Turn back to Psalm 27. Look with
me at verse 4. Verse 4 of Psalm 27. David says, one
thing have I desired of the Lord. That will I seek after, that
I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life
to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. One thing have I desired. You know, it's hard to imagine
that David would have desired anything, that he would have
had a desire. He had wealth. He had success. David was a, can you imagine
what a valiant warrior he was? I mean, people must have paraded
around him every time he walked out on the street. And he was
a mighty king. He's described in scripture as
a man after God's own heart. And here we read where he's written,
one thing have I desired. What was that one thing? Was
it riches? Was it honor? Listen to the scripture
here. It says, one thing have I desired
and that will I seek after. that I may dwell in the house
of the Lord forever, all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. David said this, this is my desire. This is that which I will seek
after, to abide forever with the Lord." And he goes on to
say, this is what I'm going to seek after. We can talk a good
game, but you can tell a lot about a person when you see what
they seek, what they go for. David said, that will I seek
after, to be in his house, to behold his beauty, to inquire
of him, to constantly seek the Lord. One, one thing. One thing have I desired. And I want us to consider these
words this evening as they appear in God's Word. One thing. One thing. This is repeated.
Look, turn with me to Mark chapter 10. Mark chapter 10. Look at verse 17 of Mark 10. We read here, and when he was
gone forth, verse 17, when he was gone forth into the way,
there came one running and kneeled to him and asked him, asked the
Lord, good master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal
life. And the Lord Jesus said unto
him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, and
that's God. Thou knowest the commandments. Do not commit adultery. Do not kill. Do not steal. do not bear false witness, defraud
not, honor thy father and thy mother." And he answered him. And he said, he's pretty full
of himself, wasn't he? Master, all these things have
I done for my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved
him and he said this, one thing, thou likest. Go thy way, sell
whatsoever you have, and give it to the poor. And thou shalt
have treasure in heaven. And come, take up thy cross,
and follow me." And he was sad. He was sad at that saying, and
he went away grieved. for he had great possessions. One thing thou lackest. It would appear to me that this
man had everything, and yet he had nothing. The Lord said, one
thing thou lackest. Our Lord asked this question
in three of the Gospels. He said, for what shall it profit
a man if he shall gain the whole world, every bit of it, and lose
his own soul? Or what, what shall a man give
in exchange for his soul? I ask you, would you trust in
riches? Would you trust in your strength?
How about wisdom? How about your earthly wisdom?
Would you put your trust there? In the book of Jeremiah, we read
this, thus saith the Lord, let not the wise man glory in his
wisdom. Neither let the mighty man glory
in his might. Let not the rich man glory in
his riches. Wealth, wealth cannot save a
man. Our wisdom, the wisdom of this
world cannot save a man or a woman. Your strength, Our strength cannot
save us. You know the rich man when he
goes to the grave, you know what he'll take with him? Nothing. Nothing. Paul writing to Timothy,
he said, we brought nothing into this world and it is certain,
no room for doubt, it's certain that we will not carry anything
out with us. What about the wise man? What
about the wisest person you know in this world, the smartest man
you know? In Ecclesiastes 2, God's word
says this, there is no remembrance of the wise anymore than there
is of the fool. Seeing that that which is now
and the days to come shall all be forgotten, And how does the
wise man die? Just like the fool. All these things, all these things
pass with time. What about strength? What about
natural strength? Every time I read this, I think
of my grandpa, and he was dear to me, and I believe he was probably
the strongest man I ever knew. I remember one time he moved
a refrigerator. He just picked up a belt, and
he kind of leaned his back under it and just pulled it over on
his back, and he carried it. As a kid, I'd never seen anything
like that. Maybe as a grown-up, I don't
know if I've ever seen anything like that. But you know, just a couple days
before he passed, he couldn't even lift his hand. All these things perish. Thus saith the Lord, let not
the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory
in his might. Let not the rich man glory in
his riches, but let him that glory in this. What is it? That he understandeth
and that he knoweth me. That I am the Lord which exercised
loving kindness, judgment, righteousness in the earth. For in these things,
in these things does the Lord delight. One thing. One thing. That he understandeth
and that he knoweth me. to know the Lord. The rich young
ruler had everything, but he had nothing. One thing, one thing
thou lackest, sell all you have, give it to the poor, come and
take up thy cross and follow me. Turn with me to Luke, Luke
chapter 10. Look at verse, beginning with
verse 38 of Luke chapter 10. sat at Jesus' feet and heard
His word. But Martha was cumbered about,
cumbered about much serving, 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 He said unto her, Martha, Martha,
Thou art careful and troubled about many things. Oh, but listen,
one thing is needful. And Mary hath chosen the good
part, which shall not be taken away from her. One thing is needful. Not long ago, y'all had a dinner
for Abby and I. And I remember walking back in
the fellowship hall and several of the women were back there
in the kitchen putting out food and desserts and drinks. And
Debbie, you said this, you said, I guess we're just a bunch of
Marthas. Truer words have never been spoken,
have they? Isn't that the truth? We're just
a bunch, all of us. a bunch of Martha's. We get caught
up in the hustle and bustle of this world. We find ourselves
and our children involved in anything and everything. And
I can't help but think about Martha's words. Listen to what
she said. This is, Does thou not care? Of all the things to ask the
Lord Jesus Christ, does thou not care? that my sister has
left me alone to serve. Lord, Lord, don't you care? I'm
here doing everything. The Lord not care. Isn't that, before we jump to
judgment there, isn't that what the disciples, they asked pretty
much the same question when they were on that ship, when that
great storm came up. Remember that? It was rocked
to and fro and the Lord was asleep on the pillow. And they went
and they woke Him and what did they say? Carest thou not that we
perish? Lord, don't you care? That's
how we think, isn't it? And our Lord answered her. And
I just imagined that this was said in love and in tenderness
and in compassion. And he said, Martha, Martha,
you are careful and troubled about many things. You know that
word careful, it means to be anxious. It means to be troubled with
cares. Doesn't that just describe us
to a T? We get so anxious about things,
get so troubled about things. Martha, Martha. I just love to put my name in
there. You're careful in trouble, troubled in mind, troubled about
many things. Our Lord said this in the book
of Matthew. He said, Therefore I say unto
you, take no thought, take no thought for your life, take no
thought for what you're going to eat, take no thought for what
you're going to drink, take no thought yet for your body, what
you're going to put on it, how you're going to cover it. Is
life more than meat? The body, more than raiment,
behold the fowls of the air. They sow not, nor do they reap,
nor do they gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth
them." He provides for them. And then he asked this question,
are you not much better than they? Martha, Martha, you are careful
and troubled about many things. But, don't we love the buts of
scripture, huh? But one thing, not many things,
one thing is needful. And Mary has chosen the good
part. that which shall not be taken
from her." What was that one thing? Not a what, a who. Who was that one thing? Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ. She sat at his feet. She wasn't
worried about who was doing the dishes or if everything was going
to be cooked and set out on the table on time. She was sitting
at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, to sit at His
feet is to be humbled. It's also to be in submission,
to sit at His feet, a readiness. Don't you just... I just picture
her as just ready to be taught. just keep talking, just keep
speaking to me. To believe Him, to submit to
Him, casting all our cares on Him, listen, knowing this, that
He careth for me. All my cares, all my worries,
all my anxieties, all my concerns, all my fears, Take your burden to the Lord
and leave it there. I heard it. I think it was Brother
Gabe said that one time. We're real good about taking
it there. But he didn't stop there, did
he? Take it and leave it. Leave it there. Knowing this,
that he cares. He cares for us. He cares for
his children. Having loved us, from all eternity. He cares for us and watches over
us. Paul, writing to the Hebrews, said this, let your conversation
be without covetousness and be content with such things as you
have. For he hath said, he hath said, I will never leave thee
nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, the
Lord is my helper. and I will not fear what man
shall do unto me." Listen, just listen to the words
of our Lord to Martha. Martha, Martha, thou art careful
and troubled about many things, but one thing, one thing is needful. And Mary hath chosen the good
part which shall not be taken from her. Listen to this refrain. Yes, there's one, only one, the
blessed, blessed Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one. When afflictions
press the soul and the waves of trouble roll, and you need
a friend to help you, he is the one. One thing, one thing is needful. Turn with me to John chapter
9. John chapter 9. The Lord had healed a man of
blindness, a man that was born blind. And he healed him on the
Sabbath day. And as usual, the Pharisees were
just all tore up about that. In fact, it created a division.
Some of the Pharisees, they said, this man isn't of God because
he doesn't keep the Sabbath. And another group said, Well,
if he's a sinner, how can he do such things? How can he heal
a man that was blind? And the rulers, the Jews pulled
the parents and they questioned and they said, is this your son
who you say was blind? How is it that he could see? And look here at verse 20 of
John 9. Do you have it? Verse 20. His parents answered them and
said, We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. But by what means he now seeth,
we know not. Or who hath opened his eyes,
we know not." He's of age, ask him. He can speak for himself. And the parents, they said this
because they feared the Jews. The Jews had agreed already if
any man confessed, that Jesus was the Christ, they'd be put
out of the synagogue. They'd be kicked out of the church.
And therefore, the parents said to him, he's of age, ask him. Verse 24, then again, called
they the man that was blind, and they said unto him, give
God the praise, we know that this man is a sinner. And he
answered, and he said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know
not. But one thing, one thing I know, whereas I was blind, now I see. One thing I know, I was blind,
and now I see. Can you say that? Has the Lord
revealed that to you? You know, I'll tell you something,
and those of you who know me won't question this. This won't surprise you. There's
a lot. There is a lot that I don't know. A lot of things about this world,
I don't know. A lot of things written in scriptures,
I don't know. But there's one thing I do know.
Huh? I was blind. I was blind, but
now I see. I know I was lost. I know I was
without God, without hope, without the Lord Jesus Christ, and yet
in mercy and grace, he reached down his hand. He reached down
into the pit and grabbed ahold of me and delivered me. Delivered me from my sin. Delivered me from the curse of
the law. I was blind, but he gave me eyes to see, ears to hear his voice, a heart
to love him. I once was lost, but now I'm
found. I was blind, but now I see." The Lord stood up to read in
the temple one time. They opened to the book of Isaiah,
and listen to these words. The Lord said these words. He
read these words. He said, The Spirit of the Lord
is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the
poor. He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to preach deliverance to the captives, the recovery of sight
to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach
the acceptable year of the Lord. And when he finished reading
that, He closed the book, and he gave it to the minister, and
he sat down, and the eyes of everybody in that temple was
fastened on him. And he began to say, and this
day is the scripture fulfilled in your ears. One thing I know,
one thing I know, I was blind, but now I see. Turn with me to
Philippians chapter 3. Philippians 3. Listen, beginning with verse
13 of Philippians 3. Brethren, I count not myself
to have apprehended, but this one thing I do. What is it? Forgetting those
things which were behind and reaching forth unto those things
which are before. I press toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. One thing I do. Tell me, what
is it, Paul? Forgetting those things which
are behind. What are some of those things?
I believe the chief one's this, my sin. Sin, huh? You know, I've heard men, and
you have too, they kind of glory in telling how sinful they were. And then I've heard other men
labor, labor just under the heavy weight, telling how sinful they
were. Nathan told David this after he committed that awful
sin with Bathsheba, after he had murdered Uriah. David said to Nathan, he said,
I have sinned against the Lord. Remember what David told Nathan? The Lord also hath put away thy
sin. If he's put it away, we believe that, don't we? We
know that, don't we? He's put away our sin. If he has, why would we ever
look back at it? Forgetting those things that
are behind. God spoke to Peter in Acts 10.
He said, what God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. Don't call it defiled. Don't
call it polluted. Don't call it unclean. Listen, if the Son has made you
free, You're free indeed. One thing, one thing I do, forgetting
those things that are behind. My sin, my self-righteousness. Paul had plenty, we've all had
plenty of effort there, haven't we? Paul uses the illustration of
a race here. Based on what I know, a little
bit I know about running a race, what's behind you in a race can
do nothing but slow you down. I think I've heard some of the
worst yelling at a cross country meet when kids turn around to
look to see who's behind them. Don't look back. Look to the
finish. Press toward the mark, the finish
line. Looking unto Jesus. Looking unto the Lord Jesus Christ.
Listen, He's the author and the finisher of our faith. Look to Him. Isn't that our desire? I want to be found in Him. I want to have His righteousness.
I want to be made like His Son. Made like Christ. Made to be
the very righteousness of God. That only happens one way and
that is in Christ. One thing have I desired. One thing is needful. One thing
I know. One thing I do. Just one. Just one. In closing, turn with
me to John chapter 11. John chapter 11. Look at verse 49. John 11, verse 49. And one of them named Caiaphas,
being the high priest that same year, he said unto the people,
he said, ye know nothing at all, nor consider that it is expedient,
that it's good, that it's profitable. What? expedient for us that one
man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish
not. And this spake he not of himself, but being high priest
that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation,
and not for that nation only, but that also he should gather
together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. That job, that position of the
high priest, by this time it was just kind of up for bid,
auctioned off, and Caiaphas here speaks from his own wicked heart. And yet the Spirit of God preaches
the glorious gospel through him. You know, he occupied the office
of high priest, a position between God and the people. And though
he's a wicked man, without becoming aware of it, he's used as a prophet
to declare the substitutionary work of the Lord Jesus Christ. What did he say? It's expedient
that one man, one man, Any question? There were three men crucified
that day. Is there any question as to who that one man was? That the Lord Jesus Christ would
die for the people. One man, one, should die for
the people. His people, a chosen generation. a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a peculiar people, called out of darkness into His marvelous
light. One man. The Son of Man must
be lifted up. The Lord Jesus Christ, our substitute,
He was made sin, and in doing so, He made satisfaction for
all of our sins. One thing, one man, one mediator between
God and man, the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray he'd make it our desire
to know him, to seek him, or to one day dwell with him on
high. All right.