You may be seated. Go with me, if you would, back
to Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10. I met a very sweet lady at the
conference this weekend. She was so pleasant, a very pleasant
lady. And she asked me a question that
I thought was a great question. Just a great question. It was
one that I wish more people would ask and ponder. Since that conversation, I've
been thinking on it a little bit more, and I believe the Lord
has let me enter into it a little bit more. Her question was, she said, I
have heard the statement that doctrine doesn't lead men to
Christ, but Christ leads men to doctrine. And she said, what does that
mean? And she said, what's the difference? She said, if it's correct doctrine, and isn't doctrine the word of
God, the correct word of truth, and isn't that what we're holding
on to? She said, if that's what it is, then what's the difference?
That's a great question. That is a great question. because
the statement is a true statement. It's a very true statement. Doctrine
doesn't lead men to Christ. I really hope we can enter into
this. Doctrine doesn't lead men to Christ. Here's the answer
to her question. This is what that means. Our
own searching And our own rationale, man has a rationale and he can
rationalize election and things like that. Our own searching,
our own rationale, man's own deduction and acknowledgement
of true teaching is not what leads a dead blind
sinner to life in Christ. God's Holy Spirit leads dead
blind sinners to life in Christ. God's Holy Spirit does that.
Sinners don't find God. Well, are you seeking God? You
better go seeking God. Sinners don't find God. God finds
sinners. He said, I'm found of them that
sought me not. I said, behold me. God reveals himself in the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Everybody knows who Christ is,
but all of a sudden they see Christ as he is. God reveals himself. They see God in the person of
the Lord Jesus Christ. And in that revelation, he quickens
sinners to life. And with that quickening of life,
God gives eyes to see. Once life comes, the sinner gets
eyes to see and receives ears to hear and a heart to believe
Him and His Word. Him and His Word, not just cold,
dead doctrine, not just the letter of the law, but the voice of
a person. That's the difference, the voice
of a person. When we say that doctrine doesn't lead men to
Christ, Christ leads men to doctrine. What we're saying is a knowledge
of true statements doesn't save centers. A knowledge of true statements
doesn't save centers. A person saves centers. A person does. Just like if a
man was drowning in the ocean, there he is in the ocean by himself
and he's treading water and he'll tread as long as he can until
he can't tread anymore. And a big huge ship comes up
right next to him. There he is treading in that
water. There's that big ship. That man could know factual truths
of how he could be saved. and still not be saved. Knowing factual truths is not
going to save him. A person is going to have to
do it. A person has to do it. And if
that person does it, then that man will factually, truthfully
know how he was saved. Another way to illustrate that
is this way. Going on dates and getting engaged
and having a wedding ceremony doesn't lead to people to love. Love leads to people to going
on dates and getting engaged and having a wedding ceremony.
So salvation is not a mind work. It's not a mind work. It's a
heart work. That will also set the mind straight. The mind will be set straight,
but it's a heart work. Proverbs 4 23 says out of the
heart are the issues of life. Brother Henry Mahan used to say
salvation is roughly 18 inches. the distance it takes to get
from the head to the heart. So here's what I'm gonna tell
all of us. If God has given us an understanding of total depravity,
that's great. And if he's given us an understanding
of election, that's wonderful. We all ought to believe in election.
It's in the Bible over and over and over. And if he's given us
a knowledge of limited atonement and irresistible grace and perseverance
of the same, that's wonderful. But beg God to send it to your
heart. Beg God to cause you not just
to know it, but to love it. and to need it and to live on
it and to feed on it like you need water and air. Lord, I need
it in my heart. Beg God for that. I'm serious.
The only way you will beg is if life is there. If you do start
begging, that's the evidence of life. But the command unto
life is start begging. Beg Him. I want all of you kids
and everybody, everybody, beg Him, Lord, commit this to my
heart. Commit this to my heart. Out
of the heart are the issues of life. That's what it means when
we say doctrine doesn't lead men to Christ. You say, well,
he's got a hold of election. I'm sure he's good. Maybe so,
maybe no. Doctrine doesn't lead men to
Christ. A mental understanding is not
what leads men to life. How can it when we're dead, animated
physically by this physical, temporal life we've been given,
but spiritually dead? A joined union with Christ leads
men to life. And because of that life, as
a result of that union, a correct mental understanding comes. It does, it does. Now I want
us to dwell on that for just a minute by way of what our Lord
said here in Luke chapter 10. Let's read these verses again,
beginning in verse 38. It says, 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. And she had a
sister called Mary who also sat at Jesus's feet and heard his
word. 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. And Jesus answered and said unto
her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful, full of care, and troubled
about many things. He said, but one thing is needful. And Mary hath chosen that good
part which shall not be taken away from her. Now, rather than
looking at this story tonight, I'd like for us to look at our
Lord's answer, specifically one line. Verse 42, he said, one
thing is needful. One thing is needful. May our dear Lord teach us this. May our Lord teach us this. May
our Lord plant a seed in all of our hearts. I pray the Lord
will plant a seed in our children's hearts. As we grow up and as
we move on, leave home, may the Lord plant this seed in our heart. There is one thing needful. There is one thing needful, only
one thing. Many things in this life may
be desirable, but there's only one thing that's needful. Many
things in this life, earthly speaking, just humanly speaking,
may be possible. Some of those things may even
be profitable. But there's only one thing that is needful. That means you only need one
thing. You only need one thing. And the reason is because this
physical life is temporary. It goes by fast, doesn't it?
It goes by so fast. When you're young, you think
it goes by so slow. I just want to be 10. I just
want to have two digits in my age. I just want to be 13, 16,
18, 21, 25. After that, it's like, okay, let's stop. 40, 50, 60, 70. It's
temporary. It is temporary. This is so temporary. Spiritual
life is forever. Really, it is eternal. It's eternal life, eternal life. And that's what our Lord is talking
about with Martha right here. She was taken up with physical
matters, and I'm gonna acknowledge the fact that she was doing it
in the service of the Lord. Sometimes when I come to do this,
I feel cumbered about. And right before I stand up,
I think, Lord, would you focus my mind, settle me down? She
was doing the service of the Lord. She was in the service
and the worship of the Lord. She was honoring and she was
bowing to and glorifying the Lord in what she was doing. There
was nothing wrong with what she was doing at all. But the Lord
told her and he taught her in this moment, he said, concerning
worshiping and serving me, Only one thing is needful. Talking
about serving me, talking about worshiping me. Only one thing
is needful concerning spiritual matters, concerning salvation,
concerning eternal life. Only one thing is needful. Everybody's running around trying
to figure out what you better do this and you better do that.
And you better make sure you check these boxes. And only one thing
is needful concerning salvation, spiritual life, One thing is
needful. Now, this is where Christ will
lead a man to doctrine. This is where that quickening
voice of Christ will teach a man or a woman correctly. He said,
Martha, you want to worship me? You want to serve me? You want
to honor me? Only one thing is needful. One thing is needful. Now this
right here blessed my heart so much. I was studying this and
studying this and writing notes and going over this and the thought
went into my brain. Let me look up that word thing
in the concordance. Let me see what the definition
of that word is. You know what the definition
of the word is? Man. Only one man is needful. Only one man is needful. Until we arrive at Christ, we
have nothing. We may have and we may know and
we may truly understand all the teachings of this world, gain
all the teachings of this world, but if Christ is not the end
and if he's not the fulfillment of it all, it's all worthless. It's all nothing. That's what
the Apostle Paul was saying in 1 Corinthians 13. Turn with me
over there to 1 Corinthians 13. First Corinthians 13, for the
word charity or love, that's what the word means. Everything
that Paul wrote was pointing us to Christ. Everything he was
saying was getting us to Christ. And we can just insert the word
Christ every time we see charity. That's ultimately who he's speaking
of. Verse one, he said, though I speak with the tongues of men,
and of angels. Though I speak with these lofty
tongues, another tongue that is popular today is Greek. Men
want to go study Greek so they can expand their doctrinal dialogue. Paul said, though I speak flowery
words, he said, if I don't have Christ, I am become a sounding
brass or a tinkling cymbal. I'm just vain jangling, that's
all I'm doing. Verse two, he said, though I
have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and
all knowledge, though I have and though I know and understand
all of these doctrinal teachings and delve into prophecy and delve
into mysteries, He said in verse two, and though I have all faith
so that I could remove mountains, if I don't have Christ, I am
nothing. I am nothing, I have nothing.
Verse three, he said, though I bestow all my goods to feed
the poor and though I give my body to be burned, though I work
the ultimate works of sacrifice in the name of worshiping and
praising honoring God. He said, if I don't have Christ, none of it profits me anything.
It profiteth me nothing. What he's saying is one man is
needful. One man is needful. When it comes
to our salvation from death and sin, He saved us from death and
saved us from sin. And when it comes to our redemption
back to God, He redeemed everything we lost, bought back everything
we lost. Only one man is needful when
it comes to every bit of that. One man is needful. When it comes
to our life on this earth, when it comes to our sustainment,
when it comes to our happiness, I'm gonna tell you that's what
we all want. We want happiness. When it comes to our contentment,
that's what men and women want, contentment. When it comes to
our comfort, when it comes to our peace, when it comes to our
hope, when it comes to our rest, one man is needful. One man, the songwriter wrote,
The Lord Jesus is all the world to me. My life, my joy, my all. He is my strength from day to
day. Without Him, I would fall. He's all. The Mary in our text
tonight, talking about Martha and Mary. This is Mary Magdalene. That's who Lazarus, Martha and
Mary, brother and two sisters, Mary Magdalene. She was the woman
that had seven devils inside of her. She was a woman who was just
consumed with sin, just held captive in bondage to sin. And
the Lord set her free. He cast those devils out. And
he set her free. He rid her of that sin. He cleansed
her. He sanctified her, made her pure
again. And then from that day forward,
every time he was near, you hear of her sitting at his feet. We
read before it talked about Martha's work, it went on ahead and said,
Mary was sitting at his feet, hearing his word. That's where
you always found her, sitting at his feet, hearing him, desiring
to know more about him, desiring to be closer to him. He was her
life. He was her comfort. He was her
security. He was her peace. He was her
rest. He was her all. And the Lord
is going to prove to all of his people in time that Christ is
our all. Everything else will fail us.
Everything else will ruin our peace and ruin our rest. Christ will be all. All that's
standing in the end. He was all of her need. He was
all in one man. Christ Jesus, her Lord. Look
with me over at Philippians 3. The apostle Paul is saying right
here, he's saying, I used to be a man of doctrine. That's
all I was, just a man consumed with doctrine, consumed with
things, religious things. But he's saying it did nothing
for me. It didn't lead me to Christ.
Christ had to come to me and he had to knock me down and reveal
Himself to me, reveal to me who He truly was. And only because
of His revelation to me, I now see clearly. Only because He
did that, I now see clearly. I now see the one thing needful,
which is Him. Verse 4, Philippians 3 verse
4, He said, though I might also have confidence in the flesh,
if any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust
in the flesh, I more, Circumcised the eighth day of the stock of
Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, and Hebrew of the Hebrews, as
touching the law of Pharisee. Concerning zeal, persecuting
the church, touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
But what things were gained to me, those I counted lost for
Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all
things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do
count them but dung that I may win Christ and be found in him. Found in him. Lord, burn this
into my heart. Burn this into my heart, Lord.
I need to be found in Him. I need to win Christ. I need to be found in His life. I need to be found in His death.
I need to be found in His blood. That's where I need for you to
find me. I need to be found in His sufferings. I need to be found in His judgment.
I need for that to be my judgment. I need to be found in His redemption,
found in His will, found in His purpose, found in His way. I want to be found in His kingdom.
I want to be there among them. Verse 8, the end of verse 8,
He said, I've suffered the loss of all things and do count them
but dumb that I may win Christ and be found in Him, not having
mine own righteousness, which is of the law. having my own
deeds, not having my own works, not having my own anything, my
own doctrine, my own knowledge, not having my own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, Christ coming to me and doing something for me and giving
something to me. The righteousness which is of
God by faith. Verse 10, he said that I may
know him. I want to know him. I want all
of us to know him. And the power of his resurrection
and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his
death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection
of the dead. There is one thing needful. We
need eternal life and that life is in the person of the Lord
Jesus Christ. We need him. We must have him. Paul said right here, if I have
him, then I'll have his righteousness. You enter into what that means,
to have His righteousness. That means when God the Father
looks at His Son, whatever He sees in His Son, He will see
in us. That's what it is to have His
righteousness. Paul said, if I have Him, I'll have His righteousness,
I'll have His faith. Our Lord went to the cross and
endured the cross in faith, believing He will not leave me in the grave.
He will not let my body see corruption. He'll resurrect me. We'll have
His sufferings. We'll have His death. We'll have
His resurrection. Paul said, that's what I have
if I have Him. That's correct doctrine. That is correct doctrine. Five
points won't save a man. Five points Five-point doctrine
won't save a man. The first point will prove that
to us. Every soul on this earth is totally depraved. Every soul on this earth is,
but that doesn't mean that every soul on this earth is saved.
Christ came to save sinners, but that doesn't mean that every
sinner is saved. Doctrine doesn't save men. Christ
does. His will does. His work does. And every soul that He saves
will know, I was a totally depraved sinner. I am, in my flesh, a
totally depraved sinner. Every soul He does that for will
know, in my flesh dwells no good thing. I'm a totally depraved
sinner. All we'll have to do is just
look at Him. We'll just look at Him, see His purity, see His
perfection, and we'll know, I'm a totally depraved sinner. Knowing
that, knowing Him, seeing ourselves in light of Him, that'll convince
us of the fact that it had to be an unconditional election. It had to be an unconditional
election. Just look at my total depravity. It had to be unconditional. But even in this knowledge, It's
not the doctrine we're clinging to. It's just not. We're not
going to go out into eternity clinging to a 50-50 chance of
our election. Well, either He elected us or
He didn't. I don't want to go out into eternity clinging to
a 50-50 chance. We're going to go out clinging
to the Christ we were elected in. We're not clinging to a cross. We're clinging to the Christ
who ordained it, the man who hung on it and accomplished it. We're clinging to his love in
it. We're clinging to his joy as the result of it. We're not
irresistibly running. He said, come. His grace is irresistible. We're not irresistibly just running
to a bunch of factual statements. We're running to the man who
made them. If we don't have the one man
needful, we don't have anything. We just don't have anything.
But if we do have him, then this is his promise to us. Go with
me back to Luke 10. Back to Luke 10, verse 42, our
Lord said, but one thing is needful. And Mary hath chosen that good
part, which shall not be taken away from her. If we have Christ,
we will never be without Christ. And this is what I want to stress
at this very moment. I'm preaching an actual person. I'm preaching an actual person. I'm not preaching a figment of
anything. I'm not preaching a standard
of morality or I'm preaching an actual person. Who knows his
people knows us? And if he reveals himself to
us, we will know him. We will see him. We will embrace
him. We will speak to Him. We'll bow
to Him. We'll worship Him. We'll hear
Him. This is an actual person. And if this person draws us to
Himself and makes us to sit at His feet and allows us to hear
His voice, this person has a voice. Well, you're just saying that.
No, I'm not. This person has a voice. And if He causes us to hear His
voice, and if He causes us to see Him to be the one thing needful,
then He said, if you hear Him, you see Him, you know Him, then
He said, I'm with you. And He said, I'll never leave
you. I will never forsake you. If God the Father has given you
the one man needful, he'll never be taken from you. The gifts
and calling of God are without repentance. Christ will never
be taken from you. He said, and I love this, he
said, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Even until the end of the world,
I'm with you wherever you go. Brother Maurice Montgomery, some
of you knew him, precious man, preacher of the gospel, he went
into the service. And as he was getting on a bus,
heading off, his father, who was a believer as well, said
to him, son, always remember, God goes everywhere. God goes everywhere. He said,
I'll never leave you. I'm with you always, even unto
the end of the world. This is a story I've told you
before, but I just love this. There was a man named Hubert
Davis. He was a pastor in Farmville,
Virginia, and this man had a very crippling condition. He was bent
over. But he had a daughter who he
and his wife, she had to be cared for. She had some needs and he
was getting bad in his own condition and he knew that his wife couldn't
take care of both of them. So he voluntarily checked himself
into a nursing home so that his wife could focus on their daughter.
And Brother Henry Mahan and Brother Paul went to visit this man one
time and walked into his room. And he had his back to them,
he was looking out the window, but he was bent over, halfway
over, standing there looking out the window. And they walked
in, and Brother Paul said, he said, Brother Hubert, are you
all alone? And he said, no, brother, the
Lord is with me. And that is the truth. That's the truth. If you have
the one man needful, You'll never be without the one man needful. Never. If you need the one man
needful, then it means you have the one man needful. And just like Mary, he said,
this is the desire of her heart. He said, he'll give you the desires
of your heart. He said, this is the desire of her heart. I'm
the desire of her heart. And he said, I'm not gonna take
that from her. I'm not gonna take the desire from her and
I'm not gonna take myself away from her. If she wants to be
here near me, hearing me, I'm not taking that away from her. I pray that God might cause us
to know him. And I pray that God might cause
us to know our union with him. Because if we have him, we have
all we need. All we need. The one man needful
is the one thing needful. He's the one thing needful. Lord,
give us Christ. Give us Christ. That's all we
need. All right, let's all stand together.