This morning in our continuing study of the Gospel of Luke, we have come to a most interesting, and I might add a most important, story found in no other gospel account except here in Luke. It's the last passage in Luke chapter 10. It's a story that is familiar to, I think, most of us, to many people, about two sisters by the name of Martha and Mary. And here's what we read about them from, as I said, the last section, last passage, last paragraph, of Luke chapter 10, starting in verse 38. Now, as they were traveling along, he entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to his word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations, and she came up to him and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? And tell her to help me. But the Lord answered and said to her, Martha, Martha, You're worried and bothered about so many things, but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her. Now, while many people are familiar with this story of these two sisters, Martha and Mary, seldom, seldom do we ask or even consider why Luke chose to include this particular story in his gospel record, and why Why did he choose to put it right here at the end of chapter 10? How does it fit in? Well, in considering those issues, answering those questions, it's helpful to know that in presenting the life and the ministry of Jesus, Luke doesn't always follow a chronological order of events, so that we're not sure where the story of Martha and Mary fits in a timeline. We just know that this story took place sometime during the last phase of Christ's ministry, would have been the last few months of his ministry, during his time in Judea, in Judea. He has left Galilee. He is now traveling through Judea. As he spent months there, moving through that area towards his final destination, the city of Jerusalem, where he would be crucified. However, although we don't know the precise timing of this incident, we do have a very good idea as to why Luke placed it here, right at the end of chapter 10. See, this episode, as you'll recall, it immediately follows the parable of the Good Samaritan, and that's important to know and important to put it together. Because, as you'll recall, in the passage about the Good Samaritan. Jesus made it clear to the man who asked him what he had to do to inherit eternal life that the two most important commandments in all the law were what? To love God with all of our being and to love our neighbor as ourself. Well, by the behavior of the good Samaritan, we see Jesus teaching by way of illustration what it means to love one's neighbor. Because the kindness, the compassion, the sacrificial love shown by this Samaritan man to this Jewish man who was beaten and left half dead, that's the way to love others. What about loving God? Well, there's really nothing in the parable that reveals or even illustrates the way to show love for God. And that's exactly, folks, why Luke included the story of these two sisters right after the parable of the Good Samaritan. It's because in this story we see illustrated what it means for an individual to love God. The story reveals how the Lord expects us as his disciples, his followers, to demonstrate our love and our devotion to him. But listen closely, because in addition to revealing how to love God, there is another reason that Luke strategically chose to place this story right where he did. You see, during the last few months of Christ's ministry, which, as I said entailed, involved traveling throughout the area of Judea, visiting the various towns, the various villages in that region in Israel, the focus, the emphasis of our Lord's ministry was on teaching, on training His disciples rather than on performing miracles with the masses. That's not to say He didn't do miracles, it's just to say that His focus was on teaching. So from this point on, as you'll see in weeks and months to come, from this point and maybe years, who knows, From this point on in Luke's gospel, starting with chapter 11, we are going to see Jesus teaching on a host of various subjects. We're going to read about the Lord's teaching on such important topics, subjects as prayer, demons and Satan, the hypocrisy and the legalism of the Pharisees, suffering due to persecution, greediness, anxiety, being prepared for his return at the second coming. divine judgment, the kingdom of God, loyalty to him, heaven, repentance, hell, forgiving others, and a host of other topics. Therefore, the story of Martha and Mary is presented by Luke. Note this, before any of these subjects are mentioned in order to prepare us, us being his readers, Luke's readers, to do exactly what Mary did. become a student of Jesus and listen to his words, listen to his teaching. In other words, the point of this story about two sisters is to teach us that listening to Jesus and what he has to say is the supreme priority, the highest priority in life. It's the way that a true follower of his shows him their love. And that's exactly why this story, though rather easy to follow and understand, It has deep and it has profound implications for us. Because sadly, so often we are just like Martha in this story. Too busy, too activity-oriented, too occupied with various things, even good things, really good things. Just too busy, though, to simply be quiet and listen to Jesus. In other words, We tend to resemble Martha when we really should resemble Mary. Mary, who made it her priority to sit quietly at the feet of Jesus and listen to what the Lord had to say. And folks, that's why this story is so relevant, why it's so pertinent, why it's so applicable for us. Because most of us, as I said, we are indeed too similar to Martha. Busy. Burdened with daily responsibilities while neglecting what is most important in life for a believer, and that is spending time with our Lord in His Word. You see, this story is a contrast. That's what it is. It is a contrast between Martha and Mary and their choice of priorities. And it is intended to teach us the vital lesson that as disciples of Jesus, we should be more like Mary than like Martha, so that our priority should be to listen to what the Lord says. In other words, in a world where we are faced with all kinds of decisions as to what we need to accomplish on a daily basis, the Lord wants us to know there is nothing more important for a follower of his than to take time to hear what he has to say. One Bible teacher put it this way, he said, as people's lives become more frenetic, frantic, disjointed, and disconnected, they battle to stay focused on what should be their priorities. A priority is, by definition, a matter that ranks above all others in importance. David said in Psalm 27, 4, one thing I have asked from the Lord that I shall seek. While in the New Testament, the apostle Paul wrote, one thing I do. David's single focus was on beholding and meditating on the beauty of the Lord, and Paul's was on pursuing him so as to be conformed to his likeness. Both are illustrations of the highest priority for believers, the deep, transforming knowledge of God. So while this story about Martha and Mary, on one level, it's a very simple story and really easy to understand, it is intended, though, to teach the profound and deep truth that as Christ's disciples, not only should we love him with all of our being, but the way that we show him our love with all of our being is by hearing his word so that we can learn to do what he wants us to do. After all, it was our Lord who said in John 14, 15, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. But the only way to know His commandments so that we can keep them is by first listening to what Scripture has to say. You can't obey what you don't know, right? Frankly, this is a very convicting story because so often And I'm preaching this to myself as well as you. We are just so busy doing all sorts of things that occupy our days. And so like Martha, we tend to neglect what is most important, which is what Mary did. Sit at the Lord's feet, quietly listen to his precious words. And so as I said, this brief passage of scripture, it's really a contrast between these two sisters and their priorities. So as we go through these verses, you're going to discover who you are most like, Martha or Mary. Now, the way that Luke presents this story, the way it unfolds, is in three parts. In part number one, he sets the scene for us as he introduces us to the first sister, Martha, because she's the one who welcomed Jesus to her home. In part number two, Luke introduces us to the second sister, Mary, and tells us what specific activities these two sisters were involved in as they entertained Jesus in their home. First, he reveals the priority of Mary, then the priority of Martha. And finally, in part three, we see Jesus lovingly, tenderly, in a compassionate way, rebuking Martha by commending Mary's decision to sit at his feet and listen to his words. So we begin this morning where Luke begins as he sets the scene for us by introducing us to Martha. We break in at verse 38. Now, as they were traveling along, he entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. The story, as you can see, it opens by Luke telling us that as Jesus was traveling, he entered a certain village. And although Luke does not mention the name of this village, we know which village this was. We know it because he mentions the name of a woman who lived there, that woman being Martha, who had a sister named Mary, and that's because we know this, because from the Gospel of John, specifically chapter 11 and 12, we learn that these two sisters had a brother, though he's not mentioned in the story here, a brother named Lazarus. He's the same Lazarus that Jesus will later raise from the dead, and that these three siblings lived in a village named Bethany, which was located on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, about two miles from the city of Jerusalem. Now as Luke continues, he tells us that as Jesus entered this village, Martha welcomed him into her home. We know from the Gospel of John that Jesus often visited the home of Martha and Mary and Lazarus because they were friends of his and therefore their home was always open to him whenever he was in the area. However, the way that Luke introduces Martha to us here in verse 38, referring to her as a woman named Martha, it does give the impression that this might have been the very first time that Jesus visited their home. In any event, we know that Martha was the one who welcomed Jesus into her home. Now the fact that Luke refers to this home as specifically her home would seem to indicate that although Martha shared this home with her sister and brother, this house probably belonged to her. It may very well be, though this is just really an educated guess because scripture is silent about this, but it may very well be that Martha was a widow and that this house once belonged to her husband and it now belonged to her. However, what we do know is that whenever Martha and Mary are mentioned in the New Testament, it is Martha who generally takes the lead and initiates welcoming Jesus to her home, which may also indicate, folks, that she was the older of the two sisters. And so Luke tells us that now, upon arriving in her village, the village of Bethany, Martha welcomes Jesus into her home, meaning that she extended hospitality to him as an honored guest in her house. Now, this is quite refreshing. It's refreshing to read. Why? Because as you'll recall, during our Lord's time traveling throughout the villages and the towns of Judea, and I might add Perea as well, he and his 12 apostles were not always well-received. I remind you that we read back in Luke chapter 9, verses 52 and 53, and he, meaning Christ, sent messengers on ahead of him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for him. But they did not receive him because he was traveling towards Jerusalem, meaning he was going to the temple there and the Samaritans rejected that, so they rejected him. Again, we read. in Luke chapter 10 verses 10 and 11. But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, even the dust of your city which clings to our feet, we wipe off and protest against you. Yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near to you. So there were many times the Lord and his apostles traveling throughout that area did not get a good reception. So the fact that Martha here enthusiastically welcomed Jesus into her home reveals that she and her sister were followers of his. Without telling us how they came to believe in Jesus, their warm reception of him reveals that they had at some point come to believe in him as Israel's Messiah and therefore their Messiah and their Lord. And so having introduced us to Martha in verse 38, as Luke continues, he not only introduces us in the next verse to Martha's sister Mary, but he proceeds to give us the contrast between their respective priorities as he tells us about their activities in relation to Jesus. This is the second part of the story. Verse 39, she had a sister called Mary who was seated at the Lord's feet listening to his word. Now, although we know from the Gospel of John that Martha had a brother, as I said, named Lazarus, he's not mentioned in this story. But her sister is. Probably her younger sister, Mary, is mentioned here. In fact, she's actually the most important character in this story because what she did in relation to Jesus being in their home becomes the all-important lesson for us. Luke tells us that Mary was seated at the Lord's feet listening to his word. This is very interesting. It's interesting because Jewish rabbis in that day normally did not allow women to be their students. And this is the posture of a student. In fact, rabbis were strongly opposed to teaching a woman. Kent Hughes, in his commentary on Luke, states this. He says, Judaism did not forbid women to be instructed in the Torah, that's the law, but it was unheard of for a rabbi to allow a woman to sit at his feet. He means to sit at his feet being taught by the rabbi. He writes, later rabbinic tradition includes quotations such as, may the words of the Torah be burned. They should not be handed over to women. But that's not how Jesus saw it. The Lord rejected such foolish thinking, and so he welcomed Mary to be his student, to be his pupil, to be his disciple, and to sit at his feet listening to what he had to say. And the reason, folks, that she was in this particular physical posture, this physical position of sitting down on the floor at the Lord's feet rather than seated in a chair as we would do in someone's home today, it's because this was the typical way that a first-century disciple learned from a rabbi. One Bible scholar explained how this was done. He said, and I quote, Oriental houses had couches that were raised about two feet from the floor and stood along the wall and were covered with soft material and decked with cushions, while Mary sat in the same fashion on the rug-covered floor. So the picture here that Luke is painting for us is that of Mary sitting, literally sitting at the feet of Jesus, getting as close to the Lord as humanly possible, listening with rapt attention as he spoke. And the way that the Greek grammar reads, it indicates a continual listening on Mary's part. In other words, she was completely attentive to what the Lord was saying. She was hanging, as we would say, hanging on every word. As one individual put it, he said, Mary's attention was riveted to the most powerful, clear truth teacher who ever spoke. Now, folks, what Mary was doing was exactly what Jesus said all of his disciples should do, and that is to listen to him, to pay attention to his teaching, to his words. In fact, Jesus said on numerous occasions that hearing his word with a heart attitude of submission and obedience to them, that's the mark of a true disciple. It's the mark of a genuine Christian. In Matthew, for example, Matthew chapter 7, starting in verse 24, this is part of the Sermon on the Mount given to his disciples. Jesus said, therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rains fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house. And yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. In a sermon given to disciples, the Lord calls all of his followers to build their lives on his word. Luke 8, 15, in the parable of the sower we read, but the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who heard the word in an honest and good heart and hold it fast and bear fruit with perseverance. Jesus says that those who come to know Him as their Lord and Savior hold His word fast. What does that mean? It means they keep it. They obey it. No matter what, they obey it. Again, Luke 8, 21, But He answered and said to them, My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it. In other words, those who have a spiritual relationship with Christ, they hear His word, they obey His word. Again, John 8 31, if you continue in my word, then you are truly disciples of mine. True followers of Christ, though they have difficulties and trials and problems in life, they follow him. throughout those trials by continuing to listen and obey his word. And the Apostle Paul, he recognized that the Thessalonian believers had truly become followers of Jesus based on how they responded to his word. 1 Thessalonians 2.13, for this reason, we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe. Paul made it clear that the proof, the evidence of their salvation was that when they heard the word of God preached to them, they received it. How? By believing it. And having received and believed it, the word continued, Paul said, to impact their lives. Listen, your relationship with God's word, it reveals a great deal about you. And that's because those who love the Lord love his word. They can't separate that. And they long to hear it so that they can obey Him. This is why His followers call Him Lord. He is our Lord because in an attitude of submission to His authority over them, they look to Him for direction, for guidance in how they are to live, and they receive that direction and guidance from His written Word. Now having told us that Mary's activity after Jesus arrived at their home was sitting at his feet listening to the precious words that fell from his lips. Could you imagine being there? Luke now proceeds to bring Martha back into the picture in order to reveal her activity in relation to Jesus' arrival at her home. Verse 40, but Martha was distracted with all her preparations, and she came up to him and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? And tell her to help me. Now, in stark contrast to Mary, who was quietly sitting at the feet of Jesus, just soaking up his words. Martha, we read, was distracted with all of her preparations. So what kind of preparations would Martha have been involved in? Well, no doubt she was busy preparing a meal for her special guest. But something else to keep in mind is that while the Lord's 12 apostles are not explicitly mentioned in these verses, it is implied. It is implied that they were with Jesus as guests in Martha's home too. And I say that because if you look back at verse 38, you'll read this. Now as they were traveling, But they, no doubt, referring to the Lord's 12 apostles who traveled with him so that he could train them. He wasn't traveling alone. So in addition, then, to preparing a meal for 13 guests, Martha also had to find sleeping arrangements for all of these people. So it is very understandable that Martha would be extremely busy taking care of all of these details. In fact, the original Greek text does not use the words that's translated in my English version as preparations. It uses the words much service. Martha was running around doing much service. much service in order to show hospitality and to be a good host to her newly arrived 13 guests. She was, in the words of one Bible teacher, a whirlwind of activity. Now, let me pause here and say that we can certainly appreciate and we can even commend Martha for being so hospitable because the New Testament very clearly and abundantly teaches the importance of showing hospitality. In fact, the New Testament commands, commands all believers in Christ to be hospitable. What is hospitality? By definition, it means that we are to love strangers by welcoming them into our homes and caring for their needs. So I just want you to listen to all these verses commanding us to be hospitable. For example, Romans chapter 12, verse 13, contributing to the needs of the saints practicing hospitality. The context of this verse is showing love, showing genuine love. Paul says that we are to demonstrate love. One way we demonstrate love for God's people is by opening our homes to them and taking care of their needs, hospitality. Hebrews 13 verses 1 and 2, let love of the brethren continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. Again, hospitality, the writer says, is the way we show love. to our brethren and sometimes we might find ourselves entertaining someone who's a stranger to us but who is actually a real live angel and not even realize it. First Peter 4.9, be hospitable to one another without complaint. Now that's important. We can be hospitable all the while we're complaining. So we're not to be griping about this, we're not to be complaining, we're to just do it out of love. In addition, elders must be men given the hospitality or else they're not qualified to be elders because if an elder is not hospitable, it means that his character is lacking in love. 1 Timothy 3, 2, an overseer then must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable. able to teach. So in and of itself, there was nothing wrong with Martha being busy, doing a great deal of work to get everything prepared for her new 13 guests. However, notice that Luke doesn't simply tell us that Martha was busy preparing a meal and getting rooms ready for all of her guests. He says that she was, and I quote, distracted with all of her preparations. What that means is that she was pulled away, the Greek word for distracted meaning that. It means to be pulled away, to be dragged away. In other words, Martha was pulled away from what? From listening to Jesus like Mary was doing. by all of her household chores and responsibilities. That is to say that all of her preparations, the cooking, the cleaning up, the finding sleeping accommodations for her many guests, kept her from listening to Jesus teach. You see, it may very well be that Martha wanted to hear what Jesus was saying, and perhaps she was able to catch bits and pieces of his teaching coming from the other room, but her determination to make a nice meal for her guests kept pulling her back to the kitchen. And as the evening wore on, she kept getting more, and more frustrated as she just kept working. While Mary just continued to sit at the feet of Jesus, listening to his words. Kent Hughes helps us to imagine what the scene might have looked like. He writes, so this good woman, one of Jesus' most devoted and perceptive disciples, this excellent woman, smoldered. She was angry at Mary for being so selfish. And she was also mad at Jesus for allowing it to go on. She focused, if looks could kill, glares at Mary and let out some pained sighs as she fussed over the table and loudly banged pots in the kitchen. She was a type A, and she knew it. She was verbal. She was blunt. People always knew where they stood with her, nothing like a little scolding to get the troops in order. And so finally, After smoldering and growing more and more flustered, annoyed, irritated, frustrated, Martha could just take it no more. And so she abruptly stepped out of the kitchen, walked into the room where Jesus was teaching, went up to him and just interrupted him, as the second part of verse 40 tells us. And she came up to him and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? And tell her to help me. Martha was so exasperated that she actually accuses the Lord of not caring that Mary has left her to do all the work of preparing dinner and arranging rooms to sleep in and serving dinner. She says, Lord, don't you care that Mary has left me to do all of this work alone? And by these words, Luke, is just probably giving us a summary, a summing up of what Martha actually said to Jesus. Being as annoyed as she was, she may very well have been a bit more spirited in her words, saying something like this, Lord, I'm doing all this work and Mary just sits there doing nothing. And you're just as much to blame as her. You don't care that she's left me to do all the work. You just let her keep listening to you while I'm slaving away in the kitchen. Why don't you just tell her to get her sweet little fanny, or as Jack Jenkins would say, keister, up and get in the kitchen and help me. Words to that effect. Now, while it's easy to empathize with Martha's frustration, What she did was absolutely wrong in a number of ways. First of all, she was wrong in rebuking the Lord by accusing him of not caring about her. That's what she said, don't you care? The Bible makes it abundantly clear that Jesus does care about every single one of his followers. 1 Peter 5, 7, casting all your anxiety on him. Why? Because he cares for you. For example, to those of his followers who were worried about having enough food, having enough clothing, just to survive the elements and to live, Jesus assured them, with these words from Matthew chapter 6, starting in verse 26, that he indeed cares for his people and will provide for them. He said, look at the birds of the air that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth more than they? And who of you, by being worried, can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow. They don't toil, nor do they spend, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all of his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will he not much more clothe you, you of little faith? Did the Lord care about Martha? Of course He did. And she was absolutely wrong to accuse Him of not caring. But so often, don't we do the same thing? When our circumstances are bad and we're going through a rough trial in life with a great deal of pain and suffering and sometimes great loss, it is very easy for us to accuse the Lord of not caring, of not loving us, of not being interested in us. Because if he was, we think, you wouldn't have let this happen to me, but we're so wrong. Listen, when you feel like that, you need to guard your heart from such faulty thinking and to remember that the proof, the proof that God loves you isn't your circumstance, whether good or bad, but rather it is Christ's death on the cross for your sins. That's what Paul said in Romans 5, 8. But God, notice this, demonstrates. He shows it to us. He proves it to us. But God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. The word demonstrate does mean to show or to exhibit. It is the cross of Jesus where God has shown us that he loves us, even though He allows suffering and pain to invade our lives. John Gillespie in his book, which our men on Friday morning are reading. This book is called Following Jesus in an Age of Quitters. He writes this about God demonstrating his love to us. He says, now we must understand that God's love is not proven through circumstances going well for us or not going well for us. God's love is proven through one thing and only one thing, that he sent his son to suffer and die for us. Here alone is the infallible proof that God loves us. So did he care about Martha? Absolutely. Was she wrong? Absolutely. Was she wrong? Yes. But in addition to accusing Jesus of not caring about her, which was absolutely wrong, Martha was also wrong in thinking that she knew what was best, because she told the Lord what to do. She had the audacity to give him orders. Did you catch that? She said, Lord, tell my sister to get in here and start doing her share of the work. Folks, do I really need to explain how wrong this was of Martha? How could she call Jesus Lord and yet tell him what to do? You don't tell your Lord what to do. You do what your Lord tells you what to do. And yet, and yet there are plenty of Christians who feel quite confident that their plans for their life, those plans are better than the Lord's plan for their life. And like Martha, they get annoyed at the Lord and don't hesitate to rebel against His will because they think they know what's best for their life when they don't know what's best for their life. Something else that was very wrong concerning Martha's statement to the Lord, and really this is the major point of the story, is that in her frustration, she lost sight of what was most important. Unlike Mary, whose priority was listening to Jesus, Martha's priority was busy serving Jesus. Now, is there anything wrong in being busy serving the Lord? Of course not. In fact, we're supposed to be. We're commanded to serve the Lord and to serve him with diligence, to always be abounding in the work of the Lord. However, however, and listen closely to this, as important as it is to serve Christ, your supreme and highest priority in life, meaning what should be most important to you, even above serving, is listening to Christ's words. Here's what John MacArthur said about Martha's wrong priority. He said, there is certainly nothing wrong with showing hospitality. In fact, scripture commands it. But in the process of doing that, Martha got her priorities twisted. She was fussing and fretting, trying to get everything arranged to her satisfaction, maybe to make an impression on Jesus. As a result, she failed to take advantage of a rare and priceless opportunity to hear in person the Lord of the universe teach and be impressed profoundly by him. And because Martha was so wrong in what she said to Jesus, after hearing her complain against Mary and falsely accuse him of not caring, Jesus answered her. And his answer forms the third part of the story as Luke tells us how Jesus lovingly rebuked Martha. Verses 41 and 42. But the Lord answered and said to her, Martha, Martha, you're worried and bothered about so many things, but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part which shall not be taken away from her. Although having just been scolded by Martha, Jesus responds to her folks in the tenderest of ways. He begins by saying her name twice. Twice, Martha. Martha. Now, why would he do that? Why would he repeat her name? Well, this was a Jewish way of expressing tenderness and personal affection. You see this often in scripture. For example, when David, who loved his son dearly, though his son rebelled against him, Absalom, he cried out concerning his son, oh, Absalom, Absalom, two times. And when Jesus said to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, loving this man, And on the verge of converting him, he said, Saul, Saul. And when the Lord prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, he said, my God, my God. Likewise, Jesus is now communicating to Martha with the same kind of loving, tender affection. It'd be like us saying to a child to whom we wanted to lovingly communicate something, child, child, or son, son, or daughter, daughter, listen to me. It's that same tone. But while Jesus was being very tender, very gentle with Martha, he also wanted her to know that she was absolutely wrong in what she had just said to him. And so he says, Martha, Martha, you're worried, you're bothered about so many things, but only one thing is necessary for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her. In no uncertain, words, Jesus lets Martha know not only that she was absolutely wrong in what she said to him, but also where she was wrong. He tells her that she was unnecessarily worried and bothered about so many things. In other words, he's saying fixing such a fancy and elaborate meal for us and making such a fuss over our sleeping arrangements wasn't necessary at all. And then the Lord tells her what was necessary, what was most important, what should have been her highest priority that night, what was the one thing she should have chosen to do of all things. He said, but only one thing is necessary. For Mary has chosen that. She's chosen the good part which shall not be taken away from her. So what the Lord was telling Martha is that while the big elaborate meal for us wasn't necessary, there is one thing that was necessary, and Mary chose it. And that is to sit at my feet. listening to my word. And by adding the words, notice at the end, which shall not be taken away from her, the Lord is telling Martha that he will not allow her to draw Mary away from listening to his word. She's staying put. This is what's most important, and I'm not letting her go. She's chosen the best. Now, folks, what Jesus told Martha, as I said, in the most loving of ways, is something that he says to all of us who have a tendency to get too busy doing, well, just doing life, to the neglect of what is most important. The Lord says to us, in effect, you are worried, you're bothered by so many things that really aren't necessary. and they're relatively unimportant. There's only one thing that is absolutely necessary, one thing that matters above everything else in life, and that is taking time to listen to my word. So just be still, just be still, be quiet, and hear what I have to say to commune and fellowship with me around my word. Listen. There are many responsibilities that we all have, and we must not shirk them. We have job responsibilities. We have family responsibilities. We have church responsibilities. But we must not let these responsibilities keep us from what is our most important responsibility, which is to listen to God through his written word. That's what the Lord is saying. He's not saying shirk those responsibilities. Remember what Jesus said to Satan when he was tempted in the wilderness. He's quoting from Deuteronomy chapter 8, verse 3. The Lord said, man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. So in the midst of a myriad of responsibilities, our highest and supreme priority must be, it must be to hear the Word of God. Listen, if you don't have a regular time set aside each day to spend time listening to God by reading His Word, then you need to establish one. If you don't have it going on, you need to establish one. And you need to stick to this habit every day until it does become a habit. This must be your highest priority as a follower of Christ, even before serving Him, as important as it is to serve Him. And if you do have a quiet time, make sure it's not mechanical. Make sure you're not reading because, well, you have to go through the Bible in a year, and this is the portion that your schedule says. Just enjoy hearing his word. If you're a teacher and you prepare a lesson each week, make sure that you have a time where you just soak up his word, not for a lesson, but for your own heart. You see, as important as it is to serve the Lord, it is easy to get so busy serving him while neglecting to spend time in fellowship with him. Years ago, Pastor Harry Ironside, pastor of Moody Memorial Church in Chicago, in one of his sermons, he illustrated this in the following story about how you can be so busy serving without fellowshipping. He said this. It's a little bit lengthy, but it's so good. He said, I remember hearing of a dear father who had lost his wife. She had left him one daughter, and he loved to have her with him. But being a busy man, they could have only their evenings together. He would come home from work. And after dinner, they would spend several hours together, and one or the other would read. Then she would play and sing for him. He found his greatest solace in the company of his darling child. It was getting along toward the end of the year, and the daughter said to him one evening, you will excuse me tonight, father. I have something I should do in my room. The next night, it was the same thing, and the next, and the next, much to his disappointment. But he had to get used to it, and he did not like to ask her what she was doing, that she had to leave him alone. Finally, it was Christmas morning, and she came into his room and called, Merry Christmas, Dad. She handed him a pair of crocheted slippers, which she had made for him. He said after he had thanked her, I would much rather have had you with me all those lonely evenings than to have these slippers, beautiful and comfortable as they are. And then Dr. Ironside adds his own words. He says, I think our Lord says that to us. We're trying to please him by much serving, but I'm afraid he will say to many of us, you have spent many hours in service when I would have rather have had you at my feet. You were not there when I wanted to share many secrets with you. May those of us who know Jesus Christ as our Lord, as our Savior, may we learn from this story of Martha and Mary. Learn that there is nothing more important than to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to him. And certainly, let me just add, the Lord doesn't mean that you do in this 24-7. You have responsibilities, you can't shirk. but this is to be your highest priority. It's not the length of time that you spend hearing the word, it's the fact that it must be your highest priority in whatever amount of time you give to it. And more than just learn from this story, may you apply it so that listening to Jesus becomes your supreme priority, and may I say, even joy each day. And if you don't know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then there's only one message that the Lord has for you. Believe on him and you'll be saved. Jesus died for sinners. That's what the cross was all about. He paid the debt of their transgressions because God is holy and will not let anyone into heaven who has unforgiven sins and is unrighteous. But in paying the debt of their transgressions, those who do believe on Him, who do trust Him alone for their salvation, He not only forgives their sins, He credits to their account Christ's righteousness. And listen, He invites all to come to Him, to trust Him as Savior from sin. If you've never done that, I urge you, I plead with you, I beg you to come to Christ today. Believe on the Lord and be saved. If you'd like to speak to someone about your need for salvation, then just see me as we close the service. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank you for this precious story in Luke chapter 10. Lord, it's convicting. I'm convicted by it. At times, I'm so busy, so many responsibilities, so many things to do, and yet, Lord, there is nothing more important than to hear your word, to just enjoy your word, to soak it up. Lord, I can't imagine you coming to someone's home and they missed such a golden opportunity to sit at your feet. But that's what Martha did, and that's what many of us would have done. But Lord, I pray that you'll change our lives through this story, and not just today, but from now on. that those who don't have a daily time of reading the word will start one, and those of us who do have it, Lord, it'll be fresh, it'll be with a better attitude, not so much routine and mechanical, but a joy to just sit and read and hear you speak through the written word of God. What would we do without your word? Lord, may we love it more than the best food, the most delicious food. That's what the psalmist said. thirst for it more than for water and fluid and drinks that we need. So Lord, we pray to that end. And we pray for those who have never trusted you, whether they're here in this auditorium today or they're watching on live stream, may this be the day that they finally repent of their sin and surrender to your authority and trust you as Lord and Savior. We pray this all in Jesus' name, amen.