Welcoming Jesus

Welcoming Jesus

Luke 10:38-42

Theme: We learn how Jesus is welcomed into the home of Martha and Mary.

Welcome to Open House here at Mountain View Baptist Church! We are delighted to have friends and family members join us on this special occasion. We would love to connect with you and as you leave today, under the canopy in the courtyard, there is a welcome center. Please be sure to stop by and pick up your gift bag as you drop off your connection card.

There is a lunch planned with some fun activities after the service today. Please stay after the service to enjoy the meal and activities.

The account in Scripture is in a way an open house scene. Jesus arrives in Bethany which is about two miles from Jerusalem. He comes to the home of Mary and Martha. Jesus loved coming to this home and we can see the welcome He receives. How would you welcome Jesus? What if He physically came to your home? Would you greet Him like many people today talking through a security camera?

Martha is giving attention to details for Jesus since He is a special guest in their home. They knew what He liked and what would please Him.

The name Martha in Scripture means lady. She is known for her hospitality. She is making sure that Jesus is comfortable and treated with respect and importance. Some have faulted her for being busy working rather than worshipping but her heart was to give Jesus the best treatment.

Mary means beloved and she certainly loves the Lord and would rather “neglect at least in Martha’s mind” the busyness to spend time with Jesus. Mary seemed to show no concern for the house details and service, to spend the time with Jesus. She did not want to miss the opportunity to hear from the Lord.

There are a few lessons we learn from this passage on how we are to welcome Jesus.

Lesson 1. . .

Jesus should be priority

If Jesus were to come to your house, would He be welcomed? There is a well-known picture of Jesus standing at a door knocking. In the picture Jesus is seen as knocking on the door which has no outside door knob. The message is simple, when Jesus comes knocking on the door of your life, will you open your heart to Him?

Our lives in a passage in I Peter are like a house. “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5)

If you have not accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, will you open the door of your heart to Him? Will you let Him into your life and be your Savior. Just to consider, Jesus, the God of this world, desires and wants to enter into your life should cause us to want to open the door of our heart.

The reason why Jesus and only Jesus can, is because He came to earth without sin and never did sin, He died on the cross carrying our sin to suffer the punishment of sin, the blood He shed paid for our sin. He was buried and He arose from the dead.

The lesson of priority means for Mary and Martha that Jesus and God’s Word should be priority over anything else. He should be the single most important person in our lives. Our work colleagues, our classmates, our social media followers, our community leaders are not more important than Jesus.

This account is not about one sister against another, it is about both sisters prioritizing what is important in their lives. While serving the Lord is important and fulfilling our responsibilities of service, service is not replace sitting at Jesus feet and letting Him teach you. While Martha was busy with preparations, she might have caught some of what Jesus said, but she was busy with things that would only matter for a time.

Martha failed to realize that Jesus wanted her company rather than her service. He wanted her time with Him rather than a meal with her.

It is easy to allow the distractions of a busy world to keep us from spending time with Jesus. It is the laundry, the dishes, the dusting, the kids to the park, the job, the schooling, etc. These must need to be done but we must prioritize Jesus. Setting aside each day, the busyness of activities to spend time with Him is what Jesus wants.

Or maybe today, while you are sitting here without Christ and He is knocking on your heart’s door. Will you let Him into your life and be your personal Savior? At the end of the service, we will have some people outside who will open the Bible and show you how you can know for sure, you are a child of God. Will you let someone show you? Let Jesus be your priority.

Lesson 2 . . .

Your choice is an individual choice

Martha and Mary made two separate choices. One prioritizes service over time with God. While Mary prioritizes time with God over service. While both are important, both are mentioned because they must choose for themselves to welcome Christ.

Several years ago, a family came to our church. They were kind and seemed very interested in the service. The family came back the next week and I stopped by to meet them in their home. They invited me in and we talked for a bit. I asked them about their church background and the husband said, “Pastor, I take care of the house and work, my wife takes care of the spiritual life in our home.” He was saying, “I am not interested in the Lord but my wife is.” The problem with that way of thinking is a spiritual life is an individual choice.

It has been said, “God has no grandchildren.” No, every man must stand before God and answer for Himself. When God comes to your heart, it is yours and yours alone.

Peer pressure is an amazing reality in our world. More people make choices because others make choices for us. The Bible likens mankind to sheep. Sheep lack discernment to danger and they will follow each other right into the presence of danger.

When peer pressure is for the good where people are encouraged to do right, to go to church, to put God first place in their life is good; however, when it is bad, it will hinder a person’s walk with the Lord. Either way, it doesn’t matter because we are to make an individual choice. A man cannot make a spiritual for another man. You may pray for someone or you may share the truth with someone, but everyone stands alone before God.

Jesus wants to come into your house (heart). Will you welcome Jesus into your heart? Don’t go by what others say or others do, you decide for yourself. By making no decision, you have made a decision. We have to decide individually.

I am a part of the "The Fellowship of the Unashamed". I have the Holy Spirit Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight-walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving and dwarfed goals!

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by presence, lean by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer and labor by power.

My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, back up, let up or shut up until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know and work until He comes.

And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear.

Will you decide for Jesus today?

Lesson 3 . . .

We worship only Jesus Christ

In verse 41, here Jesus points to the number one most important activity in life: worship Christ. God tells us

“And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;” (Exodus 20:1–5)

There are many gods in our world that we may choose to worship. Money, fame, fortune, sports, but God reminds us here we are to worship only Jesus Christ.

Martha’s cares about this life had distracted her from worshipping only Jesus Christ. We get up in the morning, we hurry to get ready, to listen to the news, and run for the day. We may also have kids to get ready for the day and often we become distracted with activities while we neglect the good part. Preachers have fallen to this temptation, missionaries have fallen to this temptation, church workers have fallen to this temptation, but God wants us to worship only Him and not allow the cares and things of this life stand in the way of our relationship with God.

We need to choose very deliberately because life does not automatically arrange itself into proper priorities. With all the multitude of daily duties, the one thing we must choose, the “good part” should be the primary focus of our heart and lives. Mary’s choice was to welcome Jesus and give Him all the attention and focus.

It is needful for the welfare of our souls. Nothing is more important. Our relationship with Jesus Christ should take precedence over all other concerns in life. The world puts little priority on the soul. The world puts everything ahead of spiritual pursuits.

Which shall not be taken away from her. Time spent with Christ will benefit us for all eternity. God will shine so brightly in your life that others will notice you have been with Christ. Never sacrifice the eternal on the altar of the immediate.

On this Open House Day, will you open the door of your heart to Jesus? If you have never accepted Him, will you accept Him today as your personal Savior? Will you turn to Him only today. It is not Jesus and baptism, Jesus and good works, Jesus and keeping the Law. It is Jesus and Him alone.

In the back we have people with a lanyard that says altar worker. They will be happy to show you how you can leave here today knowing that Jesus is your Savior.

If you are a Christian, when Christ comes to knock on your heart’s door, will you open your spiritual house to Him? Will you let Him once again reign in your life?

Perhaps you are a Christian and God has been knocking on your heart’s door? Will you open your heart to Him today? God wants first priority in your life above everything else.