2005-05-29 Communion Dedication - Baldwin Christian Church
Luke 10:38-42
38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.
40 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.
41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Ever have guests coming to visit, and you get all wound up inside planning the evening; running yourself ragged getting the house 'spotless' and preparing the 'perfect' meal? What's wrong with that? You want them to be comfortable in your clean home. You want them to be delighted with dinner. You want them to enjoy an entertaining evening in your home.
But, are your guests coming over to see you, or your perfect yard and spotless house? Do they care more about you, or the gourmet dinner you worked so hard to prepare, and the entertainment you have lined up for them?
What you think is important to your guests might not be nearly as important to them. You want the leaves all raked up. You want the floors waxed. You want to use the fine china. How often in this life do we find ourselves giving people what we think they want, rather than what they really wanted?
In verse 40, we find Martha "cumbered", or as most translations say, she was "distracted" with much serving. The Greek word is "perispao", a compound of 'spao', which means to 'draw', as in pulling a sword out of it's sheath, and 'peri', which means 'around' (as in perimeter). My translation: walking around in circles. Martha had Jesus of Nazareth over for dinner, but she was more occupied with the food, with why her sister wasn't helping, and why nobody cared about what she was doing. Martha was drawn away from what should have been the center of her attention. It seemed like her intentions were pure and right, but were they?
Time and again we find the heart of God in His Word.
1 Samuel 15:22 And Samuel said (to king Saul), Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
The very finest part of the sacrifice (the fat of the ram) doesn't matter as much to God as when we listen to Him and obey His voice. What is the Word of God? Who is His voice? Jesus of Nazareth.
This week will be a busy one. Should you find yourself waving your sword at everything that distracts you from Jesus, or getting worried about the details, remember what He said to Martha: "...one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."
Yes, you are His ambassador, so maybe you shouldn't let the leaves get piled up three feet high before you rake your yard, and maybe you should offer your guests more than TV dinners and soda pop, but your greatest privilege, as one who believes in Him, is to be one who worships Him. Don't let the world distract you from that. If you love Him, and listen to Him, and obey Him, you have "chosen that good part", and it won't be taken away from you.