10.9.23 pm

[0:00] Good evening, a warm welcome to the service this evening. We're going to begin this time of worship. We'll sing to God's praise from Psalm 116.

[0:12] Psalm 116. Some are singing already. Nice to hear Nancy. Psalm 116, and we're going to sing from verse 5 to verse 7.

[0:25] God merciful and righteous is, ye gracious is our Lord. God saves the meek, I was brought low. He did me help afford. O thou, my soul, do thou return unto thy quiet rest.

[0:36] For largely low, the Lord to thee his bounty hath expressed. These two verses of Psalm 116. We sing in Gaelic, we remain seated to sing.

[0:48] And then after we sang Gaelic, John McSween will lead us in prayer, please, in Gaelic. We sing in Gaelic.

[1:28] We sing in Gaelic. We sing in Gaelic. We sing in Gaelic.

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[7:59] Thank you.

[8:29] Thank you.

[8:59] Thank you.

[9:29] Thank you. Thank you.

[10:29] Thank you. Thank you.

[11:29] Thank you. Thank you.

[12:29] Thank you. Amen.

[13:01] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[13:13] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[13:25] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. We sing again to God's praise.

[13:36] We sing from Mission Praise 907. 907 in Mission Praise. God of Bethel, by whose hand thy people still are fed. O God of Bethel, by whose hand thy people still are fed.

[14:15] Who through this weary pilgrimage has taught our Father's land.

[14:30] Our words are prayers we done present. Before thy throne of grace.

[14:46] God of our fathers be the Lord of their succeeding race.

[15:03] Through each fair blessing path of life. Our wandering footsteps guide.

[15:18] Give us each day our daily bread. Our brave and faithful might.

[15:34] O spread thy covering wings around. Till all our wandering seas.

[15:50] And at our fathers bowed. Our souls are wright in peace.

[16:08] If you could turn please now in your Bibles to Mark chapter 14. Mark chapter 14.

[16:35] And we will read from verse 1 to verse 11. This is God's word.

[16:45] Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away. And the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him.

[16:57] But not during the feast they said. Or the people made riot. While he was in Bethany reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the leper. A woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume.

[17:12] Made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another. Why this waste of perfume?

[17:24] It could have been sold for more than a year's wages. And the money given to the poor. And they rebuked her harshly. Leave her alone said Jesus. Why are you bothering her?

[17:36] She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you. And you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could.

[17:47] She poured perfume on my body beforehand. To prepare for my burial. I tell you the truth. Whatever the gospel is preached throughout the world. What she has done will also be told.

[17:59] In memory of her. Then Judas Iscariot. One of the twelve. Went to the chief priests. To betray Jesus to them. They were delighted to hear this.

[18:09] And promised to give him money. So he watched. For an opportunity to hand him over. Amen. And may God bless that reading.

[18:20] Of his word. We'll pray for a moment. As we turn back to the text. Heavenly Father. We do thank you for your word. And we thank you for.

[18:31] These eyewitness accounts. Of Jesus. Your son. Our saviour. We thank you Lord. For this woman. Who is highlighted for us.

[18:43] In the passage. And for what she did. And we ask Lord. That as we take a few moments. And as we consider what she did. And as we think about. What we are called to do.

[18:55] And we ask that you would teach us. That you would guide us. That you would encourage us. That you would correct us. Challenge us. You know our hearts. You know our situations Lord. You know the word that we.

[19:06] That we need to hear. So minister to us. We pray. Open your word to us. And open our hearts to your word. And we ask all this in Jesus name. And for his sake.

[19:17] Amen. Amen. Just a short word tonight. A short message tonight. Before we hear Angus and Kirsty.

[19:29] Come to speak. And Jane also. And I want to begin tonight. With the question. Of.

[19:39] What can we do for Jesus. Tonight we are. We are standing with.

[19:50] Angus and Kirsty. We are praying for them. As they prepare to. To head out from here. And one of the questions. That they have had. In preparation. For going. Is. Is what will we do.

[20:02] When we get there. So that is a question. That has been. Very much on their minds. But that is a question. Not just for them. It is for many people. As Gordon.

[20:16] Serves. As mission. And discipleship. Worker. In the. In the western isles. A question. That he is going to be asking. Continually. Week by week. Is. Is what should I do.

[20:30] And. It is a question. That actually. Every Christian. Should be asking. All the time. Wherever we are. We should be considering.

[20:41] And asking. The Lord. To show us. What we can do. For Jesus sake. In our homes. At school.

[20:52] Those who are. Heading. To university. Or. Back to university. Those who are. In the workplace. In our different. Relationships. With all the time.

[21:05] That we have been given. We thought about time. This. This morning. With the talents. The gifts. That God has. Blessed us with. With the resources. That we have. Even with the homes. That we're. That we're living in.

[21:17] We should be asking. The question. What should I do. For Jesus. For Jesus. And in the passage. That we. That we read. Tonight. Someone.

[21:28] That Mark calls. A woman. She's left. Anonymous. In this passage. This woman. She. She shows us. And Jesus.

[21:39] Gives us. An answer. To this question. Of what. What should we do. For him. So what did she do. For Jesus. Jesus. Well.

[21:49] She did. What she could. That's the short answer. She did. What she could. And that's our text. For tonight. Verse eight.

[22:00] We see these words. She did. What she could. So let's. Think for a few moments. About. What this woman. Did for Jesus. And.

[22:11] There's five things. But. It's very brief. Don't worry. The first thing. Is that she was a light. In the darkness. She was a light. In the darkness. And.

[22:23] As we read. Through Mark's gospel. We've studied it. In the past. And you're. Familiar with. The gospel. Mark has various techniques. That he uses. And one of the techniques. That he uses.

[22:34] Is. Is a technique. In writing. Called sandwich. And you can see that. In the. In the. The section. That we read. Verses. One to three. Are dark.

[22:45] As the authorities. Are. Are looking for. A way. To kill Jesus. And any of you. Fast forward. From verse three. And look at verses.

[22:56] Ten to eleven. Again. They're very dark. As Judas plots. The. The betrayal of Jesus. But verses four to nine. In the middle. They're full of light.

[23:10] As this woman. Does this. Beautiful thing. For. For Jesus. For Jesus. So this woman. And what she did. Was a. A shaft of light. You could say. That's. That's breaking.

[23:20] In between. Two dark. Clouds of. Darkness. And that's our calling. We are to be lights.

[23:32] In a dark. World. Still. There are many people. Who would. Like to rid the world. Of Jesus. Just as the authorities. Wanted to. Just as Judas.

[23:43] Wanted to. And still. There are. Many people. Who are totally. Opposed to Jesus. And who have this. Diabolical. Hatred for Jesus. So the darkness.

[23:53] That we read of. In this passage. Is still very much. Evident. But we are called. If we are Christians. To be light. In the darkness. In John chapter 12.

[24:05] And verse eight. Jesus said. I am the light. Of the world. In Matthew. Chapter five. Verse 14. Jesus. Speaking to his disciples. Then and now.

[24:17] Said. You are the light. Of the world. And this woman. She. We see her living this out. She did what she could.

[24:30] In Bethany. To be light. On a dark day. And we are to do. What we can. Whether it's in Nepal.

[24:41] Or whether it's in North Harris. We are to do. What we can. To be light. In the darkness. So that's the first thing. She was light. In the darkness. The second thing.

[24:52] Is that. She was devoted. To Jesus. Because. If we think about. What's driving. This woman. What it is. That's motivating. Her. To do this thing.

[25:02] It's worship. It's devotion. It's love for Jesus. I mean. Look at what she did. She. In verse 3. She. She came to the place. Where Jesus was.

[25:13] Even though many. Would have discouraged her. From coming there. Essentially. She gate crashes. A closed dinner party. Because she was devoted.

[25:24] To Jesus. She loved Jesus. And she came with an offering. To this. Dinner party. In verse 3. It's this. This nard. This expensive perfume.

[25:37] Which. The fragrance. Came from some rare flower. That was found in the. The Himalayas. Interestingly. And she had this nard. She had this perfume.

[25:49] It was. The most precious thing. She had. It was worth. In our money. About 40,000 pounds. And she offered. All of it. To Jesus. Why?

[26:00] Because she loved him. She was devoted to him. And she anoints Jesus. She pours this. Perfume over Jesus.

[26:11] And as she does so. She's professing. That Jesus was Lord. And he was King. And he was her Lord. And her King. And this was a huge scene.

[26:26] This was a huge disruption. To this. Dinner party. And yet. She didn't seem to care. What anyone thought. She wasn't ashamed. Of Jesus. And telling people.

[26:36] That she loved. And she trusted. Jesus. And so this was an act of worship. And Jesus.

[26:47] Who is. God the Son. He receives. Her worship. He receives. Her devotion. He calls it. A beautiful thing.

[27:01] And the point. That we can draw from this. At least one point. Is. Is that. Anything that we do. For Jesus. We can do many things. For Jesus. But anything that we do.

[27:14] For Jesus. It must come from a place. Of worship. And devotion. Sometimes we can do things. That are called to service. Because of our guilty conscience.

[27:24] Or because we want people. To see us. It can be a pride thing. But this woman. Teaches us that. What we do. For Jesus. It must come from that place. Of worship.

[27:35] And devotion. Because. That's what Jesus. Is looking for. And that's what he did receive. And that's what. He will still receive. From us. We might not have.

[27:48] 40,000 pounds. In the bank. To put in the offering plate. That's okay. We might not have. Expensive nard. On the. After shave. Drawer.

[27:59] That's okay. We might not be in. Full time. Christian service. We might not be just about. To head off. On a missionary journey. But every day.

[28:11] Whatever we are. We can worship Jesus. We can be. Devoted. To Jesus. We can do all things.

[28:23] As. Unto the Lord. We can do what we can. Where we are. Whether it's here. Or far away.

[28:35] In a way that. Glorifies Jesus. So she was light in the darkness. She was devoted to Jesus. The next thing. That we can see here is. Is that she was demeaned for Jesus.

[28:46] This woman. Because. We read in verses 4 and 5. That. That some of those present. They demeaned her. They were mean to her.

[28:59] They criticized her harshly. It says. For this. This. Kind of awkward. Very public. Display. Of affection. Of worship. Of devotion.

[29:12] And remember. The people who are in the room. They were religious people. She wasn't in the. The sort of dark room.

[29:24] Of some pub. With most raucous characters. In the place. These were religious people. There were disciples. In the room. And we know. Judas. Was one of the disciples.

[29:34] We know that he was annoyed. Because he'd have. Liked a good slice. Of that 40,000 pounds. But what. Occurred to me. In preparation was. We don't hear.

[29:45] Any of the other. Disciples. Speak up. For this woman. None of them. Come to our defense. None of them. Say.

[29:58] This is a beautiful thing. That she's done. There's just silence. And we can expect this. By way of preparation. If we are devoted.

[30:09] To Jesus. If we are willing. To do what we can. To glorify Jesus. Don't expect. A round of applause. The world. Will hate it.

[30:22] And many. Even in the church. Might not be. All that pleased either. J.C. Ryle. Says. If a man. If a woman. Devotes.

[30:33] His time. Money. And affections. To the pursuit. Of worldly things. They do not blame him. If he gives up. Himself. To the service. Of money. Pleasure.

[30:43] Or politics. They find no fault. But if the same man. Devotes himself. And all he has. To Christ. They can scarcely. Find words. To express their sense. Of his folly.

[30:54] He's beside himself. He's out of his mind. He's a fanatic. He's an enthusiast. He is righteous. Over much. He's an extreme man. In short. They regard it.

[31:05] As waste. That's what they were saying. About the woman. This is a waste. Why is she.

[31:16] Why is she doing this? And I think as we. As we read in. To this story. And we look at this story. Two thousand years later. We would like to think.

[31:28] That. That we would have been. On the side of the woman. In this story. You know. Nodding in approval. As she worships. Jesus. But I fear.

[31:44] That sometimes. I might have been. With the disciples. Sitting somewhat awkwardly. Silently. Feeling.

[31:55] A bit uncomfortable. Perhaps. Convicted. Because this woman. Seems to love Jesus. More. Than I do. When were you.

[32:08] Or I. Last demeaned. Or criticized. For being too much. In love with Jesus. When were you and I.

[32:23] Last. Told to pipe down. Because we. Because we. We seem to be too extravagant. In our worship. Of.

[32:34] Jesus. It strikes me that we. We need more women. And men. And boys. And girls. Like. Like this woman. Again. Again.

[32:46] Ryle. Says. If a man. Once. Understands. The sinfulness. Of sin. And the mercy. Of Christ. And dying for him. He will never.

[32:57] Think. Anything. Too good. Or too costly. To give to Christ. He will rather feel. What shall I render. To the Lord.

[33:08] For all his benefits. To me. Psalm 116. Verse 12. He will fear. Wasting time. Talents. Money. Affections. On the things. Of this world. He will be.

[33:19] Not afraid. Of lavishing them. On a savior. He will fear. Going into extremes. About business. Money. Politics. Or pleasure. But he will not be afraid.

[33:32] Of doing too much. For Christ. This woman. Was not afraid. For doing. Too much. For Christ. She was devoted.

[33:43] To Jesus. She was a light. In the darkness. And yet. She was demeaned. For Jesus. Next thing. Is she was defended. By Jesus. And although.

[33:54] The disciples. Seem to be silent. Although we're not. Hearing them speak up. On behalf. Of this woman. Although the room. Seems to be unhappy. With what the. The woman did.

[34:05] Jesus is not unhappy. And Jesus wasn't silent. And into the awkwardness. Perhaps. Of the. The scene. Jesus speaks up.

[34:16] And he. He defends her. Firmly. Verse six. Leave her alone. Said Jesus. Why are you bothering her? She has done. She has done.

[34:28] A beautiful. Thing to me. And that's an. Encouraging. Point for us to note. When we determine. To.

[34:39] Worship Jesus. In school. Or in work. Or in college. Or in our families. Or whatever. When we. When we determine. That we will worship Jesus. When we. Commit.

[34:50] To do what we can. To bring. Bring glory. To him. Yes. We can expect. To be rebuked. Harshly. By some. We can expect.

[35:01] To be demeaned. But Jesus. Will defend us. So be encouraged. By. That. Fact.

[35:13] Take. Courage. From. This. Story. As we. Hear Jesus. Speak up. Think about. What. The apostle. Paul. Said.

[35:24] He was very much. Demeaned. For Jesus. Sake. Remember. What he said. He said. In Romans 8. If God. Is for us. Who can be against us. Or think about.

[35:35] What the psalmist. Said. In Psalm 27. That the Lord. Is my strength. The Lord. Is my salvation. What do I need. To fear. She was defended.

[35:48] By Jesus. Jesus. And the last thing. Is she was remembered. By Jesus. She was remembered. By. By Jesus.

[35:59] We just started. To look at. The book of Ecclesiastes. A couple. Well last Sunday. Wasn't it? And in the book of Ecclesiastes. The teacher.

[36:10] The preacher. Is concerned. He makes the observation. That no one is remembered. He's looking at all these different aspects. Of life. And he. He observes.

[36:21] All these people. Who make a. An absolute load of money. And who have. Massive power. And who have huge influence. And who make a. A great name for themselves. In the present tense.

[36:33] But he observes. In. A couple of generations. They're not remembered. And that's a fact. We considered that.

[36:45] When we studied it. But this woman. Is remembered. By Jesus. Jesus says.

[36:55] In verse 8. She did what she could. She poured perfume. On my body. Beforehand. To prepare for my burial. I tell you the truth. Said Jesus.

[37:07] Whatever the gospel is preached. Throughout the world. What she has done. Will also be told. In memory. Of her. So here we are.

[37:18] 2000 years later. We're remembering her. She points us to Jesus. What she did. Was much more.

[37:30] Significant. I think. Than. Than what she knew. Because. In anointing Jesus. She was pointing forward. To the death. And the resurrection. Of Jesus. And Jesus says.

[37:42] Because of this. She will be remembered. And Mark. As we've noted. As he goes through.

[37:54] This account. He. He simply calls her. The woman. The reason. He does that. The scholars think. Is probably because. Mark was written.

[38:06] Quite early. And. The. The likelihood. Was that. The woman. Was still alive. At the time. Of writing.

[38:16] Mark's gospel. And likely. The woman. Wouldn't have appreciated. The spotlight. Being shone at her. The. John's gospel.

[38:27] Is written. Twenty to thirty. Years later. Than Mark's. And it seems. That God. The Holy Spirit. Said. To John. Don't forget. To write down.

[38:38] The woman's name. John. The woman. And. John. The woman. We're told. Her name. Was Mary. And so. Tonight. We still remember.

[38:49] Her name. And what she did. Because she used. Her life. Not to do. What she could. For herself. But to do.

[39:00] What she could. For Jesus. And I want. To finish. Simply by asking. A question. That I was asked.

[39:11] Fifteen years ago. Along with another. Two hundred ministers. In a room. And there was a. Minister called. Dick Lucas. He's coming to the end. Of his. His ministry. And he was coming.

[39:22] To the end. Of his talk. And he'd been. In this passage. He looked out. On all these ministers. And he peered. Over the top. Of his glasses. And he said. This woman. She did what she. She could.

[39:32] For Jesus. And then he peered. Over his glasses. And he said. What about you? Are you doing. What you can. For Jesus. So let me.

[39:44] Just. Pass that. Question on. What about you? Are you doing. What you can. For Jesus. Have you trusted him? Have you.

[39:57] Said. What the. The dying. Thief said. In that. Short. Prayer of faith. Jesus. Remember me. You prayed that.

[40:09] Because you can. And if we're trusting him. Are we working for him? Are we doing.

[40:22] Are we doing. What we can. Not doing. What we can't. Because he doesn't expect us. To do. What we can't. He doesn't expect us. To do. What's beyond us.

[40:32] Jesus doesn't expect us. To be looking at the guy. Across the street. And the woman. Along the road. And all the things. That she's doing. And he's doing. And saying. I can't possibly. Do any of that. He's not asking us.

[40:42] To do that. He expects us. To do what. We can. Where we are. With all the gifts.

[40:53] And the opportunities. That he's given to us. And that. Will come. As a word. Of encouragement. To some. And it may come.

[41:06] As a word. Of challenge. To others. A life. That is lived. Doing what we can. For Jesus. Whether it's in the Himalayas.

[41:18] Or in Harris. Is a life. That's well lived. It's a life. That's not. Meaningless. It's a life. That's not. Lived in vain.

[41:31] But it's a life. That will be remembered. By Jesus. And used. By Jesus. For his glory. We'll pray.

[41:44] Heavenly Father. We thank you. For this passage.

[41:55] We thank you. For the beauty of it. The simplicity of it. The encouragement of it. The challenge of it. And we pray. Holy Spirit. That you may. Apply this.

[42:05] To our lives. That we wouldn't be thinking. About anybody. Along from us. Or. Beside us. We ask that. The light of your truth. Would shine. Into our lives.

[42:17] And that you would help us. To do what we can. Where we are. For your glory. Help us not to waste our lives.

[42:29] But help us. To live our lives. In a way that. That has impact. That is not just for. A day or two. But which is eternal. And we ask these things.

[42:42] In Jesus name. Amen. We are going to sing now. Mission Praise 1141. You are the word. Of God the Father. From before the world begun.

[43:17] Every sun. Every sun. Every sun. And every planet. Has been fashioned. By your hand. All creation.

[43:29] Goes together. By the power. Of your voice. Let the skies. Declare your glory.

[43:41] Let the land. And seas. Rejoice. You are the author. Of creation. You are the Lord.

[43:51] Of every man. And your cry. Of love. Rings out. Across the land. Yet you left.

[44:04] The gaze. Of angels. Came to seek. And save. The lost. And exchange. The joy. The joy. Of heaven.

[44:14] For the anguish. Of our cross. With a prayer. You fed. The hungry. With a word.

[44:25] You still. Deceit. Yet how silently. You suffered. But the guilty. May go free.

[44:37] You're the author. Of creation. You're the Lord. Of every man. And your cry.

[44:47] Of love. Rings out. Across the land. With a shout. You rose. Declare.

[44:58] Rest in victory. From the grave. And ascended. Into heaven. Leading captives.

[45:09] In your way. In your way. That you stand. Before the father. Interceding. For your own.

[45:20] From his tribe. And tongue. And nation. You are leading. Sinners home. You're the author.

[45:30] Of creation. You're the Lord. Of every man. And your cry. Of love. Rings out.

[45:40] Across the land. I'm the Lord. I'm the Lord. I'm the Lord. I'm the Lord. I'm the Lord. I'm the Lord.