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This podcast is a production of Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas, USA. Watermark exists to be and make more fully devoted followers of Christ, looking to God's Word as our only authority, conscience and guide.
Good morning, Watermark. How are we doing today? Good to see you. If this is your first time ever with us, welcome. We know there are people visiting for the first time every Sunday, so let me just say, "Welcome." I really do hope this place can feel like a safe place for you to take either your first or your next step with Jesus Christ.
I want to invite you this morning to think about the Christian life like a boat. There are different types of boats. The first way some people view the Christian life is like a cruise ship. You view it like a cruise ship because, honestly, it's all about your comfort and all about your preferences. So, even this morning, this is kind of like the show you come to. This is the entertainment portion of the cruise. It's all about your preferences.
You have your specific seat. Someone sat in your seat this morning. That's kind of throwing you off. You're thinking about checking out a different cruise line because of that. You have your seat, and we've played some music for you. You liked some of it. You wanted to put in some requests for some different songs to be played.
Now here's the message, and at some point you might evaluate, "You know what? Should we check out a different cruise line? I think the sermons, the messages, might be better there." It's kind of all about your preferences, your comfort. Do our children's programs…? Is the babysitting up to par? It's all about you and your preferences. That's one type of way to view the Christian life.
Another way to view the Christian life is like a speedboat, ski boat, wakeboard boat. It's where you gas up, and then after you gas up, man, it's just full throttle. Like, you put the throttle all the way down, and you just go. You go hard. You go hard until you run out of gas. I think this is a lot of people. We live in a very busy city.
So, I think, for a lot of people, the Christian life is like, "God, gas me up. That's why I'm here on Sunday morning. I am here to get gassed up. I'm going to go to my Community Group and get gassed up, and then, God, I'm going full throttle for you. I'm going to put it all the way down. I want to go as hard for you as possible, because you deserve that, so I'm going. God, I am busy for you because you deserve it."
Just think really quickly. Which boat best describes you? Maybe you're like, "Neither." Okay. Well, there's actually a third option we're going to talk about later, but what I want to do this morning is talk to the speedboat Christians. If you're a cruise-ship Christian, hang in there with me. I'm especially talking to the speedboat Christians. I'm talking to the busy people in the room.
See, we live in a culture that prizes and celebrates busyness. We wear busyness around like a badge of honor. It brings us so much gratification to inform people how much busier we are than they are. We love that. We love, in our Community Groups, helping people understand that we have stuff going on every single night of the week. Something in us kind of loves people seeing the time stamp on our emails. We celebrate busyness, and it feels especially good… We feel like we're really crushing life when we're really busy for Jesus.
We work 60- to 80-hour weeks to crush it for Jesus, to make money for Jesus. We have our kids involved in a million activities so they can learn how to glorify Jesus playing four sports at a time. We have something every night of the week to shine for Jesus. We volunteer in multiple ways at church and in the neighborhood to serve Jesus. Here's my concern: because we're so busy for Jesus, we're too busy to be with Jesus. That's my concern. In our busyness for Jesus, we're actually too busy for Jesus.
Last night, I saw someone post, "Busyness isn't faithfulness." Don't you feel that? The busier you are, the more godly it feels. Yet busyness doesn't equal faithfulness. Busyness doesn't equal godliness. Unfortunately, God put a story in the Bible to prove this to us. If you have a Bible, I want you to turn with me to Luke, chapter 10.
We're journeying through the entire Bible. If you're still looking for a reading plan, if you're still kind of in that place where you're like, "What are we going to read today?" and you just kind of let it fall open, and you're like "Leviticus. Dang it…" You don't have to read Leviticus. You could read Luke with us. You could do that.
Just jump in with us. Let's finish the year together, as a church, reading God's Word. Look. If you fall behind, stop trying to catch up. Just start every Monday with us. It's okay. Type-A people, pretend to be type B for once in your life. Enjoy it. Listen to this story. No one is going to like hearing this story this morning, I'm just going to tell you.
**"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.' 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.'"**
So, a little context. Luke, chapters 9-19, involve Jesus journeying from Galilee to Jerusalem. Jesus is on a journey. The idea here is that as Jesus is journeying, Christians are being taught what it looks like to journey with Jesus. Chapters 9-19 really focus in on what it means to be followers of Jesus Christ, disciples of Jesus Christ.
In _this_ story, Mary sits down at the feet of Jesus. She assumes the position that disciples would take. Disciples would sit at the feet of their rabbis. For her to do that in the midst of a section that is focusing on discipleship… What God is revealing to us through the author Luke is a nonnegotiable for anyone who's going to be serious about following Jesus. If you're here today, and you're like, "Yeah, I'm a follower of Jesus…" Okay. Well, this is a nonnegotiable for anyone who is going to be serious about following Jesus.
This is a story that involves Martha and Mary. Martha and Mary were sisters of Lazarus. We find out something about Mary and Martha from John, chapter 11. It says, **"Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus."** Here's what this tells us. This is a story about Mary and Martha, and Jesus loves them. These are people who deeply love Jesus and are deeply loved by Jesus. Here's what I need you to understand: even people who deeply love Jesus and are deeply loved by Jesus sometimes need to be corrected by Jesus. This is just one of those moments.
So, the story starts with Martha welcoming Jesus. That's an important detail. The reason it's important is because of the story that came right before it. If you have your hard copy of the Bible, just look what's right before it. It's the parable of the good Samaritan. The parable of the good Samaritan is a story all about serving. It draws a contrast between action and inaction.
The Good Samaritan saw the need. He took action. He showed care, and he served. The fact that the story with Martha starts with her welcoming Jesus shows that she's ready to be a host. She's ready to express care. She's ready to serve. So, it would appear that some of the same discipleship DNA that is present in the Good Samaritan is also present in Martha.
Before we go any farther, let me just acknowledge this: _serving is very important to Jesus_. Let me just start there. The Good Samaritan parable highlights the reality that true disciples of Jesus are those who are led to action by compassion. Inaction is not an option in the Christian life. Why? Because when we serve, we are reflecting the heart of Jesus.
Jesus, the eternal Son of God, was moved to action by compassion. He left heaven and came to earth, and he was punished in our place on the cross. He dealt with all of our failures in the sight of God. He endured the wrath of God so we wouldn't have to. He died for our sins. He rose from the dead to serve us.
Mark 10:45 says, **"For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."** So, when we serve, we are reflecting the heart of Christ. We are being like Christ. Serving is very important to Jesus. It's one of the ways God gives us to show Jesus in this world.
Over the last two weeks, it has been so great to see different Watermark members serving. This week, I got to go visit our Watermark Health clinic and saw Watermark members there serving and sharing the gospel with patients, meeting patients' physical and spiritual needs. I spent time with a Watermark member who started a ministry in Latin America to meet the physical, educational, and spiritual needs of individuals.
I went downtown and prayed with Watermark members at Goldman Sachs who are seeking to meet the spiritual needs of their coworkers. Right now, there are dozens of volunteers serving in our kids' spaces. I just want to be clear: they're not babysitting right now; they're serving you by discipling your children. It's amazing. Serving is very important to Jesus.
What is a sponge that never gets wrung out? Think about a sponge soaked in water. What is a sponge that never gets wrung out? It's a block of bacteria. That's what it is. This is a sidenote. This is just life. Some of y'all need to throw the sponge out that has been sitting at your sink for six months. It's time. That thing is making your dishes dirtier than they were when you started washing them. It's a block of bacteria. You are meant to be filled up, to be poured out. Followers of Jesus who don't serve and make disciples are cruise-ship Christians.
So, that's where we have to start: serving is very important to Jesus. The second truth we need to wrap our minds around is _serving can distract you from Jesus_. I just want you to think about this. If you hadn't read this story yet, and I were to say, "Hey, there are two sisters. One is sitting, one is serving. Which one sounds more godly?" you'd say, "The one who's serving." Right? Yet this story goes differently.
Look at the contrast. Verse 39: **"And she** \[Martha\] **had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But…"** That's a contrast word. It's showing a contrast. These are two different responses to Jesus. **"But Martha was distracted with much serving."** Isn't that interesting? Martha is serving. We just established that serving is important to Jesus, yet the wording is very interesting. "Martha was distracted by much serving." That's the Greek word _perispao_. It means to be pulled away by something.
What is Martha being pulled away from? She's being pulled away from Jesus. In serving Jesus, she is being pulled away from Jesus. It can also mean to be overburdened with an affair. Martha is overburdened by her serving, which means she has made her serving into something it was never meant to be. Am I describing you at all? Is your serving Jesus pulling you away from Jesus? Have you made your serving into something it was never meant to be? Has your serving become a replacement for being with Jesus?
Do you know what's interesting? Look at what Martha does in verse 40. I need you to evaluate if this resonates with you at all. Verse 40: **"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.'"**
Do you understand what's happening here? Martha assumes that Jesus is on her side. She assumes that Jesus certainly would agree that what she's doing by serving is way more important and godly than what Mary is doing by sitting. So, Martha is actually kind of confused why Jesus hasn't already said anything. The hint should be that one sister is listening to Jesus and another sister is instructing Jesus.
You want to be on the listening end, not the… Like, if you find yourself in a place where you're informing Jesus what he should be doing, something has gone terribly wrong. As I was preparing for this and read this, I thought about a Shane & Shane song from 1998 called "Received." Some of you who were really crushing Shane & Shane back in 1998 are going to listen to this song for the rest of your day. It says this. This is so good.
You whispered to your child today,
But I haven't got a minute to listen.
Your child is busy with the work of God and taking him for granted.
Got a lot to do today; kingdom work's the game I play.
Lord, my serving you replaced me knowing you.
That's it. Does that describe anyone in this room? Has your serving Jesus replaced knowing Jesus? Here's my concern. Look. I understand I am talking to a lot of people who are high-achieving, highly driven, highly motivated followers of Jesus Christ. Sometimes you probably sit there like, "You know what, TA? We need to do more. Like, that's great that you want us to enjoy the presence of God, but what about going out and doing something? Let's stop talking about it. Let's do more."
I get it. Serving is an important thing to Jesus. But here's my concern for a lot of people in our church. My concern is that many people are great at doing things _for_ Jesus but really struggle to be _with_ Jesus. You're great at doing things for Jesus; you're not great at being with Jesus. I wonder if this has been anyone's story in marriage counseling. Just imagine. Do you think this is anyone's scenario in marriage counseling?
A husband and wife are sitting there, and they're really struggling in their marriage. One of the people in the marriage says, "Well, I don't understand. I go to work to earn money to provide for our family. I do stuff around the house to take care of our family. I wash the dishes at night so we can start every day new as a family. I take the trash out for our family. Sometimes I get the kids to bed. I am serving you all the time, and it feels like it goes unnoticed."
Why is that a problem? It's a problem when the other spouse's love language is quality time. Serving your spouse is great, but you also have to actually be with your spouse for it to be a healthy marriage. Serving your spouse can't replace being with your spouse.
Let me just tell you, one of God's love languages is quality time. What you need to understand is your love language, at least with God, is quality time with him. You need him more than you realize you need him. He's more enjoyable than you understand he is. Your soul has been made for him. Your soul hasn't been made to just serve him; your soul has been made to be with him.
If you don't have time to sit with Jesus because you're too busy serving Jesus, you've missed the heart of Jesus. I would argue that you're operating with the wrong preposition. You're working off the preposition _for_ instead of the preposition _with_ or _in_ or _through_. Jesus doesn't want you to do things _for_ him; he wants you to do things _with_ him, _in_ him, and _through_ him. Serving can be a distraction from Jesus.
If you want to know if that's you, just pay attention to your emotions. We see that in the text. Look at what Jesus says in verse 41. **"But the Lord answered her, 'Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things…'"** Isn't it interesting that Martha's serving Jesus produced anxiety and trouble? It's just good for you to assess. Pay attention to the times when serving Jesus doesn't result in joy in Jesus, when the result of serving is anxiety, complexity, exhaustion, or fatigue. If that's your consistent state, something has gone wrong. It has become something it was never meant to be.
There are times where I'm leaving the office here at the church and walking through the parking lot to my car after a day when it has just been one meeting after another, the type of day where there's really no time to sit down. Like, in between meetings, my assistant is catching me, saying, "You know you're supposed to be _there_ now. Okay, here's what you need to know." It's just one thing after another.
I find myself walking to the car with a little sense of gratification, like, "Oh man. I've been really busy for Jesus today." At the same exact time, I feel empty. Isn't that weird? I work at a church. I'm like, "Man, I've been so busy for Jesus today," yet somehow I feel exhausted and empty. Why? Because at some point I made the decision to do things _for_ Jesus instead of _with_ Jesus, _in_ Jesus, and _through_ Jesus.
Before we move on to the next point, I want you to think about where this story is placed in the text. What came right before it is the parable of the good Samaritan. What comes right after it? You should look. The very beginning of chapter 11 is instruction on how to pray. The point of how to pray is "Pray persistently." Like, beg God. Pray persistently until he answers.
I want you to think about it. Sandwiched in between the parable of the good Samaritan and the parable that describes persistence, you see a woman sitting to listen. What happens if you have the good Samaritan parable without sitting? If you have serving without sitting, what do you get? You get a distorted view of yourself.
You begin to think you are a lot more important and indispensable than you really are. You begin to find your worth, your value, and your identity in your serving. You need people to know what you've done. You end up taking credit for things that only belong to God, and you get anxious and exhausted. When you get anxious and exhausted, you begin to see the people you serve as a burden.
That's the dark side of serving without sitting. What's the dark side on the _other_ side where you ask and ask and ask without ever listening? It's not a distorted view of yourself; it's a distorted view of God, that you only need God for what you can get from God. You don't need God for God; you need God for God's blessings.
So, on one hand, you get a distorted view of yourself, where you're more important than you really are, and on the other hand, you get a distorted view of God that God isn't as important as he thinks he is. God isn't just worthy of you asking him for gifts; he's worthy of _you_. He's worthy of your undivided attention. He's worthy of your worship. So, serving can absolutely distract you from Jesus.
Thirdly, _sitting with Jesus must be a nonnegotiable for disciples of Jesus_. What did Jesus say in verse 42? **"…but one thing is necessary."** Interesting. One thing is necessary. **"Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her."** That idea of the _good portion_ is a figurative reference to the right meal. Jesus is saying, "Hey, Mary chose the right meal."
What did Martha think Mary was dropping the ball on? Martha thought Mary should be spending her time preparing a meal for Jesus. Jesus is like, "Actually, Mary is already enjoying a meal right now. She's already eating." What does Jesus say in Matthew 4:4? **"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God."**
So, what is Mary doing? Let's just revisit it. Verse 39: **"And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching."** The verb there in Greek can be translated as "She sat herself beside." Here's what that means. Don't miss it. It means Mary took the initiative.
Look. This is a day and age where women didn't have the privilege of sitting at rabbis' feet as disciples. This is actually a radical story where Jesus is like, "No. Women, too, should sit at my feet and learn. Women, too, will play a very important part in the advancement of my gospel. They should come and learn so they can go and tell."
It says Mary sat herself down. That's intentionality. Mary isn't lazy. She's actually taking action herself. What is the action she's taking? It's to sit herself down at the feet of Jesus to listen to him. She took the posture of a disciple. Remember, this story is in a section all about discipleship. So, this is showing us a nonnegotiable for anyone in this room who's going to be a serious disciple of Jesus Christ, an all-in disciple of Jesus Christ. Don't call yourself an all-in disciple if you're not willing to do what the Bible says an all-in disciple does, which is to sit with Jesus.
I want you to think about this. Jesus had Mary's undivided attention. Here's the question I want everyone to answer really quickly. Just think about this. Is there ever a time during your day when Jesus gets your undivided attention? Not only that. Not only does he have your undivided attention but is he the one getting to do the talking? Does that happen at any point during your day?
I read a book four or five years ago called _Chair Time_. It's like 35 pages. I've mentioned it before. The premise of the book is for 15 minutes a day, for 30 days, you just sit in the same place. You're not praying; you're just sitting. You're just sitting with God. If God wants to speak, you're ready to listen, but you're just available to whatever God wants to do during that time. The premise of the book is this. If, as Ephesians 2 says, we have been seated with God in the heavenly realms, imagine walking into the throne room of God.
If right now you got to step into the heavenly realm, into the throne room of God, do you think you'd walk in and be like, "Okay, Jesus. Yeah, I'm glad you're here. Why don't you go ahead and take a seat. Oh, you already did. Okay. You sat down. Great. You know what? Here's what I need you to know. Here's what's going on in my day. I'd really love your help on _this_. We need to get to the bottom of _this_. _This_ person definitely needs some healing. I don't know why you're dragging your feet on that. Let's talk about _that_. That's all I've got. Okay. I'll see you tomorrow."
Do you think you'd do that? No. The premise of the book was you'd walk in, and you'd just shut your mouth. You'd be like, "You talk; I'll listen. Whatever you want to say, you can say it. I'm just going to shut my mouth and listen, because out of the two of us, I think you're the one who has something more important to say."
How do you listen? How do you listen to God? Well, our boys and I talked about this last night. This is called the _Word of God._ Why? Because God has gone to great lengths to give us his words. When you read the Bible, it is an opportunity for God to speak to you. One of my greatest concerns with Year of the Word is that people would emphasize completion over connection, that it would become about just finishing. That's not the win. If you complete the Word of God but never connect with the God of the Word, it was a failure of a year. The goal is connection.
Here's my point. Don't just read the Word. Don't just understand the Word. Some of y'all are like, "Yeah. I'm not just about completion; I want to understand it." That's great. Read it. Good. Understand it. Awesome. But don't just read it and understand it, and don't just apply it in the most strategic way that you think possible. No. Actually ask God as you read.
Listen to him. Say, "God, I am here to meet with you, to hear from you. You have spoken. Now would you speak through your Word to me? What do you want me to hear from you right now?" Then, that is a moment for you to put your pen down and just sit, to give him the space to respond. Let him speak in. Listen as you read his Word.
Listen through memorization of his Word. Memorize his Scripture, because all throughout the day, he's going to bring it back up to your mind. Listen to his Spirit. This is something that has been new for me in the past four to five years. I think, for the first 40 years of my life, I did all the talking in my relationship with the Lord. Something changed where I began to realize the beauty of sitting quietly and giving God the space to speak.
That might look like, some nights, setting a timer for 10 minutes and just sitting and being still and giving God the space to maybe take something from his Word and apply it to my life. It might be that God highlights a word in my mind. It might be that he brings someone to mind he wants me to encourage. It's an opportunity for him to speak.
This is where some people freak out. Like, "Well, how do you know it's him? That feels really dangerous." Okay. That's an easy answer. You have his Word, and you have his people. If there's any concern, does it contradict his Word? No? Okay. Good start. If you're really concerned about it, ask your community. If they're like, "Well, it feels in line with Scripture," I think you're in a really good place. Sometimes we freak out about small things. Here's a good litmus test: Would it glorify God more if you responded to it? If the answer is "Yes," just assume it's from God.
Like, recently, I was just sitting and listening to the Lord. I shared this with you all a couple of weeks ago. This is now more information to it. There was something that was causing me anxiety. As I sat with the Lord, I really sensed that the Lord… He didn't speak audibly to me. I didn't hear, like, "This is what my voice sounds like." "Oh, it's a lot deeper than I thought. That surprised me." It wasn't _that_.
I just sensed that the Lord was like, "Stop fighting me for it." It was this picture of tug-of-war. I was sitting there with this thing that was causing me anxiety. I am fighting God for it, resisting letting go. I really sensed God was like, "Stop fighting me for it. I want it from you. I want to take it from you. I'm trying to give you peace." He wasn't saying it frustrated or angry. It was so loving. It was so kind. If I hadn't stopped to sit with him, I would have missed that.
So, I just encourage you. I just challenge you. It's going to drive some of y'all bananas. Just sit. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Do it after you've read the Word. Sit for 10 minutes and just listen. The goal isn't to hear something. Do you know what you're doing? You're just creating a space where you're like, "God, you're worthy of this. You're worthy of me sitting with you to make space. If there's anything else you want us to dialogue about, I'm here for it." And if there's any concern if it's from him, check it with his Word and his people.
Before I move on, let me share what has been helpful for me, and I hope this might be helpful for you. It has been helpful for me to distinguish between on-the-go prayer and in-the-secret prayer. I see both in Scripture. I get on-the-go prayer from 1 Thessalonians 5: **"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing…"**
Donald Whitney pictures it as having God on the other line all day long, and you're just kind of switching back and forth, just touching base with him. It's on-the-go prayer. But then you have in-the-secret prayer. That's Matthew 6:6: **"But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."** Both are essential to the Christian life.
I'll explain it this way. My wife Kat and I touch base throughout the day, every day. Like, we'll touch base a few times. "Hey, what's going on? How's your day going? Hey, _this_ just happened. Okay. Sounds good. Talk to you later." A few hours later… "Hey, what's going on? _This_ is going on." Both of us are doing other things while we're touching base. I might be in the middle of sending an email. She might be picking up one of the kids, but we're just touching base.
That's an important part of our relationship. It's good for us to stay connected throughout the day. But our relationship, our marriage, can't survive off that. We also need moments where there are no kids and no phones, where we can just look each other in the face and talk. We need both. It's the same with God.
The final truth I need you to know is _sitting with Jesus leads to serving that is pleasing to Jesus_. Let me make a connection for you. What we saw in this story was Mary sitting with Jesus, but there's another story that shows us that Mary's sitting led to serving. Listen to what we find out about Mary in John 12.
**"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…"_** There you go, Martha. That's kind of your thing. **_"Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at 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."**
Do you see the connection? Sitting with Jesus overflowed into serving Jesus, and Jesus considered Mary's service as extravagant worship. Here's the thing. Remember, Mary actually isn't the ultimate example. The goal today isn't to go and be more like Mary. Jesus is the ultimate example. Listen to what we find out about Jesus in his earthly ministry. This is earlier in Luke.
Luke 5:15: **"But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities."** That's serving. Verse 16: **"But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray."** Do you see it? What was Jesus' rhythm? He would work, and then he would withdraw. He would work and then withdraw. He would withdraw to be with God, and then he would go and accomplish God's work.
To put it in language from the story of Mary and Martha, he would sit, and then serving would overflow out of sitting. The greatest example is Jesus on the cross where he served humanity by laying his life down. What do we find Jesus doing before he is arrested and then crucified? Meeting with God in the garden of Gethsemane, praying to him, and his serving flowed out of sitting.
I just want to clarify. God isn't most glorified in our lives when we're busy for Jesus; God is most glorified when we become more like Jesus. Jesus said that one thing is necessary when he referred to Mary's sitting. When Jesus says one thing is necessary, does that mean sitting with Jesus is essential and serving Jesus is optional? No, that's not the point. The point is sitting with Jesus will eventually overflow into serving Jesus, but you can't remove sitting from serving. Serving without sitting is powerless, but sitting without serving is selfish.
I started out by talking about boats. It can be a cruise ship. It can be a speedboat. A better option is to be a sailboat. A sailboat is actually the boat image that best aligns with what we see in the Christian life. When you sit with Jesus, that is you putting up your sails, but you're not just putting up your sails; you are getting in tune with which way God's wind is even blowing. As you sit with him, you see him, and as you see him, you are carried along by him to accomplish his purposes. That's where the joy is found. God doesn't need you to do things _for_ him. He wants you to do things _with_ him, _in_ him, and _through_ him. Let's pray together.
If you're here this morning, and you came in here, and you don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ, I want to invite you to focus on how Jesus came to serve you. The way he came to serve you and me was he came to take us, who were enemies of God, and make us children of God. The way he did it was by being punished for all of the ways we lived offensive to God.
He died for our sins and rose from the dead. If you don't know him, would you put your trust in him this morning? You can do that by saying in faith, "Lord Jesus, would you come into my life today? Would you forgive me of my sins today? Would you lead me in a new life as my Savior and King?"
Maybe you just heard me talk about sitting with God and listening to God by reading his Word, but you don't even have a copy of the Bible. As we're seeking for the Bible to go to the nations who don't yet have it, we just want you to know, if you don't have a Bible, we have some down front in English and Spanish. We'd love to give you a copy of the Bible. Then, for everyone else, I just pray this prayer.
God, I pray that the people of Watermark Community Church would enjoy you more this week from sitting with you. God, I pray that we would sit with you, and as we sit with you, we would enjoy you, and as we enjoy you more, we would experience more joy serving you. Have your way. We love you. We just put up our sails. We want to be carried along by you for your glory. In Jesus' name, amen.