LOJ #122: ‘The Un-Distracted Life’
Andover Baptist Church- October 23rd, 2011
Opening
A. Text for today is Luke 10:38-52 and our sermon is titled “The
Un-Distracted Life’
B. Scripture NET:
"38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him as a guest. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what He said. 40 But Martha was distracted with all the preparations she had to make, so she came up to Him and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work alone? Tell her to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her.”
C. Children’s Sermon(SLIDE)
1. Call the kids forward
2. As I start to talk to the kids, Ian comes in with a comic
book, head phones on, etc
3. Every time I go to talk to the kids Ian starts the sweeper
4. I have trouble getting Ian's attention, he's dancing
around sweeping with eyes closed,
5. 'I'm trying to talk about Jesus!'
6. I unplug the sweeper, since he's listening to music he
doesn't notice the sweeper is off, after a second he
pauses takes out the earphones and starts looking under
the sweeper,
7. ‘I’m trying to talk about Jesus!’
8. Ian makes excuses that he is serving God by helping
clean the church
9. Ask the kids do you think sweeping right now is more
important than talking about Jesus?
10. How do you think it makes Jesus feel when He wants us
to talk to Him and read about Him and we always
choose to do other things?
11. We should make time for Jesus
D. Introduction
1. We have just talked about the greatest commandments,
the first being loving the Lord, today’s text is shown as
an example of this
2. The Mishnah (collection oral Jewish teachings) says,
'Let your house be a meeting house for the sages and sit
amid the dust of their feed and drink in their words with
thirst'
3. And today we find such a house and also a teacher
invited into it
4. In this home we also will find two women, two sisters in
fact
5. One will honor the first part of that statement by letting
Jesus come into her home, the other sister we will see is
focused on the final, and most important part
6. And maybe too, today as we look at their story, we will
pause and take a moment to look into our own lives and
see if we too are focused on the one thing that is needed
7. Turn with me to Luke 10:38 as we too are invited
vicariously into the home of Martha and Mary
Sermon
READ: Luke 10:38 (Scripture slide)
“Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him as a guest."
A. ‘they’: We can assume that this is Jesus and His disciples
B. ‘a certain village’
1. We know from other interactions with Martha in
Scripture that her home is located in the town of
Bethany
2. Located about 2 miles SE from Jerusalem (map)
C. ‘Martha’
1. This is the Martha the sister of Mary and of Lazarus
2. This family was a close supporter of Jesus, and Lazarus
will be the recipient of one of Jesus’ greatest miracles
as we will see as we draw close to the end of Jesus’ life
D. ‘welcomed Him as a guest’
1. Hospitality was and still is one of the most important
cultural concepts in the Middle East
2. In fact it is going to play a major role in our text today
3. It would be helpful to the understanding of this text if
we the modern day reader, would remember that
figuring in Jesus, His disciples, thirteen people would be
considered house guests
4. If one were to include Mary, Lazarus and Martha those
numbers push up to 16 people in the home
READ: Luke 10:39 (Scripture slide)
“She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what He said”.
A. Now enters Martha's sister Mary into the picture
B. Mary 'sat at the Lord's feet'
1. She has assumed the posture of a disciple
2. This is a sight that would be quite quizzical to any Jew
that happened to see it take place.
3. The concept of sitting at one’s feet is seen in other
places in the New Testament
a. We see the former demon possessed man sat at
Jesus' feet like this (Lk 8:35)
b. We see Paul using this time of language in Acts
22:3 about sitting under the teaching of Gamaliel
c. It simply means that one is being taught or
discipled by the person at who’s feet they are
sitting
4. This wouldn’t be a big deal to the Jews in Jesus day if
Mary was a man(hey I know a guy by the name of
Beverly, don’t you too BJ?)
a. Women were seen to little more than servants to
men,
b. Not only were they physically inferior to men,
but also seen as intellectuallyand spiritually as
well
c. And in light of that women were not even taught
by rabbis, let alone receive advance training in
the Tamidical schools and/or become disciples
d. So for Jesus to not discourage Mary, and in fact
encourager her, to sit at is feet as a disciple was
on the verge of being scandalous
e. Jesus was giving these women an opportunity
that society would not and Mary was hanging on
every word Jesus spoke
READ: Luke 10:40 (Scripture slide)
“But Martha was distracted with all the preparations she had to make, so she came up to Him and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work alone? Tell her to help me.”
A. ‘But': Remember this is the a word that signals something is
going to take place
B. While we have found Mary to be focused, we find Martha to be
distracted in trying to honor Jesus with an elaborate meal
1. If your one of those Bible thumpers that likes to
highlight and underline in your Bible: I offer the word
distracted to your finepoint pen or highlighter
2. It means: ‘to be overburdened, pulled away’
3. Simply put hospitality was distracting her from taking a
place beside Mary at Jesus’ feet
C. ‘with all the preparations’
1. A meal for guests like this was quite an ordeal
2. Imagine if you would a Thanksgiving or Christmas Day
meal for family, and that would acclimate you to the
events going on here
3. Like in our homes the kitchen would be focused around
the cooking apparatus: in the 1st century Jewish kitchen
this would be a domed oven that would serve both as the
home’s heating unit and stove
4. Jews of that day would be unaccustomed to our three
meals a day
a. They generally only ate two
b. The first would equate to a light breakfast or a
small amount of food taken to work
c. The second one would be a large dinner
d. Dinner would have would have cheese, wine,
vegetables, fruits and eggs, a meat usually fish or
chicken or foul, beef or lamb on special
occasions
e. Often times this was in the form of a stew that
was made in a big pot (seasoned with salt,
onions, garlic, cumin, coriander, mint, mustard,
sometimes they would sweeten it with wild
honey or syrups from dates or grapes)
f. A common bowl was eaten out of by dipping
fingers and bread into it
g. It was a meal like this that Martha was so intent
on
5. Unfortunately Martha was so focused on the trivial, non-
eternal goals of making a meal and hospitality that she
was overlooking Jesus!
a. Can you imagine the divine opportunity of sitting
at the Lord’s feet that she missed?
b. We all gasp at that idea, but we do the same thing
today when we let petty things get in the way of
getting to know Jesus better.
c. It may not be meal prep that interferes with our
sitting at the feet of Jesus but a host of things
(family, jobs, hobbies, boyfriends, girlfriends,
friends, sports, school, the problems in our lives,
money, Facebook, enjoying retirement, your
health, etc. etc insert your own)
6. Even if you are in the ministry and you’re doing
ministry and not taking time for your own relationship
with Jesus, there is no difference.
7. How much of your time do you give to building your
faith in Jesus? To learning about your faith and how to
better share and explain it?
8. Are you living a distracted life? One that interferes with
the one thing that matters: Your relationship with Jesus?
D. The text tells us that Martha ‘came to Him’
1. She does not come to Him to sit at His feet
2. She does not come to Him to learn
3. She does not come to Him to praise Him
4. No!Martha leaves her work only to get Jesus to
intercede for her (isn't that they way we do at times)
E. What she said
1. “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all
the work alone? Tell her to help me.”
2. She treats Jesus as if He is uncaring or unappreciative of
what she does, almost unjust because He does not
make Mary work
3. Can’t help but think some sibling rivalry is playing a
part in this
4. Martha is irritated and feels like Mary left her in a lurch
5. Left me: could be that Mary was working with Martha
but soon became enthralled in what Jesus was teaching
6. Think about Thanksgiving
a. Have any of you ladies ever become upset
because you know who wasn’t in the kitchen
helping?
b. And while on that subject how many
Thanksgiving and holiday meals have attitudes
involved in them that have little to do with the
holiday they are supposed to help celebrate?
7. Martha thought that she was doing what was right, so
much so she sought the Lord to scold Mary for not
helping out.
8. This just goes to show that even if you’re a zealot for a
set of beliefs, that doesn’t mean that it is true.
READ: Luke 10:41, 42 (Scripture slide)
"41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her.”
A. 'But ‘: That word again!
B. 'Martha, Martha'
1. While the text does not specifically say Jesus shook His
head, I could definitely see Him doing so.
2. The use of Martha's name twice signals emotion (Lk
6:46, Lk 8:24; Lk 13:34; Lk 22:31)
C. 'you are worried and troubled about many things'
1. Many things were bothering and preoccupying Martha.
Many things that Jesus saw right through.
2. 'to cause trouble, to be troubled, distracted'
3. When you live like this you can't love God as you
should nor your fellow man
4. Worries choke out the Word of God (cf. Lk 8:14)
Luke 8:14 (NET)“As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.”
5. Worry is contrary to the life a believe should live, listen
to what Jesus says about it in Matthew 6
Matthew 6:25–34 (NET)“25“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing? 26 Look at the birds in the sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you more valuable than they are? 27 And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life? 28 Why do you worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers of the field grow; they do not work or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! 30 And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, won’t he clothe you even more, you people of little faith? 31 So then, don’t worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For the unconverted pursue these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But above all pursue his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.”
6. Are these words Jesus is saying to you today?
7. What are the things that you are worried and troubled
about that is keeping you from living the Christ centered
life you should be?
8. We are to live lives of victory not defeat!
C. Jesus points out what is deficient in the life of Martha, that ‘one
thing is needed'
1. In other words: get your priorities straight!
2. Jesus told the rich man who supposedly wanted eternal
life, but was bound to his money from serving Jesus
virtually the same thing
Luke 18:22 (NET)“When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
3. Paul on the other hand had his priorities straight and was
focused on Christ, as so should we
Philippians 3:13 (NET)“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead”
4. Life is a valuable gift that is often squandered on
worthless trinkets that are here today and gone
tomorrow, instead of the eternal reward that exists in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
5. Martha had foolishly elevated the trinkets of
hospitality, house work, etc above the immeasurable
blessing at sitting at the feet of the Great I Am.
6. Her purpose had become unfocused
7. Martha is overwhelmed with her worries and troubles
and by many things
8. Why? Because she forgot to focus on Jesus
9. Jesus would have been much happier with a simple meal
and Martha's attention
10. He wants our focus too
11. There is only one true thing that matters in this world:
to be a disciple of Christ Jesus.
12. To conform to Him, to chase after how He would have
us live, and to covet an ever deepening relationship
with Him as our Lord.
13. Nothing should interfere with your relationship with
Jesus, no matter how noble it appears (i..e. family,
service for God, troubles, etc)
14. You serve Jesus better and you live better when you
listen to His Word
D. 'Mary has chosen the best part'
1. Martha received a loving rebuke when she thought Mary
would be receiving one
2. It would be wrong to deprive Mary of being at Jesus'
feet to learn
3. Mary doesn’t say a word, but her actions speak clearly
4. Martha should be following Mary's example
5. 'the best part': i.e. 'the right meal' (cf. Luke 4:4; Deut
8:3)
6. In reality we are dealing with twos eperate and distinct
meals: one is temporal and one is eternal
7. When Jesus said in Luke 4:4 to the devil, that man does
not live by bread alone, He was talking about the
spiritual food we are to live on
8. He tells us in John 6:27 ‘Do not work for the food that
disappears but for the food that remains to eternal life’
9. There are things that are temporal and there are things
that are eternal.
10. That translates to things that will pass away as vapors
and those things that will remain.
11. Martha was chasing vapor, Mary found substance at
the feet of Jesus.
12. What things do you take into your life and feed on?
Application (slide)
A. Are you too busy for Jesus? What keeps you from getting
closer to Him?
B. Is your life really driven by the One thing that counts?
C. You see Jesus is the true meal of Life
John 6:35 (NET)“Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never go hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty.”
Invitation
Let us sing our last song #,
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