between Jesus Christ and Mary of Bethany. In Luke’s account, Simon the Pharisee immediately begins to judge Jesus and Mary. Simon said within himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him. For she is a sinner” But Jesus had this to say about Mary of Bethany, “Wherefore I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” By this we understand that being forgiven for much results in much love; the greater the love the greater the service and more the intimate the worship. The more that we love God, we realize that service is a form of our worship. The more we love God, we realize that serving in ministry is the result of the love we have for God.

It’s not about a paycheck in our hand, but it's about loving God. It’s not about being famous, but it's about loving God. I can remember when I was a little boy, we would see Tina Turner’s movie on the television. The name of her movie was called “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” The movie was named after the song she wrote after she got a divorce with her husband Ike Turner. I heard the song so much that I would sing the song along with her saying, “What’s Love Got To Do WIth It?” But may I submit to you that, when it comes down to serving the Lord, Love has everything to do with it.

In the Gospel of Mark 14: 1-9, John Mark the evangelist agrees with Matthew’s account , and he tells us how Jesus prophesied that there would be a memorial of Mary of Bethany's act of worship to the Lord would be spoken of wherever the Gospel is preached). The word memorial comes from the Latin word memoria which means “belonging to memory.” This means that Mary of Bethany belonged to the memory of Jesus Christ. Mary of Bethany belonged to the memory of God; and it was so important to God that whenever his story is told her story would be told also. God promised that He would remember her.

One of the most painful realities I have ever witnessed in the scriptures is when I saw a sea of ministry workers standing in judgement before the Lord Jesus Christ; and Jesus said unto that sea of ministry workers, “I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” There is great desolation for those who are not remembered by God! But if you serve the Lord from a place of love and worship, He will remember you just like He remembered Mary of Bethany. God is not a respecter of persons. He will remember you. Love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might, and He will remember you. Deny yourself and carry your cross, and HE will remember you. Acknowledge Him in all thy ways, and He will remember you. He will remember you, and direct your path.

In conclusion, I can remember the night Jesus was betrayed. The night that Jesus was betrayed was the same night that Peter denied Jesus. You know the story. In three days, Jesus resurrected from the dead. For forty days after his resurrection he was teaching His disciples about the kingdom of God, and He proved His resurrection with many infallible proofs. But before He ascended into heaven, He asked Peter a question. He said to Peter, “Do you love me? Peter said, “Yes Lord, You know I love you.” Jesus asked him again, “Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me?” Peter said, “Yes Lord, you know I love you. Jesus asked him a third time, “Simon bar Jonas, do you love me?” The bible said that Peter was grieved, and he said, “Lord, You know all things. You know everything. You know I love you.” After the third time, Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” And that’s what Jesus is saying to us today. “If you love me, feed my sheep."

That is what God is saying today. Feed my sheep with the Word of God. Nourish my sheep. Edify my sheep. Tell this dying world about Jesus Christ. Peter, feed my sheep with the word of God. Don’t dilute it and don’t mix it down. Preach the word in season and out of season. Preach the Word mighty men and women of God. That’s what love will make you do. You can’t be in love, and not tell nobody. When you’re in love, love will make you tell somebody. If you love the Lord, tell somebody about Jesus. Tell somebody about Jesus. Life is but a vapor, and the world is fading away. While you have the time, tell somebody about Jesus.

After I thought about Peter, I thought about the prophet Enoch. The bible says that Enoch walked with God. It doesn’t say much else about him other than he walked with God. There was a small section in the apostle Jude's letter where Enoch prophesied the coming judgement of God. But the miracle is that Enoch walked with God. The love, and worship, and the service that Enoch had for God was so great that God never let him die. Somehow Enoch was transfigured, and he walked into heaven with God. No wonder the old saints used to sing, “Walk with me Lord, walk with me. Walk with me Lord, walk with me. While I’m on this tedious journey, I want Jesus Oh Lord to walk with me. Hold my hand Lord, hold my hand. While I’m on this pilgrim journey. I want Jesus, Oh Lord, to walk with me.” That's what love will make you do. It will make you draw near unto Him. It will make you draw near unto His word. Love will make you obey His word. Love will make you tell the whole world that Jesus Christ is the love of your life. That's what love will make you do.