Worship as Extravagance

From a message by the Rev. Bill Fuller (pictured above) 

The Rev. Bill Fuller preached recently about “Worship as Extravagance” at Grace Church in Southern Pines, N.C.

Fuller, Grace Church’s executive pastor, earned a bachelors degree in religion at UNC Chapel Hill in 1974. After graduation, he lived six months among the Gurage people in Ethiopia. That experience inspired him to serve God cross-culturally and led him to Columbia Graduate School of Bible and Missions, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree in Missions. He and his wife, Georgia, live in Sanford, N.C. They have two children.

Fuller spoke about extravagant giving, speaking and living.

He read 2 Corinthians 9:6-7: “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.  Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

The word “cheerful” is rooted in the Greek word “hilaros,” which translates to the English word “hilarious,” Fuller noted. “Hilarious” means “exuberant, enthusiastic, exhilarated.”

He told of the woman who “let her hair down in public” – something Jewish women never did, he said – and anointed Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume.

“Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

“But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ‘Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages’…

“‘Leave her alone,’ Jesus replied. ‘It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me’” (John 12:1-8).

Nard is processed from leaves of a flowering plant that grows in the Himalayas of China and in the northern region of India and Nepal. Pure nard, in 2011, would be worth $2,800 an ounce, Fuller said. Mary poured about a pint (16 ounces) on Jesus’ feet.

“Extravagance is not measured by the size of the gift you made but by the sacrifice you made,” Fuller said. “God loves extravagant givers, because he is an extravagant giver.”

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

Fuller said we should serve God with our speaking.

“Why is it so hard to say extravagant things about God?” he asked. “Because it’s a sacrifice. Some of you will have to give up the energy to speak up. Sacrifice your self-image, and speak up. Jesus suffered so we could be welcomed into God’s family. Are we too ashamed to speak extravagantly of God in public? Praise just flows from the lips of people who know what God did for us.”

Worship also involves extravagant living, Fuller said. “Spending your life for God is the only reasonable response for what he’s done,” he said. “He became poor and destitute and sacrificed his body, so you might not suffer the wrath of God.”

Fuller asked the audience to sing “Take My Life, and Let It Be Consecrated.” Here are some of that hymn’s words penned in 1874 by Frances R. Havergal:

“Take my life and let it be / Consecrated, Lord, to Thee. / Take my moments and my days / Let them flow in ceaseless praise; / Let them flow in ceaseless praise. / Take my hands and let them move / At the impulse of Thy love. / Take my feet and let them be / Swift and beautiful for Thee… / Take my voice and let me sing / Always, only, for my King. / Take my lips and let them be / Filled with messages from Thee… / Take my silver and my gold / Not a mite would I withhold / Take my intellect and use / Ev-’ry pow’r as Thou shalt choose… / Take my will and make it Thine / It shall be no longer mine. / Take myself and I will be / Ever, only, all for Thee… / Take my love, my Lord, I pour / At Thy feet its treasure store, / Take myself and I will be / Ever, only, all for Thee, / Ever, only, all for Thee.”