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welcome to everyone for our call to worship this evening you can turn to Psalm 29 Psalm 29 beginning in verse one a Psalm of David give unto the Lord oh you mighty ones give unto the Lord glory and strength give unto the Lord the glory due to his name Worship the Lord in the beauty of Holiness the voice of the Lord is over the waters the god of Glory Thunders the Lord is over many Waters the voice of the Lord is powerful the voice of the Lord is full of majesty the voice of the Lord breaks the Cedars yes the Lord splinters The Cedars of Lebanon he makes them also skip like a calf Lebanon and Syrian like a young wild ox the voice of the Lord divides the flames of fire the voice of the Lord shakes the Wilderness the Lord shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh the voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth and strips the forest be and in his Temple everyone says glory the lord sat and throned at the flood and the Lord sits his king forever the Lord will bless uh the Lord will give strength to his people the Lord will bless his people with peace amen well please turn in your Trinity Himel to number 173 number 173 we'll stand as we sing together [Music] children [Music] ex our [Music] and all glor to the rede to [Music] Children let us pray Our God and our father We Gather again on this Lord's Day evening to praise and to worship you we acknowledge that you are the high and lofty one the one who inhabits eternity the one who does does dwell with those who are humble and of a contrite spirit those who tremble at your word we confess by Nature that is certainly not us but we thank you that by Grace you have put it in us to fear before a holy God to love the scriptures of the old and the New Testaments and we pray that tonight in all of our sinfulness and all of our waywardness and all of our our remaining corruption you would nevertheless forgive us and cleanse us and dwell in the midst of your people here tonight we would pray that as we sing and as we pray as we look to Holy scripture in all things God would be all in all you would be uppermost in our hearts and in our minds and our thoughts that you would grant us the grace to receive with Thanksgiving your word and to be strengthened to go into a new week hoping and praying to shine his lights in this crooked and perverse generation and we would pray specifically that you would grant us opportunities to hold forth the word of Truth we ask our father that you would be exalted not only as We Gather on the Lord's day but each and every day in our homes in our families God help us to take every thought captive to The Obedience of Christ help us to pursue Holiness and righteousness and those things which are pleasing in your sight help us to say with John the Baptist that Christ must increase but we must decrease we ask Lord that you would be pleased to look with favor upon your people here that you would just strengthen each and every one of us as we all face a whole host of Temptations and situations and difficulties in this world we just ask God for the strength to be able to Bear up under these things in a righteous and in a holy way we pray that you would fill each and every one of us with your holy spirit that we may indeed glorify you in this world we pray for those in our midst that struggle physically we just commit them to you and ask God in heaven that you would smile upon each and everyone be with Mr newfeld we ask that you would just strengthen our brother help him Lord God to be looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of faith and may he be able to uh return to some degree of normal life just relieve him of the pains and the sufferings that he undergoes and cause him Lord God to just rejoice in the goodness of our God be with Mr Proctor be with the van shakes we thank you that Fran was out this morning know that Mr bolt has been ill for quite some time we just ask God that you would undertake on behalf of all of your saints that you would build each one up you would strengthen each one and encourage each one in the midst of suffering and trial and be with Britney we just pray for a full recovery there we just ask that this young woman would continue to walk in the fear of God that you would increase her faith in the Savior she would just cause her to continue to press on through the trials that she knows in a way that is well pleasing in your sight thank you for her example and thank you for her encouragement thank you Lord God that the people of God do seek to do all things without grumbling or complaining and she certainly does exemplify this Spirit we also pray Our Father for the church in abbottsford for the free reformed congregation we ask that today you would have been glorified that you would have drawn near to those brethren in a special way we pray for the Schuman family and their time of of loss and pain and grief and sorrow we would ask God that as this wound is still open and still hurting that you would be there comfort that you would be their portion that you would be their lot in the midst of these trials God we know that in the midst of Sorrows and in the midst of calamities and and difficulties you are there to cheer and encourage and to Aid your people and we pray that they would find that even now even tonight as they enter into this new week with the loss of their da we pray that they would know The Nearness and the kindness of God as their strength we pray father for churches here in chillak we thank you for the fact that we're not alone we pray for the other places that gather together to preach the gospel and to worship the god of Heaven and Earth we pray that you would Prosper these local churches we pray that you would cause them to to to know the goodness of God and cause them to Faithfully preach and may there be Sinners saved as gather together and may the Saints grow and be edified and we ask that you would just continue with us now Lord God forgive us for all of our sins and all of our transgressions wash Us in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and it's in his name that we pray amen will please turn with me in your Trinity Himel to number 548 548 [Music] to the Christ for to the is all is my [Music] Christ and rest [Music] sorrow to his [Music] sweetr to to [Music] heart for Christ [Music] well please turn with me in your Bibles to the prophet Ezekiel Ezekiel chapter 39 Ezekiel 39 beginning in verse 1 and you son of man prophesy against Gog and say thus says the Lord God behold I am against you oh Gog the prince of Ro meach and tubal and I will turn you around and lead you on bringing you up from the far north and bring you against the mountains of Israel then I will knock the bow out of your left hand and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand you shall fall upon the mountains of Israel you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you I will give you two B I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured you shall fall on the open field for I have spoken says the Lord God and I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in Security in the coast lands then they shall know that I am the Lord so I will make my Holy Name known in the midst of My People Israel and I will not let them profane my Holy Name anymore then the Nations shall know that I am the Lord the Holy One in Israel surely it is coming and it shall be done says the Lord God this is the day of which I have spoken then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons both the Shields and bucklers the bows and arrows the javelins and Spears and they will make fires with them for seven years they will not take wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests because they will make fires with the weapons they will plunder those who plundered them and pillage those who pillage them says the Lord God excuse me it will come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel the valley of those who pass by east of the sea and it will obstruct Travelers because they there they will bury Gog and all his multitude therefore they will call it the valley of hmon Gog for seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land indeed all the people of the land will be burying and they will gain Renown for it on the day that I am glorified says the Lord God they will set apart men regularly employed with the help of a search party to pass through the land and bury those bodies remaining on the ground in order to cleanse it at the end of seven months they will make a search the search party will pass through the land and when anyone sees a man's bone he shall set up a marker by it till the buriers have buried it in the valley of hmon God the name of the city will also be called hamona thus they shall cleanse the land and as for you son of man thus says the Lord God speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field assemble yourselves and come gather together from all sides to my sacrificial Meal which I am sacrificing for you a great sacrificial meal on the mountains of Israel that you may eat flesh and drink blood you shall eat the Flesh of the mighty drink the blood of the princes of the earth of rams and lambs of goats and Bulls all of them fatlings of ba Bashan you shall eat fat till you are full and drink blood till you are drunk at my sacrificial Meal which I am sacrificing for you you shall be filled at my table with horses and riders with Mighty Men and with all men all the men of War says the Lord God I will set my glory among the Nations all the nations shall see my judgment which I have executed and my hand which I have laid on them so the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward the Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity because they were unfaithful to me therefore I hid my face from them I gave them into the hand of their enemies and they all fell by the sword according to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them and hidden my face from them therefore thus says the Lord God now I will bring back the captives of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel and I will be jealous for my holy name after they have borne their shame and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to me when they dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies lands and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations then they shall know that I am the Lord their God who sent them into captivity among the Nations but also brought them back to their land and let none of them cap and left none of them captive any longer and I will not hide my face from them anymore for I shall have poured out my spirit on the house of Israel says the Lord God Amen well let us pray Father in heaven we thank you for the word of God we thank you for the prophecy of Ezekiel and for all that scriptures testify concerning your faithfulness both with reference to blessing and with reference to cursing we know that when you swear by your Holy Name you make good on those promises we thank you that in this new covenant era we see Christ as all the yay and amen of all the Promises of God and how we thank you for the blessings that we have in him how we thank you that he bore our curse that he bore the wrath of God on our behalf may we never forget this may we always rejoice in it may we reflect often upon the fact that we have been forgiven of our sins and given a righteousness that avails with you we thank you for scripture we ask God that you would bless our time as we study it in a bit more detail in a few minutes we pray that your Holy Spirit would guide us and help us to understand your truth and we pray through Christ the Lord amen well please turn with me in your Trinity himels again to 263 263 we're going to use a different tune but one I think we all know 263 [Music] Glory [Music] thice Earth [Music] shall through [Music] for and make [Music] please turn with me in your Bibles to Luke chap 10 Luke chap 10 our Focus this evening is on the one thing needful Luke 10: 38-42 the account of Mary and Martha Luke 10 I'll begin reading in verse 38 now it happened as they went that he entered a certain Village and a certain woman named Martha welcomed him into her house she had a sister called Mary who also sat at jesus' feet and heard his word 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 and Jesus answered and said to her Martha Martha you are worried and troubled about many things but one thing is needed and Mary has chosen that good part which will not be taken away from her amen well let us pray Our Father we thank you for this section of scripture we pray for the ministry of the Holy Spirit help us to receive lessons from this passage and help us by your grace to put them into practice may we indeed see the importance of sitting at the feet of Jesus and hearing his word may we value above all other things that Devotion to Christ may we see him as allog together lovely and chief among 10,000 may we see him as scripture sets him forth as that one who is worthy of our praise and our worship and our Adoration of our time and our talents and everything that is in us for certainly he laid down his life on our behalf he was raised the third day on our behalf and he now sits in throne at the right hand of God most high where he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead may we see Lord most high how important it is for us to follow him and may you enable us by the power of your Holy Spirit forgive us again for our sins grant us Grace to honor you and we pray these things through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen last week when we considered John the Baptist in his final testimony to our lord Jesus he made this statement in John 3:29 he said but the friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice what made John the Baptist happy what caused him to Rejoice was hearing the voice of Christ you see this emphasis all throughout the gospel records on how important it is for us to hear Jesus in Luke 8 the parable of the sewer in Verses 4 to 15 you have the parable given and then you have the parable explained and the specific point is that we are to take heed therefore to how we hear we need to listen to God's word and by God's grace we need to respond to it correctly and appropriately well here in Luke 10: 38-42 Jesus teaches the same lesson the necessity of hearing the word of Christ but it's in a context of normal ordinary everyday life so I want to look at two things this evening in the first place the difference between the sisters in verses 38 to 40 and secondly the devotion commended by Christ in verses 41 to 42 now I should say at the outset if we come out of this passage concluding that Mary was a devoted Godly believer and Martha was an undevoted ungodly unbeliever then we have misread the passage Martha was a Godly woman as well and as well this text does not teach what's later been called monasticism a withdrawal from the world no engagement with the world no dishes no diapers no service no work all we do is Steal Away in a cave and Worship the Lord certainly C the there have been those in the history of the church that have taken uh Mary as the example or Paradigm or pattern of that type of a mindset that's not what's going on here it's a question of priority in the context of a home so as I said the difference between the sisters F first of all in verses 38 to 40 the setting is in Bethany though the town is not indicated it says he entered a certain Village we know from other portions of scripture that Mary Martha and Lazarus lived in Bethany it's about 2 miles from Jerusalem this is in the context where Jesus has set his face like a flint to go to Jerusalem so he's on his way to Jerusalem he stops here in Bethany notice in John 11 John 11 just to fill out in our Mind's Eye who these these persons are Martha and Mary specifically in John 11 at verse 5 now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus and just to show you something of Martha's godliness notice in verse 20 in John 11 now Martha as soon as she had heard that Jesus was coming went went and met him but Mary was sitting in the house now Martha said to Jesus Lord if you had been here my brother would not have died but even now I know that whatever you ask of God God will give you it's an expression of Faith she sees that Christ is pleasing to the father I know that whatever you ask of God he will give you and then Jesus said to her your brother will rise again Martha affirms a general Resurrection from the dead I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day it's very important that we get that the Jews understood the doctrine of a final Resurrection this isn't a new testament teaching alone certainly the New Testament teaches it and fleshes it out for us but the Old Testament is sufficient to teach man that there is a final res Resurrection at the end of time that there will be a judgment of the just and the unjust and she affirms that I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day Jesus said to her I am the resurrection and the life he who believes in me though he may die he shall live and whoever lives and Believes In Me shall never die do you believe this note what she responds she said to him yes Lord I believe that you are the Christ the son of God who is to come into the world so we're not dealing with Martha as if she's an unbelieving goat we understand that she is a Godly woman she gets distracted she loses sight of the priority when Christ is in the midst of that as well these are the same ones indicated in John 12 this anointing at Bethany when Mary T akes that pound of very costly oil of spikenard anoints the feet of Jesus and wipes his feet with her hair and the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil several weeks ago we looked at that woman who was a sinner in Luke chapter 7 it's a different account that was in the the home of Simon the Pharisee this is Simon the leper this is Mary the mother of Martha and or the sister of Martha and Lazarus so two different accounts but these are the same people Martha Mary and Lazarus now notice back in Luke 10 it says at the end of verse 38 a certain woman named Martha welcomed him into her house now that it's her house indicates that most likely she was a widow at this particular time not that it would be you know never heard of that a woman would own a house or own property but most likely she's the oldest sibling and she has seen the death of a husband and it is her house so she extends this welcome to the Lord Jesus Christ again understanding who he is loving him wanting to esteem him and give him those expressions of courtesy and Hospitality now note the difference the devotion is seen in Mary verse 39 she had a sister called Mary who also sat at jesus' feet and heard his word now this posture was somewhat common we read it we certainly sounds worshipful and I don't doubt there was a worshipful tendency or energy in her heart at this particular time but disciples sat at the feet of their rabbis they sat at the feet of their teachers notice the devotion of Mary is conspicuous in that she is hearing his word it's intriguing Christ comes to this house he's welcomed by Martha and what does he do the first thing he engages in is speaking the word preaching the truth he doesn't say what's for dinner he doesn't say what do you have to drink he doesn't say do you have a place where I can lie down and take a nap again none of these are sinful claims or sinful desires none of them are things that are outlandish none of them are things that we would want to withhold from anybody but we see Jesus purpose he begins to teach the word of God he comes into the house he declares the word he seizes the opportunity to do good to souls and Christ highlights by this action the driving force of his ministry he came to make known the king kingdom of God this is what he was about this is what he specified when he said it is my task it is my business to be about preaching the kingdom of God Matthew Henry made this observation concerning his de her Devotion to his word since Christ is forward to speak we should be swift to hear that's precisely what you see here Mary is sitting at his feet and hearing his word because he is preaching he is teaching he is having a study with them so she is the devoted one in this particular house but notice secondly the distracted one verse 40 Martha was distracted with much serving or the Old King James has it she was cumbered about 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 so the distraction is highlighted and then she makes a complaint we're going to slow down for just a moment here because I think that in some sense we might be in this particular passage she is distracted with much serving she approaches Christ and she says Lord do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone Lord do you not care that I'm doing everything all on my own Lord do you not care that I am preparing this bounty cooking these dishes fixing your meal play uh creating an a context of of hospitality do you not care that I'm doing all of this on my own Brethren if we are engaged in service unto God we ought not to think that we need others to participate in it now certainly it's good and I'm not suggesting that all you marries out there just you know continue to to let everybody else cook the food and let everybody else vacuum the floors but Brethren when we are engaged for Serv unto God it is God to whom we look and in this instance she says do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone when that service is rendered up to the living and the true God we should be content to know that he sees we should be content to know that he rewards we should be content to know that our service is done for him and whether we have help or not whether everybody else participates or not if the activity is a noble one if the activity is service unto God then we need to get about it and we ought not to complain that we're all alone again don't abuse the text and say well last week Pastor Butler you said that Mary was the devoted one so I'm not coming to the church work day I'm going to sit at home and listen to sermons on sermonaudio.com please don't abuse passages like that I always hate the fact that people put passages on the torture rack and they they sort of crank it make it say what they want it to say don't do that to passages of scripture it's an unwise ungodly unrighteous thing to do but the point of this is she impunes the concern or impunes Christ for a lack of concern for her situation but notice she doesn't stop she says at the end of verse 40 and again it probably sounds like I'm picking on her I'm really not I'm just simply trying to point out what's going on in the passage she says at the end in verse 40 therefore tell tell her to help me tell her to help me now on the surface this is probably not the most outlandish claim one has ever made Mary is there devoted at the feet of Christ Martha is busying herself with all of the preparations to entertain Christ and Martha comes and expresses her concern you don't care tell her to get up off of her you know backside and join me in the preparation of these particular things this you look at this particular thing it kind of does parallel sometimes our prayer life doesn't it therefore tell her to help me I'm sure that I've seen a book with the title the weapon of prayer the weapon of prayer has anybody ever seen that book maybe you have maybe you haven't I'm not sure the author it's one of those persons that you find in the thrift store so I'm guessing it's not the best author I don't find John Owen in the thrift store the weapon of prayer and there's a sense where that's legit isn't it prayer is a mighty weapon when we pray properly before the living and true God when we pray according to the will of God we are employing that armor uh that that that piece of armor or or Armament from the the the the storehouse of God we're bringing to God specific prayers supplications intercessions all those things but Brethren do we ever weaponize prayer do we become Joel oin or Benny H at the throne of grace we don't like their big hair and we don't like their foolish teaching but we like the idea that God gives us what we want when you pray do you pray for people and then tell God how their sanctification will look think about that for a moment it's legit to say God please sanctify my wife but to fill in God that will look like dinner at 5:30 with those roast potatoes that I so desperately love it will look like the most pure home that never had any dirt in it whatsoever it will look like her just waiting for me on the stairwell embracing me in the warmth in the warmth of her arms and and giving me a kiss after is that how we pray are we Prosperity prayers Lord tell her to to help me or what about you dear sisters God sanctify that deadbeat husband make him clean out the garage I've been after him forever on that one make him bring me flowers God one of the sisters in church got jewelry he never brings me jewelry God please move him to bring me jewelry now maybe this isn't how you pray praise God almighty but maybe it has seeped into your heart you try to use God to change people you try to use God to change your circumstances you try to use God to make your life better now again I'm not laying all this at the feet of Martha I do not believe for a moment that this is going on in her head I'm going to try and manipulate Jesus to make my sister pick up this pot of food and take it to the table it's a it's a genuine issue therefore tell her to help me but take this principle to your prayer closet yes it's righteous to pray for your elders but Lord if he goes one minute past 12:30 cut him off it's right to pray for civil Authority it's right to pray for all sorts of things but Brethren when we get into the posture of telling God what sanctification will look like in his people no one likes to be told their job do they wherever you work whatever it is you do you don't like it when the customer says you know I think you could go about this in a much more efficient way I think we all know this response when the police officer pulls us over when the police officer marches up to our car and knocks on the window and we roll that window down what's typically our first response if not verbal at least in our hearts why aren't you out catching a child molester we want to tell him how to do his job we are not supposed to tell the high and lofty one how to do his job we're not to specify what sanctification will look like in our wives or in our husbands or in our children we can certainly pray sanctify them we might even in our intercessions give some specifics I'm not saying pray vagaries and pray generically but beware of being in the mindset of a prosperity he prayer I want God to fix my life I want God to make me happy I want God to do that and the way to do that God is to fix this man I'm married to fix this woman I'm married to pray for her pray for him pray for their sanctification pray for their growth and Grace but Brethren don't pray to change them into somebody else you married that person don't want to say you're stuck with them but in a sense you are till death do you part and you ought not to come to the point where you are telling God how sanctification is going to look notice then secondly by way of a major concern the or the major heading the devotion commended by Christ verses 41 and 42 Christ first identifies the problem Jesus answered and said to her Martha Martha what a what an endearing way Martha Martha Christ is so good isn't he Martha Martha thought you are worried and troubled about many things the Lord does not respond in the manner in which she hoped do do you see that and I suspect that when we do those Prosperity prayers God may not always answer in the way that we Prosperity pray Lord fix my spouse what does the Lord say the problem isn't your spouse the problem isn't her Martha it's you Martha Martha you are worried and troubled about many things Matthew Henry said she expected Christ to have blamed Mary for not doing as she did but he blamed her for not doing as Mary did the Lord basically seizes this opportunity as a teachable moment again not an abiding principle for all of life not that if you are the devoted person that sits at the feet of Jesus that means you're going to quit your job you're going to live in a cave and you're going to chant all day that's not what this passage is teaching the Lord reminds her of the situation that is facing her and I think what we find in this instance the way that he addresses her is an indication of what we find in the letter to the Leo Deans in the Book of Revelation Revelation 3:19 God or Christ says as many as I love I rebuke and chasen therefore be zealous and repent Christ uses this time not to correct Mary not to get her in the kitchen not to get her behind the saucepan but to try and reorganize the thinking process of Martha because it's an issue of priority again it's not wrong to cook it's not wrong to vacuum it's not wrong to sweep it's not wrong to change diapers in fact by all means change those diapers ERS it's not wrong to engage in the ordinary and the mundane but if Christ Jesus is sitting in your living room and he is teaching the word of God the diapers can even wait the saucepan can wait the vacuuming can weit there is something more important with reference to the kingdom of God and notice the language that Christ uses in this particular rebuke you are worried and troubled about many things not just the dishes not just the vacuuming perhaps that Martha was dispositionally given to that mindset maybe there is a dispositional difference involved in this contemplative Mary and this typ a wired up Martha but Jesus puts his finger on the issue you are worried and troubled about many things in other words you need to sit still and listen to the word of Christ look at Luke 12 specifically verses 22-34 this parallels Matthew chapter 6 where Jesus condemns the sin yes I said it the sin of worry or the sin of carnal anxiety and over and over again do not worry about what you will eat do not worry about what you will wear do not worry about tomorrow do not worry about those things what's the governing principle here in Luke 12:31 and in Matthew 633 seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you you so you see Martha has missed the kingdom in her presence her service was not wrong but her service distracted her from the one thing needful when Christ is speaking his word it is more important to attend to that word she was worried and troubled about many things not just one thing she is rebuked because her Trouble Over many things things kept her from that one thing needful now the new King James translates verse 42 but one thing is needed if you're familiar with the old King James you'll note that I am using that phraseology because it has a long pedigree in the history of the church the one thing needful her many things the dishes the diapers though I suspect she probably didn't have diaper wearing children in the home at that time the vacuuming the the the picture the the you know hanging on the whatever they had the vase was a little off the those many things are distracting you from the one thing that's the whole context in Matthew 6 and here in Luke 12 Brethren when clothing when when food when tomorrow takes your focus off the kingdom of God Jesus corrective is don't worry about those things do not be anxious now he's not saying don't ever think about it of course you think about what you're going to put on of course you think about what you're going to eat but don't be carnally anxious what happens when we're carnally anxious it's a it's an evidence that we're not trusting God this is what's condemned in that particular section and I suspect that this is what's going on as Jesus identifies the situation facing Martha you are worried and troubled about many things you've got the focus wrong you've got the priority wrong it's not wrong to serve the s savior but in this instance it's better to listen to the Savior it's better to attend to his word Matthew Henry said care is good and duty but cumber is sin and Folly and JC riyle makes this observation concerning the fault of Martha the fault of Martha is this worried and troubled about many things riy says the fault of Martha should be a Perpetual warning to all Christians if we desire to grow in Grace and to enjoy sole Prosperity we must Beware of the cares of this world except we watch and pray they will insensibly eat up our spirituality and bring leanness on our souls it is not open sin or flagrant breaches of God's Commandments alone which lead men to Eternal ruin it is far more frequently an excessive attention to things in themselves lawful and the being cumbered about much serving it seems so proper to attend to the duties of our station it is just here that our danger lies our families our business our daily callings our household Affairs our intercourse with Society all all may become snares to our hearts and may draw us away from God Brethren I doubt that you would have ever heard Martha in her life say wow I wish I would have served more dishes at that meal you probably would have heard Martha later in her life say I wish I would have attended to his word more earnestly it's like me when I talk to other believers the the majority report of God's people is not yeah I've just been spending so much time in scripture I have been spending almost too much time in scripture it's like the guy at the job interview what's your what's your greatest weakness I I care too much oh okay I work too hard oh yeah that's a weak it's like people don't do that they don't say I read my Bible too much you know what most of God's people are saying I don't read my Bible enough I'm busy with my life I'm busy with my job I'm busy with my spouse I'm busy with my kids I'm busy with my whatever fill in the blank this is Riley's point it's not just the flagrant violations of God's Commandments it's the lawful righteous things in our lives crowding out the kingdom of God most high it never seems to Dawn on us that we could get up earlier it never seems to Dawn on us that we could discipline ourselves more earnestly it never seems to Dawn on us that we take Paul's admonition to Timothy seriously discipline yourselves for the discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness bodily exercise profits little but godliness is profitable for all things for this age and the age to come Brethren do not let the busyness of Life crowd out Devotion to God that's the point in this particular passage Martha is not a reprobate Martha is not an unbeliever Martha is not a goat she's not a wretch Martha is just cumbered about dishes and saucepans and whatever is taking more of attention than the fact that the Incarnate Word of God is sitting in her living room speaking the words of truth Mary understood that and Mary sits at the feet and she takes in that data notice the remedy is prescribed by Christ to Martha in verse 42 but one thing is needed now there's a variant reading here and some suggest that the idea is is that the one thing is only one dish as opposed to several dishes in other words she's probably making food for Jesus excuse me and on this reading some suggest only one dish is needed just just the soup Mary or Martha we don't need buns and we don't need you know dessert just that that's that's to despir the passage the one thing needful is what Mary's doing the one thing needful is Devotion to Christ the one thing needful is Devotion to Christ is manifested in evidence by the fact that she is hearing the the word of Christ so this is the remedy prescribed if you've got a mindset that is troubled you've got a mindset that is worried you've got a mindset that is anxious or you are cumbered about by much serving here's the remedy for you if you have this dispositional proclivity to be more about diapers and dishes than hearing the word of God listen to what Christ has to say but one thing is needed and Mary has chosen that good part which will not be taken away from her notice it's one thing it's not the only thing he's not saying don't ever change diapers don't ever do dishes don't ever cook food he is saying that in terms of the priority structure with reference to the kingdom the kingdom is run most essentially by our attendant upon the king himself in terms of his word one thing is needed and Mary has chosen that good part which will not be taken away from her the one thing is the priority of seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and notice how he underscores Mary has chosen that good part just like to be there you know as a fly on the wall watching the scene Martha tells her tell my sister to start getting busy and not only does not Jesus not tell Mary to get busy he tells Martha to change her Focus right you see the point it's not monkery it's not M monasticism it's not living in a cave it's in your normal everyday regular lives be faithful to Christ in your normal e everyday ordinary lives attend to the word of Christ if Christ comes to your house and has a Bible study forget about the crockpot forget about the rug forget about those things because Christ is in your midst and he's going to speak the truth and his truth trumps all crockpots notice the choice Mary made was that good part Devotion to Christ first notice the choice Mary made was lasting which will not be taken away from her it's a great encouragement to seek after Christ you will never go wrong in hearing the word of Christ whether and private or public you're never going to be the worst for where for hearing Christ you're never going to get to the point where you say wow I wasted an hour hearing the word of Christ I wasted an hour reading the word of Christ again the majority report among God's people is I've wasted so much time that I haven't spent time in God's word I have become lazy I have become lethargic I have become apathetic I have allowed everything else in my life to crowd out that one thing needful you do not hear the persons that are devoted to Christ those persons who listen at the feet of Christ you don't hear them complaining wow what a waste of time this has been you will never regret spending time in the presence of Jesus you will never lose the spiritual benefit that communion with Christ brings one thing is needed and Mary has chosen that good part which will not be taken away from her it will not be taken the spiritual benefits that you acrew through communion with Jesus Christ are yours they are lasting they are permanent they are not going to go away moth and Russ cannot destroy them take whatever other Venture in your life whatever other thing in your life it abs and its flows it's good or it's ill but this relationship with Jesus that's what's most important Martha Martha I'm okay with soup I'm okay with oatmeal I'm okay with creamy finina I'm okay with whatever it is you have I want you to hear the word of Christ I want you to know the joys of of of spiritual communion Martha I am in your house to do good to your soul Christ is the one we ought to take heed to in this matter Riyal again says it concerning the one thing needful he describes it as the the the grace of God the true Christian portion is the grace of God he says it is the only good thing which is substantial satisfying real and Lasting it is good in sickness and good in health good in Youth and good in age good in adversity and good in prosperity good in life and good in death good in time and good in eternity no circumstance and no position Can Be Imagined in which it is not good for man to have the grace of God Amen riyle 100 times over the point of the passage is simple when Christ speaks attend when Christ speaks listen when Christ speaks give your attention don't be cumbered about with these many things don't be troubled and worried over things that that you have no control over you need to attend to the word of the Living God as revealed to us in the scripture in conclusion I want to draw out just a couple of practical lessons and then we close first the passage does highlight for us the differences between Believers not everybody in the church is a Mary not everybody in the church is a Martha Jesus doesn't say you need to stop being a Martha and you need to start being a Mary Martha's always going to be Martha Mary is always going to be Mary but Martha can learn something from Mary here right and I suspect there are times when Mary can learn something from Martha if all you ever do is listen to sermons on sermonaudio.com and your house looks like it should be condemned by the city because it's a pigy then listen to Martha get up and dust get up and sweep get up and cook get up and do something but the passage highlights differences between God's people not everybody in the church is the same praise be to God for that have you ever considered and pondered that reality and are thankful for the fact that not everybody in the church is just like you if you do it the opposite way you're sick oh I wish everybody in the church would be just like me that's a problem Brethren you ought to be thankful everybody in the church is not like you praise God for a blessed diversity what we find In this passage is that Martha had something to learn from Mary with reference to the one thing needful but you know this is a few verses we don't know what happened in the rest of their lives I'm certain that Martha had lessons to teach to Mary as well riy again comments and if you don't have riy get Riley don't buy Tim Hortons for a month and buy JC riyle or find him online the the the expository thoughts of riyle are online I thought I've always thought if there's one book I could make people read I think I can tell you to read scripture I can make you if I come over to your house and put your eyes in front of the passage but but if there was one thing outside for Horse Sense and for just good expository thoughts that's the name of the commentary on the gospels you can't beat riy he's just pithy and he's and he's it's just quick and easy there's not a lot of you know difficulty in embracing what he says but he makes this comment concerning the differences between Believers he says we must not expect all believers in Christ to be exactly like one another we must not set down others as having no Grace because their experience does not entirely tally with our own we don't want Mary to rise up and say hey Martha you're you're a real goat no Christ is teaching a lesson here we need to be able to do that without making people feel unsaved or unconverted there's lessons that we can teach another believer it's not implying or inferring if I were to say to you know there's a better way to hammer that nail well you telling me I'm not a carp no but you shouldn't put your thumb in the trajectory of the hammer you know it's pretty obvious right not telling you you're a carpenter I may think you're not the best Carpenter if you keep trying to hammer nails that way but but in the church we try to do you're saying I'm not Christian no I'm giving you a piece of advice why can't we do that why is it judgmental for Mary to say hey Martha put the dishes down and come over here and watch this sermon anyway riyle goes on to say we must not set down others as having no Grace because their experience does not entirely tally with our own the sheep and the Lord's flock have each their own peculiarities don't they all yes amen that one the sheep in the flock each have their own peculiarities yes we do the trees in the Lord's Garden are not all precisely alike all true Servants of God agree in the principal things of religion all are led by one spirit all feel their sins all trust in Christ all repent all believe and all Are Holy but in minor matters they often differ widely let not one despise another on this account there will be Martha and there will be Marys in the church until the Lord comes again secondly just to underscore that the passage does not commend monasticism Calvin makes this observation nothing was farther from the design of Christ than to encourage his disciples to indulge in indolence nothing was farther from the design of Christ to encourage his disciples to indolent other words just sit around all day he goes on to highlight the response of P to see monasticism held forth In this passage he says on the contrary we know that men were created for the express purpose of being employed in labor of various kinds it's that Protestant work ethic listen on the contrary we know that men were created for the express purpose of being employed in labor of various kinds why were we created to be in labor to serve to work to labor and that no sacrifice is more pleasing to God than when every man applies diligently to his own calling and Endeavors to live in such a manner as to contribute to the general Advantage thirdly the passage does command the proper priority for the believer it commends to us the one thing needful and in this particular instance the one thing needful is Devotion to Christ as evidence through hearing the word of Christ the distraction of Martha over many things is a potential problem for every child of God just to draw out some ideas from Matthew 6 I'm more familiar with Matthew 6 then Luke 12 I realize the language is very similar but because I preached through Matthew 6 here are some things that happens with reference to anxiety in the hearts of God's people here is what happens when we are worried and troubled about many things when that many things crowds out the one thing needful in the first place it betrays a lack of focus with reference to the kingdom Jesus ends those sections whether it be luke 12 or Matthew 6 with that that that banging of The Gong of the priority structure with reference to the king Kingdom it is the kingdom seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to us secondly it paralyzes individual growth when you are cumbered about or when you are worried and troubled about many things guess what's probably not happening you're probably not growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ thirdly it shifts the focus from the Eternal to the temporal again don't neglect the temporal please when you're driving home tonight do not neglect the temporal stop sign do not neglect the temporal red light do not neglect the temporal cars that you see out there well I'm just eternally minded Brethren the idea being is that when we're worried when we're troubled when we have anxiety about many things it shifts the focus from the Eternal to the temporal Riyal again says profits and Pleasures are dearly purchased listen profits and pleasures are dearly purchased if in order to obtain them we thrust aside eternity from our thoughts abridge our Bible reading become careless hearers of the gospel and shorten our prayers a little Earth upon the fire within us will soon make that fire burn low as well fourthly it reduces us to fearful doubting tormented Souls I mean think about it if you are troubled and or worried and troubled about many things the context in Matthew 6 do not worry about what you'll eat do not worry about what you'll wear do not worry about tomorrow you know people perhaps you're like that perhaps you look at the the world and say man I don't want tomorrow to come today's been bad enough Christ says don't think that way what does it do to people it paralyzes us it causes or produces fearfulness doubt torment instead of bold faithful Earnest subjects of God's kingdom and as well and I would suggest finally it may ultimately prove to be a problem of idolatry it may ultimately prove to be a problem of idolatry because if we are consumed with what will I wear what will I drink what will I eat what will happen to to Me Tomorrow there's a lot of IE and me in that mindset a lot of I and me in our lives is evidence of the fact that we've got an idolatry problem we come first instead of seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness we seek first our food we seek our comfort we seek our ease we seek our complacency it may ultimately prove to be a problem of idolatry is self is the center and not Christ worry advertises where the treasure is laid up we are worried about food we're worried about drink we're worried about clothes that's what's important to us and finally the passage commends the altogether lovely Christ Christ is worthy of us sitting at his Feast feet and hearing his word isn't he Christ is worthy of us sitting at his feet and hearing his word attending to the preaching of God's word now Brethren whenever I say that it is probably sounds self- serving you need to sit here find a church if you cannot be in this church because of some reasons my heart and my desire is that you're happy and that you grow in Grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus whenever persons in the history of our church have ever come to me and said we are thinking about leaving the church always express grief over that because I don't want to see anybody ever leave this church I think we're a family albeit the peculiarities about but we are a family and it always hurts to see somebody leave the flock but secondly I always express to them that I want them to grow in Grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ if they cannot do that here then find a place to be find a place where your soul is fed and your heart is stirred and the word of God comes to you by all means I'll open the door for you I'll give you recommendations I will give you a list I'll give you pastors names call them set something up be in a place but do not miss the preaching of God's word brethren God sets a premium on the preaching of his word there is something unique about preaching there is something that is unique about this endeavor when you are reading privately certainly you're receiving the information to be sure it's a great great medium and by all means continue in your private reading but when Paul comes to the end of his life and he exhorts Timothy on what conduct in the church ought to look like The Parting command the final command that is given to Timothy in the rep in the context of of corporate responsibility is preach the word be ready in season and out of season convince rebuke exhort with all longsuffering and teaching for the time will come when they will not endure sound Doctrine they will Heap up for themselves teachers that will tickle their ears Timothy the response to that is to preach the word brethren I believe in the preaching of the word not as a preacher of the word but as a Christian as a Christian the time I wasn't a pastor when the church was open I was there I praise God that I had men in my life who when they led me to Christ answered the question here's what you do now you never miss church you always show up when the doors are open you're there and you listen to the word of God it just seem like a no-brainer if God is speaking to us through the medium of preaching then we ought to be there we ought to attend we ought to hear we ought to give attention to that so certainly the corporate Gatherings of God's people where the word of God is preached but as well privately I know you're busy Brethren I know that you have lives that that that that are full of events and full of issues there are some people in this church that in my mind are heroic to use my brother's adjective or descriptive there are machines in this church men who labor men who are diligent men who get up early and work hard and go to bed late and women too I'm not saying men inclusively there are people that work hard but there is always time in a day there has to be time in a day to spend some moments at the feet of Christ and hear his word if something must get shorted then do your best to short something that is in Christ he ought not to be the the the one that's edged out of the daytime or the calendar he ought not to be the one that gets deleted in your calendar app he ought not to be the one that is not knotted to in the course of a day this you may go home and say oh he tried to guilt manipulate us to read our Bible if that's what you want to call it fine you know I'm sure I've got a lot to answer for Guilt manipulation just another one of them if the one thing needful is Devotion to Christ as expressed by hearing his word and you're not hearing his word daily then Brethren you need to repent if it's a busier season than normal you don't know what it yeah you know what God's good we started off worship this morning by singing Psalm 103 you know what Psalm 103 tells us God knows knows our frame he pies us he knows we're but dust Brethren this is not to say that if you miss a day because you're so busy Jim Butler is going to be mad and God's going to get you no God knows he knows your heart he knows your intents he knows your desires he knows what makes you tick but if you've lived at a comfortable distance with God if you have margin marginalized the living Christ right out of your calendar if you do not attend regularly to the corporate means you do not attend regularly to the the private means that's a different animal that's a different situation that's where we need to hear the word of Christ and here there is one thing needful and Mary has chosen that good part and what Mary has chosen will not be taken away from her other words you'll never be the loser for spending time with the Lord Jesus well let us pray Our Father we thank you for the word of God and we thank you for this section in scripture and what it reveals to us concerning how important it is to spend time at the feet of Jesus Christ Christ I pray that you would just help us in this that you would guide us in this that you would grant us Grace Lord to schedule our lives accordingly not to be overrun or overruled by carnal anxiety by these worry fits help us God to put things into proper perspective and to seek first your kingdom and your righteousness I ask that you would go with each one of us now bring us together on Wednesday night as we study scripture help us to hear there the word of the Living God and we pray through Christ Our Lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation and then be