Busy Cooking for Jesus While He Just Wanted to Sit With You

Sermon outline

Fruit is never manufactured; it grows out of hidden roots of intimacy with Christ, and Mary of Bethany shows how to stay at His feet to learn, in sorrow and in worship.

1. The hidden part determines the visible part

   Nobody admires a tree for its roots, yet none of its beauty is possible without them. The hidden part is the heart: private prayer, time in the Word, worship when nobody is watching and obedience when it costs. A believer without intimacy may look healthy for a season but shakes when disappointment, temptation or unanswered prayer comes. Jesus did not say work harder or serve more; He said abide, and fruit cannot be manufactured.

   Illustration: A lush tree by the roadside or on a farm, admired for its height, greenness and fruit, never for its roots. In drought the rooted tree stays green because its source is the river, not the weather.

   “The hidden part determines the visible part.”

   • Colossians 2:6-7
   • John 15:5
   • Psalm 1:1-3

2. Mary at His feet to learn

   The first thing we learn about Mary is not what she did but where she positioned herself: at the Lord's feet, the place of a disciple. Women were rarely accepted as disciples by the rabbis, yet Jesus welcomed her. Martha's serving was not wrong, but her priorities were, and the enemy often distracts believers not with sinful things but with good things that replace the best. Mary listened more than she spoke, and intimacy gave her spiritual perception.

   “So many believers today are so busy cooking meals for Jesus, while Jesus simply wants that fellowship.”

   • Luke 10:38-42

3. Mary at His feet in sorrow

   When Lazarus fell sick the sisters did not try to manipulate Jesus; they reminded Him of the relationship. Jesus delayed, and Mary still ran to Him and told Him honestly that her brother would not have died if He had been there. Intimacy allows honesty, and God is never threatened by our tears. Jesus wept, entering her sorrow even though He knew Lazarus would rise, and His delay revealed Him as the resurrection and the life rather than just a healer of a sick man.

   “God's silence is never evidence of His absence.”

   • John 11:1-8
   • John 11:32
   • John 11:35

4. Mary at His feet in worship

   Mary broke a jar of perfume worth a year's wages, perhaps her family's savings or inheritance, and poured it on Jesus' feet. The perfume could not bless the house while the jar stayed closed; pride, self-sufficiency and control must be broken too. She wiped His feet with her hair, the symbol of her glory, laying her reputation beneath His. Judas called it a waste, Jesus called it beautiful, and her worship filled the whole house.

   Illustration: Mary never preached a sermon, performed a miracle, led a nation or wrote a scripture, yet Jesus made sure history would never forget her name.

   “Brokenness is not punishment, church. It is preparation.”

   • John 12:1-8
   • 1 Corinthians 11:15

5. Why we must stay in intimacy with God

   She gives six reasons. Intimacy gives clear direction and a peace that cannot be stolen. It produces spiritual growth and discernment. It produces a bold faith, because you cannot truly trust someone you do not know. It produces fruitfulness. It releases revelation, as familiar verses suddenly come alive. And it leaves an eternal impact, because heaven measures success differently from the world.

   Illustration: A child matures by spending time with their parents, and a believer matures the same way by spending time with God.

   “You cannot truly trust someone you do not know.”

6. What happens when we neglect intimacy

   She gives six warnings. You lose sensitivity to God's voice as noise drowns out the whisper of the Holy Spirit. Your heart slowly grows cold. You become spiritually weak because there is no Word inside you. Fear replaces faith and you start depending on yourself. Discernment fades and sin becomes easier to justify. And your fruit dries up, so that you may look alive outside while drying up within. Her answer is the invitation to draw near to God.

   “It happens one missed prayer at a time, one missed Bible study at a time, and one compromise at a time.”

   • James 4:8

In this message