The Sacrificial Mary

Mary anointed Jesus' feet with a pound of very expensive perfume, and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. This offering represented a sacrificial Mary. As Jesus' glorious moment was about to arrive, someone was willing to break open her most precious perfume and anoint Jesus' feet. Do you know how much the perfume was worth? In today's value, it would be fifty thousand Singapore dollars. If someone is willing to pay this price when a glorious moment is about to arrive, it is this woman; she did a very beautiful thing.

Preparing for the Moment of Glory

Because Jesus was about to be killed, buried, and then resurrected from the dead. Jesus said, Leave her alone; she has kept it for the day of my burial (John 12:7).

In other words, a glorious moment was about to arrive! Some might think, Jesus is about to be killed and buried; what glorious moment is that? Do not only see death; see that Jesus will be resurrected from the dead. If someone is resurrected from the dead, is that good news or bad news? Of course, death is not good news, but resurrection from the dead must be good news. If there is no death, how can there be resurrection from the dead? So, seeing that the moment for the Son of Man to be glorified has arrived, someone is willing to break open the perfume and offer it to the Lord. This woman is wise!

Jesus said, Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her (Mark 14:9).

The Church Needs God's Glory

Brothers and sisters, you must know that when God's glory is about to fill the church, money is not a problem at all. There are many people like Mary who are willing to break open the perfume and offer it. That is to say, if the church has God's glory, there will be beautiful testimonies. The testimony given by YP sister is very touching. When God's glory is manifested more strongly in the church, people who enter the church will have their lives transformed and begin to live beautifully. So today, brothers and sisters must know that building a church does not require money, nor does it require perfume and precious items; it requires God's glory. When God's glory descends here, someone will bring this perfume and offer it to the Lord. When we hear a praise song called Pour Out, it is talking about this woman.

So today, I encourage brothers and sisters to know that we were originally broken and filthy lives, but once we are offered to the Lord, we begin to emit the fragrance of Christ. Therefore, brothers and sisters must change their minds today. When Jesus is about to manifest His glory in our church, you will find that some miraculous things happen in the church, and there will be a lot of offerings.

Begin to Prepare Yourself

That glorious moment is about to arrive, and God is doing this wonderful work among us. When Jesus' glory is about to arrive, someone will break open the perfume and offer it to Him. The glory far exceeds the value of fifty thousand Singapore dollars. So, brothers and sisters, begin to prepare yourselves. If you have the eyes of Judas, you will only see money, which is the perspective of destruction.

Judas said, Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages. He did not say this because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it (John 12:5-6).

A person who loves money cannot live well. After Jesus was betrayed and arrested, Judas was ashamed and hanged himself. Some time ago, someone came among us. He and his wife earned a lot of money, but they did not live well at all and were tightly controlled by the spirit of death. Later, while I was leading the prayer, the demon behind him began to manifest, and the whole person stretched out his tongue like a hanged ghost, which was very scary. It turned out that in the building where he lived, someone hanged himself on the first floor, committed suicide on the third floor, and died of liver cancer on the fourth floor. Fortunately, nothing had happened on the second floor where they lived. At this time, money could not stop it. So today, everyone must know that money cannot stop death, but God's glory can bring you into glory.

Lazarus's Death Prepares the Way for God's Glory

When Jesus called Lazarus and told him to come out of the tomb from the dead, the crowd that was with Jesus testified. Because they had heard that Jesus had performed this sign, they went out to meet him (John 12:17-18).

Many people came to meet Jesus because of the resurrection of Lazarus, and Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. Later, the Pharisees not only wanted to kill Jesus but also Lazarus.

Needs to Offer

Although Lazarus was resurrected from the dead, he still needed to offer himself for Jesus. The woman who broke open the perfume and offered it is preached wherever Jesus is preached in the world. Not only that, but wherever Jesus is preached, the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead is also preached. Although we have not seen Lazarus alive today, it does not matter; he has prepared the way for the glory of Jesus. When the moment of glory is about to come, the dead will be resurrected from the dead.

Preparing for the Lord's Glorious Coming

If you put these things together, this glorious moment is coming, and God will also prepare this glorious moment in our midst, which is the second coming of the Lord Jesus, and the church of God will be greatly revived. God does not need too many churches, only glorious churches. Therefore, we must begin to thirst, to thirst for building a glorious and victorious church that prepares for the second coming of Jesus, and to prepare for the glorious coming of the Lord Jesus in our midst.

The Donkey Also Prepares for the Glory of the Lord Jesus

Why is it a colt instead of a tall horse? Because it is a colt preparing for glory. At that time, people did not understand, but after Jesus resurrected from the dead, people gradually understood that the inconspicuous little donkey looked great. You and I are that inconspicuous little donkey. As long as you are willing to be used by the Lord, you can share glory with the Lord.

God Will Use Inconspicuous People

Some people may think that the pastor has been studying well since he was a child, but I cannot. In fact, it does not matter whether you can or not. The key is that you and I are that little donkey. Although inconspicuous, God has chosen you and me, so we will share glory with God. It is not important whether we are conspicuous or inconspicuous. What is important is that we must be used by God and then prepare the way for the coming of God's glory. In fact, God uses inconspicuous people. Sometimes our eyes are fixed on the wrong place. If you fix your eyes on God, no matter what it is, it will be used by God and share glory with God. This is the colt preparing for the moment of God's glory. Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip in Bethsaida of Galilee and asked him, Sir, we would like to see Jesus (John 12:20-21). As a result, Jesus did not see them but said, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified (John 12:23). This is today's topic.

Unless a Kernel of Wheat Falls to the Ground and Dies, It Remains Only a Single Seed. But If It Dies, It Produces Many Seeds.

Anyone who loves their life will lose it (John 12:25). I think you must long to be glorified, to be glorified with God, and to live a glorious life like Jesus! There is one condition. In fact, this kernel of wheat does not only refer to Jesus; it refers to each of us. Each of us can become that kernel of wheat. If this kernel of wheat does not fall to the ground and die, it cannot produce many seeds; this kernel of wheat remains a single seed.

They found a seed in the tomb of Pharaoh, a seed buried three thousand years ago. Later, they took that seed out and planted it in the ground, and it actually grew. Buried in the ground for three thousand years, if this seed had been planted three thousand years ago, and it produced 100 seeds every year, the whole world would not be able to contain it today. That is to say, the most wonderful thing God created is the seed.

If you and I are a seed, and then we are buried in the ground and die, we will be glorified. It will grow out many seeds, which means that your life must be offered to God. That colt offered for God and was glorified; that bottle of perfume offered for God and was glorified; Lazarus resurrected from the dead and let God be glorified. They all shared the glory of Jesus Christ.

Share Glory with Jesus Christ

In all the places where Jesus Christ is preached, their names are also preached. Today, there are many famous people in the history of the church. All those who preach Jesus Christ and study church history mention their names. That revival may be a short revival or a long revival, but their names will be mentioned. In 1904, Evan Roberts of the British South Wales Army and Pastor Simon of Azusa Street were talking about it everywhere. So today, I think that if we are willing to give ourselves for Jesus, we are the seed, and we will be glorified! Do not be unwilling to give yourself for Jesus. Giving yourself for your boss does not bring glory.

Give Life for Jesus

Today's people are very interesting. They often bargain for giving themselves for Jesus, but they do not bargain for giving themselves for the boss, because they value human glory and do not value God's glory. So today, I think that we brothers and sisters must know that whether you are a seed to be given for Jesus determines whether you gain life.

The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds (John 12:23-24).

Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life (John 12:25).

I am very thankful that I am a person who hates my own life and has no interest in the things of the world.

Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me (John 12:26).

You do not understand why I serve day and night and serve to the point of not knowing what fatigue is. This is a very wonderful thing, because the Father is pleased with me. Why is my prayer effective? Because the Father is pleased with me. Some people say, Pastor, if we do not pray until two o'clock in the morning, we cannot survive? I have never asked for such a practice. I did not ask him, and he did not stay, because he is not a person who pays the price.

Follow the Service of the Lord Jesus

If you want to stay in the church, there is a small requirement, which is this sentence: Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me (John 12:26).

If anyone serves our Lord Jesus, our Father will surely honor (delight in) him. I will carefully examine the effectiveness of your pastoring among brothers and sisters. If your pastoring is as effective as that of the Lord Jesus, you are in the Lord Jesus, and our Father will honor (delight in) you. What you say on earth, God will accomplish for you.

We also begin to think: If my service is not effective, is my service like Jesus? The Lord Jesus said that we should serve as He serves. We belong to Jesus. Because Jesus Christ has been resurrected from the dead and gained glory, this is Jesus' response to the Greeks.

If someone asks you whether you are a charismatic or an evangelical, you say that I am a Jesus person! Because we follow Jesus, we do not know what charismatic or uncharismatic is, or what evangelical or unevangelical is. We are more evangelical than evangelicals, and more charismatic than charismatics, we are the Jesus faction. We preach God's Word better than many people, and we perform miracles more than many people. We are the Jesus faction. Where Jesus is, we are there.

Why is this so? Because the Son of Man Jesus Christ has been resurrected from the dead and gained glory, this is Jesus' response to the Greeks. If people can see the glory of Jesus Christ, you will be amazing, because the Father will surely honor (delight in) you.

Jesus Was Born For This

I really want to ask you, what were you born for? My soul is troubled now. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” (John 12:27-28). Are we surprised by this? Did you think Jesus was not in the flesh? He was in the flesh! Just like you and me, feeling distressed! Do not assume that pastors and Jesus, being full of faith, never feel distressed, as if they have no feelings, like the dead. No! Jesus, like you and me, is the Word made flesh, with blood, flesh, and feelings. You must understand that Jesus did not feel good at all when He walked the path of glory, feeling extremely sad, distressed, and troubled.

Because Jesus knew He would be nailed to the cross, hanging there for hours, in great pain! And before being hung on the cross, He would be flogged, His whole body torn apart by whips, and He would have to carry a cross, a heavy wooden beam. You would find it exhausting to carry a cross to a mountain even if you hadn't been flogged. How could He walk that road, having been flogged to the point of being torn apart, bleeding as He carried the cross? Do not think it does not hurt; it is very, very hard! And the nails being driven in would cause screams; no one is not afraid. But that is the path of glory, and we were born for this, and we came into this world for this.

Brothers and sisters, our God is so good that He bore the curse for us in this way. What kind of faith is the Christian faith? It is God suffering so that man may enjoy blessings! The previous chapter said that where He serves, we should also serve. Even if you are willing to walk this glorious path, that path should be paved with tears.

We must know that in this world, playing mahjong and enjoying ourselves does not require tears. But if you want to serve God, it is not easy, and your heart is often weary. After you serve diligently, others treat you like a worn-out shoe, tossing you aside! Do you think it feels good to be tossed aside like a worn-out shoe? We do not feel comfortable, but what does it matter?

We were born to gain God's glory, we were born for this, we came into this world for this. Our Heavenly Father tells us that He has glorified His name through us, and He will glorify it again, and the latter glory will be greater than the former. What God has done in our church, we have only seen a little bit of it now; next, you will see even greater glory, much greater than what your boss can give you.

If you are afraid of your boss, I tell you: You must begin to fear your Jesus! If you long to gain glory in front of your boss, today you must begin to long to gain glory in front of God. To come into this world to glorify God's name, and then enter into eternal life, is truly wonderful! Perhaps today our talk about these things seems a bit vague, but in a century or two, we will all be ancient people, and when we are in glory, we will know the truth. You will rejoice that you made the right choice at that time, to live to glorify God's name. We were born for this, we came into this world for this. At that time, there will also be a group of people who, for the sake of gaining worldly glory, for the sake of gaining the glory of men, will gnash their teeth in hell, and at that time they will say: Why did I make such a foolish choice back then!

Today, you must be a wise person! A wise person is one who comes into this world for the glory of God. When you begin to come into this world for the glory of God, you completely offer up your life, just like Jesus Christ was lifted up when He was crucified, and you can draw all people to the Lord so that all nations on earth will be blessed through you!

“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.” This He said, signifying by what death He would die (John 12:32-33).

In fact, Jesus Christ opened up a path of life for us, and this path of life is to plant this grain of wheat in the ground, and it will surely bear much fruit, becoming a blessing to many people. When we are willing to take up our cross, be disciples of the Lord, and then be crucified, be lifted up, you will attract people because you have the fragrance of the Lord Jesus Christ on you, because you will exude the power of Jesus from the dead.

What kind of life cannot be transformed by that power that can raise people from the dead? Thank God! These days, the miracles God has performed through my hands are so wonderful! Every week I am excited to hear these testimonies from brothers and sisters. Why? Because I was born for this, and what does it matter if I die for this? To die in such a Mingding Destiny will surely gain glory. That is to say, if a person knows why they were born and why they died, I think you are not far from the glory of God.

If your eyes only see your work, only see your homework, your vision is too shallow, and it is deadly! Sometimes I am very emotional. Today, whether I am standing at a spiritual height or at the height of worldly accumulated work experience, I feel very tired when I talk to some very low people because they do not accept what I am saying.

I tell him this, and he feels like it is not right. I say that you cannot see from where you are standing. Later, I thought that we often do this with God as well. The height at which God stands is too high, and we stand in a very low place. Therefore, we can only listen to God’s word and do it. Either you believe it, or you do not believe it, because it is difficult for Him to explain it to you clearly, and even if He explains it, you will not understand. Therefore, He does not explain it; just read God’s word and do it, and those who do it will be blessed.

The position that God stands in is too high. Therefore, when the Son of Man is lifted up, He will draw all people to Himself. And you must know that how sad it is for a person in darkness to not see God's glory because some people see it with spiritual eyes as light when the Son of Man is lifted up, and some people see with fleshly eyes that Jesus is being judged and nailed to the cross, but in fact, His death was for our sins.

Those Who Do Not Believe Cannot See the Arrival of the Glorious Moment

Though He had done so many signs before them, yet they did not believe in Him (John 12:37). I am very moved that God has done many miracles through us, but many people do not believe. In fact, some people are miracles themselves, and yet they still do not believe. I really do not understand. Later, one of our district pastors asked, when training the brothers and sisters in his pastoral district: Do you have a mission? Do you have a Mingding Destiny? Without a Mingding Destiny, you are spiritual livestock! Many people in the pastoral district have been transformed because no one wants to be livestock.

Therefore, today you must know that those who do not believe cannot see the glory of God, even if they themselves are part of the miracle. They often care very much about the things they are living for because they value the glory of men and do not value the glory of God. For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God (John 12:43).

He listens to what the boss says, but puts aside what God says. Is this not deadly? Therefore, He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes and understand with their hearts, and turn, so that I should heal them (John 12:40). These words refer to these people. Brothers and sisters, today you must ask yourself, do you value the glory of men or do you value the glory of God? The moment of God's glory is about to come upon us, the moment of God's glory is about to come upon this world, because the day of the Lord Jesus is very near. A few days ago, a sister was very funny, she entered the wrong group, and found that no one was there, where have you all gone? Have you been raptured? Oh! Her spirit is so keen! Because there are always people in our group, and she found that suddenly no one was there that day! If you really value the glory of God, you will be like this.

Brothers and sisters, you must know that those who believe will surely see the glory of God. If you often experience God, you must completely shatter the worldly value system inside you. A few days ago, I began to brew a feeling that I want to completely reject the sentimentality inside me. The church must be built by a group of disciples of Jesus Christ, and it must never be a group of people who are unwilling to pay the price coming together because these people will hinder the glory of God. They are the Pharisees.

What we need is a group of people who are willing to break the alabaster flask for God, who are willing to lay down their lives for God, who are willing to plant this seed in the ground so that many seeds will grow, who will serve according to the pattern of Jesus, who are willing to take up their cross, even if the feeling in their hearts is not good at all, they are willing to offer themselves because we were born for this, we live in this world for this.

If you have such a determination in your heart, I am also willing to walk with you. If you are willing to live for the things of this world, this church is probably not your church. I want to get rid of the sentimentality inside me. Either you are transformed, or you can find a church without the glory of God to stay in. As for me and the brothers and sisters in my church, we are all born for this, we came into this world for this, people who lay down their lives for this.

We will surely see the glory of God, and God will surely call us out of darkness into His marvelous light, and then we will surely see the blessed state after entering the light. We do not love blessings; we love God. We love God, and blessings follow us, and we become a blessing to all nations on this earth. If anyone hears God's word and believes it and does it, he will not live in darkness. If anyone hears My words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world (John 12:47).

Conclusion

The church is not composed of a group of believers; the church is composed of a group of disciples. Today there are more believers than disciples; most are believers, but what does the Bible say? I will send you to all the nations of the world to preach the gospel to them and make them My disciples. If you are willing to break the alabaster flask and offer it to God, then you are a disciple. You say: No, Lord, the ointment can be exchanged for thirty pieces of silver to help the poor. In fact, what helping the poor, it is all spent on oneself.

If you keep your life and do not use it for God, you are not a disciple. Whoever has more affection for father or mother than for Jesus is not worthy of being Jesus’ disciple; whoever has more affection for son or daughter than for Jesus is not worthy of being Jesus’ disciple. Whoever is a disciple of the Lord Jesus must take up his cross and follow the Lord. The church must constantly raise this requirement. Our church is entering a new season. What is this season? If you are not a disciple, we do not even want you. The lowest standard for this season is not tithing; the lowest standard is discipleship. We must all offer ourselves for Jesus Christ.

Some people say that this standard is too high. It is not I who said it; it is Jesus who said it. Do you want to be judged? Do not think that believers are not judged. What is a believer? One who hears God's word and does not do it. What is a disciple? One who hears God's word and does it, even if it means paying the price of life, even if it means feeling sad, frustrated, and weary in one's heart, and not walking according to one's own feelings, but beginning to overcome. John 12 is really well written. I think old John's original intention was also this; he was writing to the disciples of that generation. The first feeling after the disciples of that generation read it was: Lord! I want to die for you! That is the way to live, and that is how you can live out God's glory.