One Thing Is Needful

If you can mentally, go with me this morning back a long, long time ago to a little village, Bethany. It's a small, small town about two miles outside Jerusalem, on the east side of Jerusalem, on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. And in that little town, Bethany, has a small, humble house, and just an unusual family lives there.

We don't know the circumstances. We don't know whether they were widows and widower, or whether they were single folks who had never been married. We're not told anything about them, except that three siblings live there. Martha, apparently, is the oldest. and Mary, her sister, and their brother Lazarus.

Now, this was a house which was frequently visited by the Son of God. Whenever the Savior came to Bethany, he was sure to go to the house of Martha and Mary and Lazarus. They were genuine disciples. They loved the Savior and they were loved by him. And because they loved him and followed him, they were generous, kind, entertaining people. Whenever the Lord came, he knew that Martha was always hospitable. He could go there and be welcomed, his disciples welcomed, unannounced, just come on in, we'll take care of you.

And so they gathered at Bethany, the Lord's disciples did on this particular occasion, and they came to the house of Martha and Mary and Lazarus. and you go into the house and you see a large group of people there, unusually large for such a small house, not designed to accommodate such a crowd.

There were at least 15 or 16 people there. There were probably a good many more than that, but at least 15 or 16 people. Now, you can imagine what that would do to a lady who wasn't expecting that many guests. Ron, well over 20 years ago, one Sunday afternoon, Shelby and I were expecting to sit down over and look out to Sunday afternoon lunch. She, myself, and Faith. Of course, Faith was just a little tight then. But we were getting ready to sit down. She was getting things ready to sit down for lunch when we got through with services that day. And unexpectedly, some folks from over in Ohio had gotten hold of some of my tapes, and there were a bunch of them who came that day. Well, 20 years ago in Lookout, West Virginia, there was no place to go for lunch. No place.

And then your brother showed up that day. He was coming up that day. Or your brother-in-law, rather. He was coming up that day. He was going to be preaching for us. And so instead of having three, she had 21. Now you talk about bustling around the kitchen and peeling potatoes and digging out of the freezer, we were going to town trying to figure out some way to feed all those people. But we got the job done. Well, that's the situation you have here in Bethany.

You walk in, there sits the Lord Jesus, his disciples sitting around on the floor, on chairs, whatever was available, and there sat Mary. I can almost picture just sitting there, is listening. And there's Martha. She's running around with a coffee pot in her hand. She's taking care of business. Going about seeing to it that all the guests were entertained and served. Now, let's step in and see what happened there.

Look in Luke chapter 10 and verse 38. Luke 10 and verse 38. Here, the Holy Spirit has inspired Luke to record a very brief history in the life of Mary and Martha and the Lord Jesus in their house at Bethany. Now you put this together with what we read earlier in Luke and John chapter 11 and 12 and you will see a good clear picture of the inner life of a group of believers who live together in one house. Luke chapter 10 verse 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. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' 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 helped me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things, but one thing is needful.

And that's my subject. One thing is needful. And Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her. Now I want us to look at these verses, you just hold your Bibles open there, and let's see what God the Holy Spirit intends for us to learn from them. First, I think that we need to be reminded that good and godly families have troubles just like other families. You understand that? Godly families have troubles just like any other families.

Now, we realize, of course, that grace does not run in bloodlines. The fact is, we very seldom see whole families walking with God and worshiping him. Usually, God chooses Abel and passes by Cain. He chooses Jacob and passes by Esau. He chooses Abraham, passes by his family.

That's normally the way we see things happen. No one is saved. I want you to get this. I want everyone who hears this message by tape, on radio, television, however you hear it, get this sentence. No one is saved because he or she is related to someone who saved. Grace doesn't run in bloodlines. Hold your hands here and turn to John chapter 1. Verse 11. The Lord Jesus came unto his own, and his own received him not. He came to his own kinsmen, his own family, his own countrymen, and they received him not.

But as many as received him, to them gave he power, the authority, and the right to become the sons of God, even to them which believe on his name, which were born, get it now, not of blood. That is not because they had descended from a line of believers, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, not because mama and daddy wanted them to be saved, because they wanted themselves to be saved, nor the will of man, but of God.

Do you see that? Many women are born again and saved who are chosen of God, redeemed by Christ, and born of the Spirit. That's the only way grace comes. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. Salvation comes to sinners who have been chosen by God in everlasting love, redeemed by Christ's shed blood at Calvary, and who are called, regenerated, and born again by the sovereign power and grace of God the Holy Spirit. The wind bloweth where it misteth. Thou hear'st the sound thereof, who canst not tell whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth. So is every one that is born of the Spirit. Grace does not run in bloodlines.

That's the fact of Scripture. And we recognize that generally whole families do not worship God. But Martha, Mary, and Lazarus were an exception to the rule. Here are three siblings living together as adults under one roof, and all three of them worship God. What a blessing. What a blessing. And yet this godly household at Bethany was not exempt from trouble. They had trouble with sin because they were yet sinners.

You talked about that just a little bit ago. Martha, in our text, just flat lost her temper. That's all there is to it. She just flat lost her temper. She could not and would not contain the venom she began to have swelling up within her. She said things she wished she hadn't said and did things she wished she hadn't done in a fit of anger. Ask God for grace when you find your temper swelling to bite your tongue because if you don't, you're going to say things you will wish you'd never said and you will do things you wish you had never done. Martha lost her temper.

Not only did they have trouble with sin, they had trouble with sickness, bereavement, and death, because they lived in this sin-cursed world just like we do, where such things as sickness, bereavement, and death are common. These things do not imply God's disfavor. They do not imply God's judgment. They do not imply somehow that there is a breaking off of communion between these people who suffer such things and the Lord their God. Not at all.

The scripture says plainly that Jesus loved Lazarus and Martha and Mary. Scripture says that plainly. The scripture says concerning them, these were people who were loved of God, and yet their brother Lazarus was sick. And because the Lord loved them so that they might be taught to believe him, he stayed where he was and let Lazarus die. You read it for yourself, John chapter 11. He said the sickness is not unto death, but when he heard Lazarus was dead, he waited three days until Lazarus, when he heard Lazarus was sick, he waited three days until Lazarus was dead, and then he went to Bethany. Because these folks needed to learn what they could learn only through the sickness and bereavement that they had experienced and the power of God and the resurrection of their brother.

If you will believe, he said, you'll see the glory of God. Now, children of God, listen to me. Listen to me. When you are faced with sickness, and I'm not talking about a hangnail or a headache, I'm talking about sickness. When you're faced with life-threatening disease and life-threatening illness, believe God. Believe God.

And I promise you, no, the Son of God promises you. Believe God and you'll see the glory of God. And when you go to the graveyard and you bury one whom you love, and you lay them in the grave, if they're believers, it's relatively easy. If they're without Christ, It becomes a little more difficult on the flesh. But believe God, and you'll see the glory of God.

You'll see it. I don't have any question at all about it. And when you yourself come to die, believe God. Oh, believe God. I'll talk to you about that the Lord willing this evening, but you believe God. And when you leave this world, you'll see the glory of God.

Not only did they have trouble with sin and with sickness, this family also had trouble with persecution because they were devoted to Christ. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus had experienced the power of grace. They believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. They walked in sweet communion with him. They served him. They sought to make him known to others. They lived for the glory of God.

Now because they loved Christ and followed him, they were despised and persecuted by men. You remember how I read to you earlier in John chapter 12, Mary came with an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard, very, very costly. valued at nearly a year's wages. And she broke the alabaster box and anointed the Savior for his burial. She couldn't preach and she couldn't do many things, but she could anoint him for his burial.

And our Savior said she's done what she could. Oh, I want grace to do what I can for him, don't you? I want to do what I can. I'm not interested in doing what you can. I want to do what I can for Him. Oh, children of God, do what you can for the Savior. But don't expect to be appreciated for it.

I'll tell you what happened. Just as soon as she did, Judas said, she ought to have saved that money and given it to the poor and began to criticize her for it. And you can bank on it. You can bank on it. If you seek to live and serve the interest of Christ's glory, if that's what you seek, you can be criticized and misrepresented and misjudged for doing it. You can bank on it.

Lazarus had been raised from the dead. And because he had experienced marvelous transforming power, Everybody in Bethany knew that Lazarus had been dead. And the Lord Jesus came and raised him from the dead. And because he had experienced the power of God, raising him from the corruption of the grave, and raising him from the corruption of his grave clothes, and causing him to live before God again.

Lazarus was the object of amazement to many. And he was the object of, or the instrument by which God gave faith to some. And he was the object of persecution by the Pharisees. The religious folks gathered around and they said, let's kill him. Let's kill him. Well, look at these folks. They've gone after the Lord Jesus because of him. We're losing our influence because of him. Let's kill him.

You see, grace does not exempt us from trouble. And true godliness, contrary to popular opinion, is not perfection or anything close to it. It's not perfection or anything close to it. Martha was a true believer, but she lost her temper. Lazarus was a genuine believer, but he was persecuted even to the point of men trying to stone him to death. Mary was a true believer who served the Lord Jesus, but she was criticized even in the midst of God's church because of her devotion to the Savior.

What I'm saying is this, God has fixed it so that his people in this world can never have any grounds for boasting, self-confidence, self-righteousness, or self-assurance. He's fixed it so that you and I, while we walk through this world, are compelled in honesty to confess we're sinners saved by grace and Jesus Christ is our only righteousness. God's fixed it that way. I'm glad he has.

Secondly, Martha and Mary show us the genuine believers are often people of very different temperaments and personalities. Now this is important. How very different these two women were. Both were faithful disciples of Christ. Both were justified by grace through the blood of Christ. Both were redeemed by his blood. Both were true believers. Both were born of God, converted by grace and sanctified. Both honored the Lord Jesus when few in their day did. And yet, they were obviously just totally different people. Just totally different people.

Martha was an active, impulsive, strong-willed, hard-working woman. She felt things deeply and strongly, and she spoke her mind pretty openly. She was not one to hide her feelings. She was not one to pretend that she felt one way when she felt another way. What she felt is what she said. Whatever she thought is what came out of her mouth. She was just that type of person.

Mary, on the other hand, was a quiet, contemplative woman, more easygoing than Martha, but not less firm in her convictions. She felt things just as deeply as Martha did, but she said much less than she felt. But both of them were women genuinely devoted to Christ. When Jesus came to her house, Martha, oh, how tickled she was to see him.

The Lord Jesus is coming. Let's get things ready. Let's do best we can to entertain him. And she set about to prepare a feast and a meal as lavishly for him as she could possibly prepare because she loved it. That's it. She loved it. She wanted to entertain him royally because she esteemed him to be worthy of such entertainment.

Mary also was tickled to death to see the Savior coming. to their house. But her first thought was not to fix a meal and put out all the trimmings and garnish the table and all that. Her first thought was to sit at his feet, hear what he's got to say. Sit at his feet, hear what he's got to say. are to be reprimanded for those things. No sir.

I thank God for Martha. I'm glad Martha came over here in the person of Bob Thompson the other day to put that light up. I can see now. I'm thankful for some Martha's who go about seeing to it that business is done for the glory of Christ, serving him.

The fault is not that Martha served. Oh, no, that's not the fault. We mess ourselves up when we think that Mary is somehow more highly commended because she sat down and worshiped the Savior. Martha was worshiping him, too, when she began to serve him. The problem came later. The problem came with something that interfered. We'll look at it a little bit.

You see, grace reigns through righteousness in both of these women. But each of these ladies showed us the effects of grace in different ways and at different times. We need to remember that. We must never imagine, I hope you listen to me now, we must never imagine that a person is not converted simply because he or she does not fit into the mode of our personality or our temperament.

When I wrote that down, I thought that is so proud and foolish. But it is just exactly what we do. We measure everybody by our yardstick. We're as guilty of this as we can possibly be. We sit there and we consider ourselves to be... God forgive us. We consider ourselves to sort of be standards by which everybody is to be measured.

Now, this is the way I think, and this is the way I feel, and this is the way I do, and I've been saved by God's grace, therefore, you ought to think and do and feel the same way I do. If you've been saved by God's grace, and if you don't, well, let's put a big question mark over you. Oh, don't be so gloom and self-righteous. Don't ever think in such a way.

God's sheep all have their own peculiarities. The trees in the Lord's garden are all evergreens, but they're not all cedars of Lebanon. The trees of the Lord's garden are all of different shapes and sizes and makes and peculiarities. What I'm saying is this. All true believers are alike. They are all alike in principle things. Every true believer acknowledges and confesses his sin. You can't get him away from it. The believer acknowledges his sin because he knows his sin and he will not deny his sin. Every true believer trusts the Lord Jesus Christ alone. I have no righteousness but him. I have no atonement but Him. I have no sanctification but Him. I have no acceptance with God but Him. That's the confession of every believer. And every believer pursues holiness in his daily behavior. Every believer does. God's saints strive earnestly to live day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment in conformity to Christ. Every believer does.

But in many, many ways, believers are different. The church and kingdom of God has Martha's and Mary's and Lazarus's too. You ever notice we hear less about Lazarus than we do about either Martha or Mary? But all of them were believers. All of them served the Savior's purpose and cause. All of them were needed and useful in the kingdom of God.

I thank God for you who are Martha's, and you who are Mary's, and you who are Lazarus's too. I thank God for you. Thirdly, I'm certain that the Holy Spirit inspired Luke to record this event at Bethany. to remind us of this very, very important lesson.

I'm waiting deliberately because I want you to get your attention fixed right here. Listen to me now. The cares of this world that legitimately demand our attention may quickly become snares to our souls if we allow them to come between us and the worship and service of our Redeemer. The cares of this world that legitimately demand our attention may quickly become snares to our souls if we allow them to come between us and the worship and service of our Redeemer.

Look at verse 40. Martha was cumbered. You know what that means? The work got to be a burden. Martha was cumbered about much serving. When she saw the Lord Jesus coming, I don't know what kind of stoves they had, but she lit the fire and she got ready to fix dinner. She got them the dishes, best china she had. She was so delighted. The Lord's coming and his disciples. We get to be with them one more time. But after a while, it got to be drudgery. That's the problem. That's the problem. After a while, it was no longer a delight. It was no longer a joy.

It was a duty. a duty she felt bound to do while others just ignored her. She was cumbered about much serving. Her anxiety to provide the best entertainment possible for her honored guest put her under tremendous pressure. That's one part of it. Her excessive zeal concerning temporal things caused her for a brief period to forget the far more important spiritual things. She just got carried away with herself. And I've been there. I've been there so many times, I'm ashamed to acknowledge it, but I have to acknowledge it. And I expect you've been there.

After a while, While she's going about doing her routine, doing her business, doing what she started out wanting to do, her conscience began to torment her because she was entertaining evil thoughts concerning Mary, concerning the business she was doing, and concerning the folks she was serving, including the master.

Her conscience began to torment her. Now then, Do you know what it is to try to do something and maintain your composure while you know every thought in your mind is wrong? You talk about pressure. You talk about a kettle fixing to explode. Her conscience told me the pressure of entertaining her guests, doing the best she could for them, the zeal that just consumed her.

After a while, finally, she found herself while she's serving tables and waiting on everyone else as she looks at her sister. She's just so mad she could spit nails. Apparently, Mary had begun serving to begin with, with her. Because she said, Lord, don't you care that my sister had left me to serve alone.

So Mary was there, she was doing things, but when the master came and he sat down and started to talk, she said, now, this can wait. This can wait. There's something more important going on over here. You see what I'm saying? Martha and Mary were engaged in the affair, but when Martha heard the master begin to speak, she continued about her business, and Mary left her. She left her. She didn't say anything, she just left her. And Martha couldn't stand it any longer. She got a little ruffled, to say the least. And her blistering, biting comments to the master expose the blistering, biting torments of her own conscience.

She says, Lord, dost thou not care? Isn't that astounding? Isn't that astounding? When the disciples were on the sea, tossed about in that little ship with the master, and he was asleep in the hull of the ship, because he knew who controlled the sea! He did and his father did! The disciples, because they saw a little water rising, came back and woke him up and said, Master, carest thou not? Don't you care? Carest thou not that we perish? Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? How sad, how sad.

Martha for a moment forgot who she was, what she had received, and to whom she was speaking. She brought upon herself a solemn rebuke and an embarrassing word of reproof that must have made a lasting impression. The Lord Jesus spoke to her plainly and publicly because what she had said was plainly done in public. Now if it had been a private issue, it would have been handled privately, but it was a public issue. So publicly, he dealt with it. And Martha, no doubt, was embarrassed, but she never forgot it. Well did James write, how great a matter a little fire kindleth.

All of this happened because Martha allowed the innocent household affairs of preparing dinner come between her and her master. And her anger with her sister degenerated into something far worse than just anger with her sister. She got angry with her God. She got angry with her God.

Martha's fault ought to be a perpetual warning to us all. Will you turn one more time back to Matthew 13? Matthew chapter 13. Our Lord is explaining the parable of the sower. Some receive the word as seeds sown by the wayside, and some as seed sown upon stony ground. In verse 22, he also that received the word among the thorns is he that heareth the word.

And the care of this world, the care of this world, the care of getting those kids off to school every morning, the care of putting clothes on their back, the care of getting them educated, the care of seeing to it that they're protected, the care of making sure they've got a nice warm home to come home to at night, the care of providing for the wife, the care of taking care of the household, the care of this world. Nothing wrong with any of those things. Don't neglect any of those things. Don't neglect any of them. But don't let them rule you. Don't let them rule you. The care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches. The deceitfulness of riches.

I hear folks all the time on these TV interviews on the news, that's about all I watch anymore. Now I'm about to get placed on and watch that anymore. But I watch the news interviews and folks talk about, I've got to do this, I've got to have this, I've got to do this.

During all this health care brouhaha, folks say, well, we can't afford health insurance. Can't afford health insurance driving two new cars? making payments on a $200,000 house, can't afford health insurance, I beg your pardon. I beg your, I'm sorry, I don't feel too sorry for you. No, you can do without one of the cars, you can drive an old plucker, or you can live in a smaller house. But the deceitfulness of riches, the deceitfulness of riches. Oh, how they deceive. I got to have this. You know, we just, We've got to have this. We can't do it without that.

They choke the word. The word that begins to take influence and affect on your heart. The word that for a time at least changes your life and your attitude about things. Changes your thinking. the care of the world, and the deceitfulness of nations. Choke it out. So that the Word, which was once the most desirable and necessary, vital thing in your life, Just reflect.

Left alone. When the carriers of this world interfere with the worship of Christ at the very best, Lindsay, they bring leanness to our souls. At the very best. It is not open sin and the flagrant breach of God's law alone that leads men and women to eternal ruin. Far more often than not, it is an excessive attention given to things that in themselves are perfectly legitimate. Far more often than not.

What I'm saying is this. God helped us to learn this. We must hold the things of this world with a loose hand and be ready to let them go without a moment's notice. Wise is the man who everything he sees and everything he touches, everything he thinks he has, he puts a label visually in his own mind, puts a label on it, skull and crossbones.

Deadly poison. This will ruin you. This will ruin you. When you pick up something that's got a label on it, you kids pick it up at home, something's got a skull and crossbones on it, poison written under it, you better handle it with care. Because there's death in that thing. There's death in that thing. Now I'm telling you, handle the things of this world with care. There's death in it. There's death in it.

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and everything you need will be added to you. Set your affection. We quoted set your affections, but that's not what it reads. Paul said set your affection. That means, David, put your heart in heaven. Set your affection on things above. Don't put your heart down here. Not on things below. All temporal things must ever be looked upon just as temporal things, and never excessively cherished. Used in moderation, they may be blessings. Excessively cherished, they're a positive curse. That which you purchase and get By giving up the worship of Christ, you purchase at a very, very dear price. Did you hear me? That which you purchase and get by giving up the worship of Christ, you purchase at a very, very dear price.

J.C. Ryland, commenting on this passage here in Luke, made this brief statement. It was so good. He said, a little earth upon the fire within will soon make that fire burn low. Now, before I leave this 40th verse and leave you perhaps thinking ill of Martha, let me remind you that Martha, all the while, was a true believer. Three things demonstrated clearly. First, she took the Lord's rebuke with humility. I tell you what, I don't know whether I take it like that or not, but when the Lord Jesus spoke to her and rebuked her publicly, she didn't swell up like a toad and say, well, you'll see next time I invite you for dinner. No, next thing you see, she's still serving you. That's the second thing. Over in chapter 12 of John, Martha, was among them that served. She was serving the table, just what she had done before.

And in John chapter 11, Martha made some of the two of the most powerful confessions of faith to be found in all the Bible. She said, I believe thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. And she said when her brother was dead, yet I know if you just speak the word, he'll live again. She was a genuine believer. Now keep these things in mind. Don't judge anyone to be an unbeliever because they do something evil. Don't do that. Don't do that. And don't judge yourself to be an unbeliever because you do something evil.

Now fourthly, Our Savior here teaches us that among the many things in this world that clamor for our attention, only one thing is needful. Oh may God teach us that. The one thing that is needful is the one thing that Mary was doing, the worship of Christ. Health and prosperity, property and power, Rank and honor may all be good things in a way, but they're not needful, none of them. Multitudes of gods elect live happily without them, die peacefully without them, and enter into glory without them. The many things which many women struggle and fight to get. Oh, just struggle and work and fight and struggle and work and fight and struggle and work and fight and discipline yourself to get. When you stand before God, just be vanity. Just vanity. Just vanity.

Oh, I want to, God, we could learn this. If I, uh, I should go over to Chris's house and see David sitting down on the floor, playing with Tonka toys and running a little truck here and running a little car there, doing this, doing that little thing. I wouldn't think of anybody, just a baby. But Chris, if I come over to your house and see you with the little toys out, let's call the fellas and take him to the funny farm.

Something's wrong with him. And yet, we act just like Silly babies playing with toys of vanity that in the last day will stand as meaningless in our own eyes and in the eyes of everybody else as well. Look what you're playing with till you return to ruin.

Only Christ is needful. Nothing else. If you have him, you have all that abound. Only grace is needful. If you have the riches of God's free grace in Christ, you have riches that shall enrich your soul forever. Only salvation is needful. Only that. If I'm saved, nothing else much matters. And if you're lost, nothing else much should matter to you, because nothing else can do you any good.

Lindsey mentioned this morning, Michael and I were chatting one day when we were playing golf. He asked me what I thought about the smell of faithless dating. We're good friends in school, in the same fraternity and so forth. As well, he's a fine fellow. I think he's just a fine fellow. But I said to him, just exactly what Lindsey said to you this morning, I only want one thing for my daughter and a man. Only one thing in her future that I want for her.

I want her to find a man. with whom she could worship God for the rest of her life. Well, what about security? Shoot, I've never had that. I never gave it to him, to anybody else does not. That's not important. Well, what about prosperity? That's just the wind. That's all. Oh, he's a doctor. He's somebody. So is the ditch digger. He's somebody too. And it doesn't matter which one she marries, as far as I'm concerned. Really doesn't matter. I'm only concerned that you worship God. And I'm only concerned for you. I'm only concerned for you, that you worship God.

EMJ sitting back there, from the looks of it, and from what I hear, he's quite a basketball player. Wants to play over at UK. I hope he plays just good enough to play real well at UK and just bad enough never to get in the NBA because I know it'll ruin his soul. Understand that? You can't run around playing basketball 52 Sundays a year and worship God. Can't be done. Just can't be done. So, I mean, that's a bad career. Anything that takes you away from the worship of God is horrible. Horrible. on the one thing's needful. Now I'm calling you, eternity-bound souls, to come now and sit with Mary at His feet. Hear His word.

This is the place of mercy Grace and salvation. When Jairus came in seeking grace for his daughter, he came and fell at his feet. When the Syrophoenician woman came, she came and fell at his feet. When the lepers came, look, if you will, didn't make me whole, and he fell at his feet. That's the place we obtain mercy. Would you obtain God's mercy? Come fall down at the Savior's feet.

This is the place of reverence, adoration, and worship. When John heard him speak, he fell at his feet as one dead, worshiping him. Oh, if you worship the Savior, make your headquarters in the dust at his feet. This is the place of gratitude, thanksgiving, and praise.

When the leper that was healed returned to give God the glory, he fell at the Savior's feet and worshiped him. When Mary came with her alabaster box of wine, She saw it. Standing at his feet, she began to weep with gratitude and joy, with sorrow for her sin, for which she knew he must soon suffer and die. She broke the alabaster box, anointed his head, washed his feet with her tears, and kissed them, wiped them with the hairs of her head. It's called gratitude. Are you grateful to the Son of God for the forgiveness of sin, for the redemption of your soul, for life everlasting? Find your place at his feet. This is the place of faith, hope, and prayer.

When the Lord Jesus came to Bethany, Lazarus was dead. Martha came and she said to Mary, she said, Mary, the Master's calling for you. And Mary got up and she went and fell at his feet, and she said, Lord, if you'd been here, my brother wouldn't have died. And she didn't say it in despair.

She said it in hope. Now that you're here, he might just live again. That's the place of faith. That's the place of hope. You have need before God, come to his feet. This is the place of instruction, learning, and discipleship at his feet. When Paul was being trained in the most strict sect of the Jews, he was trained, he said, at the feet of Gamaliel. That's where pupils are found, at the teacher's feet, to learn his word, to learn his will, to learn his way. Come now at his feet.

This is the place of humility, surrender, and submission. Ruth came to Boaz and laid herself down at his feet, saying by that act, now you can do whatever you want to. I'm yours. I'm yours. And that's what a believer does when it comes to the master. He lays himself down at the master's feet and says, I'm yours. You can do whatever you want to, whatever you want to. This is the place of consecration, devotion and love.

That woman who was a sinner, whose sins had been forgiven, came like Mary with a box of ointment, stood at his feet and anointed him. kissed his feet, washed them with her tears, dried them with the hairs of her head, because she loved him. She loved him.

The still waters, someone said, run deep. A genuine love for Christ is seen not in showiness and noise, Not in dancing around and shouting and waving your hands. Not in standing up and singing, oh how I love Jesus. But in the quiet, confident devotion of our hearts. Come, take your place at his feet, if you love him. I've told you this before.

But I remember distinctly the first time I kissed my wife. We'd been dating for a couple of weeks, but I don't think we weren't familiar with each other. We'd been dating every night for two weeks. Once I found out what I wanted, I wanted it, and I went after it. So every night we'd date. And just sitting in church, sitting about two feet apart, And I reached over and took her hand.

She kind of melted, you know. I'm going to get a kiss tonight. I know it. I know it. After service was over, we drove out to the Yadkin River, sitting on the riverbank on the hood of my car, looking at the clear lit moonlight sky and watching the reflection of the moon and stars on the river running down below us. Sat there for a little while and talked. I put my arm around her and kissed her. Right there under the stars. And man, did I see skyrockets. I mean, the works went off. Just wild, wild, wild, ecstatic emotion. And that was good. That was good. I'll never forget it. And I kissed her last night. Same way. just before we went to bed, laid down with sleep.

You mean you don't see skyrockets anymore? No, no. You mean you don't need all the sparkle and glitter and fanfare anymore? No, don't need it anymore. You see, we've been living together for 25 years, and we've been through some deep waters. And we walked through some fiery trials. And we've had a little bit of the dross burned away. And she's convinced me. That gal sitting there just flat loves me. And I love her. And we don't need all the show and sparkle. We don't need to show it. We just do it. You understand the difference? This is where Mary learned to come and sit in love at the Master's feet. Worship Him. Worship Him. Worship Him.

That's the one thing needful. That's all. Now, one last thing. If you would have enjoy and benefit from this one thing needful, you got to make a choice. Look at verse 42. One thing is needful and Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her. Our Lord's words here are intended to make us wholehearted and single-hearted, to inspire us to follow him fully and walk closely with God, to make soul business, our first business, and to think comparatively little of everything else.

Christ is that good part. He's the believer's portion. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul. He's the believer's portion. And Christ is a portion that shall never be taken away from us. I give unto them eternal life. They shall never perish. He was Martha's portion too. Even when she spoke blistering words to him, he was her portion. And he will not be taken away.

But I want you to understand this. He's a portion that must be chosen. You who are yet without hope before God, you'll make a choice today. You'll make a choice. Here's the world. All that you see sparkling and glittering, here it is. You can have it if you want it. Just go for it. And here's the Son of God. Life, grace, righteousness, redemption, salvation in Him. You can have Him if you want it. You can. You can have Him if you want it. Choose you this day whom you will serve. Make the choice. And live or die with it. God help you. to seek him, whom alone is needful. You who are God's children, but have been too long taking the cares of the world and just played with them, See how close I can get over here.

I can have a little more of this. I can do a little more of that. Spend a little less time here. We'll come back to you later. I can go here. I can do this. We'll get around to you. I can enjoy this. I can enjoy that. Oh, we'll get around to you. After time, everything will be all right.

Don't you think it's about time you dropped everything else and choose Him again? Huh? You'll either choose Him and choose Him now or you'll perish with the influence of this world. Children of God, every day, Every day, every time, you're confronted with a choice. It's either the pearl of great price, or everything else. That's the choice. It's either him who is the treasure, or everything else. You've got to make the choice. And you've got to make the choice constantly.

One Thing Is Needful

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One Thing Is Needful

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