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

0:10 Welcome to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast. I'm your host, Connie Morris, and this is Faith on the Go, where you take the word with you on your drive to work, while you're getting ready in the morning, or even in those quiet moments before prayer. Real life, real word, and real growth, all while you are on the go. Before we get into today's word, let's take a moment to center ourselves with a familiar prayer. The prayer of Jabez. Oh, that you will bless me indeed and enlarge my territory. Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.

0:55 Father God, we come before you this day asking that you will indeed bless us, not just with what we have, but in who we are becoming. Enlarge our territory, Lord. Lord, expand our capacity, our mindset, and our ability to receive what you have for us. Let your hand be upon us, guiding us, covering us, and leading us in every decision we make. And Father, keep us from harm, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, that we may walk in peace and not in pain. And Lord, just as you heard Jabez when he cried out to you, hear us now.

1:35 Your word says that you granted his request, and we believe that you are the same God today. So we come boldly before you, knowing that you hear us, knowing that you see us, and knowing that you respond to the prayers of your people. Have your way in this moment as we sit, listen, and receive your word. In Jesus' name, amen. Hello, and welcome back to Diary of a Black Woman podcast. I'm your host, Connie Morris, and we're on our final episode of The Algorithm Is Not Your Altar.

2:22 Day seven, pouring the oil, worship that cost. The theme for this episode is worship that is personal, pure, and sacrificial. And that story comes from our anchor scripture found in John chapter 12, verses one through eight. Should sound familiar to you. It's Mary annoys Jesus with costly perfume. Let's go. Chapter 12, verse 1. Then Jesus, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. So we know this is a story is after Lazarus was raised from the dead. This is what happened.

3:08 There they made him a supper and Martha served. But Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. Then said one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him. Why was not this anointment sold for 300 pence and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and had the bag and bear what was put therein.

3:57 And then Jesus said, let her alone against the day of my bearing. burying, she kept this. For the poor always ye have with ye, but much, but not me, have not always. We see here that this event took place after Lazarus was risen from the dead. And once again, where he, Jesus is back at Mary and Martha's house. But this time something took a total shift, Right? So Mary Who saved up this ointment A spiked yard And it was very costly What I studied and what I know is It's a year worth. Have a value, a large, large value. So Mary not only sat at Jesus' feet, Mary also was taking time to save money for a special time.

4:48 So Mary was a female, so she probably had the most expensive oil. We don't hear that she was poor, so she probably says, I want to keep this in a sacred place. She didn't know when she was going to use it, but it came a point where the Holy Spirit place it on her heart, that this is the time where you will use that anointment. And so she went from no longer sitting at his feet, but actually pouring the oil on Jesus' feet and using her hair to wipe the oil. Now that is worship. That is personal, that is pure, and that is sacrificial. And for a long time, people wondered why someone would do that.

5:30 And we see here that Judas, who was a thief, it tells us in the Bible here that he was a thief, that he's saying, like, why did we waste that oil on Jesus' feet? We could have used it to save it to do something else with, right? But Jesus said, the poor you will always have with you, but not me. So that focus wasn't really about the oil. It was about the sacrifice, the personal touch that Mary added to his relationship. There's something about having a relationship with Jesus. Where you know that something's coming, you're right, that you will remember that you will do whatever it takes.

6:13 And sometimes you probably wonder after you've done it, like, why did I do that? Because the love of God is so pure in you and it's reflected back in your action. Let's go to Romans 12.1. It reads, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Let's pause there for a minute. Your reasonable service is to give, present your body as a sacrifice. A reasonable, nothing less, nothing more, but a reasonable.

6:54 And verse two tells us, and be not conformed of this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. God's telling us here, once again, to stay focused on him. And people say, what can I give God? God tells you in verse 12, it says, present your bodies. I don't just want just your heart. I want all of you. I want all of you. Isn't that interesting? God says, I want all of you. Let's go to 2 Samuel 24, chapter 24, verse 24.

7:35 And the king said unto Aaronah, Nay, but I will surely buy it of thee a price. Neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God, of that which does cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for 50 shekels of silver. Once again, that word that comes forth is sacrifice. We see here the king was going to give David something free. But David said, no, I don't want to take it free. I don't want nothing that won't cost me anything. I want you that I'll pay this amount for this item that you're offering me.

8:19 So not taking anything free, but saying, hey, I got to pay for this. That's awesome. That's a good scenario to understand what it cost Jesus when he died on the cross for us. That it cost him everything, including his body. Let's go to Psalms 51, verse 16 and 17. And it reads, For thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it. Thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are broken, a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. God, thou will not despise. Once again, the word sacrifice is arising up.

9:01 And I'm going to read it again. And for thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it. Thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifice of God, our broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. Oh God, thou will not despise. So once again, it's another level. It says, present to me your bodies, right? Don't give me nothing that don't cost anything. And we see here, I want to go a little deeper. I want your heart, your broken heart. I want your broken heart. Let's go to Mark 14, verses 6 and 9, verse 6 through 9, and it reads here, And Jesus said, And it's the same story of her pouring the oil, but it's in a different verse.

9:55 It's in Mark, and it's not in John. So it's a different perspective. And I'll start over with that one. Verse 6 says, And Jesus said, Let her alone, why trouble her ye? She has wrought a good work on me. For ye have the poor with you always, and whosoever ye will have may do them good. But me ye have not always. Once again, he says, Poor is going to be around, but you won't always have me. And then verse 8, She has done what she could. She has come aforehand to anoint my body for bearing. Wow. So the oil was Jesus' body before bearing, had a spiritual connection.

10:37 Even though it was done in a spiritual way, that oil that Mary put on Jesus was for a spiritual purpose. And finally, in verse 9, it tells us, Verily I say unto you, whosoever this gospel should be preached throughout the whole world, this also that what she has done should be spoken as a memorial of her. She's saying what she has done this day, people will still talk about it, even after her death. And we today still talking about Mary. Mary sitting at his feet, Mary pouring the oil on Jesus' body before burying. And you know it was probably smelling good. You know, good oil.

11:18 Was it a cheap oil? It was a good oil. And we see here, last one is Luke 10, 42. But one thing is needful, and Mary has chosen that good part, which should not be taken away from her. Neither would you forget her name, but you would never forget what she's done. But she is going to be remembered in heaven. Let's do a quick review. We just read in John 12, it says, Mary anoints Jesus with costly perfume. One thing I noticed in that scripture that Martha was quiet. You didn't hear nothing about Martha. After that first visit with Jesus, remember when Jesus first showed up, said, Martha, you were very anxious about many, many things.

12:01 I believe that touched Martha's heart. When that oil was poured, Martha didn't say a word. She's not even like, she's in the room, she sees it, but she is probably worshiping Jesus. She learned how to worship. Romans 12, 1, it says, living sacrifice. Present your body as a living sacrifice. 2 Samuel tells us in chapter 24, I will not offer that which costs me nothing. We're always good for the freebies, but we have to know that Jesus gave his all and he wants our all. Mark 14, we read that Jesus said this to Mary, she has done a beautiful thing.

12:44 Psalms 51 tells us he wants a broken and kind dry heart to come before him for repair. And then Luke 10 tells us that Mary shows the better portion. This devotion pretty much ends the way it should begin. It begins with the oil. Not the oil that people see. Not the oil that makes a person look spiritual. But the oil that comes from surrender, sacrifice, intimacy, trust, brokenness, devotion. In this last day, we shift from the crowded room of distraction to a sacred moment of worship that costs.

13:25 Because true worship is not what you do when it's convenient. True worship is what you do when it's costly. And when Mary pours oil on Jesus, she teaches every believer in every generation a final lesson. Worship is not content. Worship is surrender. John 12 opens with Jesus returning to Bethany. This is the same household of Mary and Martha. But this time the atmosphere is different. There they made him a supper, John 12, 2. And it says, Martha served, John 12, 2. Notice Martha is still serving, but now she's not complaining.

14:08 No resentment, no pressure, no comparison. Why? Because something shifted in that house. Worship has been restored. When the Bible says, then took Mary a pound of ointment, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, John 12, 3, and the room was filled, and the house was filled with an order of ointment. This is what real worship does. It changes, it shifts the atmosphere. It fills the room with something holy. Mary didn't pour oil for attention. She poured oil because her devotion has matured.

14:51 She had learned the better portion is not being seen. The better portion is being surrendered. The cost of worship. The Bible says the ointment was very costly, which means worship requires something valuable. That's the difference between performance and worship. I think there's a song that he gives me my breath to breathe. He fills us every day with breath to breathe. Without Him breathing for us, we would not be here. We would perish. That's costly love that He gives us. What's the difference? You know, when Mary poured that oil on Jesus' feet, there was a shift we heard.

15:35 But that difference was between performance or worship. Performance gives what is convenient, but worship gives what is costly. Costly worship, it costs your pride. It costs your comfort. It costs your time. It costs your image. It costs your routine. It costs your distraction and costs your desire to be liked. This is what 2 Samuel 24 teaches us. I will not offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which does cost me nothing. Anything that costs you nothing is not a sacrifice. The worship is always tied to sacrifice.

16:16 Let's do real time here. How does this look when we do real time? The generation of sheep worship. This generation has been raised to seek quick rewards, quick attention, quick likes, quick applause, quick posting, quick influence, quick viral moments. But the worship, worship is not microwavable. Oil takes time. Oil comes from crushing. Oil comes from pressure. And that's why some people can post worship but don't have worship. Some people can sing worship songs, but don't live worship lives. Some people can shout, but don't surrender.

16:59 Because true worship starts, don't start on the stage. It starts in a secret place. It starts when nobody sees. It starts when you choose Jesus over image. Mary didn't just give Jesus leftover worship. She gave him her best. And that is what worship must become. Not convenient, not performative, costly. And if you learn anything today, you will learn that worship at cost. Breaks distraction, silenced criticism, and fills the atmosphere with God's presence. And you understand that the atmosphere shifted for Martha and shifted for Mary, but it didn't shift for Judas.

17:44 And Judas is another person we won't focus on, but pay attention. So what you do that costs you something, it's not going to always please everybody around you. Matter of fact, it might even provoke criticism. It might provoke doubt. It might provoke even anger. But Jesus says that, no, Mary shows the best thing. She anointed me for burial. Wow, the timing of that is so, so awesome. So let's do a heart check. Because I know this has touched my heart in a very, very big way. And I really don't know how or why. But it made me see that Jesus is checking out everything we do.

18:27 There's nothing missing. But he also prepared Martha for what he wanted to do further. Remember, he raised their brother from the dead. And her worship, remember they lived together, Mary and Martha. Martha still was serving, but she was serving out of a pure heart. What a shift. So let's do a heart check and let's answer these questions honestly. Have I been giving God leftovers? What is my worship currently costing me, if anything? And have I been protecting my image before pouring out my oil? What would costly worship look like in a real life?

19:09 And what distractions must be broken for my worship to rise again? This is our final call devotional. Number one, give God your best, not what's left. Worship cannot be squeezed in after everything else. It must be a priority. Stop worshiping outcomes. Some people worship results, but Mary worships Jesus himself. Not for what he could do, for what, for who he is. One thing I mentioned earlier is don't fear criticism. Judas criticized Mary. Why was this oil not sold? John 12, 5. Critics always show up when worship gets costly because some people will never understand devotion. But Jesus defends Mary. Let her alone. John 12, 7.

19:53 God will protect what you pour out. Let worship fill your house again. Mary's oil filled the room. This means worship is not just a moment. It's an atmosphere. Worship must return to your home, your prayer life, your decisions, your identity, and your inner life. Number five, become a living sacrifice. Romans 12 says, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, meaning worship becomes a lifestyle, obedience when it's hard. Purity when it's unpopular, prayer when you're tired, truth when it costs you, brownies when people complain.

20:33 That is worship. We see here how to get it back is you want to give God your best, not what's left. Stop worshiping outcomes. Don't fear criticism and let worship fill your house again. Number five, become a living sacrifice. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, pour my oil at your feet. I pour my oil at your feet. I repent every time worship became routine, rushed, or distracted. I repent for giving you leftovers instead of my best. Restore true worship in my life. Make my worship pure, personal, and sacrificial. Break every addiction to validation and deliver me from performance.

21:16 Let my life be an offering. Fill my house with your presence again. I choose the altar over algorithm. And I choose to surrender over image. I choose devotion over distraction. In Jesus' name, amen. Let's declare these things. I pour my oil at the feet of Jesus. My worship will be personal and pure. I will not offer God sheep worship. The altar is my priority, not attention. I am a living sacrifice unto the Lord. Distraction has broken off of my life. My house will be filled with worship again. and I choose the better person forever.

22:00 So I want to give you some things to do to keep that oil fresh. I want you to write your personal oil list because oil costs us something. And there are about five things that you're giving back to God at worship time. And so here goes a list. It's not a catch-all list, but it's time, it's obedience, it's purity, discipline, prayer, rest, boundaries, forgiveness, and humility. And then I want you to write that this is my oil. What is your oil? What are you giving back to Jesus? And then the next step is the oil offering. If you have some oil, olive oil, they usually use whatever oil you have.

22:41 I want you to just, as you do this, just anoint yourself. I usually like to put it on my forehead because when you go through the line, they put it on your forehead. And let it sit. Don't wipe it off. Just put a little oil on your forehead. Keep it on your hands. Put your hands together in prayer. You got the oil. And then I want you to do one of these things. I want you to find 30 minutes in a secret place. Pass social media for 24 hours. Forgive someone you've held resentment toward. Sow into someone privately. And worship God without music, without a phone and write a letter of repentance and surrender. So those are four things. Those are four things. Those are six things.

23:24 I'm going to say them again. Write them down. Anoint yourself with oil and spend 30 minutes in a secret place. Anoint yourself with oil and fast social media for 24 hours. Now, if you're going to go to work, you might have to rub that in a little bit or place it on your heart or somewhere out of sight so you remember that oil. It's for a purpose. It's your grace and your mercy that God's given you because he's calling you back. And forgive someone you held resentment toward. That might be the hardest one. But I find out, even though I have ought in my heart sometimes for people, I ask the Lord to help me clear that ought out, especially during prayer time. And give me a reason to talk to them and let them know. Because they're waiting for you. No one wants to have that ought.

24:08 I remember there was a lady, and we just did not get along. And then one time in prayer, it was like six months later, one time in prayer, I said, I need you to call her and tell her that you apologized and that we need to go forward. And all I did was send a text and told her, let's go to dinner or something someday. But I want to share with you that it's been my fault that we've been having this ought because I was out of my lane. As I share with you, I always want to be the boss. I want to be the leader. I want to tell you what to do. And when you're not listening, then that causes a little ought, don't I? When we're taking on more than we ought to. But when I did that, even though nothing has happened, she didn't respond to the text. and it was like maybe on a Monday and I didn't see her till that following Sunday.

24:53 When she walked up to me, she gave me a hug. She said, yes, Connie, let's do dinner. And it was over. So sometimes you have to break your pride to get it done. Now remember, he said in the Bible, God says in the Bible that at any cost, let it not be you. You have to do whatever you need to do to keep the peace of everyone, right? Not you wait for them. You may have to do something to break that resentment in your heart. And you want to sow into someone privately you know and you don't have to make a big deal about it sometimes you can walk up to them and say hey this is what I want to do it could be dinner it could be cash it could be whatever God tells you to do, everybody has a different idea you might even sow into that need that they have they're having worship God.

25:36 Without music and without a phone. See, I like my music and it's on my phone. And sometimes I'll just turn it off. Sometimes some music just, it's like it, even though it's worship music, sometimes it just scratches the atmosphere and the Holy Spirit doesn't really want it. He doesn't need the music. He doesn't need it and neither do we. And then write a letter of repentance and surrender. Write a letter of repentance and surrender. Maybe you can't send them a text. Maybe they're long distance, but maybe you track down their address. And you write them a letter and give your phone number. So if they want to call, or maybe sometime you have to forgive them and let it go. Maybe I don't want to reconnect. I just want to let you know that I forgive you and then move on.

26:19 There's different ways that you can go because God doesn't want to put you, present yourself as a holy sacrifice and then get butchered, right? And he'll tell you on what to do next. And then Jesus says this. And Jesus says, this is my oil. After you do all that, your oil is this. So you got oil on you, anointing yourself. You're doing these holy activities and you're saying to Jesus, this is my oil. So when life starts living. As you know it will, stay close to Jesus. Stay close when you're tired. Stay close when you're overwhelmed. Stay close when you're tempted to perform. Stay close when you feel unseen. Stay close when you don't have the words because closeness is what keeps you anchored. You don't have to be perfect, just present.

27:05 Return quickly, worship honestly, and pour your oil anyway. And remember this, the algorithm will always try to pull you into noise, But Jesus will always pull you into peace. So keep choosing a better portion. Keep protecting the secret place. Keep surrendering what distracts you. And then you don't, and you don't know what else to do. Like hit repeat instead of just speed again. And this has been Connie Morris, The Diary of a Black Woman Podcast. That was our final series of The Algorithm Is Not Your Altar, Mary Martha and How to Get Your Worship Back.

27:46 I look forward to seeing you on the next episode. Bye-bye. Family, thank you for spending time with me today. To every woman listening who has ever felt hidden, overlooked, or pushed aside, hear me clearly. God has not forgotten you, and neither have I. Now let's go before the Lord and close this out with a word from God. Because someone out there needs this reminder today. Jeremiah 29, 11, verses 11 through 14. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

28:38 Then when you call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you, you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and bring you back from captivity. Father God, we thank you for your word, that it is true, that it is living, that it is for us. You said you know the plans you have for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future. So today we receive that, not just in our minds, but in our hearts. When we feel overlooked. Remind us, you still see us. When we feel forgotten, remind us, you still have a plan.

29:21 And when we feel hidden, remind us, you are still working. Your word says that when we call on you, you will listen. So we call on you now, hear us, strengthen us, guide us, help us to seek you with our whole heart, not halfway, not sometimes, but fully. And as we seek you, let us find you in every season, in every place, even the hidden mind. Restore what was lost, renew what feels broken, and remind us that nothing in our lives is wasted in your hand. Lord, we trust you, we believe you, and we stand on your word. In Jesus' name, amen. This is Diary of a Black Woman podcast, and I'm your host, Connie Morris, and I'll see you on the next episode.