We don’t know her name only her love. When Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him with an alabaster flask of costly fragrant oil and poured it on His head.  Set free from torment and now living with new hope, she came to pay her debt the best she could. But some disciples including Judas asked why the fragrant oil was “wasted?” GK Apoleia” Literally “ruined to perdition.” 

300 denarii was close to a year’s wage. That is extravagant worship. You can’t accurately ladle out worship, so she poured it out.  Worship is wasteful; it is always excessive, even over the top. You can only pour it out unmeasured. Extravagant worship always exposes the hard, pragmatic, selfish or merely natural mindset.

Judas also asked why her passion and devotion were not used to help the poor. But worship is not about being helpful or alleviating need. Meeting a need is a good thing to do at any time but it is not worship.  Worship is given to the One who has no need - we worship because it is we who have the need to worship.

Tellingly, when Jesus was describing Judas later, as the “son of perdition”, he used the exact same word "wasted", meaning “ruined to perdition.”  When a man calls wasted a thing that God esteems, God who wishes to esteem every man's life, may call it wasted.

Friends, the extravagance of our worship and how we rejoice in extravagant worship by others, is a good indicator of our heart and our future.

 Worship is the gyroscope of the soul. Worship is a sign of right order in the universe. When men and women worship God they begin to find out what they are born for and the benefits that God plans for them. Worship is all about God, but it benefits us. 

Worship lifts a man out of obscurity. Of course, God knows every person and loves them, but people don’t really appear on His “radar” until they begin to worship Him. Worship will lift a man to his place in history.  Gideon worshipped God and discovered he was a mighty man of valor. Moses was unknown till he bowed at the flaming shrub and Isaiah was just the son of a rich man until he saw the Lord high and lifted up. When people worship, they become what they were intended to be.

Worshipping Jesus is the only way to get the best from our life and our day. When Jesus was visiting His friends in Bethany, Martha was busy in the kitchen but Mary sat at His feet.  When Martha later complained to Jesus that Mary wasn’t helping her, Jesus said that Mary had chosen the best part. On an average day, there are tasks to complete and people to relate to, but they can never become the best they could be, till we have done the best part of the whole day, which is to worship Him.  Without the best part of the day in place, all other parts are ill-placed and unaligned. We may have a wrong perspective, or life’s priorities may become distorted like Martha’s. She believed that love was best shown by industry, not intimacy even in inactivity.

Being “useless” is not a virtue in the world or even in the kingdom of God but imperative in the very presence of Jesus. Our importance and what we can do for Him, is zero compared with what He can do for us as we worship.

Friend, to become the person, the father or friend, we were intended to be, and even to have the day God intended, choose to be a worshipper.

The Philistines stood opposite Israel, with a valley between them. Goliath their champion came out big, burly and covered in bronze armour.  He defied Israel and no one was prepared to face him but David (1 Sa 17:3-7). Young David went down into the valley alone, but he never felt alone.  He drew near to the Philistine, his sling in his hand and faced the fight all by himself.

Sometimes we don’t have an army behind us.  There are times when it seems that no one is with us, not even friends, and we have to stand by ourselves.  There are some giants we must face alone. The devil doesn't attack us in the church meeting, but on Thursday evening or on the day when our weakness and our inabilities seem to be magnified. It is nice when people stand with you but there will come a time when you have to encourage yourself in the Lord.

Years later David and his men were away from home when the Amalekites attacked their families and took them all captive. His men were angry and spoke of stoning David.  “But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God”. (1 Samuel 30:6)   David recalled God’s purpose, God’s promises and His presence, and he got stronger. He never felt alone, and he wasn't!

This was the last test before his coronation.  God knew that David was not ready to be the king if he needed people’s agreement or support, before he could do the right thing. 

Friend, If we can’t stand alone with God in the battle, there will be a time when we won’t stand at all. In a world that mocks everything and everyone that is godly, we must stand together and stand alone if necessary.

Worship is the foremost duty of mankind.  A person’s worship determines who that person is and who they become because people are defined by their worship, not by their money or their body.  A man is never more manly than when he worships, because when a man worships, he is doing what a man is created to do. It didn’t matter that Moses was a shepherd or a fisherman, but it did matter that he was a worshipper. 

Jesus was a worshipper yet there's no record of him playing music, praising with instruments or dancing. Worship is not slow songs or a style of song that helps us connect with God but an attitude of complete surrender. Only God can see our worship and it is our worship that ratifies our praise.

Worship is always a sacrifice. In the first instance of worship, there was no music, no choir and no shouts of praise; just shaky blood-stained hands, and a carcass on an altar, as a substitute for the offerer. David had seen this type of “worship” in the Tabernacle, blood, knives, searing meat, smoke and cattle standing around to be killed, but  David realised God would rather a living man offer his whole heart to Him (a living sacrifice) than to offer the lifeless carcass of a bull or a goat. (Psalm 40:6-8).

Friends, worship is the dethroning of ourselves (self-worship is the essence of sin) and placing ourselves upon the altar as a willing offering to God. It is the logical and reasonable sacrificing of our lives to the One who is worthy!

It was the most exciting time in the kingdom when the king was looking for a bride. The search began and before the prospective women went in before the king, there was a year of primping, grooming, teaching and instruction. For the women, it was a time to dress up.  Each invited girl had an unlimited budget; they could wear anything they wanted, and they all went shopping at the king’s expense.  Each girl thought “How can I dress to impress?  What will make me stand out and look really great?”

But when it was Esther's turn, she asked Hegai the king’s chamberlain, what would please the king most.  The chamberlain knew the King’s most personal and intimate likes and dislikes.  Esther was the only girl who asked Hegai. Because Esther asked the one who knew the king best, she came to him wearing his favorite colour, and with only the jewellery the ling liked best. The king couldn't take his eyes off her. Later, it was time to ask HIm what she wanted.

Finding favour with the King is not about us; how we look or what suits us but what suits Him.  It is about His style and preference. It is about entering His presence in a way that gives Him pleasure.  Do we do what everyone else is doing or what we feel like doing, or do we lift our hands with our hearts and offer our life and our worship in a way that pleases Him?     

Friend, let us ask the Holy Spirit what pleases the King. Let us come clothed in an attitude that pleases the Lord and not just ourselves. Sure, let's ask him for what we want, but not before we give Him what He wants.

Adam and Eve walked with the One who gave them life.  How wonderful it was to see the trees of the garden and all that God had made. One tree was stunning but although there was fruit on it they never ate from the Tree of Life.  They had a relationship as children and even deep fellowship with the Creator as they shared together. But still, for some reason, they never ate from the Tree of Life.

Eventually, by the decisions they made in the garden, mankind lost their place of relationship and fellowship with the Father. Jesus won it back for us through the decisions He made in the garden of Gethsemane.  God has done everything He needed to do, to make us acceptable to Him but it is not just a relationship God wants, but intimate fellowship with Him. The Bible describes our relationship with God as a “garden” that we must tend and keep. We are now back in the garden of fellowship but we're not alone. There is a serpent there too and his one goal is to keep us distracted in Father’s presence, so we never eat of the Tree of Life. (The Life in Jesus) The relationship is His gift to us – fellowship is our gift to Him.

Friend, don’t settle for a relationship when the purpose of the relationship is fellowship. Let’s walk with Him and abide with our hearts toward Him in fellowship until we are truly feeding from the Tree of Life.

The sinful woman took the place of a servant and washed Jesus’ feet with her tears. Washing the feet of guests, was part of eastern hospitality so guests could feel welcomed and comfortable to fellowship. Jesus the Servant has washed our feet so that we can fellowship with God.  “After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded”. John 13:5

The Christian life is likened to a walk and often the condition of our “spiritual feet” symbolizes our life and our progress in the Lord. We are either making progress or stumbling with our feet. Either our feet are on the enemy’s neck, or the enemy has us under his feet. Our feet can walk in straight paths or turn to the left or right. They are either secure or slipping and we are blessed if our feet stand in the house of the Lord, but not if we stand with scoffers and mockers.

The reason that the condition, stability and direction of our spiritual feet is so important, is that they reflect the condition of our heart. Feet only go where the heart has gone. If the heart is in bondage the feet will stray If the heart is in victory and dominion the feet will be too. On our journey to the heart of Jesus, we watch our heart, because the condition of the heart always influences the direction of the feet.

Friend, Jesus has washed our feet and our hearts. Let’s keep our heart with all diligence because where our heart goes, our feet will soon follow.

 David returned to Ziglag from the battle, to find that his family, his precious wives and his soldiers’ families had been taken captive. The men, once friends, now talked of killing him; it was his lowest hour. With no one else to encourage him, he encouraged himself in the Lord. He builds a spirit of boldness and courage around his life, as he thought about and declared God’s faithfulness. After he had done that, the first thought he had was to inquire of the Lord for direction and help. A great decision. Never make a decision while you are depressed. Encourage yourself in God first. 1 Samuel 30.3.

 We can create the atmosphere in which we walk. We choose it or the devil will choose for us. He wants us to walk in doubt and fear, and without the strength of joy and he’ll try to bring that atmosphere around our life but with God’s Word, we can create and build an atmosphere of faith.

God used words to build the natural world and the spiritual world, and we can use words too, to build in the spirit realm. We have to know God’s word first of course, but then we need to confess it, for our words build the spiritual atmosphere around our lives. Faith-filled words can build a covering over us in the spirit, remove opposition from around us, and bring spiritual light and God’s presence. Our spiritual garments and amour are the result of words that we have spoken into the spirit. We wear around our life, the words we have been speaking. David encouraged himself in the Lord by declaring “You are my Rock. You’re my fortress” and his faith grew.

Friend, you may face times when people around you are not that encouraging or upbuilding, but you know what you can do.  Don’t let other people’s words determine the joy or the world you live in; make your own atmosphere today. If you build it, He will come!