Life.Church with Craig Groeschel - Blood and Thunder, Part 1: Thunderstruck

Episode Date: November 19, 2017

What does it take to see a move of God? Let's see what's possible when we add our sweat, tears, and blood to the power from above. Join us for Blood and Thunder at Life.Church! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey, thanks for joining us here at Life Church, where we are one church meeting in multiple locations and reaching around the world thanks to what God is doing at Church online. If you ever have any questions, or you want to learn more about us as a church, you can always check us out online simply by going to life.curch. We'd love for you to stay connected throughout your weekend, everywhere you go with the Life Church app. It's free and available wherever you download your apps from. With that said, let's go to this week's message. Hey, welcome today to all of our Life Church locations, our Open Network churches.

you're in for an amazing treat. We're honored to bring in some of the best guest speakers from all over the world. And arguably, this may be at the top of your list of your favorites and mine. Coming in from Montana, Fresh Life Church, we have Pastor Levi Lusco, one of the most amazing communicators from all over the place today. And I want to just tell you, if you're not listening to his teaching every week on podcast, you should. I know he talked on his book through the eyes of a lion. Many of you have read that. If you haven't, you should

read it. His newest book, it's on sex, romance, relationships. It's called Swipe Right. It's an amazing book. I hope you'll get his resources. I hope that it'll become just a part of your ongoing spiritual journey. He's kind of a part of our family anyway. Would you please help me welcome today by good friend, Pastor Levi, let's go. Life Church, how are we doing today? Come on. So good. Well, I'm so, so thrilled and humbled and grateful that I have the chance to be with you once again. Are you so thankful for your church? Come on, anybody with me? I for sure am. I am thankful for Life Church. I'm thankful especially for your pastor, Pastor Craig and his wife Amy Groschelle, two of the best people anywhere. And I just really hope you all. I'm thankful you all. I'm thankful especially for your pastor, Pastor Craig and his wife Amy Groschelle, two of the best people anywhere. And I just really hope you, understand what a gift it is to be a part of this work that God has raised them up to lead,

and you guys are innovating and taking ground and reaching people like crazy, not just through the digital missions and the open network and the U-version app, but right in your church. So come on, thank Jesus for what he's doing. The gates of hell can't prevail against the church that Jesus is building. And I'm so honestly humbled and grateful that I have someone to look up to, like my wife Jenny and I do in Pastor Craig and Amy, not only because of the way that they're modeling

what it looks like to do ministry on a scale that involves multiple states. And you guys are in eight different states. Let's just take a second and just we're kind of following that along. We opened in Montana and then went to Utah. And now we're in Oregon and Wyoming as well. I almost said Washington. We're not in Washington. One day, speaking in faith, but Wyoming as well.

And so we're just so thankful that we have that example of what it can look like, to have a church in your heart and mind that maybe looks different than what some people would say is how you're supposed to approach it. And I love the idea of doing anything short of sin to reach people who need to know how good it feels. And I just love that mentality that doesn't say, can we do that? But rather says, how can we not do that when life is short and people need to be reached? And so I'm so thankful for that. bold example, but I'm also thankful for that integrity. You know, there's, there's, there could be

easily the, well, let's do so much at the sacrifice of so much. And I think it's possible to abandon the most important ministry you have, and that's the family ministry you have in your own home for sake of doing some great thing. But your pastor and his wife, they have led the way in refusing to abandon their altar, their family at the altar of ministry. And they put that first. And so I'm so thankful for that precious example. And we're growing. Our family's growing as well, trying to keep up with the gross shells, really. Since I was with you last, we had a little baby boy born named Lennox, Alexander Lusco, and it's just been so much fun. And then, of course, we have our daughters, Olivia, and Daisy, and Clover. And last time I was with you, I had the chance to talk a little bit about

our daughter, Linia, who's in heaven. And I so enjoyed our time together. The weeks that we spent in the series through the eyes of the line, it was really a significant time for me. I hope it meant something to you. If you're new, just coming along now, like you heard, my name's Levi, and I get to spend the next two weeks with you. And what we're going to do is we're going to take some time to go through a little series that I'm calling Blood and Thunder. Could you say that allow me to say Blood and Thunder? It's a recipe for revival, I believe. I believe Blood and Thunder is kind of a perfect picture of what it takes to see a move of God, a recipe for revival. Let's pick that through a little bit.

And if you have a Bible, you can join me in John chapter 12, where we're going to be today. John's Gospel, the 12th chapter, on your U-version app or your Bible. If you're old school like me and you like it covered in something dead. But if you're on U-Version, we're also going to have the verses on the screen on the screen on the screen on the screen for you. So if you're new, just kind of jumping in, this is a church where we want to make you feel at home. And so you're not like out of place if you don't know how to get there. The verses are going to go up on the screen for you momentarily. But let me just kind of work through a picture of what we're going to be doing for the next two weeks.

weeks. When we talk about thunder, we're talking about God's power. Thunder is a perfect picture to represent God's power. Why? Well, hello, each bolt of lightning has a hundred million volts of electricity in it. So there's something powerful right there. It's 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which if you're like, well, how hot is that? Exactly. It's about five times hotter than the surface of the sun. And it's enough to power a DeLorean back to the future. So, you know, think of that what you will. So power. But all through the Bible, there's this, this, this this narrative of thunder as being a picture of God's power. You see it in Mount Sinai when God gave it 10 commandments. There was flashings of thunder and lightning happening there as God descended on this

mountain to give the tablets to Moses. But then you also see it in the Psalms. The Psalms, in fact, say that God's voice is like the sound of thunder. His voice is full of the roar and majesty of thunder. So that's the beginning of the story. You have the middle of the story. But then all the way to the end of the Bible, the book of Revelation, you have this picture of God's throne when John is able to see into heaven through an open door. What did he say? He said, I saw from the throne, I saw, I saw lightning, and I heard thunder. So thunder's this picture of God's power. It's something that can't be controlled. It's something that can't be coerced. It's something that can't be commanded. And I think you'll agree with me that when we talk about a move of God, when we talk about revival,

which is what we're hungry to see in our cities. It's what we're hungry to see in our our nation today. It's what we're hungry to see in our world. Every time there's national disaster, every time there's some celebrity who tragically overdoses, every time there's a terrorist attack, we just long for revival. We long to see a world where there's just righteousness and healing and peace and all of these things. We want God's kingdom to come, right? Anybody with me on that? We want his will to be done on earth. We want revival. We want people to know Jesus and love Jesus and walk in his plan. We want to see heaven come to earth and we believe it will. And that can't be forced by man's hands. We're powerless to do the things that we crave to see God do. So thunder represents

what God can do, what God alone can do, right? It's not by might, it's not by power, it's by my spirit, says the Lord. Okay, so revival is it's not something we can just conjure up, like it's a Harry Potter incantation, okay? But listen to me very carefully. That's only one part of the formula. We're talking about blood and thunder. You see, blood is very human. When God became man, he took on blood, he took on skin, he took on flesh. And blood is a perfect picture of life, all life, but really human life. In the Old Testament, the Bible says that the life of a creature is in its blood. So our bodies are full of life, and its symbol is blood.

And the Old Testament sacrifices had to be given to God regularly, and they were blood sacrifices, bloody sacrifices. You read a lot of the Old Testament, like, dude, that is gnarly, that is grisly. And it all, of course, pointed to Jesus, who was going to come, but we who follow in Jesus' footsteps, we're supposed to live a life that's a living sacrifice now. God still wants sacrifices, but he doesn't want the blood to come out of our body as we give it to him. That's very gracious of him to allow us to worship him through a living sacrifice, where all the 10 pints of blood that are in your body are being a living sacrifice to God every second of every day. And as you raise your hands up in worship, what you're doing is you're saying,

take all of my life, take all of my blood, take all of my energy, take all of my time, take all of my resource. God, I want to, like Paul said in Philippians chapter 2, I want to pour my life out like a liquid offering. If I lose my life, I just want, I'm fine with that. Whatever it means, whatever it takes, whatever God wants to do through me, his word sets the pace for my life. I believe, listen, I believe when we talk about revival, both are important. It's not one or the other. It's not, oh, God's, part or our part. We either trust the spirit or we actually do this. Because I think the mistakes sometimes people can make is either, of course, the mistake of living it all up to us and

thinking we can make God do something. But I think the more likely mistake would be kind of this let go and let God approach. Well, only God can do it. So, you know, just kind of just praying for revival. You know, just this really weak, anemic faith. And I don't think it's let go and let God. I I think it's pray to God, but then get to work. I think God wants us to roll up our sleeves. Come on, somebody. And I think he wants us to be the answers to our own prayers. All right, so here's kind of the overarching thought behind this series.

A move of God takes power from above, yes, but it also takes tears and sweat and blood. It's blood and thunder. It's God's part, what he only can do, but it's our responsibility to do. to do everything we can do to be the answer to our own prayers. Y'all, we're not going to pray for what we won't pay for. We are going to be engaged and we are going to give and we are going to serve to be the answers to our own prayers. And that's kind of the big idea that we're going to be talking about.

I want to introduce this concept as we're kind of getting into a little bit more this week from John 12 with a message that I'm calling Thunderstruck. Come on, ACDC. Hello. Thunderstruck. I have such a good song. Some of you are like, in church? Yep.

Thunderstruck. Why? Well, because the definition of the word is so special. The definition of the word thunderstruck is this. Get this. It's to be so astonished that you are amazed with silence. To be so astonished by something that you are almost just like you grow silent with amazement.

And do you know the actual word astonished comes from a Latin word that means struck by thunder? Struck by thunder. by thunder. Have you ever been so overwhelmed? So just, you couldn't say anything. Happened to me a while back, my shaver. I shave, but I don't shave with like an actual razor was going to like reveal the skin. I had the shaver that gives me like a perma five o'clock shadow, right? And anybody with me at all of our locations? You're with me on like, I got to work hard to look like this, right? So, you know, it just doesn't happen, guys. So. So.

I was going to shave, but my shaver was dead. And it's so annoying how these things work, because the one I have, you cannot use it while it's charging. You have to sit and wait for it. Like, what do I? What am I made of time? It died, so I had to sit there wait. Now, I couldn't charge it on my side of the bathroom because here's how it works in our bathroom. We have two sinks and two outlets, and my wife and I each have one thing we use. I'll use a blow dryer, draw my hair that's all I really need. She's really needy, so she'll use a flat iron and, you know, whatever. So But then we both have an electric toothbrush that charges on one base station, and that, of course, ends up on my side. So I have no free outlet to speak of, right? And so when I go to charge my shaver,

I always have to go over to Jenny's side of the bathroom and plug it in on her side. But I get her back by shaving on her side, because she loves all the little hairs everywhere. You know, just pray for us. We're on a journey, guys. So I was going through all this, waiting for it to charge, and then I figured it was charged sufficiently, so I went to shave, but then the moment I started shaving, it was not good enough. So I was like, oh, I got to plug it back in. And when I went to plug it back in, now, side story, my wife on her side of the sink has one of those mirrors attached to the wall that I avoid at all costs. You know what I'm talking about? This demonic mirror has the audacity to reveal to you what you actually look like.

See, there's what you think you look like. That's why you got to go to church every week. Because here in God's presence, we find out what we actually look like. You get a couple Sundays piled up where you're not here, where you're out at the lake, where you're doing your thing, and you'll start to feel like you're pretty good. But you get into the light of God's presence and worship. You look down and you go, man, I got a little bit more to work on than I thought I did. There's a little more selfishness.

There's a little more. That's why you've got to be in a small group. You've got to be in a life versus people in your life speaking into your life. Because when you're in dark places, everything looks good. It's why we eat so much in movie theater. But man, you ever stay long enough after a Marvel movie where they turn the lights on? You're like, what am I doing? What?

What's happening? You see like chili cheese stains on your shirt? You just got to get out of there as quick as you can. Right? So when the lights are on, things change, right? So, what was I talking about? So shaving. And I had to go plug it in again.

And my wife, I didn't know this, but she likes to hang her jewelry from this demonic mirror that shows that your face looks like the surface of the moon. And so when I went to go plug in my shaver, somehow, right between the prongs of my, right between the prongs of my power, I caught one of her necklaces. Boom, okay? I don't know if it was AC or DC, but blue flame shot out at me. The necklace exploded, like shrapnel confetti at my face. My wife had just walked. into the bathroom as blue flames were shooting at me. Y'all, I was astonished. I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was

couldn't say anything for a few seconds. And then I had a lot to say to her about places that she could hang her necklaces that didn't involve. And she said, well, maybe you should just unplug the toothbrush and shave on your side. And, and, um, John chapter 12. There's a woman in the Bible who she really just demonstrates the spirit of someone who's been thunderstruck by God. Because before we can give our blood out as a living sacrifice like we're meant to every day of our lives, I think we need to have the right spirit. And that's what we're going to see here. Join me, John 1012. Here's what it says. I love this story. It says then six days. Someone say six days. It's going to be key later. So hang on to that. Before the Passover,

Jesus came to Bethany. Check this detail out. Where Lazarus was, who had been dead. How'd you like that? That's how you got referred to. You're like, well, if I died and rose back from the dead, I wouldn't mind that nickname. Yeah, he probably felt the same way, right? Whom he had raised from the dead. So there's that. Just casual detail in passing. I wish I had more time. Verse two. There where, at the place where our guy was dead but isn't dead anymore, they made him a supper. and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with him. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of Spike Nard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.

But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray him, said, Why was this fragrant oil not sold for 300 denari and given to the poor? Maybe you've kind of thought that at some point coming to church. It seems like they spent a lot of money on buildings. And what's with all these expensive lights? Are those LCD screens in various shapes and configurations? How much waste?

Unbelievable. While there are starving people in the world, you're like, I like this Judas guy. He sees things like I see it. Be careful talking like that. Verse six. Then this, he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and had the money box, and he used to take what was putting it. Here's what I've learned. The loudest booze usually come from the cheapest seats. He didn't care about the poor. he just saw what he couldn't take for himself. But Jesus said to Judas, let her alone. She has kept this for the day of my burial. For the poor you have with you always. What is he saying? He's saying,

if you care so much about the poor, man, why don't you do something for him, Judas? Instead of sitting back criticizing someone who's done something great for me, it is so much easier to criticize and to actually do something. But what did we learn from our boy, Roosevelt? It's not the critic who counts. It's the one who actually gets out there and does something. So don't worry about those who criticize you. Those who have given up on their dreams always pile on, those who dare to live out theirs, all right? Let her alone. The poor you have with you always, but me you do not always have. I want to take some time and just kind of come at what we see here happening, because Mary, who comes to Jesus and does this amazing thing that Judas hates, but Jesus loves,

context is key to figuring out the passion of the moment. This man Lazarus had died, and Mary was so touched by the fact that Jesus had risen her brother from the dead. I mean, can you imagine that? When Jesus came back into town and they had the opportunity, she and her sister Martha and Lazarus, of course, said, we want to throw you a dinner. What would you do if someone gave you your brother back? What would you do if someone who you love was in the ICU?

you and maybe they was touch and go for a little bit, but then God healed it. What would you want to do for someone who had done that for you? A dinner at the very least. At the very least. If you read the rest of the gospel stories, you find out this was actually a concert effort that a man named Simon, who was a leper, but had been healed by Jesus, had also offered to pay for the DJ and the disco ball and the catering bill. So they both were like fighting to honor Jesus here.

And Mary and Martha and Lazarus had the honor of being the home that Jesus and his disciples would stay at when they were in town. Now, let me tell you a question. How big of a house you've got to have to have 12 apostles and Jesus and whoever else happened to be rolling with them, right? Because we know there was also some women who would travel with them to take care of their needs and make sure that they had food and that sort of stuff. It'd have to be a pretty big house. Now, sometimes people have this mentality that somehow having a big house or having a boat or having nice things can be horrible. Let me ask you this question. Where would Jesus have stayed if they had not been walking and God's blessing and using it for God? Half a thought. So they're at this dinner and it's a big event and people are there and Simon's showing his gratitude. I mean, gosh, he had a disease that would cause your nose to fall off. Fingers would turn black and fall off. He couldn't have hugs from anybody. Couldn't be touched. He was unclean.

But then Jesus gave him his life back. All he could do was trying to. show his gratitude however he could. Mary felt the same way. Martha felt the same way. They had love in their chest, but it was visible. Why? Love always gives. You can give without loving. You can't love without giving. Love always gives. God so loved the world. He sent us a thank you card. No, love so much he gave. Love always gives. If there's love in your heart, it'll be revealed through your actions. It'll be revealed through your words. You can't have a loving heart, but not a generous spirit, in other words. So they show. They showed their love financially. They showed their love in a very real, tangible way. And somehow at the dinner, we don't understand exactly how it all played out, but at some point, Mary, Mary, she goes, no, she got it from the table. She goes, no, no, that's not enough. It's not enough. Wait, Mary, you put this whole thing on. You've honored Jesus. No, it's not enough. She looks over at her brother, who she attended his funeral. She quietly slipped away. She went to her room, and she opened up.

up a trunk and she produced this bottle clutching it to her breast, she comes back and falling down at Jesus' feet, she pours out, the Bible says, a whole bottle of spike-nard. First thing I want to have you understand about this is that she gave what she could. Jot that down. We're going to have three takeaway truths. She gave what she could. She had this gift, and it was a huge, gift. How huge was it? Well, thank you to Judas. We know exactly how much it was worth. 300 denari. You're like, that doesn't help me. Okay. Minimum wage for the average worker. Federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. And he said this is 300 denari. So when you factor out Sabbath days, this is an entire years of work for the average person. Roughly in American currency

today, $15,080. She at his feet, after having already funded a whole party, pours out, 15 grand at his feet, but she did what she could. And the moment we hear about her gift, there's different reactions we all have. Because as I would say to you at Life Church, if you've been saved, if you've been touched, if your kids have come to Christ here, would you consider above and beyond your ties? Would you consider, especially, you know, as you think about what this means to you and how you want to show your gratitude to God, would you consider a gift of $15,000 above your normal giving, you're already giving. Some of you would say, for sure, which kidney would you want me to sell? I'd love to do that. It would have to sell two of my children into indentured servitude,

you know what I'm saying? Which I'm actually praying about. So, you would just laugh at that. And if that's your reaction, here's what I would say to you, just keep giving. Just keep giving. Because I believe your world will get bigger. The Bible says the world of the generous gets and larger. The world of the sting, you just get smaller and smaller. And if you just keep giving, just keep fighting, just keep growing. I believe God will bless you with more. And you, he, You'll show that you're faithful to be trusted with more and trusted with more. And even as you give, your mindset changes, you change. You'll make better investments with all that remains in your hand as you're giving away to God.

And just keep giving. If you think it's crazy thought to give away money like that, I would say to you, I once was there. But as I've continued to practice the rhythms of generosity, which begins after you've already tithed, you can't call something generosity if you're giving God what's already his, which is what the tithe is. It's returning when you tithe is. It's giving after you've already begun. gun, tithing. And so I would say just keep going. But to some of you, honestly, at every different location, if I were to say to you, would you give $15,000 above your tithing? That would be a joke

because that's what you paid on landscaping last year. You wouldn't even feel it. It wouldn't be a big gift for you at all. You would not notice it leaving your hands. And so it would be an insult to the word sacrifice to use the word to describe the gift of $15,000. That's why I said she gave what she could. In fact, Jesus said exactly that. Mark 14, verse 8. he told Judas, she has done what she could. And that's the key thing. Not that we, the danger isn't that we wouldn't do what someone else could do. The danger is that none of us would do what we can do, what we've been entrusted with. She gave what she could. Second point, jot this down. She gave while she could. She gave while she could. They say that timing is everything. And timing is certainly

a factor here. And that's why I had you say out loud the phrase six days before the Passover. which Passover, the one where Jesus would die. Think about it. She got her brother back and on Saturday before the Passover. We're in the final week of Jesus' life on earth. She puts this banquet on. Here's what I'm trying to get you to see. Had she said, you know what?

I really should do something for Jesus. I'm really grateful for the way this church has impacted my kids and impacted my marriage and impacted my life. I eventually want to get around to doing something. She could have been in that cycle of one of these years, and eventually, and I'll do it. And you know what? She's not a good year right now, but down the road, some of these stocks will perform well, and I'll shift some stuff around.

I'm going to get around to it. And if she had had that mentality, guess what, she would have missed her moment. Because Jesus was about to leave this world. This was her literal only chance. As the idea came into her heart, she went and grabbed the gift and poured it out. And I want you to understand something. It's so significant because had she not done this, Jesus would not have been anointed for burial. You know that he died quickly, and they had to rush to get him into the grave before the sunset and Sabbath began. And Nicodemus brought the embalming stuff, and Joseph Arimathea brought the strips. But they came early Sunday morning with perfume. They were going to anoint him then. But surprise, surprise, he wasn't there. They went to pour him out. He's not there anymore. That means that this, as he was alive, he sat there watching this being poured out. He realized this is the only ceremonial act of perfuming and anointing.

my body will ever get. And all I'm trying to get you to see is if you're planning someday when and down the road then, and I'll be rich here, and I'll be a position to give one then, your opportunity might not come. Jesus put it this way in John chapter 9, I must work the works of him who sent me all at his day. The night is coming when no one can work. The night is coming when no one can work. Listen to me, winter is coming. The winter of soul, the winter of life. The lifetime of an opportunity is, the opportunity of a lifetime is only good for the lifetime of the opportunity. And if we snooze, sometimes we lose. Right now is the right time to do the right thing. And let's not talk about what we're going to do one day because the people who need Jesus

need to be reached now. And one day we're going to wake up in heaven and there would be no chance to share your faith. How frustrating would that be? Sharing your faith in heaven. Hey, do you know about Jesus? He's right over there. He's having a slurpy actually just down. Right? Everyone's going to, everyone starts throwing their crowns down. I just wanted to share my face. There's not a sick person you can pray for. There's not a person who's discouraged in heaven that you can encourage, but today we can. And the church is the hope of the world.

And Jesus has given us the reason, and it's worth getting behind with everything. So we must do what we can. We must do it while we can. Today's the day. Now is the time. Lastly, notice this, jot it down. She received more than she gave.

She received more than she gave. gave. And I know that that's part of the heart for this house, is that we will lead the way in a rational generosity because we truly believe it is more blessed to give than to receive. That's not some cutesy thing. That's an actual fact. Think about it. You're like, how did that work? She gave 15K worth of perfume. Well, there's lots of different levels we could attack it. Let's pick these three. Number one, she received the right to be a part of the story. The right to be a part of the story. Think about this. Jesus in another gospel, oh, by the way, this little story is told in every single gospel,

every single one, all four. It means it's precious to God. You only put pictures up you want to see a lot. God included this four times because it meant something to him. And he made a promise, actually. He said, when Judas chastised her and all that, he said, wherever the gospel story gets preached, what this woman has done for me will be told as a memorial to her. Okay? So she got to be part of the story. and hello, U-Version app. You guys have helped fulfill this in languages all over the world, in countries all over the world, in church online, all the world.

As even right now, this gospel that I just read to you from John 12 is going out in eight states and almost 30 locations and hundreds of thousands of people and all over the world in every tribe and every tongue and every language, we are helping fulfill a prophecy Jesus Day 2,000 years ago. Your living history, this is it. You're a part of it. Hello.

So Jesus made a promise to her. You're a part of the story. Why? Because of what she did. She received that back. And today, even now in heaven, she's getting to somehow be aware of what God's doing and using her life still. And you'll get that every time you give. But there's another thing. She also, what does she get? She got to receive back the exact same thing that she gave to Jesus. She received back what she gave. She thought she gave it and was gone, goodbye, but it wasn't. Why? Well, because the Bible says, and if you look at the story one more time, it says in John 12, verse 3, it says she wiped up the perfume. What does it say? With her. Say it with me. Her hair. If I pour out a bottle of perfume, whatever I use to wipe it up, it's going to be transferred to. But if I wipe it up with my hair, I go to leave what comes with me? The smell of perfume in the air. She thought she was leaving it when it left her hand. The truth is it never left her life. And so it is. Anything we give to God is waiting for us in heaven. The only way you can keep anything is to give it away. That was such better preaching than you responded. My God. The only way we can keep anything is by giving it away.

And that's what she found. That what we keep, that's all we have. Pastor Craig says, but what we give God can multiply. That is why we are rich and we're going to live, like rich people because God has given us much and we're going to be required to live with much. Okay? So she got to walk away smelling like what she sacrificed. She thought it was gone, but it never left her life. So she got to keep the story. She was a part of immortality. Hello. She got to keep the actual things she gave away and she walked around smelling like sacrifice, smelling like generosity. And the more you give, the more you just had, there's a how about you, about you? Wow, what's that about you? Something different about you. It's not this

me, me, me, me, me, my. It's this bigger life. It's this broader life. It's this other's life. It's just a better way to live. But then, listen, she also, this is huge, she also, the Bible talks about perfume and smell. Perfume and smell. Look at it one more time. The house was filled with fragrance. You pour out a whole bottle. My gosh, it's going to really be a thick smell. A very thick smell. Now, listen to me. Smell and memory and emotion are connected. That's because your olfactory nerve passes right by the amygdala, the part of your brain that processes emotions and memory. And when a very significant smell event happens,

it can actually override old memories. Now, this is so special to me, because there's a story in the Bible where a prostitute did the same thing Mary did, but for different reasons. And prostitutes wore perfume to ply their trade. She would use this perfume to attract the attention of men who would pay for time with her body,

but the Bible says she took that bottle of perfume and broke it at Jesus' feet, kind of her way of breaking with that old. old life breaking with that old thing, but she poured it out. She was saying, take my sin, take my shame. And I've just loved so much that a big smell of vent, it actually can rewrite old memories. And I'm telling you, no matter what sin you've done, no matter where you've been, if you pour out your life at Jesus' feet, the smell of it can all of a sudden override old associations and where you used to feel ashamed of what you've done. Now you can hold your head up and be a

victor in Christ and have a different association. So give God what holds you back and let it become a source of worship to you. And this is just one small, aspect of what she received because it truly is more blessed to give than it is to receive. This woman Mary, she thought she was pouring out a bottle of perfume. Turns out, she poured out a bottle of lightning. You see, because God's thunder always strikes when he sees a spirit that is thunderstruck. Let's pray together. Father, we're so grateful at every location, all of us praying. We're grateful for the way you've touched our hearts through this story.

And even as we're praying, we pray for that spirit of generosity. to rise up. Every location, if you're listening to this message and God's touched you in some way, maybe it's to begin tithing, maybe it's to begin to stretch yourself towards new levels of generosity, could I ask that if God's touching your heart in any way, that you would just respond to him right now by raising up your hand, every location, just raise your hand up. You're saying, God, I hear what you're saying, and I want to live that life of a thunderstruck person, overwhelmed by the grace of God, and expressing my gratitude in visible ways. Every location, thank you, Jesus. Touch them, touch them, give them strength to act and what they're feeling. You could put your hands down, and as we all

continue praying in this moment, I want to send an invitation for anybody with us today who's never said yes to Jesus. The Bible says he died for you in your place, and he died as you. He hung there on the cross as though he were you suffering for your sins because he loves you. But he didn't just die. He rose from the dead on the third day, and the Bible says he's coming again, and anyone who puts their faith in him can be saved. Old things can pass away. All things can become new. Maybe you were brought in by the Holy Spirit to church this week so you could hear this message so you could be saved. God doesn't want anything from you. He has everything for you. He wants to save you right now, and that's why His Spirit's knocking on your heart. And at every location, with heads bowed and eyes

closed, if you hear God right now speaking to you, and you're something that's rising up within you saying, I want to be saved, I want to be made new, I want to become a believer. I want to become a fully devoted follower of Christ. That is what God has brought you here to this moment for. And I'm going to ask that if that's you, I'm describing that right now, you would courageously just lift your hand up. Every location, just raise your hand up, raise your hand up. You're saying yes to Jesus. You're saying, I want to follow Christ. Church online, click the little link that's showing up right there.

You can raise your hand digitally. God sees you right there in front of your computer or smartphone. Click that button saying, I want to give my heart to Jesus. God, thank you for every single person. And I'm going to pray with you right now. I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me. The Bible says, if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is, Lord, he will save you. Say this, say, dear God, I know I'm a sinner. I believe Jesus died for me

and rose from the dead. Please come into my heart and make me new. I give my life to you. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen. Amen. Come on. Let's hear for everyone making that decision this week. As a church, it's our honor to play a small part in all that God is doing in and through your life. And we love to continue with you on that journey. To find out what your next steps could be in your relationship with Christ, all you have to do is go to life.church slash next. You know, here at Life Church, it's our mission to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ. That statement drives everything we do as a church, all because we know and we believe whoever finds God finds life.