The Algorithm: Ep. 7: Pouring the Oil: Worship That Costs

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Welcome to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast. I'm your host,

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Connie Morris, and this is Faith on the Go, where you take the word with you on your drive to work,

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while you're getting ready in the morning, or even in those quiet moments before prayer.

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Real life, real word, and real growth, all while you are on the go.

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Before we get into today's word, let's take a moment to center ourselves with a familiar prayer.

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The prayer of Jabez.

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Oh, that you will bless me indeed and enlarge my territory.

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Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.

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Father God, we come before you this day asking that you will indeed bless us,

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not just with what we have, but in who we are becoming.

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Enlarge our territory, Lord. Lord, expand our capacity, our mindset,

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and our ability to receive what you have for us.

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Let your hand be upon us, guiding us, covering us, and leading us in every decision we make.

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And Father, keep us from harm, physically, emotionally, and spiritually,

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that we may walk in peace and not in pain.

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And Lord, just as you heard Jabez when he cried out to you, hear us now.

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Your word says that you granted his request, and we believe that you are the same God today.

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So we come boldly before you, knowing that you hear us, knowing that you see

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us, and knowing that you respond to the prayers of your people.

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Have your way in this moment as we sit, listen, and receive your word.

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In Jesus' name, amen.

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Hello, and welcome back to Diary of a Black Woman podcast. I'm your host,

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Connie Morris, and we're on our final episode of The Algorithm Is Not Your Altar.

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Day seven, pouring the oil, worship that cost.

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The theme for this episode is worship that is personal, pure, and sacrificial.

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And that story comes from our anchor scripture found in John chapter 12,

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verses one through eight. Should sound familiar to you.

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It's Mary annoys Jesus with costly perfume.

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Let's go.

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Chapter 12, verse 1. Then Jesus, six days before the Passover,

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came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.

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So we know this is a story is after Lazarus was raised from the dead. This is what happened.

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There they made him a supper and Martha served.

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But Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.

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Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly,

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and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair,

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and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.

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Then said one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son,

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which should betray him.

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Why was not this anointment sold for 300 pence and given to the poor?

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This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and

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had the bag and bear what was put therein.

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And then Jesus said, let her alone against the day of my bearing. burying, she kept this.

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For the poor always ye have with ye, but much, but not me, have not always.

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We see here that this event took place after Lazarus was risen from the dead.

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And once again, where he, Jesus is back at Mary and Martha's house.

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But this time something took a total shift, Right?

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So Mary Who saved up this ointment A spiked yard And it was very costly What

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I studied and what I know is It's a year worth.

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Have a value, a large, large value. So Mary not only sat at Jesus' feet,

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Mary also was taking time to save money for a special time.

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So Mary was a female, so she probably had the most expensive oil.

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We don't hear that she was poor, so she probably says, I want to keep this in a sacred place.

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She didn't know when she was going to use it, but it came a point where the

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Holy Spirit place it on her heart, that this is the time where you will use that anointment.

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And so she went from no longer sitting at his feet, but actually pouring the

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oil on Jesus' feet and using her hair to wipe the oil.

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Now that is worship. That is personal, that is pure, and that is sacrificial.

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And for a long time, people wondered why someone would do that.

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And we see here that Judas, who was a thief, it tells us in the Bible here that

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he was a thief, that he's saying, like, why did we waste that oil on Jesus' feet?

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We could have used it to save it to do something else with, right?

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But Jesus said, the poor you will always have with you, but not me.

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So that focus wasn't really about the oil. It was about the sacrifice,

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the personal touch that Mary added to his relationship.

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There's something about having a relationship with Jesus.

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Where you know that something's coming, you're right, that you will remember

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that you will do whatever it takes.

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And sometimes you probably wonder after you've done it, like, why did I do that?

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Because the love of God is so pure in you and it's reflected back in your action.

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Let's go to Romans 12.1. It reads, I beseech you, therefore,

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brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies, a living sacrifice,

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holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

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Let's pause there for a minute. Your reasonable service is to give,

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present your body as a sacrifice.

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A reasonable, nothing less, nothing more, but a reasonable.

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And verse two tells us, and be not conformed of this world, but be ye transformed

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by the renewing of your mind, that

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ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

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God's telling us here, once again, to stay focused on him.

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And people say, what can I give God? God tells you in verse 12,

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it says, present your bodies.

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I don't just want just your heart. I want all of you. I want all of you.

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Isn't that interesting? God says, I want all of you.

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Let's go to 2 Samuel 24, chapter 24, verse 24.

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And the king said unto Aaronah, Nay, but I will surely buy it of thee a price.

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Neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God, of that which does cost me nothing.

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So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for 50 shekels of silver.

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Once again, that word that comes forth is sacrifice.

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We see here the king was going to give David something free.

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But David said, no, I don't want to take it free.

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I don't want nothing that won't cost me anything. I want you that I'll pay this

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amount for this item that you're offering me.

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So not taking anything free, but saying, hey, I got to pay for this.

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That's awesome. That's a good scenario to understand what it cost Jesus when

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he died on the cross for us.

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That it cost him everything, including his body.

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Let's go to Psalms 51, verse 16 and 17.

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And it reads, For thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it.

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Thou delightest not in burnt offering.

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The sacrifices of God are broken, a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart.

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God, thou will not despise. Once again, the word sacrifice is arising up.

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And I'm going to read it again. And for thou desirest not sacrifice,

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else would I give it. Thou delightest not in burnt offering.

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The sacrifice of God, our broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart.

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Oh God, thou will not despise. So once again, it's another level.

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It says, present to me your bodies, right?

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Don't give me nothing that don't cost anything. And we see here,

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I want to go a little deeper.

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I want your heart, your broken heart.

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I want your broken heart. Let's go to Mark 14, verses 6 and 9,

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verse 6 through 9, and it reads here, And Jesus said,

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And it's the same story of her pouring the oil, but it's in a different verse.

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It's in Mark, and it's not in John. So it's a different perspective.

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And I'll start over with that one. Verse 6 says, And Jesus said,

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Let her alone, why trouble her ye?

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She has wrought a good work on me. For ye have the poor with you always,

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and whosoever ye will have may do them good.

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But me ye have not always. Once again, he says, Poor is going to be around,

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but you won't always have me.

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And then verse 8, She has done what she could.

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She has come aforehand to anoint my body for bearing.

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Wow. So the oil was Jesus' body before bearing, had a spiritual connection.

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Even though it was done in a spiritual way, that oil that Mary put on Jesus

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was for a spiritual purpose.

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And finally, in verse 9, it tells us, Verily I say unto you,

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whosoever this gospel should be preached throughout the whole world,

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this also that what she has done should be spoken as a memorial of her.

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She's saying what she has done this day, people will still talk about it, even after her death.

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And we today still talking about Mary.

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Mary sitting at his feet, Mary pouring the oil on Jesus' body before burying.

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And you know it was probably smelling good. You know, good oil.

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Was it a cheap oil? It was a good oil.

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And we see here, last one is Luke 10, 42.

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But one thing is needful, and Mary has chosen that good part,

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which should not be taken away from her.

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Neither would you forget her name, but you would never forget what she's done.

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But she is going to be remembered in heaven.

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Let's do a quick review. We just read in John 12, it says, Mary anoints Jesus with costly perfume.

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One thing I noticed in that scripture that Martha was quiet.

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You didn't hear nothing about Martha.

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After that first visit with Jesus, remember when Jesus first showed up,

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said, Martha, you were very anxious about many, many things.

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I believe that touched Martha's heart. When that oil was poured,

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Martha didn't say a word.

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She's not even like, she's in the room, she sees it, but she is probably worshiping

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Jesus. She learned how to worship.

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Romans 12, 1, it says, living sacrifice. Present your body as a living sacrifice.

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2 Samuel tells us in chapter 24, I will not offer that which costs me nothing.

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We're always good for the freebies,

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but we have to know that Jesus gave his all and he wants our all.

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Mark 14, we read that Jesus said this to Mary, she has done a beautiful thing.

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Psalms 51 tells us he wants a broken and kind dry heart to come before him for repair.

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And then Luke 10 tells us that Mary shows the better portion.

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This devotion pretty much ends the way it should begin.

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It begins with the oil. Not the oil that people see.

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Not the oil that makes a person look spiritual. But the oil that comes from

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surrender, sacrifice, intimacy, trust, brokenness, devotion.

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In this last day, we shift from the crowded room of distraction to a sacred

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moment of worship that costs.

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Because true worship is not what you do when it's convenient.

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True worship is what you do when it's costly. And when Mary pours oil on Jesus,

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she teaches every believer in every generation a final lesson.

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Worship is not content.

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Worship is surrender. John 12 opens with Jesus returning to Bethany.

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This is the same household of Mary and Martha. But this time the atmosphere is different.

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There they made him a supper, John 12, 2. And it says, Martha served, John 12, 2.

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Notice Martha is still serving, but now she's not complaining.

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No resentment, no pressure, no comparison. Why? Because something shifted in that house.

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Worship has been restored. When the Bible says, then took Mary a pound of ointment, very costly,

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and anointed the feet of Jesus, John 12, 3, and the room was filled,

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and the house was filled with an order of ointment.

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This is what real worship does.

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It changes, it shifts the atmosphere.

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It fills the room with something holy.

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Mary didn't pour oil for attention. She poured oil because her devotion has matured.

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She had learned the better portion is not being seen.

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The better portion is being surrendered.

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The cost of worship. The Bible says the ointment was very costly,

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which means worship requires something valuable.

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That's the difference between performance and worship. I think there's a song

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that he gives me my breath to breathe. He fills us every day with breath to breathe.

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Without Him breathing for us, we would not be here. We would perish.

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That's costly love that He gives us.

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What's the difference? You know, when Mary poured that oil on Jesus' feet,

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there was a shift we heard.

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But that difference was between performance or worship.

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Performance gives what is convenient, but worship gives what is costly.

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Costly worship, it costs your pride. It costs your comfort.

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It costs your time. It costs your image. It costs your routine.

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It costs your distraction and costs your desire to be liked.

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This is what 2 Samuel 24 teaches us. I will not offer burnt offerings unto the

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Lord my God of that which does cost me nothing.

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Anything that costs you nothing is not a sacrifice.

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The worship is always tied to sacrifice.

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Let's do real time here. How does this look when we do real time?

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The generation of sheep worship. This generation has been raised to seek quick

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rewards, quick attention, quick likes, quick applause, quick posting,

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quick influence, quick viral moments.

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But the worship, worship is not microwavable.

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Oil takes time.

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Oil comes from crushing. Oil comes from pressure.

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And that's why some people can post worship but don't have worship.

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Some people can sing worship songs, but don't live worship lives.

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Some people can shout, but don't surrender.

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Because true worship starts, don't start on the stage. It starts in a secret place.

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It starts when nobody sees.

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It starts when you choose Jesus over image.

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Mary didn't just give Jesus leftover worship.

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She gave him her best. And that is what worship must become.

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Not convenient, not performative, costly.

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And if you learn anything today, you will learn that worship at cost.

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Breaks distraction, silenced criticism, and fills the atmosphere with God's presence.

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And you understand that the atmosphere shifted for Martha and shifted for Mary,

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but it didn't shift for Judas.

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And Judas is another person we won't focus on, but pay attention.

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So what you do that costs you something, it's not going to always please everybody around you.

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Matter of fact, it might even provoke criticism. It might provoke doubt.

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It might provoke even anger.

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But Jesus says that, no, Mary shows the best thing. She anointed me for burial.

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Wow, the timing of that is so, so awesome.

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So let's do a heart check. Because I know this has touched my heart in a very, very big way.

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And I really don't know how or why.

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But it made me see that Jesus is checking out everything we do.

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There's nothing missing. But he also prepared Martha for what he wanted to do further.

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Remember, he raised their brother from the dead.

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And her worship, remember they lived together, Mary and Martha.

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Martha still was serving, but she was serving out of a pure heart.

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What a shift. So let's do a heart check and let's answer these questions honestly.

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Have I been giving God leftovers?

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What is my worship currently costing me, if anything?

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And have I been protecting my image before pouring out my oil?

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What would costly worship look like in a real life?

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And what distractions must be broken for my worship to rise again?

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This is our final call devotional. Number one, give God your best, not what's left.

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Worship cannot be squeezed in after everything else. It must be a priority.

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Stop worshiping outcomes. Some people worship results, but Mary worships Jesus himself.

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Not for what he could do, for what, for who he is.

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One thing I mentioned earlier is don't fear criticism. Judas criticized Mary.

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Why was this oil not sold? John 12, 5.

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Critics always show up when worship gets costly because some people will never understand devotion.

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But Jesus defends Mary. Let her alone. John 12, 7.

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God will protect what you pour out.

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Let worship fill your house again. Mary's oil filled the room.

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This means worship is not just a moment. It's an atmosphere.

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Worship must return to your home, your prayer life, your decisions,

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your identity, and your inner life.

00:20:13.678 --> 00:20:18.878
Number five, become a living sacrifice. Romans 12 says, present your bodies

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as a living sacrifice, meaning worship becomes a lifestyle, obedience when it's hard.

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Purity when it's unpopular, prayer when you're tired, truth when it costs you,

00:20:30.993 --> 00:20:33.353
brownies when people complain.

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That is worship. We see here how to get it back is you want to give God your best, not what's left.

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Stop worshiping outcomes. Don't fear criticism and let worship fill your house again.

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Number five, become a living sacrifice. Let's pray.

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Lord Jesus, pour my oil at your feet. I pour my oil at your feet.

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I repent every time worship became routine, rushed, or distracted.

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I repent for giving you leftovers instead of my best.

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Restore true worship in my life.

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Make my worship pure, personal, and sacrificial.

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Break every addiction to validation and deliver me from performance.

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Let my life be an offering.

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Fill my house with your presence again. I choose the altar over algorithm.

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And I choose to surrender over image.

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I choose devotion over distraction. In Jesus' name, amen. Let's declare these things.

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I pour my oil at the feet of Jesus. My worship will be personal and pure.

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I will not offer God sheep worship.

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The altar is my priority, not attention. I am a living sacrifice unto the Lord.

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Distraction has broken off of my life. My house will be filled with worship

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again. and I choose the better person forever.

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So I want to give you some things to do to keep that oil fresh.

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I want you to write your personal oil list because oil costs us something.

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And there are about five things that you're giving back to God at worship time.

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And so here goes a list. It's not a catch-all list, but it's time,

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it's obedience, it's purity, discipline, prayer, rest, boundaries,

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forgiveness, and humility.

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And then I want you to write that this is my oil. What is your oil?

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What are you giving back to Jesus?

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And then the next step is the oil offering.

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If you have some oil, olive oil, they usually use whatever oil you have.

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I want you to just, as you do this, just anoint yourself.

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I usually like to put it on my forehead because when you go through the line,

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they put it on your forehead.

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And let it sit. Don't wipe it off. Just put a little oil on your forehead. Keep it on your hands.

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Put your hands together in prayer. You got the oil. And then I want you to do one of these things.

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I want you to find 30 minutes in a secret place.

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Pass social media for 24 hours.

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Forgive someone you've held resentment toward. Sow into someone privately.

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And worship God without music, without a phone and write a letter of repentance and surrender.

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So those are four things. Those are four things. Those are six things.

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I'm going to say them again.

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Write them down. Anoint yourself with oil and spend 30 minutes in a secret place.

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Anoint yourself with oil and fast social media for 24 hours.

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Now, if you're going to go to work, you might have to rub that in a little bit

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or place it on your heart or somewhere out of sight so you remember that oil.

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It's for a purpose. It's your grace and your mercy that God's given you because he's calling you back.

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And forgive someone you held resentment toward. That might be the hardest one.

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But I find out, even though I have ought in my heart sometimes for people,

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I ask the Lord to help me clear that ought out, especially during prayer time.

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And give me a reason to talk to them and let them know. Because they're waiting

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for you. No one wants to have that ought.

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I remember there was a lady, and we just did not get along.

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And then one time in prayer, it was like six months later, one time in prayer,

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I said, I need you to call her and tell her that you apologized and that we

00:24:19.033 --> 00:24:22.073
need to go forward. And all I did was send a text and told her,

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let's go to dinner or something someday.

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But I want to share with you that it's been my fault that we've been having

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this ought because I was out of my lane.

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As I share with you, I always want to be the boss.

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I want to be the leader. I want to tell you what to do.

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And when you're not listening, then that causes a little ought,

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don't I? When we're taking on more than we ought to.

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But when I did that, even though nothing has happened, she didn't respond to

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the text. and it was like maybe on a Monday and I didn't see her till that following Sunday.

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When she walked up to me, she gave me a hug. She said, yes, Connie,

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let's do dinner. And it was over.

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So sometimes you have to break your pride to get it done.

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Now remember, he said in the Bible, God says in the Bible that at any cost, let it not be you.

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You have to do whatever you need to do to keep the peace of everyone,

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right? Not you wait for them.

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You may have to do something to break that resentment in your heart.

00:25:17.873 --> 00:25:22.093
And you want to sow into someone privately you know and you don't have to make

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a big deal about it sometimes you can walk up to them and say hey this is what

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I want to do it could be dinner it could be cash it could be whatever God tells you to do,

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everybody has a different idea you might even sow into that need that they have

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they're having worship God.

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Without music and without a phone. See, I like my music and it's on my phone.

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And sometimes I'll just turn it off.

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Sometimes some music just, it's like it, even though it's worship music,

00:25:47.582 --> 00:25:51.042
sometimes it just scratches the atmosphere and the Holy Spirit doesn't really

00:25:51.042 --> 00:25:52.462
want it. He doesn't need the music.

00:25:52.842 --> 00:25:54.962
He doesn't need it and neither do we.

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And then write a letter of repentance and surrender.

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Write a letter of repentance and surrender. Maybe you can't send them a text.

00:26:02.782 --> 00:26:05.762
Maybe they're long distance, but maybe you track down their address.

00:26:05.762 --> 00:26:09.282
And you write them a letter and give your phone number.

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So if they want to call, or maybe sometime you have to forgive them and let it go.

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Maybe I don't want to reconnect. I just want to let you know that I forgive you and then move on.

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There's different ways that you can go because God doesn't want to put you,

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present yourself as a holy sacrifice and then get butchered, right?

00:26:27.042 --> 00:26:31.142
And he'll tell you on what to do next. And then Jesus says this.

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And Jesus says, this is my oil. After you do all that, your oil is this.

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So you got oil on you, anointing yourself.

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You're doing these holy activities and you're saying to Jesus,

00:26:42.942 --> 00:26:45.642
this is my oil. So when life starts living.

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As you know it will, stay close to Jesus. Stay close when you're tired.

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Stay close when you're overwhelmed.

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Stay close when you're tempted to perform. Stay close when you feel unseen.

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Stay close when you don't have the words because closeness is what keeps you

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anchored. You don't have to be perfect, just present.

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Return quickly, worship honestly, and pour your oil anyway.

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And remember this, the algorithm will always try to pull you into noise,

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But Jesus will always pull you into peace.

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So keep choosing a better portion.

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Keep protecting the secret place. Keep surrendering what distracts you.

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And then you don't, and you don't know what else to do.

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Like hit repeat instead of just speed again.

00:27:32.276 --> 00:27:37.156
And this has been Connie Morris, The Diary of a Black Woman Podcast.

00:27:37.556 --> 00:27:42.496
That was our final series of The Algorithm Is Not Your Altar,

00:27:42.496 --> 00:27:46.036
Mary Martha and How to Get Your Worship Back.

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I look forward to seeing you on the next episode. Bye-bye.

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Family, thank you for spending time with me today.

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To every woman listening who has ever felt hidden, overlooked,

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or pushed aside, hear me clearly.

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God has not forgotten you, and neither have I.

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Now let's go before the Lord and close this out with a word from God.

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Because someone out there needs this reminder today.

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Jeremiah 29, 11, verses 11 through 14. For I know the plans I have for you,

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declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

00:28:35.579 --> 00:28:37.859
plans to give you hope and a future.

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Then when you call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you,

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you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

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I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and bring you back from captivity.

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Father God, we thank you for your word, that it is true, that it is living, that it is for us.

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You said you know the plans you have for us, plans to prosper us and not to

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harm us, plans to give us hope and a future.

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So today we receive that, not just in our minds, but in our hearts.

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When we feel overlooked.

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Remind us, you still see us. When we feel forgotten, remind us, you still have a plan.

00:29:21.733 --> 00:29:25.553
And when we feel hidden, remind us, you are still working.

00:29:25.973 --> 00:29:29.093
Your word says that when we call on you, you will listen.

00:29:29.373 --> 00:29:34.973
So we call on you now, hear us, strengthen us, guide us, help us to seek you

00:29:34.973 --> 00:29:39.293
with our whole heart, not halfway, not sometimes, but fully.

00:29:39.553 --> 00:29:46.093
And as we seek you, let us find you in every season, in every place, even the hidden mind.

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Restore what was lost, renew what feels broken, and remind us that nothing in

00:29:52.013 --> 00:29:54.513
our lives is wasted in your hand.

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Lord, we trust you, we believe you, and we stand on your word. In Jesus' name, amen.

00:30:01.273 --> 00:30:05.413
This is Diary of a Black Woman podcast, and I'm your host, Connie Morris,

00:30:05.593 --> 00:30:08.473
and I'll see you on the next episode.