Choosing the Best Part
Luke 10:38-42
You are very familiar with today’s story... Jesus is visiting at the home of Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary.
The Bible shows us that Jesus loved this family very much and loved to stay there as often as he had a chance. We know how much Jesus loved Lazarus by his tears at Lazarus’ tomb.
We also know that Mary loved Jesus very much by her anointing Jesus’ feet with costly perfume.
And we know Martha loved Jesus because of her service...38 The Lord and his disciples were traveling along and came to a village. When they got there, a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.
There is no doubt that Martha loved Jesus or served him well. But even in her love and service, Martha made some mistakes.
There is no doubt in my mind that many of you here today love Jesus I have seen things in your life that would prove it.
One thing we learn is that when we love Jesus... we serve him.
But even in your love and service... you too can make some of the same mistakes. So, let’s look at Martha’s mistakes.
Martha’s First Mistake
9 She had a sister named Mary, who sat down in front of the Lord and was listening to what he said. 40Martha was worried about all that had to be done.
The New American Version says, “Martha, burdened with much serving,”
The New King James Version says, “but Martha was distracted with much serving,”
Martha was distracted by all of the preparations that had to be made, because she was a worker, a hard worker, and a conscientious worker.
It is not that she never was interested in Jesus’s words. In fact, she had earlier been sitting at Jesus’ feet listening to his words just like Mary still was.
How do I know? Because the Word says that she became distracted. So, she had earlier been focused.
But then another voice begins to speak. It is the voice of THE URGENT, calling attention to the little things that demand to be done.
You know what that is like it happens to you some times... maybe even right now.
You are sitting there listening to the sermon and then, from somewhere, comes the voice of the urgent. That thought of something that really needs to be done.
Maybe you see a light bulb that needs to be replaced, or a window that needs to be washed, or something to be painted.
Or maybe THE URGENT is calling you
from work... some job the boss wants
Or from home some corner to be swept
Or from school some paper to be written
And your mind is DISTRACTED... your thoughts are stolen away from God, from the sermon, from the spiritual.
And Martha became carried off by her thoughts, her concerns, and her worries.
Perhaps the thing is necessary,
perhaps it is good, and
perhaps it is even spiritual...
BUT IT DISTRACTS YOU FROM THE FEET OF JESUS!
2. TORN IN TWO
Now Martha has emotionally left Jesus, she is literally torn in two trying to think about Jesus’ words, the spiritual, but nagged to death by the everyday, the tedious, the worldly, THE URGENT.
And the more she sat there, and the harder she tried NOT to think about the "stuff’ the more she found herself unable to think about the spiritual.
Jesus knew it... he could read her mind and heart and it caused Jesus to gently rebuke her.. Martha, Martha you are so worried and bothered about many things
How can you be worried when the Prince of Peace is in your living room?
She was not really "with him." "She was in the kitchen, wondering if she had put in the right spices;
wondering if she had enough clean linens for all of them
wondering about other things.
The Greek word "worry" means “pulled in two.”
It means, on one hand, to hear the voice of Jesus and want to sit at his feet And, on the other hand, to hear the voice of the urgent and be busied with many things.
Martha was emotionally pulled in two
Like being tied between two horses going in different directions
Martha was torn between sitting and serving
The word "many" really means trivial, little things... things that do not really matter
What began as a distraction (minor)(v. 40) became a worry (consuming) (v. 41)
THE MINOR BECAME MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE MAJOR
Physical Spiritual
Transient Eternal
BUT AT THIS POINT SHE IS STILL THERE IN BODY... THOUGH GONE IN MIND
And what happened next? IT CAUSED A RIFT!
3. Doubting God’s CARE?
and she went to Jesus and said, "LORD DO YOU NOT CARE that my sister has left me to serve all alone? Tell her to help me!
What was only in her mind... mental distance... became a reality... physical distance.
SHE GOT UP AND LEFT THE ROOM AND WENT TO THE KITCHEN TO SERVE. and she went to Jesus means she was no longer there
Her distraction caused her to loose sight of the really important, get her focus on the less important, and the urgent became her consuming interest... and that caused her to become distant from Him... to loose the joy of the fellowship.
We do the same when we get our eyes off the important (CHRIST) and begin to notice the little, the trivial, the urgent (grass, lunch, painting, family, like, pleasure)
We tell our selves (as Martha did), it is to please him...
we tell ourselves we can leave church to cook... because we are being a Christian host
we tell ourselves we can skip QT to cut grass... because we are being good steward
or we work an extra day and then on Sunday, that job has to be done so we don’t have time for Church.
or we waste time during the week and on Sunday, we still need to do so and so before Monday... so we don’t have time for God.
We tell ourselves that we are doing it for the kids, or for the family, or for someone else.... but we are bad stewards because there was time during the week.
Now, you have wasted time, and someone has to suffer for it.
WHO????
. GOD!!!!!!
She even asked DONT YOU CARE? She had moved so far away that she was no longer sure of his concern
We can get so caught up into "many things"... trivial, unimportant, and urgent things that we find ourselves sensing the distance too.
We question where he is, why he is not there when we call, and why we feel so distant.
4. CHOOSING THE BEST
"Martha, Martha, you are so anxious and troubled about so many trivial things: ONLY ONE IS NEEDFUL Mary has CHOSEN THE BEST PART and it will not be taken away from her."
This is my favorite part of the lesson... CHOOSING THE BEST PART.
Martha chose "serving". Mary chose "intimacy"
Martha chose many things Mary chose the one thing
Martha chose stuff Mary chose HIM
Martha decided teaching Mary decided things could wait
could wait
Service is a good thing... we should serve Jesus.
BUT EVEN THE GOOD CAN BECOME A DISTRACTION
THE GOOD IS NOT THE BEST
The good becomes bad if it keeps us from the best.
The best is the thing that brings us CLOSEST to God
the thing that brings the most honor and glory to Him the thing that
his kingdom the farthest
GOOD VERSUS BEST
Many activities are necessary
time working on the job... on a side job, time to paint, cut grass, wash clothes, doing homework, cooking
Many things are helpful
time of renewal and vacation, time at the lake, time away from the rat race
Many activities are good
Visiting the sick, helping the needy, playing ball with the kids, giving some personal quality time to your family
BUT ONLY ONE THING IS BEST
but only one is needful"
That one is PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP BUILDING WITH JESUS
That is what Mary had chosen. She knew the food needed to be cooked, she knew there were dishes to wash, a table to set, and other jobs to be done.
She heard the call of the "good", but she listened to the call of the "BEST"
She chose to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to him give the words of life, the water that causes us never to thirst again.
The good, the necessary, the urgent... versus the BEST
Like I told you I am not a musician but God gave me a final illustration. I’ve asked Mrs. Hitt to play a few notes of one of the most beautiful and recognizable hymns of the Christian faith. (The first two lines of "The Old Rugged Cross" played backwards)
Doesn’t that just stir your blood to hear it? Doesn’t it bring such sweet thoughts of God9
NO? Why????
Well, listen to this one...(Hymn played correctly)
Does that move you more?
You may believe she played the wrong notes the first time. She did not. She just played the right notes... in the wrong order.
You see... when they are improperly ordered they are not very pleasing to our ears.
But when they are in the right order, they make a sweet, sweet melody that moves our heart.
SO it is with our lives.
Maybe you are not doing anything bad… Mrs. Hitt did not play any bad notes either.
There are no bad notes on the piano...
they are all good.... when they are played in the right order.
IT IS THE ORDER THAT COUNTS.
In our lives there are many notes we can play... many things we can choose to do with our time.
The problem is that there is a limited amount of time in a day, in a week, in our life. And in that limited time we cannot possibly do everything. We have to choose. We can choose the bad, the good, or the best
Most of us don’t choose the bad, so I won’t even cover that. So we choose between the good and the best.
Compared to the best, even the good becomes trivial.
Most of us are guilty of using the limited time we have for the good... the needful, the urgent, just oiling the squeaky wheels.
God understands the call of the urgent... he knows how tempting, how powerful it is. But he also knows that if we forsake the best for the sake of the good.... it is wrong.
What pleases God is a life that has its priorities in order.
It is a sweet melody to his ears and it brings joy to his heart.
We all need to cut the grass, and it is OK...in it’s place... but out of place it is wrong.
We all need to take vacations... in their place they’re OK... but out of place they are wrong
What is the right order?? JOY S... JESUS OTHERS YOU STUFF
Personal time with Jesus is #1
Your quiet time, worship, bible study, prayer groups.... stewardship of relationship
We need to take our calendars and mark down those times... set them aside, make the holy to the Lord.
Others is #2
People always come before stuff
Time with family, time helping others.... Stewardship of service
YOU is #3
Health, sleep, eat, exercise... stewardship of body
Stuff is #4
take care of the stuff, stewardship of possessions
Some of you are playing a discord.... notes that clash.
You are filling your life with the many, tedious, urgent, trivial things.
Your music is sour in the ear of God.
You need to work on your song... get the notes in the right order.
You may need to come to God today and confess your poor stewardship... and ask him to make your life a sweet, sweet melody for him.
