ONE THING NEEDED
Luke 10:38-42
38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.
40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Let me set the stage, for I know this story well.
When I was growing up, My Mother was the entertainer. If family showed up
From out of town, my mother would be in the kitchen preparing a meal.
AT our house it would be fried chicken, potato salad, collard green, green beans
For dessert it would be sweet potato pie and if she had time a pound cake.
It was a lot of work but she enjoyed it. Every pot and pan in the kitchen would be
Used.
MARTHA’S GENEROSITY
Let us consider the text, Martha was a very energetic woman.
She was probably active in the community. She invited Jesus to her house,
And she decided to cook a meal for her guest.
When Jesus and His disciple show up at her house, Martha got busy.
MARTHA’S FIRST LOVE
Jesus loves this family in Bethany. When He came to town this was the place
He comes to relax. Mary and Martha loved Jesus. They reminded Jesus of
His love for them when Lazarus was sick.
I don’t know what she cooked, but it became a stressful situation. Perhaps
Mary and Martha usually worked together to entertain, but not this time.
Jesus and His disciples were in the house and Mary was sitting with them.
During Jesus time, a Jewish meal would include fruits and vegetables, baked
Fish or lamb, baked bread, and wine.
HER FUSTRATIONS
I can imagine as Martha was in the kitchen getting the meal prepared, she looked and saw Mary sitting with Jesus. Martha was gradually getting upset.
She got the vegetables prepared and looked and Mary was sitting with Jesus,
And Lazarus was there.
She started baking the fish and looked and Mary was sitting with Jesus. Lazarus
Was there. The temperature in the kitchen was rising from the cooking and Martha’s temperature was elevated. She got lamb from the smokehouse and prepared it.
Looked around and Mary was sitting with Jesus enjoying the conversation,
And Lazarus was there. The pots and pans were piling up and there was more
Work to be done. In her mind, Mary was supposed to be helping. Finally
Martha came to a point where the pressure was too much.
SHE ASKED THE LORD FOR HELP
She came out kitchen with her request to the Lord.
“Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.”
She blamed Jesus for not putting Mary in her place. She was mad a Mary for
Not doing her duty. She may have been upset with Lazarus for not saying a word.
She expected that this would get Mary off her bottom.
HER COUNCELING
But Martha didn’t get the response she wanted.
“41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
It is the desire of the Lord to have us study the Word.
The Lord, should always be treated as a guest in your house.
Since the Lord indwells us, we must always be on our best behavior.
Tense situations can cause us to lose our cool.
We should not let our entertainment of the Lord distract us from the
Lord. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were entertaining the Lord in their
On ways. Mary and Lazarus were entertaining the Lord by listening.
To His Word. Martha entertained by serving.
HER DISTRATIONS
Martha’s, service became interrupted when she worried
why others were not helping her in her service. Martha
Couldn’t enjoy the moment for her judgment of others. She judged
Jesus for not seeing her point of view.
Often time we get involved in our own projects and our agendas,
And we forget to put Jesus first. When we do that, we lose the Christian
Objective.
THE SOLUTION
Jesus reminds us that there is one thing that is needed.
The one thing needed is the care of the soul. The care of the soul
Starts with the study of God’s Word. The care of the soul is more
Important than all the cares of the world.
Notice, Mary’s posture was sitting at the feet of Jesus. She humbled
Herself and drew close to Him. Her attention was on every word He
Spoke. Mary was not distracted by glorifying herself with her cooking
Skills and setting the table for the meal. The meal for Mary, was
The Word of God.
Psalms 49:1-3
Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world,
both low and high, rich and poor alike:
My mouth will speak words of wisdom;
the utterance from my heart will give understanding.
The cares of the world are burdensome. But the yoke of the Lord is
Easy. When we focus on the Lord, our daily burdens become lighter
Because we see Him as our helper.
The cares of the world will not get us into heaven and provides no benefits
For the soul. Everyone has time to serve. But service should be done
With Christ in view. We can be rich in stuff and in agony maintaining
It, if Christ is not our focus.
Martha was rich in cooking skills and the resources to cook, but in agony in
Service. She became irritated because she tuned out the voice of Jesus.
Her mission was to serve a meal for Jesus, but it was distracted by the
Desire to make others part of it.
When you take your focus off the Lord, you can become frustrated with
Your mission. Martha's frustration caused her to say and act in a way
That was not normally her.
She loved the Lord and knew the Lord loved her family.
First, Martha abandoned her humble spirit.
You don’t approach the Lord with a proud spirit. The Lord
Hates the proud.
Second, she accused the Lord of not caring.
If the Lord didn’t care, He would not bless you with His presence.
Third, she demanded the Lord do as she said.
We are in no position to demand anything from the Lord.
Forth, she demanded the Lord go against the will of the Father.
It is the will of the Father that we study His word.
In a sense, Martha for the moment, set herself above the law of love and became selfish. She went into the survival mode.
Martha’s obsession with cooking the meal blocked her view of the
One she was cooking the meal for.
We can’t get so busy doing church work that we lose sight of the
Church. We have to work to serve, but we have to serve with love.
TAKE IT TO THE LORD
There are times when we have to be reminded of the Word
To see where we have gotten off track.
Jesus reminded Martha of her error.
“41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:”
Troubled people do troubling things.
When you are troubled you need to go to Lord in prayer.
Martha was worried about getting a meal together to impress the Lord,
But she forgot to pray to calm herself.
Philippians 4:6-8
Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Watch this, Martha was troubled about many things. Not having help with
The dinner was one of many problems she was dealing with. The dinner
Brought all her frustrations to the light. At the dinner, she just wanted help and exploded before her friends.
RESOLVE ISSUES QUICKLY
When you got issues you are dealing with, resolve them as they come up.
Bottled up anger and frustrations will soon render you with the inability to
Control your emotions and actions.
Bottled up anger will stop you from being thankful,
And block you from asking for help.
Bottled-up anger is a tool of the devil to get you to explode.
Bottled up anger is a tool of the devil to block you from going
To the Lord seeking His consolation and peace.
Bottled-up emotions and anger will make you selfish, considering only
Your needs and not the needs of others.
CONSIDER THE GOOD
“42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
The good part of any situation is when we focus on Jesus.
The good part of your day ought to be your praise and worship of Jesus.
The good part of a meal is dining on the Word of God.
Every day, you have a choice to choose the good part.
When you choose the Good part, you position yourself for the
One thing that is needed.
GET WHAT YOU NEED
The one thing needful is to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn from Him.
The one thing needful is to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn His wisdom.
The one thing needful is to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn his compassion.
The one thing needful is to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn His tolerance.
The one thing needful is to sit at the feet of Jesus and cast your cares upon
Him.
The one thing needful is to sit at the feet of Jesus and seek His peace.
The one thing needful is to sit at the feet of Jesus and seek His strength.
The one thing needful is to sit at the feet of Jesus and see His purpose.
The one thing needful is to sit at the feet of Jesus and see His love in all
Things.
It is God’s will that we learn from Him.
Take some time and SIT AT THE FEET OF JESUS
THANK GOD FOR THE FEET OF JESUS
Rev. M. Mitchell
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