This morning, we continue our series, “The Miracles of Jesus.” Before we get into the miracle, let’s look at the foundational scripture I will share with you all year.
(Psalm 126:4 TPT)
Now, Lord, do it again! Restore us to our former glory! May streams of your refreshing flow over us until our dry hearts are drenched again.
This is a season of refreshing and restoring for us. I pray you get refreshed and restored as we study each miracle.
Read John 11
Yesterday, we saw how Jesus did not get anywhere with Martha. So Jesus moved on to speak to Mary. I told you that I believe Jesus was looking for a trigger from one of the two sisters before He moved on their behalf. Jesus was ready, willing, and able to resurrect Lazarus, but He was looking for something, some act on the part of the sisters that would move Him to action. He was looking for faith.
When Mary got word that Jesus was asking for her, she immediately went to see Him. Mary was in the middle of mourning, and a group of mourners followed her. The Bible says that some thought she was going to the tomb to continue mourning, but she was going out to meet Jesus. Jesus had yet to make it into town. He was still waiting just out of town, in the same place where He met Martha.
When Mary arrived, there He was, God in the flesh, waiting on the second sister, hoping she would trigger Him to move in their lives. Martha had come and held a long conversation with Jesus but had done nothing but frustrate Him. He attempted several times to get her to understand that He was ready to resurrect Lazarus, but she didn’t get it.
Mary had her shot now. When she got to where Jesus was, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” That’s it, that’s all she said. If you look through this entire story, you will see that these are the only words Mary uttered in this encounter. As a matter of fact, these are the SAME 12 words that her sister had spoken when she first saw Jesus. But somehow, they were different. When Martha said these 12 words, nothing happened. When Martha said them, it caused Jesus to enter a lengthy discussion with her, trying to get her to see what He was really up to, but she never really got it. But Mary was different. All she had to say was 12 words.
Although WHAT she said was exactly the same, HOW she said it was completely different. Mary had spoken these 12 words from her knees. Mary was in a position of worship. The mourners that followed her were there. They were expecting Mary to fuss at Jesus as Martha did, but Mary did not fuss. Her words were words of surrender. She fell down at His feet, the place of surrender and worship, and expressed her pain. She cried as she laid there at His feet. Tomorrow I will focus on Jesus’ reaction to Mary and how it was completely different from His reaction to Martha (quick preview: Jesus wept). Mary released everything she had, everything she was feeling, all the pain she was carrying, and all the hurt that was haunting her as she laid at His feet in worship. Jesus could not help but be moved by that.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Work and worship are both required in the life of the believer.
— Martha was a worker. Mary was a worshipper. God requires both work(s) and worship from us.
— One day, while Jesus was in Bethany, Martha invited Him into her home. She quickly began working, getting everything ready, and serving Jesus and His team. While this was going on, Jesus was teaching, and Martha was missing out on what He was saying. All the while, Martha’s sister, Mary, was sitting at the feet of Jesus, in a position of worship, receiving from the Lord. Martha got upset with Mary for worshipping while she was working. Martha was even bold enough to ask Jesus to tell her sister to ‘get her lazy butt up’ to help her. Jesus explained to Martha that she was troubled by many things. She was working when she should have been worshipping. Mary was doing the right thing.
— If you spend your time WORKING for God when you should be WORSHIPPING and RECEIVING from Him, then not only will you miss out on what He had for you, but you will get tired and frustrated in the process.
2. You must discern when to work and when to worship.
— Work and worship are necessary, but you must discern the proper timing for each.
— When Jesus is speaking, you should be listening and receiving FROM Him, not working FOR Him.
— Never get so busy doing something FOR God that you fail to hear FROM God!
— This past Sunday, I preached a message that mentioned the prophet Elijah. He was a mighty man of God. He confronted the King of Israel. He stopped the rain for 42 months. He had a showdown on Mount Carmel where he went up against 450 prophets of Baal and WON! He then prayed for the rain to come back, and it did. After all of this, he was afraid of Jezebel and so was so exhausted that he wanted to die. He even prayed and asked God to take his life. He wanted to die! Not because he was doing bad things. All he did was WORK for God. But he failed to slow down long enough to WORSHIP God and allow God to FILL HIM BACK UP!
— It is dangerous to WORK, and WORK, and WORK, and POUR OUT to others, even when you are doing it for God, if you don’t take the time for God to fill you back up. This is why even Pastors commit suicide. WORKING without genuine and intimate WORSHIP will cause you to lose your mental health.
— A life of constant work without a proper diet of worship will strip you of your joy and peace, leaving you with nothing but frustration and aggravation. This is what happened to Martha. She was so accustomed to working that she failed to properly worship. So when Jesus showed up, ready to resurrect her brother from the dead, she could not discern what Jesus was saying. He tried, over and over again, to get her to understand what He was there to do, but she missed Jesus’ every attempt.
3. Worship puts you in the proper position to interact with God.
— Mary said the exact same words that Martha did, but she said them from a position of worship. Martha frustrated Jesus; Mary moved Jesus: same words, different posture, different results.
— Jesus said, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). God is looking for you to worship Him with your whole heart. Mary did. Mary fell at the feet of Jesus; she released everything she had and wept in a position of worship. How did Jesus respond? He wept as well. Mary’s true worship moved Jesus. Will yours?
4. Your worship will TOUCH GOD in ways your work never will!
— It is so easy to get caught up in the “work” of the church that we fail to do the “work” of the church.
— I know people who say they “run hard for Jesus,” but this manifests itself in a busy calendar packed with church-related activities. Listen, I know most of our churches run off of a foundation of work that is provided by volunteers. I get it. I am not saying that we don’t want people “working” in this ministry or that. But I am saying that people need to be careful that they don’t get so busy doing “things” for God that they fail to experience God for themselves.
— Martha was busy working all the time, even when she was in the proximity of Jesus. This created a callousness around her heart that when Jesus wanted to move in her life, His words could not penetrate her soul because she kept missing what Jesus was saying. On the other hand, Mary said the same 12 words her sister said, but because she was a worshipper, it’s almost like her words did not matter. Her worship touched Jesus, and He was ready to raise Lazarus from the dead.
— Remember, God is not your boss. He is your diety. He is not just looking for work. He is looking for worship! He wants more than just the work of your hands. He wants praise from your lips and true worship from your heart. Worship is powerful. Your worship will TOUCH GOD in ways that your work never will!
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me!
This year I learn to work and worship. I learn to discern when to do each and to do them both well.
You are looking for true worshippers. I am one!
I worship You with a pure heart. I worship You at all times.
I come to You as my King, my Ruler, my Daddy, my God.
I acknowledge no other gods, and I call upon no other name. You alone are Lord in my life!
You alone sit on the throne, and I will worship You all the days of my life!
My worship empowers me to release all the pain, frustration, and weight that the cares of this world put on me.
As I worship You, I am made free. And as You receive the worship, You move in my life!
Living this way, I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
