Busy Not Blessed
Notes
Transcript
Good morning Church! If you have your Bible, turn to the gospel of Luke chapter 10. We will be finishing chapter ten this morning, looking at 5 verses.
Our main text will be verses 38-42!
This is our final sermon this year for our expositional series Jesus For All.
We’ve been working through Luke for well over a year now and we are just finishing chapter 10.
Next week we will be starting a new sermon series called unPLANNED Pregnancy.
This series will be our Christmas series, lasting for just two weeks.
The last Sunday of the year will be a stand alone sermon and the we will be right back in Luke chapter 11 the first Sunday in January 2024.
Let me read the text and then I will pray and ask the Spirit to speak to us.
38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 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.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
PRAY (TAKE TIME. ASK GOD TO SPEAK).
I LOVE verse by verse expositional preaching. Theres nothing wrong with a topical sermon series here and there (we are starting one next week). But the church needs a good main diet of expositional preaching.
Expository preaching makes you look at the entire text of usually an entire book. We see how ideas and concepts are put together.
There is nothing flashy about expository preaching. Not a lot of humor. Not a lot of personal stories. Not a lot of emotion driven passages....
The writer of Luke, Dr. Luke is taking chapter 10 and he is building a three fold case of what a believer is supposed to be…and he saved the best for last!
In verses 1-24 we saw that we are called to be Christ’s Ambassadors.
He chooses us to represent HIM! We represent him in what we say and what we do.
So church, how are you doing as Christ representative? Are you bringing honor or shame to the one you represent?
In verses 25-37 we saw that we are called to be neighbors.
Who is our neighbor? Everyone! Anyone who has a need we are called to meet it if we can.
We saw that the Good Samaritan was the unlikely hero and he had compassion that moved him to action.
So church, how did you do this week on being a neighbor?
Maybe you missed out on opportunities to show mercy. It’s okay. Repent and be willing to this week.
In our text today, we are called most importantly, to be worshippers.
So heres the progression again if you are taking notes.
If you know Jesus as your Savior, you are called to be an ambassador, a neighbor, and a worshipper.
In last weeks text the Jewish scribe received the law perfectly when Jesus asked.
26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
Theres two parts to this law Love God. Love Others.
The previous 37 verses in this chapter have told us how to do the last, LOVE OTHERS.
But above all, we are to do the first LOVE GOD.
You can not adequately love others if you do not love God first and the most.
What could happen in our church if we adopted this very simple statement to our vision statement and values?
Love God. Love Others.
I have one main point that is going to drive this text, so if you are taking notes, here it is.
What you do WITH Christ is far more important than what you do FOR Christ.
We are going to see this played out in the text with two sisters....We got some sister drama this morning so hold on!
Verse 38!
38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house.
Let me set the scene for us...
Jesus is travelling from village to village…town to town. He is healing, he is teaching, and he is proclaiming the Kingdom is at hand.
He is travelling with a posse. We don’t know the exact number, but it is at least the 12 apostles and maybe a number of the 72 that we see at the beginning of chapter 10 are still hanging around…not even counting the random people who saw Jesus and started following him.
There is possibly a LOT of people.
It’s the holiday season! Think about what all goes into having friends and family over for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Its hectic and stressful.
You have to make sure the house is spotless. Need to check off some of the items on the honey do list. Need to go to the store. Need to cook the food. Set the table.
It’s stressful when there is plenty of time to prepare. Just think how Martha felt....she welcomed them into her home on a short notice.
We have a rule in the Navy home. Don’t put us on the spot. Don’t ask for anyone to come over on short notice, especially in front of the person you are inviting over.
Charis is the worst at this…she will meet someone for the first time and within the first 10 minuets she will ask you to come over.
NO! Having people over is stressful....
But you have to give Martha credit. She welcomed Jesus into her home.
Just think if that was you....the son of God is coming over.
You push things under the bed or in the closet and he goes, yea i still see it.
A woman inviting a Jewish Rabi into her home was unheard of....it was viewed as scandalous.
A jewish man with that status could not be seen be welcomed into the home of a woman.
Jesus crossed those social and religious barriers to minister to women.
In a culture that wanted to oppresses women, Jesus wanted to include them in His ministry!
Jesus really did WHATEVER IT TOOK TO REACH THE LOST!
May that be said of us…putting aside our traditions, our thoughts and feelings, religious ideas…or anything else that would hold us back from our number one goal. Ministering to others and sharing the gospel with them!
Verse 39...
39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.
In this verse we are introduced to the other sister, Mary.
In this scene we find her sitting at the feet of Jesus.
We see Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus THREE seperate occasions throughout the gospels.
And in each occasion, she is there for a different reason.
Take note church, we can do these three as well...
The first occasion is here in the text....she is at the feet of Jesus ‘LISTENING TO HIS TEACHING.’
This was also very scandalous. A rabbi never taught a woman. Women were never invited to the feet of a rabbi to hear teaching.
But Jesus…Jesus crosses those lines and invited not just Mary but all of us to sit at His feet and listen to his teachings.
We sit at His feet as we do our personal devotion. When we take time to pray and seek HIs face. When we gather together on Sunday and worship.
Brothers and Sisters, when was the last time you truly just sat at the feet of Jesus to listen to Him?
The second occasion we see Mary at the feet of Jesus is in John 11:32
32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
She brought her woes to Jesus.
Her brother Lazarus just passed away. She is grieving. The only place for her to go is the feet of Jesus.
We have this same access. The Lord invites us to fall at his feet and bring our woes and cares to him!
7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Maybe you are here this morning and you have a heavy heart. Fall at the feet of Jesus and give all your woes to him.
The third Occassion we see Mary at the feet of Jesus is in John chapter 12
3 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.
She was at the feet of Jesus worshipping him.
Love the Lord with all your heart....
Above all, a follower of christ is a worshipper.
Think about this....every single person alive today and who has ever lived is a worshipper.
Everyone worships something or someone.
The question isn’t are you a worshipper....its who are you worshipping?
Some of you guys are worshipping yourselves.
The first commandment...
YOU MUST NOT HAVE ANY OTHER GODS BEFORE ME.
Let’s look at what Martha is doing while Mary is at the feet of Jesus....heres where the drama starts.
verse 40
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.”
Right there..the 4th word....she was distracted!
But what was she distracted with???
MUCH SERVING!!!
She was too focused on the house, the food, the guests, making sure everything was perfect. She was distracted!
I would go as far as to say that maybe some here in this church suffer from the Martha syndrome. You are distracted with much serving.
Is serving bad? Absolutely not!
But remember, its not about what you do for the lord, but all about your time WITH him.
If you serve every single week in this church and outside this church but you never take time to sit at his feet....Jesus would say you are doing it wrong.
Martha is so distracted she lets bitterness and resentment seep in....she even gets an attitude with Jesus....
She says, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me alone to serve.
Martha’s comment strikes me for all kinds of reasons. First, you’ve probably met a Martha before. She is happy to serve, but somehow her serving makes her sour. She’s a little bossy. “Tell her to give me a hand.” She’s a little impatient with people she thinks aren’t helping enough. Churches can be full of Marthas. Second, Martha is bold, isn’t she? She’s in the Lord’s grill. She’s got a rag in one hand and the other hand on her hip. Third, Martha accuses the Lord of not caring about her serving alone. Now, how many women have felt something like that? You serve your family every day, but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of thanks. You wonder if what you do as a wife, mother, or woman matters in the Lord’s sight. You quietly ask, “Does anybody notice? Does God care?”
She’s talking to GOD!
I’m so glad I’m not Jesus
I would be like, woman....do you not know who you are talking to!
Then…after that…Martha starts demanding Jesus that she tell Mary to help her!
She’s distracted.
The God of the universe is in her living room and she is TOTALLY missing it.
Verse 41, lets see Jesus’ reply.
Full of grace he says,
41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,
I found this cool in my study this week...
In Jewish culture, when you see a name mentioned twice back to back like we do here its an indication of intimacy.
Jesus didn’t scold her. He didn’t yell at her. He didn’t embarrass her...
He said, Martha, Martha
He is inviting her into a personal intimate relationship with him.
Jesus does the exact same for us.
We get distracted with much serving....all he wants is for us to be with him.
God desires that intimacy with his children.
Jesus says you are anxious and troubled about many things...
I found this interesting too..
Luke doesn't record a lot of what Martha said. But maybe, just maybe, Jesus knew what was really going on deep inside her heart and her spirit.
My friends, how many are you anxious and troubled about many things???
The place to be is at the feet of Jesus.
Lets read verse 42...
42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
Preach about portion being inheritance.
Exalting Jesus in Luke Luke 10:38–42
Who do I have in heaven but you? And I desire nothing on earth but you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever. (Ps 73:25–26; emphasis added)
Because of the LORD’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! I say, “The LORD is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in him.” (Lam 3:22–24; emphasis added)
Exalting Jesus in Luke Luke 10:38–42
And not only is the Lord our portion, but we are his portion, too. Deuteronomy 32:9 says, “The LORD’s portion is his people.” We inherit him, and he inherits us.
