One Thing

Transcript

Thankful to be here. I am going to be reading from the Gospel of Luke. And as we were just talking about, if you don't mind standing, we'll read the word together. It's Luke, chapter 10. And if you scroll down or turn to verse 38, Luke 10, 38, 42.

And it says. As Jesus and his disciples went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks. So she came to him and she asked, lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself?

Tell her then to help me. But the Lord answered her. Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.

Jesus, thank you for your word. Would you give us new eyes to receive a new word from you today? We love you, we praise you, we thank you. Amen and you may be seated.

Many of you have hosted family events and dinner parties. How many of you, by raising your hand, would say, I love to host. I love to host. Sign me up to host at my house. Some of you are nodding.

Okay, some of you, it's a gift. I believe it's a gift. How many of you would raise your hand and say, I prefer not to host? No shame. No shame.

Majority. Okay. So it was Christmas of 20, 20, 23. We had always had Christmas at my grandparents house. Grandma and grandpa, they reached the age where they could not host anymore.

Someone has to volunteer to then host. I'm thinking of Hunger Games and like volunteer to be the tribute or something. But anyways, someone has to volunteer. And we said, okay, we will host Christmas from now on. As I began to prepare, I realized that there was 20 plus children.

Not accounting for the adults, but over 20 children. We have been fruitful and multiplied in this family. So there's a lot of kids. So I thought to myself, where do the kids go? Like we have to have tables for kids and, and Carter is like not my room, you know, like 20 something kids aren't fitting in there.

And so we decided that our bedroom, why I don't know. But we decided our bedroom would be the biggest room right near the kitchen for the children. So I set up tables and coloring sheets. And you know, I'm older, my kids, you know, we're past all that, but I was really trying. And then all Of a sudden, we have the Christmas.

Everybody comes, everybody's joyful, all the things. And I am so distracted because there are children that are actually monkeying, jumping on the bed, jumping from the bed to the table, jumping. I'm a little concerned. There are kids playing in the back in the backyard, we do have a swimming pool. It does have a gate around it.

Kids are coming in, so and so open the gate, and they're going out by the pool. Okay, so I'm distracted. I realized at Christmas, I've set up tables for all the adults, and everybody wanted to be at the big, long table through the living room. And then you have the dining room. And of course, if you're hosting, you fix your plate last, right?

You're just waiting. So by the time I fix my plate, I realize there's no seats by all the people. You're sitting in the dining room. That's kind of off to itself. I'm in there with my cousin sky, who has the flu.

So he's got fever. He doesn't feel good. He. He's coughing over the turkey and the ham. And here I am, and I'm thinking to myself, I signed up for this.

Like, I volunteered to do this, so I don't really have a right to complain. And here I am in the sermon. So in this text, you've got Martha, you've got Mary, you've got Lazarus. Now, commentators believe that Martha was the oldest, that Martha could have been a widow, and. And that she allowed her younger sister Mary and Lazarus to live with her.

They live in a place called Bethany, so they're friends with Jesus. Now, you may have heard this text a bunch of times. If you're a lady, you may have heard this text at women's events over and over. And if this is your first time, that's okay. I'm glad.

But I pray that we will learn something new from this story that God wanted included for us today. So Martha loves Jesus. She is friends with Jesus, and she welcomes him and his entourage, the disciples, all of them, into her home. Before we're too hard on Martha, think about inviting people to your house and inviting Jesus himself. She welcomes him into her home.

She loves him. John tells us in the book of John that Jesus loved Martha. And of course, you think Jesus loves everyone, and he does. But in the text specifically, it says, Martha is welcoming him. She knows him, and she's glad he's coming.

And then you find the Bible telling us that Martha was what? She was distracted. She was distracted. The king James version says that Martha was cumbered about. Now, I've never used the word cumbered about.

I had to do a little digging. What does this mean? It sounds like cucumber, but the word in the Greek, this encumbered. Encumbered. All this means is distracted.

But it has the idea of being so distracted by. By all these things on your mind that you don't know which to do first. Your mind is being pulled in so many directions that you don't know which thing needs to be addressed first. Can you relate? So many things pulling our attention, things that we feel like we need to do that we just don't know what.

Which thing to do first. That's cumbered. You might have a chance to use that in a sentence this week. You were cumbered about. So this is where she is now.

Notice that it's not only that Martha is distracted, but what's more important is who Martha was distracted from. Jesus himself is in her home. She wanted him there. She invited him there. Why?

Why would she invite Jesus? She wanted to hear what he had to say. She wanted to be close to him. She wanted fellowship with Jesus. And yet because of all the tasks that she feels she needs to do in that moment, she's distracted away from Jesus himself.

Notice Satan's strategy in our lives, the very one that we want to be close to, is the one we're most distracted away from. So many things that we feel like we need to do or we want to do. Some of us are in a season of life where our children are graduating or soon to be graduating. I know what that's like. I have walked through that recently.

You get to a point where you start questioning every parental decision you have ever made and thinking you did I prepare him? Did I prepare her? Did I do what mattered? You think about Martha after the crucifixion, when they placed Jesus in the tomb. Did she think, ah, if only I had sat at his feet.

If only I had spent more time with the one who really mattered. It wasn't that Martha was doing anything bad. You know, serving is good. Last week we talked about the Good Samaritan. Serving is what we are called to do.

But if our serving is being a distraction away from Jesus, that's where the problem is. Martha got her eyes off of Jesus. Her eyes were. Were on the task, the duties, the responsibilities, instead of Jesus himself. And as she got distracted, her frustration level began to rise.

And as she got frustrated, I envision this is not in the text, but if this was me, I envision that she started with trying to get her sister's attention very quietly, like just walking into the room and kind of looking at her going, you know, or maybe she started making racket in the kitchen. Have you ever done that? Like you need your husband to help you and so all of a sudden you break the glass. I mean, like you do something that means help me without me calling you out in front of everyone. Okay?

So I envision that she is first calmly kind of walking into the room looking at her sister like, do you need any ha. You need anything? And Mary is not looking at Martha. Mary is looking at Jesus. What's so interesting to me is that Martha goes into the room when her frustration level has hit an all time high.

And in this moment she does not go to her sister and say, what are you doing? I need you. Who does she go to? She goes to Jesus. She goes straight to Jesus and listen to her words.

Don't you care? Now you got to have a relationship with someone to be able to go to them and say the words. Don't you care? Don't you see? Do you see what I'm doing in here, Jesus?

I want everything to be perfect for you. I want to serve you. I want to make sure everything is good for you and your friends. I love you, Jesus. Don't you see that I'm struggling?

Don't you see that I need help? Have you ever been there? I have told God myself. Don't you see me? I need you in this.

I don't understand God. Do you see what I'm doing? Do you see that I am striving here? I keep teaching this class, but don't you say that nobody comes. Do you care, Jesus?

Don't you care? Don't you see me? Now step away from the frustration in that level and see the bigger picture. Who is distracted? It's not Jesus, it's Martha.

Martha who is the one who's moved away. It's not Jesus, it's Martha. What is so interesting to me is that Martha was busy preparing bread, if you will, instead of receiving bread from the very bread of life. Martha is busy preparing the bread instead of receiving from the very bread of life himself. Instead of tasting, the Bible says taste and see that he is good.

She has an opportunity. Jesus is in the room, the bread is in the room and she's distracted. Can I say that the bread of life is in the room today, Jesus, the spirit of God is here. Where's your mind? Are you distracted and notice Jesus?

Response, I love Jesus. Jesus doesn't say, check yourself, boo. Like, what would you say to.

If you were in that, in the shoes, and you've had it, and this, you know, they come to you, don't you see me? How would you respond? Jesus doesn't call her out. He doesn't say, who do you think you are? He didn't pull a job.

Were you there at the beginning? None of that. He says, Martha. Martha. He says her name twice.

He says her name twice. It's very significant for me, just Emily. I would need him to say my name twice because you said it the first time. I'm still thinking of the next thing that I'm going to come back with and say to you. But if you say Emily, Emily, now you've got my attention.

There are at least 10 times in the Bible where the name is used twice. Seven different characters in the Bible. You remember Peter, Peter, Martha, Martha. Every time in Scripture, when he says the name twice, he is calling someone to a place of elevation. He is elevating them or giving them a greater revelation of who he is, who he wants them to be.

He says her name twice and then he acknowledges her state, depending on which text you are reading in your hands. He says, you are anxious and troubled. You are anxious and troubled. He comments on her emotional state. He validates how she is feeling.

Yes, she is anxious. Yes, she is troubled. He says about many things. You were anxious. You were troubled about many things.

Not just one, not just two. I'm anxious about a lot of things. He says about many things. Now, it could be when you read that, that what he meant by that you're anxious and troubled about many things. Could be all the tasks.

The fixing the bread, the fixing the water, the fix. Making sure that the floor is swept by making sure everyone has a chair, by making sure the temperature is right. Like anxious about many of the tasks. But it could be, as I was sitting with this passage, that because Jesus sees all of who we are, he knew all of the anxiety and all of the trouble. It was more than the dinner party.

Can you relate to being in a situation where there is so much on your plate that finally you break and things come out and you think, that was not about the apple fritter. Now you may be thinking, what are you talking about, apple fritter? And let me just tell you a story that goes down in more family history. The time where mom lost it about the apple fritter. And that is me.

So it was during a time. And I want you to be on my side so I'm going to tell you the story. So it was during a time I was in nurse practitioner school. I wasn't sleeping well. I was trying to be the wife and the mom and ministry and all the things and study.

And we bought some donuts. And when you go through the line at the donut, you remember everybody in the family gets to pick out their favorite. And for me, it was the apple fritter. Now, I asked Eli if I could share this story, and Eli said, only if you tell them that apple fritter is my favorite, too. So I'm telling you that.

Anyways, so this day, I go to the kitchen because I know that the apple fritter is waiting on me. And I get there, and guess what? It's gone. The apple fritter is missing. So now we begin to investigate the situation, and Eli, my oldest child, has eaten my apple fritter.

Dun, dun, dun. And so in the moment, most of y' all are looking at me like, you. Well, what do you do? You just get a donut? Like, get over it.

No, that is not what I did. In the moment. In the moment, I lose it in the kitchen. Now, when I say I lose it, I lost it. I am yelling at Eli about the apple fritter.

Like, I am like, why would you eat my apple fritter? And he's like, I didn't know it was your apple. I picked out the apple. You know, you can just put yourself there. In the moment, I'm losing it.

My husband, who I love very much, is very quiet. He never raises his voice. When he talks, you pay attention. He's a man of few words. He walks into the kitchen, he sees me yelling about the apple fritter.

He sees Eli with tears in his eyes, whose mom. It's like my hair is a maniac. Like, I'm a raging Pocahontas in this moment. And he's looking at the situation, and he looks at me, and he says, you need to get somewhere and sit down.

You need to get somewhere and sit down. To which I look at him, and I am so shocked by the audacity of him telling me to go somewhere and sit down that I think to myself, oh, this is my out. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Get somewhere and sit down now. Later, me and Eli had a moment.

We apologized. Like, all the things. It's funny now. It was not funny in the moment. It was very embarrassing.

Can I tell you, it wasn't about the apple fritter. I was at my breaking point, and I think, for Martha could just be me. But I don't think it was just because Mary wasn't helping. I think it was more on her plate. When he said, you are anxious and troubled about many things, it was more.

It was more. He acknowledged it. And then he calls her to greater. He says, but one thing is necessary. One thing is necessary.

Mary has made the right choice and it will not be taken from her. What was Mary doing? Mary was sitting at his feet. She was listening. She was soaking in what he had to say.

In this time, scholars, those who would want to learn, would sit at the feet of their teacher. That is what they did. Disciples would sit at the feet of the one who would teach them. She was a disciple, she was learning. She was sitting at the feet of Christ.

She was a follower of Jesus.

Is it possible that you were troubled and you were anxious about many things because you just haven't sat down? Because you just haven't sat at the feet of Jesus? When he says, one thing is necessary, friends, the word necessary there is neat. One thing is needed for us. One thing is demanded, one thing is required.

And what is that one thing? The new Living Translation says, only one thing is worth being concerned about. What are you concerned about today? He says, only one thing. Mary has discovered it and it won't be taken from her.

David. This reminds me of David in Psalms 27:4. This is what it says. One thing have I asked of the Lord that I will seek after that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire or meditate in his temple. David just wanted to be in his presence.

The temple was the place where God and man would come together. Think about this is before the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. So for him, as close he could be to the temple of God is where he wanted to stay. In Psalms 84 it says, how lovely is your dwelling place, this temple. My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord.

My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. And I Love this. Verse 3. Even the sparrow has found a home. The swallow built a nest for the Lord himself.

It's like David is riding and he's looking around in the temple as he's there, and he sees where a bird has created a nest. And he thinks to himself, how lucky is that bird that he can make a home in the temple of the Lord and he can stay in your presence.

Blessed are those who dwell in your house. They are Ever praising you I oh, to be close to you God that is what we need that is the one thing, the one thing that is necessary verse 10. Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God to dwell in the tents of the wicked I would rather just be at the door of your house God that dwell in the tents of the wicked There's a song that says I want to sit at your feet Drink from the cup in your hand Sit back against you and breathe and feel your heartbeat this love is so real it's more than I can take I melt in your it's overwhelming have you been there before? I I want to sit at your feet I need to get somewhere and sit down Drink from the cup in your hand to be in your presence Matthew Henry. You know that name because there's a Matthew Henry commentary.

He lived in London. He was a Presbyterian minister. He died in 1714. So even though the Matthew Henry commentate commentary we still use, this was a while ago, it said about Matthew Henry that he could read the Bible distinctly. At age three, can you imagine?

He read the Bible and understood. At age 3, he wrote the commentary of the whole Bible, which is amazing. What a gifting. And when you read the commentary from Matthew Henry about this passage in Luke 10, it says, one thing is needful to give up herself to the guidance of Christ. Things of this life will be taken away from us or we taken away from them.

But nothing shall separate from the love of Christ. Mind the one thing more diligently. Mind the one thing more diligently. Our family traveled to London. If you've gone to London and you've went on the underground over and over, you hear the phrase, mind the gap.

Mind the gap. What are we talking about? The gap between the train and the platform. And you need to step over it. And so they say, mind the gap.

Mind the gap. They're shirts with Mind the gap. Can I say pay attention and mind the one thing. Mind the one thing. Dads, how would our family look if we minded the one thing more diligently?

If we're spending time at the feet of Jesus, it's overflow when we serve mamas. Are we minding the one thing? Maybe my one thing is while I'm doing laundry, but I am talking and communing with Jesus. Mind the one thing. Students, mind the one thing.

There are so many things pulling at us. Culture is pulling at us. Social media is pulling at us. But what if we got up early, before school, because I want to spend time with Jesus. Mind the one thing.

Trade our anxiety and worry for the one thing that is his peace. If you struggle with anxiety, Philippians 4, 6, 7. You know that passage that we say a lot? Don't be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God in verse seven. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.

I have found myself on nights of anxiety repeating that verse and still feeling anxious. And then keep reading. If you go down to verse eight. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, praiseworthy. Think about such things.

And then the Holy Spirit says, emily, you're still anxious because what are you thinking on? What are you meditating on? If you change and you begin to mind the one thing, the peace of God comes. Trade the trouble and the anxiety for the one thing. Even if the situation doesn't change, he changes us in the situation.

Mary chose him. She chose John, chapter 15. To abide in Him. She chose to abide. John 15, verse 9 says, as the Father has loved me, so I have loved you.

Remain in my love. Abide. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love. Sit at his feet. Just as I have kept my Father's commands.

And remain in this love. I have told you this, so my joy may be in you. Whose joy? Jesus. His joy.

Jesus joy. How many of us need Jesus joy? Hallelujah. That my joy, he says, would be in you. Can you really be full of Jesus joy?

If the word of God is true, and it is. He says that my joy would be in you. And that your joy would be half. No, that the joy would be complete. Can I have complete Jesus joy?

Yes. Even when I have a dinner party? Yes. Even when they steal my apple fritter? Yes.

Even when my kids are acting crazy? Yes. Yes. Sitting at the feet of Jesus indicates a few things. Quickly.

Trust. I can't do it. I need you. I know you can. Trust.

I can't do it. I need you. And I know you can. Submission. I'm not in control.

But you reign on the throne. I'm not in control. I submit at your feet. You reign on the throne. Sitting at his feet.

Trust. Submission. Thirdly, faith. I will wait on you, Jesus. I will wait with you, Jesus.

You have all I need. My faith is in you. And love. I just want to be where you are. I just want to be where you are.

There are times as a married couple when you just need a date night. Why? Because you haven't spoke to each other really in weeks. I want to be with you. I choose you.

There are times in our life where I will feel the Holy Spirit say, emily, come, walk with me. I can go outside. I can go for a walk. That is where I sense just me and him as we walk down the road. I have my earbuds in.

I'm worshiping. And you may find me on my knees in the middle of the road. Because I am with Jesus, communing with him, intimacy with him, sitting at his feet, trusting him with all of our heart. I'm thankful for Martha. When we get to heaven, we can all pull up a chair by Martha and say, now tell me, was it apple fritter moment or was it just the chores?

Like, what were you thinking in the moment? We can have that talk with her. But God in His sovereignty, he knew what me and you would come up in life. And he knew what we needed. And he said, I want you to see a picture of Martha and Mary.

Did he love Mary more than Martha? No. He loved them both fully. Did he call Martha out? What are you doing?

Could you come in here and sit down? No. The invitation was present, and he invites us still. And Martha took her frustration to Jesus. Can I tell you that that's okay?

Can I tell you that's okay? If you have anger, if you have doubt, that's a scary word. If you have fear, it's okay. God is willing to take it all. Take your frustration, take your doubt, take your fear to the Source Himself.

She was frustrated when peace was in the room. The very Peace Himself was in the room. It's okay to take it to Him. The danger comes, brother and sisters, when we are angry with God and we begin to talk about him instead of to Him. What you're feeling, he says, bring it to me.

He's big enough. He's big enough. So speak to him two ways. We need to sit in his presence, physically and spiritually. Physically spending time with him, meditating on Him.

I believe we need to spend time with Jesus every single day. Every single day. You may be so anxious and troubled that it's hard to center yourself. Honestly, I have began to breathe in Scripture and breathe out Scripture this past week. It was, your Word is a lamp.

Breathe in and breathe it out to center myself before I get in His Word. Listen, there's a lot on my mind, but your word is a lamp. Center yourself. Pray. Read the Psalms.

Read the Psalms out loud. If you're so distracted that you can't pray, write them. Read it. Jesus says, just come spend time with me. And secondly, spiritually, it's a heart posture to sit down.

I trust you. So instead of my anxious heart running and getting ahead of myself and me trying to figure out what the next step is, and me trying to figure out what I'm going to do and what the punishment is going to be and how I'm going to handle this situation, or if I'm quitting my job versus staying at my job or what if I'm going to keep my mouth shut or if I'm going to say something or what? Okay, I'm going to steady myself and I am going to sit in a heart posture of you are on the throne and I trust you, and I'm going to wait until you show me the next path to take. Help us, Jesus, in the waiting. God is calling us to sit down in him, with him, for him.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.