May God be pleased to bless us
together this evening as we meditate in his word. Let's turn to the
Gospel of Luke, chapter 10, and we'll read the last verse, verse
42. The Gospel of Luke, chapter 10,
and reading verse 42. But one thing is needful, and
Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away
from her. We have just a few verses in
this chapter in Luke's Gospel speaking to us about the two
sisters, Martha and Mary, and we can receive much instruction
from what the Lord spoke to them and how he directed Martha and
so may the word of God indeed have a gracious effect upon us
because what we read of is very simply the Lord said that there
were the certain women named Martha received into our house
and she had a sister called Mary which also sat at Jesus' feet
and heard his word. So there's a description of Mary,
how she was engaged, and then we're told what Martha did. But
Martha was cumbered about with much serving. So she was involved
in, we might term the things of time. And therefore the effect
upon her was that she was really distracted from the important
things, the things of God, and was taken up with the less important
things of time. So we're told about her condition. And then we have the word of
the Lord. When he responded, as Martha
asked him, Lord, does thou not care that my sister has left
me to serve alone? Bid her therefore. that she helped
me. We can sense, I think, in these
words of Martha that she was really rather annoyed that Mary
was not helping her at this time in the serving that she felt
was needful and necessary. And the Lord sped to her lovingly. It's wonderful, isn't it? The
Lord speaks to us lovingly. We like to get the stick out
sometimes, don't we? But you see, the Lord spoke very
lovingly in a way of correction. Isn't it a mercy when God speaks
to us lovingly? We have that wonderful word in
the Romans, the goodness of God leads us to repentance. I'm sure that is so true. So we have this statement here
to Martha. Jesus said, Martha, Martha, thou
art careful and troubled about many things. In itself, nothing wrong with
that, but we have the comparison. The Lord says, but one thing
is needful. and Mary hath chosen that good
part which shall not be taken away from her." So in a very
few simple words, and we should be very thankful the word of
God is simple in the statements it contains, it gives us gracious
directions for us in our life. To realise that it's so easy
to be like Martha was, occupied taken up with the, we might say,
legitimate things of this life. Nothing wrong, perhaps, we might
say, but yet the great important thing is, are we involved in
the great things concerning our soul? She was cumbered about,
she was distracted by all the things that she was doing, And
it would appear therefore that she wasn't found sitting at Jesus'
feet. And because she wasn't there,
she didn't hear his words. What a mercy if we are found
at Jesus' feet. Well, the Lord spoke very clearly
and told Martha lovingly that your sister Mary, she's chosen
that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. And surely that good part was
to come and to be as close to the Lord as she could be. Sitting at his feet, very close,
wasn't it? Wasn't a long way away. She had
a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet and heard
his word. Now you see, if we are occupied
with many things in this poor old world, and we give wrongful
amount of attention to those things, we forfeit hearing the
word of the Lord. Well, Mary was sat at Jesus'
feet. It's a good position to be found
in. It's not showing any great virtue
in and of ourselves, but it does show that blessing and favour
which the Lord gives. And we have in the Word of God
just a a few chapters previously in the eighth chapter a very
similar account of another person and what a blessing it is if
we are found again in this position and what we read about In the
eighth chapter of this Gospel of Luke, we read about this man. He was an unclean, this man who
was in the country of the Gadarenes. And we're told, and he went forth
to a land. They met him out of the city,
a certain man which had devils long time, and wear no clothes,
neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. Well, we could
draw a conclusion there, must have been a pretty evil kind
of person, a pretty bad kind of person. And we read, when
he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him with a loud
voice and said, what have I to do with thee? Jesus, thou son
of God most high, I beseech thee, torment me not. It's quite an
amazing statement, if you read it carefully, to think that this
person, this Gadarene, should be found acknowledging Jesus
as the Son of God Most High. And we then read, for he had
commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man, For oftentimes
it had caught him, and he was kept bound with chains and in
fetters, and he'd break the bands and was driven the devil into
the wilderness. Jesus asked him, saying, what
is thy name? And he said, Legion, because
many devils were into him. Well, we might think, well, that's
an unusual and a rare condition. Well, it may be. But perhaps
sometimes the Church of God recognize what
it's like to have, as it were, many devils entered into us. And they besought him that he
would not command them to go out into the deep. And there
was there a herd of many swine feeding on the mountain. And
they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them.
And he suffered them. Then went the devils out of the
man and entered into the swine. And the herd ran violently down
a steep place into the lake and were choked. When they that fed
them saw what was done, they fled and went and told it in
the city and in the country. Then they went out to see what
was done. And they came to Jesus and found
the man out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the
feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were
afraid. What a change. What a blessed
change. My friends, we have a God today
who is able to change men and women's hearts in a moment. And what a blessed thing it is
to read that this change was so great that this Gadarene came
and sat at the feet of Jesus. just like Mary, very different
characters, of course, but yet both blessed with one wonderful
favour. And what was that? The grace
of God. They both had received it. And upon receipt of it, there
was this desire to come and to be with Jesus and to come and
to hear his words. and to come and sit at his feet. And so Mary, we're told, which
sat at Jesus' feet and heard his words. What a blessing, isn't
it, for such who are blessed with this grace to take up this
attitude and to not be sidetracked, to be involved Perhaps we might
say over-involved in the things of time. You see, it's very easy
to try and justify doing this and doing that. Well, Martha
no doubt thought she was doing good things, nothing wrong in
what she was doing. There may sometimes be wrong
in the things we're doing, but there may be those things which
we're doing which we may think are right, but we may be giving
too much care to them, spending too much time on them. And because
of that, we are neglecting the health of our souls. Perhaps we're more concerned
about the health of our body. Many people today, they spend
a lot of time exercising their body. It would be a much better
thing if they spent the time exercising their soul. Because the blessings of the
soul are eternal. The blessings of the body will
fade away in any event. So what a mercy it is to recognise
the relevance of such gracious words as we have here from the
Saviour. The Lord came this way, specifically
came to pass as they went, he entered into a certain village
and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. It's just like, isn't it, when
the Lord came and we're told he must needs go through Samaria,
and he must needs come to this house of Martha. When he was
by that well in Samaria, that woman came and received those
wonderful words of life. And Martha here, who had received
the Lord into a house received these gracious words. They were
words of love to her, in lovingly rebuking her. It's good, isn't
it, when we know God has spoken to us. And so here was Martha
being graciously spoken to and being told, but one thing is
needful. And of course, one thing is needful
in our lives. And that really is the knowledge
of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And to be continually
blessed with that knowledge as we read that we might grow in
grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And therefore it will be a mercy
if we are found at the feet of Jesus listening to his words. You see we're rushing about hither
and thither on our own volition, doing our own things for our
own gratitude. What a mercy if we're found doing
those things which are right in God's sight, which will be
for His honour and glory and will be for our soul's eternal
good. One thing is needful. Now, if
you and I, as it were, sat at Jesus' feet, Where will we be? We'll be at the foot of the cross. We shall be by faith viewing
the Lord Jesus Christ. And you see, in that position,
in that location, we will then be blessed with an understanding
as the Lord gives us that wonderful grace to behold the Lamb of God
that taketh away the sin of the world, to behold the Lamb of
God that has taken away our sin. See, if we're involved in all
these other things like Martha was, there won't be time really
to sit down and to meditate and to pray for the Lord to reveal
Himself unto us as He does not unto the world. to reveal Himself
to us as our great Saviour, to reveal to us the enormous cost
of our salvation, and to realise there is the One in whom is all
our hope of eternal salvation. If we want to be with the Lord
Jesus eternally, Surely we should want to be with Him on this earth. Surely we won't want to just
spend the odd little time with Him on this earth, and the rest
of the time on this earth be found occupied with all the things
of time. Surely if we want to be found
eternally with the Saviour, we should desire to be found on
this earth, living close to Him and hearing his voice. You know, Asaph tells us in the
73rd Psalm and the 25th verse, he says, whom have I in heaven
but thee? That's true. And there is none
upon earth that I desire beside thee. You see the wonderful agreement
in such a statement as that. Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And there is none upon earth
that I desire beside Thee.' Such words really are very cutting
words, aren't they? As we consider them against our
spiritual life. Because Asaph goes on to say,
well before that really, he says, Thou shalt guide me with Thy
counsel and afterward receive me to glory. So if we are to
be guided by his counsel, that surely means we should be guided
by his words. And what a mercy then if we are
therefore found at his feet listening to his words, which will guide
us. And what will they do? They'll guide us through life,
safely. We won't make shipwreck. The
devil wants us to. The devil wants us to be taken
up with all the poor old cares of this world. However, we might
think we can justify them. You see, you and I may be able
to justify things to one another, but the great question is, can
we justify them to God? That's really the question, isn't
it? That's really the great question, because If we're honest, we live
in a day of lukewarmness, carnality, worldliness. It's all around
us. It can easily engross us. That's why the Lord has very
wonderfully given us the Word of God to direct us and to encourage
us in our spiritual life, in our Christian life, to walk in
the right way. You see the devil doesn't want
you and me to read such verses like this. He wants us to turn
away from them. But bless God when the Holy Spirit
directs us and guides us to such words as this. Thou shalt guide
me with thy counsel, day by day, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom am I in heaven but thee?
And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee, my
flesh and my heart faileth. But God is the strength of my
heart and my portion for ever. And that surely means from now,
it doesn't mean to just start when we die. Surely it means
that the Lord is our portion today. And if it is so, may we
be found like Mary, sitting at his feet, Indeed, hearing his
word, like that Gadarene, in his right mind, not in his wrong
mind, which it had been previously, but now there's this blessed
and godly change. For lo, they open it, are far
from thee, shall perish. Thou hast destroyed all them
that got whoring from thee, but It is good for me to draw near
to God. I put my trust in the Lord God
that I may declare all thy works." Now we should only observe God's
works as we hear His words, directing us to them. Otherwise we won't
even observe them. But if God's words direct us
to His works, they'll be that which will encourage us and will
strengthen us. And therefore, it would be a
wonderful mercy to be blessed with this understanding we have
here in these words. But one thing is needful, and
that is to follow closely the Saviour, to be found ever near
to Him. As I've said, if we're far off,
like dear old Peter was in the judgment hall. He was a long
way off. He couldn't hear the words of
the Saviour. A long way off, not saying the word of the word,
many words spoken. But my friends, let us not be
found following afar off. Let us be found keeping close
to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord of course He speaks
very wonderfully in that Sermon on the Mount and he speaks to
us in the sixth chapter in the middle of that Sermon on the
Mount and he says seek, verse 33, but seek ye first the Kingdom
of God and His righteousness. These are lovely words, aren't
they? They're familiar words, I hope they are, I'm sure they
are. But the trouble is, do they lay hold of us, do they grasp
us, and I'll be enabled to walk in them. Seek ye first the kingdom
of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be
added unto you. Everything else that you and
I will need in our life, not the things that we think we need,
but the things that we will need, the Lord will give unto us. And
therefore he tells us Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for
the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself, sufficient
unto the day is the evil thereof." Well, we have these grand words
in the Word of God to instruct us and to direct us. These things that Martha was
involved with were natural, and were temporal and would finish. The things that Mary was concerned
with were eternal and would be ever good. They would not perish. They would not vanish away. And
how hard it is sometimes for us to seem to get to grips with
the difference between time and eternity. But what a mercy tonight,
as we have this very simple and little blessed account before
us, to remember the importance of it between Martha and Mary. Both of them were godly people. I think that's very clear. But
the Lord does direct His people to do those things which will
be good for the health of their souls. And this surely is an
account here where the Lord is speaking to Martha for the benefit
of her soul, to direct her to the better part. What a mercy
when God comes to us today in this sad day in which we live. A dark day, isn't it? To realise
the only light worth seeing is the light which we see in the
face of Jesus Christ. And so may we be found near him,
observing all that he says and has done, and be drawn more and
more to him, to be willing to be very low in our own estimation. You see, both of these characters
I referred to were low in their own opinion. Mary was sitting
at the feet of Jesus. The Gadarene were sitting at
the feet of Jesus. Yes, they weren't standing up,
they weren't speaking about how good they were and what they'd
been doing and everything else. They were just sat there to listen. Listen to what Jesus was saying. You will never be disappointed
if you're there. We'll never be disappointed because
we'll be expecting to hear gracious words. And what a blessing it
is when those words come and the Lord speaks to our hearts
and our spirits are revived and we rejoice then in what the Saviour
has done. We glorify in that great plan
of salvation. And we come and bow down before
our Lord and Master, and we're thankful that we have been blessed
with the gracious grace of God, which we never deserved. These
two characters that we refer to, or three characters if you
like, they never deserved any blessing, but the Lord moved
their hearts. What a mercy if the Lord moves
our heart. and gives us that true desire
to be found like this, seeking after the one thing that is needful. It's a very familiar word, isn't
it? I'm sure all of us know about it and can quote it easily. But
the important situation is where it does have a word to our hearts,
and the Word of God is applied to our hearts, so that we do
earnestly seek. for these spiritual blessings,
and to be found at Jesus' feet, hearing His words, and not far
off, so that we don't hear the words of Jesus. That's the trouble
today. Many people are far off. They don't hear the words of
Jesus. Well, may you be brought and
made nigh through the blood of Christ. That will break us down.
When we are under the blood, we realise what the Lord Jesus
Christ went through in order to redeem our souls, then you
see it will be an attractive place to be found at the feet
of Jesus. It won't be something that we
just read about and pass over it. It'll be a place where we
would desire to be. May we pray for it and may we
receive the blessing of being found like Mary and like that
Gadarene and know that we have chosen by the grace of God that
good part. And the Lord said, which shall
not be taken away. Oh, my friends, eternal blessings,
worldly blessings pass away. The things of God are eternal
and shall not be taken away. Blessed be God. Amen.