Slacker for Jesus Sermon preached July 25, 2010 Text: Luke 10:38-42, thinking especially of verses 41-42, "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Mary and Martha show us how much Christians can differ in character and temperament. The two sisters were faithful disciples of Jesus. Both believed in Him as their Savior. Both were converted and saved. Both honored Christ when few gave Him honor. Both loved Jesus, and Jesus loved both of them. But they were two very different types of people. Martha was active and impulsive. She had strong feelings and spoke her mind. Mary was quiet and thoughtful and didn't seem to speak up that much. Mary and Martha, both believers, both lovers of Christ, show us how easy it is, even for strong Christians, to get their priorities messed up. Martha allowed her anxiety over providing entertainment for Jesus to carry her away. Her excessive concern for a good meal made her forget the importance of her soul. This led to complaining as she said to Jesus, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" I. Jesus' response is interesting. He begins by saying, "Martha, Martha..." Why does he say her name twice? This is a Jewish form of affection and intimacy (R.C. Sproul, A Walk With God: An Exposition of Luke, #53, Luke 10:38-42). Jesus cares deeply for Martha and He wants her to know how much He cares about her, even though He's about to rebuke her and teach her something important. We see this in other places in Scripture. When Abraham was about sacrifice his only son Isaac, God called to him, "Abraham, Abraham!" and stopped him from hurting Isaac (Gen. 22:11). When God encouraged Jacob to make the trip to Egypt, He spoke his name twice (Gen. 46:2). When God called Samuel in the night, he repeated his name (1 Sam. 3:10). And when God called Moses at the burning bush He called his name twice (Exod. 3:4). The most important example is when Jesus hung on the cross and cried out, "My God, My God..." He was addressing His Father in loving affectionate terms. Jesus teaches us an important lesson here. Although He's about to rebuke Martha, He does it gently, and lets her know how very deeply He cares about her. We should be careful to do the same. When we have a problem with a fellow Christian, we should never rebuke them in anger or with a temper. We should talk calmly and let them know we still consider them our brother or sister in Christ and that we care about them deeply. II. Jesus says, "Martha, Martha," my dear follower, my precious disciple, my beloved Martha, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed." Jesus' description of Martha fits many of our lives to a tee -- "worried and upset about many things..." Does that describe you? It sure does me a lot of times! The problem with being worried and upset about MANY THINGS, is that it becomes hard to focus on any ONE thing. I'm glad Jesus says, "...only ONE thing is needed." If that's true then why do we let so many things bother us? If only ONE thing is absolutely necessary, then we should give ourselves completely to that, and let everything else go as it may. The ONE thing necessary for us Christians is to sit at Jesus' feet and learn from Him. Nothing else is more important. You're engaged in day-to-day business. You're diligent. You throw your whole energy into your work because you know if you don't, you may fail. You rise up early, you sit up late. Should I discourage your hard work? No, but think, is that all there is? Is life nothing more? Is making money everything? Is wealth worth getting just so it can be said, "He died worth a million dollars?" You may be a very hard working person. You have little rest during the week. You strain every nerve to provide a comfortable life for your family. You live economically and work diligently. From morning to night you're worried and upset thinking, "How can I provide for my beloved family? How can I pay all the bills? How am I going to pay my way?" I wish every person were as thoughtful, economical and hard-working. But ... is that all there is? Did God make you to only be a machine for digging holes, laying bricks, cutting pieces of wood, standing at a counter, or whatever you do? As important as it is to work and provide and make a living, is that the ONE thing needful, to earn your pay and make ends meet? Can you stand in front of the mirror and say, "I'm perfectly fulfilling everything God wants me to do?" Us pastors and full-time church workers are just as guilty as anyone else. It's so easy to let our service to Christ drag us away from His Word. One Christian writer says, "Ironic as it may be, this is an epidemic among preachers of the Word. Ministers of the gospel often admit that the Word is not at the center of either their devotion or their ministries. The reason is, they are too busy serving Christ. Youth pastors, missionaries, executives of Christians organizations, and church leaders often admit to this syndrome. The programs and the unending needs are so pressing that reading and hearing the Word of God is neglected...The church is full of Type A's -- hard-driving, ministry-minded people. The question is, in your heart are you holding to that which is 'better,' the integrating center that gives vision and purpose to all your serving?" (Preaching the Word Commentary, #49, Luke10:38-42). We should all take Jesus' words to heart this morning. "...you are worried and upset about many things, BUT only one thing is needed." Business? Work? Diligence? Ministry? Yes, all important, BUT there's a higher bread to be earned, a higher life to be considered. Jesus says, "Do not labor for the food that perishes," in other words, don't put it first and foremost; "but for the food that endures to eternal life... (John 6:27). If we put the "one thing needed" first, then what's 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and on down the list will fall into it's proper place. If we sit at Jesus' feet and learn from Him, we'll learn how to keep our job and work and money and ministry in the proper perspective. Instead of becoming slaves to these things, we'll be masters over them and use them to glorify and serve God. III. "Well, this is all fine and good," you say, "but I have a job and it requires a lot. And I have a schedule. And I have a million things to do. How am I supposed to make time for Jesus?" Jesus tells us how to do it in our Gospel lesson. "Mary has CHOSEN what is better..." He says, "Mary has CHOSEN..." Life is short and so we need to make very deliberate choices. A choice we make today will have serious consequences a year from now, 10 years down the road, even at the end of our lives and into eternity. Life does NOT automatically arrange itself into the right priorities. With a thousand other duties coming at us, voices demanding our attention, commitments demanding our time, obligations demanding out energy, in the midst of everything, sitting at Jesus' feet is the only thing necessary. Let everything else take a back seat. And don't forget the amazing promise Jesus makes! "Mary has chosen what is better," and then He says, "AND IT WILL NOT BE TAKEN AWAY FROM HER." That means forever! You see, there is something you can take with you when you leave this life. When you sit at Jesus' feet and learn from Him and take from Him, it's yours forever. You never lose it! CONCLUSION: You know, if you or I would've written this story about Mary and Martha, we probably would've written it different. We're inclined to disagree with Jesus. Mary seems like a slacker! I mean her sister's out in there the kitchen hustling and bustling and working her royal tail off. And she's in the other room seemingly doing nothing, adoring Jesus, dreamy-eyed, pie-in-the-sky bye-and- bye. And it's the same in the church. We don't like people who do nothin' 'round here! We think they're slackers and they need to pull their weight and they need to help out. But you know, the "one thing needful" that Jesus is talking about is right here, right now. We're sitting at Jesus feet. We're hearing His Word. We're worshiping Him, praying to Him, singing His praises. And if it ever comes down to a choice between activity and worship, Jesus says, CHOOSE WORSHIP. Be a slacker for Jesus! And if it ever comes down to a choice between working hard and sitting at Jesus' feet, CHOOSE SITTING AT HIS FEET! Of course, we should be doing both. We should be serving the Lord in every way possible. We should be a whirlwind of activity for Christ. AND we should sit at His feet, listen to Him, read and study His Word. But remember, only ONE THING is needed and that ONE THING will not be taken away. All our activities and work and wealth and money -- it's all going to disappear. And nobody's going to remember it and it won't do us any good when we stand before the Lord. But the time we spend with Jesus -- the things we learn from Him, the forgiveness He offers us, the love He gives us, the grace He pours into our hearts, we take those things with us into eternity. Amen