Go: Focused

It's easy to get sidetracked.

In the first lesson "Where is God sending me?" we looked at John chapter 4. We saw that God is on a mission. To recap, God's mission is unlikely, surprising, and amazing. But when his mission becomes our mission, we see transformation.

Let's look at John 4 again. If you were a Jewish rabbi outside the town of Sychar with a woman who was divorced five times and currently living with a man out of wedlock, what might be your priorities?

First, you're an unclean Samaritan. Stay away. Second, you're a woman, and we're alone at a well—stay away. Third, clean up your life. You're an immoral mess.

In other words, it would be an attitude—and possibly a message—of rejection and condemnation.

But what is Jesus' priority?

Yes, they're at a physical well talking about water. But Jesus artfully transitions the conversation to the woman's spiritual thirst.

He talks to her about having "living water" so that she will never thirst again. What is this living water? It is the gift of the Spirit who will enable her spirit to worship the Father in truth as she believes in Jesus (John 4:21-26).

What's most important? Her five failed marriages or her need for spiritual satisfaction? Her Samaritan ethnicity and culture—or who she knows as Father? That she's a woman—or that she worships God by the Spirit?

Jesus focused on the heart. Don't get distracted.

Once you see this principle, you see it everywhere.

Consider Matthew 9:9-13. The Pharisees are distracted because Jesus is eating with tax collectors and sinners. Be honest with me, if your pastor regularly had IRS agents and personal injury lawyers over for dinner, wouldn't you be concerned about his character?

But what did Jesus tell Matthew? "Follow me." He goes right to the heart!

It's unreasonable to expect people to live Christian lives if they don't know Christ. If you're going to be involved in God's mission, you're going to spend time with unclean, immoral, disreputable people. Why? Because Jesus didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners (Matthew 9:13).

So when you get to know sinners, what will be your priority?