Title: What’s the One Thing? 09/03/06 West Side
Text: Luke 10:38-42 A.M. Service
Purpose: A Labor Day message dealing with how we should “Be Still” before the Lord
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Introduction:
Jason’s Praying Pencils
How a student gave his teacher a special education
by Hugh Chapman1 (See Footnote)
I was an hour-and-a-half into my new teaching career when I saw him at the other end of the hallway. He was the reason I almost didn’t take the job; before long, he became the reason I stayed.
Though I had never met Jason Banning before, I knew his situation. He was a 13-year-old special needs seventh-grader who had been confined to a wheelchair virtually all his life.
As Izard County (Arkansas) Consolidated School’s newest special education teacher, I was hired to teach Jason and attend to his personal needs. He had medicines that needed to be administered and diapers that needed to be changed twice a day; odd tasks for a man who had made a habit of fleeing his own kids at medicine and diaper-changing time.
My educational certification is in business, but there had been no positions available in that area. Special education was the only job open. It wouldn’t be easy: I would have to go back to school during summers and evenings to be certified in special ed. But because my own kids were in the school system, I wanted very much to be involved.
So I stood at my end of the hall, watching Jason being pushed toward me by his friend Delbert. I whispered a quiet prayer. "God, please help me with this." I expected an angry child, resentful of the life he had been dealt.
More than a student
As I watched him, I had to admit that he had every right to be angry. Jason had spina bifida, a congenital defect of the vertebrae. He had already undergone a dozen surgeries and his family anticipated more. He was being cared for, full time, by elderly grandparents.
His prognosis was poor. I remember seeing Jason at the school’s sixth grade graduation. His grandmother had invited the entire family and had ordered balloons and flowers for the event. She wanted the celebration to be special for Jason, because, as she later explained, it might be the only graduation he would ever see.
Yet if Jason was bitter, I saw no sign of it that day. Wheeling up to me in the school hallway, Jason realized who I was. Holding out both arms in greeting, he said, "Welcome, friend. It’s good to see you."
Though it took us a while to adjust to each other and our new surroundings, we eventually settled in. During our conversations, Jason often shared his heart. He told me he had attended church for as long as he could remember, and a couple of years before he had given his life to Jesus. Someday he hoped to become a preacher.
Prayer in the school
One time my first year, when his 80-year-old grandfather was ill, Jason asked me to pray with him. Not wanting to jeopardize my future, I was reluctant. Tactfully I explained that our government had regulations about teachers and students praying together on school grounds. Jason seemed to understand.
Two hours later, though, when Jason was in band class, God spoke to me—not in an audible voice—but through a feeling of deep remorse that weighed heavily on my heart. It is a sad world indeed, when a public school teacher is so wrapped up in the system that he is afraid to pray with a frightened child, I thought.
I dropped what I was doing and found my friend among the tubas and clarinets. I wheeled him back to the nurses’ station and there, in the quiet of the room, Jason and I prayed for his grandfather. He recovered soon after.
Secret code
Many times after that, Jason and I prayed together. I told Jason I often prayed silently in my classroom, and he suggested a way the two of us could pray silently together. He would lay his pencils (he always had at least two) on his desk in the form of a cross, as a signal to me that he was praying. From wherever I was in the room, I would join him.
Once when I was having a bad day, Jason’s friend Delbert came to class without a pencil. Jason and Delbert knew that I expected my students to be prepared for class, and Jason would often secretly loan paper or pencils to Delbert. I noticed Jason slipping a pencil to Delbert. I was annoyed, but said nothing.
Later, I gave the students an in-class written assignment. Jason wheeled up to my desk with tears welling in his eyes. "I don’t have my pencil," he said.
"Jason," I said, irritated, "if you didn’t keep giving your things to Delbert, you’d have a pencil, wouldn’t you?"
Then I noticed a pencil in Jason’s shirt pocket. Annoyed that the disruption had been unnecessary, I pulled out the pencil and held it in front of him. "Jason, here’s a pencil in your pocket!"
A tear rolled down his cheek. "That’s the pencil I write with," he explained. "It’s the pencil I pray with that I don’t have."
I choked up, ashamed for jumping all over him. I immediately found him a pencil. From that moment, I made a point to have lots of spare materials on hand.
I’ll return to this illustration at the end today…
Today, on this Labor Day weekend, I want to talk to us about “Being Still” before the Lord.
Like this teacher, we sometimes can get too busy to remember that there are opportunities for us to “be still” before the Lord all throughout our days.
A. God is the one who inaugurated the rest.
In Genesis 2:1-3 “So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. On the seventh day, having finished his task, God rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from his work of creation.”
Think of that: The God of the universe “rested” on the seventh day. Was he physically tired? No. He was modeling before us the importance of a day of rest. A day to worship Him and to give thanks.
Why do we need to rest? I think it’s obvious.
A. Our bodies need down time to refuel and recharge
B. We need time to sharpen the saw.
C. We need to get away to gain a better perspective
One person said:
A. Divert Daily
B. Withdraw Weekly
C. Abandon Annually
B. Biblical Examples
a. Old Testament
i. Elijah: 1 Kings 19 tells the story of AFTER the spiritual victory on Mt. Carmel. Elijah is persecuted by the Queen Jezebel who threatens to kill him because of his actions.
1. 19:4 “I have had enough, Lord…”
2. 19:5 “he lay down and slept, and ate”
3. Only then was he able to go to the mountain to hear from the Lord.
4. Again, When the Lord spoke it was not in the windstorm or earthquake, or fire.
5. 19:12 “And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper….”
We often think there is when we’re down, and tired and deprived of sleep that we need refreshing. Here it was after a spiritual victory, and after completing the task, he needed sleep and food. Because if our bodies and mind are tired, it is hard to hear the gentle whisper of the Lord.
b. New Testament
i. John 6:15 “Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.”
ii. LK 6:12 “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them…”
iii. MT 14:13 “When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.”
iv. Luke 5:16 “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”
There is something comforting in getting away to pray. There is a great biblical principle about “Being Still” before the Lord.
Examples
1. When we need to fight a battle
Exodus 14:14 “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." (Crossing the Red Sea)
2. When we need to learn patience
Psalm 37:7 “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.”
3. When we need to acknowledge God
Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
4. When we face the storms of life
Mark 4:39 “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.”
What then does it mean to be still? And how do we accomplish that?
TEXT: Luke 10:38-42 (Story of Mary and Martha)
Key Verse 42: “There is really only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it…”
QUESTION: What’s the One Thing?
I. Mary was not burdened by her duties
Let’s understand what is happening here:
A. Jesus has arrived from traveling, headed to Jerusalem, and stops in with 12 of his disciples.
B. Martha, the hostess, is under pressure, to make this all right.
i. Each of the 12 disciples had feet to wash
ii. Each made to feel comfortable
iii. Each need a meal prepared
The impression was the Martha was overworked to the point of being overwhelmed and unable to enjoy her guests.
C. Jesus did not blame Martha for being concerned about household chores. He was only asking her to set priorities.
D. Clash of Temperaments2
a. Some people are natural dynamos of activity, others are naturally quiet. It is hard for the active person to understand the person who sits and contemplates, and the person who is devoted to quiet times and meditation is apt to look down on the person who would rather be active.
b. Some times we express the wrong kindness. Think about where Jesus was headed. He was headed to Jerusalem, to die. His whole being was taken up with the intensity of the inner battle to bend his will to the will of God.
c. Martha wanted to celebrate with a big dinner, but that’s not what Jesus needed. He wanted quiet time to contemplate the cross, with inner tension in his heart, he had turned his mind towards Bethany.
d. The difficulty is that we want to be kind to people, but in our own way. Now should it happen that our way is not THE way they need, we sometimes take offence and feel unappreciated.
e. Mary was taking the advantage to hear Jesus teach. Martha had allowed her worry to turn to irritation.
Is it possible for our service to Christ to become self serving? Martha thought Mary’s way of service was inferior.
Jesus wants us to take time…To seize the moments. Like the man in our opening illustration, take the time to notice, and to listen.
II. Mary realized this was the opportune time
She discovered that we cannot be so busy FOR Jesus that we neglect to be WITH Jesus.
Notice the positioning of this story.
A. Prior, in Ch. 10:30 is the story of the Good Samaritan. It’s about the opportune time for service. That was not the time for prayer, but for action. The man on the side of the road, did need prayer, but he also needed someone to intervene and to take care of his need. Then it was right for service.
B. But here, it was different. The opportune time was maybe to serve something less, and to be sure to be with Jesus.
C. Right after this in Chapter 11, Jesus teaches his disciples about prayer. About “being” with him.
So how can we seize and recognize the opportune times to be with Jesus?
When You Pray (Lord’s Prayer)
1. Honor God: Praise and Worship
2. Set Priorities to Kingdom Purposes
3. Choose Daily: Present Need
4. Forgive: Past Sin
5. Future Trials: Temptation
6. Persistence: Keep asking, seeking, and knocking
7. Expectancy: God gives good things
Still What’s the One Thing? What did Mary discover?
“BE STILL”
How to practice
1. Decide time and place (even spontaneously)
2. Eliminate distractions
3. Write down what comes to mind
4. Exercise obedience
5. Confirm with Scripture, Wise Counsel, Opportunity
Conclusion: No longer afraid
As the school years went by, I realized how I had been changing inside. At first, I had thought of Jason as a student, then a friend. Now, he was much more than a friend. Jason was like a son to me.
I had a chance to pray another time with Jason, when he was frightened because of an upcoming hospital stay. "Will you pray with me, Mr. Chapman?" he asked. "It seems to work better when you help."
I explained that God listens to everyone’s prayers, but that I would be honored to pray with him anyway. Then, I gave him an assignment.
I had noticed Jason’s T-shirt with the opening words from the 23rd Psalm printed on it. "The Lord is my Shepherd … "
"Jason, do you know where to find that verse?" I asked. He nodded. "Then for homework, I want you to memorize the words."
To my surprise, he came back the very next day and recited the entire chapter flawlessly. I smiled, and told him I was proud of him, then we discussed what each line meant. Finally, I told him to recite the verses to himself whenever he felt afraid at the hospital. It worked.
In the fall of 1997, before he went in for a scheduled heart surgery, Jason, now an eleventh grader, and I prayed for the last time. He hugged me as he left that day, and as I returned to the classroom to gather my belongings I glanced at his desk. Two pencils lay in plain view.
Jason died from complications two weeks after the surgery. When I think of him now, one word comes to mind: remarkable. I miss him, but I’ll never forget his courage.
And I know that I will see him again one day—without his wheelchair. In my mind, I see Jason in the distance standing with his friend Jesus—the same friend who answered his many prayers and watched over him as he struggled with life here on earth.
The struggles are over, and the radiant smile and laughing eyes once again draw me. With open arms, Jason says, "Welcome, friend. It’s good to see you!"
When we are still before the Lord, it too is as if Jesus says to us, “Welcome friend. It’s good to t see you!”
Closing Song: “Be Still and Know…”
Footnotes
1 Copyright © 1998 by the author or Christianity Today International/Today’s Christian magazine. July/August 1998, Vol. 36, No. 4, Page 77 "This article first appeared in July/August 1998 issue of Today’s Christian. Used by permission of Christianity Today International, Carol Stream, IL 60188."
2 William Barclay, "The Daily Study Bible Series" ( The Westminister Press, Philadephia, PA, 1975) pg 141
