Good Morning my beloved,
We welcome you to worship today in the name of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that you have been enjoying our study of the Gospel of Luke as much as I have. I hasten to say, it is the most authenticated, indisputably the one of the greatest of the four Gospels.
We welcome you to worship today in the name of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that you have been enjoying our study of the Gospel of Luke as much as I have. I hasten to say, it is the most authenticated, indisputably the one of the greatest of the four Gospels.
I have often been criticized for my firm stance on nothing should take precedence over the essential practice of reading, hearing, studying and understanding God's Word, including Christian "social gatherings and events, where Scripture is not the primary focus." This isn't about condemning one action while praising another, its about understanding the importance of choosing the "better part." While I firmly believe that today's text does not diminish the value of other Christian activities or social interactions, distractions that often tend to monopolize our time, which are not inherently wrong, it certainly does underscore the importance of prioritizing where one chooses to focus their energy and attention, when He unexpectedly tells Martha that she is wrong and that Mary has made the better choice, which will not be taken away from her. Spiritual growth and wisdom, enhancing our relationship with God over the busyness of day to day activities, which can lead to neglecting the more important things, communion with our Father. It is amazing to me that we as Christians would prioritize being consumed by earthly desires and worldly things over Kingdom of God, when the Bible clearly teaches us that believers should "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness," aligning their lives with God's will.
test our level of commitment. All I'm saying is that true discipleship involves both personal and spiritual aspects but prioritizes the latter. Scripture is very, very clear, there is only one priority in the Christian's life. Matthew 10 unequivocally emphasizes thar if you love anyone and anything more than Christ, you are not worthy of Him. In the simplest of terms, a deep love for Christ, will inevitably lead to sacrificial living in self-denial, and acts of love and service. Seek first the Kingdom and everything else will fall into place. You don't need a master's degree to figure this out. God has laid out His standards. They're non-negotiable.
Even though you may know this intellectually, that your relationship with Christ should change your completely change entire life, you will likely struggle with the application nearly every day. That's why it’s foundational to your walk with Christ to continually remind yourself by being grounded in Scripture. To borrow the words from Paul in Romans 12:2, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may approve what the will of God is, that which is good and pleasing and perfect." You don't need to fall victim to all this worldly stuff, it dishonors the Word of God. You say you believe the Bible, why don't you live like it? By living like the culture lives, is to be basically controlled by Satan. God expects you to grow, and to change, that doesn't just mean a new set of beliefs or principles, it means the way you live. There are people in the church who have problems with this, they think they can just claim Christ and still do whatever they want. I'll tell you this much, if the Christian church doesn't wake up and start obeying the Word of God, all will be lost. Of course, the narrative of today’s society is to redefine the way the way specific groups of people view certain issues, which frankly has reached some pretty bizarre proportions, and I believe for the most part, they agree on that. However, there are some issues on which the church has become confused, like how to evangelize the lost; the self-deceived and the unsaved, I suppose that isn't anything new, the church has always struggled with that. What the church seems not so clear on is our praise and worship and fellowship, even informally, its become not so different than hanging out with non believers, but I won't go through the specifics, I've done that several times before.
If you have been with us for any length of of time, I'm sure you know, there is a heavy burden on my heart regarding the most appalling levels of corruption that are being exposed by our Lord, and I'm not talking about the Catholic Church or the Charismatic churches or anything like that, I'm talking about within our own camp in the last twelve months or so, certainly the highest levels of corruption that I've seen in my lifetime, and I must say, it's very unsettling. And, I don't believe He's finished exposing them yet. I am convinced that it's appropriate for us as leaders of the church to humble ourselves before the Lord of the church, as we come to the Word of God, and to see what He has to say, rather than to simply rush through the pages of Scripture, as if we're on some sort of deadline, if that's what you're going to do, then you should really ought to do the congregation a favor and just stay home. I'm not speaking about a specific church leader, however, I am talking about many of those within our own camps, those who have lost their first love, who have I dare say, settled into comfortable patterns of sin, thinking that they're not going to be caught or exposed. Believe me, the Lord sees you. He is omniscient, He knows it all, He sees everyone of us, and we often fail to recognize that. If you disagree with me, and you're free to disagree, however, I'd like to encourage you to just read Revelation, where He says, "I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead."
I strongly encourage you to fix your relationship with God, and trust that He will fix everything else. And, I'm not just talking about those men that are corrupt, I'm talking about those who faithfully speaking the Word of God to the people of God. And what worse, is the people of God has tolerated it, and so it's become the "norm" to give a 15-20 min sermon on a chapter or two. We are at a point in biblical history, where we cannot afford to be in a hurry, we desperate need to slow down and exposit the text. It shouldn't matter whether it takes one or two messages or even ten to go through the text. It's very unsettling to me that some church leaders have set themselves up as a higher priority than our Lord. God is not your back up plan, He's your only plan. The Lord knows your works. I encourage you to humble yourselves, get on your knees and ask the Lord what He thinks of your ministry. I beg you to do this before the Lord pulls back the veil and exposes you. If you haven't noticed, He been exposing some pretty powerful men, and I don't believe He's finished yet. If you trust the Word of God, you know He promises that on that final day, ALL things will be known. I beseech you to examine yourselves, do not be deceived by the wiles of enemy who seeks to destroy your soul. This is not some kind of entertainment, it's not a game, all of that stuff is nonsense with no spiritual Truth to it. When Christ appears, you'll see just how real this is! In 1 Peter 5:8, our beloved Peter warns us "Be of sober spirit, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."
The Lord knows those pastors who are squandering their opportunity, big in outward appearance but full of hypocrisy, He knows those struggling pastors have not much opportunity, who have little power, but have kept His Word. He's sees you, don't become discouraged and He's holding you up. It is through His promise, we persevere. He calls us to persevere, He commands us to persevere, and He also gives us the grace we desperately need to persevere. I assure you, if it was up to you and I alone, we would fail.
Let's pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, thank You for Your Word. Grant us the wisdom and discernment that we might persevere against the enemy, an abhorrent threat to our souls. Help us to be a people who would rush into your presence, to Your throne of grace, confessing our sin, confessing our hypocrisy, pleading for Your mercy. Work in the hearts of those who have yet to confess Christ as Lord as only You can. Father, we sit at Your feet, and say "Speak, Lord, for your servants are listening." In Jesus' precious name we ask and pray these things.
Amen.
Today's Message: Choosing The Better Part
Many churches today are filled with people who don’t seem to be making any progress spiritually. They have never really grown up spiritually. And, as though as the years go by, they appear to be just as immature as they always were, fighting the same battles in the very same way and wind up losing them in the same manner that they’ve lost them every time before. They don’t seem to be any progression spiritually, they don't seem to be strengthened, which gives them a greater sense of victory, a greater usefulness to God. The spiritual growth progress appears to have been severely retarded. I believe it goes without saying, that God wants us to grow, in fact, we are commanded to "grow up" spiritually. In Ephesians 4:14-15, Paul tells us to that "we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming." We are commanded to progress in our Christian lives, there ought to be some progress every day, at least a little bit, to deal with the sin in our lives in a strong way, so that new habits will begin to replace the old. In Mark 9:43, Jesus teaches us that "if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire." For a believer to not progress toward Christ-likeness, to understand what it means to worship Him, to praise Him, live to His honor and His glory in everything we do, which involves being transformed by the renewing of our minds to know God's will, which is good, acceptable, and perfect, presenting our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, is a tragic loss of an authentic relationship with God and all that it manifests.
Since the onset of Covid-19, there has been an an awful lot of interest in the Bible and as a result of that, study Bible study. It's is reminiscent of an earlier event called the Jesus Movement, that happened in the 1970's, which the greatest rise in conservative biblical evangelicalism in my lifetime, since the Billy Graham revivals. From that single event, there emerged a tremendous surge in the creation of new translations of the Bible, including the Living Bible, which is not really a translation but serves as a paraphrase, much like the Message which is gaining widespread popularity in contemporary Christianity today.
Then, we began to witness a remarkable phenomenon, as Christian broadcasting and Pat Robertson's CBN expanded their reach globally when in 1966, Bakker-hosted 700 Club, which later became the flagship program of CBN, broadcasting in over 100 countries and dozens of languages. After the Bakkers' departed CBN in 1973, they relocated to Southern California where they assisted Paul and Jan Crouch in the launching of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). In 1974, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker founded the now defuncted PTL Satellite Network, in North Carolina, broadcasting worldwide with The PTL Club program as its centerpiece exploded, far exceeding even the most optimistic expectations for the future of the church and Christian broadcasting, while Christian publishing houses, such as Zondervan and Thomas Nelson simultaneously exploded at an unprecedented rate, as the demand for religious materials increased to satisfy a diverse and growing audience in a rapidly changing world.
The Bible encourages us to listen to music that praises God. However, in the realm of contemporary Christian music, there has been an unbelievable inundation of notable "Christian artists," who may have Christian roots and themes in their music, yet lack in sound biblical theology, having less redemptive impact, I believe making it more apparent that the prevailing trend in the church has departed from the traditional Christ-centered teaching and the Word of God, moving more toward a false theology of worship upon the basis of an emotional experience. I am very deeply concerned that millions of Christians are falling victim to the same delusion that Jesus and the Apostles warned us about that are subtly undermining true biblical faith. The problem is this assault does not take place from the obvious frontal blatant attack, which would be strongly resisted. It comes under the guise of Christian worship music, seducing even the most faithful Christian leaders, so they can no longer can tell an enemy from a friend, or truth from heresy, who by the way, vehemently cry against such insidious forms of occultism. Scripture teaches that the devil comes and he sows tares among the wheat, I dare say countless preachers and the church has embraced an unrecognized Trojan horse. In contemporary Christian music there seems to be very little emphasis on God, on Christ and an extraordinary amount of emphasis on "self." Jesus said "If any man come after Me, let him deny himself.." I do not believe the importance of this matter can be overstated. What good is worship music, often written by sex offenders and pedophiles? Absolutely none! Are we expected to blindly sing any song that includes the name of Jesus, without examining the life of the artist? Don't be deceived into thinking that doesn't matter, because once the enemy has entered the church there seems to be no end to the destruction. That's not being divisive, that's being accountable before God.
Open your Bibles with me to the final paragraph in the Gospel of Luke chapter 10, verses thirty-eight through forty-two. Luke 10:38-42. We are now entering the final six months of Jesus' life. So we're going to be traveling alongside Him from here, until He finally arrives at Jerusalem, where He will ultimately face death on the cross. His main focus will will shift towards teaching His students, primarily the disciples and the twelve, who will be entrusted with the monumental task of taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth. His miraculous deeds will diminish, becoming far less prominent and will occur only occasionally. As Christians, we are all given the same assignment, to be global Christians telling the world the Good News about our global God. I'd like to encourage you to follow along with me as I read to set the text in our minds.
"Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. And she had a sister called Mary, who was also seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the preparations alone? Then tell her to help me." But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things, but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."
Let's look at verse 38, "Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village." Let's stop there for a moment, notice Luke isn't even interested in telling us where Jesus is, as I said earlier, the focus here is on the content of His teaching, not on His physical location. We know to He's in the village of Bethany, because Luke mentions He's at the home of Martha and Mary. We can't even hold Luke to the fact this event occurred in chronological sequence, it really doesn't matter, it's not important, what is important is that we learn from what He taught. What Luke does tell us a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. So, let's lean in, and draw as near as we can to our Lord and listen attentively to what He is going to teach us through His Word. This is a powerful lesson about the number one priority in a Christian's life. according to Jesus. It's important to note that this isn't just my opinion, this profound Truth comes directly from the mouth of Jesus through the revealed Word of God, that requires our utmost attention and commitment above all else. I am amazed at the number of Christians who don't understand how important this is. It's shocking the number of pastors who continue to miss the point of the profound need for stillness before God.
Before we get into the heart of this passage, and what that means for all of us today, let's briefly look at Martha, the sister of Lazarus, who is probably best known for her hospitality, as we'll see here in our text. She welcomes Jesus into her home and immediately she begins to busy herself with preparations to ensure everything is perfect. Jesus didn't always get welcomed when He went into a town, many didn't want Jesus in their town. It's interesting that the language Luke uses here would seem to indicate that Jesus probably didn't know her, but we know that Martha and Jesus are close friends, that she loved Jesus, and that she believed in Jesus and she is the hostess, excited to have Him in her home. It's possible that Martha may be a widow or has never been married since there's no husband is ever mentioned, she's usually named with her siblings, Mary and Lazarus, Luke doesn't tell us whether or not Lazarus is present, again, it's not important. It's also interesting to note that Luke's Gospel often highlights Jesus' interactions with women, portraying them as being active participants in His ministry rather than just merely passive observers, which I believe indicates women's crucial role in ministry, though not permitted to preach.
Verse 39, "And she had a sister called Mary, who was also seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word." In contrast, we see Mary, on the other hand, who is not only attentively listening intently to His every Word, she is sitting at His feet, indicating that she was as close as she could get. Luke doesn't tell us anything personal about Mary, yet she becomes the key figure in the story, an example for all Christians to follow. I am convinced the single greatest priority for every professing Christian is to hear the revealed Word of God. In a society where women were expected to manage household duties, Mary is breaking traditional expectations placed upon women in that culture by actively engaging in theological discourse and learning alongside men was highly unusual, even frowned upon. It's important to remember in that culture, hospitality was paramount.
Verse 40, "But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the preparations alone? Then tell her to help me." There's nothing inherently wrong with her concern about providing for her guest. Luke tells us she is "distracted," which is the Greek verb "perispaó" meaning to drag all around, to be pulled in different directions, feeling overwhelmed by tasks. Martha is feeling frustrated and abandoned while trying to get everything ready at a frenzied pace. I believe there are very profound theological implications in our text today, we are called to selflessly serve, to love our neighbors, and to meet the needs of others around us. However, it's crucial to note that Jesus is clearly challenging the assumption that being dedicated to acts of service for the betterment of others, even if our actions are grounded in love, are intrinsically more valuable than cultivating and nurturing a meaningful relationship with Him. But Martha didn't get it, she was distracted, caught up with all her preparations. Once your priorities get all messed, everything does too!
Let's look at Jesus' response in verse 41, "But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things." Martha's priorities were all mixed up, not that there's anything inherently wrong with the activities she was engaged in, in fact, they were actually commendable, especially if you're doing them for the Lord, but they're not always the best option, particularly at that moment. It's important to recognize that Martha was preoccupied with what could be considered essential tasks, that were beneficial and even well-intentioned, they were distracting her from the most meaningful choice, time with our Lord in His Word. I am always astonished by how easily some Christians can become distracted from the Word by the things of a perishing world. Sadly, they just don't get it, they don't understand the difference between what is good, what is better and what is best. When given a choice, as Christians we are called to focus on the eternal rather than the temporal. True discipleship is not simply about doing things for Jesus; it is about being with Jesus. If we look closely at the life of the Apostles, they were tirelessly going from village to village, preaching the Gospel, and planting churches, but they also spent time in prayer, cultivating a deeper understanding of God's Word. With Jesus' return is closer than ever before, I believe it's time for the people of God to reassess our priorities in order to have a profound impact on the church and the world. As Christians, we best lead others to Christ by our transformed lives, not just our words.
That brings us to verse 42, Jesus goes on to say "But only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." I believe this is such a powerful lesson for the church today, I am thoroughly convinced this verse highlights the importance of prioritizing God Himself over everything else, no matter how well intended we may perceive those activities to be. I remember a time when I was feeling overwhelmed with raising my sons, taking care of my parents and fulfilling my ministry commitments. There were times I felt completely exhausted, even disconnected from God. That's when I realized I needed to wake up earlier to spend more time in prayer, Bible study and quiet reflection. It wasn't long before I was able to serve others more effectively because I had first spent time being fully present, sitting at the feet of Jesus. One of the profound lessons I ever learned was from this passage, is it's okay to say no to commitments and distractions that will prevent you from spending time with God. I believe we can all learn from Mary's example in choosing the better part.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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