Worship Before You Work

“Worship Before You Work”

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Would you agree we live in a very fast-paced society? We are busier now than we were a year ago, and we will be even busier next year. Not only are computers faster, and phones faster, but our lives are faster. In this fast-paced world, where do we find the time to nurture our souls?

You cannot grow spiritually without spending time with Jesus. We must make spending time with Jesus, hearing from his word, sitting at his feet a priority; if we don’t we will find ourselves miserable unhappy people.

The struggle of living a busy life and spending time with Jesus is not new. Even before the fast paced culture, people got too busy, to spend time with Jesus.

This story takes place in a certain village; and then were given the names of the two sisters Martha and Mary. This identifies the village as Bethany, 2 miles from Jerusalem, it was a bedroom community of the city of Jerusalem.

Were told in the Gospel of , that Mary and Martha had a brother named Lazarus but also lived in the home with them.

This home was a very special place for the Lord Jesus; he went there times to retreat, rest, and refresh himself. Jesus was welcomed in the home of Mary Martha and Lazarus, their home was always open to the Lord Jesus. Jesus could show up, and walk in and be comfortable in that home.

It’s a wonderful thing when the Lord Jesus Christ is welcome at your house. Is Jesus welcome at your house? In -“Jesus loved Mary Martha and Lazarus”.

Jesus loved this family, Jesus was with this family in the good times and bad times. Jesus loves your family, if you will open the door of your home to Jesus, he will be with you in the good times and bad times of your family.

As we stepped through the door of this home, we learn why it is so important to worship before we work. There are three scenes in this story.

Scene #1:

1. A Great Combination.

V:38-39.

Mary and Martha were a great combination; their personalities are very different, yet they complement one another. There flesh and blood sisters, they live under the same roof, have the same parents, yet their temperaments and personalities are quite different.

Tess has an older sister, and she’s nothing like her older sister; and I thank God for that every day!

Brothers and sisters in a family can be different can’t they? My children are different, every one of us are different. God made each one of us with different personalities, likes and dislikes.

This is also true in God’s family, none of God’s children are the same. There are no duplicates only originals in the family of God.

When the Lord saved you he didn’t take away your personality, and giftedness. You’re still an original.

An old evangelist Vance Havner once said that when he started off in ministry he made up his mind he would be original or nothing. He said he soon found out that he was both.

That’s too good things to find out.

When you look at Mary and Martha you find a combination of what you need in your life and what’s needed in the church.

a. Martha the worker.

V:38-“Martha received him into her house”.

V:40-“Martha was distracted with much serving…

Evidently Martha was the older sister, and her parents had left her the house. She welcomed Jesus into her house, what a wise decision, to welcomed Jesus into your house, heart, life, marriage.

Have you received Jesus, invited Jesus into your heart as your personal Lord and Savior; have you welcomed him into every area of your life? Martha opened her home to Jesus, I hope you’ve done that!

Nothing is more important than welcoming Jesus into your heart and then into your home and life. Follow Martha’s example she received Jesus into her house. And then were told, V:40, that she was distracted, caught up in much serving…

Martha had the gift of hospitality … She is the Martha Stewart of the New Testament.

She comes to the door with a big smile on her face and welcomes the Lord Jesus into her home. She ushers Jesus inside, it’s good to see you master; and then she quickly leaves him in the living room and heads for the kitchen. The house is immaculate, the food must be perfect, and she’s going to fix a five course meal. Everything must be just right for Jesus, so she is baking, boiling, roasting, chopping and dicing she is busy, busy, busy fixing a meal for Jesus.

Thank God for Martha’s, we all knows Martha’s; Martha represents the practical, hard-working Christian. Martha is the responsible one, the one who is always volunteering and always making sure that everything is done to her standards.

She is one of the 20% who end up doing 80% of the work in the church. What would we do without the Martha’s in our churches?

Martha represents the Christian who shows their love and commitment to Jesus by the things they do for the Lord.

Martha type personalities, serve Jesus with great faithfulness and energy, they serve on the preschool team, small group leaders, ushers, greeters, security, involved in Grow visitation, committees, attend meetings, go to activities, sing in the choir, deeply involved in ministering for the Lord.

Everything Martha was doing for the Lord Jesus was wonderful and great. Don’t think this story is condemning Martha for all of her hard work to serve Jesus; because it’s not.

The gift of hospitality is one of the gifts given by God -“seek to show hospitality.

-“Show hospitality to another without grumbling”.

Jesus Christ was the honored guest, Martha want to serve him to the best of her ability. We know that Jesus visited this home more than one time, could it be that Martha’s gracious hospitality, and good cooking is one of the things that drew him back there. Thank God for the Martha’s in our church, I’m so grateful for them.

Martha’s demonstrate their love for Jesus by their service to him. Every one of us need to show our love to Jesus by serving him! There needs to be in our lives a place of work, service to Jesus.

-“fervent in spirit serving the Lord”.

We need to follow the example of Martha and serve Jesus.

You will enjoy your Christian life and your church better if you find a place to serve and minister.

Decide today as a child of God, that you’re not going to ask; what can my church do for me, but rather you will last what can I do for my church.

Don’t just sit on the pew, fold your hands and wait to be served, no no! Make up your mind that as a Christian, and a member of this church you will serve the Lord Jesus!

Marth the worker, busy, active serving the Lord.

b. Mary the worshiper.

V:39-“And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus feet and heard his word”.

While Martha is busy in the kitchen getting everything ready for dinner, Mary was in the living room sitting at Jesus feet hearing his word. Mary teaches us the importance of worship in our life as Christians. Mary showed her love to Jesus by sitting at his feet, listening to his word. Sitting at Jesus feet meant she was a learner and worshiper.

Every time you read about Mary in the N.T. you find her at Jesus feet.

· 1st time.

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Mary has come to understand how you get to know Jesus. How do you get to know Jesus? Jesus Christ the living word, has revealed himself to us in the written word, the Bible. The only way we learn about Jesus, or build our faith is by reading the word of God. The more you learn about Jesus, the more you will love Jesus! Mary was sitting at Jesus feet, listening to his word. She sat at Jesus feet to learn.

· 2nd time.

-“Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if you had been here, my brother had not died.

Her brother Lazarus had died and she brought her grief and heartache to the feet Jesus.

· 3rd time.

-Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.

Mary brought the most expensive thing in her life and poured it out on Jesus feet.

Mary learned the secret of a happy life, sitting at the feet of Jesus! She sat at Jesus feet to learn, she took her grief to Jesus feet, and she gave her best at Jesus feet. Do you have a worship aspect of your life? Do you take time to get alone and sit at Jesus feet with an open Bible? Do you take time to talk to Jesus in prayer? In this busy fast-paced world take time to sit at Jesus feet! What a great combination, you need this combination in your life. If were not careful there’s a tendency to be all Martha and no Mary, are to be a Mary and no Martha. But God wants us to be a combination of worshiper and worker! It is so important that were a combination of worshiper and worker, that we are balanced in our Christian life. Scene one closes with Mary sitting at Jesus feet hearing his word. The first scene, a great combination.

The second scene:

2. A Gradual Frustration.

V:40-Read.

Scene two shows us Martha as she becomes gradually frustrated and she’s preparing this elaborate meal for Jesus. Get the picture in your mind, Martha is in the kitchen; where more than the oven is heating up. Martha is getting frustrated, because she feels like Mary should be doing more to help her fix the meal.

I can see her with sweat-beads on her face, with her apron own, rattling pots and pans, and murmuring under her breath. “I can’t believe Mary is just sitting there, as she punches her fist into the lump of dough. She should be in here helping me; I could get this done faster, if I had some help, as she punches her other fist into the dough.

They could at least come in here while they talk; I can’t believe Jesus is just letting her sit there, another fist and the dough. Here I am in the kitchen, cooking, sweating, and working my fingers to the bone… Doesn’t he care?

There was nothing wrong with what Martha was doing, but there was something wrong with her attitude!

She is serving the Lord Jesus, but she’s not doing it with any joy. It is possible to serve the Lord, as Martha did, and yet do it in a very ugly way. This story is not telling us, that sitting at Jesus feet; is to be done to the exclusion of serving Jesus.

Martha was guilty of at least three sins:

1. Distracted from her Lord.

V:40-“Martha was distracted with much serving…

Martha was guilty of being dragged away from her time with the Lord, and his word by her activity. The word distracted means- to be dragged away, to get distracted.

This implies that Martha wanted to do one thing, but ended up getting pulled away from it, getting distracted. Have you ever had that happen to you? First we are attracted to something, but then we get distracted, and our attention is turned away.

Martha wanted to spend time with Jesus, but she got distracted and pulled away from time with Jesus.

She got so caught up in doing something for Jesus, that she lost sight of Jesus himself.

Charles Spurgeon said, “Her fault was not that she served, her fault was she forgot about Jesus and only remembered her service”.

We must be careful that we don’t get so busy involved in the work of the Lord, that we don’t have time to worship the Lord.

Martha’s work has dragged her away from spending time with Jesus. It’s not that she shouldn’t work; it’s that she must worship before she worked.

When we don’t read the Bible, and spend time in prayer, our attitudes become stinky real quick.

If you become distracted from spending time with Jesus for some reason; it will rob you of the joy of the Lord. You can’t serve Jesus with joy, without spending time with him.

-“Serve the Lord without distraction”.

1st Martha got distracted from the Lord in her service.

2. Martha felt self-pity for herself.

V:40-“ left me to serve alone…

Martha thought about all she was doing, slaving away in the hot kitchen, she begins to feel sorry for herself. She’s no longer serving out of joy for Jesus: she has run out of gas, and she serving in the flesh. She becomes frustrated, irritable, and cranky, you can hear it in her words; you can see it on her face. She feels like she’s the only one doing any of the work.

If you’re busy in the work for the Lord, but you are not spending time with the Lord, you will become an irritable, cranky, sulky, burned-out Christian.

If your service for the Lord Jesus is causing you frustration and anxiety, there’s something wrong with your service for the Lord.

There’s nothing more unattractive than a

Mean-spirited, irritable, cranky Christian serving in some place of ministry! You say pastor do you ever get irritable, cranky, frustrated in your service to the Lord; yes I do, but there is no excuse for it. It is a reminder that I cannot work, and minister effectively; unless it flows out of my relationship Jesus.

3. Resentment toward her sister and the Lord.

V:40-“ Lord, don’t you care that my sister had left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me.

Martha didn’t stay feeling sorry for herself long, she quickly begins to resent her sister. She said to herself, look at my sister, I have all this work to do, and there she is sitting at Jesus feet, not helping me. She is resentful toward Mary, she doesn’t think Mary’s doing her part.

I don’t think that Mary was lazy, I think it is that Martha was neglecting to spend time with Jesus.

There’s a lesson in here for those of us who serve in ministry. We must be careful we don’t resent people who don’t make our ministry their priority. We find ourselves neck-deep in ministry, and if others don’t join in to help us like we think they should, we can easily become resentful, irritable.

Martha is upset at Mary, and says to Jesus tell my sister, she didn’t even call her by her name.

Martha is resentful toward Jesus.

V:40-“Lord don’t you care…

This is the same thing the disciples said when they were in that storm on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat and the disciples woke him up and said, “master don’t you care that we perish”?

Lord don’t you see what’s happening, I’m in the kitchen by myself, and Mary is not helping me, don’t you care that I’m alone in the kitchen?

Of course Jesus cares! Jesus knew what Martha was doing, and he knew what Mary was doing; and he cared for both of them.

Jesus cares for you, Jesus loves you, Jesus sees you, and knows all about what’s going on in your life.

-“Casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you”.

Can you imagine Martha saying to Jesus don’t you care; Jesus who was on his way to the cross to die for Martha sin! No one cares about you more than the Lord Jesus! It was Martha who did not care; she did not care enough to sit at his feet and listen to his word.

And because she had not been spending time listening to Jesus, she begins to tell Jesus what to do,

V:40-“tell her to help me”.

At the root of Martha’s resentment to her sister and the Lord was selfishness. Two times she said, she had left me, tell her to help me. She thought her work in the kitchen was more important than Jesus teaching the word. So she comes in the room and interrupts Jesus; her work and interest must have first place.

An interruption, on the radio, TV, a newsflash says there something important you need to know.

Martha interrupts as to say, what I’m doing is more important than what you’re doing!

Selfishness, and mixed-up-priorities upsets the family of God, and leads to all kinds of problems.

So you don’t think neglecting the Word of God and prayer is a big deal?

Martha is a picture of what happens when you do that. When you get distracted and neglect to spend time in the word of God and prayer, self-pity creeps in. Rather than rejoicing in the Lord, you feel sorry for yourself because of the difficulties you’re facing. We begin to be critical of others, and find fault because are not doing what they should be doing for us. Before long we try to tell God what to do. And this all happens because we get distracted, and pulled away from Jesus! Martha teaches us the gradual frustration that will come in your life when you neglect to spend time at Jesus feet.

Scene #3:

4. A Gracious Invitation.

V:41-42-Read.

Jesus is so gracious and kind as he speaks to Martha. Jesus says, Martha, Martha… Whenever Jesus called a person’s name twice, he was getting ready to tell them something of supreme importance.

Simon, Simon-Satan has desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat.

Saul, Saul-why are you persecuting me.

Martha, Martha, now listen real good, settle down, you are all worked up, anxious, and bothered by a lot of stuff. Martha had a to-do-list as long as your arm, she had placed unrealistic expectations on herself, and she was wearing herself out. Jesus gives her a gracious invitation, to rearrange her priorities, and find joy and peace at his feet, and then she could serve him with joy. If your life is filled with anxiety, worry, and you’re troubled about a lot of things, Jesus has a solution. Notice what Jesus does for Martha:

a. He calms her anxiety.

V:41-“Martha you are worried and troubled about many things” Jesus is going to calm her anxiety, by turning her attention away from the many things to the one thing, she needed most.

-“Be anxious for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God”. Behind my anxiety and worry is a heart that’s been drawn away from Jesus and his word. For every anxiety and worry, there is a word from God to calm it.

If you have financial worries- my God shall supply all your needs.

If you’re anxious about the future- God’s word promises I will never leave you nor forsake you.

a. He calms her anxiety.

b. He corrects her priority.

V:42-Read.

Jesus crumbles up Martha’s to do list and says to her, one thing is needful.

What is the one thing that is needful? What is the one thing that must be a priority; that is needful above all others? Jesus does not give us the definition for the one thing that is necessary for the life of a disciple. Instead he gives us a picture.

Mary is the picture…What is needful, is what Mary is doing; sitting at Jesus feet. What is needful for me and you is spending time in the Bible and prayer. It not that Jesus didn’t want Martha to serve him, it’s just that spending time with him must come first.

The priority for the Christian is spending time with Jesus. Unless we meet with Jesus and spend quiet time with Jesus every day, we will end up like Martha; busy but not blessed! If you find yourself frustrated, cranky, irritable; asked yourself have I made spending time with Jesus a priority?

Don’t stop working for Jesus, just be sure your work flows from your worship. One thing is necessary; spending time with Jesus! Every Martha needs to spend time with Jesus, and every Mary is called to serve Jesus. When we take time to be with Jesus we are choosing the good part, there’s nothing better in life than spending time worshiping and drawing close to Jesus.

God’s word to the sinner is, “one thing thou lackest”.

God’s word to the Christian is, “one thing is needful”.

Needful above all things is a vital, personal fellowship with Jesus every day. The message is not stop serving, the message is make sure you worship Jesus, so you can serve out of a heart of love for him.

Did what Jesus said to Martha make a difference? Did Martha learn from this experience and the words of the Lord Jesus? Yes she did!

-“Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming went and met him.

She grief stricken at the death of her brother Lazarus, no doubt the house was full of guest, Martha was concerned about being a gracious host. But when she heard that Jesus was coming, she knew that only one thing was necessary, so she left the guest and ran outside the village to Jesus feet.

Later own in:

-“they made Jesus a supper and Martha served…

In the passage in , there were probably four people present; Mary, Martha, Lazarus and Jesus. Martha was serving four people and she was frustrated, anxious serving only four people.

But here in , she was serving the 12 apostles, plus Jesus, and others, at least 17 people were there.

And you read…Martha served… No frustration, no anxiety, turmoil, why?

Because Martha had learned the secret of serving; spending time with Jesus.

Martha and Mary because they spent time listening to Jesus; knew the two most important things any person could ever know.

They knew about the death of Jesus, and about the power of the resurrection.

Mary anointed Jesus for his burial, when she poured the appointment on his head and feet.

Jesus told Martha:

-“I am the resurrection and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die, do you believe this? Martha said yes Lord: I believe that you are the Christ, the son of God”.

Mary believed in the cross, even before the crucifixion, and Martha believed in the power of the resurrection. They believe these things because they both did the one thing that is needful, which is to make listening to Jesus, spending time with Jesus a priority!

If you’re here today and you’re not saved, the one thing that you lack in life; is the most important thing in life, a personal relationship with Jesus.

Come today and bow at Jesus feet and trust him as your Savior and Lord.

Dear Christian, the one thing that is needful, is for you to spend time at Jesus feet in prayer in the word of God every day! Don’t neglect it, or you will become an irritable, cranky Christian.