Luke 10:38-42

We can get so distracted by the cares of life. There’s a war going on over our time and affections. The world wants to pull us away from Jesus. But, Jesus wants us to draw closer to Him.

Acts 6: verse six whom when they had set before the apostles, that is the Jewish leadership was all upset or excuse me, this is where they’re sending the brothers and sisters out to minister, excuse me.
And when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them and the word of God increased and the number of the disciples multiplied.
That’s normal. We read the book of acts and we go, that’s radical. No, that’s normal.
Acts 13 verse two. And as they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said to them, you want the Holy Spirit to speak to you.
Here’s, here’s the key. You pray fast, seek the Lord. He speaks. This is what he said.
Now separated into me, Barnabas and Saul for the work which I’ve called them to do.
Then having fasted and prayed, they laid hands on them and sent them away.
What an amazing, awesome thing this last Friday morning in our Friday morning prayer meeting, we laid hands on joke and sent him away as he’s going to Brazil, as he’s gone to Brazil yesterday, I think of Gail who sits in sec first or second service, right?
About there Right there. 1, 2, 3, 4 5th seat up. And where, where is she?
I can’t keep up with her Africa, but various destinations in Africa, taking the word of God to Africa, you lay hands on them and you pray for them.
That’s normal. Didn’t Jesus say go you there in all the world and that means down the street.
That’s normal act 16 22. Then the multitude rose up together against them.
This is when the Jewish leadership was all upset and the Magistrates tore off the clothes of the disciples and commanded them that they be beaten with rods for sharing the name of Jesus.
That’s normal. I mean, let’s be honest, boy, I, I, I don’t want to bum you out.
But have you ever read? You ever go online, go to our website, click on the link.
You ever read voices of the martyrs? The world is being persecuted the world.
That is, that is of that Jesus Christ is being proclaimed in and I tell you what, there’s very few places outside of this uh country of America where Christians are not being persecuted.
Many of them are many of them are. And yet when I read my Bible, that’s normal.
That is normal. Wasn’t Paul beaten for preaching, Jesus, was it Jesus beaten for preaching himself wasn’t Isaiah cut in half for preaching.
God wasn’t Jeremiah thrown into a prison. That’s normal.
Second thing is this, what’s got you and I busy is that the things of this world regarding importance, like what’s important.
So I know what’s important. Well, Martha thought she knew what was important.
This is uh that uh Martha welcomed her into his house. This is a great word. Welcome.
It means that you to swing open wide, the doors to bring him under her roof.
And that’s a wonderful thing. Don’t you wanna welcome Jesus like that? She’s a wonderful woman.
By the way, let me say this and you need to hear this loud and clear.
This is not Martha is bad and Mary is good in our story.
We need Martha, thank God for the Martha and we need Mary’s.
Here’s what the conclusion of this message will be. You have to be like Mary before.
You are like Martha. If you are like Martha with little time like Mary, you will burn out, you will blow out, you’ll dry up and all that.
You, do you think it’s so good?
And it looks so good to everybody, But it wasn’t good to the Lord.
And he’s the one that we want to bless the most, so very important one.
Commentator put, put it this way that Martha wound up placing the ministry ahead of the minister who in this case was Jesus.
She was more involved in the importance of serving rather than spending time with the savior.
And you might say, well, Jack, that’s, that’s a cheap thing to say because somebody had to eat.
She’s in the kitchen cooking and that also will be jesus’ Point.
How much food is enough? How much do we have to have the meal that she’s preparing is over the top?
Caring and, and food. Have you ever been to some of those?
I mean, I haven’t, I’ve heard of them but there’s some place in Anaheim that’s got like a five or seven course meal dinner.
And when you make your reservation there again, I have not been there. I’m afraid to go there.
But when they book your uh reservation, you’re, you’re booked for like four or five hours because it’s such a huge deal.
That’s my, what’s important, what’s important to you.
And I, I mean, each of us, what’s important to us, this is what’s important.
It may, it may not be an issue of bad or good.
But if it’s more important than Christ and if it encroaches upon our Christ time, what is very, very wonderful becomes not so good in Romans 12 13, the Bible says, and here’s Martha doing it that we are to be distributing to the needs of the saints and given the hospitality, hospitality and she’s doing that.
And you and I are to do that.
Look, if I knew that you were coming to my house or if I was going to your house, I Mercedes, we knew when we went to your house, she rolled out the carpet and welcome Lisa and I in, but listen, that’s so sweet.
But the thing is Mercedes is more important to me than the meal that she makes is that not true in our lives?
As brothers and sisters in Christ. You want, you see, you have the expression of my love. I understand that.
But understand that when I show up at your house or you show up at my house, we want to know you, we want to find out about you.
We want to hear how you came to Christ or what’s going on in your life.
Frankly, the food is the side issue. We want to be filled.
You want to be filled with the body of Christ.
It’s a beautiful thing, but we can still focus on things that we make important.
First Peter 4 10 says, as each one has received a gift, minister to one another.
As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, there’s a balance to even what we do.
I mean, can you imagine?
And this is scary because you know, I could do this is talk, teach preach all day long.
But if I never go out and exercise my faith, if I never go out and witness for Christ, then what does that matter?
Well, here’s Martha. She’s kind of cute though, you know, because we all love cookies.
We all love good food. Jesus is sitting there and uh by the way, he’s reclined at a table, his feet would be behind him to the side and Mary is somewhere behind him and she’s listening and you’ll, you’ll see in a moment that she is leaning, the word means that she’s listening to every word that’s falling from his mouth.
What, what do you hear?
And maybe she had to lean like that to be able to hear because all you hear coming out of the kitchen is clanging pots and probably every moment Martha thought, look at Mary, look at her, I guess I gotta do this alone.
Boom, boom, smack. Pow. All the noise coming out of the kitchen.
She’s got her apron on. It’s well worn. She’s got flour across her face.
She’s got, you know, you know, part of the falafel in her hair. We’ve all been there.
It’s, it’s an expression of love, but it’s just gone a little bit too far here and starting to affect her.
Martha was the nurturing type as we said earlier.
But when we do not spend time with the Lord, the great parts about what God has worked into your life and mind Christian, listen those things wane when we’re not with him.
Christian. If you and I are not spending time with him, then we are definitely not busy about the right things.
Unfortunately, it seems to me that the church has been so gripped by the definition of what the world says is right and important and the church has fallen for it.
The church takes its marching orders, maybe perhaps more from the world than ever before.
It’s the world that says this is a successful church.
It’s the world that says you need to do this and then you’ll be respected in the community.
The church should be the one that’s forming the culture, not the media or Todd CBS who you used to work for.
That’s who forms the culture these days.
Instead of Jesus Christ, it’s NBC And then our kids grow up.
They want, they want to dress just like Britney Spears, they want to sing just like, I don’t know who it’s unbelievable.
Third under this point is this the things of this world like what’s practical now look, this makes no sense.
Verse 39 says and she had a sister called Mary who also sat at his feet and heard his word subtle wording.
But get the picture. Martha started at his feet.
See the word that she also sat at Jesus’s feet. two things happen. Watch this.
Everyone the day began with Martha and Mary listening to Jesus.
Then maybe Martha looked at her sun dial on her wrist and decided it’s getting late and it’s time to cook something.
Mary also got up and helped her. They were both in the kitchen. We know this from the wording.
Mary winds up leaving, listen, Mary winds up leaving Martha and going back to Jesus’s feet.
Mary is well balanced. Martha never leaves the kitchen.
She’s gonna rebuke Jesus in a moment for being part of this mutiny.
Mary started helping for some reason, Mary concluded. That’s enough. Martha. Martha. Come on. That’s enough. That’s enough olives.
We got enough Peter. That’s enough. We got enough. Come on. Come on, let’s go listen to him. Come on.
Hey, come on, let’s go to church. Come on. No, no, no. Come on.
I got a, come on, it’ll be there when you get back. Come on, let’s go worship the Lord.
No, no, no. You go and then you come back. Why didn’t you?
How come you left me here alone? What’s practical in our world? Living for eating is practical.
That’s practical. What are we gonna eat? We get done with breakfast and we start talking about lunch.
Where do you want? Well, this is a great lunch. But where do you wanna have dinner tonight?
That’s us. That’s our world. What’s practical? The world says this is what’s practical.
The world is always so coming to us at least coming to me and stroking its beard and saying no, no, no, Jack just simmer down, just calm down.
You don’t wanna go over the top here and pray and read and be practical.
Well, it says here that Mary sat, the word means she sat as close as she could get.
I like that. And she heard here’s that word.
It means to direct all audience toward it means to cut your ears.
You ever been like that the older I get, I find myself, I don’t know, the older I get, everyone starts talking softer and I’ve gotta go like this, what she’s doing that she’s listening to Jesus.
She can’t get any closer and she’s also got her ears cupped.
I love that to give ear, to give attention, to focus.
The world says what a waste of time.
You tell your lady friends or you tell your guys the guys that, you know, at work or on the golf course or whatever.
Um, this morning reading my Bible, I, I came across you. What you reading my bible?
What are you doing that for? You should have slept in. That’s practical.
You wait, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta stop and go where?
Oh, we’re gonna go feed the homeless in, in L A. What do you do that for? That’s not practical.
I’m gonna go serve down at the church. You’re what? Boy they got.
You duped you big dummy. That’s not practical. Wow.
You’re listening to Real Life with Pastor Jack Hibbs.
You know, to hear more episodes and maybe catch up in the series. Just go to Jack Hibbs dot com.
That’s Jack Hibbs dot com. And for now let’s get back to our teaching. Once again, here’s pastor Jack.
Well, Mary’s listening doesn’t seem practical but Mary is doing exactly what I believe I see here is a picture of prayer.
Mary is at the feet of Jesus, don’t you think prayer is like that. She’s at the feet of Jesus.
She’s listening to every word he says, my friend, we are to read our Bible.
Don’t stop, read it more than ever. But listen, when we pray, that’s when the Bible comes alive.
And when we pray, that’s when things start to matter and start to make sense. Why?
Because that’s when God starts talking and when we’re at his feet and we’re listening to every word he said, I see this as God answering prayer, ask her stick the microphone into the scene with the camera.
Mary, what’s the most important thing in your life? I’m doing it right now. I’m at the feet of Jesus.
She wouldn’t be anywhere else in the world but right where she’s at and she’s hearing God answer her life’s questions as Jesus speaks by the way, in a sense, she’s abiding.
How about that? As she’s sitting there listening, that’s the great word that you find where she’s taken up a dwelling.
She’s taken up a dwelling at the feet of Jesus. John 15 5 says I am the vine.
You are the branches He who abides in me.
Mary is abiding and I in Him bears forth much fruit for without me, you can do nothing. Christian.
Please hear me. I’m so limited on time. This is disgusting.
You and I in this life, we will never, never make a difference unless we’re in the word of God.
And we pray the Bible because when we’re in the Bible and we pray the Bible, we get up and we go, God, please take this challenge.
Do that. Watch what happens to your day, watch what happens to your day.
God answered a prayer of mine this week so pronounced. I was embarrassed when he answered it.
I was very, very bombed. I was very, very down. I prayed Lord, I need your encouragement.
It was on Thursday. I was so bummed. Lord. I need your encouragement.
I wanna be encouraged by anybody, by you God.
And honestly, I thought it’s gonna take a week, a month, a year to get that answered.
God answered it in about five hours. I couldn’t believe it.
And then the Lord said, why can’t you if you ask him how much you and I go through because we’re not asking him, what are we doing?
No, if you’re not asking him, there’s only one or two things going on.
Hey, your life is so sweet that I’m gonna go home with you today because your life is awesome.
Your kids are perfect. Your husband and wife are amazing. Your house is paid off.
Somebody just angels fill up your gas tank with gas in your cars.
I mean, I wanna, I wanna go home with you that’s either happening or you’re neglecting the invitation to pray.
Which is it so much?
We suffer because we’re not going to him and we, we carry it and oh man, what are we gonna do?
What are we gonna do? And then usually your five year old says, let’s pray. Yes.
Uh yes, Junior. I was just about ready to do that.
We suffer needlessly, doesn’t the Bible say we have not?
Because we ask not John 14, 12 says most assuredly I say to you Jesus speaking.
He who believes in me in the works that I do.
He will do also and greater work shall he do?
Because I go to my father and whatever you ask in my name, that will I do that.
The father may be glorified in the son.
If you ask anything in my name, I will do it said Jesus, did you hear that?
I heard that I’m not even gonna ask you if you believe that we don’t, we do not believe that we don’t believe it.
If we believed that we would be walking around all day looking like a bunch of babbling idiots because we’d be saying, dear God, help me now, Lord help me cross the street, dear God.
Uh do this in my life. God use me. Uh Billy Graham is getting old. Make me the next Billy.
And what do you pray? Radical? He’s a radical God. This world is in need, pray radical.
You’d look like a crazy man talking. You know, this is a great time of life.
By the way, you can, you can fix somebody out.
You could be praying dear God in hell, you can be in your car.
Lord God, come down and fill my car with your glory and people are thinking, look at that guy.
He’s really, he must be making some big deal on the phone right now. At the stoplight. Look at him.
Talk, boy, he must be in a conference call.
You see people in the car by themselves.
Hey, I’m old enough that when that used to happen, when I was younger, you were nuts.
Look at that guy. He is crazy. Now you can get away with it.
Dear God in heaven. Make this light turn green. They don’t know what you’re saying.
I think it’s awesome. And if you’re insecure about that, then just put one of those little bluetooth things in your ear and talk to God, fake them out, just talk to the Lord and everyone’s going.
Look at that guy go, that’s practical talking to God.
Not what the world has to say to us. The world is impractical.
The Christian, you the Christian with your bible open.
You’re the only one in all this world with the answer. The world is going crazy. You’ve got the answer.
People are wringing their hands. What’s going to become of the world? We know it’s like we’re sacred agents.
We’ve got the answer, John 1623.
Most assuredly I say to you whatever you ask in my name.
He will give it to you until now you have not asked for anything in my name.
Ask and you will receive that. Your joy may be full.
If a Christian doesn’t have joy, point to them and say, Go Pray. I’m very sad.
Have no joy, go pray. Then I thought you’d help me.
I am, I am helping you. Go pray. I, I need money.
I need a pat on the back. I need whatever fine, go pray. Let’s talk.
But the joy comes from Him.
When we ask, only God can give that so attractive was the prayer of the disciples.
As Jesus was praying, the The disciples saw his prayer so attractive that what did they say?
In fact, the Bible tells us in Luke chapter one, it says now it came to pass that as he was praying that in a certain place and when he had ceased, the disciples came to him and said, teach us to do that.
Isn’t that great? That’s practical. The world hears us praying and they go man. Is it that bad?
You gotta pray? Second point this morning, we’re going to go fast or something in big trouble.
Second point this morning, is this what’s got you busy? Is it the things of your life?
Is it things of our life?
But Martha was distracted by much serving and she approached him and she said to him, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?
Therefore, tell her to help me that sounds like my house. That sounds like your house.
These are the things of our lives, things that pull us away. Look at verse 40. The word distracted.
There is the Greek word. Listen, it’s powerful.
It means to be pulled away, to be dragged away from your desire to be ripped from the dock like a boat.
It’s a very violent word.
She was ripped from the dock by her attention towards other things.
Martha is an a type, type a Martha, no doubt about it.
And she had reached her boding point and she is now becoming a victim of a life that’s running out of juice, running out of power, running out of patience, running out of the Lord.
Martha here is beginning to accuse Jesus of being part of the problem. This is amazing church.
Listen to this. Martha is actually saying to Jesus. My sister abandoned me.
Listen the word if we translate into modern English today, it means this.
My sister abandoned me at my labors which are pulling on me at Jesus like you have no idea and you, you are part of the problem here.
That’s the, that’s what the word means. You’re not helping me. She’s rebuking him.
This is what happens when we don’t spend time with him.
We wind up counseling him instead of him counseling us in the time that we’re with them.
No, no, we don’t spend time with him after all, we are going to tell him a thing or two when we are not with him, we did take things to him.
Pastor and bible teacher Jack Hibbs here on real life radio with his message called, what’s got you busy?
Now, this message is part of Pastor Jack’s series called The Gospel of Luke.
It’s a series on the book of Luke and the unveiling of Jesus Christ to this world.
And we’ll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio. Everybody.
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