38: First Pursuit (Luke 10:38-11:1)

We are a busy people.

Over 100 years ago paddlewheel steamboats were common on the Mississippi River. The story is told of two paddleboats leaving Memphis about the same time, traveling down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. As they traveled side by side, sailors from one vessel made a few remarks about the snail's pace of the other.

Words were exchanged. Challenges were made. And the race began. Competition became vicious as the two boats roared through the Deep South.

One boat began falling behind. Not enough fuel. There had been plenty of coal for the trip, but not enough for a race. As the boat dropped back, an enterprising young sailor took some of the ship's cargo and tossed it into the ovens. When the sailors saw that the supplies burned as well as the coal, they fueled their boat with the material they had been assigned to transport. They ended up winning the race, but burned their cargo.

They forgot what mattered most, because their 1st Pursuit became winning the Race. Is it possible that we have done the same thing?

PRAY 

You’ll remember that the disciples of Jesus were going from town to town preparing people for the Lord Jesus. One of those towns, just a couple of miles from Jerusalem, was called Bethany. 3 people very special to Jesus lived there, 2 that we meet today.

Luke 10:38–39a (NIV)

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary…

Mary and Martha also have a brother you might have heard of…named Lazarus - whom Jesus raises after being dead for 4 days (see John 11).

Jesus is welcomed into Martha’s home where we discover a BIG TRUTH that reminds us of our First Pursuit.

Luke 10:39

39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.

Now, before we move any further…we need to see the significance of this statement.

To sit at the feet of someone is a phrase used of a disciple listening to his/her teacher. Paul later uses a similar phrase saying that he was ‘educated at the feet of Gamaliel’ (Acts 22:3 ESV).

And what’s so interesting - a fact we might be ignorant of - is that Jesus did something other rabbis typically did NOT do. He encouraged women, and not just men, to be His disciples.

Ladies, this should be of particular interest to you because this was HIGHLY UNUSUAL during the time of Jesus. As we saw last week, Jesus broke the cultural boundaries by showing that all people - both Jews & Gentiles (Samaritans) were to KNOW & SHOW God’s mercy. So too, Jesus broke cultural norms to demonstrate that He calls men AND women to be His disciples. Paul writes about this later when He says…

Galatians 3:26–28 (NIV)

26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

This obviously doesn’t DILUTE the differences between these people. People do have different nationalities, colors, statuses, & sexes. In particular, regardless of the garbage our culture is trying to cram down our throats, Men & women have different FUNCTIONS, but not different VALUE!

Before Jesus clarifies the way God sees things, many men in Jewish culture saw Gentiles & women as MUCH LESS VALUABLE than them.

Yet in Jesus’ we see what N.T. Wright calls, “…the overflowing love of God, which, like a great river breaking its banks into a parched countryside, irrigates those parts of human society which until now had remained barren and unfruitful.”

Jesus invites both Jew & the Gentile, both rich & the poor, both white collar & the blue collar, AND both men & the women to be His disciples - ONE in Christ Jesus.

So Mary, a female disciple, sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what Jesus said.

Luke 10:40

40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

Man! I’ve heard that a million times at my house! The older one’s frustrated with the younger one. The older one thinks he/she is doing all the work while the younger one is being catered to.

But based on the context, it doesn’t look like Mary is being lazy. Maybe she’s helped earlier, but NOW…now Jesus is here!

Richard Lenski writes that

Mary sits and listens like a lily that is lifting its chalice to the sun. The moment Jesus indicated that he had something to impart Mary turned from everything else to sit and to be absorbed in what he said.

[back to passage] But that’s NOT okay with Martha. SOMEBODY’S got to get the work done. But did you know you can SERVE without SERVING for the right reasons? Like Martha…

You can serve others all the while being distracted because others aren’t serving like you. That can even be a pride thing.

You can even serve others all the while being distracted WHY you chose to serve in the 1st place.

We can get frustrated when dirty, snot-nosed, disrespectful children & teenagers show up to church…but aren’t they WHY we’re here?

Some church people complain because carpets & equipment get worn out because of all the use. But isn’t that a GOOD THING, because we’re trying to reach PEOPLE?

I love the story of Harmon Kilebrew (former third-baseman and slugger for the Minnesota Twins) “My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, “You’re tearing up the grass.” “We’re not raising grass,” Dad would reply. We’re raising boys.”

Did you know it’s even possible for a Bible teacher to be distracted? Someone can spend tons of time preparing to teach others, without being taught him/herself.

Luke notes that Martha was distracted, but what does THAT mean?

Luke 10:41-42

41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Instead of finding joy in serving, Martha was worried and upset. Instead of a smile, she wore a grimace.

The Bible clearly teaches the serving for the right reasons is a GOOD THING…but something is better! Serving is important, but it is secondary. Something else must come first. And here we learn the BIG TRUTH that has the potential to change every life in this room!

BIG TRUTH: We must Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with OursBIG TRUTH: We must Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with OursBIG TRUTH: We must Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with OursBIG TRUTH: We must Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with Ours He is our First Pursuit

BIG TRUTH: We must Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with Ours

BIG TRUTH: We must Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with Ours

This is what Mary has done. She has chosen what is better. Yes, someone needs to clean the dishes and sweep the house…but serving others is secondary to sitting at the feet of Jesus.

We don’t have the same privilege of sitting at the feet of Jesus & hearing Him teach, but we DO have the privilege of reading about what He DID and what He SAID. We have the Scriptures, not ONE book - but a library of multiple ancient documents that tells the story of Jesus. And through Bible reading & prayer, we CAN Sit at His feet and listen to His teachings.

BIG TRUTH: We must Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with OursBIG TRUTH: We must Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with OursBIG TRUTH: We must Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with OursBIG TRUTH: We must Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with Ours

BIG TRUTH: We must Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with Ours

BIG TRUTH: We must Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with Ours

And when we do, we will be challenged to grow & prepared to serve.

We will be reminded through Scripture that God directs our steps & hears our prayers.

We will be reminded that we are to Love God, Love People, & Develop Disciples.

If we refuse to sit as His feet…our service will likely became tedious & discouraging. We will wear a grimace instead of smile.

And it should be no wonder to us why this is. If we don’t LOVE GOD first, if we refuse to sit at His feet or refuse to obey what He says, then the only question is how long can we run on spiritual fumes?

Lenski says it this way:

To close the ear, to turn the heart away, no matter what the cause, is bound to be fatal, for it shuts off the life stream on which our faith depends.

Are you running on spiritual fumes? Could it be because you need to recognize…?

BIG TRUTH: We must Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with OursBIG TRUTH: We must Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with OursBIG TRUTH: We must Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with OursBIG TRUTH: We must Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with Ours

BIG TRUTH: We must Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with Ours

BIG TRUTH: We must Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with Ours

The last passage we will look at bleeds into next week’s teaching but OH how it helps us finish this off!

Luke 11:1

1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

This practice of Jesus is something that His disciples recognized was of PRIMARY importance in His life. All the gospel writers mention that Jesus would go find a quiet place to pray, likely every start of the day (Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16) and He prayed with His apostles often.

Now WHY does that matter in light of what we have been talking about?

Jesus was 1 person with 2 natures - Jesus was both God & man. And this is one of many times that we see God the Son PRAY to God the Father. In fact, see several times where He started His day early in the morning - PRAYING.

BEFORE going to serve others, Time with the Father was His First Pursuit

What greater example could we point to?

And so it is from a 2000 year old story that we discover how we prioritize our time to make Jesus our First Pursuit

BIG TRUTH: We must Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with OursBIG TRUTH: We must Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with OursBIG TRUTH: We must Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with OursBIG TRUTH: We must Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with Ours

BIG TRUTH: We must Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with Ours

BIG TRUTH: We must Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with Ours

I wonder if Martha ever kicked herself for that day…the day she had the PRIVILEGE of sitting at His feet…and yet chose to do something different instead.

WE will have the SAME CHOICE this week. There will be things to do - meals to cook, children to take care of, bills to be paid, ministry to others…

But THIS WEEK, as last week. I want to challenge you to put FEET2FAITH:

Start your day in Scripture & Prayer. Make Jesus your First Pursuit. Don’t check FB before you read THE BOOK. Pray for others and ask Him to use you.

Get up 15 minutes early. Find a quiet place. Pray. Read an entire NT writing. Choose anything but Revelation (too difficult) or Jude (too easy -1 chapter cheesiness).

Serve with a smile…knowing that you have met with the King & He wants to use you.

What could happen if every person in this room…

BIG TRUTH: Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with Ours?BIG TRUTH: Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with Ours?BIG TRUTH: Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with Ours?BIG TRUTH: Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with Ours? Let’s go find out!

BIG TRUTH: Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with Ours?

BIG TRUTH: Sit at HIS Feet, before Serving with Ours?