We Believe: Serving Doesnt Replace Sitting

What it looks like to follow Jesus:

We love our neighbors…(The Good Samaritan)

But we must not allow serving others in the name of Jesus takeaway from spending time with Jesus (Mary and Martha)

Big Idea:

Being with Jesus comes before Doing anything for Jesus

Luke 10:38–42 CSB

38 While they were traveling, he entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who also sat at the Lord’s feet and was listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, and she came up and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? So tell her to give me a hand.” 41 The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.”

The Scandalous Invitation (v.38-41)

Luke 10:38–39 CSB

38 While they were traveling, he entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who also sat at the Lord’s feet and was listening to what he said.

I want you to imagine that you are on this journey with Jesus. While we are traveling to Jerusalem, we enter a small village town called Bethany located about two miles away from the city gate.

Luke tells us that Martha welcomes Jesus into her house, he introduces us to Martha’s sister, Marry.

We arent told much about this woman here…all Luke tells us about her is what we find in verse 39.

Luke tells us that Mary “sat down” at the feet of Jesus and was listening to what he said.”

When we read this passage as 21st Century Westerners there is a real chance that we may miss what is actually happening in this story.

In the 1st Century, Men and Women lived in completely different worlds.

Males and Females didnt intermingle, even in the home.

Men would sit at the dinner table while the women of the household would serve them and then retreat back to their quarters.

The only exception to this rule was if the woman was a…shall we say, “woman of the night...”

No wonder we find Martha so upset about Mary not serving…what would her guests think?! And if you know anything about the history of Mary…this was Mary Magdeline…she was a former prostitute so for all intended purposes if an outsider would have seen this scene they would have thought that Mary was back to her old way of life.

But Mary doesnt care about the boundaries of her culture…or the expectations of how women were “supposed” to act …She just knew that God in the Flesh had just walked through the door and she wasnt going to miss her shot to sit at his feet and learn from him.

Here is the point…Jesus welcomes all people into the life of discipleship.

Anyone and everyone can have a place sitting under Jesus’ teaching, learning from Him, enjoying Him...

We can have relationship with Him…he invites us in…calls us out…and the life that he calls us to isnt one of hurry and busyness…but a life that is unhurried and satisfying walk with the God who loves us.

Maybe you say, “Yea…I’ve heard that before Jonathan…but you dont know me…I dont think God would ever accept me for what I’ve done.”

Listen to me…There is only one type of person that can never be consider themselves to be welcome into Jesus’ fold, those that are unwilling.

There is only one condition that we must meet in order to follow Him…and that is that we are willing. Nothing else...

We Believe that BEING with Jesus always comes before DOING anything for Jesus…but we must be willing to be with Him…we must—Like Mary—sit ourselves at the feet of Jesus and be willing to learn from Him…take his yoke and walk with Him...

But their is a danger that we must avoid in this passage as well…and this is our second truth in this passage...

The Danger of Distraction (v.40-42)

Luke 10:40–42 CSB

40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, and she came up and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? So tell her to give me a hand.” 41 The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.”

While Mary is sitting at Jesus feet Martha is scurrying about preparing her home for her guests.

We know from early passages in Luke’s gospel that there were 72 people that had been following Jesus pretty closely at this point…So we shouldnt be surprised at Martha’s response.

The word that Luke uses to describe her emotions to us is “overburdened” or “anxious” with her many tasks of serving...

She is stressed out! And who wouldn’t be, Right?

Imagine how you would act if nearly 100 people had just stepped foot into your house? And now imagine how you would react if your brother or sister (or your husband or wife) was just mingling amongst the crowd instead of helping you serve your guests?

I can tell you how I would respond…exactly like Mary!

I would have “accidentally” kicked her as I walked by Im sure…trying to get her to get up off her rump and help me entertain our guests.

She gets so worked up that she says to Jesus…right in front of Mary presumably...”Hey, can you tell her to get back in her place?” …Do you not even care that she has left me to get all this work done by myself?

Can I ask you an honest question?

Who do you find yourself being more like in this story? Mary or Martha?

Too often I am like Martha…I find myself busy and anxious…in a hurry to go faster, do more, be everywhere for everyone all the time...

Can I tell you something…the statistics aren't in our favor this morning.

7 our of 10 millennials would say that they are currently experiencing some level of burnout.

54% of people would say they are chronically lonely and say they sometimes feel like no-one knows them well.

30% of people under the age of 40 say they experience disruptive anxiety.

Here is the bottom-line: We are too busy...

We are busy with our families…we got baseball, football, soccer, cheer, church, homework…can I just say that it shouldn't be as normal as it is for parents to feel like they are taxi drivers for their kids…Your kids came into your world, it isnt the other way around.

We are busy with our friendships, church, marriage, our jobs, our schools, our social lives, and then we even busy ourselves with silly things like social media, and TV shows, reading…AND we have to eat healthy and stay in shape and serve our community…on and on the list goes...

God says “Be still…and know that I am the Lord...”

We say, “Hurry up, God…im on a tight schedule...”

No wonder were so stressed out...

And it’s into this mess that we can hear the soft whisper of Jesus telling us in verse 41-42

Luke 10:41–42 CSB

41 The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.”

The only Necessary Need (v.41-42)

Martha was serving because she was looking for approval from Jesus.

Mary was sitting because she understood that Jesus approved of her.

Martha wanted Jesus to accept her based upon all of her good deeds.

Mary wanted Jesus, period.

Martha was worried because she was afraid of what others would think about her.

Mary wasnt worried at all…because she was consumed with an all encompassing love for the Lord who sat in front of her.

When Jesus says in verse 41 that Mary had made the “right choice” the word can be translated into “Mary chose the best portion.” AKA…she made the best choice...

Martha just wanted Jesus to love her…and that’s who she served so hard...

Mary knew that Jesus already loved her…and thats why she sat at his feet...

So I want you to answer a question…not out loud…but in your heart...

When is the last time that you just sat at Jesus’ feet?

One passage of scripture that has been formative to my life over the years is

Mark 3:13–14 ESV

13 And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach

The first thing that Jesus calls us to do when he calls us into a relationship with him is to “BE” with him....and then after we have spent time with him…sitting at his feet…learning from him…enjoying him…loving him…after that…HE SENDS US OUT TO SERVE

You see Heucks Retreat…Being with Jesus…always comes before doing anything for Jesus...

so how do we do that?

Learning to Listen: 1. Establish a time and a place to get into God’s word. 2. Pick a plan for reading the Word regularly. 3. Find someone to hold you accountable.