Surge Lesson Notes

Today I want to talk to you about a revolutionary truth of God’s word that I believe many of us, myself included, need to grasp in order to be authentic worshipers in spirit and truth!

A LOOK BACK: Authentic Worship Defined: (this picture defines worship)
if you need words: Worship in spirit and in truth is my spirit responding to God’s Spirit in loving willful surrender and obedience to His will and His word!  And last week we learned from the life of Noah how Authentic Worship is a lifestyle and our lives reflect what is in our hearts.

1. 1.   An Authentic worshiper walks daily with God!

2. 2.   An Authentic Worshiper walks by faith, not by sight!

3. 3.   An Authentic Worshiper obeys completely and without delay!

4. 4.   An Authentic Worshiper lives a life of praise and thanksgiving!

Let me give you the context of my title: Authentic Worship is Extravagant!

EXTRAVAGANT!! It means this:
       Spending much more than is necessary or thought wise
       Excessively high! Exceeding the bounds of reason!
       WASTEFUL! Going beyond what is expected or reasonable.
       (as an example of this meaning dictionary.com uses Extravagant praise!)

Extravagant Worship is beyond reasonable limits and exceeds the bounds of reason.  It is excessively high and may even seem wasteful in the eyes of others. Yet it is the reflection of a heart in love with Jesus Christ! When we freely express our love for our Saviour openly and abundantly we genuinely worship and the Father smiles!

 Extravagant Worship makes no sense! But it is the kind of Worship that honours God!

The most beautiful story of Extravagant worship is found in all 4 Gospels!  I am going to share a blended version from Luke chapter 7 and John chapter 12 and Mark 14.

NOTE: Allow me to preface this scripture:  I know that people debate the varying facts about these stories and debate that they may or may not be of the same account.  The fact is they all happened and regardless of one account or many, this (or these) act of extravagant worship teaches us great lessons.  Let's not be bogged down with unnecessary debate.  It is scripture!

 JN 12:1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. [2] Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. [3] Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; Luke 7:[37] … a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town … [38] and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. John 12:5b And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. MK 14:4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, "Why this waste of perfume? [5] It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor." And they rebuked her harshly. JN 12:7 "Leave her alone," Jesus replied. "It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. [8] You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me."  LK 7:39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is--that she is a sinner."  LK 7:40 Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you."  "Tell me, teacher," he said.  LK 7:41 "Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. [42] Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"  LK 7:43 Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." "You have judged correctly," Jesus said.  LK 7:44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. [45] You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. [46] You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. [47] Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."  LK 7:48 Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."  Mark 14[9] I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her." 

Mary’s extravagant love teaches us 3 truths of Extravagant Worship!

1. Extravagant worshipers remember the gift of grace!

When someone truly realizes the depth of their sin and how lost they are, and then realizes Christ’s love for them and what it cost HIM, the response is extravagant worship!   

Remembering the truth of grace and the freedom we have in Christ is key to a life of continual praise! (Communion is our act of remembrance!)
The word "Remember" is found 161 times in the Bible

 Mary had just received one of the greatest gifts from Christ.  He had raised her brother from the dead! And she was thankful! 

A miraculous and special gift indeed but how much greater is our gift of forgiveness, freedom from sin and death!  Eternal LIFE?? 

Mary received the forgiveness of Christ for her sins that day, yet even before that, she was an extravagant worshiper of Christ!  How much more extravagant should we be today? 

Extravagant thanksgiving for the gift of God that we have been given is what praise is all about! 

We need to remember the pit of sin we have been brought out from and give extravagant thanks to God for it!  

A TRULY THANKFUL HEART WORSHIPS EXTRAVAGANTLY!

One who has forgotten that gift of freedom loses the passion for worship!

Your praise reflects your appreciation of Christ’s death!

Give Him Praise! HE IS WORTHY! 

2. Extravagant Worshipers give unrestrained praise!
Worship that does not worry about what others think, only God!
Romans 2:29b “a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.”
THAT IS TRUE FREEDOM OF WORHIP!

Mary’s gift was uninhibited by fear of what others may think!
Mary ignored custom in favor of intimacy!
(She chose to love Christ more than anything else, that’s extravagant)
Mary’s actions were downright inappropriate.  Her actions were radically extravagant!
It was a most loving and tender gesture, so intimate, almost too intimate, making everyone in the room feel uncomfortable. 

Extravagant worship ignores what is politically correct or socially acceptable and is free!!!  Free to weep, free to cheer, free to shout, dance, leap for joy, all to the glory of Christ.   

Our society has made it difficult to be expressive and almost inappropriate to be extravagant in worship. 

To worship boldly draws attention and it can be positive or negative, but either way requires you to be openly praising God! 

Extravagant Worship is both contagious, and criticized! YOU CAN COUNT ON IT!

A. Extravagant worship will be contagious

 Luke 18: A blind man shouts to Jesus! 42 Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you." [43] Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.

JOHN 5 The paralyzed man [25] Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. [26] Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today."

Acts 3 The crippled beggar 6 Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." [7] Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. [8] He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. [9] When all the people saw him walking and praising God, [10] they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. 

Think about it for a minute!  If we will stop letting fear of what others think of us get in the way for a minute we can be like that! We can be contagious in our worship! 

Extravagant worshipers praise God BOLDLY for what he has done and others are drawn to God. 

An extravagantly worshiping church will attract people who need healing and forgiveness!  It will attract the lost; broken; unloved looking for God

BUT IT WILL ATTRACT NEGATIVE ATTENTION TOO!!! 

B.  Extravagant worship will be criticized or despised
    1CH 15:29 As the ark of the covenant of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David dancing and celebrating, she despised him in her heart.

The uncomfortable often complain and criticize.  They don’t know what to do because it’s making them look bad!

We make excuses! Like the Disciples and Judas “That should have been sold to help the poor”  This part of the story really gets me upset!  It’s because the argument carries a weight of truth.  How many times do we use elements of truth to excuse our lack of faith or love for God?  We justify our actions by pointing to the good when it is still disobedience!  When I was young and teenagers would get excited about worship, someone always felt it was their responsibility to step in and teach everyone about proper conduct in worship!  Now I wish I could get just a bit of that freedom back!  That uninhibited praise.  I'm working on it. 

In my life I have seen many people claim reverence for God as an excuse to be cheap in worship.  Why? because it’s difficult to offer extravagant praise and whole hearted thanksgiving, it draws attention to us and we don’t want to stand out!

Reverence for God is not staunch conservatism in worship: (Maybe it is for you, but that does not mean it is for everyone else.  And if it is, you should ask the tough question why?  When David worshiped it was extravagant!)

Reverence is defined as respect and awe, or to bow down towards! That is what it is!  Not instructions on following the decorum of the day.  I believe extravagant worship that is whole hearted, emotional, gut wrenching, thankful, passionate, WASTEFUL, excessively high, exceeding the bounds of reason is respectful to who God is and what he has done for us!  By definition reverence does not mean restrained!  It means to honor! 

Hey but don't ask me, look at Mary:  Mary Honored Christ with her extravagant worship, while others balked at her for being wasteful!!  Don’t be a hinderer of extravagant worship!

We have become so proper in the name of reverence we have lost the freedom to show love and passionate appreciation for what God has so graciously given to us!  Shame on us! Shame on me!

LK 6:22 Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
LK 6:23 "Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.
LK 6:26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you,  for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.

 3. Extravagant Worshipers give their very best!

Extravagant worship costs something!  The best things in life are not free! We don’t appreciate a gift that costs little to the giver!

Mary gave an incredible possession to Christ, but she also gave her dignity, her pride, her decorum, her image.  She didn’t care what anyone thought she just loved God so much it didn’t matter! 

Then there was the other people..  The ones who said, “this should have been sold to give money for the poor!”  A good argument really, but they missed the point. 

God wants our best; he will meet the needs around us when we give him the best! Don’t make excuses for holding out on God!

 Do we really believe God is impressed with cheap easy worship?

 What does it mean to give God your best?

Conclusion: I am on a journey that God began when I committed to becoming an extravagant worshiper.  I don’t know what it means but it means I’m going to be transformed as I learn to be what God wants me to be! 

Will you commit to grow in your extravagant worship?

Will you focus on the gift of grace God has given you and allow your praise to truly reflect your appreciation for Jesus’ death?

Will you allow yourself to learn to give unrestrained praise to God like Mary did? (it won’t be easy and it will stretch you!)

Will you give your best to God, not your cheap easy worship?

I said last week that extravagant worshipers understand that God has done enough for your worship on Calvary.  But what is your response to that! How extravagant is your worship? 

   JN 12:12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. [13] They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,  "Hosanna! "  "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!"

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