Let us turn tonight to the Gospel
of Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10, beginning in
verse 38. Now it came to pass as they went. This of course meant the Lord
Jesus Christ and his 12 disciples. That's what I can see from verse
23 above that when it says he turned him unto his disciples. Now it came to pass as they went. So that would be at least 13
people, the Lord and his 12 disciples. That he entered into a certain
village, that village was Bethany. A certain woman named Martha
received him into her house. Hospitality was something the
Jewish people were known for. When a stranger came into their
city, they opened up their house to receive a person. That's a tremendous grace, a
tremendous blessing, hospitality, to receive others into your home
for a meal or for fellowship or whatever. Hospitable, hospitable. Martha was hospitable. Can you imagine 13 men coming
into your home, not having invited them necessarily beforehand,
knowing they were coming? And that's sort of the situation
here. 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 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 hath chosen that good
part which shall not be taken away from her. I want us to think
especially tonight on the words in verse 42, the words of our
Lord when he said, one thing is needful. I felt impressed
to come to this passage of scripture for the message tonight and looking
over it, wanting to bring the message from those few words.
One thing is needful. I was struck in reading the passage
several times with how much teaching, Bible teaching, we find in these
few verses. Few verses which relate what
we might call just a casual visit. A casual visit and meal. of the Lord Jesus Christ and
his disciples in the house of Martha. How much teaching we
have here. Some have suggested that we might
look at the two sisters, that is Martha and Mary, they live
together in the same house, that we might look at them, consider
them as types of the old nature and the new nature. The old man
that we brought with us into this world and the new man that
is created in righteousness and true holiness when we are effectually
called by God the Holy Spirit. The new man, the spirit, our
Lord said that which is born of the spirit is spirit. We know these two women lived
in the same house and we know In us and every child of God
and every believer here tonight, we have two natures. We have
a fallen nature and we have a renewed nature. Martha, of course, would
serve as a type of the flesh of the old man. She was anxious
and she was troubled about many things. We know that because
our Lord said that. She was anxious, concerned, troubled
about many things. And the old man, the old man,
that old nature that lives with us, he lusts against the spirit. We read in Galatians chapter
five, he's uneasy. That old nature is uneasy. He's
seldom if ever satisfied and never truly happy. He's never
truly happy because he cannot do what he would. The old nature,
if he could do what he would, he would only and always just
continue to live in sin. But because there is a new nature
within, he's not allowed to do that. The old nature, never happy,
never truly happy, never satisfied. always running here, running
there, always looking for some kind of diversion, some kind
of excitement, not able to rest and rejoice in what we have in
Christ, what we have in Him. And Mary then serves as a type
of that new nature, that new man, the Spirit, that which is
born of the Spirit, as she chooses the good part, the good part,
the one thing needful, our Lord said. The new man finds satisfaction,
finds rest in the one thing needful. Another author pointed out that
Adam and Eve, what I'm trying to show or desires to show is
there's so much teaching here in this passage of scripture.
So many different ways we could go. One old writer pointed out
that Adam and Eve, as they were created by God and placed in
paradise, they were happy. They were happy. They were blessed.
And they were happy in their knowledge of one thing. their
knowledge of one thing. And what was that one thing?
They knew that their Creator, that God Almighty, is good. They knew that. They had knowledge
of that. They saw that as they looked
around them, what God had provided and how God had provided for
Adam to help me. They recognized, they knew, the
one thing they knew for sure is that God is good. But then in chapter three of
Genesis, when we read about the temptation and the fall, they
were tempted, think about this, they were tempted to disobey
God to know two things. To know two things, because listen
to the words of Satan to Eve. For God doth know that in the
day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you
shall be as God's." Now listen, knowing good and evil. Before, they had just known good,
as God had created them. But the temptation is to know
two things. Our Lord said one thing. Martha,
one thing is needful. Something else that is pointed
out to us is that every time in the scripture that this Mary,
this Mary of Bethany, not Mary Magdalene, but this Mary of the
town or the village of Bethany, every time that she is mentioned
in the scriptures, she is at the same place, always at the
feet of Jesus. Always. We see that here. If you look in verse 39, and
she had a sister called Mary, which also, where was she? She was sitting at the feet of
Jesus. Look with me in John chapter
11. When the Lord came to Bethany
to raise Her brother, Lazarus, John chapter 11, verse 19, we read that Martha
went to meet the Lord, and it just simply says, then Martha,
verse 20, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and
met him. That's commendable. She went
and met him, but notice, Down in verse 32, then when Mary was
come, where Jesus was, she saw him, she fell down at his feet. Every time, every time that Mary,
this Mary is mentioned in the scripture, we see that she is
at his feet. later when she anointed his feet
in chapter 12 of John. We see that she is at his feet
anointing them. Verse three, then took Mary a
pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the
feet of Jesus. And I don't know if you've ever
noticed this, but you know Judas, one of the disciples, He thought
that was a waste of money. That spikenard was very costly. And he said, well, it could have
been sold and given to the poor. And it was Judas that instigated
that thought. And before long, all the disciples
were involved in the same reasoning, that a better use could have
been put to that spikenard. But notice what our Lord, in
rebuking them, his disciples, telling them that the poor you
have with you always. And whenever you want to do something
good to the poor, you'll always have an opportunity, because
the poor you will have with you always. You're not going to have
me here with you always, in other words. He's going to be here
for just a short while. And he's going to be crucified
in just a few days. and then ascend unto the Father.
But notice in verse seven, he said, then
said Jesus, let her along. Now notice this, against the
day of my burying has she kept this. Who is buried? Live, living people are not buried. It is dead people who are buried.
Is she the only one? His disciples certainly, they
didn't understand the Lord was going to die. Did this Mary,
who always was sitting at His feet, listening to Him, anointing
His feet, worshiping Him, was it revealed unto her what even
His 12 disciples didn't understand? That He would soon die and give
His life as a sacrifice for the sins of his people. But the point
is, she's always in the scripture presented to us as sitting at
the feet of Jesus. We sing that hymn that has that
title sometimes, Sitting at the Feet of Jesus. Oh, what words
I hear him say, happy place so near, so precious, May it find
me there each day. Now, let's concentrate our thoughts
for a few minutes on the words, but one thing is needful. I want you to notice that the
Lord Jesus did not say, he did not say, there is but one thing
needful. That's not what he said. He didn't
say there is but one thing needful. I can think of two things right
off the bat that are needful, can't you? We need repentance. For he said, except you repent,
you shall all likewise perish. And we need faith. We need to
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord did not say there is
but one thing needful. But he said, there is one thing
needful. What is this one thing? Let me just say that the Lord
Jesus Christ is not a thing. He's not a thing. He's a person. He's a person. The God man. So the one thing needful, we
can't say, well, it's Christ. Yes, he's needful, but he's not
a thing. He's a person. And our Lord said
here, there's one thing needful. What is it? Well, my opinion
is, it is the saving knowledge of Christ. the saving knowledge of Christ. We need to know Christ, the saving
knowledge of Christ. I believe that's the good part
that our Lord is speaking here, which shall never be taken away
from those to whom it's given. Our Lord told Peter, Blessed
art thou, Simon Barjona, flesh and blood hath not revealed this
unto thee, but my Father, which is in heaven. And what was it
that the Father had revealed to Peter, but that he is the
Christ, the Son of the living God. That saving knowledge of
Christ that God gives to his chosen people, and it can never
be taken away. It can never be taken away. And
if it could be, there would be no renewing again unto repentance. In other words, if a person who
is truly saved could apostatize and deny that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God, there would be no hope for that person because
it would entail Christ coming again and dying again. And that's
not going to happen. I want us to look first, now
I have two points to the message, let's look at King David. King
David's testimony as he gave it in Psalm 27 about one thing. In Psalm 27. In verse four. Psalm
27 in verse four. 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, David said,
I have desired of the Lord, and that is what I'm seeking after,
will continue to seek after. that I may dwell in the house
of the Lord all the days of the life. He s not talking about
heaven. That s the Father s house. In
my Father s house are many mansions. But David here is speaking of
the Lord s house. May dwell in the house of the
Lord. What does he have reference to? This one thing. The main
His constant wish throughout life was to be in the place where
the Lord is worshipped and where the Lord makes Himself manifest,
manifest His presence. We know from the study or reading
of the life of David, on several occasions he was deprived from
going to the tabernacle. Now that's the house of the Lord
he's speaking about here. the tabernacle. Remember, he
gathered all the material for the temple that Solomon would
build, but God would not allow David to build that temple because
God said he had been a bloody man. He had been a man who had
fought many battles. And Solomon, his son, would build
the temple, who was a man of peace. But David was deprived when Saul
was chasing him. He was out on the mountains.
At one time, he said he's like a partridge, like a bird, like
a turkey that was being hunted and chased on the mountains.
Another time he fled from Jerusalem, where the tabernacle was, where
the Ark of the Covenant was, rather. when he was fleeing from
his son Absalom. So he knew at different times
in his life what it was to be cut off, to be deprived from
the privilege of going to the house of the Lord. In one of
his Psalms, Psalm 84, he even declares himself to be envious
of birds, of birds. Well, David, why in the world
would you ever be envious of a bird, of birds. Why? Because
they build their nest in the altars there of the tabernacle. They live there. They reside
there. One thing have I desired. In Psalm 84, let me read you
that verse. How amiable are thy tabernacles,
O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth Yea, even fainteth
for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh crieth
out for the living God. It was in the house of the Lord,
as I said, the tabernacle. Today, we would probably refer
this to the church, to the church, to the gathering of God's people. It was in the tabernacle where
David said, there he beheld the beauty of the Lord. The beauty
of the Lord. It was there that the saving
knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ was manifested from the time
that God gave Moses that tabernacle until the temple was destroyed,
then rebuilt, but it was always a place of tights, showing how
men could approach unto God. God always was behind the veil,
cut off, because of His holiness. And man could not enter there.
The absolute holiness of God dwelling behind the veil, and
the priest entering there once a year with the blood of an animal. It all pictured the substitutionary,
vicarious, effectual work of the Messiah who was promised
to come. And that's what we hear when
we come to church, isn't it? We hear about Christ. Paul said,
I determined to know nothing among you, save Jesus Christ
and Him crucified. We're not here talking about
politics. As Brother Drew Dietz said a
few days ago, we love our country. We love our country. We want
the best for our country. We pray for our country. We pray
for our leaders. But we're not to get so involved
in those things, I'm talking about a pastor and the church,
that we neglect the one thing that is needful. The one thing
that is needful. the saving knowledge of Jesus
Christ. Now look with me in Romans chapter
10. So that was the one thing David desired. Now look at what
Paul wrote here in Romans chapter 10 and verse 14. How then shall they call on him
in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in
him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? The one question out of those
three that I call our attention to is how shall they believe
in him of whom they have not heard? Above this, In Romans
10, verse 10, he wrote, for with the heart man believeth unto
righteousness. With the heart. Romans 4, he
wrote, Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him righteousness. To be made righteous, to be declared
just, therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with
God. who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect. It is God that justifies. To
be justified, a person must have faith, must believe in Christ,
believe that saving knowledge of Christ. But how, Paul says,
or asks rather, how shall any believe in him without first
hearing of him? You've heard this saying before,
how can you come back from a place you've never been? You can't
do that, can you? You cannot come back from a place
that you've never been to. And a person cannot believe in
him of whom they have not heard. And he went on to say, how shall
they hear without a preacher? God has chosen to use preaching
and calling and saving his people. Yes, it's so clear in the Word
of God. But how shall they believe in
Him without first hearing of Him? Can we not see then that
the one thing needful, the one thing needful, what was Mary
doing? She was hearing. She was sitting at the feet of
Jesus, hearing the Word of God, hearing Him speak. The one thing
needful is hearing of Christ. Now, what should we hear of Him? What should we hear of Him? Well,
I have three things written down here, and I'll be brief. One, we should hear who He is,
who He is. When a person visits a Christian
church, when he goes out the door, he
should have no doubt of what that church believes about Christ. It's not a question. It's not
up for debate. It's not maybe so. Oh, no. Man must hear who he is. He is the eternal Son of God
who was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory
as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. There should be no doubt when
we encourage and say, be reconciled unto God through faith in Christ.
This Christ we are encouraging you to believe in, to trust in,
is God. manifest in the flesh. He's the
God man. Number two, we should hear why
he came. He said, he told us why he came,
didn't he? He came to seek and to save that
which was lost. He came to do the work which
his father gave him to do. And he finished that work. He
tells us that in his prayer in John 17. Father, I have finished
the work which thou gavest me to do." He came to save his people. Now listen, to do this, to save
his people, he was born of a woman. He had to be born of a woman.
Why? To be our near kinsman. You look at the law as given
in Leviticus. for a kinsman redeemer. It wasn't just anybody that could
redeem a person who had sold themselves into slavery. It had to be a kinsman. A kinsman. He came to save his
people and to do that he was made of a woman that he might
be our kinsman redeemer. Bone of our bone and flesh of
our flesh. He came to save His people, and
to do this, He was made under the law, that He might redeem
us, redeem His people from the curse of the law. You know, sometimes
people say, well, Gentiles were not under that law. All of God's
creatures have been under His law. From the first man, Adam
and Eve, God gave them a law. Thou shalt not eat of the fruit
of that tree. That was their law. And all men
have, it didn't become evil to murder only after God gave the
commandment on Mount Sinai. When Cain killed his brother
Abel, he was guilty then of murder. There was no law then written
on stones, but the law of God was manifest, the law of nature,
some people call it. But all of us were under the
law, Gentiles and Jews. Yes, the Jews were under that
law of Moses, but we were all under the law of God. And the
law pronounced a curse, a curse. Cursed is everyone that continueth
not in all things which are written in the book of the law, for to
do them." And the curse was death, death. To save His people, He
was made under the law that He might redeem His people from
the curse of the law. He came to save His people, and
to do this, He was made sin for us. He was made sin for us. that we and I, that we, you and
I, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Second Corinthians five and verse 21. He came to save his people and
to do this he died and was buried that he might save us from death
and the grave. He came to save his people and
to do this he ascended on high where he ever lives to make intercession
for us. I don't think that most of us,
I'm speaking of myself, I don't think we appreciate as much as
we should the intercessory work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore
he is able to save all them that come unto God Why? Because He ever liveth to make
intercession for us. He's always there at the Father's
right hand. He's always making intercession
for His people. He came to save His people, and
to do this, He's going to come again and receive us unto Himself. Where He is there, we may be
also. Sometimes people will want to
argue with you about heaven. Are we going to heaven? We're
going to be with Christ. You can't improve on that. Wherever
he is, that's where we're going to be. In my father's house are many
mansions, he said. If it were not so, I would have
told you. But I go to prepare a place for
you that where I am, there you may be also. And if I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto
myself, that where I am, there you may be also. Don't you love
those few verses there at the beginning of John 14? Let me close with this. We should
hear who he is, we should hear why he came, and we should hear
where he is tonight. Is he in a little box on some
altar in some church building? Do they put him in that box every
night after the service is over? Oh, no. What foolishness. What foolishness. Where is he? He's on the throne. of God, and
it's his throne too, the throne of God and of the Lamb, and he
has all power both in heaven and in earth. He is a sovereign
ruler over all things and over all people. One thing is needful, the saving knowledge of Jesus
Christ, and he gives us that knowledge, He grants us that
knowledge through the Word of God, through the preaching of
the Word. All right, David.