Turn back with me to Luke's Gospel
chapter 10. Very familiar passage, these
last five verses. I've read some what I consider
to be some pretty tough things said about Martha, and without
question she was at fault. But also without question, is
there anybody that hasn't done the same thing? Any child of
God that doesn't from time to time become distracted, cumbered,
she became distracted. And what the Lord said to her,
I think, was a gentle, a very gentle, I even hesitate to use
the word rebuke, seemed like a gentle reminder to me. Martha,
he seemed to say, you're allowing these other things to make you
forget the one thing. The one thing. You're all distracted
thinking about the many things. One thing. One thing is needful. And Mary's chosen that good part
that shall not be taken away from her. You know that the reason
we have four Gospels is that they give us four views of one
picture. They're not four pictures, they're
one picture, but they give us four views of that same picture,
the Lord Jesus Christ. In Matthew, he's the Messiah,
Christ our King. Mark gives us the picture of
him as Jehovah's righteous servant. Luke, where we're at now, he's
the son of man. Did you know he used those words
to describe himself more than any other, the Son of Man. He seemed to delight to call
himself the Son of Man over and over again, especially in Luke's
Gospel. And then in John, he of course
is the Son of God. Last Wednesday when we were here,
I preached from John's Gospel. We have that picture of Christ
as the Son of God in chapter 18 when they come to arrest him
and he commanded them, take me, but let these go their way. And here in Luke, the son of
man, remember how Isaiah described him in this view as the son of
man? A man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief. a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief. Let me read you a statement by
Mr. Pink I thought was good along
this line. He said that the eternal Son
of God should lay aside the robes of his glory and take upon him
the form of a servant, that the ruler of heaven and earth should
be made under the law, that the creator of the universe should
tabernacle in this world and have nowhere to lay his head."
We read that in chapter 9, didn't we? Something which no finite
mind can comprehend, but where carnal reason fails, God-given
faith believes and worships. The hymn in our hymn book on
page 127 speaks of both these wonderful truths. That man who
is God and God who became man. It speaks of both those, doesn't
it? God manifest in the flesh, the first line says, man of sorrows. Man of sorrows. There's the first
wonder. God became a man of sorrows. The second wonder, for the Son
of God who came. And here's another wonder. The
reason he came ruined sinners to reclaim. Hallelujah! What a Savior! What a Savior! Here in Luke chapter 10, look
again at verse 38. Now it came to pass as they went,
he and his twelve disciples, that he entered into a certain
village. and a certain village and a certain
woman named Martha received him into her house. A certain village,
Bethany, Bethany. It was an obscure place, a couple
of miles from Jerusalem, a small place. Imagine that. Here's Jesus Christ the Son of God, He that created all things and
by Him all things consist. Here he is walking along the
dusty road, going through the streets of Bethany to a certain
house, surrounded by this little rag-tag band of men. And though Never a man spake
like this man. Never a man did the things that
this man did. Yet, to outward appearance, he
doesn't look any different than the others. He doesn't dress
different. He looks like a man. He was flesh of our flesh and
bone of our bones. And yet, that man is God Almighty. And he comes to Bethany of all
places, not only to that certain village, but to a certain house,
to a certain woman, Martha. This is one of the few places,
it seems to me, that the Son of God found a welcome, one of
the very few places. We read it a moment ago, didn't
we? When one said, Lord, I'll follow you, Lord said, well,
you might want to think about that because the foxes have holes
and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man, the
Son of Man, He has nowhere to lay His head. John says that
He was in the world, that is Christ, the Son of God, the man
of sorrows, was in the world and the world was made by Him
and the world knew Him not. He came unto his own, and his
own received him not. Oh, but this little house in
Bethany, they received him. Oh, what a restful place for
the Son of Man this must have been. Where else did he ever
go to where he wasn't watched with suspicion, with jealousy,
with hatred, But in this house, they received
him gladly because they loved him. They loved him. The majority hated him without
a cause, without any reason. They hated the Son of Man without
a cause. But this little family, Martha
with her sister Mary, her brother Lazarus, they welcomed him into
their house. They received him. Do you know
why? Do you know why? In chapter 11
of John's Gospel, you remember these words before he raised
Lazarus from the dead? We're told, now Jesus loved Martha
and her sister and Lazarus. He loved them. And the reason
that they loved Him is because He first loved them. God manifested His love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Not that we loved God, but that
He loved us and gave His Son to be the propitiation for our
sins. Josiah Condor wrote a hymn along
this line. You've heard it, I'm sure. It
says, does not that I did choose thee, for Lord, that could not
be. This heart would still refuse thee if thou had not chosen me. My heart owns none before thee,
for thy rich grace I thirst. This knowing, this knowing, if
I love thee, thou must have loved me first. That was the case of
this little family in Bethany. There's many lessons, important
lessons, we could consider in these five short verses. But
I want to look at how the story concluded. As I said, there's
much there worthy of our study, our instruction, but let's see
how the story ended. It had a very happy ending. You
need a happy ending. Do you need reminded of our most
certain happy, and that doesn't seem to be the correct word,
glorious ending, that which awaits the children of God. Look again
at verse 42. But one thing is needful, and
Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away
from her. That good part, the very best
part. Consider those words. That good part, that one thing
needful, Jesus Christ himself. He was, he is, and he shall forever
be the one thing needful. He'll forever be all that his
children need to present them before God Almighty. He will
always be that good part in which they find themselves complete,
because in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Indeed, He is that good part. And I still need reminded of
that, don't you? I like to picture myself sitting
at his feet like Mary. Just sitting there, calm, serene,
because everything's alright, everything's well. Jesus Christ
has come to our house. All is well. So just to sit there
calmly and catch every word, just looking up, I'm sure, with
adoring eyes. Oh, this is the Son of God. He
loves me, and I love him. Yes, that's the place, the attitude
I would like to find myself in, but often, far too often, I'm
more like Martha. Martha. Get distracted about
the many things, the neglect of the One good part, the one thing
needful. Are you not the same? So I need
reminded of this. It's refreshing to hear his words. This good part, this good thing
needful shall never be taken away from her. Never. Never. In Hebrews chapter 13
we're told, be content with such things as you have. Just be content. That's a pretty tall order. A contented person's pretty rare
in these days. Pretty rare to find a contented
person. Everybody is the very opposite,
discontented, never satisfied, grumbling and griping, grabbing,
reaching, never enough, never enough. But the writer says,
be content. Why? Because Jesus Christ, you
have no need to covet. Because Jesus Christ has said,
I'll never leave you nor forsake you. You have the good part.
You have the good part. Let the world have the world.
This is the best they'll ever have. Oh, but Jesus Christ, the
one thing needful, is the same yesterday and the day and forever. Oh, for grace to know it personally,
to believe it firmly always, and to rest right here continually,
just like Mary. That's the place of rest. That's
the place of peace. That's the place of real comfort,
just at His feet. Even so, Lord, for so it seems
good in thy sight. Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
and also the Son of Man, He's that good part. And be ye thankful. Oh, Larry Criss, there's nobody,
and I know this is so easy for me to say, God make me feel it,
and make me believe it, and know it, and not to forget it. Nobody
should be more thankful than me. I don't know anybody that
God has done more for than me. I had a milestone yesterday. 64 years old. 64 years old. And I've had mercy and grace
following me for 64 years. And today, right up to this very
hour, And he's promised me that his grace and mercy will keep
following me all the days of my life until the great shepherd
of the sheep takes me home to be with him forever. Oh, how
thankful this sinner should be. Oh, gift of gifts, one hymn writer
wrote. Oh, gifts of gifts. Oh, grace
of faith. My God, how can it be? that thou
who has discerning love should give that gift to me. O grace
in two unlikeliest hearts, it is thy boast to come, the glory
of thy light to find in darkest spots a home." Bethany, Bethany. Thank God for the precious gift
of his grace. Christ came to a certain village
I repeat the words deliberately. I like the sound of them. They've
got a nice ring to them. He came to a certain village,
to a certain house, to a certain family. It all sounds so deliberate,
doesn't it? Doesn't that comfort your soul?
It sounds like he did it all on purpose. Do you ever in any of the four
pictures, oh, I'm sorry, the one picture, any of the four
views of the picture of Christ in each of the Gospels, do you
ever find him hurried, ruffled, disturbed, caught off guard? Every step he takes, every thought,
every word, every action, everything's with a purpose. and deliberate. When he came to this earth, he
came deliberately. I hear preachers, they don't
deserve the name. They call themselves preachers,
but they talk like the Son of God came here for a maybe, a
hope so, something that depends on something or someone outside
of himself. They've not found that in this
book. Oh no. The Son of God, He comes purposely,
deliberately on a mission for a specific purpose. For the Son
of Man, nothing was ever in suspense. He never had a question. Others
did. Others did. But he never had
a question as to why he came to this earth. He never had a
doubt what God sent him here to do. And he never had a doubt
that he would do everything, that he would accomplish everything
that God Almighty, his Heavenly Father, sent him into this world
to do. He was on a certain mission sent
by God his Father. Look if you will here in Acts
chapter 9 again. Let's just read a couple of verses
that tell us this very thing. The Son of Man, remember, is
the view of our Lord that Luke gives us. The Son of Man always
about his Father's business. Here in Luke 9 verse 28, this
familiar passage, but we'll only read a couple of verses. Just
to illustrate this point of how he went about purposely. Luke
9 and 28, and it came to pass about eight days after these
sayings that he took Peter and Jane, or John and James, and
went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion
of his countenance was altered and his raiment was white and
glistening. And behold, behold, now think
about this, visualize this, that's okay, but try to get a handle
on this. Behold, there talked with him
two men, that had been in glory for hundreds of years. There
talked with him two men, Moses and Elijah. Moses, the lawgiver,
the one that brought the children of Israel out of Egypt. Man,
Moses. And Elias, or Elijah, the prophet. The great prophet, the one that
John the Baptist was referred to as being, came in the spirit
of Elijah. Oh, the great lawgiver and the
great prophet. But they don't talk anything
about themselves. That's not the subject of this
conversation. Verse 33, who appeared in glory
and spake of his deceased, that is Christ, which he should accomplish
at Jerusalem. that he should accomplish at
Jerusalem. Look at verse 51, if you will,
in the same chapter here in Luke 9. And it came to pass when the
time was come, when the hour was come, that time that he would
make an end of sin, as how the prophet put it. An end of transgression. When
he should bind the strong man and cast him out. That hour had come. It came to
pass when the time was come that he should be received up. What
did he do? The same thing we read of last
Wednesday in John 18. He stepped forward and said,
here I am. Here I am. The hour that he should
be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem
deliberately, on purpose. Isn't he glorious? Isn't that
comforting to see the Son of God always in control, always
knowing what he came to do, knowing that he shall not fail. He acted like a man that believed
that. He lived like a man who knew that he would not fail.
Jesus knew what he would do. We read in John 6. Philip, where
are we going to buy bread for this multitude to eat? And Philip goes to Andrew, was
it? And they count their money. Oh, I've been guilty. Counting
my pennies. My heavenly Father knows what
I have need of and I'm down here counting my pennies. And Christ,
we're told in John's Gospel chapter 6, this he said to prove him
because Jesus knew what he would do. He always does. He always does. I remember, it
just now occurs to me, I remember reading a sermon by Mr. Spurgeon
from that very passage of scripture. Jesus knew what he would do.
And he said, speaking to that vast congregation in the tabernacle,
he said, some of you perhaps have come in here tonight and
you're asking yourself, oh God, What am I to do? What am I to
do? Maybe, hopefully my pastor has a word to tell me what I
must do and he said, no I don't, but I'll tell you this, Jesus
knows what he'll do. That will comfort you more. I
can't tell you what you do, what you should do, but I know that
the Son of God knows what he shall do for you. Isn't that
even better? Are you still in Luke? Turn to
chapter 18, chapter 18. seeing this same determination,
this same deliberate purpose to fulfill his father's will,
to do everything his father sent him into this world to do. He
left nothing undone, nothing. Chapter 18, verse 31. Then he
took unto him the twelve and said unto them, Behold, behold,
we go up to Jerusalem. And all things that are written
by the prophets concerning the Son of Man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered. He
might be delivered, no, unto the Gentiles. And he might be
mocked, no, no, he was delivered and he was mocked and spitefully
entreated on and spitted. And he might be scourged, no,
he was scourged and put to death. And he might rise again, oh no,
no, no. And the third day he shall rise again. Doesn't that again sound determined,
deliberate, purposeful? One more, if you will. Chapter
22. We're staying in Luke. Luke chapter 22. Verse 7. Luke 22 and 7. Then
came the day of unleavened bread. when the Passover must be killed. This will be the last Passover.
The last just Passover. Because he that was pictured
by that Passover would fulfill it. Would do away with it. It
must be killed. And so must the Son of Man. Down
in verse 14 of the same chapter. And when the hour was come he
sat down and the twelve apostles with him And he said, with desire I have
desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. Look
at verse 19. And he took bread and gave thanks
and break it. Now we'll remember this, we'll
do this, this Lord's Day, the Lord willing. And he said, this
is my body which is given for you, this do ye in remembrance
of me. Likewise also, the cup after
supper saying, this cup is the New Testament in my blood, which
is shed for you. Doesn't sound unsure. He doesn't
sound uncertain. He knew what that would accomplish.
He knew by the shedding of His blood He would make atonement
for all the sins of all of His people. He knew that He would
offer Himself without spot to God and He knew that God Almighty
had already agreed in that covenant of grace entered into before
they even created the world that he would accept that sacrifice
on the behalf of all of his people and he would prove his everlasting
satisfaction with his son's sacrifice when three days after he offered
it, he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right
hand in heavenly places and said, son, every knee is going to bow
to you, every tongue is going to confess to you that you are
the Lord to the glory of God the Father. One more here, Luke
chapter 24. Luke chapter 24. Our Lord we
just read when he instituted the Lord's Supper at that last
Passover told them what it would accomplish, what it was meant
to do, what he would do And after that, after he had offered himself
to God, he speaks of what he actually did accomplish. Are
you in chapter 24? Look here at verse 25. You know the context. These two
disciples, sadly, broken-hearted, going to Emmaus. Verse 25, Jesus
appears to them. Then he said unto them, O fools
and slow of heart, to believe all that the prophets have spoken,
ought not Christ to have suffered these things? Ought not Christ
to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory? Should he not have suffered these
things? Think about that. Should he not
have suffered these things? Well, I'll tell you what. If
he was only making something possible, then no, he shouldn't
have bothered. If he failed to do all that God
sent him to do, then he shouldn't have suffered these things. If
someone he stood for, someone that he was a substitute for,
someone that he shed his precious blood for, is not brought to
glory forever, then he should not have suffered these things.
Oh, but bless God, that can never be. Even the very thought is
ridiculous. Ought not Christ who had suffered
these things? Absolutely, because by these
things he obtained our eternal redemption. Look back, if you
will, in Luke chapter 13, or just listen. In Luke chapter
13, the Pharisees come to Christ and they They tell him this. They come bearing this tale in
verse 31. I think they made this up because
they thought they could scare the son of man into not preaching
anymore because he didn't have much good to say about them.
I think they thought this would silence him. But whether it was
true or not is irrelevant. It wouldn't work. But in verse
31, the same day there came certain of the Pharisees saying unto
him, Get thee out and depart hence, for Harry will kill thee. Listen to the son of man. Listen
to how he responds. Go you and tell that fox, Behold,
I cast out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third
day I shall be perfected." You go tell him that. I won't stop
nothing until it's completed. That's what the word perfected
means. The third day it shall be perfected. It'll be accomplished. It'll be done. That's our glorious
Redeemer. The Son of Man, as we said, came
on a certain mission a certain work and the outcome is absolutely
certain too. It was accomplished. You deny
that and you're left with utter nonsense. God Almighty sends
his son to do something his son would not do? Is God not all
wise? What's the problem here? Is he
not wise enough to know that the son would fail? Or if he's
wise enough, does he not have power to do what he's purposed
to do? It throws everything into utter
chaos. Oh no, the Son of God exclaims,
I come to do thy will, O God. And our glorious Redeemer said,
I did it, I did it, it's done. Father, it is finished. And he calmly bows his head.
Into thy hands, Father, I commend my spirit. No man takes my life
from me. You go tell that fox, oh I like
how he talks, deliberately, purposely, with royal majesty. Now consider
briefly this, just as he the son of man came to a certain
village, to a certain house, to a certain family, remember this, he did the same
thing for you Lester Buck. We marvel. Bethany? That little irrelevant place,
Bethany? Martha? Martha who? Lazarus? Who's that? Lester Buckner? The Son of God? God Almighty
assumed flesh and came into this world on purpose, deliberately
for you. Isn't that something? I was watching
TV Sunday evening I've been kind of feeling sorry for myself all
day, not being here, didn't know what to do with myself. But they
were interviewing, there was a segment on one of the public,
is that what you call it, public broadcasting, whatever it is.
But anyway, it got my attention because it being the day before
Memorial Day, the day that we should honor our veterans, and
we should, They were interviewing survivors of World War II and
of course they were all very elderly. And they were all from
Alabama. And they interviewed this one
old man and he said, well, when the last of my generation is
gone that fought in that great war, didn't they say that was
the war that would end all wars, if I remember right? But anyway,
he said, When none of us are any longer around, I hope that
you'll be glad we came. And the first thing I thought,
I'm so glad that Jesus Christ came. He came for me and he lived
and he died and he arose for me. And then he came one day
where I was and said to this rebel, this rebel that said to
everybody that even attempted to speak to him about God or
salvation or Christ, get out of my face. I don't want to hear
it. That's a joke. That's for old
women and old men that's got nothing better to do. I'm young. And Christ came to me and said,
bow down, rebel. Bow down, rebel. parents, myself, I'm evidence. I'm evidence. I'm proof that
the Son of God has power to save. When the Son of God is determined
to come where that sinner is, to that certain house, that certain
person, and says, bow down, there's just no arguing about it. That
sinner's going to bow, and that proud rebel is going to beg for
mercy. going to beg for mercy because
that's the power, the glory of the Son of Man. Listen to the captain, the great
captain of our salvation. I go to prepare a place for you
and if I go and prepare a place for you, this is no fairy tale, brothers
and sisters. He's coming back for us. Job
said, though I die buried and the skin worms devour this flesh,
he said, yet in my flesh I'm going to see God with mine own
eyes. I know that my Redeemer liveth. I'm going to prepare a place
for you. I hear folks talk about empty
mansions and glory. No, no, no, no. And if I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto
myself, that where I am, there ye may be also." That good part,
this is our second salt and the last one. Briefly, he said, that
good part shall never be taken away from her. Never be taken
away. Someone asked me last night,
we, a few of us went out to eat, y'all invited me to dinner which
I enjoy very much in the light of my 64's and someone asked
me make sure I hang around before everybody else don't die before
I die. I said well I can't promise you that. I can't promise you
that. I can't tell you that your health
won't fail. It will. It is. It is. Because the outward man is perishing
every day. I can't tell you that you won't
have sorrow. You will. You have and you will
keep having it in one form or another because our Lord's promise
is in the world you'll have tribulation. But I can tell you this. No,
no. Jesus Christ himself tells you
this. That good part, that one thing
needful, shall not be taken away. Never. Never. That needful part
to put away all my sins, that one essential to redeem my soul,
that one thing needful as the only mediator between me and
a holy God, that one thing needful, to keep this sinner from falling
and to present me to God without spot, blemish, without fault,
blameless. That's the good part. And that
part, child of God, that most valuable part, the best part
that you can't do without will never be taken away from you. If that should ever happen, God
Almighty would have to cease to be God. God himself would
have to change. He would have to cease to be
well pleased in his beloved son before he ever ceases to accept
us in his beloved son. And that just sounds ridiculous,
doesn't it? It never, never will happen. Thank God it cannot be. Till God all wise can make mistakes,
his power abate, his love forsake, his children must not cease to
sing, the Lord Omnipotent is King. Let me wrap this up. I may have shared this with you
before. I don't remember. I'm getting old. And maybe I did and you don't
remember. It's worth repeating. Mr. Spurgeon, In one of his sermons,
he was preaching from the text, Ephesians 1 and 3. Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed
us with all spiritual blessings and heavenly places in Christ.
And he told this story. He said a malevolent person gave
Mr. Rowland Hill a hundred pounds
to dispense to a poor preacher. a bit at a time, thinking it
was too much to send him all at once. So Mr. Hill forwarded
five pounds in the letter with only these words within the envelope,
more to follow. In a few days time, the good
man received another letter, the same message, more to follow. Till the whole sum had been received,
the astonished minister was made familiar with the cheering words,
and more to follow. And Mr. Spurgeon made this application. Every blessing that comes from
God is sent with the same message, more to follow. I forgive you
your sins, but there's more to follow. I justify you in the
righteousness of Christ, but there's more to follow. I give
you grace upon grace, but there's more to follow. I've helped you
I've helped you even to old age, but there's more to follow. I
will uphold you in the hour of death. And as you're passing
into the world of spirits, my mercy shall continue with you.
And when you land in the world to come, there shall still be
more to follow. Grace upon grace. By sovereign
grace united to His Son eternally, I can never be divided from my
covenant surety. God's free love from everlasting
made me one with His dear Son. Blessed union, strong and unchanging,
I am with my Savior one. But one thing is needful, and
Mary has chosen that good part that shall not be taken, shall
never be taken away from her. are away from you, child of God.
Amen.