VBS Wrap-Up: Sitting and Standing

Corey Sharpe

Sermon • Submitted 6 years ago

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Series Review

Boring Christianity - avoiding routine discipleship, avoiding risk, personal sacrifice

Week to week - church only

as good as it gets - dangerous mentality: there is more

one of the stories: Mary and Martha: how is this a story of adventure? it’s about one person standing and cleaning, and the other sitting and listening to a sermon: goes back to that boring discipleship -

sitting is more than listening to a sermon, recycling the bulletin and going home;

standing is more than performing a routine, predictible task (putting away chairs is necessary, but there is a wild, unpreditible world waiting for us

Sermon Intro

Sermon is about busyness. If there is one word we can all use to describe ourselves, it is busy. If I ask you how you are doing, you might say “fine”

I dislike that kind of empty rhetoric. If ever I say that to you, I invite you to stop and say something about your state of being

“busy” is a common answer.

How have you been? 1st place is “fine.” 2nd place must be: “busy.”

simple answer: relax, take some time off (come back to even more work), get some acpuncture (suction cups on back feels surprisingly good - do not try that at home)

being busy is something common to us all: it would concern me if you tell me, I can’t remember the last time I’ve been busy; my life is 100% relaxation, I’m on a constant vacation

sermon / story is about busyness: being busy is not necessarily a bad thing; relaxing is not necessarily a good thing; this sermon is about how to assess our busyness: are we the good kind of busy or the bad kind?

Jesus helps us evaluate when we are a good / bad busy / relaxing

praying before vandalizing

poor around us - pray

praying: God, why do you allow evil. God: I could ask you the same thing.

God calls us to action

Theme: Being the Right Kind of Busy and the right kind of relaxing

I’m going to word the question this way: Should I sit or should I stand?

Should we sit or should be stand?

(after each section: Don’t just sit there, do something. or Don’t just do something, sit there)

This story is something we can all relate to: family is coming, guests are coming; “the whole family is coming to my house for Christmas this year.” It’s going to be a special Christmas, having everyone sleeping under the same roof, eating at the same table; visiting in the same living room.

But it comes at a cost. Becoming busy.

This is a case study of being busy, and assessing whether or not it is a good kind of busy or a bad kind

should we be standing right now, or sitting right now

Sit Down

Luke 10:39 NIV

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

When the entire family is staying for a week at Christmas time, you can’t have a situation where everyone is sitting: imagine what that would look like?

This is not just a few guests: we often think that Jesus had only 12 disciples - 13 would be a big party: if you go back to the verses before, we read that Jesus had 70 disciples; we don’t know how many came, but it was a big crowd: it’s no time to sit and relax

So when I imagine being Martha, cooking, cleaning, getting things ready and watching Mary sitting and taking in a good message: I’m going to feel resentful.

I imagine Martha feeling resentful. Imagine going to Martha with over a dozen guests and saying, just sit down and take it easy.

Maybe that’s possible for her: but sometimes that is not possible for us:

(job with demanding hours and traveling expectations - take some time off)

(working 2 jobs to raise 2 children: cut back on your hours; church gathering to agree in prayer- we are never stuck, trapped if we believe God answers our prayers and supplies all of our needs)

sometimes we feel trapped in these situations: what can you do? what can the church do? (e.g. man, family disintegrating, long hours, commutes, no family time: trapped) - it seems to me you (and the church) do have choices. gather in prayer: examine what can be changed, praying for God to bring a better employment opportunity

notice something: even when feeling trapped in busyness, there is always space for prayer and listening: not just having alone time with Jesus and going back to your busyness: praying for the situation to change

Mary: lots to do, but realizes how worthless it all is without sitting down: Her message: don’t just do something but sit there: Sitting and listening

are you acting without praying? have we accepted our workload without spending time in unhurried prayer: have you accepted your busy situation without asking God for a better situation?

Psalm 46:10 NIV

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Some of the most important decisions come as a result of prayer: Here’s a huge example:

“Be still, and know that I am God;

Acts 13:2–3 NIV

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

The very first cross cultural missionary - the Apostle Paul - was chosen as a result of worship, prayer and fasting. The church was sitting. Praying. Fasting.

Notice that they didn’t say, “Lord, we’re praying so that you will show us whom to send.” They were just doing what they were supposed to be doing on a regular basis: praying, fasting and worshipping.

something concrete: get in a habit of prayer: pray specifically about your busyness: am I the right kind of busy? what changes can I make, what changes need to be made in order to be the right kind of busy

Get Up

Luke 10:40 NIV

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!”

sometimes the need is obvious and we have to get up -

Luke 10:

(e.g. gas station, dementia, group solution, didn’t affect us personally, acted, no prayer meeting) if we know there is a problem, let’s do more than pray about it (opiod addiction: pray for the families - let’s act

Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. Luke 10:40

had to be:

Sometimes the need is obvious. Well, let me pray about it. (service in the church; financial generosity; sin [praying before vandalizing); clean your room; intervene in an abusive situation, intervene when there is an addiction; Get up! Sometimes the answer isn’t well, I’ll pray about it. The answer is, there is an obvious need, I’m going to step in, even if it is not my long term calling.

Ok, I”ll pray about it - my recruiting method

praying before vandalizing

poor around us - pray

praying: God, why do you allow evil. God: I could ask you the same thing.

God calls us to action

Pointing at the problem but not being part of the solution

Martha is meeting an obvious need: food to be prepared for a special guest; easy to resent doing all that work while someone is sitting in the living room with their feet propped up and watching a football game;

Martha has become an angry servant of the Lord. Every once in a while we need to assess our busyness, not by success, income, personal benefit - not even by the amount of work that we do: but is it bringing it joy to me and to others

Martha’s work has made her resentful, angry at others; frustrated: that should tell us to assess our busyness

“Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” Luke 10:40

Sit Down or Stand Up?

are you working without...

Luke 10:41–42 NIV

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

Luke 10:41-

That’s advice we can take word for word from Jesus. No translation needed. No modern adaptation needed. From Jesus’ mouth to our ears:

Jesus is not criticizing Martha’s work ethic, he’s criticizing her anxiety. Anxiety and worry is a waste of time.

We waste our time with worry and anxiety: regretting our past

Arguing over stupid things (e.g. My first exposure to church wide conflict was the color of the carpet. An important decision, but it did not warrant the amount of time and it wasn’t worth the broken relationships.

What people think of us. (afraid to speak out; afraid to try something new;

Dwelling on the past. We are worried and upset with many things.

How can we decide when to sit and when to stand?

focus on that last part of the story...

...few things are needed—or indeed only one.

what are the few things that are needed? there are many problems, many places to visit, many hobbies, many things to do with our families, many people to relate to

what are the few things that are necessary for us to do?

do the necessary things. stop spending time, energy on the good things, the fun things, the preferable things and focus on the necessary things - there are only a few that really matter

what brings me joy (de cluttering) - clutter in our schedules: what brings life to me and to others

are there times when there is only one thing do to?

When do we need to stop, drop and pray? When do we need to stop doing something and just sit there? ‘

How do we choose the few things that we actually need to do, worry about the few things that require worrying, the one thing that is the most important?

When do we need to stop sitting there, and do something?

the answer in this story is one word: Presence. That may sound like one of those mystical words that are not really that practical or make any sense at all.

if you are here, you can do this now: realize that this is more than a service, it is an opportunity to enjoy God’s presence.

friend who set his watch, at certain times of the day he would stop, say a 5 minute prayer / silence, and go back to work; STOP what you’re doing and focus on that one thing

Jesus was present. Jesus was teaching. Jesus was fellowshipping. This was a sacred time. This was a time to sit, because Jesus was up to something. that’s the time when there is only one thing that is necessary

Which is the most important thing for me? What brings you closer to Jesus? I’m busy doing this - does this make me closer to God or far away?