Devotion and Distraction (Luke 10:38-42) - 11/12/23

INTRO

• Follow up on the good Samaritan.

• Priorities in life

• Serving and loving

• Devoted and Distracted
  

Mary – Devoted

At the feet of Christ

• Her position

  • Student to a Rabbi

• Her proximity

  • Listening intently

  • Not questioning like the lawyer Luke 10:25

Listening to His Words – THE WORD

Don Whitney writes, No Spiritual Discipline is more important than the intake of God’s Word. Nothing can substitute for it. There simply is no healthy Christian life apart from a diet of the milk and meat of Scripture. The reasons for this are obvious. In the Bible God tells us about Himself, and especially about Jesus Christ, the incarnation of God. The Bible unfolds the Law of God to us and shows us how we’ve all broken it. There we learn how Christ died as a sinless, willing Substitute for breakers of God’s Law and how we must repent and believe in Him to be right with God. In the Bible we learn the ways and will of the Lord. We find in Scripture how to live in a way that is pleasing to God as well as best and most fulfilling for ourselves. None of this eternally essential information can be found anywhere else except the Bible. Therefore if we would know God and be Godly, we must know the Word of God—intimately. SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES FOR THE CHRISTIAN LIFE [COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.: NAVPRESS, 1991], 24

Love, Listen, Learn, Live

• Luke 6:47 – Comes, listens, and acts

• Luke 8:21 – Hear and do.
  

Martha – Distracted

Loved by Jesus

• John 11:5

Serving Jesus

• She opened up here home to serve Jesus.

• Doing the work of ministry (80/20 rule)

• 1 Peter 4:9-10 Hospitality

SERVING IS GREAT, but the context tells us there is something going on with her heart.

She lost her focus.

• Distracted in her work

  • “to be dragged away”

  • Priorities are in question

  • Serving is great… BUT

• Overwhelmed

  • Worry set it. She was anxious

  • Anxious over what needed to be done Philippians 4:6

  • God will provide – Our needs

  • God accepts us in Christ – What will people think

  • God has us forever – What will happen

• Resentful

  • She lost her joy in serving

  • Took it out on others

Notice how fast it escalated. She opened up her home for Christ and now she is questioning him.

Lessons to Learn

• Doing ministry is greatly and crucial as we fulfill the Great Commission.

• We must keep a balance over the Temporal (good things) and the Eternal (Best thing).

• For those that are busy… we must learn to find as much JOY in BEING with Jesus as we do in BUSYNESS for Jesus.

  • Love, Listen, Learn, Live