Do you feel like you’re missing your real purpose in life? Just like an invisible current drifts us down a shoreline, it’s easy to drift spiritually. We easily get distracted or prefer to stay in our comfort zone. Pastor Jeremy challenges us with a simple but powerful invitation: step out of the current and intentionally re-enter the place of presence, passion, and purpose!
Notes 📓✏️:
“You know, that’s the way life is. You step into something, and over time, drift naturally sets in.” – Jen DeWeerdt
“Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to His teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to Him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”
Luke 10:38-42 (ESV)
But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
The First Drift: The Distraction Drift
(ESV) “Martha was distracted with much serving.”
It is easier for us to work on the problem or need in front of us, than it is for us to sit in His presence.
“My grind will attract His grace.😬”
Many of us who get caught in the Distraction Drift are the ones everyone relies on.
Jesus says…“Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
Psalm 73:26 (ESV)
Your PROTECTION is not your work, Martha.
Your SOURCE is not your work, Martha.
Your IDENTITY is not your work, Martha.
Jesus is saying that Martha has become distracted by allowing the work to replace relationship.
“Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with Him at the table. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples (he who was about to betray Him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii given to the poor?” He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.
Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have Me.”
John 12:1-8 (ESV)“WHY ARE YOU DOING SOMETHING SO EXTRAVAGANT AND EXCESSIVE?”
Because Mary had spent time at Jesus’ feet, unreasonable sacrifice didn’t feel extreme—it felt normal.
The Second Drift: The Drift of Reasonableness
The Power of Moments, Heath Brothers: “Beware the soul-sucking force of reasonableness.”
“I will not give to the Lord a sacrifice that costs me nothing.”
“Reasonableness” makes us believe three lies:
- We should find balance in life.
- We should live by our feelings.
- We should obsess about what is best for me.
The Balance Lie:
They are passionate.
Great things are rarely accomplished by people who strive for balance and safety.
We follow passionate people!
The Feelings Lie:
“Feelings are indicators, not dictators.” – Lysa TerKeurst
The What-is-Best-for-Me Lie:
“Now great crowds accompanied Him, and He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple.”
Luke 14:25-27, 33 (ESV)“Hate” is an Aramaic way of saying, “Love less”
MARTHA: Lack of presence will result in lack of purpose.
MARY: Lack of sacrifice will result in lack of purpose.
You need to get out of the current and re-enter the water up where you once started.
Discussion Questions 📝❓:
- In the story of Mary and Martha from Luke 10, Jesus tells Marthe that Mary has chosen ‘the good portion.’ What does this mean about our priorities in following Jesus?
- How can we recognize when we’re experiencing ‘drift’ in our spiritual life, and what practical steps can we take to defeat it?
- What’s the danger in pursuing a ‘reasonable’ faithful life, and how does Mary’s extravagant act of worship challenge our concept of reasonable Christianity?
- How does the modern focus on ‘work-life balance’ potentially conflict with Jesus’ call to passionate discipleship?