Pray with me, please. Gracious
and merciful Father, Lord, we've come to worship you today. Oh,
I pray that you might find our worship acceptable to you in
Christ. But quiet our hearts. Enable us to put our minds' attention
on you as we look to Christ. We praise you, Lord, and thank
you for the many blessings you've given us in Christ. This is the
day, Lord, when we've set aside to honor our mothers. We know,
Lord, that our mothers are a very precious gift. It's a gift that
You have given us. And so we thank You, Lord, for
our mothers, the wonderful memories that we have of them. Those memories,
the things that they taught us of Christ, are still very precious
to us. But even so, there's one thing
needful. One thing that we desire even more. Lord, we're constantly
in need of Christ our Savior, and so we praise You for our
mother's birth. Dear Father, may we look to Christ
in our need today. Teach us more of Christ today.
Enable me to preach Christ today, that we all might walk in Christ,
in whose name we pray. Amen. My text today is from Luke
10, verses 38-42. This is a message, as we read
it earlier, about Mary and Martha. And I think you're probably pretty
familiar with this conversation in which Martha complains to
Christ about her sister Mary. It takes place in a place in
a little village called Bethany. That's the home of Mary and Martha
and their brother Lazarus. And according to the account
which is given to us in the book of John, the time when this conversation
takes place was just after the Feast of Tabernacles, and Jesus
and His disciples have now come to this village of Bethany where
Lazarus and his sisters live. I think they've been there fairly
often. They've been to Bethany a number
of times anyway. Bethany is a little town which
lay at the foot of the Mount of Olives, which is about two
miles east of Jerusalem, my dictionary tells me. Jesus often went there
to Bethany and to the Mount of Olives with His disciples. It
was there, of course, in the Mount of Olives that the Garden
of Gethsemane is located, where Jesus began the moments of prayer
and suffering before He went to the cross to die for His people.
But I think when we think of the name Bethany, at least I
think that it's best known as the place where Lazarus lived
and died and was buried and rose again. In my study this week,
I saw something interesting about Bethany and I wanted to include
it because I got excited about it. I had never seen it before. We know that Bethany is the place
where Christ raised Lazarus from the grave. But I discovered this
week that it was also from Bethany where the resurrected Christ
ascended up to heaven. I hadn't put those two things
together before. In Luke 24, verses 50 and 51,
it says about our risen Savior, and He led them out as far as
Bethany. And He lifted up His hands and
blessed them. And it came to pass while He blessed them that
He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. Bethany is the
place, though, where we think of most normally as the place
where Lazarus lived and he died He was buried and He was raised
again from the grave when the Lord Jesus spoke and gave Him
life by His words. Isn't it interesting, though,
that this same place where Jesus Christ ascended up to heaven
is where Lazarus was raised? But now let's look at this very
meaningful conversation, what happened at Bethany in the house
of Mary, Mary and Martha and Lazarus. In Luke 10, verses 38-42,
it says, Now it came to pass, as they went, as the disciples
and Jesus went, that He entered into a certain village, and a
certain woman named Martha received Him into her house. She had a
sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet. I like that
word also in there. It tells me that Mary and Lazarus
sat at Jesus' feet on occasion too. But Martha was cumbered,
this time she was cumbered by 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 and troubled about many things, but one thing is
needful. And Mary has chosen that good
part which shall not be taken away from her. When the Lord
Jesus and His disciples came to Bethany, Mary and Martha and
Lazarus, being true disciples themselves, opened up their home
to the Lord and to His servants and they received them with warmth
and hospitality. And I'm reminded of Hebrews 13
verses 1 and 2 that says, let brotherly love continue. Be not
forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained
angels unawares. Apparently, our Lord frequently
visited in the home of this beloved family. But this particular visit
is recorded by Luke, I think, because there are lessons to
be learned from this incident involving Martha and Mary and
the Lord Jesus. This incident seems to me to
be that the Holy Spirit intends that we should never forget what's
been said here. It's a passage that is full of
instruction about one thing needful. I pray that there is one thing
that we all would never forget. There are many things in life
which demand our attention, but there's only one thing that is
really needful. The Holy Spirit is showing us
a loving family of believers. They are a family of God's saints,
and there are things that the Spirit would have us learn from
this family. But the most important thing
that I think that we can learn is that Jesus Christ is the one
thing that we need. We need Jesus Christ more than
anything else in this world. Let's look at what the Holy Spirit
would teach us from the example of this family of God's saints.
because I believe there are five things that we can learn, all
of which are very important if the Holy Spirit is our teacher.
First, I think that from this text we are reminded that faith
in Christ doesn't keep us from trouble. Believing families have
their troubles just like other families do. I imagine that you've
already learned that God's grace doesn't run in bloodlines. In
fact, We seldom see whole families walking with God and worshiping
Him. As God says in Jeremiah 3.14, Turn, O backsliding children,
saith the Lord, for I am married unto you, and I will take you,
one of a city, two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion. If you haven't found this out
yet, let me state it as clearly as I possibly can. No one is
ever saved because he is related to someone else, someone else
who is saved. In John 1, verses 11 to 13, it
says about Jesus Christ that He came unto His own, and His
own received Him not. But as many as received Him,
to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them
who believed on His name, which were born not of blood, nor of
the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but they were
born of God." If you have grown up in a family in which your
mother and father are believers, you have been wonderfully blessed
by God. But this is still true. Salvation
is of the Lord. Salvation comes to sinners who
are chosen of God. As Romans 9.16 says, "...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
are redeemed by Christ. In Galatians 3 verses 13 and
14, Paul says that Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of
the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written, Cursed
is everyone that hangeth on a tree. that the blessing of Abraham
might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive
the promise of the Spirit through faith. And salvation only comes
to sinners who are born of the Spirit. As David says to God
in Psalm 65, verse 4, Blessed is the man whom thou choosest
and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy
courts, we shall be satisfied with the goodness of Thy house,
even of Thy holy temple." But the family of Mary and Martha
and Lazarus were an exception to what I'm just saying. There
were three siblings, all living under one roof, and all three
of them worshiped God. That's an exception in this world.
But what a blessing it is that a whole family can worship God
together. Yet, this godly household at
Bethany was not exempt from trouble. God's grace doesn't necessarily
keep us from trouble. Just because God has given you
faith, faith will always be a comfort,
but it won't keep us from heartache. Salvation is no exception from
adversity. The first thing we see in this
family is that they had trouble with sin. Because although God
had given them faith, and Jesus was even present there in their
house, still, they were sinners. You see, Martha lost her temper
that day. And Martha criticized both God
and her sister. Martha said things that I'm sure
she wished that she hadn't said. And she did things that she wished
she hadn't done. But she lost her temper. Faith
gives us no exception from sickness either. This believing family
had trouble with sickness and bereavement and death because
they lived in a sin-cursed world just like we do where such things
are very common, aren't they? Don't we sometimes ask, why me,
Lord? Maybe it would be better for
us to ask Why not me? We don't deserve all of the blessings
that God gives us. God has blessed us with so much.
Can't you look back and think of all of the blessings that
God has given you? We don't have any right to complain about anything
that happens to us. God has been so good. Christ
is the one thing needful. And if we have Christ, Nothing
else is really needed. All things are in Christ. And
this family wasn't excused from persecution either. They had
trouble with persecution because they were devoted to Christ.
They had seen and experienced the marvelous power of God's
grace firsthand when Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave. They
believed Christ. They walked in sweet communion
with Christ. They served Him and sought to
make Christ known to others. But because they loved Christ
and followed Him, they were despised and persecuted of men. Let me
give you some examples of their persecution which they had because
of their faith, because of their love for Christ. Mary had trouble
with Judas. She was persecuted by Judas.
In John 12, verses 3-5, it says, Then took Mary a pound of ointment
of spikenard, very costly. And she anointed the feet of
Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled
with the odor of the ointment. And then said one of His disciples,
Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, that one that should betray Him,
Why was not this ointment sold for 300 pence and given to the
poor? Judas was finding fault with
Mary. He was persecuting Mary for this marvelous demonstration
of her love for Jesus Christ. And Lazarus had serious trouble
with the Pharisees. In John 12 verse 10 it says,
But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus to
death. No, God's grace doesn't exempt us from trouble. And true
godliness is not perfection either. God has fixed it, I think, so
that His people in this world can never have any grounds for
boasting, for self-confidence, or for self-righteousness. We
have trials, but our insecurity and need, we must look to Christ. Jesus Christ is the one thing
that we need because all of the things that we truly need are
in Christ. And the second thing that Martha
and Mary show us is that God's saints are each unique individuals. Genuine believers are often people
who have very different temperaments and personalities. And I have
to chuckle and almost laugh out loud when I say that because
I'm reminded that I have a brother in Christ who often says to me
as we're talking, you know, God's people are weird, aren't they?
And he's exactly right. He's exactly right. It's true. And it shows us how very different
we Christians are from each other. And Mary and Martha were very
different from each other. They did have many things in
common. Both of them were faithful disciples of Christ. Both were
believers. Both were born of God, converted
by God's grace, and justified in Christ. Both honored Christ
when few gave Him honor. Both loved the Savior. Both were
loved by the Savior. And yet they were obviously very
different in their temperaments and personalities. Martha was
an active, impulsive, strong-willed and hard-working woman. She felt
things strongly and she spoke her mind openly. Martha was a
woman that was truly devoted to Christ, but she was cumbered
much with much serving. And yet, and I think this is
important, she was serving. She was cumbered with her serving,
but she was serving. Mary, on the other hand, was
a quiet and contemplative woman, I think. She was more easygoing
than Martha, but Mary wasn't less firm in her convictions.
Mary felt things deeply, but she said far less than she felt. Nevertheless, Mary was a woman
who was genuinely devoted to Christ. Martha, when the Lord
Jesus came to her house, was delighted to see Him and so she
began immediately to make preparations for His comfort and to feed Him
and give Him entertainment. She did it in the most lavish
way, I think, that she probably could. Mary also rejoiced to
see the Lord coming into their home, but her first thought was
to sit at Christ's feet so that she could hear His every word.
Grace reigned through righteousness in both Mary and Martha. But
each of these ladies showed the effect of God's grace in different
ways and in different times. Oh, dear Lord, help us to remember
these things. We should never try to look into
someone's heart and we must never imagine that this person or that
person is not converted, is not a child of God, simply because
he or she is different and doesn't have our temperament or our personality. O Lord, help us to praise You
for their differences as we remember that Jesus Christ is the one
thing needful. To not accept each other's differences
only reveals our foolish pride. And it's a way of thinking that
we are better than somebody else. It's a way of judging other people.
You see, God's sheep each have their own unique peculiarities.
The trees of the Lord's garden are not all exactly the same.
All of God's trees are trees of righteousness in Christ. They
are all cedars, but they all come in different shapes and
sizes. But at that time, at the same
time, There are some ways in which all true believers are
alike. They are all alike in the principal
things of their salvation in Christ. First, they all confess
that they're sinners saved only by God's grace. They all confess
to having the God-given faith of Christ, trusting Christ only
for their righteousness and for their salvation completely. But
they are all alike in another very important way, too. Turn,
please, in your Bibles to Hebrews 12, verse 14. Keep your place
in Luke 10, but turn to Hebrews 12, verse 14, and I want to show
you a verse, another verse that spoke to me especially this week.
I think there is a lesson, one more lesson that we can learn
in which all true believers are alike. Hebrews 12, verse 14 is the church
of God We are all commanded by God to follow peace with all
men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. And
I believe that we all do that. Let's think about this verse
for a couple of minutes. What peace with all men is it
talking about here? If it's supposed to mean the
peace of God in Christ, or maybe Christ Himself who is our peace,
then how can we follow that peace with all men? Because all men
don't have the faith of Christ. And anyway, this Scripture is
not written to all men. This Scripture is written to
the church. The Spirit of Christ is speaking
only to the church of God, who are supposed to be following
Christ in their regeneration, in their new birth. And as the
church of God, we are all told to follow in holiness. What holiness
is that? It's not the holiness that some
would think of because it can't be the holiness in ourselves
because only in the righteousness of Christ are we made holy. So
it's not the holiness that some people might think of. But look
at the last phrase of Hebrews 12, verse 14. Because I think
this phrase explains why all believers follow peace with all
men and holiness, but not in such a way as if they already
possessed peace and holiness. Without being in Christ, who
is the One They Needful, there can be no peace with God, and
without being in Christ, we can't even approach God. Only in the
holiness of Jesus Christ can we approach God and have peace
with God, because as Jesus said in John 14, verse 6, no man cometh
unto the Father but by Me. Our entrance into the holiness
of Christ is by the blood of Christ, and so only in Him do
we have the boldness to enter into God's presence in peace. As Hebrews 10 verses 19 and 20
says, Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest
by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He has
consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, His flesh. Jesus Christ is therefore our
peace by the blood of His cross. And through Him we all have access
by one Spirit into the Father. And so, although we are different
in our unique personalities, we are all the same in that we
are all a part of the body of Christ. We are unique, each one,
with our different functions. Some are hands. Some are feet. Some are ears. Some are mouths.
But we are all one body in Christ who is our head. And so is the
body of Christ as we follow peace with all men and holiness without
which no man shall see the Lord. The body of Jesus Christ is both
the peace and the holiness of His people without which no man
can see the Lord. As the body of Christ, we are
one. But in many, many ways, all believers are different.
In the church and the kingdom of God, there are both Marthas
and there are Marys. And each serve God in Christ.
according as He has made us. And I thank God for both Mary's
and Martha's. And then third, I am certain
that the Holy Spirit inspired Luke to record this event at
Bethany to remind us of the fact that carnal cares have a way
of choking out the influence of God's Word in our lives. The
cares of this world, which legitimately demand our attention, may become
a snare to our souls. if we allow them to come between
us and the worship and service of our Redeemer. Nothing is so
dangerous to our souls as the cares of this world. In our text,
in verse 40 of Luke 10, it says that Martha was cumbered about
much serving. There was a war going on within
Martha. Her anxiety to be the best hostess
possible for her honored guests put her under tremendous pressure.
Think about it, ladies. They had at least 12, maybe 15
or more unexpected guests she had coming to dinner. No wonder
she was bothered, don't you suppose? One of those guests is Jesus
Christ. Now that would make you enough
to be uptight, wouldn't it? Her excessive zeal concerning
temporal things caused her for a brief period to forget the
far more important spiritual things. In other words, Martha
got carried away in herself. She forgot the one thing needful. And so after a while, her conscience
began to torment her. I'm sure that she knew that her
thoughts were terribly selfish. Her thoughts were filled with
sin. when she found herself serving tables and waiting on everyone
and cleaning up the spills and doing it all by herself, while
her sister Mary just sort of sat there at Jesus' feet, leisurely
hearing the Savior's Word. Martha got a little ruffled,
to put it mildly. She was upset. No, she was angry,
wasn't she? There was a warfare going on
in Martha's soul. Martha's biting conscience and
the pressure of her labor got together. And when they did,
that old man, Adam, broke out into an open complaint. And can
you hear Martha's anxious words and her upset voice? She said,
Lord, dost thou not care that my sister has left me to serve
all alone? How sad. For a moment, Martha
forgot who she was. and she forgot who it was that
she was speaking to. And so Martha brought on herself
a solemn rebuke and an embarrassing word of reproof which must have
made a lasting impression on her. How great a matter a little
fire kindles. But I pray that you can all see all of this happened because
Martha allowed the innocent household affairs a preferring dinner to
come between her and her Lord. Her anger with her sister degenerated
into something far worse. She was angry with God. Martha's
error should be a perpetual warning to all of us. Martha began to
look at the world and the things of the world. I think maybe Martha
said to herself, you know, I don't deserve being treated like this.
Jesus ought to be doing something about it. He ought to have my
sister come out here and help me. Oh, dear Father, cause us,
I pray, to beware of having too much concern over the cares of
this world. As our Lord warned us in Matthew
13, verse 22, He also that receives seed from the thorns is he that
heareth the Word, and the care of this world and the deceitfulness
of riches choke the Word and become unfruitful." Please hear
me and I pray that you can understand. Martha was doing things that
needed to be done. They needed to be done. If anybody
was going to eat, she needed to do it. And she was doing them
for the Lord. But you know, she was overdoing
them. She was consumed by them. They were important, and somebody
has to do them. But she made them far too important. Here's what I hear the Holy Spirit
telling us. When the cares of this world
interfere with the worship of Christ, then they bring leanness
to our souls. It's not only open sin and the
flagrant breach of God's law alone which leads souls to eternal
ruin, Far more often than not, it's an excessive attention that
is given to the things that are perfectly legitimate in the cells,
but they cause us to take our minds and our attention away
from Christ until we are consumed by the world. But what we need
to remember is that Jesus Christ is the one thing needful. I know
we can't do it in our own strength, but we must always hold on to
those things of this world with a very loose hand and never allow
anything to have first place in our hearts but Christ, because
Christ is the one thing most needful. Listen to what the Word
says to us. In Matthew 6, verses 31 to 33,
Jesus Christ says, For after all these things do
the Gentiles seek. That's after all these things
do unbelievers seek. For your heavenly Father knoweth
that you have need of all these things. But seek ye first the
kingdom of God. Seek ye first Jesus Christ and
His righteousness. And all these things shall be
added unto you. And in Colossians 3, verses 1-3,
Paul says that if you then be risen with Christ, seek those
things which are above. where Christ sits on the right
hand of God. Set your affection on things
above, not on the things of the earth. For you are dead and your
life is hid with Christ in God." How easy it is to let the things
of the world interfere with our walk with Christ. All worldly
things need to be clearly labeled in our minds as poison. Maybe
label them in your mind with a skull and crossbones. Poison.
if the things of the world become too important, if they take the
place of Jesus Christ, we have a problem. When they are excessively
cherished, they are a positive curse. That which you purchase
by giving up worship and communion with Christ, you purchase at
a very high price. Beware of covetousness. J.C. Ryle said, a little earth upon
the fire within us will soon make the fire burn out. A little
earth, a little of the world he thinks. Christ is the one
thing needful. And Martha did something else
too that we should observe and learn from. We must learn to
leave God's servants and God's people to God's care. We can
all sympathize with Martha who's out in the kitchen all by herself.
And I thank God for those women and men who are willing to help
and do things that need doing around this church. I've told
you often that what you do is important to the support of the
preaching of the Gospel. It's as important as the preaching
itself. We couldn't have preaching if a lot of things didn't get
done by you who do them. But notice that Christ didn't
criticize Mary. In fact, what he said about her
was that she had chosen that good part, which shall not be
taken away from her, Jesus said. Jesus didn't say that it would
have been a bad thing if Mary had gotten up and gone out of
the kitchen to help her sister. But she had chosen the good part,
or she had chosen that good portion. Both would have been good choices.
One choice was to serve Christ. And the other was to learn of
Christ. Good choices both. Our problem
is that we can't look at someone's heart and know why they do something. Jesus Christ sees hearts and
He sees all things. We can't do that. We don't really
know why he criticized Martha and not Mary. And what did Martha
do wrong? Well, it was two things. First,
she criticized God because He didn't make Mary come out and
help her. And second, she criticized or she judged Mary for not helping. In Romans 14 verse 4, Paul asks,
Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? To His own Master
He stands or falls. Yea, He shall be held up, for
God is able to make Him stand." Maybe I'm preaching to myself
today because I feel deeply convicted of my own sin by what the Holy
Spirit is teaching us here, but like Martha, I work hard in the
kitchen preparing a feast of the Gospel for you each Sunday.
I work every day and nearly all day And I prepare three sermons
each week. But I have no right to criticize
you who don't come to eat what I prepare. And I really mean
that. Yet I confess of being critical
in my mind of some of you when you aren't here or when you choose
to do something else. But I hear the Holy Spirit saying
to me, Bob, these are my people. God's people. are God's people. They're not mine. They're not
your people either. They're God's people. God's servants
are God's servants and they are His to do with as He pleases. I sure wish I could learn that.
And if you're critical of God's people, then you need to learn
it too. God's people are not to be judged
by me or by you. They are not to be controlled
by the pastor or by anybody else, even the deacon. Their lives
are not to be run by us. Religion binds people. Religion
ties them up and binds them and puts them under the law. But
Christ sets them free. And so as Christ said to those
at the tomb of Lazarus, loose him and let him go. Turn back
to Luke 9 for just a minute, would you? Chapter before where you're looking
at in Luke 10. Oh, I pray the Lord would help
me to learn what He's teaching us here. Have you ever noticed
this? In the New Testament, every time
anyone ever came to our Lord and complained to Him about what
someone else was doing or what someone else was not doing, or
what someone else might do or might not do, Christ rebuked
them every time He rebuked them sharply. Let me show you some
examples from Scripture of what I mean. The disciples were critical
of those who followed not with them. In Luke 9, verses 49 and
50, it says, And John answered and said, Master, we saw one
casting out devils in thy name, and we forbade him, because he
followed not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Jesus
said unto John, Forbid him not, for he that is not against us
is for us. In another instance, Jesus had
been talking to Peter. He was talking to Peter about
how Peter would glorify God in his death. And in John 21, verses
21 and 22, it says that Peter, seeing him, seeing John, said
to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? What shall John
do? And Jesus said unto him, if I will that he tarry till
I come, what's that to you? Follow thou me, Jesus said to
Peter. Peter, you follow me and I'll
take care of John. Can we learn from what Jesus
said to Martha about Mary? It is absolutely none of your
business, nor is it any of my business, how someone else serves
Christ. It's none of your business or
mine what someone else does for his Master or what he doesn't
do for his Master. It's none of your business or
mine what someone else gives or doesn't give. The Lord God
Almighty is perfectly capable of taking care of His own people.
And besides, at least I speak for myself, Most of us have a
full-time job with a whole lot of overtime to it, just taking
care of ourselves. At least I'm speaking for myself.
Before I leave this point, let me remind you of something that
you all, through Martha, remind you that although Martha
greatly erred, still she was a genuine believer. I see three
things in Scripture which demonstrate this indisputable genuineness
of Martha's faith, her faith in and her love for Jesus Christ. First, Martha took her Lord's
rebuke with humility as being an act of love. Faithful are
the wounds of a friend. Two of the greatest confessions
of faith, I think, that are to be found in all the Bible fell
from Martha's heart and her lips. In John 11, verses 21 and 22,
the Spirit says, Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, that Thou hast
been here, my brother had not died. But I know that even now,
whatsoever Thou wilt ask of God, God will give it Thee. And then
in John 11, verse 27, she said unto Him, Yea, Lord, I believe
that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which hath come into
the world. We have no reason to criticize
Martha for not being a Christian. It seems clear, since it appears
that Martha said these things after Christ rebuked her, that
Martha continued to serve the Lord in the same capacity, but
with a better spirit. Because in John 12, verses 1
and 2, the Spirit says, Then Jesus, six days before the Passover,
came to Bethany. Remember where Bethany is. It's
where Mary and Martha live. It's where Lazarus was, which
had been dead, and whom he raised from the dead. And there they
made him supper. And Martha served. And ladies
probably won't miss this. But Lazarus was one of them that
sat at the table with him. Doesn't mention Mary. I'd suggest
that maybe Mary's out in the kitchen now. I don't know. Lazarus
is sitting with Jesus. But Martha was still serving
and I think that's important to see. Martha is still serving.
Now turn to 1 John 2 and verses 1 and 2 please. Just as Martha
is an example, there is something about our own human natures which
makes us want to put our brothers and sisters in Christ back under
the law. But it is also, just as true,
that we often try to put ourselves back under the law. Now hear
me. Please, I pray that the Lord
would teach us. We should never judge someone to be an unbeliever
because of an evil act that they have committed. And it's just
as important that we shouldn't judge ourselves because of the
things that we have done, thinking that we're not saved because
we have sinned. not saved because of our own
evil acts. And Peter is a good example of
someone who doubted his salvation because he denied his Lord three
times. And what did he do after he denied his Lord three times?
He went back to fishing. He went fishing. He gave up the
ministry. He went fishing. But Christ restored
Peter. Christ had died. Not for some
of Peter's sins, but for all of them. Christ died for every
single one of Peter's sins, and if He died for you, He died for
every single one of your sins as well. Listen to what the Apostle,
whom Christ loves, said in 1 John 2, verses 1 and 2. My little
children, these things I write unto you. Why? That you sin not. But, if any man sin, We have
an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ. He's the one that's
righteous. Jesus Christ the righteous. And
He is the propitiation for our sins. Not ours only, but also
for the sins of the whole world. Oh, dear Father, help us. Help us to not put ourselves
back under the law and not to put anybody else under the law
either. We praise You, dear Lord, for setting us free Free in Jesus
Christ. Totally free. Jesus Christ is
the thing that is most needful. I've alluded to it several times,
but the fourth thing which I believe that our Savior is teaching us
here in this passage is that among all of the things in this
world that clamor for our attention, only one thing is needful. And
that's what I pray that we could all learn. The only thing that
is needful is Jesus Christ. Worshipping Christ and hearing
His Word, that's what's needful. Health and prosperity, property
and power, rank and honor, those all might be good things, but
they are not needful. Multitudes of God elect never
attain those things in this world, and yet they live happily, they
die peacefully, and they enter into glory at last because of
Christ. Those many things which men and
women struggle and fight all of their lives, they fight for
them all of their lives, will in the day of judgment prove
not to be needful things at all, but they will be a great weight
and a burden as we drag them down to hell. Listen to me and
to what the Holy Spirit would teach us. Only Jesus Christ is
needful. If you have Christ, then you
have all that you need and you abound in Christ. Only God's
grace in Christ is needful. If you have all the riches of
God's grace in Christ, then you have riches that will enrich
your soul forever. Only salvation is needful. If
I am saved, then nothing else much matters. If you are lost,
then nothing else should matter but your need for Christ. Nothing
else can do you any good if you're lost except Christ. And so I
call on you as eternally bound souls to come now and join Mary
at the Savior's feet. This is the place of mercy, grace,
and salvation. Let me tell you about a fellow
named Jairus. In Mark 5.22 it says, And behold,
there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name. And when Jairus saw Christ, he
fell at his feet. And let me tell you about the
sigh of Phoenician. In Mark 7, verse 25, it says,
For a certain woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit
heard of Him, heard of Jesus. And she came and she fell at
His feet. Let me tell you about the Gadarene. In Luke 8, verse
35, it says, Then they went out to see what was done, and came
to Jesus, and found the man, they found the Gadarene, out
of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus,
clothed and in His right mind. And they were afraid. And so
I invite you to come and join Mary at the Savior's feet. At
Christ's feet is the place of reverence and adoration and worship.
So let me tell you about Esther. Esther 8, verse 3, it says, And
Esther spoke again before the king and fell down at his feet.
And besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman
the Agagite and his device that he had devised against the Jews.
And let me tell you about the Apostle John. In Revelation 1,
verse 17, John says, And when I saw him, I fell at his feet
as dead. And he laid his right hand upon
me, saying unto me, Fear not, I am the first and the last.
Jesus Christ is the one thing needful. Come now and join Mary
at the Savior's feet. This is the place of gratitude,
thanksgiving, and praise. Let me tell you about Elisha
the Shunammite. In 1 Kings 4 verse 37 it says,
Then she went in and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to
the ground, and took up her son, and went out. Let me tell you
about the leper. In Luke 17 verse 16 it says,
And the leper fell down on his face at his feet, giving him
thanks, and he was a Samaritan. And let me tell you about the
anointing of Christ. In Mark 14 verse 3 it says, And
being in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat
at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment
of spikenard, very precious, and she broke the box and she
poured it out on his head. Come now and join Mary at the
Saviour's feet, because this is the place of faith and hope
and prayer. And let me tell you about Abigail.
In 1 Samuel 25 verse 24 it says, And Abigail fell at his feet,
and said, Upon me, my Lord, upon me let this iniquity be. And
let thine handmaiden, I pray thee, speak in thine audience,
and hear the words of thine handmaid. And let me tell you again about
the apostle whom Christ loved. In John 11, verse 22, he says,
But I know that even now, whatsoever thou will ask of God, God will
give it thee. Come now and join Mary at the
Savior's feet. This is the place of instruction
and learning and discipleship. Let me tell you about Paul at
the feet of Gamaliel. In Acts 22, verse 3, Paul said, I am verily a man which am a
Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this
city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect
manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous towards God,
as you all are this day." And yet Paul learned far more at
the feet of Jesus Christ than he had ever learned at the feet
of Gamaliel. What he learned from Christ It was that Christ
was all that he needed. Come now and join Mary at the
Savior's feet because this is the only place where we learn
His Word and His will and His way. Here at the feet of Jesus
is the only place where we learn humility, surrender, and submission.
Here at the feet of Jesus is the only place where we can learn
about consecration and devotion and the love of Christ. Only
one thing is needful. And I want this one thing for
you and nothing else. Dear Father, I pray, let us learn
of Christ at Jesus' feet. Let me preach Christ as these
people sit and listen to Christ. Now I'm going to say something
which might surprise you, but listen to me carefully, please,
because I'm speaking the Word of God. If we are going to have
any joy and benefit from this one thing needful, then a choice
must be made. In Luke 10.42, Jesus said, But
one thing is needful, and Mary has chosen that good part which
shall not be taken away from her. I believe strongly that
our Lord's words are intended to make us wholehearted and single-eyed. The Holy Spirit would, with the
Word of God, inspire us to follow the Lord fully and walk closely
with our God. He would have us make our souls
business, our first business, and for us to think comparatively
little about the things of the world. In 2 Corinthians 4.18,
Paul says that while we look not at the things which are seen,
but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are
seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Jesus Christ is the believer's portion. In Lamentations 3, verse
25, it says that the Lord is good unto them that wait for
Him, to the soul that seeketh Him. And Jesus Christ is a portion
that shall never be taken from us. In Psalm 89, verse 28, Christ
says, My mercy will I keep for Him forevermore, and My covenant
shall stand fast with Him. And in John 10.28 Christ says,
And I gave unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. And in Romans
8 verses 38 and 39 Paul said, For I am persuaded, that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers,
nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the
love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Jesus Christ
is the one thing needful, but he is a portion, and he is a
portion that must be chosen. The pearl of great price must
be bought as Joshua 24 verse 14 and 15 says. Now therefore
fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in truth and put
away the gods which your father served on the other side of the
flood and in Egypt and serve ye the Lord. And if it seemed
evil unto you, to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you
will serve, whether the gods which your father served that
were in the other side of the flood or the gods of the Amorites
in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we
will serve the Lord." It's my prayer. It's my earnest prayer
that you would choose this day, the one thing needful, whom you
will serve. I'm not asking you to make a
decision for Christ that is based on your supposedly free will,
I'm asking you to come to Christ. I'm asking you to choose Christ
because He is the one thing that is needful to you. He is needful
to you because you know that you're a sinner and you can only
be saved by Jesus Christ. Choose Christ. I pray that you would choose
Christ, that you would follow Christ, that you would walk with
Christ because He is the one thing needful. Amen.