"Mind Your Own Business"
Luke 10:38-42
A sermon for 6/12/22 – Trinity Sunday
Pastor John Bright
Luke 10 “38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”
41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Pause right there. Those words I just read; they were “Breathed by God”! God wants you to hear His Word right now! So, what is your response? Do you want to transformed by that Word or do you want to be informed about the words? You have to choose.
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I want to share a quote with you that sums up the account of Martha, Mary and Jesus:
"Look at others and be distressed.
Look at yourself and be depressed.
Look to God and you’ll be blessed."
Rev. Warren Wiersbe, 1929-2019
I am spending so much time in Luke because it is this Gospel we find the most direct teaching on Discipleship, as in these verses from the 10th chapter. Here we are presented with two women we know lived in Bethany. These two women – Martha and Mary – have been used to describe two kinds of women, two types of personalities. Actually, we see positive and negative actions in these folks that can be found in every Believer who wants to grow in Discipleship.
Look at others and be distressed – we all know folks who have what we want – Amen?
Look at yourself and be depressed – we all have too many things to do in a single day – Amen?
Look to God and you’ll be blessed – we all need to spend more time with God – Amen?
Looking at Others
“39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”
One the problems we have with applying God’s Word to our lives – moving from information to application – is the move from then to now. Nobody here is going to have the Son of God show up unexpectedly for a meal and the chance to teach in your living room. It just isn’t going to happen. From another angle – 99% of you folks have interaction with social media. You know, that place where everyone is funnier than you and wittier than you and goes on better vacations than you and has better hair-days than you and eats the prettiest food you ever saw in your whole life!
It is so easy to fall into the trap that Martha fell into way back then. You see, she really, really wanted to be doing what her sister was doing. Since that was not an option – all she could hope for was to get Mary to do what she was doing. She even fell into the trap of telling God what to do. Good thing we NEVER DO THAT.
Have you ever known someone who was miserable and could not stand it that others were happy and joyful? Those folks work really hard to bring everyone down to their level.
There are all kinds of consequences if you go down this path of comparing yourself to others – always sure they have it better than you. In 2016, Rachel Ramsey Cruz wrote the book “Love Your Life Not Theirs” in which she talked about the trap of discontent with your life if you are comparing it to others. She focused most of her attention on social media as the new trap of “keeping up with the Jones.” This leads to so much unnecessary spending and a pile of debt. Even if you don’t use social media very much, remember that every ad on tv is designed to make you want their product and become discontent with what you have right now.
Contentment is necessary for Discipleship – Philippians 4 “11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Looking at Yourself
“41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.”
My grandson came to visit this week. On the ride to the parsonage, he filled up a to-do list with enough activities for a whole month. Any of you guys work off the dreaded to-do list? Me, too.
I found all kinds of funny to-do lists online – “Make vanilla pudding and put it in an empty mayonnaise jar. Now you can eat it in public and wait for reactions.” 😊
“Actually make one of the 400 crafts I have pinned on Pintrest.” 😊
“Do that thing I have been meaning to do for five years.” 😊
“Go to the pet store. Pick up some birdseed and ask the person working how long it will take for these to grow into birds.”😊
Actually, we all have more to do than we will ever get done in a day, a week, or a month. Ever notice how there seems to be an endless supply of dirty dishes, dirty cloths, and emails? That’s just life – Amen?
When we see a picture of Martha on that day preparing a meal for the Master and His disciples, we see a picture of service. Every view of Discipleship needs to include serving God and serving others. In the world of work, there has always been a desire to distinguish between the urgent and the important. If you ever read “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” (Covey, 1990), you may remember the 4 squares to separate urgent and important.
We have to be careful not to bring everything over from the world of work. Our priority needs to always be on serving the needs of people – caring for people. Listen to these verses from God’s Word:
Philippians 2:4 “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
1 John 3:17-18 “But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”
1 Timothy 5:8 “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
Let me return to my grandson’s visit. After supper, there’s a sink of dirty dishes and that’s the time he wants to play a game with me. Guess what I did? You better believe I knew the dishes could wait. They can sit and it matters not what anybody says or thinks about a dirty kitchen. The most important thing is time with my 7-year-old grandson because I will never get a do-over for that time!
Is there anything more important in your life than helping others?
Looking to God
“42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Here is the other positive example in our lesson today – Disciples need to spend time with God. While there are some who criticize the contemplative practices from the Ancient Church, I believe they provide rich possibilities in our busy lives to connect with the Living Vine – Jesus Christ. Last year, I took an online class with Dan Wilt Ministries to learn an old practice, the Daily Examen. Here is a link for the e-book http://www.danwilt.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Wilt-The-Daily-Examen-eBook.pdf
The following is from that e-book: “Personally, I do a 1-3 minute version of it at least 5-9 times a day. I would encourage you to memorize it, and begin to use it at least twice a day for one month to build the habit. If you can do it more, then do it. Here are the 5 steps, ready to memorize:
1. Be Still – become aware of the presence of God. Become aware of the presence of God, with you and in you. Use a breath prayer (Richard Foster, Eastern Orthodox tradition), if it helps you, praying as you breathe in, “You are here, Lord” and as you breathe out, “And I am with You.”
2. Give Thanks – review the past hours with thankfulness. Review the past 3 hours (or the space between this examen and the last) and give thanks for every detail you can think of. “That kind word,” “That answered prayer,” “That painful exchange that gives me another opportunity to trust You,” “The taste of that coffee,” “The provision to get gas this morning,” “That dream that showed me where my heart is truly at,” “That music I listened to,” “That physical pain that is awakening me to my need to stretch more.” Get good at identifying the details, and the gift within them. Nothing is too small to be grateful for. Find God, as Ignatius encouraged his Jesuits, in everything.
3. Reflect – become aware of your emotions. Ask, “How am I coming to this moment?” Name the emotion you are feeling, or the various ones you felt over the past hours. Then, give each one to the Lord. Invite Him into those emotions, and welcome Him to turn them toward His ends. You can also ask yourself here, “Did I choose Jesus’ way in that situation?” If you did choose Jesus’ way in a situation, rejoice. If not, examine your heart for sin, and choose to make amends and course corrections as needed.
4. Pray – choose one feature of the day so far, and pray. Turn your heart toward choosing one joy, one sorrow, or one area to pray about. Give it to the Lord completely. Leave it in His capable hands. Learn the art of letting go when you take this moment to converse with the Lord about what concerns you.
5. Hope – look toward the next hours with expectation. Tell the Lord that you hope in Him for the next hours ahead. See the next tasks with expectation that God will be good, that you will notice His work in the coming hours, and that His will will be done. Pray “Let Your Kingdom come, let Your will be done.”
End with trust. Reorient to trust. Look forward with Hope in Jesus.”
There will always be folks who have it better. There will always be too much to do. There will always be time to spend with God. There’s some Martha and some Mary in each of us. Amen.
TEACHING SHEET
"Mind Your Own Business"
Luke 10:38-42
June 12, 2022
"Look at others and be distressed.
Look at yourself and be depressed.
Look to Go, and you’ll be blessed."
Rev. Warren Wiersbe, 1929-2019
Look at others and be distressed – we all know folks who have what we want – Amen?
Look at yourself and be depressed – we all have too many things to do in a single day – Amen?
Look to God and you’ll be blessed – we all need to spend more time with God – Amen?
Last year, I took an online class with Dan Wilt Ministries to learn an old practice, the Daily Examen. Here is a link for the e-book http://www.danwilt.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Wilt-The-Daily-Examen-eBook.pdf
The following is from that e-book: “Personally, I do a 1-3 minute version of it at least 5-9 times a day. I would encourage you to memorize it, and begin to use it at least twice a day for one month to build the habit. If you can do it more, then do it. Here are the 5 steps, ready to memorize:
1. Be Still – become aware of the presence of God. Become aware of the presence of God, with you and in you. Use a breath prayer (Richard Foster, Eastern Orthodox tradition), if it helps you, praying as you breathe in, “You are here, Lord” and as you breathe out, “And I am with You.”
2. Give Thanks – review the past hours with thankfulness. Review the past 3 hours (or the space between this examen and the last) and give thanks for every detail you can think of. “That kind word,” “That answered prayer,” “That painful exchange that gives me another opportunity to trust You,” “The taste of that coffee,” “The provision to get gas this morning,” “That dream that showed me where my heart is truly at,” “That music I listened to,” “That physical pain that is awakening me to my need to stretch more.” Get good at identifying the details, and the gift within them. Nothing is too small to be grateful for. Find God, as Ignatius encouraged his Jesuits, in everything.
3. Reflect – become aware of your emotions. Ask, “How am I coming to this moment?” Name the emotion you are feeling, or the various ones you felt over the past hours. Then, give each one to the Lord. Invite Him into those emotions, and welcome Him to turn them toward His ends. You can also ask yourself here, “Did I choose Jesus’ way in that situation?” If you did choose Jesus’ way in a situation, rejoice. If not, examine your heart for sin, and choose to make amends and course corrections as needed.
4. Pray – choose one feature of the day so far, and pray. Turn your heart toward choosing one joy, one sorrow, or one area to pray about. Give it to the Lord completely. Leave it in His capable hands. Learn the art of letting go when you take this moment to converse with the Lord about what concerns you.
5. Hope – look toward the next hours with expectation. Tell the Lord that you hope in Him for the next hours ahead. See the next tasks with expectation that God will be good, that you will notice His work in the coming hours, and that His will will be done. Pray “Let Your Kingdom come, let Your will be done.” End with trust. Reorient to trust. Look forward with Hope in Jesus.”
